Louisville is just about the last place you might expect to find Nordic flavors (there’s not even an IKEA nearby), but Oskar’s Slider Bar has carved out a niche for itself by converting options like Danish pølser (street hot dogs) and smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches) into approachable sliders. A meaty venison sausage slider is topped with tart cherries and tangy Swedish mustard, while the banana pork lefse is served on housemade Norwegian potato flatbread (it’s the only option eaten like a taco).

Located underneath Smor Nordic Bakery (which started in Oskar’s kitchen), the New Nordic-meets-dive bar concept has a serious culinary pedigree, using housemade lingonberry syrup in the lingonberry margarita and fermenting their own juniper hot sauce with Fresno chiles, celery and onion. For a lesson in true Scandi bar culture, we finished with an aquavit flight.

 
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.