On a recent trip to Louisville, KY (Lew-ville) was trying to figure out what to eat. Not knowing what the real g
astronomical legacy of the city was I had to turn to Yelp and see what people were raving about. Got all kinds of hits and misses regarding the authenticity of Louisville BBQ. I wasn't in the mood for
Burgoo,
Lambfries, or a "
Hot Brown".
Yelp to the rescue. Somehow one of the searches brings up "
Hammerheads", I am not sure what the search term that finally led me there was, but they had me at Duck Tacos and Pork Belly Tacos (from one of the first reviews that you will see on the site).
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| StringGirl outside the residential basement that is this fine eatery in Germantown |
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| StringGirl with the Fried Crispy Mac-n-cheese |
The appetizer that has given many a bad happy hour a bad name are things like deep fried mac and cheese. Sure foodies on the Food Network have promoted recipes to make it and try to dress it up as fancy dining. But it is fair food at best, or is it? I opted to go with an order of the Mac-n-cheese balls at Hammerheads and have to say that the mall food versions bear no resemblance at all to the version from Hammerheads.
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| Crispy on the outside, gooey and cheesy inside |
With a tasty hollandaise sauce drizzled on top the hot and crispy Mac and Cheese really did get the meal off to a nice start. I paired it with a local microbrew, the
Falls City Pale Ale. Which purports to be an English Pale Ale " with a real difference... maltier rather than hoppier...". Which was OK but I didn't like it much. Or I guess I should say it did not live up to the name "Pale Ale". The name carries with it so much baggage these days that it does sell a lot of beer just on expectation, but then also can disappoint. If they branded it as a Blond, I might have liked it more.
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| In the Basement |
As a main course I went for the Tacos. I had a hard time trying to pick between the Duck or the Pork Belly. I considered going full piggy and getting both. The bartender suggested that I could order one of each as my dinner. The tacos are not all that big and besides I am a pig. In the end I ordered two orders of the one-and-one. So a full order of the Duck and full order of the Pork Belly. While I was pretty happy while eating them I was a little over stuffed in the end. Had I skipped the fried Mac-n-cheese I would have been perfect.
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| The Duck Tacos and the Pork Belly Tacos |
The Tacos were glorious. The Duck was nicely smoked. Tender and not greasy like duck can be. The meat was pulled, and served on the tortillas with Jalepeno-lime Aioli and Pico. The Pork Belly was like butter! Jalapeno-sage Ailoi (I like the lime Aioli better) and pico. Pork Belly was my favorite by far. I probably should have done just a double order of them. But in the end I had a full order of each, just to be certain.
Paired with the Tacos I had the Hauck's American Pilsner. Which I like much better than the Falls City. Again here go expectations. This beer was a better fit to its name. I did like it better than the Falls City, and it was a better representation of a Pilsner than the Falls City was of an English Pale Ale.
The neighborhood might seem a little dodgy to some, it is a residential area and is a hipster gentrification project in the making. Mostly single family dwellings, packed in close just a short distance from downtown. Historically blue collar and in places it looks a little down at heel, but in other you can see the investment that people are making trying to make it the new hip place.
You can smell the smoke from about a block away, which is where you might end up parking as the only parking is street parking. Good news is that in the residential area street parking is free.
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| Wish the tap heads didn't wash out in this picture |
A definite place to return to when staying again in Louisville. As I still want to have their Chicken and Waffles, Ribs (Lamb or Babyback pork), Burgers, and Crab cake.
Righteous eats. 5 Stars all the way!
http://www.louisvillehammerheads.com/hhmenu.htm
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