Now Eat This!

Where it is: 141 E. Main St.  (859) 253-0014 Map

Website

When: See website for hours.

What it will cost: Menus are available online and they have lots of specials. Around $9 for lunch, $12 for dinner.

Alfalfa

Where to begin with Alfalfa. A paradox, wrapped in a mystery, smothered in ranchero sauce. Okay, that’s a bit much. I have struggled with starting this post for some time because Alfalfa is one of those places that seems to have always existed and which has been a part of my life in Lexington for so many years. I worked at the old location on Limestone. I still know people that work there, people I’m quite fond of. So, an entirely objective review will be a struggle.

Thankfully, the food that I most love there are staples of Alfalfa and never let me down, so I’ll just focus on that. If you’ve never been there I recommend you start with the following items as they are my favorites and Alfalfa does them very well. They also have tons of specials, often incorporating fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. Their brunch is one of those things you just have to do on a nice weekend morning.

Red Beans and Rice at Alfalfa

Red beans and rice is a staple dish that I almost always get during lunch at Alfalfa. It comes with either a side salad (lettuce or cabbage) or a cup of soup and bread. I’ve taken pictures of all three options. I am a big fan of the Tomato Bisque soup. It’s hearty, creamy, a little bit of ‘tang’ to it and always hits the spot. My favorite dressing is miso and I know that some people like to get miso and house dressing together. I prefer the lettuce salad, but the cabbage is excellent also. Why not try them both? The bread is made in house and is soft, fresh, and hearty but light.

The red beans and rice. Delicious, hearty, filling. It leaves you with that lovely sated feeling, comfort food to be sure. Excellently spiced, I find myself savoring every bite. It usually comes with chedder cheese. I like to get mine on the side and add just a little. Hot sauce adds extra zing.

About Alfalfa
I could go on for miles about Alfalfa, about the original location on South Limestone, about all the wonderful people that work there and worked there at one time or another. I’ll just say that it’s a place that grows on you and that you’ll likely find yourself returning time and again. The atmosphere at Alfalfa is relaxed and informal. Sometimes the service can be a little slow, and sometimes that’s just fine if you’re having a casual meal. You may end up being a regular and they may start to call you by name. If you go for dinner you might try one of these, which I highly recommend:

• Chicken Talese
• Hoppin’ John
• Pan-Fried Rainbow Trout

Get thee to Alfalfa!

While not a restaurant, there’s a newish and nice little wine shop in Chevy Chase. The owner, Gary, is quite gregarious and approachable about wine. He says that 90% of his selection is 12 dollars and under. I got a fantastic Spanish wine there for 10 bucks. Check it out.

Located at: 835 Euclid Ave 859.381.0990 closes at 8pm daily.

Sidebar Fish and Chips

I must admit I was a little sloppy on this one. I forgot to take the picture until after I had started mucking about with the plate. Not the best photograph, but the fish and chips are wonderful. To be honest, they remind me of the Newman’s fish and chips I used to get in Eugene all the time, same sized portion of the fish etc. It’s a little different to be sure, but I really enjoyed it. The tartar sauce is homemade and the slaw is crisp and tangy. The fries are awesome as usual. The fish is lightly battered and fried and I have to say it’s the best fish and chips I’ve had in Lexington. I recommend you have the tomato bisque soup and the Sam Adams Winter Ale with this meal. Good job Sidebar!

Where it is: 1533 Eastland Pkwy # 7 (859) 294-4464 Map

When: Sun. & Mon.: CLOSED Tues.-Sat: 5:30-10:30

What it will cost: Varies. Entrees 10-15 Sushi 4- for two pieces

Sugano

I’m going to keep this post short and sweet, if for no other reason than to FINALLY be making another post. Sugano is an awesome place to get sushi. I should point out, however, that it’s small, usually crowded and very slow as there’s only one sushi chef. Having said that, it’s awesome. Here are some pics.

Where it is: Suite 115 Malibu Heights Plaza 2358 Nicholasville Rd (859) 299-9798 Map

Website

When: Sun-Thurs: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.  Fri-Sat: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

What it will cost: $8-15 for entrees

Panda Cuisine

I’ve heard that Panda Cuisine was an excellent place to have traditional, and traditionally very spicy Sichuan food. I found out that it indeed is such a place and have become a fan. I must admit, they toned things down a little for me in my main course as they were worried I couldn’t handle the traditional spiciness, but I’m going to insist next time that they take it up a notch…even if it kills me. Having never had Sichuan cuisine before, I was overwhelmed by the menu choices. Can’t I just have one of each? Unfortunately, the size of my stomach and contents of my wallet necessitated that I keep it to only a few items. Panda was gracious enough to let me sample a couple of things which they thought I should try, and I am grateful to them for the experience.

Beginning 开始

I felt I couldn’t properly size-up or appreciate a Chinese restaurant without trying their Hot and Sour soup and Sichuan dumplings. The soup was quite spicy, which I very much enjoyed, and was simple. I didn’t feel that it was overloaded with too much stuff. I’d never had Sichuan dumplings before, so I was in for a real treat. The dumplings are made with pork, and are covered in Panda Sauce, red Sichuan peppers and hot oil. They are so spicy and yet so sweet. The sweetness and hotness of the flavors seems to combine into a unified and wonderful flavor that I suppose is the essence of Sichuan cuisine. Tsing Tao seems to be the perfect beer to go along with this meal, though their menu mentions tea as being part of the balanced chinese meal. Perhaps next time I’ll try that, but the Tsing Tao was the perfect compliment to the Sichuan flavor.

Middle 中间

The next thing to come before me were vegetable egg rolls. These egg rolls remind me of the ones I used to get at Oriental Inn on Richmond Road when I was a kid in the early 80s. Does anyone remember that place? I loved it. They’re served with the sweet duck sauce and the hot and spicy mustard, which is totally classic. Next came the main course which was Panda’s Fish delight. This dish was a wonderful new eating experience, spicy to the max (for my feeble taste buds) but the flavor of the fish came through. Somehow the brown sauce numbed my tongue without taking away the ability to taste the complex flavors, a bold mix of spicy and sweet. I ended up sweating but I was unable to stop myself from eating more and more. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish all of this dish, it is quite a lot of food and I recommend sharing it with someone. I enjoyed the leftovers for a couple of meals to follow.

End 末端

Panda Cuisine has recently started serving sushi, and to be honest, this is the best, freshest sushi that I’ve had since I moved back from Oregon. I don’t say that lightly, because I’ve had some excellent sushi in Lexington, but this really is the freshest and best that I’ve had. I ended the meal with an orange that had been cut up into bite-sized pieces and a fortune cookie. I really can’t say enough good things about my experience at Panda Cuisine. I really do recommend that you go soon.