Babylon Mediteranean Cafe and Market

Babylon is located in Richmond, Kentucky on Main Street.  This wonderful little hole in the wall cafe has such personality!  You walk in and you see some amazing artwork on the walls and the smells are delicious!  You order at the counter and then take a seat and wait for your mediteranean experience to begin.

I had the falafel lunch special and couldn't have been more pleased.  It consisted of rice, a salad, and a falafel.  When we placed our order I did ask what is a falafel and I was told it is vegetarian, so I still have no idea what it is.  No worries though I am positive it is not made of vegetarians. 

The rice was a nice yellow color and I was slightly suspicious of it but it is some of the best flavored rice I have ever eaten.  It is so good I ate most of it before I even tried the falafel.  The salad is a greek salad containing lettuce, tomato, olives, feta cheese, and a vinaigrette dressing.  Very delicious and light.  Now to the falafel.  This is a delicious flatbread with lettuce, tomato, onion, and some sort of vegetarian substitute for meat.  I don't know what it is made of as I said, but it was so good.  It looked like it had broccoli and chickpeas in it, but once again they didn't tell me what it contained.  Maybe its a secret!  They also had a delicious sauce to use on it that was a yogurt and dill mix.

I enjoyed eating at Babylon.  The meal was quite substantial and I didn't walk away feeling weighed down at all.  I already know what I will be sampling the next time.  I want to try that vegetarian sampler they have.  If it is anything like the falafel I will be ecstatic.  (No I am not a vegetarian, but I do enjoy a number of vegetarian foods.)

The Sandwich Shop

The Sandwich Shop in Richmond Kentucky is a wonderful little place to eat!  The owner was on Martha Stewart!  The food here is wonderful and reminds me of my grandma's cookin.  (Something that I miss terribly.)  I enjoyed a bowl of soup beans with cornbread, chicken salad on tomatoes and lettuce instead of bread, and a sweet tea.  All of this food was marvelous!  I thoroughly enjoyed the soup beans and am thrilled to have discovered a place that makes them right!  The chicken salad was delicious rolled up in the lettuce leaves.  It is served with saltine crackers but if you decide to try it definitely give the lettuce wrap a whirl.  The sweet tea was just right not too sweet but perfect.  The service was wonderful.  We were constantly checked on and had a delightful conversation with our waitress. 

The decor deserves a mention as well.  As you walk in you are greeted by a ghoul named Tommy.  On the left of the door there is a christmas tree covered in cookies and a large gingerbread man standing next to that.  On the walls you will discover a collection of clocks and lunchboxes.  Most of which are antique.

I look forward to my next visit.  I am definitely getting dessert and can hardly wait to try out more of their selections.

Mom and Tom's

This is a small restaurant that has been squeezed into a gas station off of Lancaster in Richmond Kentucky.  I had the opportunity to sample their breakfast.  I enjoyed a vegetable omelet and a side of bacon.  The omelet was sooo good!  It contained fresh vegetables and a wonderful amount of cheese.  It was delicious!  The other surprising fact was the side of bacon was about 6 pieces of bacon!  Most places only give you 4.  The prices are amazingly low and the food was wonderful.  I plan on returning soon.

Smitty's Southern Style BBQ

Smitty's Southern Style BBQ has become a favorite!  It is located somewhere in Richmond, Kentucky.  I say that as it is a mobile restaurant that has to move locations every 14 days.  (I just spotted him up on Big Hill today!)  This is some of the best BBQ I have ever eaten!  I have had a taste of their pulled pork sandwich which was amazingly flavored.  So good!  I also had their polish special.  It is a polish sausage smothered with onions, peppers, and a sauce that is sooo yummy!  I got the fries as my side (the other choices are coleslaw or beans) they were the perfect doneness and were fresh made.  I also had a lemonade to go with it.  Now this lemonade is fresh made and tastes like the lemonade you make when you go out and sit on the front porch swing on a hot summer night!  Delicious!

They have a small menu but they definitely know how to make those items to perfection!  I will be trying their ribs next time.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!  It is lunch time......

This is a wonderful little establishment and I hope that they will be around for a long time.

Gridiron BBQ

The Gridiron BBQ restaurant is in Richmond, Kentucky.  I was sorely disappointed with this restaurant.  I selected the pulled chicken with baked beans to sample.  The good thing I can say about it is that the chicken was definitely moist.  Thankfully we had the foresight to split one serving.  The sandwich was so moist that the bottom of the bun was soggy by the time it was brought to the table.  The service wasn't slow it was just that juicy.  The chicken really didn't have a lot of flavor to it (I actually added salt).  The baked beans tasted like the ones you get out of a can. 

I honestly cannot recommend this restaurant.  There are other things to try, but I won't be going back.

Smokehouse

I am so sad! I returned to the Smokehouse down in Berea to try out their buffet.  I was severely disappointed.  The buffet consists of a salad bar, dinner items, desserts, and a bread selection.

The salad was limp and tasteless.  The pea salad was different than what I expected.  It had raw peas in it.  Tasty but not what I am accustomed to.  I sampled the potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, fried chicken, and corn.  Everything except the baked beans required some added flavoring, salt and pepper helped a little, but not enough to make me want to return for more.

I will go back to the smokehouse again as I loved their bbq ribs and fried green tomatoes, but I know next time to avoid the buffet.

The Paddy Wagon

The Paddy Wagon is a wonderful pub in Richmond, Kentucky.  They throw the biggest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the area.  It was definitely a sight to see!  Wonderful smells came from inside and out as they had to expand into the parking lot to accommodate everyone!  As fate would have it, St. Patty's Day fell on the same day as a UK basketball game and thus the big screen tv's were all tuned in so everyone could catch the game while celebrating the wearin of the green (or blue this year).  They even had one out in the parking lot!  Way to be there for your customers!

Going to The Paddy Wagon is an amazing experience.  If you look up on the walls you will see patches for firefighters and police stations from all over the country.  I actually get choked up as I gaze up at these.  To see them all together on one wall is a sight to behold.  You must really experience it for yourself.

On a much quieter day I returned to sample something on the menu.  I decided to try the pub basket.  Now for those who don't know what that is (don't be embarrassed I didn't know either), it is steak fries, also known as pub fries, seasoned with kosher salt and coarse black pepper.  Now you have the option of adding toppings to these tasty potatoes.  I selected the chili, cheese, and onions.  Don't worry no one had to deal with my onion breath besides me!  They were some of the best fries I have had in a long time.  They were cooked to such a tenderness that they would fall apart when I stuck my fork through them.  The chili topping was the beanless variety and yes the onions were definitely onion like, crisp and delicious!

I completely recommend you go and visit this amazing Richmond treasure.  Sit at the bar and share a story or two and possibly catch a game on the big screen.