Now go dine out for life and support the House of Ruth.

Next Tuesday, October 13, Buckhead Mountain Grill will donate 20% of your bill to Metro United Way. At all Louisville locations. All day long!

All you have to do is print this flyer:

CLICK FOR FLYER – PDF LINK

And give it to your server by the end of the meal and 20% of the entire table’s total goes back to MUW.

So, planning on eating out that day? Do it in support of MUW. Don’t forget to pass these out to friends and family.

Beer No Matter Where It’s From: Fans of football and good beer have a great day ahead  Saturday.  Flanagan’s Ale House will host an event dubbed East Coast, West Coast, No Coast, in which brewing giants Dogfish Head (from Rehoboth Beach, Del.) and Stone (San Diego, Calif.) meet brewmasters from the Bluegrass Brewing Company (the Ville!) in a celebration of some of their finest beers.  For a list of all beers present, check here and here.  The event, which starts at 5 p.m., carries a $5 cover (and presumably something for every beer you order), with all the proceeds benefitting Henry’s Ark in Prospect.

Meet a Master Brewer — Delivering the Stone cold brew to the East Coast, West Coast, No Coast event will be Greg Koch, the owner and founder of Stone Brewing Co.  Before heading over to Flanagan’s he’ll be at Ray’s Monkey House Café hanging out with his pal (and mayoral candidate) Dr. Nimbus Couzin.  Starting at 2:30 he’ll be giving away Stone pint glasses, chatting with customers, and maybe even drinking some of that 13th Anniversary Ale.

And a Master Distiller — To celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month, Jack’s Lounge will be hosting the first in its Master Distiller Dinner Series on Sept. 29.  The guest at the dinner will be Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell, who will join mixology queen Joy Perrine to create Wild Turkey cocktails to go with each of the dinner’s three courses.  A spot can be reserved for $60, plus tax and tip.

And a Master Cause — Morton’s Steakhouse is partnering with Feeding America to raise money for local and national food banks.  The Louisville Morton’s is hosting a cookbook signing event on October 13 to promote its new “Morton’s: The Cookbook,” with $5 from the $59 ticket being donated to Feeding America.  The steakhouse will also auction off a dinner for six at the Chef’s Table, featuring dishes from the book as well as wine pairings.  Morton’s also plans to auction a 3-litre bottle of Chateau St. Michelle and an autographed copy of the movie “Scream,” which stars David Arquette and Courtney Cox.

English Take on Kobe Beef: Chef Laurent Geroli is trying his take on the Kobe beef dinner—first offered to the Louisville public by chef John Varanese—at the chef’s table at the English Grill on Friday, Sept. 4.  Each of the 12 seats at the chef’s table, which was once named one of the top-10 in the country, will cost a cool $295, and will get you a three-course dinner.  Geroli says he “threw caution to the wind,” in preparing this one, and, it sounds like, spared no expense.

What Would the Cost Per Bite Be? The 2009 Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion ham sold at auction for a record $1.3 million.  The Sutherland Foundation and Republic Bank matched bids to produce the record, with half going to U of L’s Bucks for Brains program.  Sutherland is donating its half of the ham to Proof on Main’s Bucks for Brains fund-raiser, which will feature the ham on its menu.  The ham was a big ‘un, weighing in at just under 16 lbs.

Prospect Pasta Place: The Prospect Plaza shopping center has a new tenant in Bistro 42, set to open on Sept. 1.  Home-style Italian is the fare, with a focus on pasta dishes.

A Cause for September: This month’s charitable promotion at North End Café benefits Community Health Charities, which helps place the needy with services they need.  CHC is asking for donations of most any kind, from manila envelopes to children’s development toys to postage stamps.  Anyone who brings in a donation during the month of September will receive a five-dollar discount.

I am getting back into the swing of blogging after a bit of a lay off because I had too much to do at the other job – don’t ask because it wasn’t pretty. So I made a sweep of my favorite blogs and clicked on Michelle Jones’s Consuming Louisville. I’ve been a fan, and have harbored a secret crush, for some time and one of her posts really struck a chord that might be of interest to the foodies that read ‘Ville Voice Eats. She’s hosting a bake sale.

Not just any bake sale, she’s putting this one together to benefit the Louisville Free Public Library. The flash flooding from a couple of weeks ago hit the library with a severity that only Mother Nature, or a wind created by eating White Castles, could bring. To say books were lost, computer systems compromised and a basement flooded doesn’t even speak to a portion of what they’ve been through. Damage estimates are in the $5 million range. If you pass by 4th and York, pay special note of the yellow tubes sticking out of the windows and try not to think about the first Predator movie. Yeah, it’s that bad.

So to help in the recovery, Michelle (I hope I can call her Michelle) is soliciting eaters, which pretty much covers everyone reading this. She admits that she’s never organized a bake sale  but she has decided to use her blogging super powers for good. And she’s looking for bake sale experts and bakers to help in the effort through her social networking effort called Let Them Tweet Cake. Where are those hidden family recipes that make your sugary concoction special? This might be the time to make some of those nummies. After all, with great foodie powers come great appetites to gobble them up. And in this case every little brownie helps.

To further put it together, Derby City Espresso on Market Street will play host to the event and donate a dollar from drinks sold during the fundraiser. As Chelly (I probably shouldn’t call her that) envisions it, if you’re looking for an after work snack or an after dinner dessert, and you want to help the recovery efforts of the Louisville Free Public Library, put your donations where your taste buds are. See the details below.

What: The Bake Sale Supporting the Louisville Free Public Library Flood Recovery Efforts

When: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 – 5pm-8:30pm

Where: Derby City Espresso, 311 East Market Street, downtown Louisville

Start with 401 persons, the grand ballroom at the Seelbach, add in 18 food vendors and 16 beverage vendors (most of the over 21 variety) add in a little live band called RadioRadio and what do you get?

One heck of a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society!

This year’s “Taste of the “Grapevine” was held Saturday evening, and a round of applause to all who worked for months on pulling this event together. Dare I say they may need a larger venue for 2010!

Looking amazing as always, local charity-minded darling Terra Jackson was the Chair of the Event, and her attention to detail was evident. I know most of her committee and it is a well-oiled high-energy machine, well done everyone!

Onto the food and beverages –

We were able to sample away with our designated driver along (Thank you sir!), so let’s start by saying the Yakima Valley vented Cupcake Reisling we found was a close home run to our preferred true German variety. We are a wee bit spoiled to the super sweet flavors, and having a German native in tow, she and I are snobbish for it! This light, semi-dry version of the original would make a great pairing for a summer patio sit and a grill of fresh grouper or trout.

The Pama Margarita was just the right blend of tequila (sour) and the pomegranite liquor (sweet and edgy). Served on the rocks, this could be one great boat drink! The bourbon vendors were out en force, Jefferson Reserve, Jim Beam and Buffalo Trace served straight tastes and festive cocktails.

The most popular by far was the Heaven Hill brand booth serving their specialty liquor “Rhythm”. This booth was hopping, even after most were breaking down! Perfect timing when RadioRadio started playing their fun dance tunes! The reps in the booth were really good looking guys ( nicely done) and pushed the concoction as an “aphrodiasiac with no hangover.”  (I cannot confirm or deny that claim, however)  No wonder they were slammed!

Foodwise, Frankfort Avenue’s Volare was a slam dunk and perhaps the most popular booth, but honestly I went straight for their desserts, so the entrée escapes me!

The Seelbach tried an interesting duo of gazpacho and a cornbread grilled cheese, the soup shot was a tad spicy, but good, and the grilled cheese needed a really cold snowy day! We shall revisit that sandwich this fall, yummy!

Kroger Catering missed the boat all together with their crab puffs, they may have been out for a while, while their seviche was good, but spicy. Perhaps it is not their forte.

I would like to see a few higher end restaurateurs in 2010- consider  this is your call to action!

As far as the crowd goes, it was an eclectic mix of upper east enders and the wanna be’s. We could have sworn we saw a Sypher look alike, but alas, sadly mistaken!

We will no doubt put this on the calendar for next year!

Sometimes you run across people too good to be true.  Chef Timothy Tucker is one of those people.

Hey, call me cynical (because I am).  I’m always looking to see what angle you’re playing so when I meet a person like Chef Tim, my inclination is to wonder either what he is on or what he trying to prove. I turns out Chef Tim is just trying to make the world a better place….one meal at time.

To set the table, my wife Ellen raises funds for non-profits and she introduced me to Chef Tim over a year ago.  Ellen helped Chef Tim’s group by getting chefs’ coats donated to the program and she asked me to come to a lunch that they were serving.

So I went to lunch and not only filled my stomach….I witnessed something that filled my eyes with tears and my heart with hope.

Back to Tim. Prior to this, Chef Tim served worked at some pretty prestigious places including The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and The Painted Table in Seattle, plus he is a graduate of Sullivan University’s Culinary Program.  With a background like, it looked like Tim was on the fast track to the big time by opening his own eatery or launching a line of cookware or writing a best-selling cookbook. But Chef Tim chose a different menu — four years ago he went to the Louisville Salvation Army to oversee the prep and foodservice production at the Center of Hope.

“I’m on a mission of healthy cooking and healing people’s bodies with food. That’s how I cook, and that’s how I teach,” said Chef Tim.  Every day, seven days a week, Tim’s crew cooks breakfast for about 150 needy people and another 250 for dinner. “All of the food is made from scratch. It’s free of additives, hydrogenated oil, fructose,” Tim said, so people are not only getting good food, they’re getting food that is good for them.

Now comes the dessert.  At the same time Tim is feeding the masses, he’s also taking homeless people and training them to work in foodservice.  Chef Tim and the Center’s director came up with a job-training program for people who want to work in the food-service industry. The intensive 10-week program has students learning restaurant skills including safety and sanitation, food prep, knife skills, soups, sauces, stocks, meats and more.

Give a man a fish and he has a meal.  Teach him how to fish and he can feed himself.

Graduates of the program have gotten good jobs at all types of places including caterers, restaurants, bakeries, cafeterias, corporate venues and school food programs. Some of Louisville’s finest eating establishments now have Chef Tim’s people working there.

And that’s how I met Chef Tim.  I went to a lunch graduation program and was overwhelmed with the speeches the graduates made.  I could see and hear the pride they took in their new profession.  I could feel how their despair had been replaced with a future full of promise. These people now had a purpose in their lives.

Tim Tucker is shy and soft-spoken with a kind of “aw-shucks” attitude but he is too quiet.  A program like he runs needs support and that support only comes by making noise. If Tim won’t do it, I will.

You want to do something good?  Then get at your wallet and make a donation to a program that’s really helping turn lives around.  Donate cooking materials.  Go work in their garden.  Do something.  This isn’t welfare; it’s an investment in all of our futures.

They need $9,000 right now to keep the doors open.  Make your checks payable to:

Salvation Army Center of Hope
Culinary Training Program

To learn more, give Chef Tim a call at 625 1170 x 108 and ask for a tour.  If you don’t have treasure to give than give of your time and talent.

“My thing is to get into a work environment where I can help people,” Chef Tim says, “Cooking is a ministry…a way of blessing people who need to be blessed. Eating healthy helps balance the spirit and mind and soul.”

Amen and thanks, Tim.

I’ve heard of monkey wine, lion wine, sheep wine, and swine wine, but… horse wine?

Kendall-Jackson, the California winery owned by Jess Jackson, is producing a limited amount of wines commemorating the achievements of another Jackson asset—Kentucky Oaks and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.

Kendall-Jackson will bottle fewer than 300 cases of the limited-edition wine for release around the holidays.

The limited edition wine is the latest effort by Jackson to mix the worlds of wine and horse racing.  Right after her win at the Oaks, Jackson added Rachel Alexandra to the stable of thoroughbreds he co-owns, which also includes Curlin, the 2007 Preakness winner.  And in July, Kendall-Jackson announced it was selling five special pieces of Rachel Alexandra memorabilia in an online auction to benefit the V Foundation.

The winery is saying that Rachel Alexandra’s victory at the Preakness made the filly “a symbol—especially to young girls—of the ability of talent to compete across genders,” which should strike most people—especially Kentuckians—as a bit of stretch, given that Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980), and Winning Colors (1980) were all fillies that won the Derby.  Did those horses get commemorative anything?  How can a horse be a role model for a person?

To put your name on a mailing list about the Rachel Alexandra wine, from which the winery will presumably make selections about who will get first dibs this holiday season, visit the Kendall-Jackson website.  You’ll find info about the auction items there, too.

A little rain never hurt no one: Maybe Pamela Campbell, the owner of the Old Louisville Coffee Shop on Fourth Street, had that Tom Waits song in her head yesterday when she helped customers and strangers alike to find higher ground inside her store.  Campbell spent the worst of yesterday morning’s storm venturing out into the small rivers that overtook downtown to help pedestrians to safer footing.  As a customer put it, “it would have been really easy to lock her doors.”  But she didn’t. [Courier]

New Green Blossoms: Rainbow Blossom will be hosting a party on August 8 to celebrate the opening of its new store in the Highlands.  They plan on having food samples, music, yoga, and info sessions on herbal medicine, sustainable food production, and environmental protection.  Speaking of the latter, Summer Auerbach, Rainbow Blossom’s VP of operations, said the new store will receive LEED certification for its building design, which features energy-saving lights and appliances and recycled building materials.  Plus they sell Café Kilimanjaro’s sauces and syrups! [Rainbow Blossom]

Threes at Z’s Fusion: Z’s Fusion is trying something different every Wednesday night—a promotion called “Creative Cocktails.” Pair three tapas with three cocktails for $10 each.  The menus will have comment cards on the back so patrons can offer their own creative input.  Hey, I love experimenting with food, and I’ll drink anything they put in front of me—as long as it’s bourbon on the rocks.

Wick’s Still Waiting: Wick’s Pizza has delayed the opening of its new New Albany location until at least the fall, according to owner Michael Wickliffe, as it endures a long wait for a state liquor license. New Albany mayor Doug England says he’s petitioned the state government to pick up the pace, but an inspection and a comprehensive background check has to be completed before Wick’s can buy the license.  Wickliffe said he had hoped to move into the southern Indiana riverfront location, which had been home to the former Speakeasy jazz club, by the end of this summer.  Now it’s looking more like late September.  Until Wick’s can sell beer there, I’ll be enjoying Fat Tire with my pizza at Rocky’s. [News-Trib]

Pencils for Pies?: North End Café has teamed with Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Teen Challenge, and Neighborhood House in a promotion aimed at helping local children with their back-to-school shopping.  The Frankfort Avenue restaurant is offering a free dessert coupon to customers who donate back-to-school items.  In September, North End will offer a similar promotion to benefit Louisville health charities.  [LEO]

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.