The Dish: Restaurant Week to serve up special deals

The Garage Bar, which features Sweet Corn, top, and Milled Tomato pizzas, will be a part of Restaurant Week.

Fleur de Licious, Louisville’s Restaurant Week, takes place May 11-20 with a new spin this year. Rather than a fixed-price menu, each participating restaurant will offer its choice of discount or special.

Among the specials are a 20 percent discount on meals at Vincenzo’s and a two-course meal for $16 at Garage Bar. Hillbilly Tea will offer flights with tea-infused vodkas and moonshine. More than two dozen restaurants ranging from casual to fine dining will take part.

“The goal is to get people to come to downtown restaurants, showcase what’s going on and let people know these restaurants are here,” says Keith Brooks, communications specialist for the Louisville Downtown Management District, which coordinates the event.

“What we’re trying to do is promote that local Louisvillian atmosphere and spirit.”

Brooks researched Restaurant Weeks in other cities as part of the planning for this year’s event. “In Louisville it’s so new that so many people don’t know about it, and we technically don’t have any sponsors. We are a foodie city, and it seemed a bit odd that we don’t have a Restaurant Week that is celebrated as it should be.”

Brooks created a Facebook page for the event that will be used to promote downtown restaurants and activity all year round. “Austin (Texas) had an actual app for their event,” he says. “I don’t think we’ll have that for a couple years, but that would be really cool.”

See the full list of restaurants at www.ldmd.org/

Fleur-De-Licious.html and follow the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fleurdeliciouslouisville.

Grilled cheese shop to open in the Highlands

A Cincinnati-based chain of grilled cheese shops is set to bring its creations — including a grilled cheese doughnut — to Louisville. Tom + Chee should open in mid-May at 1704 Bardstown Road. The shop has gained national media attention with appearances on “Today,” “Man vs. Food Nation” and “Amazing Eats.” Natalie and Rich Tinsley own the Louisville outpost.

The menu features fare ranging from soups to the basic American cheese on white bread to “fancy grilled cheese,” such as bacon, blue cheese and mozzarella on sourdough — and then that glazed doughnut grilled cheese.

“When we started, we were bootstrapping it, and it was about what we could do, not what we wanted to do,” says owner Corey Ward. “We’d seen the cheeseburger on the doughnut and said, ‘We can’t do all of that, but we can do the doughnut and cheese … let’s try it and see what happens.’ We took it to all of our friends’ house and events, and everybody liked it.”

Ward emphasizes that much of their food is made in-house. “We roast all of our own meats, we make our own pesto, we make everything we can make. There’s no freezer, there’s no microwave. Soups are made in-house daily.” He also points out “family friendly” prices, with the menu topping out at $5.50.

Specials at the shop may bring other intriguing options. “A lot of the flavors that people see on TV, we bring it to them in a grilled cheese, which is a familiar platform,” says Ward. “We do a lot of pork belly grilled cheese.”

More information: http://tomandchee.com.

Anchorage Cafe dinner to feature Kenny’s cheese

Anchorage Cafe, 11505 Park Road, Anchorage, will serve a six-course tasting menu showcasing Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese paired with local beers Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for $35 a person.

Not only will the cheese be local, but most of the menu will be as well. “All of our proteins will be locally sourced,” says chef Andy Myers. “We will be featuring Duncan Farms rabbit, Garey Farms pork and, hopefully, some mutton from Bluegrass Lamb and Goat. The majority of our produce will also be locally sourced.”

Van Campbell from Kenny’s will be on hand to talk about the cheeses, and Jonathan Searle of Proof on Main will serve as guest chef. He and Myers will create the menu with sous chef Paul Skulas.

The final menu will be based on what is available at the time, according to Myers, but will build around the cheeses. “I didn’t want to have a cheese dinner where you do nothing but cheese tasting or have typical cheesy foods,” Myers says. “We really wanted to show some of the versatility of the cheeses.” He says he will “attempt to make a tiramisu” with Kenny’s Cup of Joe cheese.

For reservations, call (502) 708-1880. More information: http://theanchoragecafe.com.

News bites

A “pop-up bourbon bar” from Angel’s Envy at 400 E. Main St. will serve craft cocktails through Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight. All proceeds will benefit the Kentucky Bourbon Historical Society, whose mission is to open and operate a bourbon museum in downtown Louisville.

Cellar Door Chocolates has launched a line of 16 specialty bourbon balls for Derby, featuring ingredients such as coconut milk, espresso from Red Hot Roasters, homemade ginger syrup, fruit nectars, sorghum, liquid smoke and lavender.

Taco Punk, 736 E. Market St., has added large party catering for groups of 20 or more downtown; order delivery or pickup for groups of six to eight, called “party on wheels”; and fundraising dinners on Monday and Tuesday nights, which give nonprofits the opportunity to earn 15 percent of food sales if more than 50 from the group dine.

Volare, 2300 Frankfort Ave., has added several spring dishes to the menu, including a lobster risotto; Estiva Salad (Kentucky-grown baby lettuces, roasted pear, brie and sugared hazelnuts in a strawberry vinaigrette); and capellini alla pollo (sun-dried tomato grilled chicken, olives, feta, basil pesto and a touch of cream).

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