It’s brunch o’clock—those glorious hours when you get to combine the best bits of breakfast along with a luxurious, lazy lunch. Restaurants across Kentucky offer brunch, with menus full of mouth-watering options, some of which are available only during brunch time. Go ahead and order a cocktail because brunch is a laid-back, special meal.
Fiddletree Kitchen & Bar
Lexington’s Elwood Hotel & Suites—named after the 1904 Kentucky Derby winner—is a new swanky, boutique-style inn off Harrodsburg Road. The cool vibe from the lobby continues into the Fiddletree Kitchen & Bar, where you will find a brunch menu that will be the highlight of your weekend. Fiddletree offers diners several shareable starters—such as cast-iron cornbread served with poblano pimento cheese and honey butter and delicious deviled eggs—before diving into the main menu. Entrées include avocado toast, breakfast sandwiches and huevos rancheros.
“Of course, we have people from the hotel eat here each day, but it is really hopping on the weekends,” said Barbara Jean Josey, director of business development and hospitality services. “Lexington is a brunch town.”
Sit in the casual, artsy dining room or, weather permitting, on the beautiful patio outside. Comfy chairs and firepits create a pleasant ambiance. Or maybe that’s the bottomless mimosas or the Elwood Breeze cocktails at work. Either way, save room because Fiddletree’s brunch menu has a dessert section.
The Miller House
The Miller House, once a glorious Owensboro mansion, is now a well-known restaurant. It had been neglected for many years when Larry and Jeanne Kirk purchased the home in 2006, about 100 years after it was built. They returned it to its rightful place as a city landmark and an elegant dining destination.
Along with fine dining, The Miller House offers a collection of more than 600 bourbons served in the downstairs bar. But Sundays are for brunch, and the day gets a menu of its own.
The Kirks’ daughter, Kasey Kirk Dillow, is the head chef. She designed the brunch menu around popular foods with a Southern twist. Instead of Eggs Benedict prepared the traditional way with an English muffin, Canadian bacon, and a poached egg, at The Miller House, it is made with freshly baked biscuits, country ham and a fried egg.
She said the omelets are popular, as are Southern staples such as steak and eggs, fried catfish, and crab cake hollandaise.
Kasey said diners appreciate the brunch menu. “Everything is made from scratch and served up quickly,” she said. “Plus, we have a huge variety, so there really is a little something for everyone.”
Libby’s Southern Comfort
The owners of Libby’s Southern Comfort in the heart of downtown Covington encourage diners to “put a little South in your mouth.” It’s a clever reminder that, while the eatery might physically be close to the Ohio border, the proprietors and chef know how to serve up a menu full of traditional favorites from the Bluegrass State.
Libby’s is known for its fried chicken. On the Sunday brunch menu, the chicken is paired with a Belgian waffle, bourbon-candied pecan butter, maple syrup, vinegar and pepper barbecue sauce, creating a delectable hurricane of flavors all on one plate. The restaurant’s take on the traditional Hot Brown—the Kentucky Breakfast Brown—incorporates goetta, eggs, bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese, covered in sausage gravy.
Michelle Wainscott, co-owner of Libby’s along with her husband, Brad, said of brunch, “It is so popular, we can’t seat enough people. So, I highly recommend reservations.”
Wainscott said she thinks people love the brunch because some of the menu items are not offered any other day of the week.
The Sunday brunch cocktail menu features oyster shooters, a mimosa float with sherbet, and a bloody Mary served with house-made pimento cheese-stuffed olives. The restaurant also features a memorable bourbon slush that starts with Cheerwine soda, a wild cherry soft drink made in North Carolina for more than 100 years.
“People come for the food, but on Sundays, they tend to linger,” Wainscott said. “I think they like the come-as-you-are, upscale-casual ambiance.”
Big Bad Breakfast
Louisville’s new kid on the block is Big Bad Breakfast, with a menu featuring funky twists on old favorites. Although good old bacon is on the menu, don’t miss the house-cured Tabasco brown sugar bacon.
Big Bad Breakfast founder John Currence, a James Beard award-winning chef and author, started with his favorite meal of the day, threw in some reminders of his New Orleans upbringing, and created a breakfast-lunch spot. One of his ties to the Big Easy is a connection to the McIlhenny family, the makers of Tabasco brand hot pepper sauce. Tabasco shares its mash from the peppers with Big Bad Breakfast.
“It is a proprietary recipe for us,” said Melissa Ritchie, who owns the restaurant with husband Steve Ritchie. “If you like Tabasco and you like spicy, this is your bacon.”
Other twists to old favorites are the brandy-spiked, deep-fried French toast and the eatery’s breakfast margarita, made with fresh-squeezed orange juice. For a fun riff on a healthy breakfast choice, try the brûléed grapefruit. The chef covers a sliced grapefruit in turbinado sugar and then takes a blow torch to it, which creates a crunchy outer shell, along the lines of crème brûlée.
BBB, as the restaurant is often called, is located in the building formerly occupied by Lynn’s Paradise Café, which was a popular Louisville eatery for many years. Lynn’s was known for delicious food, quirky décor, and, of course, the annual Ugly Lamp Contest. Outside the café along Barret Avenue was a 6-foot-tall red teapot, slightly tipped to appear to be pouring something into an equally large yellow teacup that was topped off with fake white suds.
The Ritchies, who are Louisville natives and have great memories of visiting Lynn’s, had a mural painted on the side of their new restaurant. The giant artwork is big and bold and proudly features the iconic teapot.
“We know where we are,” Melissa said. “We are proud to follow Lynn’s and will always respect the neighborhood.”
Fiddletree Kitchen & Bar
444 Parkway Drive
Lexington
859.423.1001
The Miller House
301 East 5th Street
Owensboro
270.685.5878
Libby’s Southern Comfort
35 West 8th Street
Covington
859.261.3106
Big Bad Breakfast
984 Barret Avenue
Louisville
502.289.8227