Trying the Burgers at Kaelin's

Preparing for our trip, Linda and I checked out RoadFood.com to see if there were some interesting places around Louisville, Kentucky that we should check out. Kaelin's showed up and looked like a winner. The Birthplace of the Cheeseburger is a pretty impressive claim and the reviews on the website sure looked good.

We arrived and found a warm and inviting dining area on the main floor of what appeared to me to have once been a nice, large two-story home in old Louisville. We were a little after any dinner rush so there were only a handful of patrons at tables and booths. Our hostess got us seated, answered a few questions, and took our order for, of course, a cheeseburger and six mini-cheeseburgers.

The food came and we were not disappointed. First, the cheeseburger itself was nice and hot, nicely seasoned, and just plain good. The minis were mostly just smaller versions of the regular. Don't confuse these little guys with some you may have seen elsewhere; I've tried some of those and these are simply a superior product.

Dinner complete, an older black gentleman in a sharp looking light blue jacket took our dishes and asked if we'd be interested in dessert. We took a look at them menu and saw a bourbon biscuit pudding that sounded interesting. It arrived and, without thinking about taking a photo, we took a bite. It was excellent! Before I thought to take a picture, it was gone... and that's unfortunate. It was pretty to look at and certainly a deliciously memorable surprise at this stop.

As we were leaving, we stopped and thanked the only employee we still saw, apparently a bartender. We explained that we'd come from Iowa, had read about the place on the internet, and were glad to have found such a gem. He told us that other people had mentioned the RoadFood website and thanked us for stopping by. He also shared that the man in the blue jacket, Jesse Amos, had been working at Kaelin's since 1958. Fifty years at one place is pretty uncommon. A restaurant being in business for fifty years is also pretty uncommon.

I ran across another website that talks more about the history Kaelin's and how it intertwined with another Kentucky restaurateur.