I just got back from a week long work trip in Kentucky where I split time between Lexington and Louisville. Making the most of a business trip is important to me so in addition to exploring local spots in Lexington, I participated in the Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail!
Lexington
Sunday
I got into Lexington on a Sunday night and stayed at the Hampton Inn Lexington Medical Center / University of Kentucky. The location was pretty central to many restaurants, campus, and suburbs where I visited high schools. They had free parking and breakfast, although no fountains to fill up water bottles so that was disappointing.
I got dinner at the Iconic Joe Bolognas, a causal pizza joint with large booths and a comfortable vibe in an old church. I felt really odd sitting by myself in a booth which was even scarier given that it was right in the middle of a college town. The servers were great despite being understaffed. I ordered the Hawaiian pizza and a breadstick which was massive and covered in garlic butter. Delicious, but wouldn’t order it again because it’s too much. The pizza and homemade ranch was fantastic though!
That night I was really craving dessert so I searched up some local ice cream places and came across Crack and Boom. By chance, I drove to the Distillery District location and it was so cool. There was live music everywhere, people wandering from distillery to distillery and dining on patios. Crack and Boom is an elevated ice cream shop for sure- I bought a Bourbon Ball sundae with hot fudge and a waffle bowl for $10. It tasted amazing, I would definitely go back but this is not a place I would frequent if I lived here.
Monday
The next day I went to Joelle’s Chicken for lunch. I got the fried chicken salad with a side of fries because I can’t go without them 🙂 The restaurant seems like a fast food joint because you order at the counter but the staff was so sweet and kept checking in on me. The fries were great, but the salad was drenched in the dressing to the point it started to gross me out. I’d order something different next time.
Monday was an absolutely beautiful day so when I got off work I went for a walk around the aboretum before dinner. This park was absolutely stunning with the leaves changing and had so much space to roam. If I went to University of Kentucky I would be here every day. With that said, It doesn’t beat USC’s Riverwalk!
Being in a college town led to me craving Hibachi House at USC so I tried to search for a comparable restaurant by UK’s campus. I found myself at Hibachi Express and while the vibes were the same, the food was not as good. This is the one place in Lexington that I went to and wouldn’t go back.
Louisville
I have a special place in my heart for Louisville because my parents lived here shortly after they got married and before they had me. They raised me to be a big Kentucky Derby fan and I have been lucky to get to go to two Kentucky Derby’s with my mom.
Tuesday
The first thing that I did when I got to Louisville was go to the Kentucky Derby Museum. It was so impressive, I loved looking at the trophies, jockey silks, and learning so much derby history that I didn’t know. The curators did a great job making the museum interactive. They had a video playing on 360 screens that was so incredibly moving, I couldn’t stop smiling. The $20 ticket was so worth it, but I wouldn’t do it if you don’t really care about the Kentucky Derby.
Urban Bourbon Trail
That night, I began my journey on the Louisville Urban Bourbon Trail. This bourbon trail was organized by the city of Louisville’s tourism organization to promote bourbon distilleries and restaurants in Louisville. It’s great for someone who wants to participate in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but can’t drive all over Kentucky. In fact, most locations on the Urban Bourbon Trail are located on Main Street of downtown Louisville.
To participate, go to the website, Go To Louisville and sign up for their Urban Bourbon Trail (It is free!). They will send you a website that you can save as an app that lists all participating restaurants and distilleries. Several of these locations even had discounts like 20% food. If you checked in at six participating locations, you won a free Urban Bourbon Trail t-shirt! The fact that I was so motivated by the t-shirt is silly, but it was a cute memento.
I was only in Louisville for three nights, so I cheated on the Urban Bourbon Trail a little bit and checked in at three restaurants for dinner and three restaurants for drinks. I was traveling solo, driving home and had busy work days so a serious bourbon crawl wasn’t realistic for me.
Tuesday Night
The first stop of my urban bourbon crawl was Doc’s Bourbon Room. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and homemade seasoned chips. This sandwich immediately became the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had. I was in love.
My second stop of the night was at the Corner Bar in the Aloft Hotels Downtown. I was going for a drink, but then I saw derby pie on the menu and I HAD TO HAVE IT. Derby pie is one of my favorite Kentucky Derby traditions that our friends always make for the derby watch party. This one was fantastic, but didn’t beat my godmother’s homemade one. To drink, I decided to try the grapefruit old fashion. For it being one of the first old fashions I’ve ever had, I really enjoyed it.
Wednesday
I started out my morning with a coffee at PLEASE & THANK YOU in the Nulu neighborhood. Lucky for me, I happened to look at the website ahead of time and saw that if you ordered through their new app, you get the first drink free. I bought their famous chocolate chip cookie and a honey latte for a total of $3.50! I had a few extra minutes so I popped into the neighboring boutiques, Six Sisters and Jones and Daughters.
For lunch, I made my way back to the Kentucky Derby Museum because I didn’t realize they had a cafe that was apart of the Urban Bourbon Trail. I ordered a hot brown sandwich for lunch, which is another iconic Kentucky derby meal. This was my first time trying a hot brown, and for those of you who don’t know, it is a turkey sandwich with roasted tomatoes, cheesy mornay sauce, and bacon. I left questioning why they aren’t sold everywhere.
I was feeling pretty full around dinner time so I opted for a soup and salad combo at Patrick O’Sheas. There is nothing really special to say here. My drink stop of the night was at Jockey Silks in the Galt House Hotel. I ordered a classic old fashioned and boy was it strong. I think I like when there is a special flavor twist so that you taste something other than just bourbon. It grew on me as I kept sipping it. The bar looked so upscale yet comfortable. I highly recommend swinging by here.
Thursday
Thursday was a super slow work day for me because I only had events in the morning, so I had the whole afternoon to explore! I had lunch at Steven’s Deli on Frankfort Ave and then drove around the area. It is a cool eclectic vibe around there. My friend Evelyn had recommended Comfy Cow for a local ice cream stop and it did not disappoint. The store is decorated like an old ice cream parlor complete with the vintage milkshake machines so obviously I had to get one! The peanut butter chocolate milkshake was nice and rich but did in fact give me a belly ache after. Shocker.
Feeling bloated from my shake, I decided to walk it off at the river walk. The weather was perfectly sunny with a light breeze and everyone was outside to enjoy it. There are several parks scattered along the riverwalk for kids and porch swings for all of the adults to enjoy.
I finished off my Urban Bourbon Trail tour with dinner and a blueberry bourbon drink at Down One Bourbon Bar. It was like they knew I was exhausted and ready to go home because the service was incredibly fast.
Friday
On my last morning in Louisville, I finished up some work events and stopped by the Louisville Tourism Welcome Center to pick up my Urban Bourbon Trail T-shirt! Before this, I had no idea what to expect of the t-shirt and I was so excited to see that it was a great design and really soft fabric. My favorite. It was the perfect way to end the trip and made me feel so accomplished.
Kentucky, thank you for the beautiful drives surrounded by fall leaves, great food and bourbon. I love ya.
