Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide 2018 • Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide 2018 • Culinary Celebration

From a mint julep at the Derby to barbecue at a bluegrass festival, good food is very much a part of Kentucky’s cultural fabric.

You don’t have to dine in a restaurant to enjoy a taste of the state’s rich culinary history. Food is celebrated just about everywhere here.

At bourbon bars in Louisville’s bustling urban center and festive tailgates at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. At barbecue and bluegrass festivals in the western part of the state and mom-and-pop restaurants in the eastern Kentucky mountains. Through traditional Appalachian recipes passed down through generations and German-influenced cuisine introduced by some of the state’s early settlers. And at farmers' markets all across the Bluegrass.

Food is as much a part of Kentucky as are the 11 secret herbs and spices that flavor the Colonel’s famous fried chicken. It’s the garnish on a state well-seasoned with the heritage of the people, places and spaces you’ll discover here.

Caves, coves, beaches, shorelines, mountains, woodlands. Kentucky State Parks are wonderlands of outdoor fun and adventure. Nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts can easily work up an appetite hiking, biking, golfing, swimming, boating, birding, fishing, paddling and playing at any one of the 49 state parks peppered throughout the state.

Seventeen of the parks have restaurants, many of them overlooking lakes, and all of them serving up dishes made with locally grown and sourced products. Catfish, country ham, pinto beans, pimento cheese, corn cakes, buttermilk fried chicken and other food faves are all the more delicious because they are fresh from a garden or farm located in the same community.

Whether going underground to explore the subterranean world of Mammoth Cave, into the water at the twin gems of Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley, or over land thundering across 250-plus acres of natural beauty by horseback at Whispering Woods Riding Stables, Kentucky has activities aplenty for anyone with a hunger for adventure.

And when you’ve crawled through your last tunnel, flipped your final underwater somersault or galloped into the homestretch, there is a place to satisfy your hankering for what Kentucky does best: crave-worthy cuisine.

From the meatloaf with secret sauce at the new Feed Shed Café in Horse Cave to the perfectly seasoned slabs of juicy pork chops (and “mile-high” pies!) at Patti’s 1880s Settlement in Grand Rivers to the sit-down comfort of Rodney’s on Broadway in Georgetown, restaurants know how to satisfy both a sweet and savory tooth.

So many people, both those putting down roots and those passing through, have left their imprint on Kentucky’s soil, across the pages of its history and in its recipes and restaurants, stewpots and celebrations.

In Hopkinsville, the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park hosts an annual intertribal PowWow with dancing, storytelling and demonstrations relating to the rich heritage of the Native American peoples – and a chance to taste authentic fry bread. It is a simple staple that originated with the Navajo Indians, a sacred tradition for many and a story steeped in great suffering.

At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the Shakers once sought to create utopia on this rolling land in Harrodsburg. Now a Discovery Destination, the historic landmark shares 3,000 acres of discovery in the spirit of the Kentucky Shakers – including dishes made with fruits, vegetables and herbs planted, tended to and harvested organically by village farmers.

The recently rebuilt Rabbit Hash General Store near Burlington, a town famous for its canine mayor, is made of reclaimed materials from circa-1800s buildings. So important is the heritage of this spot on the National Register of Historic Places that, when the store was destroyed by fire in 2016, the decision was made to restore it to its former glory. Pick up some locally-made cheeses and Sweet Dillies (pickles made in Crestwood) to enjoy here at one of the store’s picnic tables perched alongside the Ohio River.

Before Vegas was Vegas, there was Newport. Today tiny, historic Newport is filled with restored mansions, distinctive and locally owned eateries, and shops marching beam to board along Monmouth Street toward the Ohio River.

The city’s seedy and sinful past is brought back to life on the Newport Gangster Tour, one of American Legacy Tours’ most popular excursions and one led by guides in full-on gangster attire. Afterward, sit down for a plate of authentic Italian at Pompilio’s and enjoy the ambience of a place that has served everyone from mobsters (and presumably their molls) to movie makers.

Narrating the story of the American whiskey industry with specific attention to bourbon is Bardstown’s Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and its extensive collection, which spans pre-Colonial days to post-Prohibition years. See an 1859 bottle of Old Bourbon Whiskey, one of the oldest artifacts in the museum (and worth about $3,000!) and then head to The Rickhouse and its 150-plus bourbon menu.

Stroll the streets of one of Louisville’s most distinguished neighborhoods on a 75-minute guided Historic Old Louisville Walking Tour to see a collection of architectural styles that will take your breath away: Beaux Arts, Italianate, Neoclassical, Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, Tudor Revival, Venetian Gothic and others. Afterward, head downtown to see more architecturally beautiful buildings, including the legendary circa-1923 Brown Hotel. In the 1920s, one of Kentucky’s most famous foods – the legendary Hot Brown – was born here, whipped up by Chef Fred Schmidt, who wanted to serve something glam to guests who came to the hotel to dance.

Can’t get enough of this turkey-on-toast dish bubbling in a cheese bath and topped by crisp bacon and juicy red tomato? Head to charming Bell House in Shelbyville and take a seat in one of the gallery-style dining rooms in this renovated 1902 building, whose front yard is embellished with the old fire bell that once topped the firehouse in the town square.

Head further back into the past at Mountain HomePlace, adjacent to Paintsville Lake State Park in Staffordsville. This living history museum recalls 1850s Appalachia through its farm buildings, including a double-pen cabin and a one-room schoolhouse made of hand-hewn logs, plus there are daily chore demonstrations like weaving and quilt-making. A visit here will surely ramp up your taste buds for the smoked meats at Prestonsburg’s family-friendly Pig In A Poke.

• Owensboro welcomes all who want to see how much meat they can eat at the Mutton Glutton Sandwich Eating Competition and International Bar-B-Q Festival, bbqfest.com

• PeeWee’s Big Burger Challenge is a feast of epic proportions in Crescent Springs: fi ve loaded burgers, 27 ounces of fries and only 30 minutes to chow down. peewees-place.com

• Equal parts live music and Bourbon Lodge, local eats and drinks share the marquee with outstanding musicians at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville. forecastlefest.com

• It's the mother of all barbecue fests. Enjoy bluegrass music and mouthwatering 'cue at the free-admission Bluegrass BBQ FEST each June in Lexington. bluegrassbbqfest.com

• Fine food paired with bourbons is a match made in heaven. Sign up for Culinary Art: Bourbon-Style Cooking School at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. kybourbonfestival.com

• Join Mint Julep Tours for one of its new Louisville culinary excursions: The Southern Series is a progressive dinner party with themes like “Butter My Biscuit” and “Gettin’ Pickled.” mintjuleptours.com

• Grab some authentic, madeto- order, street-style tacos on soft, warm homemade tortillas at Tacos La Chaparrita in Louisville. facebook.com/TacosChaparrita

Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide 2018 - Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide 2018

Culinary Celebration

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