Love at First Bite at Lucretia's Kitchen

It’s an exciting time to be a foodie in Louisville.  New restaurants are opening up all the time, blink and you’ll miss it.  I’m all for the underdog though, so what I’m most excited about are the restaurants opening in parts of town that are less affluent, with foods that draw people in rather than a heavily filtered Instagram account.  This week I’m excited to share with you Lucretia’s Kitchen, a new restaurant located inside Chef Space in West Louisville that should definitely be on your list of places to visit.

Lucretia’s is not a standalone restaurant, but rather one of the many entrepreneurs using the space offer by Chef Space to prep and sell their food.  Chef Space is a kitchen incubator, a project supported by Community Ventures, offering commercially-licensed kitchen spaces, equipment inventory and business support services for food industry entrepreneurs.  Members pay a monthly fee to access the facility and services.  Currently, Chef Space has 20 vendors (V-Grits is the most recognizable), some utilizing its space to prepare food for distribution off site, a few offer food directly onsite, like Lucretia’s Kitchen.

Look for a large new building near the corner of 18th and Muhammad Ali, there’s plenty of parking in the back or on the street, right outside the front door.

Chef Space. Photo Source.

Once you entered the building, you’ll see a spacious community room with tables and chairs, Lucretia’s has her table set up at the back corner.  The menu changes daily, so you can check their Facebook page for the most updated list or look at the hand written board near the order table.

Inside community room

You can eat in or take out.

Lucretia’s offers a small menu of southern and soul food dishes, traditional sides and desserts, some from Norma Jean’s (also a Chef Space success story).  Expect to see salmon croquets, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, chicken salad, etc.  Below is a sample of the menu.

I had the fried catfish dinner my first time, which came with a large piece of catfish and 2 sides.  The fish was fresh and crunchy.  The green bean was cooked just right, not too mushy like some places, and has a bit of a tang to it.  I could eat at least 2 containers full.  I also enjoyed the potato salad, it has a special seasoning I can’t really place; it reminds me a bit of curry.  My lunch came out to be $12, a large satisfying meal that makes me want to come back to try other items on the menu.

Fried catfish

My friend had the chicken salad that day and enjoyed it as well.  This humongous salad was filled to the brim and can easily feed two.  A steal at $8.

Chicken salad, $8

I ordered the salmon croquet for my co-worker on another occasion, like before, the portion was large.  She enjoyed it but reported that it’s a little dry.  On my second go around, I ordered 4 jumbo fried chicken wings, large enough to feed two people.  They were crunchy with the right amount of seasoning but a little dry in some parts; still good chicken wings.

The star is apparently the Liquid Gold BBQ (I'll have to verify this on my next visit). My coworker said it was amazing and actually called Lucretia's Kitchen to give her a compliment.

It’s a new venture so expect a few kinks.  The wait time is LONG, Seafood Lady long.  On our first visit, I waited 40 minutes for my food, my friend waited close to an hour.  However, the food comes out fresh.  To keep your wait time to a minimal, call before they open and place your order before coming in.  The staff was always gracious and welcoming.  Lucretia came out and greeted everyone personally.

A special deal:  There’s currently a Groupon for Lucretia’s Kitchen, you pay $12 and will get $20 to spend on the food here (the Groupon says BBQ, but you can spend it on anything). For the next 2 days, Groupon also has an extra 20% off on local deals, so use the code sale3 and you'll end up paying only $9.60 for $20 worth of food!

If you’re looking for an off the beaten track lunch or dinner venue, I recommend this place for the consistency in the quality of food it produces, generous portions and good value for your money.  Words are getting out about this place and the lines are already getting long.  So skip your usually lunch spot and head west to support this great new venture.

Lucretia's Kitchen
1812 W. Muhammad Ali
Louisville, KY 40203
502-294-8143
Wednesday - Friday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Soul Food Sunda: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Occasionally you'll see other vendors selling food in the same venue.  Lollie's Kitchen has some decent fusion soul and Jamaican food.

Adventuring in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York on the Chinese Bus

I spent my Jul 4th weekend hanging out with a parakeet on a Chinese bus headed for New York City.  I didn't have it planned out that way but it became a part of a week long budget traveling adventure that started in Cincinnati and ended with a 12 hour bus ride home by a very mistrusting bus driver.  Here's how it started.

I was heading to D.C. for a week long work trip so asked my husband to tag along.  I scored him round trip direct tickets from Cincinnati to Baltimore/Washington D.C. for $90 on Allegiant Air, (my coworkers paid $286 to fly from Louisville).  We had to drive to Cincinnati and then Uber to the airport, it costed only $4 when I used my discount.  Despite being a budget airline, the plane was new, clean and spacious.

Inside Allegiant Airline

We flew into the Baltimore airport, a quick 40 minute Amtrak ride away from D.C that costed $15/person.  Here's my husband's first Amtrak experience.  I love taking the train so I think there's going to be a cross America train adventure in my near future.  

The wanderlust that I am, I have to fit as many destinations in one trip as possible.  So before going to D.C., we headed to Baltimore's Inner Harbour, a short light rail ride away for less than $2/person.  Often praised as a model for post industrial redevelopment, this historic harbor is hodgepodge of attractions, restaurants, and museums that's ideal for exploring on foot.

We walked for 30 minutes around the area and ended up in Fell's Point, a lovely historic town established in 1730 with narrow side walks and red brick homes where locals and tourist alike hung out at restaurants and pubs.  Edgar Allan Poe's last stop was here at The Horse You Came In On, America's oldest continuously operated saloon.  Poe was found dead outside.   We came here specifically for Thames Street Oyster House for the lobster roll and crab cakes.  My husband took the photo below, bit into the lobster roll and then felt compel to take his phone out again to take another photo because it was so good. 

$24 for the lobster roll, but definite worth it.

$15 crab cake sandwich, a must have when in Maryland.

Two happy tummies later, we rushed back to the Amtrak station to catch the train to D.C. to spend our week.

After work each day, we did all the touristy things, visited all the monuments and historically significant sites.  D.C. is easily accessible via the Metro, by foot, or bike.  We walked 10 miles some days and biked everywhere using the bike share system, $8 for a day pass + additional fee for each hour used.  Washington D.C. architectural style pays homage to the Rome, it's like walking in a Roman city if it were still intact today.  For museum lovers, it's the place to be, since most major museums and attractions are free. 

Martin Luther King Memorial

The Supreme Court

Sample of the architecture.

The popular Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument.

Got caught in the rain walking back. I LOVE rain.

I've been to D.C. a few times but appreciated it more this time because my coworker lived in the area and gave us a more intimate tour of the area.  The Wharf specifically rocked my world.  Here you will find fresh seafood for cheap.  My favorite meal is to head over to Jessie Taylor to get a few dozen fresh blue crabs, they then carry it across to the other side and steamed it with some Old Bay seasoning on the spot for FREE.  We paid only $25 for 2.5 dozens of fresh crab.  Pro tip: flirt with the guys and you'l get at least 3 dozens for the same price.   

We also made a quick trip to the historic port of Annapolis, Maryland right on the Chesapeake Bay.  I felt in love with its European-like charm, laid back atmosphere, and the sail boats gliding in the wind. 

As the week neared the end and the long weekend loomed ahead, I convinced my husband (he used the word "tricked") to take a trip to New York, promising to keep it as cheap as possible. It was a big victory for me since his fear of robbery, alien invasions and super hero show-downs kept him from wanting to visit New York.

To keep it as cheap as possible, I booked us tickets on Ilikebus.com for $20/each.  The website is a travel agent of sort for Chinese-owned bus companies, offering cheap travel along the East and West coast of the U.S.  Pick up and drop off locations are usually located in a Chinatown or in smaller cities, an Asian grocery store.  This is our bus and this is the shady looking office where we checked in:

Bus stop 

Our Chinese Bus

We sent several messages to friends notifying them to look for us if we don’t come back.

It wasn't luxurious travel, but it's wasn't bad either.  The seats were uncomfortable but the bus is clean and spacious.  It's the way to go if you're looking for cheap transportation (Bolt Bus, Megabus, Greyhound and Peter Pan are other options).  The highlight of our ride was our traveling companion, the parakeet.  She perched on the shoulder of her owner the entire time, squawking away periodically and her owner shushed her every time she did.  This went on for the entire 5 hour ride to NYC.  I regret not taking a photo.

We made it to New York in one piece.  We scored this awesome hotel for $105/night a few blocks from Times Square and the Rockefeller Center, making everything easily accessible by foot so we saved on transportation.

Photo source: The Roosevelt Hotel

New York in short for me was: big, loud, delicious, exciting, electrifying.  My husband’s description: SCARY, a cab driver almost ran him over within the first hour in NY.  To make up for his near death experience, I found some amazing places for him to eat:

Sushi burrito from Pokeworks

Long line for cookies at Levain Bakery

Large Levain chocolate chip cookie 

Rolled ice cream from I CE NY

Baos from Baohaus (Owner is Eddie Huang from Fresh Off the Boat)

Delicious $1/slice pizza from 2 Bros Pizza

Awesome Ramen from Ippudo

We saw some cool stuff:

Central Park

NY skyline

9/11 Memorial

Grand Central Station

Saw Rachel Platten in concert for free at the Today show

Times Square

John Lennon Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park

And hung out with some New Yorker friends:

Friend not pictured only the macaron she bought us

We ended our adventure with a 12 hour bus ride home for $70 on another Chinese Bus.  We left New York with this image fading in the background.

Here's a video highlighting our trip.  Photos and Video Credit: Frank B.

https://goo.gl/photos/r9N52kLUy816HiRh9

Budget Travel Tips: The Hotel Hustle

1.  Compare Airfare
2.  Smart Car Rental
3.  Hotel Hustle

I’ve stayed in some shady (I am actually thinking of another "s" word that’s less appropriate) places in the past to save money.  An example, I stayed in a room in Hanoi, Vietnam where I can almost touch the walls by stretching out my arms.  We shared the showers and flushed the toilet using a string attached to a broken handle, which was perpetually damp.  And when we checked in, the resident rat scurried across the room as a way of welcoming us.  The upside, we paid $4/night for it.  Here’s what the room looked like.

$4 a night hotel in Ha Noi, Viet Nam circa 2010

Now that I’m a little older and have been spoiled a bit by some nicer options, it’s harder to go back to the rough and tough days.  I’ve increased my hotel spending limit to above the $4 range and upgraded to the rat free option.  Surprisingly, it’s not hard to find great hotels for very good prices if you are willing to do some digging and to be a little adventurous.  

Here are a few of my favorite ways to get great rates on hotels at reasonable rates.  My main criteria for a good hotel: great location, clean facilities, and $100 range.    
   

Use Hotelcoupons.com. There’s no easy way to book cheap hotels, you just have to look around and compare prices.  But the easiest way for me is to go to hotelcoupons.com.  The site shows me a list of hotels in the area that offers walk-in rates and special discounts, many times 50% cheaper. You risk not having a hotel room if there’s no availability that day.  But this works especially well in smaller cities, in off holiday season and if several hotels in the same area are offering the same discounts (giving you more options if your first choice has no availability). You can also call ahead or check on their website first to gage if they have enough availability.  On a weekend trip to Columbus, we saved 65% on a very nice hotel room.

Try non-traditional hotels.  Hostels, state parks, home stays, bed and breakfast offer some really great rates and a one of a kind travel experience.  Hostels are great for super budget/single travelers and a great way to meet other travel enthusiasts.  They offer dorm style beds for as low as $10-$20/night, though you'll have to share bathroom facilities.  Hostels also offer private ensuite, we paid around $50 - $60 for nice private hostel rooms in Europe (try: Hostels, Hostel World, Hostelling International).  Home stays are fun as well.  I did a home stay in Bali and loved living in a traditional housing compound completed with a temple and roosters for alarm clocks (try: Airbnb and read guide books for your specific destinations).  The weirdest thing I've booked yet, a pod hotel in Japan for $40/night (surprising spacious and comfortable, even for our 6 ft + friend).

A pod hotel in Kyoto

Check out Apartments, vacation homes, and condos.  These are great for a large group.  You save by splitting the cost and using the cooking facilities to save on food (try: Airbnb, Flipkey, Homeaway, VRBO).  You'll get the home away from home experience.

Take advantage of your memberships.  A lot of hotels offer special rates for AAA, AARP, seniors, and military members.  So always keep an eye out for these options when booking a hotel.

Sign up for hotel membership.  You can earn points as well as perks if you sign up for a membership at chain hotels.  On a business trip to St. Louis, I got upgraded to a larger room, free water bottles and checked in earlier than the rest of my party because I was a preferred member.  Memberships are free and just require a few minutes to sign up. Hilton and Marriott both offer free internet for members.

Grab a mystery hotels.  This is my favorite new way to save on hotel.  Priceline has the Express Deals where you can save 50% or more on your hotel.  The catch, you won't know the name of the hotel until after you pay and it's nonrefundable.  They do provide you a general area on a map, a list of amenities and customer ratings.  My tip, make sure it's in a good location, choose only hotels with 4+ star ratings and at least 40% savings.  I did it for the first time on a recent NYC trip and scored a $224/night hotel for only $105 in an amazing location a few blocks away from Times Square and Rockefeller Center.  Hotwire also offer the same mystery hotel options on their Hot Rate hotels.  

Our $105/night hotel in NYC. Source

Bundle.  Booking hotels with car or flights in a package can save you some major bucks.  I usually end up getting free car rental or paying as little as $9/day for car rental.  My hotel rate also end up being lower. Just choose the package option when using aggregate sites like Expedia and Travelocity.   These sites now also allow you to book your flights first and come back within a certain time frame to book your hotel at a discounted rate. 

Give up your amenities.  I've stayed at some fancy hotels ($400+/night) and found that the main draw is the amenities.  While nice, I never have time to enjoy them.  I want to be out exploring as much as possible and come back to the hotel to rest at night.  Choosing a cheaper hotel with less amenities can mean big savings.  Also, the more expensive hotels rarely offer free breakfast, parking, computer usage, which can add up. 

Expand your search area. If you can't find a great rate in your area of choice, consider looking beyond that area. Sometimes, driving an additional 15 minutes out or taking a subway in can save you a lot of money.  For example, last week I couldn't find any cheap hotels in the D.C. area, I found a hotel across the bridge in Arlington for $100/night (which was nicer than my $400/night hotel).  It was just a short subway ride away.

Research Obsessively.  I always compare prices from different hotels using aggregate sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity and ALWAYS read customers reviews.  My go to is Tripadvisor to read reviews from other travelers on hotels, tours, restaurants, etc. before finalizing my purchase.  That hotel might look shiny and new on the outside, but only people who’ve stayed there can give you insight on the service, facility conditions, things to do around the area, etc.  Take overly negative and positive reviews with a grain of salt, read a few reviews and look at the overall ratings to make up your own mind.

Free Rides All Day On Your Next Travel Adventure

I'm always looking for ways to save when traveling.  Mainly because in order to go on more trips, I have to convince my husband that I will not bankrupt us!  We went on a trip to Fort Lauderdale a few weeks back and found a way for people to chauffeur us around the city for FREE for the whole day (Thanks to Alex for the tip!).  We started from the cruise port and got a free ride to a restaurant for lunch, then onto historic Las Olas Blvd to catch a water taxi tour and finally to the airport.  We didn't have to rent a car or navigate the crazy city with its even crazier drivers.  A local driver did all the driving for us.

For Lauderdale Beach

If you are traveling this summer and want to get in on this particular saving, you'll have to willingly participate in a pyramid scheme.  But hear me out, it works to your advantage.

You've probably heard of a little something called Uber.  Uber is a ride sharing service operating in 471 cities world wide that allows you to easily find a ride, get an estimate on the cost of your ride upfront and pay, all via an app.  It's a taxi service for a technology crazed world.

You can take advantage of Uber's first time user promotion to get a free ride, up to $22 in value.  You can continue to get free rides by referring friends to use Uber.  You'll get $20 for every person that use your link to sign up and use Uber for the first time.

So to to start getting a free ride on your next trip:

• Download the Uber app or use my link and follow instructions to set up your account.
• When you're ready for a ride, enter your pick up location and destination.  You'll be able to see which Uber drivers are near by and estimated time of arrival.

The cars represent nearby Uber drivers.

• Click on Fare Estimate to see the cost of your trip.
  
• Enter Promo Code "FEELING22" to get a free ride, up to $22 in value (expires 1/1/2017) or if you want to give me free rides use "thaot856ue" and get $20 off your ride and I'll get $20.  I promise this blog entry is not self serving!
• Confirm payment and pick up.

Pretty simple!  While you wait, you can track your driver's location and the time of arrival.  It'll also give you the model of the car so you'll know what to look out for (there's no Uber signage on the car). 

So what's the ride like?: It's very much like a taxi but the drivers are people like you and me.  Some drive full time, others just want to make some extra cash on the side.  Uber takes a percentage of what the driver makes. All drivers undergo an application process and background checks.  Our drivers were very friendly.  

Tipping policy?: The Uber experience is completely cashless, no money exchange hands (it's all via the app).  Tipping is not included in the fare and voluntary.  According to Uber's policy, tipping is neither expected or required. 

Will Uber driver get the money with this promotion?: The ride is free for you but the Uber driver still gets the money due to them. So don't feel bad!

What does the $22 off really mean?: You'll get to use that only once.  So even if your ride is only $15, the entire value of $22 will be used.  

To make the most of your free ride, get all your friends traveling with you in on it.  We got free rides all day in Fort Lauderdale because this happened:

• Husband's cousin | sent referral link, used by husband, so cousin = $10 referral bonus
• Husband | first time user =  $20 off first ride 
• Husband | sent referral link, used by me and my sister, so husband got $20 (1st referral) + $10 (2nd referral) = $30 referral bonus
• Me | first time user = $20 off first ride
• My sister | first time user = $20 off first ride
• Total savings: $100 or around 6 free rides.

Want another way to save?  Lyft, the rival ride sharing app is offering $50 off to first time users, you can find the information here.  I haven't tested out that promotion yet, but will try that on my next trip.  We used a Lyft service in Charlotte last year and had a pleasant experience.  Lyft is easily identifiable by the a pink mustache placed in the front bumper of the car.

Happy traveling friends!

Louisville Restaurants on National TV Shows

Andrew Zimmern with Bizarre Foods at Morris' Deli on Taylorsville Rd. Source.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is finding great places to eat.  Back when we used to binge watch a lot of Diners, Dive Ins and Dives, Man vs. Food and Bizarre Foods, we usually end up checking out at least one restaurant featured on these shows.  We found some great places to eat that way and it's fun to try them out in person.

So when a few friends came to visit from San Francisco this week, I started thinking about restaurants in Louisville that made the national spotlight via popular travel and food network shows to share with them.  I knew we had some but was surprised that we have so many!  Most of these restaurants deserve the spotlight, others...you'll have to make your own judgement.

I've compiled a list of restaurants in Louisville featured on some national shows, linking videos whenever possible.  For the rest, I included the episode information so you can watch on your favorite outlet.  These will make for a fun adventure around the town and will delight your next out of town guests.

Best Bars in America

• The Old Seelbach | S2 Ep3: Louisville
• Garage Bar | S2 Ep3: Louisville
• Haymarket Whiskey Bar | S2 Ep3: Louisville
• Holy Grale | S2 Ep3: Louisville
• Rye | S2 Ep3: Louisville
• Joe's Older Than Dirt | S2 Ep10: Bar Games
• The Brown Hotel Lobby Bar | S2 Ep7: Booze and Food
• Four Roses Distillery

Best Thing I Ever Taste

• Cake Flour | S4 Ep6: Cake Walk 

Bite This | S1 Ep9: Louisville

• Harvest 
• Eiderdown 
• Milkwood 

Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations | S3 Ep19, start at minute 20:54

• The Brown Hotel  (full video)
• Against the Grain
• Old Hickory Pit BBQ
• Kern's Kitchen Derby Pie
• The Hungry Pelican
• Morris' Deli

Bizarre Foods America With Andrew Zimmern | S10 Ep7: Louisville, Bourbon and Burgoo

• Wagner's Pharmacy 
• Flavorman 
• Proof on Main
• 610 Magnolia
• Bourbon Barrel Foods
• Morris' Deli
• Garage Bar 

Burgers, Brew and 'Que

• Cresent Hill Craft House | S2 Ep4: Spiced Salty Succulent (start minute 9:20)
• Game | S2 Ep13: Meat Fix four Ways
• Mussel & Burger Bar | Se2 Ep6: Taste of the Tropics 

Eat Street

• Grind | S4 Ep13: Carte Blanche
  Moza Pi |  S4 Ep5: Aloha Portland
  Lil Cheezers | Season 4 Episode 6: Some of This, Some of That

Drinking Made Easy | S3 Ep4

• The Old Seelbach
• Bluegrass Brewing Company
• The Belle of Louisville
• Jockey Silks Bourbon Bar
• Buck's Restaurant and Bar
• The Bar at Blu

Food Paradise

• The Derby Cafe | S5 Ep5: Sandwich Paradise 3  
• Claudia Sanders House | S4 Ep15: Fried Chicken Paradise

Man v. Food Nation

• The Brown Hotel | S4 Ep10: Louisville, KY
• The Comfy Cow | S4 Ep0: Louisville, KY
  Other photos and videos here 

Restaurant Impossible

• The Coach Lamp | S7 Ep4 (CLOSED but still fun to watch!)

Southern Fried Road Trip

• The Cafe | S1 Ep6: Horsing Around in Kentucky
• Smoketown USA | S1 Ep6: Horsing Around in Kentucky

Throw Down with Bobby Flay 

• Hot Brown | S2 Ep13 

Other Spotlights

• Adam Richman's Fandemonium | S1 Ep6 - Horsing Around, Kentucky Style
• Rachel Ray : Super Chefs
• Zagat Next Hot Food Cities #7 Louisville
• Andrew Zimmer's Top 5 Louisville 
• Diner, Drive-ins and Dives (other Kentucky cities)
• The Mind of a Chef | S3 Ep1 to 8 - Chef Ed Lee (narrated by Anthony Bourdain)

For a complete list of restaurants featured on tv outside of Louisville and in other states, check out www.tvfoodmaps.com.