Flavors of Kentucky

Old Friends ­Thoroughbred Retirement Farm has partnered with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and Nick Ryan’s Saloon to present Hall of Fame Day on Monday.

The event will honor Hall of Fame legend Skip Away, who recently was laid to rest at Old Friends, and Hall of Fame greats Noor and Precisionist, also buried at the farm.

The event starts at 3 p.m. at Old Friends, 1841 Paynes Depot Road, Georgetown, and will be followed by a benefit hosted by Nick Ryan’s at 6. The menu includes barbecue ribs and pulled pork. Roger Bondurant will entertain.

Festivities also include a barbecue sauce bake-off. A classic recipe from Nick Ryan’s chef will face off against a zesty Cajun-style sauce by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux and a tangy blend created by staffers at Old Friends. Guests will have the chance to vote on their favorites. Tickets are $50. Call Old Friends at (502) 863-1775.

Special events

■ The Bigg Blue Martini at the Hilton Lexington/Downtown Hotel, 369 West Vine Street, will host a tailgate party ­Friday in celebration of Big Blue ­Madness. The first open practice of the 2011-12 season for the University of Kentucky’s men’s and women’s ­basketball teams will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Rupp Arena. Bigg Blue’s tailgate party will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and after the practice. Festivities will include live music by Plan B. Go to Thebiggbluemartini.com.

■ Once a month, the Greek Orthodox Church at 920 Tates Creek Road serves authentic Greek dinners. The October dinner, prepared by chef Jim Scalos, will be 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Go to Greekdinner.com.

■ The Oleika Shrine Temple Legion of Honor will have its annual all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $6 for adults; $3 for children; half-price for ­active-duty military members, ­firefighters and police officers; and free for ages 6 and younger. The temple is at 326 Southland Drive.

■ The Crossroad on Southland, 286 Southland Drive, will celebrate its first anniversary Friday. The menu includes Italian beef with house-made giardiniara; smoked Texas links; smoked beef brisket; and pirlau, a South Carolina fish and rice stew. Call (859) 309-3904 or go to Thecrossroadonsouthland.com.

■ Cameron Irvin, executive chef at CastlePost, will be the guest chef Thursday at Dinner at Wingspan art gallery. The four-course prix fixe dinner is $40 and includes a choice of seared diver ­scallops with vegetable confetti or braised veal bourguignon. Wingspan Gallery, 191 Jefferson Street, serves dinner once a month. The reservations deadline is noon Tuesday. Call (859) 225-5765.

New menus, items and hours

■ Jeremy Simpson, the new chef at Bellini’s, 115 West Main Street, has created a new menu for fall. It includes organic chicken or veal marsala, roast pork stuffed with rabbit and chorizo, pan-roasted halibut with parsnip purée, and rabbit leg with ricotta ­gnocchi. Simpson, a graduate of Sullivan ­University in Louisville, has worked at Jack Fry’s, Basa and Avalon in ­Louisville. Call (859) 388-9583.

■ Ramsey’s Diner is celebrating its second annual fall harvest festival. In addition to 22 side items, the menu includes sweet pickled beets, Parmesan deep-fried corn on the cob, organic baked acorn squash and sweet ­potatoes, and sweet potato casserole. The ­produce is from Abell Organics in Scott County. Ramsey’s has four locations. Go to Ramseysdiners.com.

■ The Dish, 438 South Ashland Avenue, has a new fall menu that includes pan-seared sea scallops on a bed of blanched julienne celery root, lemon-honey brined and roasted airline chicken breast, and pork cheeks slow-cooked in apple juice. The patio, which has a fireplace and heaters, will remain open for a few more weeks. Call (859) 317-8438 or go to Thedishlexington.com.

■ Della’s has added a dish to its breakfast and brunch menu. The Nola Bell, named for owner Tom Morris’ grandmother, features two biscuits topped with sausage, fried green tomatoes, eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Della’s, 124 North Upper Street, now carries locally produced Marlow ­Granola. Call (859) 281-1141.

■ Stinky & Coco’s, 1 North Main Street, Winchester, will be open for ­dinner starting next week. Dinner will be served until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Call (859) 744-8100 or go to ­Stinkyandcocos.com. The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

■ Alice and Greg Keller have taken two Kentucky favorites and jazzed them up to make them specialties at JK’s Café, 50 South Main Street, Winchester. “We don’t use the traditional Mornay sauce on the hot Brown, but we do use country ham,” Greg Keller said. “We’ve gotten great reviews on our burgoo, which is close to Keeneland’s.” Call (859) 744-4255.

■ Detroit Famous Coney Island, known for its giant fish sandwich, now is making the sandwich with whitefish from the northeastern United States. “It’s a better quality of fish,” owner Charles Martha said. Locations are 825 Lane Allen Road, (859) 278-3982, and 1301 Winchester Road, (859) 280-9138. Go to Detroitconeyisland.com.

Specials

■ Thai Orchid Café, 1030 South ­Broadway, is offering a lineup of fall dishes for the weekend, including butter­nut squash and coconut soup, pumpkin curry, and caramel apple roti. Call (859) 288-2170 or go to Thaiorchidcafe.net.

■ Sarah’s Corner Cafe BBQ, 4300 Winchester Road, offers a plate lunch special for $5.95. Call (859) 309-1220.

■ Rossi’s Restaurant is featuring fresh oysters prepared a variety of ways through October. Also, the restaurant, at 1060 Chinoe Road, has a new wine and martini list. Call (859) 335-8788 or go to Rossis-restaurant.com.

■ Weekend specials at The Julep Cup, 111 Woodland Avenue, include ­Berkshire pork loin with pumpkin ­gnocchi, sweetbreads with charcuterie sauce, and andouille-dirty rice-stuffed quail. Call (859) 226-0300.

Accolades

■ Four awards were presented to marketplace exhibitors at the Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show on Saturday. Judges chose the best sweet, savory and booth display, and show attendees voted for their favorite product.
Best sweet: Applecreek Orchards; honorable mention: Lexington ­Chocolate Co.
Best savory: Kentucky Specialty Sauces; honorable mention: Good ­Shepherd Cheese.
Best booth display: Hillbilly ­Specialties; honorable mention: ­Howard’s Creek Authentic Beer Cheese.
People’s Choice Award: Dad’s ­Favorites.
Gail Greer of Lexington won the God’s Pantry March Madness Dream Dinner, to be prepared by Jonathan Lundy, chef/owner of Jonathan at Gratz Park. Visit Incrediblefoodshow.com.

Farmers market report

■ Bluegrass Farmers Market will have tomatoes, heirloom beans, pumpkins, squash, eggplant, garlic, baked goods and mums. The market is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 3450 Richmond Road, in the parking lot of Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs. Go to Localharvest.org/blog/29529.

■ Woodford County Farmers Market will have customer appreciation day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Versailles’ Courthouse Square. Farmers will have tomatoes, greens, peppers, beans, pumpkins, squash, gourds, baked goodies, homemade breads, beer cheese, fresh eggs and honey. The market also is open 3 to 6 p.m. Monday on Main Street in Midway.

Dining out is often ­complicated for those who have food allergies, but some restaurants are ­making it easier for those with celiac disease.
Several Central Kentucky ­restaurants are educating consumers about their gluten-free menus at Gluten Free ­Lexington’s annual Vendors on Parade event at 6 p.m. Monday at Imani ­Baptist Church Family Life Center, 1555 Georgetown Road.
Participants include Outback ­Steakhouse, Good Foods Market and Café, Bella Notte, P.F. Chang’s, ­Bourbon n’ Toulouse, Malone’s, Bonefish Grill, Jonathan at Gratz Park, Fat Katz ­Pizzeria, The Melting Pot, Puccini’s, Carino’s Italian Restaurant, Carrabba’s, Great Harvest Bread and Whole Foods.
Tickets are $20 for non-members, $12 for children 12 and younger. Call Jan Falwell at (502) 542-9059 or go to Glutenfreelex.org.
Special events
■ Heirloom Restaurant, 125 East Main Street in Midway, is sponsoring a charity event a month. On Sept. 22, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of its revenue to the Center for Courageous Kids. The camp is designed for children living with medical conditions. The campus in Scottsville includes a medical center, equestrian center, bowling alley, indoor swimming complex, gymnasium and climbing wall. Call (859) 846-5565 or go to Heirloommidway.com.
■ Friends of the late Hal “Woody” Steele are organizing a fund-raiser for his daughter, Sydney, at Village Host Pizza, 431 Old Vine Street. Woody Steele was a teller at Keeneland for more than 25 years. Sydney, a music student at Oklahoma City University, will sing at the event, which begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Call (859) 455-3355 or go to Villagehostlex.com.
■ The ninth annual Edward T. ­Houlihan Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day party will be Tuesday at O’Neills Irish Pub, 2051 Richmond Road. Hours are 5:30 to 8 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by pianist Mayme Hamby, McTeggart Irish Dancers and Liam’s Fancy Irish Music. The menu, prepared by guest chef Mary Parlanti, includes lamb stew and brown bread. Proceeds benefit the Lexington Sister Cities’ student scholarship fund. Admission is $10 at the door. Call (859) 266-4488 or go to Oneillslex.com.
■ The CastlePost, 230 Pisgah Pike, in Versailles, will have a wine dinner on Sept. 16 featuring Bott Geyl, Cremant d’Alsace. A sparkling wine reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Chefs who will prepare the meal are Cameron Irvin and Giya Day of CastlePost, Joseph Pugh of Nick Ryan’s Saloon, and Danielle Venditti of Underground Catering. The cost is $110. Call (859) 879-1000 or visit Thecastlepost.com.
Weekend specials
■ Onizim’s, 735 East Main Street, will honor all military, firefighters and police officers this weekend, the 10th anniversary of 9/11. With their ID, they will receive a 50 percent discount on entrees. University of Kentucky football fans may show their tickets this weekend for a 25 percent discount on entrees. The specials are for dine-in only. Call (859) 266-9000 or go to Onizims.com.
■ Orchid Flower, 3090 Old Todds Road, is offering a vegan/­vegetarian special this weekend. The bento box ­includes bala bala, fried mixed ­vegetables; gado gado, freshly steamed vegetables and lightly fried tofu with house special peanut dressing; grilled portobello mushroom and lettuce ­sandwich with vegan spicy mayonnaise, and agar agar, a dessert made with brown palm sugar and coconut milk. Call (859) 543-1126 or go to
Orchidflowerrestaurant.com.
Farmers market report
■ For the second year in a row, ­Bluegrass Farmers Market has been voted the No. 1 farmers market in Kentucky by American Farmland Trust. This week, the farmers have tomatoes, potatoes, beans and raspberries. Hours and locations for the 100 percent grower/producer-only market are: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 3450 ­Richmond Road, in the parking lot of Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6:30 p.m. ­Thursday at Mill Pond Shopping Center. Go to ­Bluegrassfarmersmarket.org.
■ East End Community Farmer’s Market, 560 East Third Street in the Pavilion at Midland Avenue, will have corn, green beans, melons, tomatoes, butternut squash and peppers. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
■ Lexington Farmers Market is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Cheapside Park in the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday on Southland Drive near Sav-a-Lot, and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at South Broadway and Maxwell Street.
■ Woodford County Farmers ­Market hours and locations are: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at Courthouse Square, ­Versailles, 3 to 6 p.m. Mondays in downtown Midway and 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Versailles Presbyterian Church.