Nicole Candler stepped up to the plate to show me around Southwest Louisville. A couple weeks ago we met for lunch at Tuscany Italian restaurant on Dixie Highway, then she drove me around quite a bit and took me for pie. She’s a winner.

Unlike the West End I have been down Dixie Highway a few times. In fact I bought a car on Dixie Highway many, many years ago. But I hadn’t spent much time there. I’ll tell you one thing though, had I known that The Pie Pantry existed I would have been making trips to Dixie Highway much more frequently all these years.

1. Mike Linnig’s
We didn’t actually eat at Mike Linnig’s but Nicole drove me out to it. Finally I understand what all the fuss is about! It’s a great location right on the river and with all the outdoor seating I can just imagine what a great place it is to eat some fish and just be part of the community on a warm summer evening. That being said I’m not sure I could find it on my own without some serious help from Google maps.

2. Baseball for Little People
I asked Nicole what the most beloved sport is in southwest Louisville. I thought it would be either football or basketball but she told me that little league baseball and tee ball is where it’s at. People take kids baseball pretty seriously. Interestingly enough Haven told me that little kids football is very big in the West End. I find it interesting that it’s the little kids sports that inspire so much passion, I would have thought high school sports would have been the big draw.

Tour Guide: Nicole Candler

Where We Ate: Tuscany (7895 Dixie Highway) and The Pie Pantry (9208 Dixie Highway #101)
I had a big bias that got smacked right out of me when we sat down to lunch. I was really concerned that there wasn’t going to be much vegetarian food on the menu at a restaurant in south Louisville. I was so wrong. Tuscany had more vegetarian options than many Italian restaurants inside the Watterson. I was really impressed with how many and how interesting a few of the vegetarian options sounded.

The Pie Pantry is a little bit of heaven on Dixie Highway. Seriously. The number and diversity in the selection of pies, ice creams, cakes, cupcakes and cookies made me so happy. I had a hard time deciding what to get. I finally decided to go with “Best Ever Buttermilk Pie” because if something is described as best ever you’ve got to try it right? After eating it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream I’m pretty sure they’re right and it is the best buttermilk pie ever. And I’m not a passionate ice cream fan but that vanilla ice cream was really, really good. They serve Ehrlers which is a brand I’d not had before and I can say now that I’m a fan. Also I was pleased to see that The Pie Pantry had a no sugar added Chocolate Cream Pie on the menu. My beloved’s father is diabetic and when she goes home to visit him she likes to take him a no sugar added sweet treat. Most of the time cherry or apple are the only two pie choices we come across so I was really pleased to find something new and different at The Pie Pantry.

What You Should Know: Though I didn’t get around to any of them that day apparently the south end of Louisville is home to many specialty ethnic groceries and restaurants. For example I have learned that I may soon be brought up on charges because I have never been to Vietnam Kitchen. I assure you this soon will be rectified.