Restaurants in Lyndon

Joe’s OK Bayou claims to be “da best Cajun,” but there’s also a humility to the enterprise—starting with the playful name and extending to decor that alludes to a low-country shack with a sheet-metal awning and rough wooden walls. Home-style cooking comes naturally to owner Joe Wheatley, whose father farmed grain and raised hogs before opening similarly rustic restaurant The Feed Mill with other members of the family in a former feed-storage building.

Since 1995, Joe and his team have striven to introduce Louisiana flavors to a northern audience, seasoning crawfish étouffée and chicken-and-sausage gumbo with spices that are bold but not painfully hot. Visiting in 2008, the Courier-Journal’s Marty Rosen found that this mission succeeded, with “bold, accessible flavors, friendly, quick service and extremely affordable prices.” He also found oysters “big and glossy with fine, firm textures—as fresh-tasting as any I've eaten along the Louisiana or Alabama coasts” on the menu’s wide selection of simply prepared coastal creatures—fried gator tails, catfish filets, and frog legs among them. Abita beers, the star of the drinks menu, hail appropriately from Louisiana, and join wines and other domestic and imported brews at the full bar.

Chef Ramiro Gandaras literally attached his name to Ramiro’s Cantina, and he figuratively posts his family recipes all over the walls of his restaurant's kitchen. Referencing these recipes, his team dishes up a string of Mexican cuisine staples, such as burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, alongside a few Tex-Mex hybrids, such as guacamole burgers, enchilada casseroles, and homemade chili. In the cantina—which is Spanish for “proof that gravity exists”—bartenders pour tequila into margaritas and draft beer into tall glasses.

At Zen Garden, many of the Asian dishes sound familiar, with adjectives like "orange," "sweet ‘n’ sour," and "kung pao." However, rather than tossing chicken or beef in with these classic flavors, the kitchen has adopted a meat-free credo. Chefs mix masterfully seasoned bites of tofu and other meat alternatives with fresh veggies, creating entrees such as green beans stir-fried with mock duck and the barbecued-soy sandwich. Noodles tangle around shiitake mushrooms in both the udon-noodle soup and the shiitake mushroom lo mein, and curry sauce imbues eggplant and shredded tofu with a spicy kick. Guests can pair their meal with a cup of green tea, prepped hot, iced, or in its purest form: emeralds that have not yet been juiced.

Cubana Restaurant owner and head chef Mariolis Mora draws on the culinary skills she cultivated in Santiago de Cuba to craft a menu of traditional Cuban cuisine. She grills shredded beef and tosses it with garlic and lime juice to forge her ever-popular vaca frita, and she presses roasted pork, spanish chorizo, and serrano ham between hot bread to build classic cuban sandwiches. For dessert, a cup of cuban espresso offsets the sweetness of housemade flan or bread pudding.

Lauded by the Courier-Journal as a “beach paradise,” Cubana Restaurant’s interior complements the authentic island cuisine. Palm trees pop against vibrant orange and turquoise walls, and the sound of Cuban music inspires impassioned air-bongo solos.

Dedicated to combining the pleasures of tea and "good, wholesome food," according to co-owner Karter Louis in the Louisville Eccentric Observer, Hillbilly Tea invites patrons to sip at organic whole leaf teas and feast on mountain-inspired fare made from locally sourced ingredients. Like in a lavish dollhouse sauna, steam rises from mugs filled with black, green, herbal, and rare teas, from the sweet, full-bodied Swamp Tea to the aromatic Darling. Ingredients from local enterprises such as Duncan Farms and Stone Cross Farms combine for contemporary fare based on traditional Appalachian recipes, and vegetarian options such as barbecue tofu burgers slay hunger more effectively than a medieval knight in a chain-mail apron. Praised for its "old-fashioned country cooking" by the Courier Journal, Hillbilly Tea complements its brunch, lunch, and dinner dishes with savory additions such as chai butter and tomato jam.

Cafe Aroma's eclectic menu dabbles in flavors from around the globe. Chefs scatter mexican chorizo sausage across nachos, and add garlic shrimp to their signature linguine. An array of freshly baked sandwiches pair with pickles, much in the way sandals pair with socks, and salad smiths slice up fresh romaine lettuce and top it with the customer's choice of gourmet ingredients.