4 Best Restaurants in Kentucky Bluegrass Country, Kentucky

Chef–owner Ouita Michel uses locally grown meats and produce to create her five-course prix-fixe menus. These change every two weeks and may be Southern, French, Southwestern or any cuisine that strikes her fancy. The restaurant has multiple dining rooms in an old Southern mansion with a wraparound porch, where alfresco dining is offered in summer. Wine pairings are available for an additional charge.

If you want to learn more about Kentucky's amber elixir, this is the place to come—they have virtually every bourbon currently in production (more than 120 or them). Tasting flights are available. The menu, which ranges from burger to sea bass, includes Southern favorites like pan seared pork chop and bacon-wrapped scallops. Naturally, bourbon is an ingredient in many dishes.

Chef–proprietor Kathy Cary is Kentucky's most honored chef. She emphasizes local ingredients in dishes with Southern and Continental influences; her creations range from Kentucky tapas (a changing selection of light bites) to a nightly version of veal scallopine (sauces and sides change). The contemporary purple and deep green dining rooms will make you feel like you're dining in an elegant private home.

In an antebellum farmhouse that was the center of a horse farm, the Merrick Inn's dining rooms are filled with antiques. Southern fried chicken, pork tenderloin, and rainbow trout are traditional favorites here; there's also a selection of steaks, and lobster tail is available. Old-fashioned desserts include peach Melba.