In Louisville, 8Up Elevated Drinkery & Kitchen is known for its rooftop view and swanky atmosphere, but where the real heart of the space lies is within the menu and with Chef Wesley Powell and his staff. With a focus on locality, seasonality and sustainability, 8Up’s rotating menu can’t be missed.
I was fortunate to spend an evening enjoying the current offerings from the restaurant’s seasonal menu and chatting with Powell about the details of each dish, his journey to becoming a chef and what his passions are within the kitchen.
For our first course, Powell brought us the Chef’s Charred Caesar and Asparagus Fries. From the jump, it was easy to see how much attention to detail there is in each and every part of Powell’s dishes.
Powell explained that the salad we were tasting is no regular Caesar. It features an in-house, made from scratch sauce. For a flavor boost, salted and cured eggs yolks are grated into the romaine hearts. The real magic comes from the charred dust Powell uses for a wood-fired oven aromatic. With a belief in repurposing produce that could be considered waste, the dust is made from scrap veggies…