Beer in one hand, Bourbon in the other

My last night in Louisville and I wanted something delicious to remember this city by. On the corner of 3rd and Maine St. was the Bluegrass Brewing Company. It looked like a great place to get a beer and bite to eat. I went down into the cellar and took a seat at the bar.

The bartender greeted me and I ordered a beer, a dark one. As he poured the dark frothy libation from the tap I opened up the menu and there it was. The Hot Brown! I recognized it immediately. An open faced Turkey sandwich, topped with bacon, smothered in cheese sauce and broiled until it was golden brown. As my beer was placed before me, I shouted over the noise, “A Hot Brown please!”

I sipped my beer and stared up at the TV screen. I don’t remember what was on, a sporting match of some kind, but it didn’t matter.

My Hot Brown arrived just as my beer reached the point where I could see the bottom of the glass. I ordered another beer, a lighter one this time and began digging into my meal with a fork and knife. I’ll never forget that first bite. The turkey was warm and moist, the bacon thick and crispy, the bread was crunchy and the cheese sauce was creamy and savory. What an amazing food invention. I polished the plate in no time and I still had half a beer left.

 

For dessert I asked the bartender for a shot of bourbon and informed him that I had never had bourbon and wanted a good one. He reached for the top shelf and pulled down a round glass bottle with a golden horse sitting on top. My shot was poured and served with a sidecar of ice. I picked up the bourbon, smelled it and swirled it to get some oxygen in there. I took a sip, held it on my palate for a few seconds and swallowed. The burning sensation soon gave way to a sweet and oaky aftertaste.

“How do you like it?” The bartender asked. “Not bad.” I said and took a drink of my beer. He joked with me and said that I looked like a real Kentuckian. “Beer in one hand, Bourbon in the other.”

This was originally written as a TravBuddy Review of the Bluegrass Brewing Company in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chicago – My Kind of Town

So after we exhausted all that there was to do in Louisville, we decided to move on to something bigger and better. And what could be bigger and better than Chicago? The short answer – Nothing! It was a five hour drive across the state of Indiana with only cornfields and windmills to keep our attention. And for most of the drive all we could find on the radio was country music and evangelical talk shows. At least until we reached Illinois when the urban sounds of Hip Hop and Rock began to break through the prayer meetings and country jamborees.

Gradually the single lane rural highway we had been following all morning began to morph into an ever widening freeway that signaled our approach into a modern metropolis. I could see the skyscrapers rising in the distance, it was Chicago. Words can’t express what I was feeling inside, but that won’t keep me from trying. I was relieved (to be out of Gods country) and excited (to be in one of Americas greatest cities) and I was nervous and anxious and giddy, and hungry, hungry for a Chicago style deep dish pizza.

We parked our rental car in a garage downtown. I would like to say that I was just as uneasy as Cameron Frye was in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off but I wasn’t. The garage was quite nice and nobody was going to take our Dae Woo for a joyride. In fact it wasn’t even that kind of a garage. We had a ticket and kept our keys. But how could I write about Chicago and not mention this epic film.

It was about 10am when we began our tour of the city. We were right near “the bean” this great big giant metallic looking spaceship that seemed to be a major hit with tourists. We took pictures of ourselves in its reflective surface which came out amazingly well. After taking photos with the bean we wandered aimlessly through the streets of Chicago marveling at the architecture of the century old buildings. I was most impressed with the statues and carvings that portrayed the cities history.

Mike took us to the Billy Goat bar for some beers. It was a shame I didn’t get to try one of their infamous “cheezborgers” made popular by Jon Belushi in the Saturday Night Live skit. But that’s okay because we had bigger food cravings to tackle. A deep dish pizza was waiting with my name on it. The only question was; from which one of Chicago’s many famous pizzerias would I claim my prize? We ended up settling on Pizzeria UNO for a deep dish pizza with everything on it anlong with a nice bottle of Gabbiano Chianti.

Okay seriously it was the best damn thing I ever put in my mouth. Even the leftovers which we ate a day or two later back in Louisville were amazing and possibly even better than when it was fresh out of the oven. Someday I will be returning to Chicago!

After lunch we continued to see the sights of the city. We met up with my friend Yvonne who was living in Chicago. She took us to the the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center. The view was amazing but you could feel the building swaying in the wind which gave me an uneasy feeling. Once safely back on solid ground we continued our tour of the city with a stop at the Chicago Tribune building. Since we were on a student journalism conference paid for by the school, it made the whole side trip to Chicago feel a little more justified.

At about 5pm we picked up the car and attempted to find our way out of the city. We got a tiny bit lost and found ourselves on the South Side and in a neighborhood where all the signs were in Spanish. “Yeah, we’re in the Puerto Rican ghetto!” We eventually found our way out and back across Indiana. That pretty much concludes my day in Chicago. The long drive to and from the city was well worth the seven hour tour in which we got to experience it. One of these days I will be back for a prolonged and in depth visit to Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois

Do you love Chicago as much as I do? What is your favorite city in the world?

My Unlikely Destination

It all began with what I thought at the the time was an unlikely destination; Louisville, Kentucky. It definitely wasn’t on my list of exotic locations that I wanted to see before I die. But I guess we often find inspiration in the most unlikely places.

In October of 2010 I was finishing up my Associate in Arts at the local community college before transferring to the State University. I was writing feature stories for the student newspaper when an unexpected opportunity presented itself. A free trip to Louisville for a student journalism conference. Of all the states in the union I never imagined I would ever find myself in Kentucky “The Bluegrass State.” But I just couldn’t turn down this chance to travel.

So with all expenses paid, airfare, lodging and a sixty dollar a day per diem, I boarded a flight to the mainland USA for the first time in over a decade. On this trip I traveled with my professor/advisor Mike and two colleagues Jen and Joel. I won’t bore you with the details of the conference which consisted of three days of back-to-back workshops and meetings. Instead I will focus on all of the fun stuff. Food, Photographs and Fornication. Okay, no fornication.

We ended up staying in suites at the Galt House in downtown Louisville or “Luhville” as the locals say. Mike got his own room, an advisors perk. Jen got her own room, she’s a girl. Joel and I shared a room, a really nice room I must say. FYI – Louisville is quite chilly in October, or it can be. Some days were so cold they required sweaters and some nights were easily doable in just a t-shirt. Our first day we toured the immediate area which included 4th Street Live, the Louisville Slugger Factory and the Muhammad Ali museum.

Of course as a wise man once said, “No trip to Louisville would be complete without a roadtrip to Chicago.” That’s right, pack your bags cause we’re going to Chi-Town! It was only a five hour drive and we still had another day before the conference would officially begin. I found a cheap rental car for $50 a day which not only enabled us to go to Chicago but also allowed us to see parts of Louisville that we would not have had the chance to experience otherwise.

We had dinner that evening in Bardstown, a part of Louisville known for its local bars and restaurants. Marks Feed Store was a BBQ joint with a line out the door. Needless to say, the food was awesome. Try the honey BBQ wings if you’re ever there. “Always eat at the place with a line.” Another quote from the wise man. Later that night we had a few drink at the 4th Street Live, saw some country music and happily ended the night at White Castle.

The next day we woke up just before dawn and drove strait through the state of Indiana to the Windy City of Chicago. I’ll save that story for another time. Louisville was an unexpected and unlikely destination but I enjoyed the city so much that I wouldn’t mind going back again, if the opportunity arises.

If you’re reading this… What do you think is an unlikely destination for you? What unlikely destination turned out to be a pleasant surprise?