Road Trip: Gralehaus--Louisville, KY ~ Simple Delicious Food Recipes

When hubby and I visited Louisville recently for our anniversary, we wanted to try something new for breakfast/brunch and my lovely hairdresser Katie, who splits her time between Indy and Louisville, recommended Gralehaus wholeheartedly. After her Buvette recommendation in NYC, I trusted her completely. My friend @wibia reviewed this place for me last summer too when my wrist was broken--you can see that post here.

I was not disappointed either—this is a restaurant set in an old house—it’s actually a little difficult to spot at first—we were kind of looking for a regular storefront. You order at the register and they bring the food to you. The menu is creative, hipster-ish takes on traditional breakfast and brunch items. I had a hard time deciding.

Because I am a sucker for a crepe with an egg in it, and they had one, and thin crepes like this are not super common, that’s what I went with—the Country Ham and Egg Crepe ($9). It’s a very thin flour crepe (sadly not buckwheat, but you can’t have everything) and inside there was melty Gruyere cheese, country ham, a sunnyside up egg and some greens. Everything about it was done just perfectly. The crepe was light with just the right amount of crispy edges to the crepe—a runny yolk on the egg but not underdone whites, and the ham was thin and salty and delicious. But it wasn’t overpowering either.-I hate it when ham or pork is so chewy you can’t easily cut a bite. I wanted something that wasn’t ridiculously decadent and filling, and this was perfect.

Of course we also shared a side of the aged cheddar grits as well ($3) and these certainly were enough to fill you up. They were very good—creamy consistency with enough of the salty, melty cheese that you could really taste it. They were seasoned well so you didn’t wish for salt and pepper. I mean look at that picture—doesn’t that just make you want some?

Hubby had the crispy pork hash ($10), which was not at all what you would expect. It was large whole potatoes, and some turnips that were roasted and smashed. Inherently not a bad thing, but not exactly what you think of when you imagine hash. Or at least not what we thought of. The pork bits were tasty, but not as plentiful as the starchy elements, which was a little disappointing. The sunny egg again was perfectly done. The turnip green salsa verde tasted very green—super fresh and interesting. The broccoli was unexpected. It was an interesting and unique dish, but I don’t think it would be a repeat order for us. The crepe and the grits on the other hand, I could eat for days.

I definitely want to go back and try the biscuits too-either in the form of biscuits and duck gravy or in one of their breakfast biscuit sandwiches. Both sound delicious.

It’s a small place though, not very many tables at all. And because they make their very good coffee a cup at a time, and you have to order at the counter, which often has a big line, if you think you might want more than one cup, I’d order them at the beginning. The freshly squeezed OJ was super delicious as well. I’d say it’s a place that we will certainly return.

Gralehaus

1001 Baxter Ave

Louisville, KY 40204

502/454-7075

www.gralehaus.com