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Im planning to move out of Lansing, MI to the mid south, and Lexington is on my short list of potential homes. Over memorial day weekend my wife and I are going to take a road trip down to check the place out. Where should I go to get a handle on the character of the city and its people, and surrounding areas. All suggestions are welcome, link me to google maps, or pics, or whatever!
Also what would be a good place to stay at? Is there a cheap, but still nice/decent hotel right in the heart of city? Preferrably near good food, not expensive food, but the good stuff that the real people eat. Also, I love bourbon, is there a distillery nearby that I can take a trip to and pick up a few bottles of something that I cant get in Mich.
Well, this may sound silly, but I would go to all the places that you would normally go to regularly. I figure that once you moved here, you would need to go to the grocery store, Wal-Mart etc more than you would the attractions like Keeneland, museums, etc. Plus that would give you a vibe about what most Lexingtonians are like.
There really aren't any hotels in the heart of downtown that I would consider reasonalby priced. I just had some clients that stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and thought it was good. It is about 5 minutes west of Downtown by car. Here is the link: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel/lexnc?&.
If you want good BBQ, a place called Billy's BBQ is pretty good. What type of food were you looking for?
Checkout my blog too. I have review about neighborhoods. You may want to drive through some areas to see what you get for the money down here.
Woodford Reserve does a really nice tour, it is nestled in the horse country about 30 minutes west of Lexington. However, I am sure you can get it up there. Here is a link to all the distilleries that give tours. All are 30 minutes to 1.5 hours from Lexington. Pretty much all of the small single barrel "boutique" type bourbons are actually made by one of these company just under a different label.
We do get Woodford here in Mich, and its fantastic, I think that will do nicely. BBQ is EXACTLY what Im looking for, vegetarian is what my wife is looking for. I dont know how veggie friendly Lexington is, but Lansing isnt very friendly, (with exception to the middle eastern/indian cuisine, do you have any of that?) and we always make due.
Back to the heart of the matter...If I were to give someone the general tour I am looking for, but in my hometown. It would go something like this....
Walk MSU Campus-go to its Dairy Store(cheese/ice cream), check out the shops downtown east lansing
MSU hockey game if its winter time
See the rich neighborhoods in Okemos
Go downtown lansing to the riverwalk
have a drink downtown at one of the bars
go to the city farmers market
eat at Emils, the oldest (and best, IMHO) restaurant in town
go to the gardens at moores park, see the beautiful old mansions in the area
drive through REO town, have a drink at the cadillac
tour the rough neighborhood on Baker st
Fenner nature center
working class neighborhoods on the south side
have some coffee and hippie hash at the fleetwood (the coolest diner ever)
go see the cliffs at Grand ledge
Quality Dairy Ice Cream
These are just various things that would represent life in the area, or just show different aspects of town. Like, I dont go to the riverwalk every day, but when the weather is nice Ill take my dog for a walk down there a few times a month. Or the MSU dairy store, I dont go all the time, but I guarantee there isnt a better ice cream in the world, and its all made from MSU cown, by MSU students.
BBQ is EXACTLY what Im looking for, vegetarian is what my wife is looking for. I dont know how veggie friendly Lexington is, but Lansing isnt very friendly, (with exception to the middle eastern/indian cuisine, do you have any of that?) and we always make due.
Check out Alfalfa's downtown. Great vegetarian selection of food. I love the avacado grill, hoppin' john, their daily soups...
Also, I would check out Keeneland even if it isn't during race season. You can walk around and check it out. It is a beautiful track and they have OTB year round, so it is open to the public even when there aren't races.
Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate is a nice little tour. You'll learn alot about KY history and they have pretty gardens to walk around.
I would take a walk around UK as well. Like MSU defines much of Lansing, UK defines much of Lexington.
Some of the horse farms give tours. I know Three Chimney's does. The Kentucky Horse Park is also interesting.
Granted, these are all touristy things, but they are things that I would want to do on my first visit.
I second the recommendation of Alfalfa's for vegetarian and Billy's for BBQ. Good Foods Coop is also an option for vegetarian but not as good an atmosphere. Suggin's is a good local eatery. Stop by Grater's afterward for ice cream. Pazzo's is on campus and has great pizza and a huge beer selection.
Raven Run is only about 10 minutes from downtown and has great, fairly easy, hiking paths. There are several shops on Clay Avenue that are nice and local. Farmer's Market is downtown on Saturday mornings and is a fun place to grab breakfast. There won't be many veggies that early but the atmosphere is as fun as the food.
Joseph Beth Booksellers is a great book store.
I agree with Lexpert! Taking in a few sites is great, but giving a feel for the area is what you should aim for. Shopping areas, a tour of different neighborhoods and outlying areas, along with seeing the smaller towns and what they have to offer as far as restaurants, shops, things to do, etc., would be where I might start. The land and spectacular views is what drew us to the area, but the local flavor of different towns was the deciding factor to live in the town and house we chose!!
I met some guys from Warren in a bar on new years night, they told us about a new Mediterranean place off of a mall at Leestown rd. they opened, the first location being in Dearborn. I've not been yet, but as a Detroiter, I know Michigan Arab restaurant owners (Yes I know many) often cater to the vegetarian crowd too.
Whole Foods will provide your women her fresh veggies.
As far as food, my favorite places are on campus - Charlie Brown's, Campus Cafe (reminds me of true Greektown gyros), Bourbon and Toulouse.
Sushi Friend in Tates Creek Center's dollar roll night is excellent and the Thai place there is second to none.
I met some guys from Warren in a bar on new years night, they told us about a new Mediterranean place off of a mall at Leestown rd. they opened, the first location being in Dearborn. I've not been yet, but as a Detroiter, I know Michigan Arab restaurant owners (Yes I know many) often cater to the vegetarian crowd too.
Leestown Road has a mall now? Umm, are you talking about Townley Centre? That's not a mall.
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