Driving to try some places in Ohio and Kentucky

I have been taking a large part of my annual vacation at the end of the year and it always seems that I spend a lot of time sitting around which drives me crazy!  I decided that I didn't want to do that again and try get to some Triple D places during the days after Christmas.  My first thought was to fly but as an airline employee who flies stand-by the flights were all pretty full so I had to seek out an alternative. I decided to try 12 places in the Lexington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio area.  My holiday plans were to celebrate with the family and then drive stopping along the way overnight. I drove to Charleston, West Virginia before heading into Kentucky.  The thing I will always remember about the drive to Charleston is that very few trucks operate on Christmas.  I left at about 530p and encountered my first truck at about 905p in Beckley, WV.  The other thing is that since I drove in darkness I really didn't get to see much scenery or see the mountains..After an overnight rest stop I headed out for the 3 hour drive to Frankfort, the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and my first stop.

Let me first say that this trip will also be remembered for one weather condition - RAIN!  It rained for most of the entire trip!  I arrived Frankfort on a very slow and sleepy day after Christmas.  The town seemed almost deserted.  "Rick's White Light Diner" is a very small white diner.  I don't think the place can hold 20 people and is decorated with very neat signs ad memorabilia.  Although there were just a few of us there, the talk was of University of Kentucky basketball as the big game versus the University of Louisville was just a few hours away. 

Rick's White Light Diner in Frankfort Kentucky

I decided to choose Rick's special Crawfish Pie which came with garlic grits and a small salad with a very spicy thousand island dressing.  There were big chunks of crawfish in the pie slice with very flaky and delicious pie crust.  Savory ad sweet pies are a specialty of Rick's.  I really enjoyed the meal and I was able to get Rick to sign my book and he told me about the filming of his episode.  I think Rick's is a family run place as I overheard my server talk about '"mom".

My Crawfish Pie meal at Rick's

I thanked Rick and the staff and headed out for my next stop.  The drive took me into Kentucky Thoroughbred Horse country, what gorgeous countryside!  This is where many of the horses that run in the Triple Crown are bred and I wondered if I was passing a farm of a former Triple Crown race winner.  It also reminded me of the area of Tara from the movie "Gone With The Wind".  I drove into the small town of Versailles to a place that was in a home neslted amongst all the horse farms, "Wallace Station Deli and Bakery" is known for their Kentucky Hot Brown burgers and bakery items.  I saw all the great baked goods and decided to try some of them.

I chose a scone and a cookie.  Both were delicious.  the scone was filled with fruit and white chocolate chips.  The Gingerbread cookie was one of the best I have ever tasted!

Wallace Station's baked scone and cookie

My next stop was about 30 minutes away in Lexington which is also home to the University of Kentucky.  "The Parkette Drive In" is a true drive in, built in 1951 with the classic car hop service, radio intercom system and about 50 parking spots.  They have also built a 50s style sit down restaurant, which is where I chose to eat.

Lexington Kentucky's Parkette a classic 50s Drive In

The classic drive in intercom system at Parkette

I chose to try Parkette's classic sandwich, the Poor Boy.  I remembered in their episode the owner made sure that people did not confuse it with the traditional sandwich of Louisiana, the Po Boy.  The Poor Boy is a double patty hamburger with tomato, lettuce, mayo and ketchup and was very tasty. I really liked the Parkette and would recommend it if you ever find yourself in Lexington.

The Poor Boy at the Parkette Drive In

I headed off to my last place in the area on the other side of Lexington.  "J J McBrewster's" is a traditional Kentucky style barbecue restaurant although they consider themselves a "smokehouse".  I remembered their episode and was very surprised to find it in a new strip mall,  I decided to try their small shredded pork sandwich that came with barbecue chips and 4 bottles of their  unique Kentucky style sauces.

J J McBrewsters Smokehouse in Lexington, Kentucky

J J's unique Kentucky style sauces

The sandwich was pretty good although the roll was cold which took away from the overall meal.  The pork was very tasty with some good pieces of bark.  The sauces really did enhance the flavor of the pork.  I was the only patron in the pace and asked my server about it and she said that the reason was the Kentucky-Louisville game was on and everyone was at home watching it.  In Kentucky this game is like their Super Bowl (Rupp Arena, home of Kentucky basketball is only 7 minutes away)!

J J McBrewster's Pulled Pork sandwich

I left J J's and headed out for the 90 minute drive north to Cincinnati.  I headed to the place I'd be staying for the next 2 nights and plan out my visits to the Triple D places in Cincinnati. In planning I noticed that a number of the places I wanted to try were either closed on Sunday or Monday, so I decided to try and get to those places first.

After a short rest I headed into rainy Cincinnati.  I was pretty surprised to see that the downtown area is pretty small and really built into the hills, although the metropolitan area is pretty big and is in both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of Ohio. My first stop was in the Findlay Farmer's Market just north of the downtown area.  "Pho Lang Thang" is a traditional Vietnamese restaurant within the vast farmer's market. 

Pho Lang Thang in Cincinnati's Findlay Farmer's Market

The restaurant's main meal is Pho, which is a hearty Vietnamese soup, but I opted for a Bahn Mi sandwich, which is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich my sandwich had Chinese barbecued pork and filled with cilantro and shredded carrots on a fresh banquette roll.  I tried the bottled Hoisin sauce which really added to the flavor.

Bahn Mi Sandwich

Hoisin Sauce

I really enjoyed the sandwich and then headed off to my next stop which was just a few miles away. Vine Street is Cincinnati's restaurant district.  After driving around for about 10 minutes searching for a place to park I was able to get to my next place, "Senate Pub".  This small café was very busy and the staff was very attentive.  The hostess had a table for me but would not seat me until the table was set completely, not a big deal to me but it really said to me that she cares about the full dining experience!

Senate Pub in Cincinnati's Vine Street Restaurant area

Senate has a very eclectic menu, more gastro pub food than full meals, but I noticed that groups were ordering a number of items and sharing them amongst their tables. They started me with a water service in a wine bottle, which I always like.  One of their featured items is gourmet hot dogs.  I chose the Lindsey Lohan hot dog, whch is a huge dog on a brioche bun with goat cheese, bacon, arugula and balsamic vinegar.  The huge dog was served on a fat wood plank.

Senate's water service

Lindsey Lohan Hot Dog Dressed

Lohan Undressed

The taste was incredible and this was a knife and fork hot dog! As I was getting ready to leave I wasn't sure if I would be able to get my booked signed as it was s busy, but one of the staff got the owner to sign it and introduced me to him.  Senate has a sister restaurant called Abigail, which is more a traditional restaurant and he was expediting meals there, he's a great guy and is running two great places.  I headed back in the rain for my last stop of the day.

I headed uptown about 4 miles but still on Vine Street!  I was in the Jamaica area of Cincinnati and at a small place called "Island Frydays". 

Island Frydays - A little piece of Jamaica in Cincinnati

I decided to carryout a traditional Jamaican meat patty and a sweet roll patty.  As  tried both separately it took me back to a cruise I had taken only a few weeks earlier in Falmouth, Jamaica with a spicy meat patty and what they called Coco Bread.  In Jamaica they combine the two into one huge sandwich, but in Cincinnati they are eaten separately.  They were both very tasty.  I really liked the decorations in the restaurant, the walls are decorated with pictures of Jamaica, football jerseys of NFL players who played at the University of Cincinnati.  I really liked that Guy did his artwork for Island Frydays in the traditional Jamaican colors of green, gold and black.

Jamaican Meat Patty

Jamaican Sweet Bread

Guy Ate Here pan Jamaican style

It had been a great day!  My plan on Sunday was to get all the downtown places so I didn't have to fight weekday traffic on Monday. 

I was a bit lucky as two of the places are about 200 yards apart.  My first stop is a place that specializes in breakfast and lunch items, "A Taste of Belgium/OTR (Over the Rhine)".  This place has an open kitchen and huge bar in a small building and was very busy. 

Cincinnati's A Taste of Belgium

My view of their bar

Taste of Belgium's Open Kitchen

I took a seat at the end of the bar and looked over their big brunch menu.  I remembered that on their episode the chef made it clear that their waffles are not usually served with syrup, as they are made sweet almost like the  syrup is cooked in.  I chose their signature Chicken and Waffle. It was served with a very tasty small side salad.  I had them bring the hot sauce and maple syrup (it is used on the chicken) on the side.  As I was being served my meal the executive chef came over and signed my book.  We chatted a few minutes about the show and their waffles, he told me that the batter for the waffles is more of a dough than batter and that they use only local farms and vendors, they are pretty much farm to table.  The maple syrup is Ohio Maple syrup  The waffle irons are even produced at a local foundry!

My Taste of Belgium Chicken and Waffle

It was a great meal at a great place and I headed back out into the rain and walk about 300 yards to my next stop.  "Bakersfield" advertises Tacos and Tequila.  It is a very small brick building and on their TVs featured a western movie with William Holden. 

I chose two small tacos.  One was called Mole and featured marinated chicken topped with crumbled Mexican chees and pickled onions and the other was called Pork Belly with cubed pork belly topped with diced pineapple.

My Bakersfield Tacos

Mole Taco

Pork Belly Taco

Both were very good but if I had to combine them into one, I would take the pork belly and put it in the Mole taco.  They were small but loaded.  My server who was also the bar tender signed my book as he was featured on their Triple D episode. After a restful afternoon I headed out to my last place of the day to a place on the north side of Cincinnati.  The pace has a familiar name to Triple D fans but is in no way affiliated with place of the same name in the Cleveland area.  "Melt Eclectic Café" is a place that specializes in Vegan and Vegetarian meals. 

Melt Eclectic Cafe

Ordering area at Melt

I chose the Joan D'arc sandwich which is not on their Vegan menu.  The sandwich is on gluten free bread and has roast beef, caramelized onions and crumbled bleu cheese and served with sun chips.  It was very tasty, and I also tried their fresh brewed Earl Grey Iced Tea. I wasn't sure I would like this type of food, but it was really good.  I would try this place again.

My Joan D'arc sandwich at Melt Eclectic Cafe

Guy's artwork on the wall at Melt

My last day on the trip began the same way others had with rain!  I had hoped to visit with a friend who lives a few hours away in Columbus, but she had to cancel so I decided to try one last place in the Cincinnati area before heading to a place that was is on the way and about 3 hours away before heading home.  The day before I had driven to place in the suburb town of Bellevue, Kentucky, but it was closed.  I figured that maybe they were closed for he Christmas weekend, even though their website and Google made no mention of it.  I drove to Bellevue and walked to the door and it was locked!  There was no sign or indication of their closing but it was clearly closed, I am still not sure if they were taking a break for the week between Christmas and New Year's or closed down entirely.  I saw inside the darkened dining room of "Virgil's Café" set tables, so it was both confusing and frustrating!  I went back to my car and tried to make a plan.  My last stop was a three hour drive away, s I plugged it into the GPS and figured I would head there and since I had not eaten I decided to stop somewhere along the way. 

Virgil's Café - is it closed for vacation or permanently, not sure!

As I was heading east I saw a sign for the town of Blue Ash which is the home of one of my favorite Triple D places that I had ever visited.  I quickly plugged "Blue Ash Chili" into the GPS and headed there for lunch.  I arrived and the place was packed!  I was able to find an open booth in the side room that had a 1950s feel.  I knew what  wanted and didn't even need a menu as I loved this place when I visited about 4 years before.  I ordered the Chili 3 way plate which consisted of Spaghetti, Blue Ash's Cincinnati style chili and shredded cheddar cheese. 

Blue Ash Chili in Blue Ash, Ohio - A Triple D Classic location!

The meal arrived and without even asking the server brought an extra plate of cheese, which really enhanced the meal.  Cincinnati chili is sweeter than other styles of chili and has a very distinct cinnamon flavor.  Blue Ash makes there's so thick that you can (and I did) eat it with a fork (they didn't even offer a spoon)! 

Blue Ash Chili's 3 Way Plate

I must admit that the sweeter Cincinnati style is not my favorite, but Blue Ash's style is awesome!  There is no grease run off like you see at most other chili places.  On my last visit the owner took my address and a few weeks later I received a Blue Ash Chili shirt which I wear often.  A few weeks before my visit I had worn the shirt while on a cruise in Georgetown, Grand Cayman and I showed the picture to both my server and the manager.  I told them I was spreading the Blue Ash chili love in the Cayman Islands!  What happened next was not only unexpected but a huge surprise, my server came over and said he had taken car of my meal!  I had him sign my book and he thanked me for coming back again, he told me I was one of the few Triple D followers who made a return visit.  I can't tell you how much I appreciated that!  I now that I will be back when I return to Cincinnati!

Blue Ash Love in the Cayman Islands!

I headed east passing Columbus and then south out of the small city of Zanesville along the Muskingum River, which after 4 days of rain was almost at flood level. About 20 miles south on Ohio Route 60 is the very well named "Boondock Barbecue".  There really isn't too much around the place and it sits about 3 miles out of the very small town of McConnelsville, Ohio. 

McConnelsville, Ohio, home to Boondocks BBQ Grill

The place has the look and feel of a log cabin and the interior is decorated with all sorts of country style pictures and memorabilia.  I asked my server to remind me what they had made on the show and with that info I decided to try the combo plate with 1/3 rack of ribs and pulled pork that came with sides of broccoli and baked beans.  Now I come from an area tat does not have good barbecue restaurants so this was pretty good stuff, but in reality the food was ok.  I chose to have the ribs with the sweet sauce on the side which was the right choice as the ribs were really good with no sauce.  The rest of the meal was ok, good when compared with the DC area but just ok when compared with other Triple D places I have tried.  The service was really good and made it that much better!

Boondocks very cool surroundings

My Boondocks Barbecue Combo Plate

I headed out of McConnelsville on an Ohio Scenic Highway along the Muskingum River getting on the familiar Route 50 passing over the Ohio River into West Virginia.  I really enjoyed the trip and was able to get to really interesting Triple D places and as I drove home I knew that with my count at 452, the goal 500 wasn't too far away!