$$$$
MexicanFrankfort Avenue
Con Huevos on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville cooks fresh Mexican breakfasts from a Clifton corner kitchen, the brunch counter locals lean on for chilaquiles.
OrderChilaquiles con huevos with green sauce, plus a horchata.
TipWalk-in only. Weekend waits run 20 to 40 minutes; weekday mornings are easier.
$$$$
BrunchHighlands
Big Bad Breakfast on Barret Avenue in Louisville cooks Chef John Currence's all-morning Southern menu in the Highlands, the city's outpost of the Oxford.
OrderHouse-cured bacon plate with two eggs and stone-milled grits, plus a $5 happy-hour cocktail.
TipWalk-in only. $5 cocktails Monday to Friday from 07:00-10:00. Kitchen closes at 14:30.
$$$$
Wood-fired Pizza, AmericanNulu
Garage Bar on East Market in Louisville turned an old auto-service shop into a NuLu wood-fired pizza pub with a courtyard ping-pong table and a Kentucky.
OrderThe pork-meatball wood-fired pizza, with a Kentucky bourbon old fashioned.
TipKitchen serves late on weekends; the patio fills first on warm nights.
$$$$
Gastropub, SmokehouseGermantown
Hammerheads in Louisville packs forty seats into a Germantown basement on Swan Street, running smoked lamb ribs and pork sliders from an open kitchen.
OrderThe lamb ribs and a pork-belly slider, plus a local draft.
TipNo reservations. Get in before 18:00 or expect a 45-minute wait on weekends.
$$$$
Pizzeria, PubHighlands
Wick's Pizza on Baxter Avenue in Louisville has poured pints and pulled deep-dish pies out of its Highlands corner since 1995, the busiest game-day room.
OrderThe Big Wick pizza with sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.
TipWalk-in only on weekends. Order at the bar and a runner brings out the pie.
$$$$
Coal-fired PizzaFrankfort Avenue
Coal's Artisan Pizza on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville pulls thin-crust pies from a coal-fired oven, the city's most consistent neighbourhood pizzeria.
OrderThe Brownsboro pie with sausage and roasted peppers, plus a burrata to start.
TipWalk-in for the bar. The Middletown location takes reservations for larger parties.