Midwestern Traveler: Kentucky

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Midwestern Traveler

A Taste of the Bluegrass State FROM SWEET TO SAVORY, KENTUCKY OFFERS CULINARY TRAILS FOR ALL TASTES

By Corinne Minard

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avor ...

THE SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF GEORGETOWN.

PURE SMALL TOWN CHARM. – Family Activities – • International Kite & Cultural Fest - April • Horsey Hundred Bicycling Event - May

– Equine Activities – • Minutes from the Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Three-Day Event - April

• Old Friends Retired Thoroughbred Farm • Whispering Woods Riding Stables

– Picturesque Downtown – • Specialty Shops • Antiques • Scott County Arts and Cultural Center • Cafes and One-of-a-kind Restaurants • Georgetown and Scott County Museum

– Unbridled Fun – • Toyota Motor Manufacturing, KY, Inc. Tour • Country Boy Brewing • Bourbon 30 Spirits • Golf • Elkhorn Creek • Geocaching Trails • Yuko-en on the Elkhorn • Ward Hall • Close proximity to the Ark Encounter

INTERSTATE

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INTERSTATE

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www.GeorgetownKy.com • 888.863.8600 28

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Pivot Brewing is on the Brewgrass Trail

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s the featured location of this year’s season of Top Chef (which has previously featured cities like New Orleans, Seattle and Miami and states like California) Kentucky is becoming a culinary destination for foodies throughout the country.

For those who wish to taste the state’s cuisine there’s no better way to start than with a culinary trail. Kentucky is home to 11 unique trails that cover everything from craft beer to regional specialties like the Hot Brown.

HOT BROWN HOP The Hot Brown is one of those quintessential Kentucky dishes that you may have heard about but never tried. It’s an openfaced turkey sandwich served on toast with a Mornay sauce and bacon, and it was first created in Louisville in the 1920s.

“It was actually created by a chef at the historic Brown Hotel, which is still in operation today,” says Stacey Yates, vice president of marketing communications for Louisville Tourism. At the time, locals would stay up late dancing at the hotel and

Try a delicious Hot Brown at one of about 40 restaurants on the Hot Brown Hop in Louisville.

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LEFT: Hot Brown Pizza at Troll Pub ABOVE: Hot Brown Tots at the Kentucky State Fair would grab something there to eat before they headed home. “Often it was ham and cheese or something left over from that night’s buffet. The chef at the time, … we think that he took the leftover turkey, he was tired of making hot ham and cheese and used turkey, … and he put it over toast, covered in a Mornay sauce, added cheese and bacon and broiled it, and people loved it so much that they started asking for the hot turkey sandwich from the Brown. Over

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VICTOR SIZEMORE, COURTESY OF VISITLEX

The Ethereal Brewing Co. is on the Brewgrass Trail.

time it became the Hot Brown.”

Today, about 40 restaurants—including the Brown Hotel—serve a version of the Hot Brown in Louisville. While many are known for their classic take on the dish, others offer unique variations you can’t find anywhere else. For example, the Napa River Grille offers a brunch version with an egg on it, the Come Back Inn makes an Italian version on Ciabatta and Winston’s Restaurant has the Not-so Brown, which has fish instead of turkey.

“It’s not a passport, you’re not collecting stamps and checking them all off and winning anything necessarily,” says Yates. “It is meant to be a sort of self-guided tour if you will, or guidebook, to one of Louisville’s most original dishes.”

However, diners can tweet about the trail or tag images with #hotbrownhop.

Lexington Tourism has given away shirts, and even free trips, to those who use the hashtag. gotolouisville.com

BREWGRASS TRAIL While the state is most known for its

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VICTOR SIZEMORE, COURTESY OF VISITLEX

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LEFT: Country Boy Brewing’s taproom in Georgetown ABOVE: Patio at the Distillery District, outside the Ethereal Brewing Co.

Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre In Historic Bardstown, Kentucky Bourbon Capital of the World

The finest collection of Western Theatre Civil War artifacts in the United States!

Plus!

• Women’s Civil War Museum • General Hal Moore Military Museum • Historic Colonial Village 32

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310 E. Broadway • Bardstown, KY (502) 349-0291 www.civil-war-museum.org Email: museumrow@bardstowncable.net

MARY JANE SPEER, COURTESY OF VISITLEX

Mirror Twin Brewing Co.’s Taproom

bourbon it has burgeoning craft beer scene as well.

“We do say, ‘Respect bourbon but drink beer,’ when it comes to the Brewgrass Trail,” says Niki Heichelbech-Goldey, director of communications for VisitLEX in Lexington. “It’s kind of a nice alternative to folks that are out there doing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.”

At press time, 12 breweries with 14 locations were on the trail, though Heichelbech-Goldey says several more are being added this May. Participants can pick up a passport at any participating location and get started. To “conquer” the trail visitors need to visit all 12 breweries. You can then either mail the passport in or drop it off at the final brewery to claim a free T-shirt.

Heichelbech-Goldey adds that the rules will change once the new breweries are added but are not finalized at this time.

While bourbon may be on the brain of many visitors to Kentucky, HeichelbechGoldey says that the craft breweries in Lexington offer something you can’t find anywhere else.

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A culinary trail now celebrates beer cheese, which was first made in Clark County, Kentucky.

LET YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE START IN GRANT COUNTY, KY

Home of the Ark Encounter, Brianza Gardens & Winery, Stage Right Musical Dinner Theatre, Lake Williamstown, specialty shops and restaurants 35 miles south of Cincinnati, just a short drive away 800-382-7117 • visitgrantky.com 34

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Check out the Beer Cheese Festival in downtown Winchester.

“Our brewers here in the area have an added benefit in that they have personal relationships with the big distillers and are able to get some of those really fun used barrels, like Pappy [Van Winkle] barrels, and things that are harder to come by if you don’t have those relationships,” she says. “Country Boy and West Sixth both do really wonderful barrel programs. I think it just lends to a really great experience.”

Also, Heichelbech-Goldey says, the trail has a lot of variety. For example, Blue Stallion specializes in German-style beers while Country Boy has a peanut butter stout and a jalapeno porter. Also on the trail is Pivot, the only cider brewer in the state that presses apples on site. “They started out making craft ciders—lots of different styles, it’s not just like your Woodchucks or things that people might know about on the mass production scale. There are some that taste to me kind of like a nice, dry champagne,” she says. visitlex.com

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Midwestern Traveler BEER CHEESE TRAIL

Beer cheese complements a burger.

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Beer cheese is another dish that was created in the Bluegrass state.

The spread was first made in Clark County, which now has a culinary trail to celebrate it.

“No t wo recipes are alike.

T hat’s t he t hing about beer cheese—ever yone has t heir own spin,” says Nancy Turner, executive director of tourism for the Winchester-Clark County Tourism Commission. “The main ingredients of all beer cheeses are typically a sharp cheddar cheese, a beer and cayenne pepper. And from there people might use Worcestershire or they might put in mustard or they might put in onion powder. So from the basic three ingredients people formulate their own recipes.”

T he t r a i l, loc ated w it h i n Winchester, has nine different permanent stops that feature a variety of beer cheeses served in

many ways.

“When I was growing up it was typically just a dip but so many people are coupling it with burgers, sandwiches, in chili, people do different things with it. One new restaurant that joined the beer cheese trail is a restaurant downtown and they have their ow n homemade beer cheese vinaigrette,” says Turner.

To participate diners can pick up a Beer Cheese Log at any restaurant on the trail. After visiting at least five stops they’re eligible for a free T-shirt.

For those who truly love beer cheese, make sure to stop by downtown Winchester on the second Saturday of June for the Beer Cheese Festival.

“That’s the only place in the world that you can pay $5 and eat as much beer cheese as you can possibly consume,” says Turner. beercheesetrail.com. n