What I'm about to say I do not say lightly, I just want you to know that. If B and I should ever move out of the Highlands I think there is a very good chance it might be to Schnitzelburg. Shocking right? Particularly considering I don't think I've ever really been in Schnitzelburg except to go to Nord's until two weeks ago. And I must tell you there is some debate over whether or not you can say that Nord's is located in Schnitzelburg.

1. Walk-ability
While you can't walk to as many retail options in Schnitzelburg as you can in say the Highlands it is certainly a walkable neighborhood. Nice flat streets, the vast majority with well maintained sidewalks, not a lot of street traffic and lots of four way stops make it a great neighborhood for walking your dog or pushing your baby in a stroller. Though there aren't a ton of retail options there are some good food options you can walk to in Schnitzelburg. You've got Flabby's, Zeppelin Cafe (home of one of my new obsessions which I'll tell you about later in the week), Check's, Jockamo's Pizza plus Nord's if you're generous and don't mind a long-ish walk.

2. Neighbors
The Schnitzelburg Area Community Council seems to be a really active neighborhood association. The community garden area a couple blocks from Zeppelin Cafe is gorgeous. St. Elizabeth's Senior Wellness Center makes me swoon a little bit at the thought of a community taking good care of its elderly residents. Schnitzelburg really seems like a neighborhood. It's small (the "official" borders of Schnitzelburg is a triangular loop bordered by Goss Avenue, Shelby Street and Clarks lane) so it's possible to know a lot of people in the neighborhood. I mean the Highlands can include anything from Douglass Loop to Highland Avenue. That's a big area and a lot of people. Schnitzelburg? Not so much with the big.

Each year in Schnitzelburg there is a Citizen's Dinner where "an outstanding citizen of Schnitzelburg is honored for his or her contributions to the community." I think that's just awesome. 

Tour Guide: Jesse Hendrix-Inman

Where We Ate: Flabby's
Really good comfort food with lots and lots of German dishes on the menu. Flabby's is cash only and super affordable.

What You Should Know: Schnitzelburg is a really lovely neighborhood whose combination of affordable housing and history make it a rich blend of young professionals and long time residents. It's the kind of neighborhood that you could imagine seeing on tv show with a young family living a kind of idyllic life in a safe, comfortable neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else and everyone is up in everyone's business in a good way.

It's also a neighborhood that has what could be considered old school working class dive bars but also The Hara Center. I think that makes for a really nice balance and feeling for a neighborhood.

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.

In all the years that I have lived in Louisville I have only been to anything that could be considered part of the "West End" once. That was a trip to the Portland neighborhood to visit Bryce Hudson's studio/gallery (which if I'm not mistaken he recently sold). Haven Harrington III of the Russell Neighborhood blog gave me my first real visit to the West End. He drove me all around various smaller neighborhoods, showed me parks, landmarks, businesses and taught me lots and lots of Louisville history.

I didn't have a lot of pre-conceived notions about West End neighborhoods. That said there were a couple things that really surprised me:

1. Empty Space
In the Highlands the houses are close together and there aren't many lots without houses on them. In the various West End neighborhoods that Haven took me to there were many empty lots and I was salivating thinking of our the community gardens and other cool things that could spring up in those spaces.

2. History
West End neighborhoods are absolutely alive with history. From the cemetery with 16th street running through it to Lionel Hampton's childhood home to Chickasaw Park being the only city park open to African Americans until 1955. Haven opened my mind to so much history I couldn't write it all down. He should start a Louisville history blog and I'll be his first subscriber.

Tour Guide: Haven Harrington III

Where We Ate: Expressions of You (18th & Muhammed Ali)
I had a grilled cheese and really excellent baked beans. I should have had a piece of chocolate cake that looked outstanding but I didn't. If this coffee shop/cafe were a little bit closer to my office I could see working there in the afternoons. Big spacious tables, tons of natural light, wifi, good food and drink, super nice people working there.

What You Should Know: If you have a perception of the West End being scary I think you're going to be disappointed. While no, I haven't read up on all the crime statistics the West End certainly did not live up to its reputation as a scary part of town. It reminded me a lot of Old Louisville in that one block would be filled with beautiful houses and well tended yards and gardens and the next block would have a few not so well kept houses and lawns (including some that have been completely abandoned). 

There wasn't a ton of restaurants or retail places that I saw in the West End. Haven mentioned a new soul food restaurant is opening soon-ish and I had the brilliant idea that someone should open a vegetarian soul food restaurant because I would eat there like every day. Someone get on that ok? That idea was totally inspired by a cookbook called "Vegan Soul Kitchen" by the way.

It was raining the day I visited the West End so I didn't get to take many photos. I plan a trip back soon to rectify that.