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?