When the first fresh vegetables of spring aren’t ready for harvest and those cozy winter soups you once savored just aren’t cutting it anymore, it might be time to bring those tastebuds out of hibernation by trying some of the newest restaurants (and food truck) in the area, or eagerly anticipating the ones that will open later this year.
Rackhouse Tavern at the Campbell House
Following renovations that began in August 2018, The Rackhouse Tavern and the adjacent Outpost Café & Market opened in late February at the historic Campbell House hotel at 1375 South Broadway.
The hotel is under new management with Kentucky-based Musselman hotels, and the new eateries replace the Kilburn’s and Bogarts concepts that were formerly onsite, sales and marketing director Barbara Jean Beighle said.
The Rackhouse Tavern has bourbon barrel photos on the walls, iron chandeliers overhead, a fireplace and a garage door for more open-air dining when weather permits. An outdoor patio with fireplace will seat about 40, and about 80 guests can dine inside.
“As far as the menu, it’s locally inspired cuisine, so you’ll see beer cheese,” Beighle said. “We’re actually a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, so we’re going to see over 300 bourbons.”
Meanwhile, Outpost Café & Market will feature Campbell House’s own blend of coffee and specialty drinks, with grab-and-go items like ice cream, crackers, meat/cheese entrees, chips and other snacks.
“If you’re looking for good food, a good drink or a good cup of coffee, come see us,” Beighle said.
Bandidos Taqueria Mexicana is slated to open in April at 535 S. Upper St., CEO Gerardo Ochoa said.
The Louisville-based restaurant has two locations there, including one that caters to the college crowd near the University of Louisville. The new Lexington restaurant’s location near UK is no coincidence.
Bandidos will feature 10 house-made salsas daily and other made-from-scratch Tex-Mex dishes like carnitas and California-style burritos, tacos, quesadillas, loaded fries, nachos and breakfast burritos that are served all day. “Everything’s fresh," he said. "Nothing comes out of a can."
The restaurant will seat about 75 inside and 25 on the patio, and it will have a selection of beer, wine and margaritas, as well as Taco Tuesday specials. “This will probably be our biggest location yet,” Ochoa said.
Boca Raton-based Frank and Dino’s restaurant will open a Lexington location at the intersection of Short and Mill streets in September 2020, co-owner Carlo Vaccarezza said.
Vaccarezza is a Thoroughbred horse owner, breeder and trainer who has perhaps an equal passion for authentic Italian food. He said the Lexington restaurant, located in a circa 1895 building now under renovation, will seat about 200 when completed.
The menu will mimic the Boca Raton location’s, with meals prepared by Peter Masiello and Antonio Villalobos. A range of appetizers will include “involtini di melanzane” (lightly fried and ricotta filled eggplant rolls), salads like “insalata campagnola” with a white balsamic vinaigrette, soups, entrees including rigatoni Bolognese, and an extensive list of fish, chicken and meat dishes, as well as kids’ menu items.
There will be live music Tuesday through Saturday and happy hour specials.
“There’s nothing like it in Kentucky,” Vaccarezza said.
The Horse & Jockey Pub & Kitchen opened in late January at 131 Cheapside, Lexington, the former location of The Ruddy Duck at Cheapside. Menu items include ale battered fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash among others, as well as sides, appetizers, soups, salads and house-made desserts.
A former UK men’s basketball team chef, Chris Cain, is opening his own food truck, Daughters’ Southern, after gaining additional experience catering and hosting local pop-up events at breweries and The Night Market.
The food truck was built in Washington, D.C. and from it will emerge “southern food with a barbecue influence,” Cain said, with burgers, a mini hot brown crostini, buffalo cauliflower and a range of barbecue dishes with a twist, including a smoked bologna sandwich, smoked chicken wings and smoked pork loin. Prices typically range from $6 to $10, he said.
Cain, a second-generation chef who has experience working in corporate-owned restaurants, expected to launch his food truck in mid-February after final inspections, with upcoming dates and locations to be announced on his Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
“The goal eventually would be to one day have a restaurant — obviously that’s way down the line at this point,” he said.