Known for its country ham and Hot Browns, burgoo and Benedictine, spoonbread and corn pudding, and, of course, finger-lickin’ good barbecue and fried chicken, Kentucky is a treat for your taste buds.
Kentucky country ham is cured by dry-rubbing rather than soaking, giving it a deliciously unique flavor different from other states. Kentucky barbecue, usually pork or mutton rather than beef, is smoked in a hickory pit, sometimes for a full day, to achieve its distinctive taste.
For starters, try a Hot Brown at the spot where it originated, Louisville’s Brown Hotel, and barbecue at Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in Owensboro (foodies, celebrities and even former president Bill Clinton love the barbecue here). Sample spoonbread at Berea’s historic Boone Tavern, fried chicken the way the Colonel liked it at Sanders Cafe & Museum on the site of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Corbin, and homemade pies at Patti’s 1880 Settlement in Grand Rivers.
Whether you want four-diamond splendor or down-home fare, white tablecloths or roadside diners, Kentucky has a place set for you.