As the social media mavens know (by route of FaceBook), we
have embarked on another journey, shoehorning a trip between France I and II, to Missouri and Wisconsin to
see the FOJ’s and SIL respectively. So
last Wednesday, we loaded up MFO’s vehicle
(AKA the MOMSTER) and headed out for our usual route over the Nice bridge
And through Virginia, West (by God) Virginia, into Kentucky and
our usual spot to RON welcomed by the equine community
And as usual, being creatures of habit (as well as
discerning taste) we were able to dine at one of our favorite restaurants,
Jonathan at Gratz Park, a restaurant inside a little boutique hotel in downtown
Lexington
I’m sure we’ve at least talked about this place before, but
this time I took the little ELPH and with the aid of a Beefeater Martini (eschewing the DMOTRWAT), I
overcame my inclination not to take pictures and got a few to share with you.
Due to a large contingent of attorneys gathering for some
function, we were seated in the bar instead of the dining room. And you know what? Having been in each, I think I actually prefer
the bar (which might say something about the Feeder). It
is exactly the kind of bar that I wish were available at home.. cozy, all dark wood, quiet (at least this
time), white tablecloths, crystal and silver
Another thing that draws us to this restaurant is that Chef
Jonathan (Lundy) has long espoused “buy local” before it became all the
rage. Born and bred in Kentucky (“a Kentucky native who grew up in Midway on
Lundy Farm, chef Jonathan Lundy is a culinary ambassador for the Bluegrass”). His menu has always reflected what we would
now call “locally sourced” ingredients and his dishes give a nod to Southern foodways. For instance here’s a portion
of the starter menu:
A virtual listing of classic Southern cuisine which carries
throughout the rest of the menu. There
is a fried green tomato salad, bourbon and coke braised short ribs, shrimp
and grits. We decided on the pork belly (reluctantly nosing out the Grit Fries) and pot sticker appetizer (MFO)
starters and (fresh) peach glazed pork chop and for some odd reason I took a
special veal scaloppini dish, which, okay is maybe not so traditional, but
called me somehow. The appetizers were
beautiful as well as a treat for the palate
(Pork Belly)
(Pot Stickers)
An interesting note about my pork belly (no cute comments
please): Notice on the menu it says "Ale
8 One Braised …."? Well I thought that
meant some craft brew which would have been appropriate maybe, so I checked it
out on the web. Guess what? Turns out it is NOT a beer but a soft drink
with deep roots in Kentucky. I’ll
include the link for you to read more about it, but if you don’t want to take the time, the
name means “A Late One” (Ale 8 one, get it?)… nice job
Jonathan! It did provide an interesting sauce for the Bellies
At this point it was suggested that I put my camera “someplace”
and we enjoyed the rest of the dinner with no more documentation other that in
the memory. A glass of Fieldstone Merlot
helped the scaloppini (which were light and tasty). Can’t say enough about the place (although
maybe I did in your view)! If you’re EVER
in Lexington, you gotta go.
We awoke the next morning, and cut southwest along the innumerable
“parkways” that Kentucky seems enamored with, which although kind of pretty are
monumentally boring. I’m sorry. Although
there are occasional reminders of the culture
Eventually we got to the “big muddy” around Cairo, crossing
the river
With an interesting old bridge that provided kind of a nice
image
Although we had intended to go "South" instead of our normal route up through Cairo, due to some bridge construction we were driven to go into Cairo to
turn around and were reminded of the ghosts of an old river town
But eventually we had the traditional welcome to the "show me" state:
And had an uneventful drive to Cape Girardeau where we are
currently staying with FOJTY. Tomorrow
up the road to STL to see the other grandparents, our grandson, and
FOJTE!! Once more
DFD
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