Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Eating in Lexington, TN

The restaurant at Natchez Trace State Park apparently shuts down during the winter, which we hadn't realized when we booked our trip back in October, so we had to drive out of the park once a day for real food. We ate twice in Lexington, TN, the county seat of Henderson County. It's the town everybody drives into for shopping, but honestly there's not a heckuva lot there. Of course there's a Wal-Mart and a McDonald's and all the other chains you expect to see at every wide spot in the road. It has a population of 7,000+ of which 84.5% are white (We saw our share of flagpoles with the Tennessee Confederate battle flag proudly displayed, and two flying the Israeli flag -what's that about?). There are 3 schools: an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. There's one library. The one museum is closed between mid-December and March 1 and otherwise is open 3 days a week.

The thing about Lexington that struck me most was that an episode of The X-Files happens there. Now that impresses me!

We ate one meal at The Lunch Box:


This place is precious:


Here's the tabletop where we sat:


The food wasn't cheap, but I enjoyed my club sandwich with Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade):


We ate in Lexington again the next day and this time I had fish at KC's Farmhouse Restaurant:


I had the fish filets, which came with wonderful hushpuppies, white beans, slaw (your choice of mayonnaise or vinegar. I chose vinegar, of course), and fries. I somehow managed to neglect a photo of the food -it was wonderful, and I guess I got carried away with eating it. The restaurant interior was a treat:


We tried to find a bookstore somewhere in Lexington and located online a place called Not Your Normal Bookstore. We followed the directions from GoogleMaps and found ourselves on a dead-end one-lane residential road with no bookstore. There was a house with a red DANGER sign on the front door, but we saw no sign of any businesses at all. That was not a normal bookstore, all right. We decided to pass on the 2 Bible bookstores and headed back to the park.

Please join the weekly T party over at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's. You'll receive a warm welcome.

18 comments:

  1. Despite the park being closed it looks like a nice trip as you had good food and new sites to explore. However, I would have been a bit scared of that last search for the bookstore! Thanks for sharing your adventure and a happy T day!

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  2. This was a fun trip for me. I loved the interior of the Lunch Box. Where else can Vultan sit next to Hendrix? I was also impressed that an episode of the X Files was shot in Lexington.

    The second restaurant screamed country with a history lesson. I'm always amazed at how people decorate their restaurants. Sometimes the best food is found in the tackiest places, while really poor quality food can be found in some of the fanciest places. It's always nice when the good food and good atmosphere collide.

    Thanks for sharing your trip with us for T this Tuesday. It was a fun read and provided a few good laughs for me. Yep, I'm easily amused.

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  3. Sounds like a fun trip, and you went into 2 very different restaurants, and both look good. Sorry you didn't find the bookstore. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  4. Looks like you made the best of the trip with some yummy and fun stops.
    It is always crazy when GPS drops you off in nowhereland!
    Does make for adventures to remember tho doesn't it LOL
    Happy T Day
    oxo

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  5. well, i think i would have enjoyed the lunch box Restaurant, too... making the best out of the journey!
    have a happy t-day and rest of the week!

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  6. Thank you for taking us on your trip. The restaurants look great. The Lunch Box looks very trendy indeed. Very oroginal. And the other one looks nice too. I love the quilt.
    What are hushpuppies? In Europe it is a brand of shoes!
    Thank you for visiting earlier. Sorry for the late comment, I've been out all day.
    Happy T-day,
    Lisca

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    1. lol yes, hushpuppies are shoes here, too. The food hushpuppy is cornmeal, flour, milk, egg, chopped onion (and more)... rolled into a ball and deep fat fried often served with fried fish. The name is said to come from folks who would pitch them at the dogs to quieten them down. "Hush, puppy" ;) I love them!

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  7. Interesting little cafes. But that Danger sign on a dead end road--scary! Glad you made it home okay. ;)
    Happy T-Day! :)

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  8. Your bookstore search reminded me of a shop we were looking for in rural N. Carolina many years ago. It looked so sketch to us when we found it, we just turned around and headed back where we came from!

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  9. Nice restaurants ...sometimes those little town places have the best food. I haven't had hushpuppies in forever... time to fix some.

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  10. i am glad I saw your explanation as to what Hush Puppies are. I was trying to think of tasty ways to serve up shoes, though I have tasted some steaks that would make good shoe leather in the past!!
    I will make a note not to bother about visiting Lexington when I next come over, though Hubby would like to see the confederate flags flying!!
    Hugs
    xx

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  11. Sounds like a fun trip ! Happy T-Day!
    oxo
    Susi

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  12. Love your photos today and am trying to figure out which episode of the X Files it relates to. I see there are some new episodes of that show coming on Sunday night. I can't wait- love that show!

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    1. It's the episode called E.B.E. from the 1st season. Yes, I'm excited about the new episodes! I love it, too! :)

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  13. Love your photos today and am trying to figure out which episode of the X Files it relates to. I see there are some new episodes of that show coming on Sunday night. I can't wait- love that show!

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  14. Love your photos today and am trying to figure out which episode of the X Files it relates to. I see there are some new episodes of that show coming on Sunday night. I can't wait- love that show!

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  15. Those restaurants look such fun to visit! The door with Danger written on it sounds very X Files! We have been having trailers for the new series but don't know when it starts! Sorry for being so late! Hugs, Chrisx

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    1. X Files is almost here! 1/24, I think. I'm looking forward to that :)

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