Osaka

After work tonight, Chrissy, my coworker and friend, and I decided that we needed some sushi. She decided on Osaka off Boston Road since it's a place neither of us had ever been. It's a tiny place and was sparsely populated with diners. They had a full menu which we mostly over looked 'cause we were on a sushi hunt. Pushing Chrissy to be adventurous, I did order fried squid, which I assumed was going to turn out like calamari and was straight up just tiny deep fried squid tentacles, no breading, freaked her out a little but we enjoyed it. We ordered three different sushi rolls - all FANTASTIC! We loved the Crunchy Tuna and A-roll. The check came with a big wedge of sliced pineapple, which made our expensive bill a little sweeter. A little on the higher end, but good sushi usually is.

Most of the higher end rolls ranged from $7.50 - $12.99. I couldn't really tell you what's on the rest of the menu.

Thursday Night Live

I made my first trip Thursday Night Live. Set between the old courthouse and new Cheapside pavilion creating a really fun atmosphere...live music, lots of people, lots to drink (if you can), BBQ and kettle corn...this all adds up to a pretty good time. We got there kinda late after dinner so the crowd was starting to thin out. It's the first time I've been down to the new Cheapside Pavilion; a great addition to downtown. I love the new closed roads allowing for great gathering and entertainment spaces. Thursday Night Live is a great way to spend a summer night downtown. Family friendly, kids were dancin' away, people had their dogs...glad we went.

Thursday nights throughout the summer at Cheapside Park from 4:30-8:00
No admission, bring cash for food and drink vendors, bring a chair

Sav's West African Grill

Last night my wonderful friends, Jason, Amanda, Teresa and I had dinner at Sav's Grill. They focus on West African Cuisine and I LOVE different ethnic foods so I was really looking forward to it. In my mind, I tend to assume everything that's not American or European food is spicy like Indian food. So it wasn't quite what I expected. I went for it ordering the peanut goat...not my favorite. After I covered it in hot sauce it was more palatable. I did try the the other dishes: the mafen beef and peanut chicken over fufu (plantain flour dumplings) were both good. The most interesting thing was definitely the cooked plantains. They really offered a different flavor. And, it was such a great evening to sit on the sidewalk and eat.

Different taste but don't expect big, robust flavors.

Located on South Limestone
Entrees range from $5.25-$12.99.

Some fine tuning...

Hey LEXplorers!

I'm stumbling my way through the technical side of blogging. I now believe you can leave comments even if you're not a registered user so comment away!

I figured out how to make the active link word things (I'm sure they have a technical name).

Also, I reserve to the right to go back and correct all misspellings, grammatical errors and add words 'cause I tend to leave out words and prepositional phrases. Please feel free to call me out on it too if you see something before I catch it.

Also, BIG THING!!! I didn't realize what a great source of information the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau website is. If you're looking to see what Lexington has to offer, check it out! Great guides to area attractions, dining, shopping and more!

Feel free to suggest places or events for me to visit, too! I feel so humbled to know that there are people following me. I'd love to LEXplore with you!

Headley-Whitney Museum

Today's heat took me indoors to the Headley-Whitney Museum. Set amongst the scenic horse farms of Old Frankfort Pike, the museum is home to a large collection of Kentucky made silver pieces, intricate dollhouses, featured rotating exhibits and the main attraction - works by jeweler George W. Headley. The current exhibit of horse themed Mexican folk art was kinda lame, but a large collection of horse pieces from the Smithsonian is on the way to coincide with coming equestrian games and promises to be pretty fantastic. Sadly, the shell grotto was closed because it is being reroofed but should be completed in the next few weeks to show of it's giant collection of shells from all over the world. Sounds cheesy but Mr. Headley was convinced that he had shells from all but 11 sea creatures (sure). The library was filled with all kinds of neat art pieces but the main event is the Jewel Room filled with the works of Mr. Headley. Jewelry, bibelots (fancy knickknacks), loose gem stones and new works created to honor Mr. Headley.

I was the only person there so I basically got a private tour. Thanks, Trish! She was so knowledgeable and I could tell she loved the place and was eager to show it off.

Adult tickets are $10 and the Museum is closed on Mondays.

Also a beautiful place to host a wedding.

Stella's Kentucky Deli

After McConnell Springs, Trevor and I made our way up the street to Stella's Kentucky Deli. Trevor picked the restaurant after looking it up on his phone and it was a fantastic choice. Great vintage looking place with a menu filled with lots of local fair. Trevor had their hot brown which aired on the lighter side and was not big and heavy. Our waiter recommended the salad special of the day which did not disappoint, local greens topped with grilled asparagus and ham, local bleu
cheese and a red wine vinaigrette...delicious! We sat by the dessert case so we couldn't leave with having a piece of their homemade pies. Friendly staff, cool building, great food...I can't wait to go back and try something else. Oh, and why don't more Lexington restaurants keep Ale8 on tap? Good job Stella's!


Prices range from about $3 - $9

McConnell Springs

Today my brother and I set out on a real LEXploration to McConnell Springs. We made a detour on our way back from visiting a church in Versailles. I decided to make it one of my first stops in Lexington, fitting because it's where Lexington's first settlers were. Trevor's driven past it many times and never ventured in so when we drove through a run down, industrial part of Lexington I was taken aback and thought this was going to turn out bad. You literally have to drive through an asphalt company to get there. Then suddenly, you pull up to this beautiful stone building, walk through the gates and enter this little restored piece of nature. Trevor and I walked almost all the trails in about an hour through the restored woodlands down to the springs. These beautiful artesian springs come up out of the ground flowing with beautiful water in the middle of a black locust grove. Lots of benches along the way would make it a perfect place to relax and maybe have a little lunch. I can't believe this is in the middle of downtown, industrial Lexington.

I loved this place!

For more info http://www.mcconnellsprings.org/

The left photo is of "The Blue Hole" which is a 15 foot deep sinkhole that the first spring comes out of. The photo on the right is of the water as it makes it's way to the final sinkhole before it disappears under the ground again.

Admission is free.

The Fair

Tonight I went to a Lexington summer tradition, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Country Fair. This fair comes with all the traditional flair: fried foods, rickety rides, games of chance, a rummage sale and some more grown up areas including a casino, bingo and beer garden. I got to go with my sister, Meredith, her boyfriend, Dan, and our friend Jessica. Mere won prizes throwing darts at balloons and spinning the wheel and poor Jessica beat a six year old to at the squirt gun game, felt so bad she ended up giving her prize to the little girl. We all enjoyed gyros, popcorn, corndogs, caramel apples and our favorite DEEP FRIED OREOS. Who doesn't like fair food?
Now, I am not a fair/carnival/amusement park type of person and the fair was everything I expected it to be. Probably won't become a tradition for myself in the summer time. For me it felt like a glorified jr. high hang out ('cause there were approximately one million jr. highers) and some form of penance. But if you like fairs, you'll love it.

Oh, and some lady spilled her drink all over me.

Admission is free but be prepared to spend some money on ride tickets, games and food.