Downtown Lexington

and Sunday Brunch

At last it was Sunday and that meant

that the Scottish Rite weekend was officially over.

Before leaving home,

I had searched online for a suitable restaurant

to stop at on the way home.

The year before we had eaten breakfast at the hotel,

but found that we wanted to stop before we got home.

The problem is that there just isn’t any place

to stop in Southern Indiana,

at least along the routes my husband favors.

As an example,

on our way to Lexington this year,

we passed through a tiny hamlet

where the big event of the day

seemed to be one fellow getting his mail

while three others stood watching him at the mailbox.

Exciting times.

No, that just wouldn’t do.

I finally picked a place in Louisville

for its proximity to the interstate,

and figured we could get an appetizer to share before heading home.




However,

those plans flew out the window once we arrived in Lexington.

In talking about dining options for Thursday evening,

I mentioned the restaurant I wanted to try

and we decided to see if we could go there on Sunday instead.

I called the Foodie Daughter,

who was able to look up the information on the Internet for us

and we found that the restaurant was open for lunch on Sundays.

Just to be sure we would have a table;

my husband called and made reservations for us.

I love it when a plan comes together.

We checked out of the hotel and headed downtown.

After driving around a bit

and around one block a couple of times

so I could get a picture I missed the first time,

we found a place to park next to the restaurant.

As we were still a bit early for our reservation,

we set about exploring downtown Lexington on foot,

despite the heat and humidity.

After evading a panhandler

(news flash: I don’t give handouts

as I refuse to feed someone’s drug, alcohol or tobacco addiction),

we headed back towards the restaurant.

I like the juxtaposition of the new and the old in this photo.







My husband liked this bank.








A modern fountain.

I liked the old carriage way through the building.

Did you notice that the section over the pass-through

seems to have been built later?

The restaurant I chose was Jonathan’s at Gratz Park.

Chef Jonathan Lundy opened this restaurant in 1998

in the historic boutique hotel

just a few blocks from downtown proper.

I had high hopes for this place.

This is actually the back of the Gratz Park Inn.

Don't ask my why I don't have any photos of the front of the inn.

I guess I can blame the heat

and the fact that we had walked several blocks by then.

We freshened up in the hotel’s restrooms

before checking at the restaurant.

Luckily, they could seat us,

even though we were still early.

The dining room was filled

with what turned out to be a wedding party,

so the reservations had been an insurance policy of sorts.

Our server brought the brunch menus out to us

and we both asked for coffee.

We then turned our attention to the brunch menu.

Decisions, decisions.

The decor is lovely and subdued.

This photo was actually taken at the end of our meal.

Most of the other diners had left by then.

A plate of assorted breads arrived.

My husband chose the Steel Cut Oatmeal

with Grand Marnier Macerated Strawberries and Whipped Cream

for his first course.

I opted for the Gratz Park Salad,

which was Mixed Greens with Cucumbers, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes

and a Devilled Egg.

I picked the Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette to go with the salad.

For the entrée course,

my husband went with the Southern Eggs Benedict.

This dish was given a special twist by the chef

with fried green tomatoes and country ham on English muffins,

topped with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce.

Home fries accompanied the dish.

My husband loved this,

but found it to be too much food to eat at one sitting.

I just had to have the Grilled Pork Chop.

The chef slow roasts the pork rack chop

which is served with Kentucky hot slaw,

mashed potatoes and pork jowl cracklings.

Obviously, asparagus spears were also on the plate.

I’m not sure that I can say that I will ever be a fan of hot slaw,

but it was an interesting flavor,

and it certainly worked well with the rest of the dish.

But that pork chop.

Oh, that pork chop.

Though the pork was just a bit more well-done than I prefer,

the meat was so delicious that it just didn’t matter.

I don’t think that I have ever had a better pork chop in my life.

Finally, it was time for the dessert course.

We had our choice of several ice creams and a sorbet.

My husband opted to get the banana rum ice cream.

He was one happy man.

My choice was the mixed berry sorbet.

It was light and very good.

I admit I had an ulterior motive

in wanting to go to this restaurant.

I knew from the web site that the chef

had recently written a cookbook

and I was hoping to purchase a copy and get it autographed.

Unfortunately, the chef was out of town for the weekend,

so I was not able to get a signed copy.

I have been enjoying reading the cookbook since returning home

and have already marked several recipes.

Chef Jonathan has included his recipes from his restaurant,

so I can attempt to recreate some of these delights at home,

without that inconvenient three and a half hour drive to his restaurant.

I heartily recommend that you either seek out this cookbook

at your local library,

or if you are like me

and believe that one can never have too many cookbooks,

go online and get this book.

The photography is beautiful,

the stories behind the inspiration for the dishes are interesting

and the recipes themselves seem to be rather straightforward.

Many historical buildings and historical markers dot the landscape.

I promised the Foodie Daughter

that I would try to get some pictures of Rupp Arena for her.

I was also hoping to get some souvenirs,

but most of the shops were closed on Sunday, so no luck there.

Apparently, Rupp Arena has a viewing window,

but it is only open on weekdays.

Sorry, dear, but this is the best I can do for you.

The Main Street entrance to the Convention Center.

This was created with colored concrete.

Churches also dot the landscape.

I love these old houses.

And now it's time to say good bye to Lexington.

Thanks for coming along for the visit.

Dinner at Malone's

Since I knew from experience that we would be without Internet

for the duration of the stay as we are too cheap to spend the $12.95 daily fee

to be hooked up to the iBahn High Speed Internet™ service the hotel provides,

I was careful to do all my research prior to arriving in Lexington.

My husband had heard about a steakhouse from some of his friends

and suggested that we try that place this time.

So Malone’s it was.

We went with another 33rd Candidate couple to the restaurant

and were immediately seated,

despite it being just after 6 pm on a Thursday evening.

The restaurant was busier by the time we left,

so Lexington is likely a late-dinner town.

Our server, James, was quite personable and had a quick sense of humor.

So persuasive was he that both C and I changed our minds on our orders

after hearing his spiel on the specials and the specialties of the house.

After getting our drink orders,

James returned with the drinks

and a cutting board with a small loaf of white bread and a bowl of flavored butter.

We bandied different flavor suggestions back and forth between ourselves

before finally asking our server what was in the butter.

As it was a proprietary recipe, he could not divulge the exact recipe,

but he did give us some hints; enough to confirm some of our guesses.

There was whipped cream cheese, garlic and onion powder or salt,

margarine, some herbs and

perhaps some special Kentucky ingredients in the mixture.

Next the salad arrived.

It was a large bowl of iceberg lettuce with diced tomatoes

and chopped bacon tossed with the chef’s dressing.

Once again we struggled with the flavor profile,

as the dressing was obviously white and creamy and

ever so very slightly sweet (but only if you squinted just the right way),

but other than that?

We got nothing.

That is not to say that it wasn’t good.

We just could not tell you that it actually tasted like anything.

All I can tell you is that the salad itself –

the lettuce, the tomato, the bacon –

tasted good.

So perhaps it was the world’s perfect salad dressing?

In the end, I chose the special of the day:

two Filet Medallions stuffed with a Crab Rangoon mixture,

served on a bed of Fried Wonton Strips and glazed with a Sweet Chili Sauce.

My dinner also came with a side

beside the communal loaf of bread and the bottomless bowl of salad,

so I chose the whipped potatoes.

As always, I asked for my filets to be cooked medium-rare

and they were done to perfection.

They were moist and tender,

though the stuffing didn’t lend all that much flavor to the party.

The wonton strips were a nice surprise,

but the real star of the party was the sweet chili glaze.

It paired nicely with both the meat and the wonton strips.

The only thing lacking on the dish was the “whipped potatoes”

as they were more dry and dense than whipped.

Or perhaps they had been whipped within an inch of their lives?

At any rate, even a pat of butter on top might

(mind you, might) have rescued the poor things.

My husband ordered the Prime New York Strip Steak,

cooked to medium, with sautéed mushrooms as the side.

His steak was nicely pink in the center and looked to be tender and juicy.

My best guess is that the mushrooms were the standard white button variety.

Personally, I would have chosen Crimini mushrooms

as they are more intensely flavored,

while often not costing any more than the buttons.

If you are going to do it, do it right.

C opted for the Filet Medallion with Fried Shrimp

with the side of sautéed mushrooms.

She enjoyed her steak,

but I believe she would have enjoyed the shrimp more

if they had been grilled or sautéed.

It is too bad that restaurants do not offer that as an alternative.

C is like me and isn’t all that fond of battered, fried shrimp.

M went for the Prime Ribeye with onion rings as his sides.

As promised the onion rings were huge, being a couple of inches thick,

with a crunchy breaded coating.

However, his ribeye only had about one inch of the nicely marbled meat

that one looks for in a ribeye

while the rest was dry and tough as it lacked that marbling.

That piece should never have been labeled “Prime”

and it definitely was not good eats (™ Alton Brown).

One thing -

okay,

the first thing I noticed when I printed out the dinner menu from the web site,

was the blatant name-dropping that this restaurant seems to revel in.

Okay, I get it.

Famous people come here to eat.

It just seems rather pretentious and snobbish.

I just have one thing to say to you.

You just better remember my name.

Foodies Untie.

Got it?

Good.

Just remember that name.

One odd thing I noticed during the meal was that all the servers

– as in every single one - was male.

In this day and age I found that to be odd.

To be sure, I kept looking and even noted the apparent fact to my companions,

but we never found any contradiction to the conceived norm.

When we had entered the restaurant

we had been greeted by two female hostesses,

but those were the only two female employees we saw during our visit.

Further investigation is warranted.

C and M did seem intrigued about the fact that I photograph

and then blog about my dining experiences.

I am glad that my food paparazzi activities

did not make them uncomfortable.

Many thanks to C and M for a very enjoyable dinner.

The company was delightful.

Lexington Revisited -

The Hotel

Please bear with me as this series of posts

will necessarily be a bit disjointed.

It is difficult to write the post independently

of the pictures,

which has to be done when one is without the Internet.

Secondly, if I were to attempt to simply write one

post about our long weekend in Lexington,

the post would be just that - long.

If all that were not enough,

I have been very busy this week,

getting ready for the family gathering

that will be at our house this upcoming weekend.

Now that we have gotten that business out of the way,

let's get this show on the road...

After leaving Lynn's and Louisville,

we headed east towards Lexington.

And there's our destination -

Griffin Gate Resort.

Looks the same as it did last year.

I attempted to reserve another room with a balcony,

but no such luck.

However, this time,

instead of overlooking the parking lot,

we are overlooking the golf course.

So I guess that is a decent compromise.

See, the golf course and the swimming pool.
Much nicer than the parking lot.

I always rearrange the room after settling in.

Not to worry though;

as I always put things back the way I found them.

One of the first things I noticed upon entering our room

was a liter bottle of Fiji™ water

with a card around the neck stating that

“A $5.00 charge will be added to your account upon consumption.”

It is a safe assumption that the bottle will remain unmolested during our stay.

The Foodie Daughter has many aspirations in life;

among those is to one day own a luxury resort.

To that end,

she has enlisted my help in plotting out some of the more mundane details,

such as room décor,

restaurant types and menus.

As such and given that we often stay in nicer places

for my husband’s Masonic ventures,

I do have strong opinions on proper hotel management.

To wit:
Internet service should always be complimentary.

Honestly, I would rather you charge me for breakfast.

In this day and age I can go to a McDonald's

and get free WiFi,

so why can't a fancy hotel pony up the free Internet service?

There is always a “Do Not Disturb” tag on the door,

so why not have one side read

“No House Keeping Needed - Please Leave Clean Towels”?

A mini fridge is essential in every hotel room

and should be provided free of charge.

A nice-sized ledge for toiletries in the tub/shower area

would be greatly appreciated.

(How many times have you had to pick up your tiny

travel bottles that fell off the tiny tub ledge?)

Extra towel racks would come in handy for those

who don’t mind using a towel more than once.

Have a built-in night light in the bathroom.

Have a second sink outside of the bathroom.

(Have you ever tried to travel with two or more women,

both of whom are trying to get ready at the same time?

Enough said.)

Do not make the guest have to jump through hoops

just to find the regular TV channels on the remote.

I don’t want to have to wade through two pages

of pay-per-view services just to find the free channels.

Don’t make me angry when I just want to watch

my Food Network shows.

Guests should not be the ones who have to report problems

with the room to the hotel management.

Get your staff to spend a moment while in the room each day

just verifying that everything is in working order.

Nothing is more annoying to a guest

than to find that there is a problem with the plumbing,

heating or a/c or electrical systems.*

*But more on that later.

The morning sun shines through the tree.

I discovered this little terrace and fountain.












Lovely.











Potted hibiscus standard


under-planted with sweet potato vine


and petunias.








Hibiscus bloom.

Pigeons around a skylight.

The pool area at night.

*I promised you a story, didn't I?

The evening we arrived,

my husband and I went out to eat dinner

with another couple (which will be covered in the next post).

We returned back to the hotel and went our separate ways.

Eventually my husband and I found our football tailgate friends

(and another 33rd Candidate couple)

at the Valley of Fort Wayne’s Hospitality Room,

so my husband and I visited with them for a bit.

Eventually we wandered down to the Valley of Indianapolis’ HR

and said hello to our friends in there before retiring for the night.

Oh, if it were only that easy.

I felt like I was caught in the Edgar Allan Poe story

“The Tell Tale Heart.”

Unfortunately,

the toilet was running and running and running;

and I was fair exhausted from chasing it around the room all night long.

Rim shot, please.

*Crickets*

Okay, be that way.

I even got up in the middle of the night to see if I could fix it.

The float arm was resting too low,

allowing the water in the tank to rise too high,

thus flowing continuously into the bowl.

After a couple of attempts to fix it with nothing more than a dime

(hey, I’m on vacation here;

I don’t bring my tools with me!),

I gave it up as a lost cause

and finally resorted to covering my head

with a blanket to drown out the noise.

The environmentalist in me couldn’t help but cringe

at the thought of all that water being needlessly wasted, though.

Before I went to breakfast Friday morning,

I informed one of the nice people at the front desk that the toilet was running

and was assured that someone would be heading up to fixing it very soon.

After breakfast I headed back up to the room,

passing a maintenance worker in the hallway.

The maid had just started in the room when I returned

and I asked if the maintenance man had looked at the toilet

as I could still hear it running.

She said that he would be back to fix it.

I spent the next bit of time

watching the men out on the golf course,

figuring out their ploy

(they only play golf so they can drive the golf carts is my theory)

and writing this blog post.

The maintenance man came back

and attempted to fix the toilet but to no avail.

Heh, if I couldn’t fix it, it wasn’t able to be fixed.

He needed to leave to get a new part to replace the broken piece.

An hour or so later, we had a mercifully quiet toilet.

All is right once again in my world.

My daughter will be so proud of me:

I went down to the fitness center and did 32 minutes on the tread mill.

The nice thing was that the fitness center

has small TV screens hooked up to each treadmill

with a place for headphones to plug in.

I happened to have a pair in my purse,

so I turned on the Barefoot Contessa

and walked as she turned the volume up on her old recipes.

And thus concludes the bulk of our hotel experience,

as the rest of our time was spent attending

meetings, tours and banquets.

Tune in next time to read about some of that.