Good Bye, KY, Well It's Time To Go

Dear Mouse,

Wah.

Is this ever going to get easier?

* There's a lot of pictures in this one. Kick back. Also, ponder the miracle of how I lost 6lbs while consuming everything you see here.*

the french fries at this tiny truck in Old Louisville, where there's barely enough room to order, will change your life.

Strawberry Rhubarb a la Mode at the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen on Bardstown Road.

This guy got the chocolate cherry pie.

"You know..." said Dennis as we walked home from my reality-check final music gig in Louisville (ie; no money, no audience, no stage, and NOT part of, say, this groovy, well-publicized, beautifully run festival that has spoiled me here) "I am really depressed right now."

He didn't mean my gig (oh, I also had to follow a guy doing magic tricks). He meant the fact that Humana is drawing to a close. We're in the middle of the big final Industry Weekend, which is very exciting, and then we close tomorrow, which is kinda hard to believe. Only one more performance of this epic, beautiful, challenging play, and the end of a life-changing, messy, exhausting, highly rewarding, two months.

"Vintage Bourbon". That's the name. $75 a bottle. Tastes like butter on fire.

There is always, I suppose, going to be after-show crash, but this one I can already tell has the potential of being a larger black hole than most. Last night we were all out at a regular spot, the Old Seelbach Bar of the Hilton, to mark the first night of Industry Weekend 2. Amid the buzz and celebration, we settled into our first round, smiled at the wave of colleagues pouring in ... and then one of our number actually put his head down on the table and wailed,

"I dont wanna go back to New York!!!!!"

R to L, The Mother! and friend CM, at Lynne's Paradise Cafe, where you should go for brunch and parking lot shenanigans like this.

That is, if you can't get into TOAST on Market.

Yep. How did we get here? I never thought I'd say it, but I'm really gonna miss Kentucky for several reasons. One is, of course, this gig... but there are others. The QUIET. The SPACE - !! Even the most casual restaurant takes up, like, a whole building. You can stretch your arms out on the sidewalk and not hit anyone. The Victorian houses in Old Louisville.

The 'Pink Palace' is haunted.

Porches! Porch Swings! Magnolia trees! The private "Womens Gym" at the Y where I never have to wait for a treadmill. The $3.50 glass of Maker's Mark at Freddie's Bar around the corner. People who say hello in the elevator and chat with you at the grocery store. Servers in restaurants who cheerfully offer- offer!! - to split your party's check nine ways, every time! I've actually started saying "Yes, Mam" and "No Sir" while making eye contact. I've grown used to standing on my balcony every morning, coffee in hand, while listening to music and gazing out over the city to the Ohio River.

And of course the theatre. The enthusiasm and support and professionalism and multiple venues and dressing rooms and light plot and staff and fog machines and trap room I could go on but let's get to...

...the really important things about Louisville, such as:

I have now been to this delicious, Brooklyn-style teahouse restaurant three times in one week.

It is NOT to be missed. AND rumor has it it's actually coming to Brooklyn.

for bourbon bread pudding...

or "roadkill stew", featuring venison.

'corn pone' and incredible braised greens with bacon on the side.

and, of course, delicious, beautifully presented tea, which i normally dont give two s*ts about. Not pictured but also tried: the "smokey chai" served in a glass jar with a handle.

Behold: the Maple Frosted Bacon Donuts at Nord's Bakery. I walked FOUR miles round trip before an industry matinee to get these. Reserve the day before because they sell out by 7AM.

Next door at Sunergos' Coffeeshop, the cute hippie barista recommended the Costa Rican. I was in no way prepared for how FREAKING DELICIOUS this coffee was. Smooth, nutty, mellow, but, like, for real, and not like when people usually use these words to describe coffee and it just tastes like coffee. Amazing. Drink this coffee.

Hm. Am I forgetting anything?

Pulled Pork Tacos at Doc Crow's on Main, where you should go before or after a show at ATL. O'Shea's next door: also not too shabby. Great bar, good bison burger.

OK I think that's it for now. Was it all rosy? No. Do I have any cautionary notes? Yes. Don't get pizza in Kentucky, and under no circumstances should you ever, EVER drink this:

... which was presented to me as "whiskey", which it surely is not.

As I was starting this blog post at 2AM, Dennis sent me this email, which I think says it all (and which I think might also be haiku):

Write something in ur blog
About the kentucky fried sadness I feel

I hope I've done so. Goodbye, KY ... But first, one more party and one more show. Moon ON.

Love,

The Boo