Monday, October 12, 2015

Monday, October 12, 2015

What the Beck???

Happy Birthday Yesterday to 
Donna and Wesley!

My Second Trip to Kentucky

         I left the Aurora Hertz dealer late because of a total mix-up with my rental car. The assistant manager was fabulous and upgraded me to a Hyundai Sonata, and credited me a half a tank of gas for my almost hour delay.

Trip #2 Car - Sonata

         The best part of this car was that it had a GPS system. I named her Dora the Explora because exploring Kentucky was my goal. The trip down took almost seven hours, so I amused myself by making up rhymes for Dora like…

                           “Hurry Dora

                           we need to explora

                           the town of Berea

                           let’s get there todaya

Okay, it is sad and pitiful, but when you are alone and have this much time on your hands you find ways to amuse yourself. It would have helped if the radio worked continuously, but it faded in and out so much that I just turned it off.

My friend, Dora

         My first town was Berea. According to the people of the town, I was pronouncing it incorrectly. It is Ber eee a. 

         Berea, Kentucky has a population of 14, 374, which is larger than I wanted. I checked in to the Fairfield Inn on Paint Lick Rd. Don’t ya love the street name??? The room was immaculate, and after checking in, I went to inspect some properties. Tess, the desk clerk was amazing. She was extremely helpful during my visit.

Tess, clerk extraordinaire

         I visited the first two properties, which would never work. The first one had a pond that covered much of the land.

The pond is right behind the fence,
and the barn is all of the way around it.

and the second claimed to have 117 acres but was probably a decimal misprint, because it is probably more like 1.17 acres.

The house didn't look bad from
the outside, however

         A neighbor, Janel, told me the second one was a mess, and to forget about it!  Thanks Janel!

Janel

         The final two properties were the same as the others. However, the positive is that the shape of the land was excellent. It was rolling, and not too steep.

House #3 - in a subdivision, but had open land behind it

         It was now 7 p.m. and I was hungry and tired. I decided to try the Historic Boone Tavern Restaurant for dinner. 

It is a beautiful building

Cool!

          I had been warned that it was expensive and had an “interesting” menu.

After being seated, the waiter brought over a sample of spoon bread.  It was moist and fabulous.

         After receiving the menu, it took me awhile to find something that I would actually try to eat. I ordered, “Pork Chops the Tricky Way.” What arrived were boneless, thin, seasoned, and breaded pork chops with a mustard cream sauce. The breading was created with tomatoes and Parmesan (don’t ask me how since I saw no sign of tomato), and it was all served over cheese grits. On the side were braised greens. I had no idea what braised greens were, however they were very dark. Hold on to your seats – I actually tasted them. They were fabulous!  

Amazing

Even the greens - must be a fluke!

         Of course, that should tell you that the braising changed the flavor so that they didn’t taste        “green.”  I loved my dinner!!!!  After I took a photo of my full and empty plate, the waitress told me that I could keep the menu. I thought you might enjoy the choices on the menu and my dilemma in selecting my meal.

         Lamb meatloaf (I couldn’t eat a cute little lamb)

         Tempura salmon (I am not a salmon lover)

         Bourbon pork chops (the grits on the other ones swayed me)

         Appalachian Hatchet Steak (what in the world??  I instantly thought of Daniel Boone carrying a                          hatchet around looking to kill a steer)

         Seared scallops (love them, but needed more food because I was really hungry)

         Braised spring rabbit pot pie (this has been a bad month for me dealing with rabbits so I passed)

         Roast chicken (too boring and safe)

         Kentucky shaved lamb (I’ve never heard of a lamb with a beard.  Have you???)

The meal was amazing, and so filling that I declined dessert. The disclaimer at the bottom of the menu pleased me. It said:

         “We take great pride in supporting and featuring our local farmers and Kentucky farm families. Many of the ingredients come from these families and are a testament to our sustainability, efforts, and community support.”

         I love it when businesses feature food that is home grown in the region. 

So far, Berea is a yes, but I did stay two entire days in this great town! Stay tuned for Berea Day 2.

That ended Monday, October 5^th.  I was so exhausted from the drive to Kentucky as well as scouting out the properties, that I went to bed around 8:00 p.m.