Best Chef in Kentucky: Sara Bradley
From Kentucky born Top Chef competitor to two-time Chopped winner, chef Sara Bradley is a proven contender. She isn’t in it for the prize money, rather Bradley is passionate about showcasing a region she refers to as the “middle of everywhere.” “I say ‘Paducah’ as many times as possible on the television screen,” she says. Seasonal menus at her restaurant, Freight House, reflect this confluence of culinary influences, with dishes like wild-caught catfish and sweet tea-brined chicken alongside crawfish pot pie and pastrami-spiced latke. Bradley is working on her first cookbook and will soon open an event space in downtown Paducah.
Sara Bradley’s Kentucky Recommendations:
Ferrell’s Snappy Service, Hopkinsville, Cadiz, Madisonville
My favorite burger, hands down. They’ve been at it since 1929 and serve these super-fine smashburgers that are so, so yummy. @ferrellsnappyservice
Starne’s Bar-B-Q, Paducah
They do a Paducah-style barbecue—chopped shoulder on white bread—and the smoked bologna is also to die for. @starnesbbq1955
Newsom’s Old Mill Store, Princeton
They keep the pimento cheese in a cooler with the smoked hams, so it’s saturated with hammy goodness. My favorite is to get a white bread sandwich with pimento cheese and a ton of prosciutto-style country ham.
Joe Bologna’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, Lexington
My parents took us there when we were kids, and I ate there a lot during college. The breadstick swimming in garlic butter is like an entire meal.
It gets a lot of love, but that’s because the food is fabulous. One of my favorite restaurants in Louisville.
Best Mixologist: Bill Whitlow
Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, Covington
Bill Whitlow, proprietor of Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, came of age in the “steakhouse-era of bartending.” “We were muddling old fashioneds and shaking manhattans,” he says. Whitlow has learned a lot—and even developed a few techniques of his own—in his more than two decades behind a bar. He’s won multiple cocktail competitions and, in 2016, was named Ole Smoky Moonshine’s National Bartender of the Year. Rich’s Proper has been included among the nation’s top 100 bourbon bars for six years running.
Bill Whitlow’s Kentucky Recommendations:
This is a fantastic new Italian place that my buddy, Mitch Arens, and Billy Grise opened. Mitch was a sous chef at Cochon Butcher in New Orleans and has a deep pedigree.
Larry’s All-American Café, Covington
My go-to spot for cheap, cold beers and good burgers and hot dogs. @larrys_all_american_cafe
Another one of our go-to bars. It’s a fantastic local spot for wine and craft beer.
This sports bar has the best wings in the region, as well as being a top bourbon bar in America. We split our barrel picks with them.
Owner Chris Evans is an old friend. He took me back into the kitchen a while back and showed me a few things he was working on. I really like what he’s doing.
The Best of Kentucky
Best New Restaurant: Mileta, Lexington
An expansive dining room—bedecked with wood, stone, and brass accents and with a stately marble-topped bar at the center—sets a vibey, bohemian-chic tone for an evening at Mileta (located in a mall, no less). But it’s the handmade pasta dishes, including spaghetti studded with pork belly and littleneck clams, that steal the show.
Best Tried & True Restaurant: Holly Hill Inn, Midway
Chef Ouita Michel and her husband, Chris, introduced a new era of Southern fine dining when the couple opened Holly Hill Inn in a historic manor house in 2001. That farm-to-plate sensibility remains true, with prix fixe menus showcasing the seasonal bounty and perennial Wine Spectator Award of Excellence recognition.
Best Hot Brown: Boone Tavern Restaurant, Berea
While an $11 million renovation updated the Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant—a fixture on College Square since opening in 1909—to modern standards for its centennial, thankfully tradition remains intact. Specifically, the hot brown: toast points topped with shaved ham, roast turkey, tomato, bacon, and a rich Mornay sauce, served bubbling from the broiler.
Best Bourbon Bar: Watch Hill Proper, Prospect
It isn’t so much the quantity of whiskey available at this clubbysuburban destination—some 2,200 bottles, all available by the pour—but the quality of the selection and service that sets Watch Hill Proper apart from its spirited competition. Pair a bourbon flight or cocktail with dishes like fried lion’s mane mushrooms with lemon red pepper emulsion.
Best Distillery Dining: The Bar at Willett, Bardstown
This second-floor bar and dining room overlooking Willet Distillery’s pastoral grounds offers an elevated distillery dining experience with chef-curated small plates and fresh takes on Southern classics. Highlights include the must-try egg salad sandwich with smoked Duke’s Mayo and yolk jam. Its off-menu cheeseburger—only available on Saturdays and limited to a dozen or so servings—has its own following.
Best Burrito: Tortillería y Taquería Ramírez, Lexington
While the wide variety of fillings available at this small, family-owned restaurant and grocery is as authentic as it gets, it’s the pillowy-soft tortilla—made fresh daily from a blend of locally grown corn and imported Mexican masa—that sets this burrito apart from all others. @tortilleriaytaqueriaramirez
Best Fine Dining: 610 Magnolia, Louisville
Offering a playful five-course tasting menu (with optional wine pairings) that changes weekly and with the seasons, each meticulously composed meal at this Old Louisville mainstay is a unique experience. Chef Edward Lee has earned numerous accolades and opened new restaurants since taking ownership in 2003, but 610 Magnolia remains the foundation for where he first set out to explore the South’s culinary crossroads.
Best Appalachian Pub Food: The Wrigley Taproom and Eatery, Corbin
A tidy menu highlights the high-low aesthetic owner and chef Kristin M. Smith has curated at her Eastern Kentucky outpost. Here, crispy Sichuan dumplings share space with hand-cut pub fries and a “big ass” pretzel, while a Buddha bowl filled with roasted and pickled veggies shares the spotlight with a hand-pattied burger.
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