More Mason Mondays: Mason Rudd, the late Louisville philanthropist whose name is on the heart and lung center at Jewish Hospital and the tennis center at U of L, is being celebrated every Monday in August with “Mason Mondays” at the Fish House, where Rudd was a regular and favorite customer.  Sales from “The Mason,” fresh cod on Jewish rye served with potato latkes, will benefit the Jewish Hospital Foundation.

Trying Again in J-town: Bruce’s Smokehouse, the spin-off of Fire Fresh BBQ, will open a new store in J-town, at the corner of Watterson Trail and Billtown Road.  The barbeque joint is set to open its new location, in the space vacated by Sir Churchill’s English Pub and Eatery, in early August.

Chef Deano is throwing a party at Equus!  Stories about his famous shin-digs abound, so his first-ever outdoor barbecue and wine tasting, scheduled for 5:30-8 p.m. next Wednesday, August 5 in the parking lot at Equus and Jack’s in St. Matthews, will certainly be met with bated breath.  Will the mayor come?  Will Deano launch into his impersonations of Johnny Cash and Coach Schnellenberger?  Corbett will be joined at the event by Green Egg Grill savant Ray Lampke (also known in grilling circles as Dr. BBQ) to cook Corbett’s 30-hour slow-cooked beef brisket.  The barbecue will be paired with zinfandel varieties.  Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.

More to Kroger: The St. Matthews City Council will hear a presentation from Kroger about expanding the Westport Road/Hubbards Lane store at its July 28 meeting.  A Kroger spokesman said the planned 9-month expansion would swell the store by 6,000-7,000 square feet to make room for more perishable foods.  My mom always taught me to shop around the “perishable perimeter” to eat healthy, so this should be good news for everyone in St. Matthews if and when it gets finished.  Kroger wants to start work by the end of the year; Eats will keep you posted.

Check the Dictonary: Coinciding with the release of the Julia Child biopic/bildungsroman “Julia and Julia,” PBS has made a growing number of her TV episodes available for viewing online.  Check out the “Bon Appetit” collection in general, and the seared scallops with quenelles of sorbet and the shrimp and rice episodes in particular.  Yowza.

John LaFollette is a Louisville writer.

Now Open: Captain Pepper Jack’s is a new restaurant on Taylorsville Road across the street from Bowman Field, offering menu items such as chicken and dumplings, lamb gyro, and babaganoush. [HotBytes Forum]

Double Vision: After more than a year away from the restaurant business, Anoosh Shariat will oversee the opening of two restaurants this week: Brownings at Louisville Slugger Field on May 12 and Bunz Burgers in the Highlands on May 14. [C-J]

Dining Events: If you like Chicken and Dumplings, you’ll want to head out to Brownsboro Road next Tuesday, May 19, for the Chicken & Dumplings Throwdown. Then, on May 22, restaurants and bars along the Highlands Bardstown Road stretch will provide live music and food samples and specials to individuals walking down Bardstown Road for the sixth annual Bardstown Road Bound festival.

Variety in Dining Deals: If you want to try the new White Castle BBQ Pulled Pork Slider, you can get a coupon for a free one on the White Castle website. Through the summer, Asiatique is hosting a Friday’s After Five happy hour featuring live music, discounted drinks, and smaller-portioned meals on Fridays from 5-7 p.m.

Ready to Grill: If you need a new grill this summer but can’t afford it, the C-J ran an article this week that explains some ways you can renew your old grill for another season or two.

Read more from Jessica at her Louisville blog.

Here’s the news promo: “Tonight, find out exactly how to survive the swine flu, but only if you watch our newscast at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11. Otherwise, you’re going to die.”

Our news outlets, both local and national, are having a field day with the H1N1 virus, otherwise known as swine influenza A. Photo ops with masked Americans seem to be standard B roll while the anchors find the most dramatic tones to tell you about the coming disaster. It must be made clear though that the World Health Organization has thus far not declared this outbreak to be a pandemic.

Here’s the truth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on alert Level 4, which the agency says comes into play when there are confirmed cases of person to person infection because that could lead to community outbreaks. Monday the CDC issued a travel warning in an effort to curtail non-essential travel to Mexico, where the outbreak is believed to have started. At the same time, the CDC also makes clear that, despite the name, no evidence exists that the virus is present in the food supply. However that did not stop Russia from banning meat imported from Ohio, according to the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch.

This strain of the swine flu seems to be passed like other seasonal viruses, through contact with an infected individual. Protection is simple:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, then dispose of the tissue
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, particularly after coughing or sneezing.
  
• Hand sanitizers are also effective
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
• Avoid close contact with sick people
• If you get sick, stay home and limit contact with other people. You could be contagious for up to 7 days

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you are affected by swine flu, and there are no reported cases in Kentucky as of right now, life will suck for a while until you get better. Like most flu strains, you’ll have a fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills, etc. A doctor may prescribe Tamiflu or Relenza , but most patients in the U.S. recover without it. By the way, if you got a flu shot this year, it does not cover swine flu because experts didn’t anticipate this form of flu spreading the way it has.

The silver lining in all this? Your Derby barbecue is safe. Get the charcoal.

Recently, the results of the 2009 Scovie Awards were announced, and LaGrange-based KP’s Specialty Pepper Products, which manufactures hot sauces and spicy snacks, received four of the coveted awards. All of the awards KP’s took home were won by the ‘Towering InferNuts’ spicy snack line.  In the ‘Snacks (Nuts) Category’ the Sweet-&-Spicy Peanuts took 1st place while the Spicy Peanuts took 2nd.  In the ‘Snacks (Unique) Category’ the Spicy Trail Mix came out on top with 1st place and the Spicy Pistachios wound up in 2nd.

Leon Kirkpatrick, the founder and owner of the company, teaches music at Bellarmine University and says he stumbled into the spicy-food business while working at a church in Versailles, Ky. several years ago. “An older parishioner brought me a large bag of habanero peppers one day,” says Kirkpatrick. “He thought he had planted bell peppers in his home garden and got a spicy surprise when the smallish peppers appeared instead.” In a fortuitous turn of events, Kirkpatrick followed the advice of another parishioner and decided to try his hand at hot sauce. Thus was born KP’s Specialty Pepper Products, a relative upstart in the world of condiments and snacks.

Given that Kirkpatrick’s products were up against the likes of Pace Foods, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Garden Fresh Salsa, he can be especially proud of his four awards.

“This year’s entrants really represented the cream of the crop in fiery foods products,” says DeWitt, “Our 2009 winners represent some of the largest companies in the industry and start-up companies just getting off the ground.  The common factor is their commitment to excellence and the real quality of the products they produce.”

DeWitt was also pleased with the geographic diversity of the winners.  “This year, our winners represent companies from 32 different states and countries and provinces as diverse as Panama, Australia, Japan, Antigua and Canada.”

Many of the Scovie award-winning products, as well as thousands of other food items, will be available to both trade buyers and consumers at the 21st Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, which runs from February 27 to March 1 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  For information on the National Fiery Foods Show, call 505-873-8680.

Here’s info to contact Leon Kirkpatrick:

KP’s Specialty Pepper Products
P. O. Box 456
LaGrange, Kentucky  40031
(502)-876-4600

“We’re looking forward to welcoming loyal guests and meeting some new friends in New Albany,” says Schulz. “We believe this location will be more centrally located and more convenient to drop by and have some great barbecue.”

Mark’s Feed Store’s newest location will offer the same menu favorites and sauces, including the original sauce, red sauce and new hot sauce, that are found at other area locations. In total, Mark’s Feed Store now has four locations, including the Highlands, Middletown, and Dixie Highway, which are open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Popular items include the barbecue half chicken dinner with cole slaw, the pulled-pork sandwich (“world’s largest”) platter with spicy fries and fried corn on the cob, and the homemade buttermilk pie. If barbecue’s not your thing, there are other options available as well: a wild salmon burger, chunky chicken salad sandwich, and grilled veggie salad. Just like the Kentucky locations, the New Albany store will be a smoke-free environment.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

Thoughts of home and all the trimmings while on tour can be bittersweet for the emotional appetite. What this one Louisville boy has to say about sharing and preparing meals at home and on the road is well, food for thought.

Thunderous drumming — be it ancient, state of the art or summoning John Bonham from the afterlife, Patrick Hallahan supplies the tribal, life-affirming heart for My Morning Jacket’s mesmerizing works of sound.

Front man Jim James scales a rock solid wall pounded out by Hallahan with the psychedelic grace of a shape shifter. The two are in sync as band mates as well as old friends and the connection is nothing less than magic.

With their current album, Evil Urges, carving a niche through the rock and alternative charts, My Morning Jacket still escapes category. To define the group’s body of music as one style is as futile as chasing spilled mercury across a classroom floor. (If you’re old enough to remember science labs back in the day, teachers letting students play with cups of quicksilver…but don’t get me started.) So, just trust me, or anyone who is a fan of  Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Slint or even Prince, that My Morning Jacket is hard to pin down. And why bother? You could be listening.

Read the rest after the jump…

Patrick is a dyed-in-the-wool Louisville and family man. Clan Hallahan are tight-knit, supportive and can take up some space at a local MMJ performance. Putting some substantial ripples in the gene pool are Patrick’s young cousins, Jackson and Corey, both exhibiting natural talent at drums and guitar, respectfully and are avid participants at Louisville School of Rock.

Jackson’s instructor Neil Lucas at Willis School of Music has a lot to say about the student he’s had for three years, starting when he turned ten.

“From what I’ve seen, is a hard hitter with tons of finesse which means he’s more than likely put in years of practice and pays attention to detail.”

Sounds familiar.

Taking visual stock of MMJ on the live stage, one can barely make out human figures and instruments as they are lost in swirling fog and bathed in a surreal light.  The rise and fall of guitars and hair occasionally break through the high tech nova. Outside of live concert photography, a recent studio session revealed a royal western style Dutch Masters sensibility. Not to mention that everyone is standing still.

Once out from behind the drums, Patrick Hallahan is revealed to be a tree of a man. He looks like he sounds – powerful, thick and esoteric.

With enough follicle glory to boost personal stock in Roto Rooter, Patrick falls into the rhythm of the song as wall of drumming hair windmills and hammering arms, with each memorable concert.

Many fans and bloggers from outside Louisville have a hard time hearing of how local folks used to catch Jim strumming solo at the Rudyard Kipling or remembering the kind barista, Patrick, who used to tap out time for a flawless cappuccino with his toe at Heine Bros in the Highlands.

The roar of those concerts is just an echo as of this moment. Misjudging a step into darkness, then plunging from the stage in Iowa earlier this fall, Jim James received traumatic injuries to his torso.  The unfortunate event pulled muscles as well as the plug on the remaining tour. A short while later the European tour was put on hold. Recovery is imminent but slow and nothing to take on the road. However, this won’t keep the band from honoring the Chicago shows in December as well as New Year’s Eve in Madison Square Garden.

Get ready to savor our guest’s response to questions about Louisville cuisine, Kentucky favorites that graced his childhood table and now miss or share while on the road, in the sky and far from a home-cooked meal.

With Seattle in their rear-view mirror, MMJ was on its way to the ill-fated Iowa City concert where Jim was injured when Patrick took on the task of completing the Gut Reaction interview.

Cindy Lamb: What are you eating, if anything, right now? Are you a good cook?

Patrick Hallahan: I’m really not eating anything at the moment, just drinking some raw Kombucha.  I wish I was eating my dad’s pulled pork bbq…. it’s the best thing in the world.  Am I a good cook?  Hmmm, some would debate both sides of that question.

CL: What restaurants in the Louisville area do you miss?

PH: If I don’t get a Jack Fry’s pork chop or a Kern’s Korner cheeseburger soon, I’m sure to implode.

CL: What is your favorite dish prepared by Your Mom?:

PH:  MAC AND CHEESE!!!  I’m pretty sure the woman invented the dish.  God, I need to get home.

CL: at Catholic Summer Carnivals?

PH: Fried fish sandwich or bratwurst.  Catholic summer carnivals = nuns, cold beer, and beat the dealer, and fish sandwiches/bratwursts balance things out.

CL: Favorite by your significant other?

PH: My wife, Brigid, makes a bourbon/mango chutney salmon dish that will send you upstream. A dash of love is always the best ingredient in any dish, and she heaps it on.

CL: Please shed some light on “Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise”. I’ve come across several slang definitions of all or some of that phrase and would like your personal take.

PH: I want nothing to do with any “Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise.”  I have a feeling it’s something smeared, and I want no part of it.  That one is all you…

CL: What brand of peanut butter do you prefer?

PH: I know there are a lot of delicious peanut butters out there (and you know who you are), but Kroger’s Natural Peanut Butter makes me really happy.  Maybe nostalgia has a stake in this…

CL: What Kentucky grub would you most enjoy sharing abroad or in other states?

PH: I always love sharing BBQ recipes with people abroad (Texas, the Carolinas, Korea, and Australia…all known for good BBQ).  But one thing that isn’t necessarily Kentucky-based, but something I like to share, is the colossal southern breakfast.  This high-calorie sucker punch baffles people everywhere, but once it’s explained that the meal’s origin is that of energy supplement for long days of farm work, they drop their guard and pick up their fork.

CL: What food will never pass your lips and why?

PH: I’ll try everything once.  WELL, maybe not lamb fries, or that body part on any other animal.

CL: What do you have stashed in the fridge of the tour bus? What will you not share?

PH: I have this Chinese chili pepper sauce that I can’t live without right now.  It goes on everything.  And I’ll share my food with anyone!  Food is a communal thing for me.  You want a bite?

CL: What music (or anything aural) goes best while dining for breakfast?

PH: Old Country, Sam Cooke

CL: Lunch?

PH: Digital Underground, Afro-beat, Fugazi, Talking Heads

CL: Dinner?

PH: Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald

CL: What is your ultimate morning meal?

PH: I can’t bring myself to eat this on a daily basis, but my first instinct is to make/order;  2 Eggs (Scrambled), 4 Strips of bacon, 2 Biscuits w/sausage gravy, Orange Juice, Water.  And a life insurance policy.

CL: What did you last cook over an open fire?

PH: Pork tenderloin and grilled vegetables in a grill wok.

CL: Take your pick of the two, or add your own food item:

• Baloney or Corndog: Corn dog
• Moon Pies or Derby Pie: Derby Pie, are you kidding???
• Big Red or Ale 8: Man, depends on the day.  Big Red for now
• Bourbon or Beer: Bourbon…quality over quantity.
• White Castle or Dizzy Whiz: White Castle (to go along with the Big Red).
• Pinto or Navy: Pinto
• Biscuits or Grits: Biscuits
• Coffee or Tea: Tea

Chubby Bubby’s is owned and operated by Louisvillians Ray and Suzanne Roberts, who had their 24-foot concession trailer custom built – complete with a 6-foot smoker, fully equipped commercial kitchen and its own sound system – several years ago. “In 2005 we began entering barbecue competitions as what I thought would be a hobby,” says Ray aka “Chubby Bubby.” (The name, incidentally, is childhood nickname that arose from Ray’s sister.) “However, when we won ribbons at our first competition, we were off and running. Chubby Bubby’s Smokehouse was born.”

According to Suzanne, food has been a passion with Ray for many years. “His greatest pleasures come from sharing his culinary creations with family and friends, and Chubby Bubby’s Smokehouse has given him a means by which to share this passion with others.”

Read the rest after the jump…

Ray says: “Our meats are slow smoked over delicate hardwoods with our unique blend of spices for a minimum of 12-24 hours. This is what gives them that incredibly tender, unique flavor. We prepare them with our signature bark rubs and serve them with our private label gourmet finishing sauces.” The Roberts also offer traditional sides with a twist.

This passion quickly paid off, because before the Roberts knew it, they were on the road, participating in competitions, catering private parties and company events, and selling their smoked meats at art fairs and festivals throughout the region. This past weekend, they didn’t have any events planned, so they decided to haul the cart over to Bardstown Road and see if there would be any takers. There were.

“We set up and Friday just to see what would happen, and since then, it has just snowballed,” says Suzanne. “It has been nonstop!” The Roberts own the carwash at the corner of Bardstown Road and Edgeland, so finding a location is definitely not a problem for them: all they need to do is set up in their own parking lot. And with the constant stream of pedestrian and auto traffic, they’re ensured as reliable a source of potential customers as can be had. Will they still be there next week?

When I stopped in, the line had subsided a bit, so it was very easy to get an order in and have a nice chat with Ray and Suzanne. The folding sign out front was pushing pulled pork and chicken, so I got one of each to go. A sandwich goes for $7 and a dinner including two sides costs $10. That day’s sides were baked beans and chipotle potato salad, a spicy and flavorful concoction with potatoes that had broken down to almost a mash – almost like a potato salad you’d find in the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun country. The chicken and pork were both tender and juicy, the pork having received such a thorough smoking that it more closely resembled beef.

The Roberts, members of Kentucky Proud, have developed a line of sauces and seasoning rubs as well. They’re all produced right here in Kentucky and they can be purchased at the barbecue trailer, in retail stores throughout Kentucky or from the Chubby Bubby website. When you get a chance, pay them a visit and convince them to stay. Call (502) 459-6484 for more information.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

Mark’s Feed Store is introducing a new kicked-up-a-notch variety to its line of award-winning barbecue sauces, which will go on sale this month. Long known for its hickory-smoked barbecue and tasty sauces, Mark’s has gained a faithful clientele during its20 years on the ‘Ville dining scene. Two bottled sauces came about as a direct response to customer requests and have been sold for years, now, but it seems that a large segment of the barbecue-eating public was in need of something with a little more bite. “Although our customers always loved our original sauces, we kept getting requests for something with a little more kick. So, we decided to create a new, spicy variety as well,” says Mark’s Feed Store founder Mark Erwin.

While this hot sauce is only available in Mark’s Feed Store restaurants for the time being, the original and red sauce can be found in Mark’s Feed Stores and Kroger’s stores. The original sauce uses a spicy mustard-based formula, while the red recipe has a tangy tomato sweetened with a touch of honey. Both sauces come from secret recipes developed by Erwin, who acquired his pit techniques from a third generation barbeque master. The recipe for the spicier sauce is being kept hush hush, but the zesty afterbite hints at a generous dose of chili peppers. Which type, though, remains a mystery for the moment.

The new scorching sauce will run $3.15 a bottle, and customers can also get two bottles or pair a bottle of the hot sauce with original or red BBQ sauce for just $6. Mark’s Feed Store has four locations (Highlands, Middletown, Dixie Highway and Clarksville, Ind.), which are open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

He cooked up 50 pounds of brisket, 80 pork medallions, 70 pounds of pork and 80 chicken breasts on his homemade smoker, and got help from co-workers and friends in delivering the food to more than 20 locations throughout the Thunder event.

“I get a lot of satisfaction out of it, I love to feed people,” he told me on Saturday afternoon, offering an exquisite sample.

He said he built the smoker from an abandoned trailer once owned by Fox 41, where he’s worked for 7 years. With a little help, he got a 550-gallon oil tank mounted to the trailer. He says his goal now is to enter the world of barbecue competition, beginning with a big event in August.

It’s amazing the things you find yourself doing as a parent. Most/many of them are things you simply couldn’t have imagined as a singleton.

Sitting in the indoor play area filled with shrieking kids at McDonald’s for two hours on a rainy day? Check. Logging visits to multiple retail outlets – both online and off – to find the Webkinz your kid wants? Check. Eating at chain restaurants with crayons at the table and the kind of macaroni your child likes – but pretty awful adult fare? Check.

While all of this is part of the parenting experience, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep searching for alternatives that please mom, dad and Junior. I am always happy to find a great place to eat that offers enough of the right kind of diversions to keep my 7-year-old happy – maybe even happy enough that Dad and I get to have an “adult” conversation. I just added a new spot to my list over the weekend.

When we visited Smoketown USA (1153 Logan St.), we were just looking for some good barbecue. We got that, plus an unexpectedly family-friendly experience.

Kids eat free every day. For every adult meal, you are entitled to a free child’s meal for kids 6 and under. (Although my son is 7, we got the deal anyway. Thanks to Lynn Gould, who owns the place with her husband, Eric David.) Even if your child is older, nothing on the kids’ menu is more than $3.95, and all kids’ meals come with a side and a cookie.

The décor is a little like Lynn’s Paradise Café, though not quite as kitschy. The Courier-Journal’s Marty Rosen described it in a recent review as having “the loopy ‘60s feel of a psychedelic Cracker Barrel.” Everything in the place, from an old typewriter to original artwork, is for sale. The salesmanship is done in a low-key way that is charming rather than offensive, however. And if your child is like mine, he or she will be thrilled to pick the table with the coolest stuff. (On our recent visit, it was a lava lamp.)

You can mosey out back to check out the smokers and have a word with Eric David Gould, an interesting character who describes himself as “a Jewish redneck massage therapist who likes to hunt and fish.” And kids are welcome to entertain themselves with a good-sized box filled with toy cars, dinosaurs and other items. (Thanks to Lynn, again, for making sure – in a nice way – that my son understood that picking up the toys when he was finished was part of the deal. She also warmed my mother’s heart by asking if it was OK for my son to have his cookie before bringing it to him.)

Perhaps most important, the food is great and inexpensive. Though I am not a rib eater, the ones my husband ordered looked and smelled fantastic – and he assured me they were. My shredded pork sandwich was fine — and even better when I ladled on lots of the smoky barbecue sauce. My son called his hot dog – cooked outside on one of the smokers – “the best I’ve ever bitten into.”

As good as the meat was, next time I think I’ll do a veggie plate. The greens were among the best I’ve ever had. Filled with chunks of tomato and okra, they were perfectly seasoned. The other sides sampled by my family – pinto beans, green beans and potato salad – were all excellent, as well. Amazingly, all are vegetarian-friendly. The CJ’s Rosen pointed out in his review that this is a rare and commendable thing for a barbecue joint to offer. As a former vegetarian, I couldn’t agree more.

One caveat: For those who don’t feel comfortable venturing far from the ‘burbs, I feel compelled to point out that Smoketown USA is located in a gritty city neighborhood. There’s a package liquor store across the street, another next door and lots of abandoned buildings. Though I might think twice about venturing there late at night, I felt perfectly safe (and very well-fed) on the Saturday afternoon we were there.