Kentucky’s New Historic Dining Guide Is Made for Foodie Road Trips

One thing I must do when I travel is visit local restaurants. I love road trips, but they often make you depend on drive-through windows from time to time, for the sake of convenience.

But local joints are found all across the country, and they seldom disappoint. The best ones offer up a large dose of history to accompany the menu. In Kentucky, you'll find no shortage of such establishments. Fortunately, they've all been rounded up into one handy guide that pinpoints not only local eateries across the Commonwealth, but also those that are housed in structures with stories to tell.

The Kentucky Historic Dining Guide

Governor Andy Beshear joined 18 Kentucky restaurants at the Holly Hill Inn in Midway to help launch Kentucky Tourism's Kentucky Historic Dining Guide.

The award-winning Holly Hill Inn, built in the 1840s and specializing in dishes made with signature Kentucky ingredients from local farmers, joins 17 other restaurants you may have visited over the years. I know I have, starting with Famous Bistro, right here in my hometown of Owensboro, and the spot where folks gather for fresh Mediterranean cuisine. The building in which Famous Bistro is located was rebuilt more than 80 years ago after a 1940 fire destroyed the original.

Restaurants Featured in the Kentucky Historic Dining Guide

Other heritage dining spots in the guide include popular eateries in Paducah, Prestonsburg, Bardstown (the Old Talbott Tavern, Kentucky's oldest restaurant), Covington, Louisville, Ashland, Dawson Springs, Corbin, Russellville, Campbellsville, Cadiz, Harlan, Harrodsburg, Somerset, and Bowling Green.

Some cities are already known as great foodie destinations; the Kentucky Tourism Historic Dining Guide shines the spotlight on those that might have flown under the radar. Hang onto it and plan a fun foodie trip of your own.