9 Great Lexington, KY Eats

We went to Lexington, Kentucky to check off another state in my quest to hit all 50 United States by age 50. I was expecting great Bourbon and beautiful horse farms, but I was surprised to find one of my very favorite food destinations in the USA.

With a history of Bourbon that is older than the states, there is a strong Kentucky tradition of serious craftsmanship that extends to the production of other great food and beverage products. We also noticed that several places support the local community through partnerships with charities and supporting other local businesses.

I’m already thinking about our next trip, but here is my list of 9 great Lexington eats (and drinks).

9. The Brewgrass Trail

You may have heard of the Bourbon Trail, but Kentucky also boasts twenty craft breweries on the Brewgrass Trail. The ciders that we tasted at Wise Bird Cider Co. were subtle and dry and seemed closer to wine than beer. The family run business produces small-batch ciders using apples exclusively from Kentucky and immediate surrounding states.

We really enjoyed the flight of beers from West Sixth Brewing. My favorites were the limited release Low Beam New England IPA, and the Bourbon Barrel aged Pay it Forward Cocoa and Chili Porters that had distinct bourbon aroma. The Brewer contributes $0.50 for each six-pack of its “Pay it Forward” line to non-profits that support the local community, and works to get its distributors to match the donation. West Sixth also strives to be an environmentally conscious company and publishes an annual Sustainability Report.

Check out the VisitLex website for more information on the Brewgrass Trail Passport. Six stamps from showcased breweries will get you a commemorative passport and a T-shirt. Finish visiting all twenty, and you can choose from a selection of additional souvenirs.

8. Dudley’s on Short

Dudley’s on Short is Southern Living’s 2019 Best Restaurant in Kentucky. The longtime upscale favorite is housed in a historic downtown building with equestrian decor that screams horse country. We passed on the very reasonable $30 three course Sunday Supper, and ended up selecting such an eclectic mix of items that our waiter expressed his amusement at our choices. We sampled some very good cocktails, and the perfect southern deviled eggs.

The bread service included a raspberry muffin and walnut bread, in addition to more traditional breadbasket options. The restaurant was out of its signature BBQ Kentucky shrimp appetizer, so we made a quick decision to try the pimento cheese crab puffs. We expected a light gougères like puff, but ended up with a heavy deep fried crab and cheese ball. Not bad, but more bar food than fine dinning. The absolute winner was the roasted sunchoke soup with Kentucky paddlefish caviar cream.

The scallops with buttered savoy cabbage, apple, and celery root puree.

We decided to try the only vegetarian entree – the roasted garlic risotto with braised leek, Jerusalem artichoke, mulled wine egg, hazelnut foam, and vegetable ash. The components didn’t quite work together and it was incredibly dense. The steak would have been a lighter dish.

We ended with the spiced orange white chocolate creme brulee. The service was excellent and we had really great dishes, but I will order more carefully next time.

7. North Lime Coffee and Donuts

North Lime Coffee and Donuts is the kind of local business that you want to support. The company donates 10% of its profits to local charities, partners and supports other local businesses, and even started a commissary kitchen to help other local start-ups. They also happen to serve great donuts and coffee. We couldn’t pass up, a bourbon caramel cake donut.

I’m partial to a great yeast donut and North Lime makes them square. The plain glazed version was my favorite, but the special baklava donut was pretty amazing too.

6. Corto Lima

Downtown hotspot Corto Lima is a relative newcomer on the Lexington dining scene. The Latin inspired restaurant is often packed and doesn’t take reservations. It was worth the one hour wait when we visited, and the restaurant texted me a link to a great site that showed our spot on the waitlist and notified us when the table was ready. We started with really excellent guacamole.

If I had to pick my very favorite bite, it would be the crispy shrimp taco with smoked jalapeño aioli and chili escabeche.

We also loved the restaurants take on lomo saltado, with papas grandes instead of fries.

The restaurant had a good number of vegetarian options compared to many of the other restaurants we visited. We tried the cauliflower al pastor as a side, but I’m guessing it would be better in the taco option. It was flavorful, but a little too much of a good thing. The sugar cane shrimp with pineapple mojo, sweet potatoes, and black beans and rice was good, but not quite as memorable as the other dishes. Both the classic Margarita de casa and the prickly pear version were excellent, and I definitely recommend the tres leches cake with pineapple.

5. Bourbon Trail

Check out the official website for more information on a Bourbon Trail Passport. Collect stamps from all 18 distilleries on the official Bourbon Trail for an official tasting glass. The passport doesn’t expire, so you don’t need to finish in one trip.

Thanks to our 4.5 hour United Airlines delay, we missed our booking at Woodford Reserve. The friendly folks at the historic distillery didn’t have another tour that would fit our schedule, but got us into a tasting instead. We had a great guide, who took extra time to give us an overview of the site after hearing that we missed the tour. We didn’t have time to try any of the cocktails in the beautiful visitors center, but I definitely plan to return to take the full tour.

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The Woodford Reserve Bourbon Balls would probably not be my choice of candy to eat alone, but it really complements the flavors of the bourbon. The Woodford Reserve Double Oaked may be my new go-to bourbon.

You need to be a member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association to be listed on the Official Bourbon Trail, so there are a number of distilleries (some great ones) that aren’t on the official list. Still, they are worth a visit. We had a great tour of the downtown James E. Pepper distillery, a historic brand that was recently relaunched. It is definitely worth a tour to hear the incredible soap opera story of the rise and fall of the brand that originally dates back to the American Revolution. If you don’t take the tour, I still recommend dropping by to taste the original Old Fashioned! It was supposedly created in honor of James E. Pepper, and then introduced to the world by the man himself.

The distillery also launched the successful Lexington Distillery District, which houses a number of great food spots and craft breweries.

4. DV8 Kitchen

DV8 Kitchen has really incredible food. Oh, and it is a nonprofit vocational training organization and second chance employer for people who are overcoming substance abuse. In addition to baking, food handling, and other job skills, the restaurant offers weekly employment workshops to cover life-skills. DV8 also teaches businesses to become second chance employers based on its successful model. We tried the strawberry cinnamon roll.

Our favorite was the very fluffy bacon and egg sandwich on a very airy biscuit.

The restaurant also has a bread station with a freshly baked loaf, butter, and selection of house jams.

3. Eppings on Eastside

Eppings on Eastside is a new Lexington restaurant that is co-located with more casual restaurant and bakery. We visited on a busy evening with a limited prix fixe menu. There was at least one vegetarian option for each course. We started with craft cocktails – with bourbon of course. The chopped salad was good and the flavorful pan roasted mushrooms with a crispy chickpea cake, basil salad, had a memorable lemon cashew cream.

We really loved the perfectly cooked smoked pork belly with a citrus bourbon glaze, chow chow, and crispy beet. The carrot and coconut curry soup with pineapple crab salad and cilantro was also a winner.

The service was impeccable. Our server quickly noticed that we were sharing dishes and starting bringing us both the silverware to accompany each dish. The petite blacked filet with peppercorn compound butter, red wine demi-glace, and charred broccolini was my husband’s favorite.

I loved the perfectly pan seared day boat scallops with lobster risotto, English peans, baby arugula, fennel, and Calabrian chili vinaigrette.

The meal ended with the Chef’s choice of assorted sweets, strawberries dipped in candy coating, a Linzer cookie, and what tasted like a little cup of frosting. It probably didn’t showcase the restaurant’s best, but the rest of the meal was pretty perfect. I look forward to visiting again and ordering off the regular menu.

2. LockBox

LockBox is housed in Lexington’s 21c Museum Hotel. Now a small chain of boutique hotels, I first read about the concept several years ago and have wanted to see one. The hotels are essentially modern art museums that offer rotating exhibits and cultural programs that are open to the public. Each hotel has a different chef-led restaurant that promotes local farmers and producers and has a local flair. The bar has hanging colored balls that change color according to the weather forecast. Although the bar was a normal sunlit room when we first got there, the balls gave the room a black-light effect when photographed.

We planned to check out the art, but ended up meeting a very cool family from Ohio at the communal table. They told us about their “Choose Your Own Adventure” weekends that involve driving in a direction selected by the 9- year old daughter until they decide to stop. I was especially impressed that the Mom ended up booking such a cool hotel at the last minute from her phone.

We ordered the Clearance Clarance – possibly one of our favorite cocktails of all time – milk clarified bourbon with lemon, vanilla, orange oil, and bitters. Norma’s Bourbon Flight was a great way to compare familiar bourbons from popular distilleries -Maker’s Mark, Basil Hayden, Four Roses Single Barrel, and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.

Lockbox was so fantastic that we returned the new day for another Clearance Clarance – and to check out the art.

We also really enjoyed the Temper Tantrum, with gin, grapefruit cordial, lime and thyme. Next time I want to try the restaurant menu. We absolutely loved “In Jars” from the bar menu. Pots of pimento cheese, pepper jam and cream cheese, and chicken liver mousse, served with pickled vegetables, house made crackers, and unbelievably fluffy biscuits.

1. Crank and Boom

Crank and Boom Ice Cream Lounge supports over 50 local charities and strives to be environmentally friendly. The incredible ice cream showcases local food products. The bourbon ball sundae was featured on The Cooking Channel show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It may rank as one of the best sundaes that I ever ate.

We also tried an adorable sampler flight with bourbon and honey, Kentucky blackberry and buttermilk, coffee stout, and bourbon ball. Everything was excellent, but the bourbon and honey and Kentucky blackberry and buttermilk were our favorites. We were instructed to try them together which is possibly the best option of all.

Crank and Boom ranks as one of my favorite ice cream places in the United States! You can order online for home delivery ($99 for six pints). If you can afford to spend that much for ice cream, I recommend booking a fight to Lexington instead!

Book a hotel in Lexington.