LEO Weekly Nov. 11, 2020

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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Go to leoweekly.com/web to read Al Cross’ op-ed “Voters whip Kentucky Democrats with a Trump lash” — an analysis of the election. “Democrats didn’t just lose seats opened up by retirement of their members who didn’t like being in a powerless minority, they lost several of their incumbents and failed to oust Republican incumbents in suburban districts that Beshear had carried in his election a year ago. It was a blowout.”

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ON: AL CROSS, VOTERS WHIP KENTUCKY DEMOCRATS WITH TRUMP LASH

Louisville and Lexington need to secede and become Louxington. Let’s see how the rest of the state fares without massive subsidization from urban areas, otherwise known as socialism. Just take the golden triangle away and KY would be the poorest state in the Union. —Stu Noland

ON: BARDSTOWN ROAD GOES TO ONE LANE BOTH DIRECTIONS Who does this, albeit good looking, city councilman think he is?

— Ryan Rogers, [Royals Hot Chicken]

Ryan Rogers, Highlands residents want safer streets and hotter chicken. —[District 8 Metro Councilman] S Brandon Coan Ryan Rogers, meanwhile half the city has 3-foot potholes everywhere, and half the streetlights don’t work, but let’s keep dumping everything into The Highlands and downtown. —Laine Bandy Next needs to be downtown. Literally no reason Main and Market need four lanes each. Also no need for one way streets either. Louisville is behind New Albany at this point in realizing and fixing those ‘50s and ‘60s mistakes. —Ryan Leonard Ryan Leonard — Ryan knows what’s up. Spot on, sir. —Ben Botkins Why? This was the best road design idea in the country!

—Rose C. LaChance

LOCAL MUSIC STAGES STRUGGLING | PAGE 25

PROTESTERS IN ARMS

WHY SO MANY CARrY AT THE PROTESTS

READ ON PAGE 16

So much better at Eastern Parkway now. —Mo Imam

LOUISVILLE ECCENTRIC OBSERVER

Volume 30 | Number 49 974 BRECKENRIDGE LANE #170. LOUISVILLE KY 40207 PHONE (502) 895-9770 FAX (502) 895-9779 FOUNDER

John Yarmuth EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Aaron Yarmuth, ayarmuth@leoweekly.com PUBLISHER

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The LEO Weekly is printed on recycled newsprint with soy-based ink.

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Joe DeSensi, Robin Garr, Chris Kolb, T.E. Lyons, Writer Illustrations by Yoko Molotov

It is a step in the right direction! Way before the ‘90s, Bardstown Road became the main highway for residents traveling to work downtown from their homes in the suburbs. This change will encourage people to drive more slowly and less dangerously. Maybe speeding and switching lanes at the last second will be a thing of the past! The main thing now is to find a way to encourage bikes to use Bardstown Road. It looks like they haven’t done anything to address that issue! —Gary Liebert

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They needed to make it 24-hour parking because the tow-in lot is full, so instead of having to tow off cars blocking the road, now they can just leave the abandoned cars there forever. —Erikah Awliver It was slow going driving through the new lanes today. Max ~25 mph. I guess that was that was part of the point, but for someone who uses this for a daily commute, it sucks. I live in this neighborhood and can navigate it safely; other routes add extra miles to my travel. It’s not the end of the world — just frustrating. —Ryan Combs

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Roseanne Johnson Southard, paint is cheap. Pavement is expensive.

So are accidents. —John Mahorney How it works for me is that we lost all street parking, and there is a bus stop now in front of the entrance to our business. —Jason Shepherd

LEO Weekly is published weekly by LEO Weekly LLC. Copyright LEO Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Publisher. LEO Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express permission of LEO Weekly LLC. LEO Weekly may be distributed only by authorized independent contractors or authorized distributors. Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) is a trademark of LEO Weekly LLC.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Jason Shepherd, I lost all the street parking in front of the bar. It looks like I’m closed even when I’m packed. I feel ya. —Rick Wessling

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

THE PROCESS tells you everything you need to know about the new Fraternal Order of Police contract with the city, approved by Louisville Metro Council last week.

Politicians flock to cameras to announce something positive: big-dollar projects, ribboncuttings, bill-signing ceremonies.

The opposite is true of less-popular or morecontroversial initiatives and votes.

So, of course, the council scheduled votes on the new Fraternal Order of Police contract for the first week of November. What else could have been going on more important than streaming Metro Council meetings?

On the eve of the election, the Labor and Economic Development Committee passed the FOP contract by a 6-4 vote, which then passed the full Council three days later by a 16-10 vote.

That is all we need to know about how popular this agreement would be with a community marching for reforms to its police department: The Council knew it was only going to enrage those feeling the oppression of injustice, and they passed it anyway.

Police accountability?

How about an 8% raise in base salary, instead.

How about a stipend to live in certain areas of the community.

There are legitimate reasons for adopting these changes. The department does need to improve recruitment and be competitive enough to hire quality officers. But, these raises can’t come without concurring reforms demanded by citizens, council members, and which were promised by the Mayor Fischer.

Many around the city have demanded that the officers involved in killing Breonna Taylor be fired. Fischer hid behind the old FOP contract as the reason he cannot fire the officers, but reassured us: “If I could change anything, I would,” he announced to justice protesters the first week of June.

This new collective bargaining agreement proves that wasn’t true — Fischer wouldn’t “change anything” given the opportunity — this was the opportunity, and city negotiators didn’t push for this or many of the reforms that were announced along with the Breonna Taylor settlement.

One of the city’s top negotiators actually testified before the labor committee that he (the city) wanted to be fair to police officers who haven’t had a wage increase that kept up with the cost of living in over two years.

“It felt necessary because the men and

women of the police department, the officers and sergeants, had been well over two years without what we call a ‘COLA,’ cost of living wage increase, while many other employees under negotiated contracts had received them. And we didn’t want to hold up that process any longer, to be fair to them,” said Mike Carrell, a labor contract negotiator and author who served five terms as city alderman in the late-1980s (now at Northern Kentucky University).

If he’s negotiating on behalf of the city, what’s the other side arguing about?

Police deserve a livable wage — there is no debate about that — but so do a lot of people.

And, only the police have qualified immunity for killing someone while on the clock.

Interim-police Chief Yvette Gentry told the council committee that police policies are not included within collective bargaining agreements.

Carrell said they aren’t normally done in these agreements, but could be.

No, they should be.

Council Member Keisha Dorsey argued that this half-measure agreement will only inflame the public.

She’s right: Anything good about this agreement is overshadowed by the missing reforms, and undertaking something so critical to this community, at this juncture, without public engagement is reason enough to oppose it.

This is why she appealed to David Yates, chair of the labor committee, to hold special public hearing on the contract agreement, as well as a publish a public education document outlining what this contract does, what the Council can and can’t do, and what needs to be done at the state level to allow incorporating the remaining reforms the city is clamoring for.

But, apparently, that was too much to ask.

Then again, perhaps the majority of the Council didn’t want the public’s engagement.

It’s a short-term agreement that expires at the end of June 2021.

Negotiations on a new, long-term deal are set to begin before the end of January, presumably after a new, full-time chief of police is hired and a top-to-bottom department review is completed.

Perhaps then, the Council will involve the public on a scale that Dorsey and others are demanding.

Don’t be surprised, however, if Fischer and council leadership decide to pass a long-term contract while most of the city isn’t looking.

If this deal is any indication, they’ll be voting on it the first Saturday in May. •

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

DISBAND STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

By Chris Kolb | leo@leoweekly.com

AFTER THE ANNIHILATION of Kentucky Democrats in last week’s election, we will inevitably hear that the state party has some “soul searching” to do. There’s only one problem: You can’t engage in soul searching if there’s no soul to search.

No one has any idea what Democrats stand for. Democrats don’t seem to be fighting for anything in particular. Democrats offer no vision of a better Kentucky. But according to the Democrats, it’s always the voters who fail them as opposed to the other way around.

An organization this ineffectual and obtuse cannot be salvaged. The Kentucky Democratic Party should simply disband, and anyone who cares about our state should line up to give their money and volunteer time to state Rep. Attica Scott, state Rep. Charles Booker and anyone they invite to work with them to build a truly grassroots organization. Wealthy Democrats should write them blank checks with no strings attached.

Some may see this as overly idealistic, but in reality it’s the most practical strategy. Don’t buy it? Then please explain how Booker came within a few points of McGrath despite being outspent almost 10 to 1. Please explain how a socialist almost won the 2016 Kentucky presidential primary. Please explain how anyone could do worse than losing three-fourths of the state House and state Senate, being demolished in five of six statewide races in 2019 and only winning the governor’s office by 0.37% because Matt Bevin was loathed within his own party, insulted teachers and 2% of voters chose the Libertarian candidate.

Scott and Booker have proven that there is a strong appetite for working-class solidarity.

“From the hood to the holler,” as Booker’s mantra goes. While Democrats chase the mythical political center, support for allegedly leftist policies is strong across party lines. A recent Fox News analysis of voters revealed that 72% support changing to a government-run healthcare plan, 72% believe undocumented immigrants should have a pathway to citizenship, 71% believe abortion rights established under Roe v.

Wade should remain and 78% believe racism is a serious problem.

While Florida’s electoral votes went to Trump, voters there approved a $15 minimum wage. (Remember when Louisville’s Democratic mayor said $10.10 was too high?) As of Tuesday, 15 states have legalized recreational marijuana.

This includes South Dakota, where Republicans control every elected office and Trump won by 30 points. Moreover, throughout the Democratic primary, voters consistently held the most positive view of Bernie Sanders compared to other

candidates, and Sanders is still the nation’s most popular senator. Sanders even went into the lion’s den of a Fox News town hall and won over the audience with his “far-left” positions.

What should really scare the hell out of Democrats though is that Trump just won the highest percentage of non-white votes of any Republican presidential candidate since 1960.

Despite being the most openly racist president since the Reconstruction era, Trump actually improved his performance among non-whites compared to 2016. It seems a safe bet that most of these voters were registering their suspicion or contempt of Joe Biden rather than approval for Trump. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for the Democratic establishment to rescue Biden’s primary campaign off the garbage heap to nominate someone who worked with segregationists to lock up millions of African Americans, who “led the charge” against school integration and who stated that Latinos were not a part of his path to victory.

Despite Trump’s long history of unrepentant misogyny, Biden also lost ground among women of all races. Perhaps many women would have preferred at least one candidate not be accused of serial sexual harassment and assault.

Solely blaming racism for the appeal of extremists like Donald Trump is a lazy position Democrats use to justify their failed strategies.

Both nationally and in Kentucky, the Democratic Party has proven unwilling and incapable of articulating a vision in which ordinary people can find reason to hope and cause to fight. People who vote Republican know very well that the politicians they support are little more than tools the corporate elite use to consolidate their wealth and power. But at least Republicans don’t pretend to be something they’re not. Democrats, on the other hand, seem fundamentally disingenuous, resembling those the Bible speaks of as lukewarm souls of whom God says, “I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The only realistic path forward for the left must begin with embracing the types of universal government programs established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the New Deal. Without providing concrete help for the millions currently suffering and dying due to hunger, homelessness, racism, poverty and a lack of health care, our society will likely fall prey to violent extremism.

While it will be Republicans that light the match, it’ll be Democrats who will have stacked the wood. • Chris Kolb, vice-chair of the Jefferson County Board of Education, has been elected to his second term. He is on Twitter @cmkolb and can be reached at chris@kolbforschoolboard.com.

NEWS & ANALYSIS

YKY DEMOCRATS LOST BIG:

THORNS & ROSES

NOW THEY DIFFER ON FUTURE

st By Danielle Grady n’s

| dgrady@leoweekly.com

STATE DEMOCRATS got thumped. It was a “bloodbath,” a “whoopin’” and a “blowout,” according to political journalists and observers.

The party that once dominated Kentucky lost 13 seats in the state House and two in the Senate — further cementing state Republicans’ supermat jority in the chambers. And, to possibly no one’s surprise, Marine and mom Amy McGrath caved to Senate Majore ity Leader Mitch McConnell — as did i- all Democrats who ran for Congress in ate Kentucky this year, save for U.S. Rep. ockJohn Yarmuth, LEO’s founder and longe time congressman in Louisville. ted Kentucky Democrats LEO interviewed ry. mostly agree that Donald Trump drove nt Kentucky Republicans’ success. (Just en as in 2016, he carried the state and flipped Kentucky assembly seats in the of process.) And, everyone we spoke to conceded that the state’s Democrats must not be communicating their mesn sage effectively across the state. But, they varied on how much of a shake-up tic the party needs. Some Dems suggested another round of post-election reflection. Others had a new proposal: Disple band the party completely and invest in a grassroots strategy and candidates. ls “I just think that we’ve heard that over th and over again that Democrats — whatend ever hackneyed metaphor you want to use or expression — need to look in the mirror, do some soul searching,” said armChris Kolb, a Jefferson County Public f Schools board member who ran for Metro Council as a Democrat in 2016.

“I mean we’ve heard that every election sal cycle I can remember, and it just hasn’t happened.”

State House Minority Floor Leader Joni tly Jenkins, D-Shively, said there’s no need ss, to throw the whole thing out — especially with party reorganization coming m. up. New members will be elected to ch, the Kentucky Democratic Party’s State Central Executive Committee, and the chair and vice chair of the KDP, Ben Self and Cassie Chambers Armstrong nty have said that they are not returning to their positions. n “It’s a good opportunity to evaluate

what worked and what didn’t work,” Jenkins said. “I am looking forward.

And, I don’t really, have never really participated in pointing fingers; let’s just find solutions.”

MURKY MESSAGING

Kolb doesn’t think the Kentucky Democratic Party stands for anything anymore.

There is an outline of a platform on its website: It mentions supporting “quality health care,” high wages, a strong public education system, financial stability for retirees, the right to unionize and infrastructure investment, such as reliable internet in the Appalachian region.

The Kentucky lawmakers we spoke to all said health care, public education, and high wages along with access to a clean environment are issues important to them. But, they don’t think that’s being communicated to the public.

Jenkins said that the message was overrun by Republicans this election who wanted to portray Kentucky Democrats as being for defunding the police, a characterization she says is not accurate for most legislators in the House. “Reimagining” policing and dismantling systemic racism, sure. But not defunding.

“I think Kentucky Democrats tend to be on the more moderate, conservative side of Democrat,” Jenkins said.

“And perhaps we need to come up with a strategy for when the other side is nationalizing these races.”

Al Cross, a longtime Kentucky political reporter and the director for UK’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, said it’s hard to think of anything that will help Kentucky Democrats regain their power in the short-term — even with Trump no longer at the top of the ticket.

“There’s been a steady trend toward Republicanism, driven mainly by social issues,” he said. “Starting with civil rights and going to abortion and the Republican Party’s embrace of that — you know, the Republicans didn’t embrace it right away. And then it moves on to gay

rights and gun issues and so on. The Republican Party has identified itself with the cultural and social values of the majority of Kentucky’s electorate.”

But, Democrats could do something by coming up with “bumper sticker” ways to describe what they stand for.

“Unless you’re able to communicate your philosophy and your beliefs in a succinct way, you’re not going to reach a certain portion of the electorate,” he said.

URBAN-RURAL DIVIDE

Cross doesn’t have much faith in Kentucky Democrats succeeding partly because it is now an urban party, he said.

In the election, it lost its two representatives in Western Kentucky, leaving most of the state outside of the major cities represented by Republicans.

Jenkins stressed the importance of closing the urban-rural divide in Kentucky and focusing on issues that people in the cities and people in the country agree on.

It’s a strategy that Kolb and state Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, believe in, too.

Scott said she has traveled to “every corner” of Kentucky to speak. And, while she visits, she tries to find similarities between what she wants and what people in the more rural areas want.

“And I say the same thing everywhere I go, because I’m a Black woman everywhere I go,” Scott said. “I say, if you care, if you don’t believe that I or my daughter have the right to make our own reproductive health decisions, then make sure that my daughter is paid a living wage. So that, should she get pregnant, she could take care of her child. If you’re concerned about socialism — which I would actually argue more people, if they really dig into what socialism is, actually agree with it more than disagree but we’ve allowed it to become a divisive term — then support public education and make sure public education is fully funded. Address the needs of people. If you care about your Continued on Page 21

THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD ROSE: LISTEN, KY LOSER... UH, DEMOCRATS!

The always intriguing Perry Bacon Jr. of FiveThirtyEight has good advice for Democrats. The 2019 and 2020 statewide elections had roughly the same vote proportions for Republicans beating Democrats for four, top state offices, Perry wrote in his Bluegrass Beat newsletter: “The big outlier was Matt Bevin, who got less than 50 percent. Looking at the 2019 and 2020 results, it seems only a Republican as controversial as Matt Bevin can lose a statewide race in Kentucky — and perhaps even Bevin would have won if his election were in 2020, with Trump at the top of the ticket driving higher GOP turnout.” He says Democrats might abandon “leftbut-not-that left white establishment-ish” candidates in favor of progressives such as Charles Booker. “So if Booker wants to take on Rand Paul in the 2022 Senate elections, the case that he is unelectable is fairly weak — what Democrat is electable in a statewide federal race in Kentucky? Shouldn’t Kentucky Democrats at least try to lose in a different way?”

ABSURD: A ‘BOLD ADMISSION’ FROM GOP?

The Jefferson County Republican Party chairman tweeted: “Our Republic is not threatened by foreign forces. Rather, it is threatened by internal agents who have attempted to overthrow our government by cheating in focused areas of the country. They must be exposed and prosecuted.” One Twitter wag replied: “Wow. Bold admission. The GOP should face consequences for subverting democracy.”

THORN: VOTING FOR ‘DEVIL IN A NEW DRESS’ Not that it would have stopped the Trump tsunami in Kentucky, but Kanye West got 6,478 votes.

THORN: RED TURNER TRUMPS BLUE TURNER

State Sen. Johnny Ray Turner lost his bid for a sixth term in Eastern Kentucky to Republican Johnnie L. Turner. Beyond the name joke, note that the 29th District had long gone Democratic. In fact, this was the first time in 20 years (Johnny Ray) Turner had a general election opponent, The Courier Journal reported.

THORN: THE ANGRY PEOPLE’S COURT

A newly elected state Supreme Court judge, who described himself as a Christian whose conservative values guide his life, has been rebuked again for losing his temper on the bench, The CJ reported.

ABSURD: PLAYING IN TRAFFIC NOT ADVISED, BUT HERE IS WHERE TO DO IT! CJ web headline of the week: “Rapid testing is not advised, but here is where to get one.”

LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

7

EAT (OUT) LOCAL

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com

IT HASN’T EVEN BEEN a year since I dropped in at Butchertown Grocery Bakery and enjoyed a really good meal and a loaf of artisanal bread for my first review of 2020.

Looking back on that mild January day now, it seems unbelievable that none of us saw the COVID-19 pandemic coming. We slogged on through the rest of winter without much on our minds, checking out Noche Mexican BBQ and heading to The West End for Galan’s Meat Market & Grille. We brunched at Fork & Barrel and got pizza at Union 15 in The South End’s restored landmark Colonial Gardens.

By March, people were getting a little nervous, though. Early in the month a group of us sat around a big table at then-new Agave & Rye and suddenly all the talk was about this looming virus and what it might mean.

Then, on March 16 Gov. Andy Beshear closed all restaurants and bars to in-person traffic, with exceptions for drive-thru, delivery and some takeout.

Boom.

Suddenly, just like that, we could no longer

sit down and enjoy a restaurant meal with our friends, even if we were silly enough to want to do that during a pandemic. Restaurants shifted to takeout operations. Servers became delivery drivers or signed on for unemployment benefits.

Owners nervously scanned their financials.

A few restaurants closed, maybe not all because of the pandemic, but certainly it weighed in their decision. By early June, the city was mourning China Inn, Eddie Merlot’s, Eiderdown, Hearth on Mellwood, Johnny Brusco’s Pizza, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, Lilly’s Bistro, Lola’s Kitchen, Migo, Milkwood, North End Cafe, Scarlet’s Bakery and Verbena.

But it wasn’t long before Beshear offered options, and restaurants quickly tried to struggle back. I wasn’t ready for dining in then (and I’m still not), but patio dining is another story. We headed for Selena’s at Willow Lake Tavern on a balmy afternoon in June and enjoyed our first sit-down restaurant meal since March.

It was still a struggle for restaurants. Lots of people are staying home, making it a challenge to fill tables even up to 33% capacity. Patio dining

and takeout seemed to thrive, but as autumn and winter approach, outdoor tables are going to lose their allure, even as many local eateries stock up on powerful outdoor space heaters, single-use blankets and even windbreak walls.

And in the middle of it all, something inspiring started to happen: In the face of all these challenges, new restaurants started to open.

Listed in approximate order of their opening, BurgerIM, Faces Bar/Bistro, Abol Cafe, Jake and Elwood’s, Pollo, El Mundo Highlands, Morels Vegan BBQ Smokehouse. Parlour on Frankfort, Gourmet Provisions, I Love Tacos, Moya’s American Kitchen and Emmy Squared Pizza have opened their doors to limited seating, takeout and delivery.

More are coming, including Marisqueria Vallarta in Plainview, Crestwood Bistro and Maple Street Biscuit Co. I’ve selected two good newcomers as encore reviews in this special Dining Issue, and you’ll also find my regular weekly review for a comfortfood favorite, Boujie Biscuit. And Joe DeSensi also offers favorites from his column Veg Out —

Dining In A Meat Eater’s World.

— Jake and Elwood’s opened in March, one day before the state shut restaurant dining down.

Nevertheless, it persisted and has become a popular success for its deep-dish Chicago-style pizza, a genre that was sadly lacking in the metro.

— Gourmet Provisions smartly recognized the pandemic challenge when it opened in August: There’s no table service. Its high quality gourmet-style dishes and family meals are available for takeout and delivery.

DeSensi’s featured reviews for this issue include BoomBozz Pizza & Taphouse — Highlands, Dragon King’s Daughter and Ramsi’s Café on the World.

Remember: Menus change with the seasons, so some dishes from past reviews might not be available.

Winter lies ahead, and it’s going to be tough on local restaurants. Give them your business, as eat-in, takeout or delivery, whatever’s comfortable. When there’s a working vaccine and restrictions finally end, we want Louisville’s great restaurants to be here. •

THANK YOU For VoTing Us third best Taco! lOcatEd at:

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Cheddar and herbs are baked into this specialty biscuit at Boujie Biscuit.

RECOMMENDED

BOUJIE BISCUIT, COMFORT FOOD IN DARK TIMES Reviewed: 11/11/20

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com COVID-19 is spiking... again. The election is over but chances are there’ll still be plenty of political controversy and yelling when you read this. It’s just plain common sense to reach for comfort food right now, and it’s hard for me to imagine an item more comforting than a warm biscuit.

Mmm, biscuits. No sooner did I write that than I want one right now. One of the simplest of breads, this buttery, short, sodarisen delight is easy to make at home but difficult to perfect.

Biscuits are said to be a Southern specialty, the result of poverty driving a filling, delicious bread that’s easy and quick to make with simple ingredients. But you can find good ones in every state of the Union, not just the South. Don’t believe me? Check out the Roundabout Diner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and tell me what you think.

Quite a few restaurants offer splendid specimens, from corporate behemoths such as Cracker Barrel and Red Lobster to Louisville eateries like Wagner’s Pharmacy to Gralehaus (where you can get your biscuit with duck gravy) and Please & Thank You (with its famous egg-and-cheese Chive Ass Biscuit).

In recent years, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing the arrival of restaurants where biscuits sit at the center of the bill of fare. Since Biscuit Belly blew up in NuLu, its owners seem eager to grow into a local chain, with

three locations now and a fourth on the way.

Jacksonville, Florida’s Maple Street Biscuit Co., said to be the nation’s first biscuitcentric restaurant (and now a Cracker Barrel property), plans to open a branch in the old KFC/Yang Kee Noodle shop in The Highlands soon.

It’s good to have choices, even in biscuits. But when I want a meal on a biscuit — a really big square biscuit sandwiched with a pile of something delicious — I’m inclined to head for Clifton and the tiny storefront that houses Boujie Biscuit.

Louisville’s first biscuit restaurant, Boujie is the project and passion of Cyndi Joyner, Brooklyn-born owner and cook, who consciously chose the modern slang word for “bourgeois” as her restaurant’s name to express class and rising hope. Moving into her third year in business this autumn, her operation appears crowded yet properly socially distanced inside, with many customers enjoying their biscuit meal out front in the small grassy strip along Frankfort Avenue.

Yes, biscuits are comfort food and Joyner’s 4-inch-square, 2-inch-tall buttermilk biscuits offer plenty of comfort, even before she fills them with more comfort food.

You can read the menu online but must call in for takeout or curbside pickup.

“PLEASE CALL 502-269-8426 TO PLACE

Boujie’s Big3 biscuit box features delicious hickory bacon and three-cheese sauce. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

The sunshine biscuit box at Boujie Biscuit places a tasty tomato-and-spinach frittata on a biscuit.

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Enjoy a taste of Little Italy with a contemporary twist.

502•690•3532 | 1201 Payne St., Louisville, KY 40204 | ciaolouisville.com

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The Lite biscuit with honey-maple butter and a small dish of mac and cheese made with three-cheese sauce.

AN ORDER FOR PICKUP!!!” the online menu urges and that procedure worked fine for us.

The bill of fare, all fresh-made in-house, features 28 biscuit boxes, which just as the name implies consist of one of those giant biscuits dropped into a sturdy, shiny white, lined paper box, with a generous portion of the goodie of your choice between the biscuit halves. This packaging worked quite well to keep our biscuits warm all the way home.

Biscuit boxes are mostly savory, a few sweet and they range from $5 (for the lite biscuit, simply spread with honey-maple butter) to $13 (for the meal-size brisket biscuit filled with seasoned beef brisket, caramelized onions and the tangy white three-cheese sauce that’s a feature on many of their items). Sweet choices include The Georgia Peach, Cherry Cheese and Cocoanut biscuits (all $8). Want a little humor with your meal? Try The Dirty Monkey biscuit ($9), filled with bananas and bacon spiced with cayenne-infused chocolate gravy!

There’s a short list of sides and extras and you’re welcome to buy your biscuits plain, $3.75 apiece.

It’s hard to choose among so many tasty options. That brisket! Chicken pot pie!

Fried chicken! Burgers! Ham and cheese!

We finally settled on three, though, plus a plain biscuit for later and everything was excellent.

Boujie’s biscuits are more cakey than

fluffy, tender but sturdy squares designed to hold up in their boxes even under the weight of toppings and sauces.

The Big 3 biscuit ($8) was a plain biscuit smothered in a pool of three-cheese sauce topped with plenty of finely crumbled crispy fried hickory bacon. The bacon was intensely flavored; the bacon bits seeped into the cheese and coated the biscuit and yes, it was delicious.

The Sunshine Biscuit box ($8.50) was more subtle but just as appetizing: A wellmade spinach-and-tomato frittata, Italy’s answer to an omelet, was a neat fit on a plain biscuit, covered with plenty of three-cheese sauce that complemented the good egg and veggie flavors.

The Lite biscuit ($5) was a simple but tasty choice, a huge plain biscuit with a dab of sweet honey-maple butter in a small tub alongside; and an unadorned cheddar-herb biscuit ($3.75) gained flavor from dried herbs and cheese baked into the bread.

A filling meal for two, with plenty of leftover biscuits for the next day’s breakfast, was $30.21 plus a 20% tip. •

BOUJIE BISCUIT

1813 Frankfort Ave. 269-8426 theboujiebiscuit.com

Jake and Elwood’s Chicago pizza schematic. This is how it’s done!

RECOMMENDED

JAKE AND ELWOOD’S MASTERS THE CHICAGO PIE Reviewed: 05/27/20

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com JAKE AND ELWOOD’S opened its Chicagostyle pizzeria in Clifton at 11 a.m. Monday, March 16. Does that date sound familiar?

Yep! That’s the day that Gov. Andy Beshear told all the state’s restaurants to put a halt to dining in.

“We are mandated to close for dine-in at 5 p.m. today,” the restaurant posted on its Facebook page less than two hours later.

“CARRYOUT is available!!! We’re working on delivery. The blues will prevail!”

Indeed.

As we know from the restaurant’s Blues Brothers namesakes Jake and Elwood, Chicago people do what needs to be done.

When the doors closed to sit-down dining, the owner John Thurlow, a Chicago native, promptly shifted the plan, offering pizza-to-go to waiting throngs. Within the first two days he had run out of pizza boxes and containers and had to close for a day to restock. He closed again for a couple of days at the end of March to refine the operation but came right back up. The restaurant has been earning uniformly positive reviews from just about everyone I know who’s tried it, on the HotBytes forum and across social media.

(Since I wrote this review, Jake and Elwood’s opened last Friday for 33%-capacity seating and all the rest of the state’s “Safe at Work” rules for restaurants, and it is

The Chicago dog at Jake and Elwood’s is built on Chicago’s own Vienna Beef frank with all the traditional trimmings. . | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

continuing takeout as well.)

It is located in the landmark, yellowbrick, Frankfort Avenue building that long housed Clifton’s Pizza Co., and which more recently was home, briefly, to Steve-O’s Italian Kitchen. Jake and Elwood’s bills itself as “a Chicago tribute restaurant” specializing in Chicago deep-dish pizzas, Chicago hot dogs, sausages and Italian beef sandwiches.

That pretty much describes the menu, which offers a good range of choices among those categories. Thick, deep-dish, Chicagostyle pizzas come in two sizes: 10-inch pies for $18.99 or 14-inch pies for $23.60 for any of four specialty pizzas; build your own for $15.99 plus $1 per topping for the small or $18.99, plus $1.49 per topping for the large.

Want your pizza crust caramelized? That will be another $3.50.

Light appetite? Buy it by the slice for $3.25 for cheese, pepperoni or veggie.

A half-dozen variations on the Chicago hot dog (“dawgs”) are $4.99 (for the classic, Chicago-style dog or chili cheese dog) to $5.99 (for a Maxwell Street Polish sausage or Italian sausage); you can build your own for $2.99, plus 49 cents per topping.

The Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich is $8.99; a sausage and Italian-beef combo is $11.99. A variety of sides include garlic knots ($3.99 for six, $6.50 for a dozen), cheese curds ($5.99) and much more.

A half-dozen salads range in price from

A whole deep-dish pizza from Jake and Elwood’s makes an imposing serving.

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$7.99 (for a garden salad, Caesar or spinach salad) to $12.99 (for a chef salad with chicken, turkey and ham).

Before I dive in to my hefty pizza, let’s get one thing out of the way: I was weaned on New York-style pizza, thin and foldable, and learned to love its Neapolitan ancestor, the original pizza, on trips to Italy.

Chicago’s heavy, deep-dish format doesn’t come naturally to me. (It should be noted that Chicagoans themselves tend to favor a thin pizza, served in tavern-cut squares, or the occasional indulgence in Giordano’s stuffed pizza, which is like a huge calzone with another crust on top!)

But Jake and Elwood’s pizza is the classic, Chicago deep-dish, and it is very good indeed. Coming at it with an open mind and a hungry tummy, I was impressed. Even the 10-inch pizza makes an imposing serving.

We enjoyed a 10-inch Wrigleyville ($10.99) with tomatoes, mushrooms and onions; it normally comes with spinach, too, but I ordered ours without to keep things simple.

It was at least an inch and a half thick and beautifully made. The crust had been formed in a deep, black iron pan that imparted a crisp, tasty edge, then filled, in order, with a layer of stretchy, whole-milk mozzarella, then the toppings and finally an excellent tomato sauce — chunky, garlicky, not too sweet — spread across the top in a warming blanket. The crust boasted a lightgolden color and a crisp but tender bite that almost made me think of biscuits. It was cut

in four quarters, and one quarter alone made an ample lunch.

The Chicago dog ($4.99) is built on Chicago’s own Vienna Beef frank with its snappy natural casing and all the traditional trimmings. A soft, squishy, white, poppyseed bun was smeared with bright-green pickle relish and filled with a small frank; two pale, firm wedges of out-of-season tomato; a dill pickle wedge; three hot, vinegary peppers; a thin stripe of ballpark yellow mustard; and a small amount of chopped onion. It was standard for the genre but not really impressive.

The garlic knots, however ($3.99 for six, $6.50 for a dozen) were impressive.

Short breadsticks tied in knots were baked like mini-loaves, coated with garlic oil and dusted with grated Parmesan. It was an appetizing snack, hard to stop eating, so good that the tangy, cayenne-laced beer cheese and good marinara sauce weren’t really needed.

A filling meal, with plenty of leftovers, came to a reasonable $29.11, plus a 25% tip. I’m adding a little extra to the tip during these difficult times, and I hope you are, too. •

JAKE AND ELWOOD’S 2230 Frankfort Ave. 690-2167 jakeandelwoods.com

You won’t leave your Brussels sprouts at Gourmet Provisions. They’re split, roasted, and sauced with a yummy balsamic blend.

RECOMMENDED

TAKE OUT GOURMET PROVISIONS FOR BISQUE AND MORE Reviewed: 09/30/20

Gourmet Provisions’ Piled High Pastrami really is piled high, nearly a pound of meat with pickled red cabbage and spicy brown mustard on seeded rye. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com GOURMET PROVISIONS! You might think this is an upscale grocery or maybe a shop with fancy pots and pans and kitchen equipment.

But you’d be wrong: It’s a new restaurant and a very good one, too.

Gourmet Provisions, which opened Aug. 5, is the brainchild of Matt Rich, who has worked as a server and sometimes bartender at Owl Creek Country Club, Molly Malone’s, KT’s, Wild Eggs and once held a franchise for the last Steak ‘n Shake in town; and Chef Mike Driskell, who’s worked in many local kitchens including Jack Fry’s, Diamante and Club Grotto. Partnering with other chefs and a small staff, the two bring more than 50 years of experience to this venture.

Housed in a storefront on the Goose Creek Lane side of Westport Plaza shopping center, they’re handling the pandemic challenge smartly, focusing most of the business on takeout and curbside service and delivery and in-home meal catering. There’s no table service, but you are welcome to sit down and enjoy your takeout meal on one of three, small, socially distanced tables.

In an online conversation, Rich recalled that he has known Driskell and some other chefs he’s tapping for expertise since they met while working at Molly Malone’s in

2009. He was eager to bring Driskell, in particular, on board at Gourmet Provisions for his skills and, of course, his popular lobster bisque recipe!

The online menu is simple to use and offers lunch and dinner options. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It offers a choice of seven soups and salads, from $7 (for a Caesar, house salad, venison chili or Driskell’s lobster bisque) to $14 (for a California Cobb salad with shrimp and lobster). A half-dozen sandwiches range from $11 (for a shrimp po’boy) to $15 (for a lobster roll).

Six entrées range from $13 (for bucatini puttanesca, with no anchovies, making it the only meatless main course) to $24 (for a half-dozen, extra-large shrimp stuffed with crab imperial).

Larger-scale family meals big enough for two to four are from $34 (for a pork tenderloin family meal with about two pounds of roasted pork with house-made Parmesan scalloped potatoes and a large Caesar) to $90 (for four bourbon-marinated filet mignons served with twice-baked potatoes, grilled asparagus and a Kentucky bibb salad).

A variety of sides are all $4.50 or less, a child’s box with grilled chicken breast with

Gourmet Provisions’ bucatini puttanesca builds a thick, spicy tomato sauce, capers, and more on thick bucatini pasta.

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The soft, delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookie makes a spendid finish to a Gourmet Provisions meal.

noodles and fruit is $3, and a trio of desserts are $3 to $7.

Lunch was ready at the exact minute requested. Everything was neatly packaged and tightly packed in double bags, so it all stayed in place all the way home.

We started with a $7 cup of black bean, venison chili and found it so abundant that a $10 bowl would have been overkill. A good 12 ounces of very thick chili was crafted from black beans and chopped onions with small flecks of red pepper and tiny meatballs of lean, appropriately gamey ground venison. The black beans and onions nicely balanced what might otherwise have been a fairly strong game component. It was mildly hot-spicy but not at all burning, just a pleasant smoky heat. The chili was topped with a sprinkle of yellow and white cheese shreds and served with two buttery grilled Breadworks baguette rounds.

A piled-high pastrami sandwich ($14) more than lived up to its name. It was a huge sandwich loaded with close to a pound of thinly sliced, dark-brown, house-made sliced pastrami with the traditional fatty edges. It was built on lightly buttered grilled Breadworks rye to make a big square sandwich cut in half diagonally. The pastrami had been smeared with spicy brown mustard with a pile of sliced pickled red cabbage on top.

The whole thing was almost too big to bite, and it was really delicious.

A side of Brussels sprouts ($1 upcharge) also came in a generous portion. Gently

charred halved sprouts had been tossed with a savory balsamic and olive oil mix and deeply roasted until done but still firm. All the flavors came together with roasting to make a delicious veggie side.

Bucatini puttanesca ($13) omits the usual anchovies, but the mix of bold flavors that replaced them more than made up for the loss. Enough thick bucatini pasta to fill a large bowl was sauced with a charred, ripe-tomato sauce flavored with bits of black kalamata olives, capers, chopped onion and garlic, pickled ginger, spicy heat, and Parmesan cheese shavings. It held its heat and al dente status all the way home. Warm, buttery slices of Breadworks baguette made it complete.

We finished with a warm, soft, sweet and seductive peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookie ($2) topped with a shake of crunchy sea salt. It was a perfect ending to a memorable meal.

An excellent lunch for two was $39.22 plus a $6.66 tip. (I tried to get the online system to take a larger tip, but the order wouldn’t go through until I accepted its highest option, 18%.) •

GOURMET PROVISIONS

9407 Westport Road Westport Plaza 963-5553 gourmetprovisionslouisville.com

VEG OUT — DINING IN A MEAT EATER’S WORLD

VEG OUT — DINING IN A MEAT EATER’S WORLD

VARANESE FOR GREAT VEGGIE DISHES AND DRINKS, PAIRED WITH SMOOTH JAZZ

WHERE TO EAT DURING A QUARANTINE: VEGETARIAN EDITION

Reviewed: 10/09/19

By Joe DeSensi | leo@leoweekly.com

MY WIFE AND I have a few restaurants for which we like to dress up and go have a fancy night out (meaning I am required to wear socks). Varanese is a favorite. In addition to high-end food and service, it is also one of the few restaurants that boasts jazz seven nights a week with music director Jeff Sherman and regional musicians. We often try to go Tuesdays so we might see Chris Tolbert and Tyrone Wheeler.

Varanese caters to veggies and folks with food restrictions alike. We don’t necessarily have go-to favorite dishes there that we order every time. We start with drinks, listen to music and try to figure out our starter, drink and meal strategy (the Normandy invasion had less tactical planning).

Alcohol: Varanese’s alcohol kung fu is strong, with a good beer list, an extensive wine list and bourbons and spirits for days. It has interesting bourbon flight pairings such as a bottle-in-bond grouping, a mid-shelf rye and distillery-specific pours. We started with a Lunetta Prosecco ($8). Hope will drink Prosecco only when it is hot outside or when it is not hot outside (strict rule).

We split an heirloom caprese salad ($9) knowing that this may be the last of the season.

We got a generous helping of meaty tomatoes that had that ripened-on-the-vine taste and texture and was mixed with the olive oil, a sweet balsamic vinegar reduction and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Varanese adds black volcanic salt, which offers a bit of a crunch and a minerali-ness that pulled the flavors together.

I recommend accepting the offer of cracked pepper over top.

To accompany our starter course, I had to make the choice of Solomon for a bourbon flight tasting. I was tempted by the rye trio ($15) but went for the Woodford Reserve three-fer ($18). Woodford Reserve is a rock solid bourbon, the Double Oaked is one of my favorite sitting whiskeys, and now I have one to add to my ever-growing list, Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey.

Typically, Hope would select Varanese’s crab cake, a favorite, but on this night, our server’s description of opah ($35), Hawaiian moonfish, won her over. The opah was served on top of lobster grits with asparagus and micro greens, and a New Zealand sauvignon blanc was suggested for pairing. To encapsulate Hope’s review of her entrée, I will refer you to the deli scene in “When Harry Met

Reviewed: 04/22/20

By Joe DeSensi | leo@leoweekly.com Sally,” just less demure.

If you could handle gluten, Varanese offers several appetizer and entrée options including angel hair pasta with fresh vegetables. My favorite is Chef John Varanese’s personalized vegetarian dish ($18) that can be catered to your taste and eating restrictions, and you can ask for the kitchen to go a little heavier on certain vegetables.

The veggie medley was a generous plate, cooked perfectly: a bit of crunch but flavorful and aromatic. On a base of butternut squash puree it included mushrooms, zucchini, tomato, squash, spinach and cauliflower. The savory smokiness from the grill blended well with the sweet base of squash puree. My bourbon did not get lost in the big vegetable flavors the way a white wine might have.

For the people who prefer food that eats my food, Chris “the Jazz Man” Tolbert recommends the lamb and lentil soup with breadsticks. The GM recommends the bourbon barrel-smoked pork chop, and the strip steak compares to steaks two to three times the price at steakhouses.

To end the night with a little dessert and to prolong our jazz listening pleasure, I ordered a burned lemon old fashioned ($12), and Hope explored another vino on their sparkling list, a Kenwood Yulupa Brut Sparkling ($10).

The burnt-lemon old-fashioned was wonderful — it let the bourbon do the heavy lifting and used the grilled lemon and the ancillary spices to accentuate the glorious Kentucky nectar beneath. We ended with a small scoop of salted caramel ice cream ($2). Creamy and almost gelato rich, it paired well with the final sips of my old fashioned. •

VARANESE

2106 Frankfort Ave 899-9904 varanese.com Noise: With most of the restaurant fılled, jazz playing and a trickle from a waterfall, it was easy to have a quiet conversation, an average of 76 decibels. The whole restaurant could hear Hope yelling, “Play some Skynyrd.”

Accessibility: Varanese is wheelchair accessible, has handrails in the bathrooms and has handicapped parking spots at the entrance.

AS A LOT OF US in The ‘Ville settle into our quarantined, socially distant lives, we still need to eat. Before the world shut down on us, Louisville was an effortless place to find good gluten-free, vegetarian food. The good news is: That is still the case.

My wife Hope and I have been trying to eat out three to five times a week to support our favorite establishments as well as to have a governor-approved reason to leave the house. Some places have shortened hours, some have a curbside menu (a little smaller than the eat-in menu), and some have added some great cocktail and drink specials to their takeout options.

Here are some places and meals the veggies might enjoy:

WILD GINGER SUSHI BISTRO

Wild Ginger provided me with the healthiest meal that I will eat all week. I used to order some great low-carb sushi there in my quest to lose a little weight before I realized 2020 would not require a beach bod (and then decided to pull the ripcord).

Veggies: My favorite roll is the Oshinko roll, featuring a crunchy, vibrant pickled vegetable, but you can ask for added grilled shiitake mushrooms for savory chewiness.

I also order a veggie roll and tamago roll, a fluffy sweet scrambled egg with a cucumber wrap.

Meatiness: Carnivores like the bulgogi beef and the chicken katsu. From the meatier side of the sushi menu, the chef recommends the Surf and Turf roll (tempura shrimp, cucumber, avocado inside, and topped with spicy crab meat, torched steak, eel sauce, wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and sweet chili sauce).

1700 Bardstown Road 384-9252 wildgingerky.com Beverages: Bottled beer, wine and sake are available for takeout.

Ordering: Call in or order online or curbside pickup. Postmates and Doordash also deliver. Dine-in now available.

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

Hope and I eat at DKD at least once a week. It has the largest selection of veggie sushi in town, and most rolls can be ordered gluten-free as well. With its all-day alcohol happy hour prices for takeout, it satiates all of our sushi whims and wine pairing needs.

In Indiana? There’s a New Albany location as well, although its menu differs slightly.

Veggies: We always start with a warm, salted edamame that never gets shared exactly 50-50 between us (we use the “you snooze, you lose” principle of edamame division).

I order the Summer Salad Roll (fresh mozzarella, spring mix, red onion, avocado, cucumber and cilantro with a drizzle of spicy mayo) and the Buffaroll (fresh mozzarella, cucumber and avocado). The Summer offers a variety of crunches and flavors pulled together by the rich, mayo drizzle.

The Buffaroll has subtler flavors making it perfect for dipping into gluten-free soy with a healthy portion of wasabi mixed in for good measure.

Seafood: Hope’s two faves are the Sushi and the Banshis (avocado, cream cheese and roasted garlic on the inside with salmon and basil atop the roll) and the Selfish Shellfish, part of the new menu (cocktail shrimp, cilantro and fresh avocado on the inside and lobster salad and lime).

Meatier options: A friend that eats things with a face recommended: the Japan Fried Tuna (red tuna battered and deep fried with a special dressing) and the kimchi beef tacos (strip steak with sautéed kimchi and Kewpie over a spring mix).

1126 Bardstown Road 208-1626 dragonkingsdaughter.com Specials: Happy hour prices on alcohol all day, and it now offers bags of frozen cocktails to go.

Ordering: Dine-in available. Call for curbside pickup; an 18% gratuity is added to ensure service staff is “being taken care of.”

Continued on Page 21 LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

15

PROTESTERS IN ARMS

GUNS AS PLENTIFUL AT PROTESTS AS THE REASONS PEOPLE CARrY THEM

By Cary Stemle | leo@leoweekly.com

Photos by Kathryn Harrington

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

JOHN SUBLESKI was standing near a row of storefronts on Baxter Avenue and holding his assault rifle across his chest while he watched 300 or so mostly white protesters march by.

No one seemed to take notice of him.

But it would be hard to miss Subleski, who is white, because he looked as if he were prepared for military battle. Along with the rifle, the 32-year-old corporate trainer wore a front-and-back vest with plates he said could stop armor-piercing bullets. It had been warm, so he’d left his usual ballistic helmet and night vision goggles at home, but his backpack and vest pockets were filled with items: a handgun, medical kits, zip ties, smoke grenades, a flare gun, flash bangs and a drone camera he keeps on hand for “hot” situations.

You could plausibly assume a white man at a racial justice protest was there to protest the protesters. But Subleski said he was there to protect the marchers as part of a militia called United Pharaoh’s Guard.

“We’re not protesters, per se — we’re more or less doing security for the movement itself to make sure they feel safe and have the ability to exercise their First Amendment right,” he told me later. “We ensure that and back it with our Second Amendment rights.”

In the not-so-distant past, the presence of a man with an assault rifle and military gear on a busy city street may have seemed remarkable if not alarming.

Not anymore.

The protests over police brutality in Louisville and across the nation — and the protests of government-enforced coronavirus rules — have revealed a seemingly new nonchalance about the public display of firearms.

There are a lot of guns at the protests in Louisville.

I took particular notice of this in late June, when an armed militia called American Freedom Fighters came to Louisville with the goal of marching to Jefferson Square Park, the hub of protest here. Waiting for them at the park were protesters young and old, black and white, male and female, also armed: pistols, rifles, shotguns and who knows what else.

But like Subleski, a range of people drawn to the protests also are armed. There may be as many reasons for carrying guns as there are people carrying. These gun carriers are diverse in their races, backgrounds and political affiliations. What they have in common, perhaps, is that they believe they need to be at the protests — and they need to be armed.

It is entirely legal, essentially.

Kentucky is an open carry state, meaning just The protests over police brutality in about anyone can openly carry a firearm without any Louisville and across the nation — and special permits. In 2019, Gov. Matt Bevin signed law a permitless concealed carry law, which the protests of government-enforced into allows eligible people to carry a concealed gun withcoronavirus rules — have revealed a out a permit or background check and safety training.

So, public displays of weaponry are increasseemingly new nonchalance about the ingly commonplace, including when white militia members carried long guns inside the Kentucky public display of firearms.

State Capitol last year. Guns have also been at There are a lot of guns at the protests recent Frankfort protests over Gov. Andy Beshear’s response to the coronavirus. in Louisville.

And guns have been used since protests in Louisville began more than 150 days ago.

Seven people were shot and wounded on the first night.

Jefferson Square is surrounded by rooftops and open on three sides, and threats of snipers or drive-by shooters are more than esoteric. Police discovered two camouflaged men with long rifles, one with a bipod, on top of a parking garage. Officers took their guns, and sent them on their way with no charges. The guns were later returned.

Shortly thereafter, the worst came to pass when Tyler Gerth was shot and killed, allegedly by a man who’d been hanging around the protests for weeks.

More recently, two officers were wounded by a shooter during a night of protest. And shots have been fired between President Trump supporters in a car and protesters, fortunately with no injuries.

I asked Louisville Metro police what it’s like for officers to operate in an environment that includes so many guns.

Jessie Halladay, a police spokesperson, declined an interview request but provided this statement: “Guns are present throughout this community, so I would not say our approach to how we handle protests is shaped by the number of weapons we know are present, as that is a consideration we have for all our actions. Certainly, having guns so obviously present does raise tension, but that is a risk officers and the public face daily.”

So who is armed and why?

In an effort to better understand, I recently spoke with eight people who routinely carry. Here are their stories.

CHRIS WILL

As the head of a group called FIRM, which stands for Formation in Racial Matters, 33-year-old Chris Will is one of the most visible faces at Jefferson Square.

He had grown close to Gerth. Both were videographers, and Gerth, who was white, had just helped Will, who is Black, find a location to shoot a video for hip hop artist Marc DiNero.

Chris Will.

They planned to collaborate on a film documentary about the protests.

“Then he died,” Will recounted. “I literally grabbed his camera out of a pool of blood. I wanted to take him to the hospital and not wait for the ambulance. … I had bad dreams about it for months. I didn’t know it was affecting me, thinking everybody is trying to shoot me.”

Will often carries a handgun now, and he’s overseen by a security team that’s always armed.

“There’s always been people armed down here. It’s like the wild, wild West for real. I don’t think it’s the number of guns as much as the number of people increased. You see it more frequently, people walking down the street with big guns on their hip. Crime is up in Louisville; shit can happen.”

Will said he’s had threats on his life. “It’s really wide open, and I’m concerned the police won’t help,” he said.

He describes a frightening incident that happened on a recent Friday night. “We were having a spooky movie for kids. Big crowd — one of my guys came and got me and said, ‘Hey man, two white guys — they gotta be carrying guns, because they’re wrapped up in towels, they just walked behind the bush over there [in front of Metro Hall near the corner of Sixth and Jefferson].

“I grabbed four or five security people, and we started walking that way. By the time we get across the street, we see a head pop up and a dude threw a towel and took off running with a gun on his leg. He pulls it out of his holster and turns around and fires it. The police apprehended them, then let them go because they didn’t find guns on them. Then, hours later they came out looking for shell casings. That makes no sense. I asked a lieutenant, how could you let them go? If one of us shot at a car driving by here, you all would come out here 100 deep to apprehend us.”

HANNAH DRAKE

As a vocal advocate for racial justice, you might assume that Louisville poet and activist Hannah Drake would be anti-gun.

Think again.

“I believe heavily in gun-ownership.

The way the world is, you simply have to protect yourself,” she said. “In this day and age, I feel it’s important for people to know I do have a gun. I have several, so don’t bother me. Leave me Poet Hannah Drake performed her poem ‘Formation’ outside of the First Unitarian alone. Being a black Church during the protests. woman, it’s the smart thing to do. … You have to be safe. This is long before Breonna Taylor.

“I think of Maurice Stallard and Vickie Jones, who were killed at Kroger doing everyday things,” she added, referencing the 2018 incident in which a white man was charged with murdering two Black people at the Jeffersontown grocery. “That could easily have been me.”

In a recent NBC News story about the Louisville protests, she told a reporter that she carries a Ruger 9mm and that she helped her daughter Brianna Wright purchase one, too.

Drake, 44, is a stickler for responsible gun-ownership.

Her partner also bought a gun recently, and they’ve taken training courses and regularly practice at a gun range. “We don’t just say let’s go buy a gun and wave it around,” she said.

Does the prevalence of guns at the square make her feel safer?

“I generally don’t feel unsafe at the square,” she said.

“The only time is when police are there, which is ironic because they’re the ones with huge guns and should be

protecting and serving people. Being at the square — it’s an open space, and people know we gather there. You wonder about people who may be racist and inclined to come shoot up a square or an event. You have to consider that when you’re in certain spaces.”

She feels less safe in other situations. Recently, as she walked back to her car after a protest, she heard one police officer tell another, “’Oh, that’s Hannah Drake.’ …

“Why do you know me, and why are you telling him that? Clearly, there’s some focus on who I am, probably because I’m vocal, but that’s a scary thought. The more visible certain people are, you draw attention. I get hate mail all the time. It’s not a secret who I am.

“People act as if it’s so far-fetched … Martin Luther King was one of the most peaceful protesters in the world, and you shot him anyway. And so this world, this nation, has a habit of taking out who they consider to be the leaders. And the more vocal you are and out front, people identify you.

That’s a concern, and I don’t think it’s a concern that’s farfetched, because that’s the history of America.”

Historically, she said, white society is afraid of a Black man with a gun.

“People act as if Black people shouldn’t carry guns,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Why do you have a gun? Why are you this or why are you that?’ Because it’s our right to. We have a right to bear arms.”

Drake said people were alarmed when the Black militia Not Fucking Around Coalition, or NFAC, came to Louisville. But when white militias come to the Capitol, she said, people excuse them as merely citizens just exercising their rights. “Why isn’t that the case when a Black person has a gun?”

I ask what might prompt her to use her gun.

“If I sincerely feel a threat to my life,” she said. “If someone’s threatening you on the street, you have the right to defend yourself. Yet somehow it becomes a problem when Black people do that. It’s ‘why did you do that? Why didn’t you just walk away?’

“If someone is threatening me, I have no problem — it’s gonna be them or it’s gonna be me. And it’s not gonna be me. Hopefully, that doesn’t have to happen.”

JIBRIYLL IZSRAEL JibryIll Izsrael, a 45-year-old, Black military veteran, is often seen on livestreams counseling restraint at Jefferson Square — “to be in between the police and the people. Whenever I do that, it always works. Nobody gets arrested, and there is no police brutality.”

He’s at the square to protest the death of Breonna Taylor but to also speak about larger issues.

“First and fore-

Jibriyll Israel.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

17

most, give us liberty or give us death,” he said. “Freedom is essential for every human being on the planet. African Americans, and indigenous people who didn’t voluntarily migrate to the Americas, they haven’t known freedom in this country. It’s one of the things that gets missed as we focus on Breonna Taylor, but we try to make sure we don’t miss it.”

Izsrael began bringing his Smith & Wesson 9mm after learning about the Atlanta-based NFAC. “Twelve hundred men and women we’ve never seen before, they’re all legally armed and they’re not yelling, they’re not rowdy, they’re not riotous, they’re not chaotic. They’re disciplined, they’re structured. Immediately, I fell right in love with them. From that point in time, I started to bring a firearm with me every time.”

He said he later helped arrange NFAC’s visits to Louisville and to establish lines of communication with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office and LMPD. “Me and my colleagues were concerned with, how do we get these folks out of town without anybody getting shot?”

Izsrael has been present at the square during close calls, including the Friday evening event referenced by Chris Will when two shots were fired.

I ask whether he feels unsafe downtown.

“I don’t, not at all. I’m in a place in my life where it’s OK if I die fighting for my people’s freedom. For my children to live their lives with honor.”

HOG GIRL

If you’ve watched the protests via livestreams or TV reports, you may have noticed a red-haired woman with a long rifle and military attire.

Her name is Tara Brandau, though she’s more likely to respond to Hog Girl, the nickname she acquired upon killing her first pig at age 5. Now she hunts wild pigs for a living, she said.

Brandau, a white Hog Girl. mother and grandmother who’s in her early 40s, commands the National Patriotic Defense Team, a militia she formed to focus on public safety and First and Second amendment rights. She said the group has more than 80 members in Kentucky and is apolitical.

“We’re constitutionalists,” she said. “You have a right for your First Amendment, and you have a right for your Second Amendment. We don’t have an issue as long as nobody’s trying to shoot somebody or burn the place down or beat each other up. But when the threats [reach] a higher level, that’s when we come out.”

Brandau emphasized they’re not white supremacists.

“My second in lead is Puerto Rican. My intelligence officer is Puerto Rican. I have Cubans, Mexicans, Blacks.

18

LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

There’s some white but not that many, so for them to confuse us with being white nationalists really bothers me because we’re not a racist group whatsoever.”

She isn’t concerned about guns at the protests.

“As long as somebody is experienced, and there’s gun safety, they have every right to carry. It doesn’t matter what group it is or what color they are, they have the right to carry it. … I don’t feel threatened with it.”

I ask Brandau what her group would do if shooting starts.

“We are trained to disarm them,” she said. “We’re not trained to go start shooting people. That’s not what we do.”

three steps before I can fire. A lock on holster. Cock it.

Safety off — that’s three steps. I can pull on it all day long … unless you touch me physically, you’re not gonna get to my gun at all.”

Internal feuds are another problem: “This person said something about this person on their live feed, and they didn’t like it, and their friends didn’t like it, and they’re gonna argue with them down here.”

He doesn’t count on police to protect the protesters.

“Honestly, I don’t believe the police are here to help me at all,” he said.

CHRIS FOX

DAVID MOUR

Chris Fox Louisville recalled standing attorney David near a man who sudMour, who is white denly began firing and Jewish, is an a gun in the air at outspoken figure Jefferson Square. of the Louisville Fox pulled his wife, movement as a legal Shaila, out of their services provider parked car and and protest participushed her to the pant. He’s accusground, then drew tomed to guns — he his pistol and cocked served in the U.S. it. He pleaded with Air Force and was a the man to stop, police officer — but but the man started he began bringing shooting at him one to the square before firing into only after Gerth was the crowd, allegedly killed. killing Tyler Gerth.

“In my opinion, Chris Fox. the number of guns David Mour.

Fox said he had deliberated over has picked up along whether to fire, but then someone else shot and wounded the the way because of Tyler, and the fact that it became clear man.

LMPD will not do anything to protect protesters,” said “I get ridicule from people every day for not shooting Mour, 60. him,” Fox said. “In my head, in the split second of not pullFor example, he said, more than six minutes elapsed ing the trigger, I was thinking: ‘Am I gonna see both of my before police responded to Gerth’s shooting. By contrast, he kids again? Will I see my wife? What’s gonna happen to said, when a protester was clowning around and doused the our home if I go to jail? She won’t be able to pay the bills.’ eternal flame of a police memorial in the park, 30 police in They’ll put me in prison is what I thought.” riot gear quickly showed up.

Fox, 44, is biracial — his Mour also doubts offimother is Irish, and his father cial accounts that the man He normally carries a .380 is Black. He was born in police arrested actually pistol or a 9mm gun, but that shot Gerth — a somewhat Louisville but moved to Las Vegas in his teens, joining a frequent topic of converday, he brought an AR-15 gang. He didn’t grow up with sation at the square — guns, but said when he’d go rifle. The scene was extremely because the last shots he looking for hidden Christmas heard sounded like a long tense as 30 or 40 protestpresents, “I was always findrifle. “Then, they came ing a gun in the house.” in and trashed everything ers surged forward to keep He’s been coming to the in the square to hide Louisville protests since the approaching group from evidence,” he said.

Day One. He carries a pistol Mour was present reaching the square. to protect his wife, but he when the Angry Viking said he concerned about gun and his group marched to safety at the square. “Honestly, I don’t feel safe. There’s a the square, which was lightly occupied because many regulack of gun safety by others in the park. They’ll carry it like lars were at Churchill Downs to take part in protests there. this … You’re like, ‘Seriously, who carries a gun on their He normally carries a .380 pistol or a 9mm gun, but that shoulder?’ This is not 1865. It’s not the Civil War. day, he brought an AR-15 rifle. The scene was extremely “They have people with no safety on, one in the chamber, tense as 30 or 40 protesters surged forward to keep the no lock on their holster. Mine, I’m always in the holster, approaching group from reaching the square. There was

shouting, arguments and shoving but no shots fired. The police did not insert themselves to keep the groups apart for fear of escalating tensions, they told reporters, and they showed up only as the marchers dispersed on their own.

“Had shooting started,” Mour said, “we’d have been wiped out. I’m stunned no one got shot. There were a lot of people walking around with older weapons. A trigger and hammer weapon, like a shotgun — if you drop a cocked gun, it’ll discharge. That’s all it would’ve taken. I am, to this day, amazed there wasn’t a massacre.”

He attributed the outcome to “a little bit of luck. I think the livestreamers and some of the women who formed a buffer between the protesters and the militia caused clearer heads to prevail.”

Mour represents Robin Ash, who faces a felony charge after pointing a gun at a motorist during a protest on Hurstbourne Lane. Livestream video shows that driver brandishing a gun, then stepping outside his car and pointing his gun toward the marchers. Mour said Ash was acting in selfdefense, which he’ll assert when the case goes to a grand jury in December.

Mour and his daughter Lillie, who’s 14, were at the square on the recent Friday night when shots were fired. He pushed her to the ground and drew his weapon but couldn’t see where the shots came from.

“I’m trained to not point a gun where you can’t see and if you don’t have a target,” he said. “But that’s another example of why we carry weapons. I’m going to defend myself and my family. If I perceive someone is going to use deadly force, I would repel that attack.”

JACOBY GLENN

Jacoby Glenn was also guarding the Saturday march on Baxter Avenue where I noticed Subleski. Unlike his cohort in United Pharaoh’s Guard, he wore civilian clothes but also carried an assault rifle.

“We all watch out for different things,” he later told me. “I look for random acts in the crowd, people on rooftops, counterprotesters and people trying to take over the Jacoby Glenn. protests.”

Glenn, who’s 21 and Black, started coming to Jefferson Square on Day Two of the protests. He said his brother is a Louisville police officer who accompanied marchers to 26th Street and Broadway and took a knee with them in the early days of the local protests.

“I can pretty much play both sides of the party, because I have family in law enforcement and family who support Black Lives Matter,” Glenn said. “I knew I could come down and mediate, or I thought I could.”

He’s been with UPG for more than four months.

“We’re in support of this movement, but we all have different views,” he said. “We all don’t think the same. We all believe everyone has their freedom of speech, and everyone can practice the Second Amendment.”

Do guns make him feel more or less safe?

“In a way it does both,” he said. “It’s more risky for people carrying rifles — it could give police a reason to shoot us. Everyone knows police don’t like us. They’ve told us multiple times they don’t like UPG. But it makes things safer for protesters than if we weren’t here to protect them.”

JOHN SUBLESKI

John Subleski grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and moved here seven years ago. He describes himself a “hardcore constitutionalist, about as far right as you can get without being a racist homophobe.” He was politically inspired by former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a Libertarian and father of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.

Subleski recalled taking up arms in high school for a John Subleski. counterprotest of neo-Nazis demonstrating in Toledo. He feels a family legacy to stand up for victims, describing how his great-grandfather escaped from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland where he’d been imprisoned for helping to hide Jews, then emigrated to the United States and joined the military so he could return to Europe and fight Hitler’s army.

Later, Subleski said, he trained to join the Peshmerga rebels in Kurdistan but ultimately thought better of going.

He said he spent six months receiving paramilitary training in Marengo, Indiana, but had never injected himself into protests until George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.

He began offering his downtown Louisville apartment as a safe house for protesters based at Jefferson Square.

Friends started bringing their rifles, and soon they went to the marches, looking to be a buffer between protesters and police, he said.

“Anyone who tries to silence these people or sever their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights,” he said, “we back them with the Second Amendment.”

Subleski dubbed the group United Pharaoh’s Guard, or Loujihadeen, and said their numbers have grown to about 30. After NFAC came to Louisville, UPG began occupying the square on a regular basis.

Subleski said he’s not anti-cop, but the authorities don’t like the group. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives have interrogated group members, he said.

During a march, he said an officer approached and said, “‘We’re glad you’re here, we support your Second Amendment rights.’ I cut him off and said, ‘What about their First?’

He realized we were not there to back the police or property, but we were there for the people.”

In fact, he said, where some militias turn out to protect property, UPG is solely concerned about physical safety.

“We have a stance on it as a group. How people choose to express themselves and their anger doesn’t have a damn thing to do with me till someone is being hurt,” he said.

“Just like we told law enforcement and federal agents — if they want to break windows or burn a car, it has nothing to do with us. We won’t intervene.”

I asked him if he’s afraid of dying.

“Yes and no. I’ve never been a guy that cared too much about myself. I probably care more about others than my own well-being. I expect the unexpected. I’m fully aware of the dangers and the credible threats against my life. I probably view death differently than some others.”

GUNS AND POLITICAL EXPRESSION

University of California Los Angeles law professor Adam Winkler, whose specializations include gun policy, noted that guns have been part of protests throughout American history. He cited labor strikes in the late 1800s, KKK rallies in the early 1900s, and the Black Panthers carrying weapons to the California statehouse in the late 1960s as just a few examples. The latter created a stir that led to more gun restrictions in the state, he said.

Winkler has noticed a resurgence of public displays of weaponry in the last 10 to 15 years, a period that covers the emergence of the Tea Party movement that arose after Barack Obama was elected in 2008.

“We often think about guns as a tool for hunting or selfdefense, but increasingly they’re used as symbols of political expression,” he said. “People with political views consistent with militia movements … think their political protest is more powerful when it’s done in military garb and with firearms.”

Guns at the protests might seem to reflect a conflict between the First and Second amendments, he said, adding, however, that the issue is nuanced. “It may not be much of a stretch to say the activity of having guns at a protest may not be protected by the Second Amendment, but protesters possibly have first a First Amendment right that involves having a gun at a protest.

“It’s another thing when the firearms’ existence intimidates and terrorizes other people. In that case, we could see that having a gun at a protest chills other people’s constitutional rights to express themselves and feel safe. It maybe discourages other people from even showing up at a protest because they fear violence and intimidation. That’s a First Amendment question that needs to be answered, too. It’s a whole mess, basically.”

THE DILEMMA FOR ACTIVIST LEADERS

It is exactly the ambiguity Winkler explained and other issues that make it more difficult for Louisville’s community leaders to tell young people to leave their guns at homes.

“I don’t choose to carry a gun, because I’ve lost too many people to gun violence,”said Shameka Parrish-Wright, who directs the Bail Project and helps lead efforts at Jefferson Square.“But I can’t tell people, in a strong gun-toting state that just relaxed its laws over open carry, not to carry.

“If there’s an event where we know it’s all just children, LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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we say, ‘Hey can you not have your long guns for their own protection.” visible assault rifles out, because we want to Eddie Woods, who heads the No More make sure the kids don’t get scared.’”

Red Dots gun intervention program, said it’s Parrish-Wright receives nearly constant hard to preach restraint when young people don’t believe death threats. police will proAnd recently, tect them from when a woman approached her Parrish-Wright receives other groups. with a gun to “If the armed nearly constant death air out a grudge, protesters had the people of the any idea that the threats. And recently, park surrounded militias would be her to defuse the dealt with if they when a woman situation. did something of approached her with a a confrontational A few years ago as Parrishgun to air out a grudge, nature, they Wright conmight not carry,” the people oft he park ducted surveys he said. “In a to gauge gun meeting, surrounded her to defuse Zoom ownership one of the young across the city, guys we’re menthe situation. she learned that toring asked, if it many of her came to a physifriends own cal confrontathree or four firearms. “I realized, ‘Oh, snap, tion between militias and protesters, whose a lot more people have guns than I thought.’ side would police be on? I thought that was They don’t have them out, they have them in a legitimate question that I don’t have an case of safety. What the militias and police answer to.” • didn’t know is that a lot of people in Louisville that are Black, brown and poor, have

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Continued from Page 15

I have written about Monnik a few times over the last year.

The first time was because it has amazing vegetarian and gluten-free options.

RAMSI’S CAFÉ ON THE WORLD

Ramsi’s was one of the first vegetarian -friendly restaurants I found in The ‘Ville over two decades ago. It was also one of the early adopters of farm-to-table and has long been sensitive to many eating restrictions.

All of those things are nice, but we ordered from here for the food. With much of it raised at its own farm, you get fine dining at a much cheaper price.

Veggie side o’ life: I have a lot of favorites at Ramsi’s when we are able to dine in: Jun Kun Stew (root veggies, broccoli and limas in a Japanese broth), Peanut-ginger Thai Noodles with tofu (make sure to ask for the GF tofu) and the Crispy Petal Salad (roasted Brussels sprout petals with limas, goat cheese crumbles and an almond fig cake with olive oil and a balsamic glaze.) If you are ever unsure which way to go with a side dish, order the limas.

During quarantine, I have been enjoying the Faithful Falafel, a Pakistani inspired dish with baked falafel patties served with a vegan, homemade yogurt over sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cucumber and accented with a fresh mint sauce. I usually order a side of the pesto lima beans and dump them right into the yogurt sauce.

Things that died: Hope is a creature of habit at Ramsi’s. Unless we are going twice in one week, her order is always: basil salmon sandwich, but she asks them to grill the salmon (instead of fried) and swaps out the potatoes for the pesto lima beans.

Some other carnivorous favorites are: the blacked chicken Pollo Nueva Havana (blackened chicken breast, tamarindo jalapeño sauce, Boursin cheese served with basmati rice and stir-fried vegetables) and the Z-Man Steak (blackened beef tenderloin, Boursin cheese).

1293 Bardstown Road 451-0700 ramsiscafe.com Beverages: You can order bottles of beer and wine.

Ordering: Ramsi’s is serving its entire menu. Call in or go to its website to order for curbside pickup. Now open for dine-in.

BOOMBOZZ PIZZA & TAPHOUSE — HIGHLANDS

BoomBozz has great pizza, lots of veggie options and excellent gluten-free crust. The gluten-free crust comes in only one size, a 12-inch at $2 more, but is still plenty of food for two people. Order a starter salad if you are extra hungry, and do yourself a favor and order a side of marinara sauce for crust and starter dipping purposes. BoomBozz’s Hurstbourne location is closed at this time, but its Highlands and Jeffersonville restaurants are still open.

Veggie Za: we have two go-tos if we don’t design our own pie — the Portobello Bello pizza (portobello mushrooms, fresh spinach, roasted red peppers, garlic olive oil glaze, asiago and fontina cheese) and the Farmers Market pizza (artichoke hearts, mushrooms, caramelized bell peppers and onions, black olives, spinach, roma tomatoes, feta and red sauce).

Both provide smokiness in the grilled veggies, and the black olives and artichokes combine for a great flavor profile in the Farmers Market.

Post slaughterhouse options: In case you were thinking, “I haven’t killed anything in a while, but I just can’t decide,” BoomBozz has the dish for you. Its most popular pizza is the All Meats Classic with every kind of red meat it serves (pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, ham and bacon). Another specialty for people who prefer to use their eyeteeth, the Buffalo Chicken (marinated chicken, buffalo ranch sauce, red onion, asiago cheese, diced celery and hot sauce drizzle and served with ranch dressing).

1448 Bardstown Road 458-8889 boombozz.com/lou-highlands Beverages: It has drink specials, growlers and bottled beer and wine.

Ordering: BoomBozz is serving its full menu and uses most of the delivery services. Or, call or order online. It is offering free cheese bread with online orders. Dine-in is also available.

MONNIK BEER CO.

I have written about Monnik a few times over the last year. The first time was because it has amazing vegetarian and gluten-free options. The second time was for the healthy selections for those of us trying to make sure the buttons on our shirts aren’t social distancing. You can still order pub comfort food, but the salad and side options with their varieties of proteins make this a good, healthy stop as well.

Veggies: The salads are amazing and unique. I usually order the Harvest Salad (mixed greens, blood oranges, purple potato, mixed olives and edamame, accented with fennel and topped with a hardboiled egg for little protein). If I am particularly hungry and we are not getting a starter, I will get a second egg on top or an order of fried jackfruit. Hope enjoys the Kalette and Brussel Salad (fried kalettes, roasted Brussels sprouts, toasted almond slivers, pecorino, garlic, shallots and the Dijon lemon glaze).

She will add a chicken breast for the protein and to ensure I am not grazing on her plate when she’s not looking.

If you are picking a starter, definitely try the Jackfruit Al Pastor Nachos (eggplant queso, pickled onion, corn pico, pineapple and pepita cheese). This is my favorite appetizer in town at the moment, rich and colorful with a unique flavor profile including the jackfruit tasting like pulled pork.

Meatiness: Monnik offers classic Bavarian dishes: Beer Brat (beer poached bratwurst, grilled onions and mustard on a pretzel bun with curry ketchup), Sauerbraten (sour beef pot roast, pickled cabbage, potato dumpling, gingersnap sauce and crème fraîche) and Rouladen (sliced beef, mustard, onions, bacon, pickles, potato fritters and a red wine sauce).

1036 E Burnett Ave. 742-6564 monnikbeer.com Beverages: It offers drink kit specials weekly, canned beer, crawlers (24 ounces) and growlers, and wine by the bottle.

Ordering: Online, call in orders and dine-in. Delivery within five miles.

Continued from Page 7

neighbors, let’s do the work of making sure that Martin County has clean bathing water and drinking water. Those are issues that across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we should be concerned about.”

It’s a message reminiscent of “from the hood to the holler,” state Rep. Charles Booker’s informal campaign slogan when he was running against McGrath in the Democratic primary for McConnell’s seat. He wanted to unite Kentuckians across the state by focusing on the issues that they had in common.

Scott said she’s been talking to KDP staff about a listening session tour across the state for about a year. It has not materialized.

Kolb’s solution to the urban-rural divide is to stop focusing on maintaining a party and fully back progressive Democrats like Booker and Scott to build “a truly grassroots organization.”

UNSUPPORTIVE PARTY

Scott was elected to the statehouse in 2016 after succeeding in her primary against a longtime incumbent. The win was historic.

With it, Scott became the first Black, female legislator to serve in the General Assembly in almost 20 years. Scott doesn’t remember this being acknowledged publicly by the KDP, and it has set the tone for her time in office. The KDP and influential members do not help candidates enough financially nor with free promotion on social media, Scott said.

Self, KDP’s president, declined an interview for this article through a spokesperson. That spokesperson said Chambers Armstrong would not be able to comment for this story either.

This lack of support, according to Scott, is partly why Democrats lost so badly in Kentucky this election. And, it’s for this reason that Scott is also “not opposed” to dissolving the state party.

“If we disband the party, then one of the things we can do is really look at how are we recommitting our fundraising dollars to more Black candidates and Indigenous candidates and Latinx candidates and Asian candidates and women and folks in rural communities,” she said. “We can look at how do we dismantle the structure of the party that isn’t working and actually reimagine it and rebuild it in a way that actually works for people,” she said.

No matter what, the party will be reorganized. Gov. Andy Beshear is tasked with nominating the next chair and vice chair. •

LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

21

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Do you feel that 2020 is all one bleak dusk that’s gone on and on? (If you LISTEN never do, please tell me your mantra — or what you’re drinking.) Awardwinning author/playwright Peter J. Stavros offers timely understanding of how character is steeled or bent through accumulation of numbing nights, dark disappointments and occasional emotional escapes. His chapbook “Three in the Morning and You Don’t Smoke Anymore” is a baker’s dozen of very short stories and vignettes, taking you through codependence, celebratory overcompensation and poignantly adolescent regret. All written in second-person as facets of a single persona, the close-in observations are studded with motifs snagged from memory. The endpoints sometimes veer into hope despite themselves (“tomorrow might be good for something too”). What’s often exposed, though, is how we look at ourselves when our personal odysseys put us on a path where we feel every bump in the road. —T.E. Lyons

FRIDAY, NOV. 13

R.J. McNeal & T.S. Elliott Presents: Jokes n’ Jazz 21st Amendment Germantown | 1481 S. Shelby St. | Search Facebook $20 | 7 p.m.-midnight Live comedy and music are two things that we haven’t gotten to enjoy as FUNNY much since the pandemic hit.

This event has both, with the jokes from Rico Lovelace and Farrell Lee (aka, Mr. Skitz) and the jazz from Bashiri Asad, an Indianapolis musician who combines soul, funk music and jazz. Social distancing measures will be enforced. —LEO

If you need proof that there aren’t red states or blue states, only the United States, you’ll find it in the pure joy of a bark crawl. Instead of the normal Saturday morning WOOF stroll, head to the northern banks of the Ohio River. Start by taking a photo of you and doge at the New Albany Farmers Market before proceeding to some of the best food and drink proprietors New Albany has to offer, including The Earl, The Exchange, Pints&union and other small, local businesses, who will have treats for the both of you. Dogs will love the swaggy bandana, you will love the Jack Daniels Apple cocktails, and you can both enjoy the flying discs… it’s playtime and treats for all. —LEO

FRIDAY, NOV. 13

Friday The 13th Tattoo Sales Once upon a time, a tattoo parlor in Dallas, Texas, started offering $13 tattoos on INK Friday the 13th, and the day hasn’t been unlucky since. At least three Louisville tattoo parlors are offering discounts on tattoos for this momentous day. Not all are $13, but they’re still a good price for something that will be on your body forever.

Friday the 13th $20 Tattoos!

Brother Raven’s Tattoo & Art Emporium 5520 Fern Valley Road | $20 | Noon-10 p.m.

Show up to Brother Raven’s Tattoo & Art Emporium on Friday the 13th and you’ll have a spread of $20 preselected, black-and-white designs to choose from. There will be several options for larger, $50 tattoos, or you can drop an extra $20 for every color you’d like to add to the design. There are no limits on placement or number of tattoos you can get. If there’s a wait, you’ll be put on a list “until we feel the artists have all they can handle for the night.”

Brother Raven’s Middletown location has a 4.7 rating out of five stars on Google. Its South End location just opened this year.

Friday 13th Special | Imperial Tattoos | 972 Barret Ave. | Search Facebook | $13 (with $7 tip) | Noon-11:45 p.m.

You’ll have to sign up at the door (starting at noon) to get $13 ink at Imperial Tattoos. This Barret Avenue shop has 4.8 stars on Facebook and has artists specializing in multiple styles.

Friday the 13th Flash Event | Hard Life Tattoos | 962 Baxter Ave. | $31 | 2 p.m.

Instead of $13, these tattoos will be $31. Appointments are first come, first served. Hard Life Tattoos has 4.6 stars on Google. —LEO

‘IndySoul’ Singer Bashiri Asad is among the performers. | PHOTO BY RICH VOORHEES.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

STAFF PICKS

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

Riot Cafe | 574 S. Fourth St. Search Facebook | $10 | 8-11 p.m.

Eight Kentucky hip-hop artists, one venue. The “Visionaries” VISION are Joey Phantom, BRXTN, Berran Lee, Path, D-Twizt, WOPSWORLD, Rosé Da Baby and 1onewlf. Come out and see them for $10. Masks are mandatory, and temperatures will be checked at the door. —LEO

The Resource Room, LLC | 1860 Mellwood Avenue, Studio 182 resourceroomlou.com | Free | 7-10 p.m.

Visionaries Hip Hop

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

NuLu’s Annual JingleFest

East Market Street | Search Facebook | Free | 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Everyone is eager for a return to normality, and we could all use some cheer, so let’s all accept that it’s fine to start the holiday festivities before THAT TIME OF YEAR Thanksgiving. Plus, we need more time and social distance to safely accomplish our holiday shopping and other activities. So let’s get started with JingleFest, when shops and stores in NuLu will be featuring holiday sales and specials. Plus, get a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime safe, masked picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Stores and restaurants will maintain a limited capacity and masks are required inside. —LEO

Queer Poetry Night

The Resource Room opened this year as a gallery and gift shop with a directive: Be an inclusive and accessible creative space that promotes community and personal PRIDE growth. This event is carrying it out: a queer poetry night for people from the LGBTQ community to share what’s on their mind. Email jamie@resourceroomlou.com if you’d like to perform. —Danielle Grady

SATURDAY, NOV. 14-JAN. 23, 2021

‘There Used To Be A Street’ By Dana Oldfather Carnegie Center for Art and History | 201 E. Spring St., New Albany carnegiecenter.org | Free

“I put their bodies together ART strangely to challenge unattainable standards of beauty and express the anxiety and confusion that arises in reaching for them,” said Cleveland artist Dana Oldfather.

“These figures help me come to terms with the uniqueness of my own feminine body, its aging, and my ownership of it.”

Oldfather wants you to ‘Borrowed Field’ by Dana Oldfather. Oil, acrylic, know being a woman is airbrush, spray paint on linen. hard work, and if you are not careful, it can tear you apart. Her solo show explores relationships between women and their partners and their children and with each other. The Carnegie is having an open house reception on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. Reservations, in 30-minute time slots, are required to attend with a maximum of 20 guests allowed at a time. The Carnegie is also showing Susanna Crum’s “Watershed Globe Project.” —Jo Anne Triplett LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

23

Now offering in-person private lessons!

GET YOUR

STAFF PICKS

SUNDAY, NOV. 15

CC’s Drag Brunch

(masks required)

CC’s Low Carb Kitchen | 800 S. Fourth St. | Search Facebook | $30 | 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

It’s possible that drag goes better with brunch than mimosas. But why make us choose? Tova Ura Vitch, QUEEN “The Queen of Bling,” hosts two brunch-time shows featuring DJ Syimone from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. This new restaurant in The 800 Building could become your next brunch spot, too, as CC’s makes evTova Ura Vitch is featured at CC’s Drag Brunch. erything from scratch and offers healthy, low carb “elevated comfort foods”… so brunch won’t send you right back to sleep. Plus, drink specials all day this Sunday. —LEO

PICK-UP LOCATIONS Bungalow Joe's • 7813 Beulah Church Rd Street Box @ Republic Bank Bus Stop • 10100 Brookridge Village Blvd Party Center - Fern Creek • 5623 Bardstown Rd Street Box @ Piccadilly Square • 5318 Bardstown Rd Jay "Lucky" Food Mart #1 • 5050 Billtown Rd Cox's - J-Town • 3920 Ruckriegel Pkwy

TUESDAY, NOV. 17

Bearno's Pizza - Taylorsville • 10212 Taylorsville Rd

Taj Mahal

Louisville Athletic Club - J-Town • 9565 Taylorsville Rd Cox's - Patti Ln • 2803 Patti Ln

Online | kentuckyperformingarts.org | $20 | 9 p.m.

L.A. Fitness • 4620 Taylorsville Rd Habitat ReStore - Taylorsville • 4044 Taylorsville Rd Feeders Supply - Hikes Point • 3079 Breckenridge Ln Street Box @ Heine Bros • 3965 Taylorsville Rd Paul's Fruit Market - Bon Air • 3704 Taylorsville Rd

Full list at LEOWEEKLY.COM/DISTRIBUTION

2108 Bardstown Rd. Ste. B wwpilates.com 502.694.8838 Get healthy, stay safe!

fashion forward without spending a fortune shopsassyfoxconsign.com

New Hours Tue–Fri 11–5 pm Sat 10–4 pm

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

502.895.3711 150 Chenoweth Ln

You still can’t see a Broadway show at the Kentucky Performing Arts Center or a rock concert MUSIC at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, but KPA is hosting this virtual performance featuring blues musician Taj Mahal. Taj is considered one of the pioneers of world music, which combines acoustic blues with Caribbean and West African music. He’s been playing since the 1960s, winning multiple GRAMMY awards along the way, traveling around the world and making album upon album. But, this will be a first for him: a livestream performance. He’ll be playing from UC Theatre in Berkeley, California. The nice thing about this medium, is you can watch Taj live or access the stream on your own time for the next 48 hours. —LEO

THROUGH NOV. 23

‘What Knots’ By Bobby Hinkel

Revelry Boutique Gallery | 742 E. Market St. | revelrygallery.com | Free Leftovers — be it food, fabric or wood — offer a bit of excitement to a creative. “What can I do with this?” is a great CREATIVE starting point for innovation. That’s exactly what artist Bobby Hinkel did with the wood pieces he had that were discarded from home renovations, shipping crates and lumber stores.

Thus, his starburst design was born.

“Every piece of wood has lived a previous purpose and has a story enclosed within it,” he said. “Just like people, wood can be exposed to various elements throughout its lifespan. I bring each ‘Hat Trick’ by Bobby Hinkel. Wood. piece of discarded wood back to life in every exhibition, giving each fragment a new direction.” —Jo Anne Triplett

MUSIC

AS WINTER SETS IN, LOCAL MUSIC VENUES FIGHT TO STAY OPEN

SAFETY MEASURES HELP BUT FEDERAL RELIEF NEEDED

By Scott Recker | leo@leoweekly.com ON HALLOWEEN WEEKEND, Zanzabar hosted its first indoor event since the pandemic started. It was a socially-distanced burlesque show with around 50 people in the 400-capacity venue. Booking agent Mark Evans said it was also a trial run for indoor concerts, which Zanzabar is currently considering in the near future.

“As long as we can keep doing it where everyone feels and is safe, including the performers, and the staff,” Evans said.

“We’re just taking our time and taking every step that we can to make sure it’s as safe as possible.”

As we move into the winter, COVID-19 numbers are increasing in Kentucky, and there has been no federal stimulus money directly aimed at independent music venues, so Louisville’s stages are fighting to survive.

Especially as they enter their traditionally toughest season of the year. Local venues have worked on ways to slowly start rolling out concerts once again, but aid is also a must for many.

“Without any assistance, we’re stretched pretty thin,” Evans said. “It’s just a waiting game at this point.”

But positive developments have occurred, with the cooperative Louisville Opens Venues Safely, or LOVS, more than 10 local venues that are working together to provide unified health guidelines to host concerts.

Plus, a piece of legislation, the Save Our Stages Act, pushed by the nationwide lobbying group National Independent Venue Association, or NIVA, recently reached its 200th cosponsor in Congress, among them Louisville’s U.S. Rep John Yarmuth, who is LEO’s founder.

thing for rural districts. I just doubt that there is. This is one of those things, in terms of whether it would be prudent in a final deal… I think it’s a coin flip at this point.”

He said that the election probably diminished the chances of the Save Our Stages Act passing, because it’s not clear where the Senate stands due to the runoffs in Georgia. Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that he’s in favor of another stimulus package, but Yarmuth said that he believes the debate on what’s included will be intense. And the Save Our Stages Act could get chopped in the process.

“There are a lot of interests competing for what is probably going to be a smaller pie,” Yarmuth said. “If we would have had a much more definitive victory in the Senate and picked up House seats, I would have said, ‘Yeah, if we don’t pick it up in a lame duck package, we could come back and do it the first of the year.’”

Yarmuth said he personally thinks it’s very important that the Save Our Stages Act is included in any stimulus, in order to protect places that are unique pieces of our city’s culture.

“It’s one of things that defines our community, and gives us an identity,” Yarmuth said.

IT’S A ‘COIN FLIP’

A NEW VENUE

Yarmuth said that even though there’s some momentum going for the Save Our Stages Act, it’s still tricky and will depend on how the congressional negotiations on another stimulus package go, which should occur this month as the Senate and House both reconvene.

“Particularly among urban members who realize how important that segment of the economy is for the vitality of their districts, there’s a lot of interest in that,” Yarmuth said.

“I’m not sure that we would say the same

While several local indie venues are struggling to stay open, another is working toward opening. Parkland Plaza, a multipurpose outdoor venue on Dumesnil and 28th streets, is a collaboration between The People of Parkland, Center For Neighborhoods and 1200 LLC, the latter of which is the business of Jecorey Arthur, a musician, teacher and activist who recently won the city council race for the seat of District 4.

The Parkland Plaza will be used for various events, including pop-up markets and

Bully at Zanzabar. | PHOTO BY NIK VECHERY.

community festivals, and music will also play a major role, making for another unique entry to the Louisville venue landscape. It was supposed to open this past summer, but because of the pandemic, the new goal is spring.

“The current dynamic of music venues is nonexistent in The West End of Louisville,” Arthur said. “You have some venues that are doing their very best to stay afloat, who are currently programming DJs, who are not necessarily fit for a full band, whether you have a jazz band or a punk band or a hip-hop artist — they aren’t necessarily fitting for you to come in and play music, especially if we’re talking about all-encompassing, family-friendly music venues. That doesn’t really exist in The West End. There’s events and festivals that pop in and out, but once this is established, we will have a space.”

Arthur is confident in the future of the venue, but he said that COVID-19 has made the process of opening difficult on multiple levels.

“It totally just shifted all of that,” Arthur said. “Not just having events, which would be wonderful, but just having days where we can go down there and work, that’s been complicated, because of the pandemic.”

The Parkland Plaza is a LOVS member, so Arthur and company have been active in talking with other local venues about the steps necessary to open in a safe manner, something that he feels optimistic about.

“I’m hopeful, as our country opens back up, as our city opens back up, that we can rethink, in a safe manner, the way that we go about experiencing gatherings,” Arthur said. • LEOWEEKLY.COM // NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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63

89

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109

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112

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117

118

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124

125

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127

119

102 Make a choice on Tinder 103 Isle of Man men, e.g.

104 Gorillalike 105 Suite meet?

108 Made lighter 109 One might begin ‘‘Dear Diary . . . ’’ 110 ‘‘All That Jazz’’ director 112 Screenwriter Lee, sister of Spike 113 De-bug?

117 ____ cha beef (Chinese entree) 118 V-J Day prez 119 Ni‘ihau necklace

O R S E R

N E W M E

S P A T S

S O R T

T C H S R O T A S R S W E A N L A P A S P I T S N A C T E A O B R S W O L O S U P E A O L G S W I A T E N D R E D A H L I S S E V E T I E D

E N T R Y

F O S S E

R B A Y N E E R R O R U M I A K

S K I E D G E N R E

Spiked wheel on a boot spur Farm-to-table program, in brief Shish ____ Scientist who said, ‘‘The cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star-stuff’’ First string Puts out How obedient dogs walk Gets a head?

Host of an Apple TV+ book club In again More sardonic Paperless airplane reservation Trifling amount Because (of) Sky fall?

Whitney of cotton gin fame Headed ‘‘Later!’’

Button on an old video game controller Org. that publishes the journal Emotion Prepare for a guided meditation, perhaps Cavity fillers Homogeneous ____ Gobert, 2018 and 2019 N.B.A. Defensive Player of the Year Benchmark: Abbr. ‘‘Over here!’’

Religion symbolized by a moon and star

E B E R X A X E Q U A N U M M E I S W S O S I O N T H O R E R O A I W E T T E T H E L I E C E L I K L I N E E L T S A S T Y S W I S H A L A T L

96 98 101

108

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63 64 65 67 68 69 70 71 72 78 80 81 82 83 85 87 89 90 93 95

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53 56 58 60

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105

111

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S W A A O N M E N

92

48

54

K E B O B

85

47

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77

102

59

64

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O P R A H

76 84

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71 74

18

39

53

58

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101

38 44

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I C U R A G H I G H O D E L E P L S O E C E P R E N D D I A D O V T O F A E U F A S O M E A N S P A A C C O U N T

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Down

Figure-skating champ Brian Reinvented self-image Tiffs Spots to shop for tots The Sun Devils’ sch.

One squat, for example What soap bubbles do Pet shop purchase ‘‘Yuck!’’

Sublime Toto’s creator They’re full of questions Holds on to one’s Essence, say?

Fasteners of some heels Go at a glacial pace Book before Joel Boat sometimes built around a whalebone frame Soul, e.g.

Give a shout Nothing of the ____ Digital sounds?

Something up one’s sleeve Original site of the Elgin Marbles Beyoncé, for one ‘‘How neat!’’

Uncle ____ Heartbreak Martin who wrote the ‘‘Baby-Sitters Club’’ series Conclude (with) Coarsegrained igneous rock Tagging along Martial-arts-based workout Trial’s partner Went cross-countrying, say

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1 Amenity in G.M. vehicles 7 R.N.’s workplace 10 ‘‘Awake in the Dark’’ author 15 Down at the bar?

19 Peace and quiet 20 Tease constantly, with ‘‘on’’ 21 Bottom lines?

22 Spanish Steps city 23 What an unsteady tightrope walker may do?

25 Number cruncher, in Wall Street lingo 26 Spelling clarification 27 CPR experts 28 ‘‘____ to My Family’’ (song by the Cranberries) 29 ‘‘It’s just too $%#@ hot!,’’ e.g.?

31 Fasten again, as documents 34 Dish cooked in an underground oven 35 Bolshoi debut of 1877 36 Thesis defenses, e.g.

37 Thereabouts 39 Me-day destination 40 What a beekeeper receives at work?

45 Pettily punishes 50 Dynamite 51 Explode on Twitter, say 52 ‘‘____: Ragnarok’’ (2017 blockbuster) 54 Catty comments 55 Upstanding person 57 Flood protector 59 Bird that carries Sinbad to safety 61 ‘‘Little Fockers’’ actress Polo 62 Little auk, by another name 65 Japanese audio brand 66 Cousin of a clarinet 67 Why the knight went shopping?

73 Letters no longer seen on most phones 74 Ingredient in une quiche 75 Source of the words ‘‘O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;/It is the green-ey’d monster . . . ’’ 76 Bohemian 77 ‘‘Hate Me Now’’ rapper, 1999 78 2019 award for ‘‘What the Constitution Means to Me’’ 79 ‘‘Magnifico!’’

84 Fully grown fillies 86 Statistician’s calculation 88 Cruz known as the Queen of Salsa 91 Regenerist skin-care brand 92 Upfront?

94 Hogs, after being scrubbed clean?

97 Even a little bit

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T A R O S E Y U P S T A P O R A R M R E T S C H S E W A N R O Y N E S R T U A N A R I P T F I O S R H M

No. 1115

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BY JULIAN LIM / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

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99 Take ____ from (follow) 100 Thrill 101 Resident of the lowest circle of hell, in Dante’s ‘‘Inferno’’ 106 Spring setting in San Antonio: Abbr.

107 Border of a lagoon, say 111 What the ecstatic janitor did?

113 Porcine pad 114 Paul of ‘‘There Will Be Blood’’ 115 Actress Taylor 116 ‘‘Stop it, I’m blushing’’ 117 ‘‘Michael Jordan’s Top 10 Free Throws’’ and others?

120 Rental units: Abbr.

121 Ballet shoe application 122 Shakespearean prince 123 Cuts off 124 Interlock 125 Choral composition 126 N.F.C. South city: Abbr.

127 Kids’ camp crafts project

I S L A M

The New York Times Magazine Crossword

PHOTO BY RACHEL ROBINSON

ETC.

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

FOUR PLAY

Q: Why are threesomes much more accepted in the popular imagination than foursomes? I was just googling "finding foursomes," and the first result is an article about threesomes that takes for granted that people are looking for MFF. That is a form of heteronormativity, right? I am not judging threesomes, of course, but asking why foursomes are perceived as more taboo. Would be interested in knowing more about what you think about this, or if you have any resource to recommend as I am approaching this now with my partner for the first time.

Willing To Foursome PS: Love what you do with your work.

A: I don’t think the popular imagination has conspired against foursomes or that foursomes area really that much more taboo than threesomes, WTF. Rather, I think threesomes are easier to arrange than foursomes and the popular imagination reflects that fact. Think about it: Finding two people who wanna fuck each other is hard. Finding three people who all wanna fuck each other—Person A wants to fuck Person B and Person C, Person B wants to fuck Person A and Person C, Person C wants to fuck Person A and Person B—is harder still. Adding a Person D to the mix makes the wannafuckmath infinitely more complicated. Which is not to say everybody fucks everybody during a threesome, of course, but at the very least everyone involved has to at least be okay with fucking in very close proximity to everyone else involved.

And while complicated to arrange and often emotionally tricky, WTF, threesomes aren’t really that taboo. According to research into sexual fantasies done by Dr. Justin Lehmiller, it’s the single most common sexual fantasy. More than 90% of men and nearly 90% of women fantasize about having a threesome, according to Dr. Lehmiller’s research; according to other research, roughly one-in-five people have actually participated in at least one threesome. (Full discloser/cumblebrag: I lost my virginity in a MMF threesome.)

Threesomes are heteronormative by design, e.g. they were arranged to fulfill a straight man’s standardissue MFF fantasy, but judging from my mail just as many MFF threesomes are arranged to fulfill the same-sex desires of often-but-not-always-newlyout bisexual women who already have husbands or boyfriends—less heteronormative and more bisupportive/biexplorative. (My mail isn’t scientific evidence, I realize, but it’s what I’ve got.) And for the record I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a heteronormative threesome. Straight guys should be allowed to have and be allowed to realize their sexual fantasies without being shamed, just like everyone else, so long as they’re realizing them with consenting adult partners. And while straight guys have historically done most of the judging and shaming of non-straight/non-guys over the entire course of human history, the corrective isn’t to heap shame on straight guys with off-the-rack sexual fantasies.

It’s to demand that no one should be shamed for their sexual fantasies and we demonstrate our commit-

ment to that principle by not shaming anyone—not even straight guys—who seek to realize their sexual fantasies with other consenting adults.

And finally, WTF, there is one place where foursomes are far less taboo and could even described as standard: the organized and mostly straight and often supremely heteronormative swingers’ scene.

If you and your partner are of the opposite sex and are interested in or willing to settle for strictly heterosexual sex where men are concerned, you might find more luck arranging foursomes at swingers’ parties—once those parties are possible again—than on dating apps.

Q: I’d like to think I am pretty open and understanding to a lot of things. I met a hot guy at my job who says he has a fetish for ass. In a sexting session, I learned he was not only obsessed with my ass, but me playing with his too. He later revealed there was only one other woman he felt comfortable sharing his gay fantasies. Everything involved ass play, sucking dildos or DP. (Eyebrow raised.) I asked him if he was curious about gay sex, and he said no. In no way does he want a man, he said, and everything he wanted done to him he wanted a woman to do. We’ve had several sexting sessions and it always shifts to me dominating him or a gay sex fantasy. I really want to be open but he is making this very hard.

Questioning Unusual Exceptionally Erotic Relationship A: This would be easier if you were clear — clear with yourself — about what you want and what’s possible. If you want a long-term relationship that doesn’t revolve around ass play and you couldn’t possibly enjoy a casual sexual adventure with a hot guy who isn’t a good potential long-term partner… then you should stop sexting with him. But if you’re up for a crazy, ass-centered sexual adventure with a hot guy that won’t lead to anything serious or longterm… then get yourself a strap-on dildo and order this not gay guy to get on his not gay knees and suck your not gay dick.

I suspect you feel tense after sexting with this guy because you’re left thinking, “My God, what am I signing up for here?” The animating assumption being that “going there” means getting stuck there.

But if you told yourself you were only signing up for a crazy night or a crazy weekend instead with this ass-obsessed dude and not a lifetime with him, you would most likely feel a lot less nervous about this connection. In other words, QUEER, being open to playing with this guy doesn’t mean you have to be open to dating him, much less marrying him. But, again, if having a sexual adventure with someone who isn’t a potential long-term partner isn’t something you could see yourself doing and enjoying, QUEER, stop responding to this guy’s sext messages. mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

On the Lovecast, Dan consults a rabbi. www.savagelovecast.com

@leoweekly

CLASSIFIED LISTINGS LEGAL Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 1990 Ford Festiva L Plus Green/ Black VIN # KNJPT06H9L6103872, Owner Anthony Burton of Mitchell Indiana Lien Holder: None Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2005 Cadillac STS Green VIN #1g6dw677950180112, Owner Country Mutual Ins CO of Wheeling Illinois Lien Holder: none Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.

Notice is hereby given by Nate's Automotive 400 E. Breckenridge Lou, KY 40203 (502) 408-7743.

Owner has 14 days to respond in writing to obtain title to the following: 1997 Linc T/Car VIN2B3KA73W78H271600. Owned by Richard Dooley 3328 Algonquin Parkway, Lou. KY 40211 Lienholder Springleaf Financial 7031 Raggard Rd, Louisville, KY 40216.

Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 35-foot Utility Pole Communications Tower. Anticipated lighting application is medium intensity dual red/white strobes. The site location is 1019 Rosemary Drive, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40213 [Lat. 38-12-20.8080, Long. 85-43-51.4902]. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration (ASR, Form 854) filing number is [A1177169]. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS – Interested persons may review the application (www. fcc.gov/asr/applications) by entering the filing number.

Environmental concerns may be raised by filing a Request for Environmental Review (www.fcc.gov/asr/ environmentalrequest) and online filings are strongly encouraged. The mailing address to file a paper copy is: FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. HISTORIC PROPERTIES EFFECTS ?

Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Alisia Hassler, a.hassler@trileaf.com, 1515 Des Peres Rd., Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111.

Crown Castle is proposing to install a 45-foot pole telecommunications tower at the following site: 3734

Oakdale Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40214, [Lat. 38-12-7.884 N, Long. 85-45-54.8994 W].

Crown Castle invites comments from any interested party on the impact of the proposed action on any districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects significant in American history, archaeology, engineering or culture that are listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and/ or specific reason the proposed action may have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Specific information regarding the project is available by calling Monica Gambino, 2000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317, Monica.Gambino@ CrownCastle.com, 724-416-2516 within 30 days of the date of this publication.

PUBLIC NOTICE: Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 34-foot utility pole Communications Tower. Anticipated lighting application is medium intensity dual red/white strobes.

The Site location is 1000 Greenleaf Road, Jefferson County, Louisville, KY 40213, Lat: [38-12-19.7316], Long: [-85-43-59.7324]. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration (ASR, Form 854) filing number is [ASR# A1174655].

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS – Interested persons may review the application (www.fcc.gov/asr/applications) by entering the filing number. Environmental concerns may be raised by filing a Request for Environmental Review (www.fcc.gov/asr/environmentalrequest) and online filings are strongly encouraged.

The mailing address to file a paper copy is: FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554.

HISTORIC PROPERTIES EFFECTS – Public comments regarding potential effects on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Edward Reynolds, e.reynolds@trileaf.com, [1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111].

Notice is hereby given by J T Classic Auto Shop LLC 2341 Millers ln Lou, KY 40216 (502) 309-5980. Owner has 14 days to respond in writing to obtain title to the following: 1996 Jagu, VIN-SAJHX1742TC762960.

Owned by Pavol Malek 9926 Tradewinds DR, Port Richey, FL 34668.

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