 |
Classic Dining Out in Bowling Green, Kentucky |
Foods |
Regions |
Northern Kentucky |
Louisville
|
Western Kentucky |
Call it American, Traditional, Comfort Food or Family. Whatever we call it, there's still a place for those good old restaurants serving fried chicken, catfish, country ham, bean soup & corn cakes, hot roast beef sandwiches, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, apple pie, pancakes and the other foods most of us grew up with. Fortunately, Bowling Green still has some very good restaurants that fit into that category. They all feel vaguely familiar. You don't have to ask the waiter how to pronounce an entree, or what's in it, or how spicy it is. Some of these restaurants have a historic feel. Red's is in a house that looks like one we remember from our youth, whether one of our relatives lived in it, or just a neighbor down the street. But these restaurants are not listed here simply because they have been around and serve familiar food. They are recommended because they are the best at preparing these foods. They fix them as well as Grandma used to. Some fix them better. |
 |
Campbell Lane |
31W South |
| The Cabin is a spacious family restaurant on Old Louisville Road that has undergone new ownership and will be emphasizing Kentucky native crafts and home cooking. It's open from 6:30 to 10:00 six days a week and 6-2 Sundays. If you wake up hungry, you should try their Big Breakfast (two egg and three pancakes with bacon, sausage or city ham, grits or home fries, toast or biscuit and gravy for $6). There are the traditional breakfast entrees (steak & eggs, ham & eggs, omelet, sausage, etc.). For lunch there are 26 sandwiches and 16 sides, of which we particularly like the Fried Green Tomatoes and Bean Soup & Cornbread. Dinners include BBQ, Tenderloin, Grilled Chicken, Country Fried Steak, Country Ham, Pork Chop, Roast Beef, and a 4 oz. Ribeye. All dinners come with three sides and a bread for $7.00. Three Salads, a Soup of the Day, two Steaks, and homemade Desserts of the Day round out the menu. |  |
 |
If you want to escape from the chains, franchises and packaged foods and sample some down home mid 1950s Southern Kentucky cooking, Red's is a Must Stop. There's no pretension here. It's a modest frame house on a side road (Old Louisville Road) with only eight tables. But their Breakfast Special is famous all over town ($3.90 for bacon, sausage or city ham, two eggs, home fries or grits, toast or biscuits and gravy), and if that doesn't suit you, there are four kinds of Omelets and six Egg Combos (Steak & Eggs $6.39, Pork and Eggs $5.59, Country Ham & Eggs $6.25, etc.). There are all the usual breakfast sides and entrees, from Pancakes (stack of three $3.00) and French Toast to Grits and Home Fries. Red's serves breakfast all day except Fridays. For lunch there are 24 sandwiches, and Chili or Vegetable Soup (in season), but we highly recommend their Bean Soup with Corn Cakes as a meal in itself. Whatever other sides you order, don't miss the Pickled Beets. Dinners include Pot Roast, BBQ, Roast Beef and Chuckwagon, plus Meatloaf Thursdays and Catfish Fridays. Their Catfish matches the fish specialty houses. Meat and three vegetables is $5.49. Leave room for the Peanut Butter or Strawberry Pie. |
| Reece's Bean Pot is one of those classic small town eateries where farmers and mechanics gather for lunch. Most of the menu is fried and the food is authentic Southern Kentucky. You can get Catfish six ways including a Catfish Sandwich, Catfish Dinner, Catfish Basket, Cajun Catfish, Momma's Catfish and the spectacular River View Platter : a Hot Corn Cake topped with Catfish, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, the Bean Pot's special sauce and Fries on the side. If you prefer, you can replace the Catfish on the River View Platter with Fried Bologna, Spiral Cut Ham or Fried Chicken. You can also get a Fried Bologna Sandwich, Ham n Cheeseburger, or the Specialty of the House, a bowl of Bean Soup. Sides include Southern Style Potato Salad, Riverview Cole Slaw, Steak Fries, Tater Tots, Sweet Potato Fries, Fried Green Beans, Fried Okra, and Corn Cakes. The Veggie Plate includes a corncake plus four vegetables. There's a Fried Chicken Salad or Big Garden Salad. And all this bounty can be enjoyed on the deck out back overlooking the Barren River and its leafy valley. |  |
Contact us at Lexeat1@aol.com. |
Follow us on Facebook then Lexeat.com |
Follow us on Twitter.com then Lexeat1 |