Rick's White Light Diner

If you're ever in Frankfort, Kentucky, make sure you visit Rick's White Light Diner on Bridge Street for lunch or an early supper. We arrived at 4:55pm, and Chef Rick Paul closes his doors at 5:00pm, but he said "Yep... just come on in...." and so we did.

Rick's White Light Diner was featured on the TV show Diners Drive Ins and Dives and for some strange reason OlderSon is determined to eat in all the places noted on the show. I think his score is 4 now. Or is it 5? Only another 40 or 50 to go!

Owner and chef Rick Paul is a character with a crazy personality... a curmudgeon who loves to chat to his customers, especially if you are inclined to talk politics. Here he is taking our order. Feet up on the counter, might as well be comfy while at work, right?

The food? Well, let's say it was nothing less than great! OlderSon ate his way through samples of Rick's crawfish pie, oyster po'boys, pulled pork, black beans, sweet corn... and something with shrimp in it. The Equestrienne had a home made black bean and garlic veggie burger which she proclaimed delicious and I made short work of my spicy Cajun burger... oh yeah! All washed down with Kentucky's famous Ale-8-One.

And dessert? Well...... click on the pic and your mouth will be watering!

Let's just say that given the chance, we'll be back!

Stud Finder!

Three Chimneys Farm at Versailles, just outside Lexington, Kentucky, has been breeding champion racehorses since 1984, although the farm has existed for almost 40 years.
The first Stallion to stand here was Champion Slew O'Gold, then followed by his famous sire, Seattle Slew, the only undefeated Triple Crown winner in the history of racing.

The barns are a luxury hotel for horses. Each stallion has his own groom, and is treated with personal hands-on attention all the time. The horses are exercised each morning and spend time outside in the fields, then are brought in to be washed, groomed and fed and generally pampered.... what a life!

 

This is Point Given. He was the first horse to win four $1 million races in a row, and is in the Racehorse Hall of Fame.

And this is Dynaformer. Dynaformer has sired more than 120 stakes winners, including the ill fated Barbaro. Do you remember Barbaro? Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby but shattered his leg 2 weeks later while running the Preakness. His owners went to great lengths to heal his life-threatening injury, but eventually decided that complications were too much and Barbaro was euthanized.

His trainer said that Dynaformer was the most difficult horse he ever trained, and when we visited his barn, we were told to stand well away from him as he can be very unpredictable and definitely has a mean streak. His current stud fee is $150,000.00 per live foal.
Update: the great horse Dynaformer passed away April 29, 2012 at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky following suffering a cardiac event 10 days earlier.

Photo Finish

All good things come to an end and my vacation is over. I'm at home sorting the pictures and doing the laundry. Our first stop was Kentucky...... and Kentucky is definitely Horse Country. The Equestrienne was so happy!

Wandering through the downtown Thoroughbred Park at Main and Midland Streets in Lexington, we found ourselves in the middle of a horse race.

Seven life-sized bronze statues of jockeys astride racing horses rush towards an imaginary finish line.

 

 These detailed bronzes are by Gwen Reardon. Gwen Reardon is the daughter of a prominent horse trainer, and became an accomplished equestrienne at an early age. Her beautiful bronzes are the product of a lifetime working with horses.

On a grassy slope behind the fountain, bronze broodmares are watching over their playful foals.  I loved all these horses, so lifelike and the details are astonishing.

 This little foal is named PROMISE, the promise of the next generation of thoroughbred racehorses.

If you'd like a bronze foal for your garden, there were ten of these limited edition foals made, and one remains for sale, a bargain at only $20,000.  Get your wallet out.... you know you want it!
In my next post, we visit a Kentucky Thouroughbred farm, and meet some of the famous stallions that are at stud there.