Happy day-after-Thanksgiving-Black Friday-annual leftovers day-whatever to each and every one of you! I hope you're all still stuffed more than the very turkey you ate. I'd very carefully planned to be a lazy sloth today and watch Black Friday brawl videos all day and possibly put up the rest of my Christmas lights, but for whatever reason I got the sudden urge to get out and about. Complete days off are a rarity for most of us, me included, so I hated to completely waste it. I got in the car and decided to head on over to Whitesburg to do a little Christmas shopping...and maybe to stop into the music store to pick a little something up for myself. Upon arriving, I went down main street and nearly wrecked when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A brand-spanking-new restaurant appeared out of nowhere...or at least had gone up since the last time I was over that way. I couldn't resist. I wasn't even all that hungry. No one is the day after Thanksgiving, and even in the event that I was, I have about 35 pounds of leftovers sitting in the fridge. At that moment, I didn't really care. After a quick jaunt into Roundabout Music, I hoofed it a couple hundred feet back up Main Street to check this place out.
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| Christmas lights and little outdoor bistro tables?? I'm already sold. |
I walked in and was immediately greeted by a very nice lady. She sat me at a small booth, and the owner came over to greet me and introduce himself. He handed me a menu and took my drink order.
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| Currently lunch time. Three separate menus for each meal. |
Soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts. Standard fare, but good options none the less. I kept scanning over the possibilities, when I looked over and saw this on the wall...
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| It was almost like magic. |
It's hard to pick out a favorite word in that description. "All beef" "Hotdog" "bacon" "homemade" "Cincinatti style" "potato skins", they all cry out in their own way. Of course I was going to go with this special, how could I not?? I placed my order, in which was taken by the owner, with a really cool looking tablet device he had strapped to his arm. I'd never seen anything like it, and was impressed. This is another case of rustic Appalachian meeting modern day, as I've mentioned in previous blog entries. I then got up and walked around, admiring the decor and how clean this place actually was. It was immaculate.
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| And festive. |
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| Decent view of the dining area. |
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| A bar that I'm very, very jealous of. |
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| Really, REALLY jealous of. |
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| House made desserts. |
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| A bit of the rustic decor. I was also told that there was local art from local artists on order and should be there very soon. It will look amazing in this place, for sure. |
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| Every old building from this time period in Eastern Kentucky as this ceiling, or one very similar. You've noticed it too, don't lie. |
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| Mason jars are always a nice touch. |
I was impressed as could be and I hadn't been here 5 minutes. It was clean, organized, the staff was friendly, the decor was great, the temperature was spot on and.....
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| ...my food made it out in 2.5 minutes. |
I'm not exaggerating. I timed it. This isn't exactly a complex meal, but I couldn't have laid the pickle on the plate in 2.5 minutes, let alone arranged all of this you see before you. Just, wow. I sat down, and starting figuring a composite algorithm of just how the heck I was suppose to start eating this.
Actually I didn't. I just smiled and shoved it in.
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| Angle 1. |
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| Angle 2. |
I know the words "gourmet" and "hot dog" generally don't appear in the same sentence or even in the same ideology most of the time, but if such a thing exists, then this is it. The hot dog itself was all beef, plump and juicy. It was wrapped in some fairly thick-cut bacon, cooked to a nice stage somewhere between crispy and chewy. Very nice consistency. The bun isn't some off the shelf grocery store bun. In fact I don't think it's a hot dog bun at all. I believe it's a white corn dusted sub roll. Very soft, very flavorful. It was the perfect 'housing' for this type of hot dog. The chili? Forget about it. Some of the best I've ever had. Cincinnati style isn't something we see down this way very often, so it's nice to have it when it's offered. The cinnamon was very prominent but not over bearing, just the way I like it. The cheese was cheddar and a very nice topping to go with it...and it was offered for free.
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| It was mocking me. Taunting me. |
I was honestly having trouble finishing it, and I still had those amazing looking potato skins to go. My fridge was already overcrowded with shadows of Thanksgiving, so I definitely didn't want to add anymore to it. So, I trudged onward.
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| These beauties were NOT going to go to waste. |
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| Not on my watch! |
If you're not familiar with potato skins, they're simply the skin of a half, sometimes even quartered, potato, with the bulk of the potato hollowed and scraped out, and replaced with other types of toppings. They're great. These in particular, could have probably been referred to as 'Southwest potato skins' or something similar, because they were topped with a small bit of tomato salsa, yellow corn, black beans, a hint of lime zest, and the same shredded cheddar cheese that adorned the hot dog. They were then baked to a slight crisp. Crisp around the edges, that is, and still soft in the middle. The addition of optional sour cream on the side was a very nice touch as well. If someone may think these were too crispy and dry, the sour cream would be a good way to get a little moisture back in. Good stuff.
My tab was only about 9 bucks. Not too bad considering the quality and amount of food I received, and the fact that I had a good ole Mt. Dew to go along with it. I paid, left a tip, talked with the owner for another couple of minutes, and began to make my way out, happy that I'd found yet another hidden gem right here in the hills of Appalachia.
Let's recap!
Cleanliness: The Heritage Kitchen is one of the cleaner establishments I've ever visited. Considering most of them are nearly spotless anyway, that's quite a statement, and quite an accomplishment. The floors were clean to the point of almost being reflective, and the tables and chairs were much of the same. The bar and even the walls were noticeably clean. The condiment bottles, napkin holders, etc. were all nice and well organized. The men's restroom was clean and well stocked, though a bit small and cramped. This is an older building, so that can't be helped.
Overall cleanliness score: 4.5/5
Ambiance: This place rocks the 'whole rustic meets modern' motif very well. The walls are plain white, and are ready for all the neat local art that I was told would be coming in very soon. It'll be worth another trip just to be able to see that. The tables are spaced far enough apart that it doesn't feel cramped, and the entire area is open, so there's good air flow. The windows added a lot of extra lighting, even though the lighting itself was just fine. There were Christmas decorations, which I'm a sucker for. I love a good festive place. The room temperature was nearly perfect. The decor, as it is without the art, is still nice. Rustic, again, being the key word. The bar area was a nice addition, and there were two TVs playing in case you wanted to watch.
Overall Ambiance score: 4.5/5
Food Quality & Service: My food was brought out to me in less than 3 minutes, which has to be some kind of record. It was fresh and hot, and was exactly how I ordered it. The quality of the ingredients was noticeable, from the hot dog itself to the bun, to the chili. The potato skins were the same way. A lot of love and care went into the preparation of this meal, and it was very obvious. These folks care about the art of cooking just as much as they do customer satisfaction, and that's a wonderful thing to get to experience. My server was also the owner, which was a great thing. He was very attentive and polite, and made sure everything was a-ok with my experience. We even got to talk a some. It's always nice to have a little company and perspective.
Overall Food Quality & Service score: 4/5
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| Even if my door had a push bar, it wouldn't be this cool. |
As I left the merely 2 month old restaurant, I was genuinely satisfied. Maybe a little too much, because I had to make a 25 mile trip home on a full stomach. Assuming that probably wasn't the best idea, I decided I would take a slight walk down Main Street just to try to ease the fullness a little bit. It was a nice day, upper 60s, and I had literally nothing better to do. So, I meandered around a little, and decided to walk a little ways down the street past the music store. I hadn't been that way in ages, so away I went, admiring all the shops and Christmas decor that was going up. Philosophical thoughts began to enter my mind about 'small town America' and 'Main Street USA' as I furthered down the sidewalk. That's pretty common for me, I suppose. I reached the curve past the police station and figured that was a good stopping point. So, I got there, and began to turn around, when...
OH DEAR.
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