Busy Beaver Farm & Greenhouse is a newcomer to the Morgantown Farmers Market. And they had so many goodies! Lots of cookies, cakes, candy, banana bread and, mmmm, peanut butter fudge.

I couldn't help myself! This peanut butter fudge is addicting! I can't wait to see what else they have in markets to come!

National Provisions is SO cool.


It's a local grocery, with items like mushrooms, pomegranates and other produce. It also is a lunch spot. It is also a quick prepared small salad, meal shop. It also has an olive bar. There is also a beer hall. There is also meat and cheese. Oh, and desserts. Absolutely amazing.

Our last dinner in Kentucky was at Stella's Kentucky Deli. We (barely) finagled our way around the outside to the very back table and proceeded to order everything on the menu.

First, tomato and artichoke soup. Good. Thin and a little lumpy - not creamy - but good.

Second, the spinach and artichoke dip. This was far less on the cream cheese side and much heavier on the artichoke side. You can actually taste artichokes in every bite. Plus those toast points. Mm.

Third, local sausage bites. The Stone Cross farm sausages were served with a beer mustard that was quite tasty.

Fourth, hot brown. The open-faced turkey, bacon and tomato sandwich with mornay sauce was served with mashed potatoes. The famous hot brown (though in Lexington, not Louisville) is well-known in these parts. It's this salty combo of deli meat, bacon and the tomato cuts the saltiness just a bit. The sauce is delicious - the bechamel with cheese.

Fifth, Mary Porter Pie. This is their house dessert, and as the story goes, it was created inadvertently when two pages of the cookbook stuck together. So, Mary created the first part of one pie and the last part of another, creating the ganache, almond, cheesecake, toffee and chocolate pie. This was good, but I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate, which kind of dominated the flavor.

Sixth, Chess Pie. I hadn't ever heard of chess pie, and our server described it as a "slice of Paula Dean's soul." That made us giggle. She said it's essentially like a sugar cookie condensed. I still didn't get it, so we ordered it, too. Chess Pie is super sweet and amazing. It's pretty basic - flour, butter, sugar and eggs - heavy on the sugar. Whatever it was, it was amazing.

Overall, a good way to end our lovely dinners in Lexington.

Grade: B

It was time for a good burger. Show us what ya got, Lexington.

Brittany directed us to Sidebar Grill - partially because it's the only place she told us she would permit us to eat a burger and partially because her cousin owns it. But it also came highly recommended from a bartender at what ended up being my favorite brewery in Kentucky.

I ordered the burger with all the fixins, including cheddar cheese. I also got the side of sweet potato fries. The burger was juicy and flavorful. Toppings were fresh. Sweet potato fries weren't so much fries, but rather just roasted potatoes - regardless, excellent. With a tasty sweet honey butter dipping sauce.

OK, Lexington, you got good burgers, too.

Grade: A

Azur came highly recommended in the "fine dining" category, and we wanted to hit up at least one of those while in Lexington. We had made reservations and arrived to find a not-too-busy restaurant. We asked if we could sit out on the patio. It had just rained and was drizzling a bit still, but since it was covered, we thought it wouldn't be too chilly. We were seated near the pizza oven, so that combined with the heaters provided for some warmth.



We were first served with some bread and butter - both on the cool side, so nothing super exciting here.

For an appetizer, we tried the fried green tomatoes, which came with bourbon smoked salmon, pimento cheese, peach marmalade and pickled okra. It is certainly a unique combination of ingredients, but I'm not sure it totally meshed. Each component individually was tasty, but I guess I didn't "get it" all together. But points for trying.

My main entree was the woven shrimp. That just sounds fancy, right? These three plump shrimp are covered in a tasty batter, wrapped in the filo dough and pan-fried. They're piled atop a bed of coconut and sweet corn risotto with a red chile and honey sauce garnish.

This dish is really something. I love the crunch of the filo, and the batter has a great flavor. The sweet corn risotto adds a touch of sweetness, while the honey chile glaze adds just a bit of spicy. Very well-balanced and just damn good.

The only downside was that there were people smoking outside while we were trying to eat. I know it's a patio and all, but I just wasn't expecting that. Not a fan.

Grade: B

I LOVE strawberry season, and Sickler Farm came to the rescue. They have animals, crops, flowers and are often found selling beautiful flowers right at the front of the Morgantown Farmers Market.

Recently, I picked up a pint of these little beauties. Tasty. What's your fav from Sickler Farm?

 

I gravitated toward these "buttermilk crumb cakes" from Two Cow Farm at the Morgantown Farmers Market recently. I admitted didn't totally know what I was purchasing, but I'm not sure I've ever been happier with a purchase. It's like a streusel or a coffee cake! And, oh my, is it good.

If you've visited the market before, you may have seen Two Cow Farm's pies, scones, granola bars or beeswax products. They also have milk and honey soaps. Do you have any favorites?

Limestone Blue is a great little cafe and art shop in downtown Lexington. They feature local beer and wine and are a cool hangout for folks to gather.



We ordered an appetizer of the beer cheese, which came with carrots, celery and a spinach tortilla crisp. Beer cheese seems to be a big thing, and a lot of places have their own varieties of house made ones. This one was a bit on the spicier side and pretty creamy.

For my main entree, I ordered "Mojo's Beer Cheese," which was house made beer cheese, local pulled chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato on grilled focaccia. I opted for the side of macaroni and cheese, which for the day was the special baked potato mac and cheese.

Holy tastebuds, batman. First off, the bread is delicious. The beer cheese was nice and melted, and the chicken was moist, tender. A perfect combo of salty, crunchy, crisp, cool. And the macaroni and cheese was excellent. More cheese (sensing a theme here?) and crisp potatoes. So good. I'd prefer all my mac and cheese like this, thanks.



Grade: A

Kentucky has a lot of French influences, which is seen throughout city names, the statues and even the restaurants. A La Lucie is easy to spot with its leopard print awning and twinkling lights around the windows. The interior delivers with light pink napkins, leopard print booths, red tin ceiling and French-inspired paintings. Think Moulin Rouge.

We had made reservations and were seated in a booth on the right side of the restaurant. There was a little confusion with the first server who seated us and then the other who took our drink orders. It seemed like they were rushing and a bit disorganized - that's when we learned the waiter who was supposed to be working that night had an allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital (there was sesame in a dish he didn't realize). So the actual chef was helping fill his place. And Lucie herself was in the back cooking.


As we look over our menus, Vicki realizes she hasn't brought her reading glasses. Long story short, Vicki ends up with Lucie's reading glasses to read the menu.

I ordered the seafood casserole, a house favorite. It has lobster, scallops and shrimp baked in a mornay sauce over rice. Mmm. But before that - Vicki had ordered their featured appetizer of the day which had mini crab, shrimp and salmon salads. Very fresh and crisp.

We were also brought out a basket of bread and butter. Neither was particularly warm, but it was still salty, garlicky, delicious.

And THEN I also had a salad. So, we're like three courses deep at this point, right? The salad was not bad. Nothing memorable, though.


Our entrees came out not long afterward. Vicki had ordered the buttermilk fried quail, which was mind-blowing. The meat was perfect and tender, the batter was crisp, salty and flavorful. The mashed potatoes and cream gravy perfectly complemented the crisp quail. Delicious.

My dish was amazing. Cheesy and creamy and everything my diet had been missing. It's rich and delicious.

Dessert looked too good to pass up. A lemon cake, a creme brulee and a bread pudding. We lined all three up along the center of the table and just took turns taking bites of each. The lemon cake was the most refreshing after such a heavy meal.

The creme brulee was delicious, but I've had many in my lifetime, so I was hoping for something slightly different.



The bread pudding was good, but not my favorite of the bunch. I think the cake was the best. But I am very, very picky with my bread pudding. This was good.

Overall, we had a great time at dinner, and our meal was really great. The service was lovely, and everyone was so kind. A great experience all in all.


Grade: A