Food You Might Regret Having Eaten: If you’ve recently eaten a pepperoni-stuffed Hot Pocket, you may regret your decision even more than usual. Last week Nestle Prepared Food Company recalled more than 200,000 pounds of Pepperoni Pizza Hot Pockets due to possible contamination with foreign objects.

I Prefer the Term Food Connoisseur: A report released by the Trust For America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation last week listed Kentucky as the 7th fattest state in the nation. Maybe if the food at our local restaurants wasn’t so good, we wouldn’t be tempted to eat so much so often.

What Happens When You Make Decisions After Too Many Drinks: Some administrators at local universities are pushing for government officials to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. If they could only get it pushed back to 11 months, it might help out the woman who was arrested at the fair for filling her infant’s bottle with wine.

Speaking of Drinking and College Students: Marty Rosen reviewed The Granville Inn last week in the C-J, a popular drinking spot among UofL students. It must have been reviewer week in Old Louisville. Robin Garr reviewed the neighborhood’s Carly Rae’s in last week’s LEO.

Vote for Your Favorite: If there’s a restaurant in Louisville that you feel has the best Japanese/Italian/Chinese/Indian food of them all, cast your vote for them in this year’s LEO Readers’ Choice Awards. I just finished voting a few hours ago, and there’s an entire page covering just about every local food-related category I can think of.

by Jessica Elliott, About.com:Louisville

Looking for something different to do the weekend of July 12th & 13th?

Old Louisville, one of the largest historic preservation districts in the nation, will be showing off its private green spaces during the 15th Annual Old Louisville Hidden Treasures Garden Tour. While you’re enjoying the spectacular Victorian architecture and shaded walkways, why not pop in for a bite to eat at one of several neighborhood restaurants? With outdoor seating options, these four eateries allow nature lovers the opportunity to enjoy a quick snack or leisurely lunch or dinner out in the open.

Amici’

Located at 316 West Ormsby, and just steps from the opulent mansions of Millionaires Row, Amici’ Italian Café offers out-of-doors seating in a romantic fern-laden brick courtyard where tinkling fountains and chimes put diners at ease. Enjoy the signature drink, the Amici bellini, and choose from a wide variety of dishes showing influences from the north of Italy. Along with your cocktail, try the Prosciutto e melone appetizer, thinly sliced prosciutto wrapped around melon wedges for $6.50, or the antipasto platter ($10.00) with an assortment of cured meats, cheeses and pepperoncini. For a nice summer main course, try the grilled shrimp and scallop risotto ($17.50) or the cheese tortellini with asparagus pesto and grilled chicken ($16.50) Also available is a wide selection of salads, panini, pizzas and soups.

Carly Rae’s

One of the newest restaurants on the Old Louisville dining scene is Carly Rae’s, and the recent arrival of Chef David Clancy and his new menu make it worth the visit. Arguably one of the nicest al fresco locations in the city, the spacious patio at Carly Rae’s has become a favorite with Old Louisvillians, who only need walk a couple blocks down to the casually upscale restaurant at the corner of First and Oak. Perfect for a drink with friends or a weekend get-together with the family, the patio is often full and bustling with neighborhood activity. A variety of trees and shrubs ensure a welcome respite from the July sun, and with its goodly number of tables, it’s not hard to get good outside seating. For those wanting the solace of gleaming hardwoods and cool leather, all you have to do is walk through the nearest door to a spacious, club-inspired lounge with a well-stocked bar. Owners Herb and Gayle Warren are also known for their and involvement in the community.

Third Avenue Café

Sidewalk patio seating for 24 under a towering maple tree ensures a pleasant experience along bustling Third Street at this friendly, neighborhood establishment that specializes in vegan, vegetarian, and non-vegetarian items. All entrees, sandwiches, soups, salads, and desserts are made from scratch on the premises and served up under the motto “Good Karma. Good Food.” Ask Elvis. He’ll tell you all about it. Popular snacks include fried portabella strips with horseradish sauce ($6.50), shrimp cakes ($5.50) and spicy cheese quesadilla ($7.00). Sandwich favorites are the hot turkey melt ($7.95), vegetarian reuben ($7.75), and barbecue tofu sandwich ($7.25). The comfortable interior seats up to 150 people in an eclectic setting that features a large mural of Old Louisville Victorian homes and antique pharmaceutical items reminiscent of the days when the building housed the old Zeiden’s Drug Store.

Buck’s

Buck’s, the latest incarnation in a long line of restaurants that have graced the lower floor of the Mayflower Apartments on Ormsby Avenue, offers outdoor seating under a canopy of shade trees across from some of the largest Victorian mansions in the city. From the abundant vases of white blossoms that adorn the bar to the trademark mismatched antique-shop assortment of china and silverware that set the tables, Buck’s Restaurant and Bar is an Old Louisville original. Definitely one of the pricier eateries in the neighborhood, Buck’s has a diverse dinner menu that makes a slight nod at retro favorites such as oysters Rockefeller ($10.95), Kentucky trout dijonaise ($21.95), and medallions of beef “Henry the Fifth” ($23.95), but fusion-inspired dishes appear as well. Crispy fish with hotsweet chili ($20.95), spicy noodles “Cantonese” ($21.95), and pork and rice pot stickers ($7.95) demonstrate the chef’s adventurous side.

And although the snowy days of December will be far from the minds of most at the summer garden tour, you can get a leg up on your holiday preparations at a special Christmas in July Ticket Sale. After your meal, look for the brightly decorated Christmas tree and Christmas display in front of the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum at 1402 St. James Court.

Old Louisville Holiday House Tour tickets, normally $25, will be offered at a special discounted price of just $15 for the two days of the garden tour. And the best part: everyone who buys a Holiday House Tour ticket at the 2008 garden tour will be entered into a prize drawing for a spectacular Old Louisville weekend-getaway gift basket valued at more than $1,000. The prize package includes two passes to the 3rd Annual Spirit Ball in October, tickets to the 5th Annual Victorian Ghost Walk, and dinner for two at Amici’.

The highlight of the basket will be a two-night stay at one of Herb and Gayle Warren’s award-winning bed and breakfast establishments. Other goodies include Michael Breeding’s Victorian Mansions of Old Louisville DVD, gift cards by Mark and Claudette Rego, and a selection of Happy Balls!, the official candy of Old Louisville. Second and Third Place Prizes will be given away as well. The 32nd Annual Old Louisville Holiday House Tour will take place on December 6th & 7th from noon until 6:00 pm. For more information call (502) 635-5244.