In late summer, my husband and I visited Glendale, Kentucky. Glendale was the first small country town my husband and I explored when we moved back to the state, and because of that, it will always hold a special place in my heart. It is the most charming little southern town, full of cute antique stores, beautiful homes, and a sweet little restaurant called The Whistle Stop. We ate here once, many years ago, but management recently changed hands. It was definitely on my list of places to order the Kentucky Hot Brown!
For all you train fans out there, (like me!) yes, a railroad track runs along side the restaurant. Many trains run through town during the day, and if you happen to be dining at the time, you will definitely hear it and feel it! It really adds the perfect touch to the dining experience, in my opinion.
Thankfully, the charming interior hadn't changed at all! There's just something about that vintage wallpaper that is so reassuring and safe to me. I am a child of the 1980's and I remember wallpapers and drawer liners with the tiny calico prints. As dated as I know they are, I am still drawn to them out of nostalgia.
And here we have my new love, the Kentucky Hot Brown. I assume I had probably heard about this dish many moons ago, but my husband and I left the state in 2006 when he got stationed in Alaska. (That's an entirely different and wonderful story!) Being away from the state for so long, I was busy learning about all the new places we were exposed to! When we returned to Kentucky to settle down over a decade later, I was introduced to this marvelous dish!
Now, every restaurant tends to put their own twist on the hot brown, but the following is what you are looking at: A large piece of toast, turkey breast and/or ham, followed by a Mornay sauce, and topped with a slice of tomato and two pieces of bacon. It sounds so simple, right? Yes. But oh my, so incredibly delicious! It has been my mission over the past year to try the Kentucky Hot Brown at various establishments whenever I get the chance. I definitely have a favorite, which I will get to at a later date, but I have to say, I have never had a hot brown that wasn't amazing!
Upstairs they have the cutest little gift shop, and lots of "Whistle Stop" themed souvenirs.
Thanks so much for reading!
Hi Bunny, first let me thank you for stopping by my Cottage. We always love company. I share your love of small towns. When we used to travel we would always look for a historical town marker along the freeway and turn off. Those were always the highlights of our trips. We actually live in a small town which was much smaller when we first moved here over 30 years ago. It has grown some but still smaller than where we started out, the Bay Area in California. I have never heard of a hot brown but it does sound delicious. The Whistle Stop Cafe was the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes?? I think that is right but I always thought that was the cutest name. We used to have a Railroad Cafe here in town and had a small gauge railway system running along the ceiling. It was always a lot of fun and a big draw for the old timers but, sadly, is no more. It was nice chatting, and I will follow you so hope to talk again soon. Merry Christmas..xxoJudy
ReplyDeleteJudy, hello! Thank you for such a lovely comment, and also being my first commenter ever! You are too sweet! Yes, The Whistle Stop Cafe was in Fried Green Tomatoes - I believe the original location is still open, in Georgia. Last I checked, it was, however since Covid you never can be too sure with a small business. The Railroad Cafe you mentioned sounds so neat with the suspended train, and I can't imagine how much work went into setting that up! As for the hot brown, I definitely think you should try to make it at home. I tried a few months ago, and while it wasn't restaurant quality, I would definitely make it again in a pinch. My mornay sauce needs work, for sure. My husband and I will be having date night this week and trying a new to us restaurant, and of course I'll be ordering their version of the hot brown. I'm really looking forward to it! Thanks again for your sweet comment, I really appreciate you taking the time to reach out! -Bunny
DeleteHello Bunny and thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Visitors are also welcomed and appreciated. I see that I missed our being the first to comment as Judy beat me to it! Welcome to the blog community, which is one I have enjoyed for over 10 years. It's my only form of online social activity (no FaceBook or Instagram, etc). Like you, we also enjoy exploring small towns and the dining places and the ones you described in this post would be on our list as well. We have never been to KY, but maybe on a future road trip.I hope you won't mind a suggestion to perhaps make your photos a bit larger. Please do feel to re-visit anytime and I will do the same.
ReplyDeleteHello Beatrice P. Boyd 😁 Thank you for stopping, commenting and the warm welcome. I love that we share the same interests! Where are you located? And thank you so much for suggestion for my photos. I bumped them all up to XL. It does look better! Thanks again, and I hope you’ll stick around! ❤️
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