RESTAURANT REVIEW

When Bruce arrived as a new immigrant in the U . S . in 1987 , he started working in several local restaurants , but eventually his entrepreneurial spirit propelled him to open his own enterprise . In 1996 , he started a food truck business called Gypsy Van which served tacos , salbutes and tamales at several venues including farmer ’ s markets , festivals , etc . In 1997 , he and his business partner / sister-inlaw Anne Shadle opened a restaurant initially called Mayan Gypsy which was later changed to Mayan Café . The dishes served in the restaurant represent a fusion of traditional indigenous Mayan recipes and seasonal farm produce in the form of farm-to-table mode . Mayan Café was named as one of Yelp ’ s Top 100 restaurants in the U . S . at # 26 , the only Kentucky restaurant to make the renowned list in 2021 . Additionally , it was named # 21 by the Business First list of Louisville ’ s largest minority-owned businesses in the same year .

During this cold weather and concern about the raging pandemic , my wife Sally and I have been on a quest to find the select few local restaurants that will provide seating on a heated patio with masked wait staff . Last week we were able to get seated on the heated patio of the Mayan Cafe . Alex was our waiter and he answered all our questions meticulously about the many and varied dishes on the menu .

As starters , we ordered spicy jicama salad ( jicama-Mexican turnip , cucumbers , mango , picked onion , cilantro and habanero-lime vinaigrette ), black bean cakes which had avocado salad , queso fresco , pureed tomato sauce and guacamole and corn tortilla chips . All were quite delicious with interesting flavors .

As our entrees , Sally ordered chicken – farm pan-fried chicken thighs with Yucatec red mole and malanga ( a tuber-yam or taro ) and I picked the Mayan burger over the salmon . The Mayan burger was made of farm grass-fed beef with greens , picked onions , cayenne aioli and seasonal chips . Chips were crunchy and tasty . I ordered their famous toc-sel lima beans specifically prepared by chef Bruce from his own family recipe . I have had lima beans prepared with pesto elsewhere but the toc-sel lima beans were truly uniquely delectable . We shared the chocolate-on-chocolate dessert which was decadent as expected . We had a delightful dinner and browsing the menu , it appears that we will be back to sample numerous other culinary Mayan delights .

Anne Shadle informed me about their Black Chef initiative , a brunch series during the summer of 2021 that was quite popular . They are now purchasing from other local businesses including local Black businesses , ice cream from Louisville Cream , tea from Sis got Tea and bourbon from Legacy Distributing Co .

Their food truck is doing well and has been a permanent feature at the Gravely Brewing Company on Baxter Avenue since 2017 . Street food prepared and served from the food truck includes snacks like guacamole , black bean dip , empanadas , nachos , tacos , burritos and salbutes ( puffy tacos with fillings of fish , chicken or pork ).

Catering represents one third of their gross revenue and is reportedly a very successful endeavor . It makes a lot of sense to call , order the food and pick up or get it delivered . I recommend this celebrated ethnic restaurant heartily and without reservations .

Dr . Seyal practices cardiovascular Medicine at the Seyal Cardiology LLC in Clarksville , IN .

MAY 2022 17