Soupy's, You've Got to Go

2 outside dining tables

cup of chicken and dumplings

I haven't eaten at fast food chains in years, so when I travel to Louisville, KY, Soupy's is my lunch stop just about every time. Danny, the owner, knows it's me when I place my order because I don't think I've changed it much in the 5 years I've been stopping by.

I drive into McMahan Plaza, take a right in front of Soupy's, turn left to go behind the building to the drive-through menu board. Either Danny or the other nice lady greets me and asks for my order which goes something like this, "I'll take a GardenBurger veggie burger on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and mayonnaise. Annnndddd, I'll take a cup of chicken and dumplings. I only pause to consider the veggie vegetable, but then I end up ordering the best chicken and dumplings in the city.

No joke, Danny makes the soups there on-site. For a few years, he contracted with a big commercial operation to prepare the soups for him, but whent he quality slipped, he went back to making them himself. We complained a few times a while back about crunchy potatoes in the veggie vegetable (hubbies fav.), and thin broth in the c&d. But, they are back to soupy perfection. The dumplings are little pillows of goodness in a chickeny, slightly-thickened broth with large shreds of white meat chicken. It is all I can do not to order a bowl of soup along with my burger. Oh, and you can also order large quantities (quarts) of soup to take home.

The veggie burger is prepared at the time of ordering, no lanquishing under a heat lamp. The bun is soft, wheaty, and fresh tasting. The burger is perfectly cooked. If you eat veggie patties, you know that the edges can become chewy when over-cooked. The entire burger is a fresh tasting delight.

The next time you are looking for lunch in Louisville, KY, consider Soupy's. If you are driving to the mall on the Watterson Expressway, take Breckinridge Lane, South. At the light at Taylorsville Road, go through it, and the next intersection. By this time, you can see the marquee for McMahan Plaza. Turn left at the light into the main plaza entrance. You can't miss Soupy's. It is a flesh-colored box building with a huge green awning and a large yellow patterned sign with Soupy's in big red letters.

David always teases Danny, "when are you going to open a Soupy's in E'town"? I'm glad he hasn't because this gives me an excuse not only to go to Soupy's, but to go shopping in Louisville. Might as well since I'm up here, right?

Lilly's Bistro

Apologies for absolutely no pictures of Friday nights' dinner. I loaded the camera with a new card, thought about pictures all day, skimmed through my new book, 'Digital Food Photography', and still, nothing. I apologize.
Moving on, the food was amazing. My appetizer was a tapas with a little pork burger, lamb skewer, and a chunk of battered rabbit. It was delicious. The salad was a grilled Caesar with calamari. The charred bits of romaine were so tasty that I ate all the grilled bits first. The calamari had a bare bit of crunchy batter which perfectly accented their tenderness. The tiniest tentacles I had ever seen were almost too cute to eat, but I did. Then, the entree was the "God Bless Our Farmers" plate. Mushrooms were encased in tender pasta tubes topped with micro greens. They were laying on top of a cauliflower puree that was so flavorful I ate all of it first. The dessert was chocolate lava cake in a pool of caramel. Delicious, but the only off-note of the evening was the caramel which was grainy.
Kathy Cary stopped by and said hello which totally made my night. Please go look at the restaurant's website, www.lillyslapeche.com. I think you will be impressed by the beautiful food photography and all the good things she is doing not only at the restaurant, but in the community too.