Keep Away The Louisville Summer Heat With These Delightful Cold Dishes

FOOD & DRINK

Welcome to summertime in Louisville, where I often wonder on a broiling July afternoon why any of us choose to live here. One of the worst parts about the blanket of misery that settles on our stretch of the Ohio River here? It makes it not fun to cook or, honestly, even eat sometimes. If you don’t fancy cranking up your oven when it’s hovering around triple digits outside, I’m with you. And if you’re looking for something, anything, that’s not hot to eat, I got you. Here are five things in Louisville to eat when you’re trying to keep your cool.

When you want to slurp everything good about summer in liquid form

If you haven’t been to Full Stop Cafe yet, well, just go to Full Stop. Seriously, go now while they’re serving up their cucumber melon gazpacho. If you think loaded with bell peppers when you think of gazpacho, so do I. But this is-it-a-drink-or-is-it-a-soup staple of our friends in Spain and Portugal who know a little about hot climes comes in a rainbow of fresh, bright flavors, and right now Full Stop is killing it with their pepper-free version.

Their take on the cold coup stars everything green: fresh cucumbers, honeydew melon, green onion, basil, and mint freshly picked from their own little garden. It’s silky, it’s bright, it’s fresh and refreshing, and I could probably live on it all summer. Ask for a couple of pieces of Blue Dog toast on the side, and you’ve got a lovely light lunch. And because they’re a coffee shop at heart, go ahead and order the Golden Milk latte (on ice, obviously) while you’re at it to fortify you for the rest of the sizzling  afternoon.

If you need to be where the cool kids are and namedrop things like James Beard nominated chefs , it’s Enso you’re after. Chef Lawrence Weeks (he of the Beard nod for best-emerging chef) is at the helm, weaving Southern and Japanese fare in a design-forward space in Clifton/Crescent Hill. On a recent 97-degree evening I made a beeline for the special, the bowl of smoking-cold raw fish. It’s a starkly lovely composition of just a few slices of sashimi that’s been dry-aged and arrives with a flourish of billowing dry ice smoke. Paired with the quick-pickled cucumbers in the chilled-miso cucumber salad, it was precisely what the sweltering day required (well, that with the Rice Thrice cocktail that tamed the ragged edges of the day with its blissful meld of Japanese gin and sake).

If you’re looking for quality and quantity, and aren’t morally opposed to going outside the Watterson, join the chefs and other sushi enthusiasts in the know for the legit mindblowing omakase at Anko in Beechmont’s The Streatery food hall. Ahn Le’s smile sets the mood for the beautiful plate of sashimi that’s about to make your day. Since moving to the South End I’ve hit this unassuming (and wildly affordable; we’re talking Kroger sushi prices!) stall more times than I should admit. It’s usually for a carry-out order (until they let diners have some say over the playlist in the food hall, that is!). But the omakase —aka, chef’s choice—platter of stunningly delicious, mostly raw fish, most of which comes from Tokyo’s famed fish market, makes the rest of the world fall away, including the scorching day still awaiting outside when you leave.

When you want comfort by noodles

Is self-soothing in order? Trust me on this one: A simple bowl of chilled noodles with a couple of toppings may not sound like much, but if you’re talking about the cold sesame noodles with cucumbers, green onions and carrots from Fresh Out The Box, this is a classic example of the sum being greater than its parts. Picture this: Wilting away at Logan Street Market one recent day, the convection oven “breeze” from the big open garage doors stifling any appetite, the noodle dish on FOB’s menu called out to me. They let me add (warm, but still nice) tofu for some protein, and I’m telling you, a deceptively simple bowl of goodness turned my day around. FOB also has a location in Louisville Streatery (see above). And foodie friends tell me that several Korean eateries around town also serve fantastic renditions of chilled noodle bowls, so go exploring!

When you eat tomatoes every day they’re in season

Here’s one for your next lunch (or breakfast, whatever) at home. Pick up the most beautiful, plump heirloom tomatoes you can find at your favorite market (or Paul’s Produce if you can’t be bothered to get to a market on their schedule). Slice them. Salt them with your favorite bougie salt. Add some nice, cool, fat balls of burrata and shred some fresh basil (you don’t need a green thumb to grow a pot on your windowsill, by the way). Drizzle fancy olive oil on the whole lot, and don’t even bother to sit down if you’re me, as you lap up the whole reason summer in Louisville is worth it after all.