Lexington, KY - It's grill season once again, and one of Lexington's most successful restauranteurs has decided if you're going to eat at home, he still wants to have a hand in it. With a variety of ready-to-heat meats, side items and desserts, Josie's Grab & Go specializes in eliminating as much of the busywork as possible from your dining-at-home experience. Proprietor Bobby Murray's concept centers on convenience - stop by Josie's on your way home from work, pick up your pre-cut meats and sides, fire up the grill when you get home, and dinner (and dishes) just became a lot easier.
Murray, along with executive chef Cannon Applegate and Josie's staff, have experimented with various preparations for their meat dishes to ensure that when you take home and re-heat them, the dishes will retain their moisture and taste just as good as when they were first cooked.
"We worked really hard on that," Murray said. "If you take it home and don't like it, it doesn't do us any good." Many items are individually packaged to include heating instructions.
Think of Josie's (located in Chevy Chase Plaza, near High Street and Euclid Avenue) as a scaled down, locally owned version of Fresh Market or Whole Foods, with Murray's added personal touches. Features include a salad bar, fresh seafood and steaks, marinated and stuffed chicken breasts, homecooked side options and freshly made soups. Josie's also carries numerous prepared salads - chicken salad, tuna salad, pasta salad, potato salad - as well as canned pickled vegetables. Finally, they stock a number of items that, while not homemade, are gourmet nonetheless, including sauces, cheeses, chips and breads.
Murray, whose family owns Merrick Inn and Murray's, grew up in the kitchen; Applegate, who graduated from culinary school in Cincinnati, has worked for Murray on and off since 1992.
The grab-and-go concept is one Murray has been pursuing for years.
"I've always wanted to do this," he said. "About 10 years ago, after my father died, I traveled around the country looking at these places, but the time wasn't right. As we got into this economy, I started thinking, you know what? This may be the right time."
Murray noted that "people like to be home," and said that the cost of his gourmet carryout meals is somewhere between fast food and dining out. "Plus you don't have to pay a waiter or for valet," he added. He is also trying to push the concept of cooking on a grill, "because you really have no clean-up after that." Grill-ready items include seafood, steaks and marinated chicken breasts.
Josie's food selection is a combination of Murray's tastes ("Instead of garbanzo beans and radishes on the salad bar, we put grilled vegetables and grilled pineapple - things I like to eat.") and Applegate's ("I like anything that's got lots of flavor and puts the weight on. I'm a comfort food guy.").
Josie's also offers a number of light dishes, which carry about 200 calories each and are prepared from "Cooking Light Magazine" recipes. "Cooking Light" items include orzo pasta salad with feta cheese, and shrimp pasta salad.
Named for Murray's 4-year-old-daughter, Josie's also offers an added advantage for busy parents, or anyone who wants to put a good meal on the table but doesn't have much time to prepare it. Customers can place an order on the Internet (from home or work) and pick it up at their convenience - without even having to get out of the car.
"I know how hard it is to run into the store with a bunch of kids," Murray said.