Logical Conclusion: There are a lot of local restaurants in Louisville. There are a lot of hipsters in Louisville. There are a lot of hipster restaurants in Louisville.
I was talking with two of my friends the other day, Sarah Cooke and Michelle Miller (both great foodie last names), and we got to talking about the various hipster restaurants around town. As we discussed, we observed that there are more of these establishments than we originally had thought. We also observed that they are not confined to one area of town, allowing hipsters (and fans of good food) to be free to live and work where they want in Possibility City. I know I'm probably missing some solid hipster places in this post (and missing obscure places makes me less hip), but here are some observations.
In discussing these restaurants, I'd like to start in what may be one of the epicenters of hipsterhood, Germantown/Schnitzelburg. You can go with Eiderdown to get some higher-scale eclectic German foods or head over to Four Pegs, where you can order some chicken and waffles (what I like to call Southern hipster cuisine), a wrap, or a good old fashion burger while you listen to Weezer's Blue Album.
Not far away is Hammerheads, where your cool factor rises greatly as you descend into the basement. What I appreciate most about Hammerheads is that it proves that not all hipsters are vegetarians, vegans, or pescetarians. We can all breathe a little easier knowing that hipsters can eat a diet of smoked meats and french fries drenched in various oils and yet still fit into skinny jeans.
Heading to the NuLu, we have multiple places to go where thick-rimmed glasses are welcome. The entire area boasts of Kentucky Proud products, giving us local farm food in an urban atmosphere. Sophisticated names like Rye, Decca, Feast, Grind, Harvest, or Royals Hot Chicken line the district. If feeling more athletic (wanting to burn off calories from those craft beers), one can rock out his or her sports plaid for some outdoor ping pong at the Garage Bar.
The Avenue (those of you with sense will know it as Frankfort Avenue) has put up a lot of good eats in the last few years. If you want to feel country hip, head toward the Silver Dollar where food is served up in a remodeled fire house. If you want to feel more originally hip, go the short distance down to El Mundo (Spanish for The Mundo).
On the B-Town, vintage shoe-wearing hipsters are free to roam to any restaurant of their choosing. I like to think of it as an area for Free Range Hipsters. One can get gourmet Mexican food at El Camino, snag a pizza at Tony Boombozz (or Za's or Wick's or Impellizzeri's), or get happily overwhelmed by the choices at Ramsi's Cafe on the World.
J-Town, an area not historically lined with hipsters, has given us the Mussel and Burger Bar. The servers may not be dressed in the traditional garb of the mid to late hipster eras, but the menu consists of duck fat (immediate sign of hipness), pretzel buns, and local, grass-fed beef. All of which do fine getting stuck in the beard.
Even if we aren't all hipsters, we can all enjoy some good hipster food (which is expanding at a rapid rate). However, wherever you go, just make sure to go by bike to stay green and hip.
Matt Gatewood
REALTOR
Keller Williams Louisville East
502-594-6582
