Angler's Cove - A Surprisingly Good State Park Restaurant.

Angler's Cove is the restaurant inside the Lodge at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park near Greenup, KY.  We stayed there on a little mini-vacation in October, and the lake was absolutely beautiful, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians and bracketed by trees blazing with fall color.  We ate the free breakfast for guests, and it was quite appetizing, although lacking any meat except for sausage gravy on the biscuits. Someone in the kitchen there really knows his/her way around an egg, serving light n' fluffy cheese omelets one morning and light n' fluffy scrambled eggs the next. 

For dinner the place was a little quiet on a Wednesday night in the off-season, and the young wait staff seemed a little less than professional (the waiter called me "buddy" once, and the hostess was deeply engrossed in her smartphone when we walked in, although she got up immediately and seated us), so I was not expecting the food to be anything to write home about.  I was WRONG, however:  I ordered the Hot Brown, a Kentucky specialty (which originated at the Brown Hotel in Louisville in the 1920's) that typically consists of toast points placed in the bottom of a baking dish, covered with slices of turkey and drowned in Hollandaise sauce, then baked only long enough to brown the Hollandaise, after which two slices each of bacon and tomato are placed on top.  The Angler's Cove version adds thin-sliced country ham on top of the turkey, which vastly enriched the overall flavor of the dish, and I hate to keep using the same adjectives repeatedly, but the Hollandaise sauce was THE lightest and THE fluffiest I've ever had, and I've eaten a lot of Hot Browns, yet another tribute to the kitchen's expertise with eggs....  We ate there one other time and it was decent, but my memory of that  is blotted out by the overwhelming sensory experience of that danged Hot Brown!  Oh,  and the bill was pretty reasonable, too.  I think it was, anyway... especially the price of that danged HOT BROWN!

The Goldfinch Restaurant- What the heck is AYCEFISH?

The Goldfinch Restaurant is, I'm sorry to say, on US52 in Brookville, Indiana.  I am sad to say that only because it is so damn' far away from my home that I won't be able to frequent it regularly.  We were ending a mini-vacation at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park in Kentucky by driving US52 from Ironton, OH all the way back to Indy, which is one of the most pleasant scenic drives I've ever taken in recent memory, although the string of small towns along the route meant that the most exotic restaurant you'll find is a Dairy Queen Grill 'n Chill, which was our first stop, in Aberdeen, OH, which was a bit of all-right in itself.  It was fun to split a Cheesecake & Caramel milk shake while listening to the group of retired old guys who inevitably seem to gather at such places in small towns, shootin' the bull while they sip coffee and maybe have a little breakfast.  We later ducked across I-275 into Kentucky to skirt our way around Cincinnati and continue back onto US52 on our idyllic journey through the boonies. There seemed to be 'nary an eatery between Lawrenceburg and Brookville, but as we approached that bodacious burg, we saw a plethora, a smorgasbord if you will, of signs for local restaurants, almost ALL of which were closed for the season!  

"The season of WHAT?"  I asked, my mouth watering for pancakes and steaks that I would now never have.  Being an insular Indianapolite (Indianapolitan?), I had no idea that the Brookville area is a popular area for whitewater canoeing and rafting, for those who have that particular death wish, and during the Summer the place hums with tourists (and fire-rescue squads, too, I imagine) all of whom need to be fed, but that was all done by the time we got there in the first week of October.  We were pleasantly surprised, however, as we got into Brookville proper and spied the Goldfinch's sign out front that shouted SALMON and AYCE FISH. AYCE FISH?  The term intrigued me almost as much as the prospect of actual seafood, or at least fish.  I grew up in a Southern city on the Ohio River which has numerous restaurants offering all manner of water-dwelling food animals, and I never cease to be disappointed by the dearth of fish and seafood selections in the Circle City, unless you want a) hoity-toity just flown-in from the coast stuff that doesn't taste nearly as good as it does fresh AT the coast but still costs you $$$$, or b) Buffalo fish, whatever that is, or some other mystery fish that is only $ expensive but is breaded so thickly and fried so hard you have to break it up and mash it with your fork to get to the actual fish part. But here in Brookville was a homey sit-down place of the type I'm accustomed to, offering several types of fish and seafood prepared several different ways.

We had to ask what AYCE FISH is, and it means, simply, wait for it...  "All You Can Eat."  DUH!  I shoulda guessed, and it was AYCE cod, I think she said.  Not wanting to pig out, I ordered the Salmon Patties with fries and She ordered a Whitefish Sandwich.  My patties were as good as Mom used to make, although they could've been cooked a litle longer (Mom always browned 'em in the pan), and Her fish sandwich was a bit overcooked, but it was one huge square fish patty on a big-assed bun with fresh lettuce and tomato.  I had a salad, too, and the lettuce and 'maters tasted like they'd been harvested that day, they were so fresh.  The fries had a light coating of an interesting batter, too.  At upwards of $10, Her sandwich was a little overpriced, I thought, but it was still delicious.  Like I said, I would go back there  the next time I get a craving for fish, if only it weren't in freakin' Brookville!  Sigh....