Louisville won’t run out of biscuits anytime soon, so how does a biscuit-centric fast casual stand out in a sea of fluffy, flaky options? We headed to Biscuit Belly, our first stop, to find out.

The growing, Louisville-based chain (it has nearly a dozen locations across seven states, with more on the way) has plenty of full-sized biscuits and biscuit sandwiches, but it’s the miniature biscuits that get all the attention, offered up in a shareable sampler with three gravies: goetta sausage (a German breakfast sausage famous throughout the region), mushroom and smoked Gouda mornay. Those same poppable mini biscuits do double duty as a sweet option (this is a breakfast/brunch joint, after all), dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with a side of rich bourbon cream cheese frosting for dipping.

 
You may think you know Louisville: lots of bourbon and pimento cheese, plenty of mint juleps, and the home of Colonel Sanders, right? But a visit to this thriving all-American city reveals a food scene that has evolved and modernized, with chefs like Edward Lee and Sara Bradley combining the city and region’s storied heritage with new, often globally inspired flavors.