How to make Louisville's dining scene work for your healthy diet

Dana McMahan | Special to Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption North End Cafe is a Highlands staple It's only been on Bardstown Road for six years, but it's easy to see why North End Cafe is such a favorite.

Deciding where to go out to eat is a delicious game here in Louisville. Whatever sounds good you're sure to find, and restaurateurs oblige our evolving tastes by opening new places and rolling out exciting new menus faster than most of us can keep up.

But when you're gluten free, vegetarian, vegan or have any other number of dietary restrictions, the game shifts from “with all these choices, where should I eat?” to “with this ingredient barred, where is safe to eat?”

And for some diners, it's a matter of life and death.

Annie May, owner of Annie May's Sweet Cafe, has to avoid the ingredients that are used to make 70 percent of the food in the world or risk getting really ill, she said.

“I won't die from eating delicious hamburgers, but I will be sick for weeks.”

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Other foods though, cause anaphylaxis, a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.

“The food fear unfortunately increases with each negative reaction,” she said. “It becomes more difficult to trust that the server heard you in a loud restaurant, that he/she properly relays the information to the very busy kitchen staff, and that no one sprinkles parsley over my carefully prepared meal (out of habit with most plates that leave a kitchen)... because then I have to send it back so that I don't die.”

While it's difficult for May to eat out, she does have a favorite.

“Taj Palace is my food bff currently,” she said of the Indian restaurant on Goose Creek Road.

The good news is chefs and restaurant owners are increasingly understanding of and empathetic toward diners who avoid certain ingredients. At May's own cafe their offerings are free of wheat, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish/shellfish and sesame.

As of Sept. 2, they'll also eliminate eggs and milk products from their baked goods.

To find out where diners with limitations can go for a great meal without a side of trouble, we asked several local food-lovers and industry folks for their tips, and here's what they shared (along with my own recent experience doing the Whole 30 diet):

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Doing Whole 30? Where to eat in Louisville

While my husband and I are pretty omnivorous, he recently did the Whole 30 diet, where for an entire month, you eat moderate portions of meat, seafood, and eggs; lots of vegetables; some fruit; natural fats; and herbs, spices, and seasonings — basically nothing processed. We managed to eat out a few times around town. Monnik Beer Co., 1036 East Burnett Avenue, Eiderdown, 983 Goss Avenue, and Red Hog Butcher Shop, 2622 Frankfort Avenue, were all very accommodating and servers helped him find dishes that were limited to meat and vegetables with no flour, dairy, sugar, or other fun stuff. We even managed to find a mocktail for him at Mr. Lee's that was absolutely delicious and contained no alcohol or sugar.

Best places for gluten free in Louisville

Vegetarian food in Louisville? Look no further than Inwave Restaurant and Juice Bar Inwave Restaurant and Juice Bar strikes a refreshing pose. The new, health-conscious establishment on Shelbyville Road is designed entirely around a plant-based diet.

Annie May has you covered if you're looking for a gluten free meal. She said: “My bakery sells breads and some desserts to Grind Burger Kitchen, 829 East Market Street, River House, 3015 River Road, Inwave, 10310 Shelbyville Road, and Flora Kitchenette, 1004 Barret Avenue.Many of my customers and employees eat at these places, because they know the bread is safe. These places are also very careful and knowledgeable of food allergens and the proper procedures (changing gloves, using different knives to cut things, etc.)”

If that's not enough options, May said her customers also go to "Wild Eggs, The Silver Dollar, 1761 Frankfort Avenue, Chik'n & Mi, 2319 Brownsboro Road and some chain restaurants like those that belong to the Darden group, like Olive Garden and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, because they have set gluten free menus and procedures in place."

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Where vegans should eat in Louisville

Jon Huffman, an Old Louisville resident, has been vegan since undergoing chemotherapy several years ago.

“It's hard,” he said. “Louisville has gotten so many great restaurants in the last few years but 10 years ago it seemed like it was easier to find vegetarian dishes. Now there's so much barbecue and bacon and meat-centered food we really have to search.”

Vegan-friendly go-tos for Huffman and his partner Barb Cullen?

“We love Morels Cafe, 619 Baxter Avenue. I hope someday they expand to a bigger restaurant,” he said. “We discovered North End Cafe has a really good vegan Reuben. Red Yeti, 256 Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has a great vegan burger. Buck's Restaurant, 425 West Ormsby Avenue, has a couple of nice dishes that are, at least, vegetarian. Their risotto is really good."

What is difficult, Huffman said, is "if you go to a pizza place and say 'I don't want cheese and I don't want meat.' But Danny Mac's does a good red vegetable pizza.”

The couple also recently discovered Naive, 1001 East Washington Street, and already love it.

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Vegetarian dining options in Louisville

Brandi Giles, who lives in Beechmont, has been vegetarian for several years. Her favorite restaurant is Morels Cafe.

“When it opened I was overjoyed with the delicious vegan options and Kombucha on tap. If I miss the taste of meat I know I can go there and completely fool my taste buds,” she said.

“My other go-to is Annie Café, 308 West Woodlawn Avenue. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant, but it has many other Asian dishes. Their menu is vegetarian and there are many vegan dishes as well. Their sesame tofu is the best! I also like Vietnam Kitchen, 5339 Mitscher Avenue, which, like most places, has a separate vegetarian menu with amazing options.”

Where to go in Louisville on a low FODMAP diet (for IBS)

How sushi and tacos ended up on the menu at Dragon King's Daughter Chef and owner Toki Masubuchi was determined to create a menu that was unexpected.

Anne Shadle, who's the manager at The Mayan Cafe, 813 East Market Street, was on the FODMAP diet, “which is a treatment plan for SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth),” she explained. “When I was most strict (I couldn't eat any starches — wheat, corn, potatoes, rice — as well as dairy, sugar and some veggies and fruits too), I created a dish at Mayan Cafe which is now fondly termed 'Anne's Lunch.'"

The meal consists of a piece of salmon, grilled in olive oil, salt and lime and served with a half salad of greens, jicama, oranges, avocado, pumpkin seeds and a light vinaigrette.

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Shadle is also a fan of the "shredded pork salad at Feast BBQ, 909 East Market Street, a bunch. In fact, I ate a lot of salads in general. I remember going to Wiltshire on Market, 636 East Market Street, and they were always really helpful in modifying things for me. As I've reintroduced foods, I have found that Asian food is really easy on the gut. It's easy to avoid gluten and dairy in these cuisines," she said.

Dragon King's Daughter, 1126 Bardstown Road, "has been a mainstay on my list for years. Vietnam Kitchen is obviously up there as well. Time 4 Thai, 2206 Frankfort Avenue, is a favorite also," she said.

If you're still not sure how to navigate the Louisville dining scene with dietary restrictions, Shadle offers some advice.

“I generally say the categories of foods I’m avoiding first so they can identify if there are problem ingredients in the dish that aren’t listed on the menu,” she said. “I actually avoid saying 'I have an allergy to x...' rather, I say 'x doesn’t work for me.' I think many restaurant employees have gotten sick of people saying they have an allergy to something, when in reality they just don’t like that ingredient.”

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