Louisville - Mark's Feed Store

Recently I reviewed Kentucky Barbeque Company because of the hankering for good ribs we had one night. Well, unfortunately (for the waist-line) that craving returned quicker than expected. Instead of driving the 10 minutes over to Frankfort Ave we decided to try the Bardstown Road location of Mark's Feed Store.

Similar to the visit to KBC, my husband decided to go for the combo which let him try some of each. I decided to go for a beef pulled barbeque sandwich. Of course the whole meal was one of comparison to KBC. Unfortunately for Mark's, their meat is dry and leaves one wanting a big glass of something to get it down. The sauces they have are all good, but a necessity rather than a nice addition. Perhaps the meat had been left in the smoker too long or was kept under a heat lamp, but I would definitely prefer to drive back over to Frankfort Ave next time I have a hankering for barbeque. If I return, I'd like to try the burgoo (a stew with all the meats and 7 vegetables) and cornbread as that's what someone recommended after I had already eaten.

We did have a delicious side item with our meal though that is not always something you see on a menu: fried pickles. When I've had fried pickles before at restaurants they were of the dill spear variety. These were thinly sliced dill pickles, meaning much more fry but lots of delicious. The atmosphere of Mark's is pretty nice and if you want a good place to take the family, it is very family friendly inside (unfortunately KBC was not). The prices aren't bad (I would say an average of $10 per person) and there is plenty of parking in the back. I'll give Mark's a 2.5 star (out of 5) for food, but if you want a decent and cheap place to go, this is probably a good place to stop.

Louisville: Kentucky Barbeque Company

Kenutcky isn't known for it's barbecue as other cities are. However, being in the great location that Louisville is - conveniently located between Memphis, Chicago, and Kansas City - it shouldn't be too difficult to find good barbecue here. Surprisingly there are not a ton of place to get it in Louisville, but we decided to try to find something that would fill the craving. After looking on Yelp, I decided that Kentucky Barbeque Company ("KBC") was the place to try. For a good night of indulging in all the things the doctors tell you not to eat, go there.

Located on the north end of Frankfort Ave, KBC looks like more of a dive bar than a good place to eat. You walk in to a dark bar with pool tables and and picnic tables. But that's okay...the food was worth it and in a way it seems more appropriate for barbecue anyways! Instead of doing a wet barbecue, they do a dry rub and then you can add sauce on top.

To start off, we ordered fried green tomatoes. They were delicious, though we were disappointed that when we asked for chili fries and they said the chili wasn't ready yet. For an entree we decided to try a little of everything by getting the sampler platter. Boy did it include everything: 1/4 pound of smoked sausage, 1/4 pound of baby back ribs, 1/4 of a chicken, and 1/4 pound of either smoked brisket or pork (we got the brisket) and two sides and Texas toast. Whew. All were delicious, but ranking in order of deliciousness we agreed that #1 delicious went to the ribs, then brisket, then the chicken, then the sausage. For sides we had cheese grits and baked beans, both of which were awesome.

To round off the meal was a great selection of 19 different beers on tap. They had a lot of craft brews so we told the server what we liked and he recommended a brew by Drifters and Founder's brewing companies. Both were awesome. It was nice having a server who actually knew the list and could do that for us. My one complaint is that they didn't have a list of all the beer choices, and I enjoy reading the different types and asking questions, though I guess a knowledgeable server is better than a list any day.

Overall I will definitely return to KBC when I am in the mood for an indulgent meal and I'm sure my husband will beg for us to return. Next time I will be sure to order a plate of brisket or ribs for myself!