The Brown Hotel is one of Louisville, Kentucky’s most iconic landmarks—an elegant, Italian Renaissance–style hotel that opened in 1923. It quickly became a social and cultural hub, hosting everyone from Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland to multiple U.S. presidents. Known for its grand lobby, Southern hospitality, and old-world glamour, the Brown is deeply tied to Louisville’s identity, especially during the Kentucky Derby season.



The hotel’s most famous culinary contribution is the Hot Brown, created there in 1926 by chef Fred K. Schmidt. Originally designed as a late-night dish for guests who wanted something more substantial than a sandwich, the Hot Brown became a Louisville classic. It’s an open-faced turkey sandwich topped with crispy bacon, sliced tomatoes, and a rich Mornay sauce, then baked until bubbling and lightly browned. Decadent, savory, and unapologetically rich.



Mornay sauce is a classic French cheese sauce built on a béchamel base—butter, flour, and milk—enriched with cheese, most traditionally Gruyère, Parmesan, or a combination of both. The result is a sauce that’s smooth, velvety, and gently nutty, with enough richness to coat food without becoming gluey.



The hot brown can be enjoyed at either of the hotel's two restaurants: Lobby Bar & Grill and J. Graham’s Café. I dined at the former at the bar in ordered the petite version of the hot brown.



"THE HOT BROWN - Roasted Turkey Breast, Toast Points, Mornay Sauce, Pecorino Romano Cheese. Baked Golden Brown, Finished with Bacon and Tomatoes. A Louisville legend, invented here at The Brown Hotel in 1926! The Hot Brown…a Louisville tradition with worldwide appeal has been featured in: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Southern Living Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, NBC’s Today Show and Travel Channel’s Man v. Food as well as being a regular entry in many of the finest cookbooks."

This is a belly-filling, soul-warming dish if I ever had one. The Hot Brown is pure comfort on a plate. Toasted bread piled with turkey and crispy bacon gets drenched in that creamy, cheesy Mornay sauce. It's rich, savory and a bit heavy.



Grade: A

Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse was a modern Korean steakhouse in Louisville’s Butchertown/NuLu area that opened in 2023 and unfortunately shuttered recently. It was created by acclaimed chef Edward Lee and quickly gained national recognition — being named one of the best new restaurants in America by Esquire and featured on USA Today’s notable restaurants lists. Steamed shrimp mandu - steamed shrimp dumplings with chili crisp and ponzu

Dukbokki rice cakes - rice cakes cooked in a spicy gochujang beef sauce with mushrooms, cabbage, peas and carrots

Bulgogi Rice Bowl - thin-sliced beef bulgogi with 3-grain rice, choice of red or white kimchi, spinach, shiitake mushroom, bean sprouts, and chili sauce. Topped with egg. This meal was takeout, so it is likely a little different from what you would experience dining in. Especially regarding presentation. But the flavors were bold, spicy. Some fresh ban chan on the side would have been perfect. Grade: B

Located in the heart of Old Louisville, 610 Magnolia serves a modern approach to the Southern table. Chef Edward Lee leads the restaurant, which operates out of a historic residence on West Magnolia Avenue. It has been featured in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, The New York Times Magazine, Saveur, Southern Living, Esquire, Wine Enthusiast and many other national publications. The dining room is contemporary yet rustic, elegant with original wooden beams, mullioned windows and French doors that open seasonally to an outdoor garden patio, according to its website. For dinner, the tasting menu is focused on seasonality and a commitment to locally sourced produce - including the 610 Magnolia greenhouse, responsibly farmed animals and historic foodways that have defined the regional cuisine. 610 BLT - this amuse-bouche was made with applewood-smoked bacon, tomato and foie gras. Crunchy, smoky little bite. Chawanmushi - Scarlet King Crab, Paddlefish Caviar, Scallion, Vinegar. Fishiness is cut with the acidity. Sourdough baked daily and sorghum butter with sea salt Sweet Potato & Doenjang Ravioli - Triple Cream Fonduta, Co. Newsom's Country Ham, Brussels, Fig Charred Octopus - Gochujang Romesco, Confit Potatoes, 'Nduja, Yogurt, Olive, Dill From the other side. New York Strip - Celery Root, Broccoli Rabe, Brown Butter Hedgehog Mushrooms, Huckleberry Bourbon Aficionado - Drunken Banana Cake, Butterscotch, Chocolate, Pappy Maple Syrup, Corn, Brown Butter Ice Cream, Smoke

Each and every course was unique in that it gave me something new, but also familiar delicious flavors. Very enjoyable.

Grade: A

Potbelly is a sandwich chain based in the Chicago area.



"From the comforting, melty cheese of a toasted sandwich made with love, to classic photos of Jimi Hendrix shredding a guitar solo at Woodstock, Potbelly is just a fun place to be. We're a first-class dive. A place to take a break from it all. Sure we make the best toasted sandwiches in all the galaxies (sorry aliens, but it's true). But we serve them up with a smile. That's easy when you love what you do: Making people really happy with craveable food, from our toasty sandwiches, soups, salads, fresh-baked cookies and hand-scooped milkshakes," reads the website.



I got some Zappos VooDoo chips, which are kettle-cooked potato chips with sweet, spicy, and smoky barbecue notes. I ordered A Wreck, with Genoa Salami, Roast Beef, Smoked Ham, Turkey Breast, Swiss, Hot Peppers, Lettuce, Onions, Tomato, Horseradish Aioli, Artichoke Hearts. This sandwich was solid, though I wish the bread was softer and less crackly.



Grade: B

The brainchild of James Beard award-winning chef John Currence, Big Bad Breakfast gives the proper respect to “the most important meal of the day” in Louisville, Kentucky.

They're known for their custom-created meats, fresh biscuits and preserves, locally roasted coffee and cocktails.

"We wear our 'Big Bad' name as a badge of honor and take special pride in serving all your Southern favorites with the creativity and technique that only a skilled, world-renowned chef can bring to the table," reads the website. I ordered the Jack Benny - sliced ham topped with crispy hash cake, wilted spinach, two poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with your choice of side (in my case, fruit). While I am not the biggest egg fan, I do enjoy me some eggs benedict. I especially love a little twist on it, like this crispy potato cake, which adds some nice texture. The side of fruit was key here though to bring out some balance of sweetness. That sort of unctuous hollandaise and yolk or satisfying. Grade: A

My friend Vicki and I traveled to Kentucky to visit our friend Brittany. While in the area, we decided to embark on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail - mostly because I've always wanted to learn a little bit more about bourbon, and what better place to do it?

The basic idea is to take tours of nine distilleries famous for making bourbon across the state of Kentucky. The state has a promotional campaign going on where you pick up a "passport" at the first distillery you visit and get stamps from each one. If you fill up the passport, you receive a "free" (read: most expensive free) T-shirt.

I strategically planned this trail to fit within three days while Brittany had to work, so that the remaining days can be spent in Lexington while Brittany was able to spend time with us! When I say strategically, I mean it. Most tours are from around 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or so and are held on the hour and are about an hour long. Plus we spent each evening back in Lexington. So factor that in, plus meals, plus travel time, and you have a pretty tight schedule.

Here was our basic outline (which changed a bit to accommodate for not getting into the tours we planned, etc.):

SUNDAY May 24Leave Morgantown at 6 a.m.One hour lunch somewhereTravel: 5 hours, 4 minutes to LouisvilleArrive at Evan Williams 528 West Main St., Louisville, KY 40202. Tour at 1 p.m. $12 [tour is one hour long]Travel 15 minutes to Bulleit 3860 Fitzgerald Road, Louisville, KY 40216Tour at 3:00 p.m. $10 [one hour long]

MONDAY May 2510 a.m. Town Branch Alltech’s Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company 401 Cross Street (near the intersection of Versailles Rd. and W. Maxwell St.) Lexington, KY 40508$10 tour for one hourHalf hour to Woodford Reserve 7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles, KY, United States Noon tour for one hourLunch for an hour2 p.m. tour for one hour Wild Turkey Distillery, 1417 Versailles Road, Lawrenceburg, KY 40342 

TUESDAY May 26Leave Lexington at 8 a.m.9 a.m. tour at Four Roses 1224 Bonds Mill Road, Lawrenceburg, KY, United States $5 tour11 a.m. arrive at Makers Mark 3350 Burks Spring Rd, Loretto, KY 40037Tour is $912 lunch until 1 p.m.2 p.m. tour at Heaven Hill Distillery 1311 Gilkey Run Road, Bardstown, KY, United States 3:30 p.m. tour at Jim Beam 526 Happy Hollow Road, Clermont, Kentucky 40110

DAY ONE



We drove straight from Morgantown to Louisville, grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, our first stop along the tour. It was right in downtown Louisville and had an impressive display that stretched from the top to the bottom floor. We stood in line before the place even opened, but once we got in, we were put on a later tour (already throwing off my schedule). SO, if you're able to buy any tickets in advance, do so.

I didn't know much about Evan Williams before the tour, but it was very interesting to walk through the facility. You're led through these various rooms in the building, which emulate times in history. The immersive history was fun, and it ended with a tasting. My thoughts? Well, it was strong, and I couldn't tell much of a difference. I did notice that a little bit of water helps sweeten the flavor just a bit. Also, this is the first of many times we were told that all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Bourbon is a kind of whiskey - one that has to be 51 percent corn. I also made note that I was a fan of the rye whiskey. And I tried my first bourbon ball (mmm), and we did get to take a fancy little glass home.






Once our first tour was out, we were ready to head back to our hotel defeated. Being pushed back 40 minutes would push us out of the timeframe for the second tour I had planned. But I called Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience just to double check. Somehow, they had one tour remaining. Game on. We booked it out of town and toward our next distillery. We were within maybe a minute of arriving when we were stopped at the gate. The kind woman, Ms. V., was chatting with us about West Virginia and having a good time, but I was nearly climbing out of the car to get to the next tour. Somehow, we made it just in time to catch the last tour of the day.

My main takeaway from this place was that they are very new comparatively to the other distilleries. And we (maybe not so legally?) signed a barrel because Vicki carries a sharpie with her. That was pretty cool. When bourbon is aging in the rickhouse, there is some natural evaporation - that's called the angel's share (cute, right?). So when you walk in, it smells... lovely. The tasting for Bulleit was also strong - but that's because we didn't really know how to taste it yet.