Good Taste

Have a favorite running in Saturday's Kentucky Derby - maybe Normandy Invasion, owned by Wilmington's Rick Porter?

There's no breakfast more lucky than a Kentucky Hot Brown, the classic open-faced hot turkey sandwich smothered in cheese sauce invented at Louisville's Brown Hotel.

We don't have to travel south for a fix thanks to SoWe Bar/Kitchen, Nancy Law's Graduate Hospital-area gastropub at 22d and Carpenter Streets, which turned a year old Wednesday.

It's a brunch hit from new chef Jennifer Choplin, with a couple of twists on tradition. She uses French toast (instead of white bread) as the base for tender turkey and roasted tomatoes topped with applewood bacon. Her indulgent drizzle of Mornay cheese sauce, meanwhile, gets extra color and richness from caramelized onions. It's a brunch indulgence only, which is lucky enough: the big race happens to fall on a brunch day, too.

 
Kentucky Hot Brown, $12, SoWe Bar/Kitchen, 918 S. 22d St., 215-545-5790.