LINK Streetscapes: Local Lenten-friendly eats and fish Friday faves

BY MARIA HEHMAN | LINK nky CONTRIBUTOR

Each Friday over the course of Lent poses an extra challenge for many Northern Kentucky residents deciding where to eat.

For those sick of cheese pizza and fast food fish, these restaurants have locals covered. This Streetscapes goes off the norm of visiting one area and instead travels all over NKY for restaurants serving the best fish, seafood and vegetarian options around.

Barleycorn’s

With locations in Florence, Lakeside Park and Cold Spring, Barleycorn’s has three counties covered for meatless options.

Their regular menu covers the gamut of all things bar food. This Lent, they introduced a special “off the hook” menu to highlight some of their meatless options and introduce some new favorites, like the ultimate grilled cheese. There are also lots of vegetarian options for those meat eaters who don’t like fish. Barleycorn’s offers a nice variety of salads and sandwiches.

For those who crave the classic fried fish, Barleycorn’s fried grouper sandwich and fish and chips pair perfectly with a cold beer. With over 30 draft beers to choose from, guests might forget they’re not in an English pub.

For those looking for lighter fare, the fish tacos, shrimp basket and grouper are perfect for that Friday fish fix.

Knotty Pine on the Bayou

Along the riverfront, Knotty Pine on the Bayou will have patrons forgetting they’re viewing the Licking River and not the Mississippi River in New Orleans. Between the food, the view and the atmosphere, there’s no excuse to not visit Knotty Pine.

Knotty Pine specializes in seafood and Cajun food, and offers unique options hard to find anywhere else, including oysters, alligator and frog. I’m not entirely sure what the consensus on alligator and frog are in the realm of Lenten-friendly food, but regardless of where the reptiles stand, Knotty

Pine is swimming in delicious, under-thesea options.

Tucked away from any other establishments, this restaurant could easily be mistaken for a house – even the interior feels like a friend’s kitchen.

Knotty Pine is worth the visit for those who love Luoisianna cuisine, especially shrimp which they serve four ways: fried, Cajun, sautéed, or grilled.

Tousey House Tavern and Greyhound Tavern

Steak often is the go-to dinner for those wanting a fancier meal, but sister restaurants Tousey House Tavern in Burlington and Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell offer timeless sophistication with an abundance of good options that don’t include steak.

While steak is still an option on both restaurants’ menus, they have an abundance of Lenten-friendly options, too.

Starting with Tousey House: There are 13 entrees that are either vegetarian or pescetarian-friendly, and that’s not even including their special Lenten menu, featuring their award-winning fried cod. The lobster ravioli with scallions and parmesan cheese is a dream in a dish, rich and creamy. This meal is perfect.

Similarly, Greyhound Tavern offers many of the same dishes, with a few additions. The pasta Gabriel is a lighter dish with mushrooms, tomatoes and scallions in garlic and olive oil, making it a great option for those who aren’t big fish fans. Their shrimp skewers and garlic shrimp tacos are another filling option for guests who want to forgo fried fish.

The variety of fish offerings at both establishments will have you covered for the entirety of Lent – not just Fridays.

Have a city, street or business you want to see next? Email Maria Hehman at mchehman@gmail.com and it could be featured on the next installment of LINK streetscapes.

What to Know If You Go:

Barleycorn’s Lakeside Park

Location: 2642 Dixie Highway, Lakeside Park

Website: barleycorns.com

Hours: Sunday-Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight

Phone: (859) 331-6633

Barleycorn’s Cold Spring

Location: 1073 Industrial Road, Cold Spring

Website: barleycorns.com

Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight

Phone: (859) 442-3400

Barleycorn’s Florence Location: 8544 U.S. 42, Florence Website: barleycorns.com

Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight Phone: (859) 371-4100

Knotty Pine on the Bayou Location: 6302 Liking Pike, Cold Spring

Hours: Monday- closed, Tuesday-Thursday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Phone: (859) 781-2200

Tousey House Tavern Location: 5963 North Jefferson St., Burlington

Website: touseyhouse.com

Hours: Monday- closed, Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Phone: (859) 586-9900

Greyhound Tavern Location: 2500 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell

Website: greyhoundtavern.com

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Phone: (859) 331-3767

Bogo Bogo

Evans, Blevins win state wrestling titles

Three of Northern Kentucky’s lightest high school wrestlers turned in large performances Feb. 25 at the KHSAA state wrestling championships.

Simon Kenton freshman Braden Blevins won the state 106-pound title at George Rogers Clark High School by defeating Harrison County’s George Dennis, 7-5. A few minutes later, Ryle sophomore Landon Evans captured the 113 crown with a 7-0 win over Great Crossing’s Ren Birk.

Walton-Verona sophomore TJ Meyer finished second at 120. Union County’s Jayden Raney edged Meyer, 3-2.

Six other NKY wrestlers fell in the semifinals: Walton-Verona’s Hunter Isaacs at 138 pounds, fellow Bearcat Mason Schweitzer at 144, Highlands’ Rilen Pinkston at 150 (his first defeat of the season), Scott’s Aiden Zinzer at 165, Ryle’s Caleb Duke at 175, and Walton-Verona’s Luke Hyden at 215.

Isaacs and Schweitzer finished third, as did Campbell County’s Mason Orth at 113. Hyden placed fourth, and Pinkston, Zinser and Duke finished sixth.

Holmes’ Emauryon Arnold was fourth at 285, Covington Catholic’s Willie Rodriguez was fifth at 285, battling through his shoul- der in a brace.

Paducah Tilghman won the team title over Union County, 185.5-162. Walton-Verona was sixth with 77.5 points, and Ryle was eighth with 74. Walton-Verona also was third in the state small-school division behind Paducah Tilghman and Union County.

Thomas More’s Jolly named Mid-South Conference Player of the Year

Thomas More University’s Reid Jolly averaged a team-high 17.4 points per game. He shot 47% from the field while averaging six rebounds a contest. Jolly has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season with a season-high of 31. His 17.4 points per game rank second in the conference.

This is Jolly’s fourth time being named AllMSC and third time being named to the First Team. During the 2019-20 season, Jolly was also named MSC Freshman of the Year. Jolly leads the conference with 196 made field goals. He is seventh in the conference with 168 total rebounds and is tied for eighth with 132 defensive rebounds.

He is tied for the team-lead in blocks, second in assists and third in steals. He also leads the team in made free throws and a 75% mark from the charity stripe. He has scored in double-digits in all but three games.

Jolly is third in program history in points scored.

Twelve players were named to first and second teams with an additional six players earning honorable mention honors. Georgetown College and Scott grad Jake Ohmer made the first team while the Saints Casey George, Noah Pack and Jacob Jones made the second team.

Jolly’s Player of the Year award is the second season in a row for the Saints – Ryan Batte won the award last year.

Ryle alum Morgan headed to USFL

University of Minnesota quarterback and Ryle alum Tanner Morgan is headed to the United States Football League.

Morgan was drafted eighth overall by the Michigan Panthers in the USFL draft on Feb. 21.

The USFL debuted in 2022, the 2023 season beginning April 15 with games televised on FOX and NBC. The Panthers first game is April 16 against the Houston Gamblers on NBC.

Morgan will have a legitimate shot to be the starter for the Panthers, with the team releasing starting quarterback Shea Patterson seven weeks into the season last year.

The season runs April-July. Morgan wasn’t invited to the NFL Draft combine, so this opportunity will give him a chance to showcase his abilities in time for a training camp invite when the 2023 NFL season starts practice in late July.

Morgan holds 12 records during his time at Minnesota, most notably with 3,253 pass- ing yards during the 2019 season to go with 30 touchdown passes. Morgan went 33-14 as a starter as a Golden Gopher.

Morgan graduated from Ryle in 2017 and is in the all-time KHSAA record book for being 10th in completions (681) and ninth in passing yards (10,303).

NKU’s McFadden-Ackman makes national headlines

Liam McFadden-Ackman channeled his inner-Fernando Tatis Sr. in Northern Kentucky University’s 27-4 baseball win over Western Michigan on Feb. 26.

McFadden-Ackman, a junior from Mason, Ohio, hit not one, but two grand slams in the first inning and also hit for the cycle in the win. The victory completed a sweep for the Norse as they opened up the season 6-1. It’s the best start to a season for the program since 1990 when the Norse opened up at 12-1.

The two swings created a buzz around Highland Heights as social media outlets such as Barstool Sports and ESPN posted videos of both home runs. McFadden-Ackman was interviewed on ESPN after the game about his performance. He finished the game 5-for-6, hitting a double in the second inning, triple in the fourth and finishing the cycle in the sixth inning with a single. The junior had 10 RBI and four runs scored.

The Tatis Sr. reference comes from when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, hitting two grand slams in one inning, the only Major League Baseball player to ever do so.