starters | staff picks
StaffPicks At Food & Dining we are often asked: “What is your favorite dish?” We have the pleasure of covering one of the most robust restaurant cities in all of America with more than 1,200 restaurants at last count. It’s like asking Mother Goose’s “the old woman in a shoe” who her favorite child is. We decided to focus on four dishes that everyone eats at least occasionally, and almost everyone has an opinion about. Not fancy preparations or exotic ingredients, but those standard dishes we can all relate to, and debate about: a good bar burger, chicken wings, a fried fish sandwich and a Hot Brown. The Food & Dining staff got together, tossed around their ideas and, after some lively debate, came up with our choices for these four dishes. Let’s see how they stack up against your list. BY JOHN CARLOS WHITE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN DRY
BEST BAR BURGER
Kern’s Korner 2600 Bardstown Rd Louisville, KY 502.456.9726
18 Spring 2017 www.foodanddine.com
The Best Bar Burger America has a love affair with the burger. It can be found on more restaurant menus than anything else. You can find a burger anywhere from top fine-dining spots to Chinese restaurants. There are numerous restaurants dedicated to the burger. In F&D’s guide we list 24 restaurants with a form of burger in their name. Chefs have taken the simple burger and elevated it to new heights with an array of world-class ingredients. Last year, for example, the Butchertown Grocery introduced a $50 burger with five-year-old prosciutto, shaved black truffle and foie gras. But our goal this issue was to find the best bar burger — a simple burger around $5-$6 with a beef patty and a nice slice of cheese with simple toppings. Our choice is the cheeseburger ($6) from Kern’s Korner, 2600 Bardstown Road. Of all the dishes we selected for this column, the burger inspired the mostly lively debate. While still researching our pick, I invited Chef