Saul Good

After this review, I'm officially done with the Lexington chapter of this blog for the foreseeable future, and I'm so thankful I finished it off before I got the official rejection from my dream job there that I know is coming but didn't officially come yet (will it at all? academia!). Whew, what a weird and sad weight on me. :D:

Anyway, this, like many of the other KY restos, was (surprisingly?) solid! Apparently it is a mini-chain and the other two have cool zebra print on the outside, but this seemed just like a normal resto. It was my last night and my eating companions got one, so I even had a beer - a nice local IPA/sour! (Is this why I didn't get the job?? ha ha! ack!). But I digress. I ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta and it was huge and delicious, just like it sounds. A fun sidenote: I informed the waiter I have a nut allergy, as you do, and all seemed fine. But midway through eating, a different man (the manager?) came to the table and was like "Is there a nut allergy here?" and I thought I was 100% about to die, but he just read about the FDA approving the peanut pill and wanted to tell me. I think you can guess my thoughts on the peanut pill, but lol at this man who was trying to be nice and friendly but nearly killed me via heart attack!! And the restaurant did have peanuts on the menu in some places, so I was anxious already. But I indeed didn't die. Whew. Amen. Catch you tomorrow for a nice, unemotional skittles review. :)

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Joe Bologna's

This is a semi-famous place within Lexington, it seems. The building is an old church/synagogue (it was once both), which is pretty quirky and cool, and you can see the stained glass windows still. The menu is all the typical italian fare (pasta, pizza, sandwiches), and supposedly the breadsticks are awesome but I didn't get one myself. They had a lunch special where you can get a personal pizza, so I did that with mushrooms and green pepper, and it was great and just the right size. Very cool and chill, plus table service so it's relaxing too.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 8/10

First Watch

I really loved this place, so I'm giddy to find out it's a chain! (And there's one in Hershey and also on the way to Havvo)! They serve only breakfast/lunch/brunch, which is ripe for nut allergy issues, but they have a great allergy menu online and even better, the waitress was proactive about serving me seedy bread or using the toaster, so she gave me untoasted plain white bread which is actually the perfect solution, and I ate it all up. I got the Tri-Athlete, which was an egg white omelette with mushrooms and it was great and came with the aforementioned toast as well as a nice fruit cup. I also got a coffee. It was really delightful. I don't know if all servers would be as great, but if they were I would be so happy to come back here and try more foodz.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Cole's on Main

These reviews are depressing me! Ack! Anyway, this was a fancy place, and therefore it had many nuts and many fishes. But the great thing was, I was seated on a booth with little pillows of cats and cute things. Classy yet comfy. It was also nice and dark inside, which I always like. So there weren't a lot of nut-free options on the menu, but the server was legit great about allergies to the point where when she brought the breads (2 types), she told me that only one type was definitely safe and the other one was a "may contain" (so I didn't eat that one obvi). I really appreciate when servers go that step above. For food I got beef/steak of some sort, it was very good but a huge cut so I couldn't finish it (mostly due to social norms but it was also legit big). It also came with horseradishy potato(?) balls that were fried and soft inside and really great. But I can't find this entree on the menu and I'm fuzzy on the details. Anyway, this place impressed me beyond how I thought it'd be, for sure. Seems like a great date spot or interview spot. I'm sweaty.

Overall
Cost: 3/10 (def expensive)
Taste: 7/10

doodles

Next up in our Lexi-tour is Doodles, for breakfast. This is a cute place with a cute name, but unfortunately even though they have gluten free stuff it wasn't that re-assuring allergy-wise. It's counter-ordering, so you can't ask too many personal questions about the food. I asked if they used peanut oil and they seemed to think the answer was "no", but that was it. Lol. Anyway, I got an omelette (that came with either a biscuit or grits and I was scared to eat either one so I got the nice big biscuit and then didn't eat it) and the omelette was totally normal and fine and filling. The coffee was self-pump in a mug mug, and it was fine. The seating was cute and casual. Seems trendy but consequently not really my thing!

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 6/10

Bella Notte

And thus marks the beginning of my Lexington, Kentucky dining adventure! (Most likely the only time I'll ever be there, which is devastating, but overall the food was pretty solid!)

This was a nice Italian restaurant, located in kind of strip mall area but the restaurant itself was classy and big. I got Chicken Saltimboca, which was good as usual, and came with very nice risotto. I enjoyed it a lot and had no allergy issues. I didn't eat the bread, though, since I was not informed if it was safe, and I didn't get any alc or coffee because I was anxious for other reasons, but the food was tasty and filling and the place was pretty. And it snowed! Truly a bella notte.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10