J. Gumbo's, Louisville

Referencing the tasty time-honored recipes of his grandmother, J. Gumbo’s founder, Billy Fox Jr., designed a comforting menu of homestyle food. All dishes are prepared using only the freshest ingredients and zestiest spices available, as well as enough love to turn a wooden puppet into a real boy and a sock puppet into a foot. Dive fork-first into a hearty bowl of jambalaya, bursting with tender chicken, sausage, and the ubiquitous “trinity” of Cajun cuisine: bell pepper, onion, and celery. To deliciously deny the impending mitten season, wrap your hands around a Voodoo chicken po’ boy sandwich, a belly-warming feast of spicy chicken and green onions atop french bread. The menu is friendly to mild-mannered and thrill-seeking diners alike, with each entree item labeled according to heat––one hot-sauce bottle denotes mild, whereas three signifies a concentration of capsaicin powerful enough to send tongues rocketing to the sub-zero climes of Pluto in search of relief.