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.