Louisville Blues and BBQ

While many Louisvillians checked out the Forecastle Festival at the Waterfront, others headed Eastward on River Road toward the Water Tower to the annual Blues and Barbecue Festival. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the Blues and Barbecue Festival hosted bands, The Predators, Big James & The Chicago Playboys, Davis Coen, Stella Vees, and a Louisville favorite, The Stray Cats Blues Band.  Barbeque was provided by Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot and The Q.  The menu consisted of regional barbeque staples including ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and my favorite, roasted corn.  

I brought a couple of folding chairs to sit on and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells. The crowd is delightfully diverse, and the mood is laid back.  If you are looking for a night out to relax and listen to some good music, eat some good food, or let off some steam with some dancing, it’s a great event to attend. 

All this talk about Barbeque got me thinking about a trip my husband and I went on recently.  We left our Louisville Home, flew to Texas, rented a car and drove to New Orleans and then through Memphis to get back home to Louisville.  We sampled the best food each city had to offer.  In New Orleans we sucked the heads of crawfish and ate alligator gumbo.  We had to go to Café Du Monde for chicory and beignets and then to a proper Commanders Palace feast. We were in Heaven.  What I found most interesting though, was our barbeque trek. We had Texas barbecue in Houston, and then did a barbeque walk through Memphis comparing all the popular and not so popular spots. Comparing Memphis’ own barbeque places to each other, and then Memphis to Texas, and then Memphis and Texas to Kentucky, I was dizzy with barbeque on the brain.  I was learning just how competitive and personal an art form barbeque could be. With every bite I took, I was spellbound with how complex the flavors could get and how different each rub or sauce could be.  

Here in Louisville we have an unbelievable amount of successful and delicious barbecue joints.  I live in the Highlands and in just a short distance from my house there is Marks Feed Store, Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, Hammerheads, and Smoketown USA.  If I want to go just a little but further I can go to Doc Crows, The Smokehouse, and Jucy’s Barbecue, and that’s not even all of them!  Barbecuing is a delicious American tradition, that almost everyone has an opinion on. Louisville’s Barbeque scene is growing, and I’m happy to be the one to taste and compare each new place.

From our favorite guest blogger Ilyse McCormick 

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