Ashlee Clark Thompson

Mint juleps get all the attention, but it’s food, not bourbon, that drives the Kentucky Derby and its festivities. Hot browns, Benedictine sandwiches, and slices of Derby pie provide the fuel revelers need to enjoy the weekend ahead.

Here are some tips that will help guide you through your Derby dining experiences.

Getting in the Door

To get a table, you'll need more than prayer to score some good food on Derby or Oaks nights. You need to plan, and plan well. 

My attempts to save a little extra money for a splurge are usually half-hearted. Just check my savings account. But there’s an envelope on my kitchen table with a trio of Andrew Jacksons reserved for a night out during 502 Restaurant Week. 

City-wide restaurant weeks have cropped up in markets across the country since New York founded a lunch-only (now expanded) restaurant week in 1992. Like similar events in other cities, 502 Restaurant Week gives diners the opportunity to eat at participating upscale establishments for a discounted rate. 

Editor's Note: With all the emotion surrounding this story, we've asked Gabe Sowder and Rae Hodge, who last year wrote a stinging review of Taco Punk in the University of Louisville's student newspaper,  to contribute to a point-counterpoint feature. Read Sowder's here and Hodge's here.

Gabe Sowder’s first year as chef and owner of Taco Punk was rough.

Lynn’s Paradise Café, a Louisville restaurant staple with national recognition, has closed after 22 years.

No official reason has been given for the abrupt closure, but it follows several days of media attention and backlash over new labor policies at the restaurant. The most contentious of those policies, according to several reports, is a requirement for servers to keep $100 in cash on them during each shift to ensure that secondary staff members such as bussers and bartenders receive their share of tips.

Here are the events that preceded the closing:

One food truck couldn’t contain the plans Matt Davis had for Lil Cheezers Gourmet Grilled Cheesemobile.

Davis took to the Louisville streets in a Velveeta-yellow truck in 2011, selling creative takes on the classic grilled cheese sandwich to office workers, club kids and curious passers-by. In less then 18 months, Davis has established a brick-and-mortar restaurant, too.

“The idea was not to put all the eggs in the Lil Cheezers (truck) basket,” Davis said.

Thanksgiving is a week away, and I’m already tired.

There are groceries to buy, pies to make, outfits to iron, advertisements to review.  I could’ve sworn that the Thanksgivings of my childhood only lasted a day. Now, it seems like this holiday has transformed into a marathon of planning, cooking, eating and shopping.

Fortunately, there are resources throughout Louisville to get me and the other procrastinators and overachievers through this demanding time.

Where to buy your Thanksgiving groceries/food

Cardinal Towne seemed like a good location for Papalinos NY Pizzeria to open a second location.

Bolstered by the success of the restaurant’s Baxter Avenue store, co-owner Shelly Hernandez says she and her husband, co-owner Allan Rosenberg, rented a space in Cardinal Towne, a mixed-use development on Cardinal Boulevard. Sandwiched between the University of Louisville Belknap campus and Old Louisville, the location had the potential to draw patrons from two distinct communities. They opened the Cardinal Towne Papalinos store in August 2011.