LSU vs. Kentucky Football (& Keeneland) Hype Thread

Getting to town:

Driving to Kentucky from anywhere in Louisiana is a hell of a trek; I quit doing it years ago, but to each their own.

The 3 closest airports to Lexington:

Blue Grass Airport – Lexington, KY (across the highway from Keeneland)

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport – Louisville, KY

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – Hebron, KY

Typically you’ll find cheaper flights to Louisville and Cincinnati, and they’re both approximately an hour and a half drive to Lexington. If there’s no cost difference between the 2, choose Louisville so that you get to see the horse farms on your drive into town. Along Hwy 60 through Versailles, you will see why Kentucky is the Horse Capital of the World. The scenery driving down I-75 from Cincy to Lex is no different than driving up I-49 from Opelousas to Natchitoches.

Advice for those planning on touring the bourbon trail: rent a car for the day/weekend, or book a transportation service. Ride shares will take you out there, but they won’t pick you up or take you back. I’d hate to read about Tiger fans stranded.

Update: Joe Burrow and the Bengals will be playing in Cincinnati the Sunday after the LSU/UK game. Wanted y’all to have all the information when you’re making decisions.

Places to Eat and Drink:

There are good places to eat in Lexington, but it’s not the bucket list culinary destination like several places in Louisiana. Being from BR, I will give my opinion of which local restaurants best resemble that of Baton Rouge, but please take with a grain of salt. I recommend getting on Instagram, and looking at the food on their respective accounts. There are many more good restaurants and bars than what I mention here; these are just the places we frequent. The majority of these places also serve brunch.

Note: Given that it is opening weekend of Keeneland’s fall meet, and a Kentucky home SEC football game, the restaurants with an asterisk* will 100% require reservations. I urge you to go ahead and make reservations now to plan accordingly.

- *Malone’s (+ Drake’s/Harry’s/Aqua)
$$ - $$$$
With 3 locations in Lexington, Malone’s is easily the busiest restaurant in town. Malone’s has a very different concept than any place that Baton Rouge offers, so pay attention: it has 3 different menus available at each location:
•The 3 Menu’s:
o Malone’s: prime steak & fine dining
o Drake’s (Lansdowne & Hamburg locations) and Harry’s (Palomar location): upscale bar food
o Aqua: sushi menu.
Malone’s will be the most accommodating for everyone, no matter their budget.

~ (Most comparable to Flemings, Walk-On’s and Tsunami if the 3 of them merged into 1 restaurant)

- *Holly Hill Inn ~ Midway, KY
$$$
Owned by Chef Ouita Michel, HHI is about a 25 minute drive from downtown Lexington. I would be remiss to not include at least one of her restaurants on this list, so I picked the best one IMO. Pulled from her website, Michel and her restaurants are regularly featured in local and national media, such as The New York Times, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Food Network and Cooking Channel. She was a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef Kentucky series.

~ (The experience is most comparable to Roberto’s on River Rd in Sunshine, LA)

- *OBC Kitchen
$$$
Owned by BHG, the company that owns Malone’s. If you’re looking for good food, but also wanting to try a variety of rare, impossible-to-find bourbons, look no further than OBC Kitchen.

~ (Not comparable to a BR restaurant)

- *Jeff Ruby’s (downtown)
$$$$

~ (Most comparable to Ruth’s Chris)

- *Tony’s of Lexington (downtown)
$$$-$$$$

~ (Most comparable to Sullivan’s)

- *Merrick Inn
$$$-$$$$

~ (Most comparable to Juban’s)

- *Guiseppe’s Ristorante Italiano
$$$-$$$$

~ (Most comparable to Ruffino’s/Gino’s)

- *Carson’s Food and Drink (downtown)
$$$-$$$$

~ (Most comparable to Mansurs on the Blvd)

- *Postmaster’s Pub (downtown)
$$

~ (One of my favorite restaurants; Gastropub with ritzy bar food)

- Oscar Diggs (downtown)
$$

~ (Gourmet hamburgers and good drink deals)

- HopCat (downtown)
$$

~ (Most comparable to Mason’s Grill with craft beers)

- Bear & the Butcher (Chevy Chase area close to downtown)
$$

~ (Not comparable to anything I’m familiar with in BR, just know that it’s very good, upscale bar food, and a good place to drink)

- Winchell’s Restaurant & Bar
$$
o Lexington staple ~ order the Hot Brown

~ (Most comparable to Sammy’s)

- The Cellar Bar & Grille
$$

~ (Most comparable to Brewbacher’s with a bigger bar)

- Dad’s Favorites Deli (lunch only, 11 – 3, M-F)
$

~ (Gourmet sandwiches that are out of this world)

- Doodles Breakfast & Lunch (downtown)
$

~ (not comparable to a place in BR, but my gosh their biscuits and gravy and so good)

- Josie’s (Chevy Chase area close to downtown; serves breakfast and lunch only 8am-2pm open every day )
$$

~ (Most comparable to Another Broken Egg; I recommend their BLT on English muffins because they’ll give you 2 ;)

Late Night Eats:

$
- Goodfellas (downtown) El Presidente of Barstool Sports gave their cheese pizza a 7.7/10.
- Tolly Ho (close to downtown)
- Raising Cane’s (close to downtown)
- Jimmy John’s (downtown)
- Cookout (close to downtown)
- Waffle House (close to downtown)


Bars downtown:

*asterisk* denotes recommended places to watch the football game if you’re not going to the stadium

- McCarthy’s Irish Pub
- Rosebud Bar
- Centro at 5/3 Pavilion
- Stagger Inn
- Belles Cocktail House
- *Wild Cat Saloon*
- *Lex Live* (offers food, movie theater, bowling alley, 2 bars and a plethora of televisions)
- Infinity
- Sky Bar
- Ethereal Brewing Public House
- Bourbon on Rye
- Henry Clay’s Public House

Bars near campus:

- *KSBar & Grille* (owned by KSR’s Matt Jones, so pregame will be live here)
- *Tin Roof* (will be UK Student heavy; get there early)
- The Paddock
- The Other Bar
- *Marikkas German Bier Stube*
o Not far from campus
o Massive open concept
o 6 sand volleyball courts; 3 of which are INDOOR
o Largest beer selection in Kentucky
o Bar food & games
o Too many televisions to count
- CHEVY CHASE INN
o CCI is the oldest bar in town, and a Lexington staple, reminds me of Ivar’s
o Not far from campus

Keeneland & Game Day:

It’s no secret that Tiger fans are known for their expertise in tailgating. There is no college campus in the world that throws a party like LSU on game day in the fall. The aromas of gumbo, jambalaya & a Cochon De Lait wafting in the air, the dulcet tones of zydeco music, endless cocktail and beer drinking, The Golden Band from Tigerland marching down the hill, the list goes on, and nothing can match the uniqueness of that experience. However, for this weekend in particular, Lexington will have an enhanced version of its own unique culture. My advice is to leave your cast iron pots at home, come and immerse yourself in the majestic traditions of the Bluegrass.

Keeneland:

The opening of Keeneland’s fall meet will begin on Friday, October 8, 2021, and will run every day (except Mondays & Tuesdays) through Saturday, October 30, 2021. Opened in 1936, this grand event has not had a crowd at full capacity since October 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic. I am extremely optimistic as I type this post that we will be back to 100% for the fall. If my expectation comes to fruition, Keeneland will be the center for the biggest party of the weekend. With a much anticipated return to normalcy, it’s a sure bet that this place will be ABSOLUTELY ROCKIN’!

I have posted a link to their website, but I want to put out a few bullet points about Keeneland.

• This IS the tailgate on Saturday. It seems an agreement with Lextran couldn’t be reached to shuttle between racecourse and stadium, but Uber and Lyft will be available.
o The track at Keeneland is just a section enclosed within a 1,000+ acre farm. The surrounding land is used for tailgating
o If you’re traveling by R.V., there is a lot for parking. Call Keeneland for details.

• $5 general admission ticket at the gate; availability for reserved seating tickets will be announced later.

• DRESS CODE – Will they kick you out if you’re not in a full suit or sundress? No. However, if you want an authentic day at the Kentucky horse races, this is your opportunity to go all out for the derby experience. Ladies, this is your time to wear that big, fancy hat you’ve always seen on the first Saturday in May on NBC. Reading my take on this Bluegrass tradition does not remotely come close to doing it justice.

• Concessions inside the Keeneland track
o A Bloody Mary that will rival any
o Try the Keeneland Burgoo. I call it the “Gumbo of Kentucky”, and it slaps!
o Sneaky delicious bread pudding
o With so many bars/beer stands, I challenge y’all to drink all of the booze here

• If racing doesn’t tickle your fancy and you just want to party, the rowdiest tailgating that day will occur on The Hill.
o betting stations, food trucks, live music and so much more

Tailgating at the stadium: the only tailgating at the stadium is in the parking lot surrounding the stadium. Park your car in a parking spot, and literally “tailgate” in the parking lot. It’s a 7:30 game, so good luck keeping yourself entertained. Also, you’ll need a parking pass and I hear they’re like $300 lol.


That’s all I’ve got! Needless to say, this Tiger Fan living in the Bluegrass is eager to see Big Blue Nation turn Purple & Gold!!

Section 11 row 5 checking in

Flying into Louisville.. staying in frankfort.. Def going to keeneland the Friday before.

THANK YOU!!!!

Awesome info. I owe you a bourbon this fall.

Chicken should sticky this thread for the next 5 months just because of all that GD effort put into this

quote:

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lsudat10

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Thank you very much for all this info. I am putting together a trip for a group and this info is very helpful. You sir are a gentleman!!

Well Done! Great info and sales pitch. I was unaware of the timing with Keeneland. Now I'm intrigued.

Man, I was thinking about going. Now, I feel like I have to. Appreciate the hard work you put into this thread!

quote:

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married my college sweetheart

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very lengthy subtle brag thread baw