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Just try to resist the honky-tonk, country-fried charms of this Cincinnati-based eatdrinkery. It had us at whole-bird fried chicken—which you may drizzle with spicy honey and pair with mashed potatoes drenched in white gravy or sweet-corn spoonbread, if you like. We’re smitten with the wildly embellished Bloody Marys and the mini cast-iron skillets. Lunch and dinner daily. Read more...
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The concoctions at this scruffy-chic bar are solid, generally brown, and unapologetically boozy. The food gives gloppy Southern standards some inspired tweaks, as in cheddar-grit fries with maple-bourbon aioli, pimento cheese galore, and the menu’s contribution to the Hoosier hipster canon: dense, powdery biscuits and duck gravy topped with a fried egg. Read more...
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You’ll find plenty of Hoosiers standing in line at this Louisville-based chain, hungry for crispy, Nashville-style hot chicken finished in spicy, chili-infused oil. Diners choose from six intensity levels, from Southern Fried (no heat), to Fire in da Hole (no joke). Take the “no joke” admonition seriously: It’s for masochists only. Lunch and dinner daily. Read more...
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If fried potatoes, salmon croquettes, and cooked cabbage were staples on your family’s dinner table growing up, you‘ll feel right at home here. The challenge is choosing just one thing to order, whether that be the restaurant’s namesake dish (three wings atop a waffle with a scoop of peach butter), a plate of battered catfish, or the biggest chicken-breast sandwich Read more...
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The name combines the original location (Louisville) and all things wine (vino), so you can expect Southern-inspired comfort food and fermented grapes aplenty (more than 70 wines available by the glass). Duck fat frites arrive in a Mason jar, crisp and salty, perfect vessels for the rich white-truffle aioli on the side. Skip the fried-chicken tacos, and instead go for Read more...
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Near-southsiders have a soft spot for the dusky joint on the edge of downtown that once housed a local favorite, The Ice House. The neon-lit honky-tonk bar took on a menu of smoked meats, a fully dressed fried tenderloin, and no-nonsense bar drinks (save a nightly creation extruded from the slushy machine) befitting its blue-collar backstory. Lunch and dinner Mon.–Fri., Read more...