Today, from 5 to 10 p.m., Annie May’s Sweet Cafe, 3110 Frankfort Ave., will host a Halloween party featuring allergen-free and gluten-free treats. This event at the gluten-, nut- and soy-free bakery is part of the F.A.T Friday Trolley Hop, which will be extended to Cannons Lane for the first time, according to cafe owner Annie May McGill.
“We like to have lots of stuff for the kids because it’s hard,” McGill says. “Some can’t trick or treat at all because of allergies. The parents maybe just don’t take their kids out at all. Who wants to have to take candy away from kids!”
McGill says the regular bakery case will be stocked with mostly allergen-free treats. “About 50 percent of the case is nut-, gluten- and soy-free, and the other half is free of the top eight allergens,” she says. “Those are also usually vegan … we like to have about half and half because there are people who still want their cheesecake!”
The party will also feature vegan, allergen-free funnel cakes, which the cafe introduced during the Kentucky State Fair. “They went over really well,” McGill says. “We did them for people who can’t eat at the fair, and we’ve had lots of requests since then.”
Also on the menu for the evening: a bacon and brie cupcake and a spiced beer cupcake using Apocalypse brewery’s gluten-free beer.
Costumes are encouraged, and the cafe will offer face painting for kids. Grind Gourmet burger truck will be on site, featuring a vegan, gluten-free, allergen-free Spanish veggie burger.
More information: (502) 384-2667 or www.anniemayssweetcafe.com.
Pad Thai inspires new coffee drink at Quills
Quills Coffee has launched a new signature drink, the Thai No. 5, inspired by the flavors of pad Thai.
“I’ve been pretty intrigued by the different flavor notes that can come out in coffee and how those can be accentuated with other flavor combinations,” says creator Phillip Revell. “ … that’s done so often and really well in the cocktail world. You’ll see in barista competitions all kinds of crazy stuff, but that’s not always accessible to the public.”
The Thai No. 5 is the second in a line of signature drinks that began with the Smokehouse, a cortado (a 4-ounce drink composed of espresso and steamed milk) with sorghum and liquid smoke added.
Revell says the newest concoction came to him when he was making toast and peanut butter. “I thought ‘Hmm, I wonder what it would taste like if I mixed peanut butter in espresso. Wow, it works!’
“From there it gave me the idea … I’ve always loved pad Thai. I thought this might be a cool conceptual drink, highly reminiscent of this food dish so many people are familiar with. Everything in it is intended to replicate what’s found in pad Thai. The espresso acts as the savory element that unites the sweetness of the peanut butter with the spiciness of the cayenne.
“We want to make something that’s incredibly unique to us,” Revell says, “that makes people kind of rethink what coffee is and what it does. We want to help people think about coffee on the same level that they would think about beer or wine or food or cocktails.”
The drink is available at all three Quills locations. More information: www.quillscoffee.com.
Comfy Cow contest to benefit the Louisville Children’s Museum
The Comfy Cow invites Louisville children to create and name a new ice cream flavor.
“There’s a movement afoot to build a children’s museum in Louisville,” says Comfy Cow co-owner Tim Koons-McGee. “They’re trying to raise money … we can always do something to help, and I think it’s a great idea. We put our heads together and came up with this idea of creating a flavor. We want kids to send in suggestions until Nov. 15.”
Out of the entries, Koons-McGee says, “we will pick 10 finalists and create those flavors. (Our staff and customers) will sample them, and we’ll unveil the winner on Dec. 1. All the proceeds from that evening, and 20 percent of sales of that flavor throughout December will go to the museum fundraising efforts.”
“I’m really anxious to see what the kids come up with,” he says. “I bet some will be really good. I think they’re going to come up with things I would never think of.”
Asked for any advice for the entrants, Koons-McGee declines. “I wouldn’t want to influence them,” he says. “It’s like telling them to color in the lines. I will love to see what they come up with. It will be a lot of fun.”
Learn more and find contest entry details at www.facebook.com/louisvillechildrens museum.
News bites
Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe, 2868 Frankfort Ave., is taking orders for whole hogs that it farrows and raises on pasture. See www.bluedogbakeryandcafe.com/ Hog.aspx.
A progressive dinner will take place in the Highlands at 7 p.m on Nov. 14 with an organization called Dishcrawlers. The four restaurants on the crawl will be revealed 48 hours before the dinner. The event costs $39. Visit www.dishcrawl.com/Louisville.
“Bardstown Bound” BooFest takes place Saturday, beginning at noon at businesses along Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue and in the Douglass Loop. Restaurants and bars will feature food and drink specials and live entertainment.
Tell Dana! Send restaurant “dish” to thecjdish@gmail.com.
