Georgia's Kitchen & Cafe

Posted: June 1st, 2012




No matter your age, location, occupation or cultural upbringing, everybody has a grandmother. And nine times out of ten, granny could cook her apron-donning tail off. Everyone has their own version of comfort food – food that gives you the warm and fuzzies with flavors that take you to a safe and familiar place. At Georgia’s Kitchen, this is always the goal – albeit it with an international flair and enough culinary twists to keep you intrigued.


While Georgia’s Kitchen has only been open since February 2012, the restaurant essentially inherited an instant following thanks to its location. The old farmhouse at 900 N. Broadway is the former home of Flashfork Family Garden Café, a long-standing Lexington lunchtime landmark.


Georgia’s Kitchen’s offers its own comforts both inside and out. The interior has an antiquated look. Everything from the dishes and decorations on the walls to the floral tablecloths makes you feel like you just stepped into your grandmother’s comfy abode. The floral elements definitely extend outdoors to the restaurant’s beautiful and expansive garden, which offers peaceful seclusion from the busy Broadway traffic. The garden not only offers pleasures for the eye and space for large gatherings, it produces the fresh-grown herbs used in the dishes and edible flowers that garnish almost every plate.


The lunch crowd has always been a constant at Georgia’s Kitchen, but the restaurant is now trying its hand at using its comfort food aesthetic to appeal to the more romantic dinner crowd. The result is a menu that takes on elements of many regional cuisines and making sure some of the lunch items make the transition to your evening meal.


You can get the escargot appetizer, with its rich herb butter and a kick of chili pepper, any time of day. However, you’ll have to make a dinner date for the salmon ceviche studded with the fresh pico de gallo and served with sizeable buttery toast points.


Guests will also be treated to several varieties of fresh-baked bread (the cranberry nut bread is pretty phenomenal), which Chef Tim Gallaway said is prepared in-house – along with everything else. Gallaway said the menu has plenty of worldly influence and minor alterations while including recipes passed down from his and other grandmothers.


Take a specialty salad like the quinoa salad, a take on tabouli salad that swaps out the gluten-free grain for the traditional bulger for the diet-conscious diner. Several entrees offer unique flavor pairings. Georgia’s Kitchen’s flavorful hanger steak gets an Argentinean touch with chimichurri while capturing the South American country’s European influence with a side of navy beans and apple wood smoked bacon lardon. The sesame seared ahi tuna practically has an entire Far East region in its delightful presentation and flavors, whether it’s the tuna’s black sesame seed crust, wasabi mashed potatoes, sweet gingered snap peas with crunchy walnuts, crispy rice noodles or the deep-fried plantains (the dish’s blood orange emulsion provides a welcome wildcard element).


While Georgia’s Kitchen’s entrees certainly have plenty of flavors to choose from, you probably won’t find a dish that brings you closer to home than one of the restaurant’s featured casseroles. The Georgia’s casserole is the restaurant’s take on a chicken and mushroom Alfredo with plenty of flavorful herbs and topped with creamy melted gruyere cheese. As cliché as it might sound, it tasted like something my mom would have made and two bites in, I was ready to practically curl up with this delightful dish.


Finish the night with a dessert and you’re also in for a treat no matter what your preference. The chocolate soufflé has the fluffy consistency you’re looking for while incorporating salted chocolate and a sprinkle of mango sea salt on top. Regional favorites like bread pudding may be less dense then what you’re used to but is topped with a richly decadent bourbon caramel sauce and fresh berries. Plus, if you head to the restaurant this summer, you’ll be treated to a lighter, warm weather dessert with the isles of paradise. Chef Gallaway’s new offering featured a variety of diced tropical fruits (kiwi, strawberries, mango, pineapple, coconut), mint and basil and binds it all together with agave nectar and a side of passion fruit puree and almond macaroons.


Georgia’s Kitchen’s decision to branch out into dinner service couldn’t come at a better time. After all, it seems like a crime to keep this level of aesthetic and culinary comfort confined to just lunch.


859.252.6837 | 900 North Broadway | georgiaskitchencafe.com

 


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