Odd pronunciations notwithstanding, I had a fantastic time in the northernmost Southern city of the U.S. (or supposedly so.) It was only for 36 hours for a KoreAm interview with a Korean chef who runs a Southern gourmet restaurant.
The restaurant is called 610 Magnolia and it was simply divine. Hannah and I were presented with the five-course prix-fixe menu consisting of dishes with lovely ingredients such as mango-jicama and crab roulade.
We were also given a complimentary oyster soup with paprika oil and dill. Though it was hard to choose, this was our favorite dish. Everyone has at least one favorite, n'est-ce pas?
The chocolate-covered cheesecake lollipops (also complimentary) were also on the house and they were positively sinful. Chef Edward Lee is a culinary genius.
Between the interviews and meal, we also got to visit Churchill Downs, site of the Kentucky Derby, to catch a race (or two) and take a shot at placing bets on the horses. Hannah placed $2 on a horse named Carmel By The Sea and another whose name I've already forgotten. Carmel By The Sea won the first race and we scored $5 (a $1 profit after the initial betting. Woohoo!)
Then we drove around downtown Louisville for a bit, but there isn't much to see aside from porno stores and dead parking meters. In fact, the whole area was a ghost town- no people in sight and very few cars on the road. Hmm. Did I mention it was about 95 degrees out?
Louisville sits on the Ohio River which divides Kentucky from Indiana, so we crossed the bridge, snapped a photo of the sign for Indiana, and drove straight back to Louisville. Really, Indiana seemed more dead than downtown.
We drove a bit more through the Bardstown/Highlands area, which reminded me a lot of Little Five Points in Atlanta with the quirky clothing stores, pubs and bars, and tiny streets. Then we went up the block to Crescent Hill, which was very similar to Magazine Street in New Orleans: lots of antique shops, used bookstores, and hippie-ish boutiques.
Then we had the amazing dinner. We were there for almost 2 hours, resting between courses and enjoying our wine (2005 spring mountain valley sauvignon blanc). At the end, we thanked Chef Lee personally for a wonderful meal and headed back to our classy hotel, the Days Inn, to change for the road. No way we were sitting in a car for 7 hours in Armani dresses and Michael Kors heels!
I guess it's because I spent two years of college in Athens, a tiny Southern town, but I've really come to appreciate the aesthetic of Southern cities. Sure, things run slower, it's usually hotter and more humid, and the list of things to do runs thin very quickly. But they don't care -- people in Louisville and Athens and New Orleans are there to LIVE, not create tourist attractions. Albeit, these towns would cripple financially without places like UGA and Churchill Downs, but the soul will remain because they have developed the roots to call it home. And as we know, home is where the heart is. These towns have huge hearts.
I <3 the South!
