Lexington, Kentucky: To be or Not to be Southern?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Lexington, Kentucky on my way back from Dayton, Ohio. I was telling my wife before we reached Lexington that Kentucky is a difficult state for me to categorize. It does not seem quite Southern, but it does not seem quite Midwestern either. Eastern Kentucky represents the heart of Appalachia while Central Kentucky is home to bluegrass and race horses. Western Kentucky...well, I am not quite sure what it is all about. I have been to Bowling Green and can tell you that it looks similar to Central Kentucky. I could, however, affirmatively say that somewhere in the Bluegrass State there was bound to be good barbecue.

My wife and I reached Lexington around noon on a Sunday and decided to visit the old courthouse which now houses Lexington's museum of history.Usually at noon on Sunday we would be exiting church, but like I previously stated, we were traveling back from Dayton, Ohio. Anyways, the museum was three levels and chronicled an eclectic collection of topics including slavery, the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, public safety, horse racing, and commerce. The highlight of the museum for me was the obvious connections Lexington has with Southern culture, both past and present. The city had a large slave population prior to the Civil War. The local economy immediately outside of the city was largely based on agriculture with hemp and later tobacco being the main cash crops. Most residents supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the city was racially segregated after it. Finally, Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky Wildcats which, as most of you already know, is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). All of these connections to the South indicated to me that Lexington and its surrounding areas are Southern in culture and identification. As for the rest of Kentucky, I am still undecided.

After visiting the museum, my wife and I decided to eat at the Cheapside Grill in downtown Lexington. While studying the menu, I was pleasantly surprised to read that a pulled barbecue chicken sandwich with white barbecue as an option to order. I ordered the barbecue chicken with white barbecue sauce and anxiously awaited its arrival. The food was worth the wait.

The plate that was placed in front of me contained homemade chips, a dill pickle, a barbecue chicken sandwich with a toasted bun and red onions on top, and a small side of white barbecue sauce. I spread the sauce across the red onions, mashed both buns with all of their contents together firmly, and..ready for this... ATE!

The food was excellent. Although the chicken may have been bland if eaten by itself, the onions and sauce combined with it to create a unique barbecue flavor. If I could have broken down the flavors into five parts, it would have been one part smoke, one part spice, one part black pepper, and two parts the exquisite flavor you get when mayonnaise and lemon juice are mixed together. The combined flavors unified to offer me one of the best barbecue sandwiches I have ever eaten. The city welcoming me back to the South turned out to be a great experience.



Now, I know some of you may be wondering what the heck white barbecue sauce is. I was just like you few years back. An internet search in preparation for a Fourth of July barbecue informed me that in certain parts of Alabama, a white barbecue sauce on smoked chicken is preferred over more traditional ones. The recipes for the sauce which I have found always include mayonnaise, lemon juice, and cracked black pepper. I beg you to keep an open mind. It is worth the try!

Below is an address for Cheapside Grill, a picture of the old Fayette County (Lexington) courthouse, and a picture of downtown Lexington.

http://cheapsidebarandgrill.com/

131 Cheapside
Lexington, KY 40507

Old Fayette County Courthouse

Downtown Lexington