The Things We Leave Behind, Part 3.

Bardstown Road

Like most cities there is that one street or neighborhood where all the elements of counter culture seem to coalesce.  It is a place for one-of-a-kind shops, art galleries, locally owned restaurants, tattoo parlors galore, and coffee shops. The people who live around there are a diverse mix. You have the out-of-towners, the curious, the old hipsters, the wannabe hipsters, the earth worshipers, the partiers, the homeless, the young, the old, the occasional insane person, the street preachers, and the city dwellers who mistake their snobbery for urban sophistication.  Bardstown Road is such a place and for two and half years of my life living off Bardstown, it was the best time of my life.

I believe that I was first exposed the wonders of Bardstown in my early twenties.  Some friends of mine told me about a coffee house called Twice Told.  Before then I wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but I quickly acquired a taste for it.

Twice Told was one of those places that looked like it was put together on a shoe string budget.  I remember it being gritty with tables and chairs that they some how manage to get where ever they could.  They had a seating area in the front with the coffee bar and there was a back room with a small stage for shows and open mike night.  It was like a local dive bar, but without the alcohol.  I loved it!

Over the following years, Bardstown Road became my stomping ground.  I would visit there at least twice during the week and almost every weekend.  I would stay out until all hours of the night.  My best Bardstown experience came when I moved to the Highlands in 1998 and I lived there for over two years.

Many businesses and restaurants came and went over the years, but there were several that stood out.  There was Boombozz Pizza, a local chain that served the best pizza in town.  The Bristol, which was a great place to to have dessert late in the evening. Carmichael's, an outstanding local independent bookstore.  Ramsi's Cafe on the World, which is my favorite restaurant in Louisville. Day's Coffee, Graeter's ice cream, Heine Brothers, Kizito cookies, Kashmir, O'Shea's, The Outlook Inn, and finally, Flanagan's, where I discovered the wonders of Magic Hat #9, the best beer in the world.



Clay and Cotton

The Bristol

Ramsi's Cafe on the World.  My favorite restuarant in Louisville.

Carmichael's Bookstore

La Bamba. Burritos as big as your head

Wick's Pizza

Kashmir. The best Indian in town.

The corner of Eastern and Bardstown.

Cafe 360

Great pizza at Za's

I know that as big as the DFW is, there are plenty of unique shops and restaurants.  In the six months I've been here, I've experienced my share. Nothing beats Bardstown Road, however.  It was the place for good food, great coffee, the best people watching, and the best years of my life.

Cafe Brazil

I am immobilized by choices.  I enjoy variety, but when my options are extensive, I have a hard time making up my mind.  Thankfully Cafe Brazil helped me narrow my focus within their large selection. I naturally gravitate to the breakfast portion of the menu if I know the restaurant serves it all day. French Toast for dinner?  What could beat that?

My buddy, Patrik, decided to take me to this place after church.  It is a chain of restaurants that was started in Dallas and is exclusive to the DFW.  We went to one near SMU, which I am told, was one of the good ones.

I'm so glad I went.  I got the chilaquilas, which were scrambled eggs, tomatillo sauce, onions, jack cheese, tortilla chips and pulled chicken, served with black beans, sour cream and grilled sliced tomatoes.  Since tomatoes are of Satan and the black beans smelled like armpit, I didn't eat those but the rest of my lunch was amazing!  And though I was thoroughly satisfied with my meal, I did happen to notice a french toast dish topped with fruit, creme anglaise(whatever that is), raspberry sauce, and walnuts, that someone else had ordered.  I know what I am getting next time I go.  And there will be a next time.

My chicken chilaquiles

If you want coffee, they offer a coffee bar with a selection of different blends.  I like the idea.  You never have to wait for the server to come back around and get you a refill, but I found there coffee a little watered down.  Next time I might stick with just water or get a darker blend.

My buddy, Patrik

The Coffee Bar

My first visit to Cafe Brazil was a great one, and I really appreciate my friend for treating me to this place.  I am looking forward to going back again hopefully in the not so distant future.  That french toast is calling me.

Cafe Brazil

Freeb!rds

I know this place is a chain.  They have restaurants all over Texas and in California, so this place I visited is not unique in the world of fast, fake Mexican joints.  It's concept is not unique either.  Freebirds is a burrito restaurant along the lines of Chipotle or Qdoba.  And as far as quality and taste goes, on a continuum where Chipotle is absolute crap and Qdoba is awesome, Freebirds falls someone where in between.

I got a naked chicken burrito with rice, beans, salsa verde, lettuce and LOTS of cheese.  That is the extant to which I will bore you with what I ate.  I could basically get that anywhere so I wasn't breaking any new ground.  What made Freebirds stand out to me was the decor and vibe of the place.  Unlike Chipotle(yuck!) or Qdoba, with their minimalist interiors, this particular Freebirds had a hip, 60's, Easy Rider motif going on.  It was fun.  The coolest aspect was that people would take the foil the burrito came wrapped in and sculpt a little piece of art.  There are pieces of this foil art all over the restaurant.  Since I order a naked burrito, I got a styrofoam bowl.  Not much I could do with that.

Anyway, in the realm of fake, Mexican places, Freebirds is nothing to shout from the rooftops about.  Good food, but it a chain none the less.  It's not a place for the out of towner, but for the locals.  The regulars who live here(like me now), who are hungry, but are used to seeing these constants on every street corner or strip mall.

FREEB!RDS 

Grouplink

Most every church tells you the best way to meet people, and grow in your walk with God, is to be apart of a small group.  Watermark is no exception.  It is a large church, and if you are not plugged into a small group of believers, you are just another face in a sea of people. My church doesn't offer traditional Sunday school, however.  It does have classes that people could attend that discuss various topics or characters in the Bible, but not regular classes that people go to every weekend.  That is why they offer Grouplink.

Unlike most churches, which throw you into a Sunday school class based on your age and cycle in life, Grouplink is a five week meet and greet, where you talk to and get to know people before forming a group.  At the end of the five weeks, you get to pick what days of the week are best for you to meet and who you would like to be in a group with.  Based on that information, the leaders put the groups together and assign a leader. I tend to think of it as speed dating for Lifegroups.

I personally like this approach.  Instead of being ushered into a class full of strangers hoping to connect with someone, you get to be apart of a group of people you've had a chance to get to know before hand.

Since I am single, me and a friend of mine, went with the single men's group in their 30's.  I got to meet a pretty cool group of guys.  It was interesting to get to know some of them, and learn where they came from and how God has worked in their lives.

I am excited to see who will be in my group.  One of the guys I met seemed to sum up my sentiments exactly.  He said he didn't want to be in a group of guys who got together every week for one hour and just have a bible study, though those are great.  He wanted to be in a group that could go out to lunch, go see a movie, or see a Rangers game.   In other words, really connect and become friends.  That is my hope as well.  I want whatever relationships I form to mean something apart from the hour we spend together in our community group or the hour we sit together in church.  Who knows?  We'll see.  My next step will be find a place to serve, but that's a different blog post.