Skip the trendy spots and try these iconic Old Louisville restaurants

Travel revolves around buzzwords like “authentic” and living “like a local” these days, thanks in part to home sharing giant Airbnb's platform connecting locals with travelers. I've long been a superhost, and have rented the third floor of my Old Louisville home to travelers for nearly two years.

Part of the fun, I've found, of hosting is making restaurant suggestions for guests. It's like being part concierge, part matchmaking algorithm figuring out where people will get the best food and the best Louisville experience tailored specifically for them.

But I wanted to offer an even more immersive culinary experience, so I was especially happy when Airbnb launched its "Experiences" offerings in Louisville. You could call these tours, but they're beyond that. Think of experience like learning to be a bookbinder, DJ-ing or taking a night photography class and more.

It's not so much a professionally-led, typical tour, but instead a local introducing travelers to something they are passionate about. For me, that's my neighborhood of Old Louisville — and of course, food.

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I kicked off the tours with a ramble through Central Park and St. James Court with my big dog, Cash, that finishes with scratch-made doughnuts at North Lime, 1228 S. 7th St., and that Old Louisville Experience was an immediate hit, so I decided to expand — ideally with a culinary angle. But to what? 

Old Louisville isn't exactly brimming with choices like other neighborhoods might be (oh hi, NuLu!). Other than my personal Old Lou trifecta of North Lime, Old Louisville Brewery, 625 W. Magnolia, and Bar Vetti, 800 S. 4th St., (which is SoBro but walking distance so I claim it), my immediate neighborhood of Limerick and the northern fringe of Old Louisville is sparse on eateries that would entice a traveler and come with a great story.

But we do have a few, and those we have are really special — and better still, unique.

In a way, the lack of investment and seemingly sometimes, lack of interest from the city, in our little corner of town comes with advantages. Without an abundance of options, some of our mainstays have been able to thrive over the years. If folks like OLE Restaurant Group or other busy restaurateurs were fighting to put their next outpost on Oak or St. Catherine, 5th or 6th St., would we still have the greasy spoon classic that is the Dizzy Whizz, 217 St. Catherine St.? Or the cult favorite that is Ollie's Trolley, 978 S. 3rd St.,? Or the old-school throwback that is Buck's Restaurant, 425 W Ormsby Ave.?

So I decided to show visitors a side of our food scene they most likely wouldn't otherwise see. Nobody needs me to tell them to hit the hot restaurants; the same places land on every list by every writer who comes to town, (and to be honest, on lists I also write for national outlets). But there's more to Louisville's culinary story than elevated new southern and gastropub fare, just like there are places worth visiting beyond NuLu.

Curious travelers get to check those buzzwords off their list when they join my “high/low” burger and bourbon crawl of my stomping grounds, places only a 10-minute walk from my home.

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The experience starts with the secret history of Ollie's Trolley. The cute little red faux streetcar you've probably passed a million times at 3rd and Kentucky not only serves up exuberantly spiced burgers and fries but comes with a tale. With thanks to Ashlee Clark Thompson's book "Louisville Diners," and Keith Pandolfi's “He Could’ve Been a Colonel” in The Bitter Southerner,  the very abridged version is this:

After making a fortune turning Col. Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken into multi-billion dollar venture in the 1960s, businessman (and future governor) John Y. Brown turned his loads of money and his attention to a cantankerous burger maker in Miami, one Oliver, 'Ollie' Gleichenhaus, who was cooking up the best burgers in the country at the time. Brown (and his million dollar offer) managed to convince Ollie to come on board with his secret recipe. The goal? Be the next Colonel Sanders.

Ollie's Trolleys were modeled on the streetcars Brown recalled from his childhood in Louisville and the carry-out diners focused on a teeny menu starring Ollieburgers and Olliefries, both boasting its signature spice. But it turns out 1970s Americans weren't so much into spicy burgers or restaurants you couldn't sit down in or drive through, and after hitting nearly a hundred locations, Ollie's Trolleys fizzled out.

With three left in the country now, only the first Ollie's, one right here in Old Louisville, features the original menu. And people from all parts of the city, all walks of life, join the same line every day for their greasy bags of goodness, continuing the fascinating history of this little burger joint.

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From there we go on to Dizzy Whizz, the last original carhop in Louisville, Thompson says, and home to the Whizzburger. But this isn't a burger throwdown, so we're here to perch at the old-timey dairy bar and have a treat from the extensive goodies menu (I favor the chocolate malt) while I share my local's views on the neighborhood and its history, challenges, and potential.

Then my guests get to ogle mansions as we make our way to Buck's Restaurant, a time machine if ever there was one. Here we'll sidle up to the bar, lined with a profusion of white flowers, and even more bottles of bourbon, for manager Karen Shane to regale the visitors with the legends and lore of this building, once a grand hotel, and the restaurants that have graced the first floor. Even though it looks as fancy as fancy gets, all white tablecloths and live piano, the welcome is classic Louisville warmth, soon to be aided by a Kentucky hug from some bourbon. 

With far more than a hundred options, and prices on some of the rarer bottles much more reasonable than at some downtown bars, folks can even get their Pappy Van Winkle fix if that's what they really want.

My first guest was a traveler from Taiwan, who had only one night in Louisville. The fact that she chose to spend it on this outing meant the world to me. My neighbors (the new team behind Happy Balls bourbon candy) joined us and we found answering the visitor's questions (like: how long can a place like Dizzy Whizz last?) sparked the kind of conversation we may not have had over small plates at a trendier place.

I look forward to many more guests, lots more thought-provoking questions, and the chance to share a taste of hidden Louisville with visitors. Here's hoping food lovers passionate about their own neighborhoods will offer travelers a glimpse of some of our other unheralded treasures.

Tell Dana! Send your restaurant “Dish” to Dana McMahan at thecjdish@gmail.com and follow @danamac on Twitter.

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