jumpn' juleps

Gourmet Gal just returned from Kentucky and besides losing on my derby picks (thanks Paul Dailey) I also lost out on a weekend's worth of mangia. Food at Churchill Downs is exceptionally subpar. We don't know how good we have it at places like Fenway, or LeLacheur Park for that matter. The barbecue sandwiches they served were a mystery. Sliced pork or beef (both the same pale shade of grey) served on its lonesome on a white bun was lunch. Dinner was not much better. The jumbo dogs are nice and fat, but insipid, leaving us Yankees longing for a Fenway Frank. Because the only other option was popcorn and pretzels, the mint julep serves as the official derby grub. That's why everyone looks so happy in the crowd, they are looped. For $9 you get bourbon, sugar and mint on crushed ice. And it was refreshing. I stopped after one, not wanting to end up like No Biz in the back of the pack at the end of the race. But you don't go to the derby to eat, you go to people watch. You can feed your appetite on the crazy get-ups of the good ole boys in stripped suits and stingy brimmed hats and the women who are decked out like it was 1920. But since this is a food blog I will say the steak at the Maker's Mark Lounge on Fourth St. in Louisville was superb! As was the smoked salmon at The Brown Hotel. And the service is great. I found Kentuckians to be extremely polite. We did dine on the local staple KFC and, while I still feel a tinge of regret, it had to be done. Traveling gourmands have to remember their Street Sense and sample the local flavor when in Rome or Kentucky.