This Father’s Day, take Dad on a Getaway filled with Bourbon, Bluegrass, and Bucks
Tired of getting your Dad a new wallet every Father’s Day? This year, take him on an adventure to Louisville, Kentucky, city of bourbon, bluegrass, and bucks.
Porter & Sail interviewed Mike Wajda, the award winning chef at Proof on Main, and learned about his favorite local picks (all of which we know Dad would appreciate more than a new wallet).
We’ve all heard that chefs are adrenaline junkies. Mike Wajda, the award-winning chef at Proof on Main is proof positive.
“I used to race professional motocross,” reveals Mike. “I broke a bunch of bones and the doctors said, you have to stop. So I went to culinary school.
When I came out, I got a job with Gordon Ramsay — and never looked back. The kitchen gave me that adrenalin that I needed: The fast pace, getting screamed at by the chef…”
Screamed at, you say? We lean in for ‘dish’ on the TV chef. Mike chuckles: “Gordon is not that way in real life. Well, unless you’re not respecting him, or respecting the food.”
Mike Wadja is the likeable North Easterner who took the helm at Proof on Main after Levon Wallace moved his Southern style still further south, to Nashville. Wadja, looking for a new vision for the restaurant, picked up a cocktail and simply wandered through the hotel. He found his inspiration on the museum walls.
“With 21c, the art is not in a box, its international, its changing — and I didn’t want Proof to be constrained either. I thought: we’ll do French, Southern, Asian, whatever. But farm-to-table: 85% of our ingredients would come from the surrounding farms.”
To keep it in the family, much of the meat and produce at Proof comes from the farm of 21c’s owners Steve and Laura Lee Wilson. (Look for them on the wall of the restaurant!)
More recently, Mike wanted to bring another local quality into play: bourbon.
“I fell in love with the vessel of the bourbon barrel,” says the chef. “I wanted to use barrels for pickling. So we got a barrel and made our own sauerkraut.”
“You don’t let the barrel die, you build. You have burnt wood, and a vanilla note from the bourbon. Now you’ve poured lots of acid in, what’s the next thing to put in to build flavor?
We did kimchi, then jardinière. Once you start adding layers, you want to see how far you can take it.”
Layers of flavor and the drive to build are qualities we can get behind. We’re excited to see where Mike takes it next. In the meantime, we ask: ‘Imagine Gordon Ramsay came here on vacation, any recommendations?’
Angel’s Envy Distillery
“Go to a distillery. All the distilleries were outside the city, but now they are being brought to downtown, because the tourism is getting so big. We’re super excited about Michter’s that’s going up across Main. That’s not open yet, but Angels Envy is down the street.”
Churchill Downs
“You definitely want to go to the Downs. We’re big on bourbon and horse racing. They do these fun events called Downs after Dark. You can go to a nice race and sip on something.”
Proof on Main
“Try the produce. It’s Spring. As a chef, I’m so anxious to use all the ingredients about to pop out the ground. Right now, we’re using beets. I have a fun dish: we roast the beets in squash vinegar, leaving the skin on, paint the bottom of the dish with labnah, and add za’atar spice, an egg-white meringue and juniper spice.”
Red Hog Butcher Shop
“Red Hog is a small butchers shop by day, where you can get sandwiches, sausages, charcuterie, but then in the evening it turns into a great restaurant. Right down the street from there, same owner, is Blue Dog Bakery. He’s one of those guys that if he’s going do something, he’ll do it right.”
MozzaPi
“Just outside of town is a place called MozzaPi. The owner is a woodworker that started making his own pizzas and bread. He makes one of the best focaccias I’ve ever tasted, and everything is done over a wood fire.”
Garage Bar
“Garage Bar is down the street. It’s [21c’s] playful spot. There are crashing cars outside, ping pong tables, and the whole front opens up.”
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