Staying:

Don’t at the Crowne Plaza. Poor location, small uninteresting rooms, unappealing bar and mediocre breakfast (altho buffet was cheap, if you like that kind of thing).

Eating:

Coffee in Lexington was uniformly weak and watery.

Hot Brown is the local concoction/specialty, consisting of layered white toast with sliced turkey, ham, bechamel sauce, melted cheese, bacon and a slice of tomato. That being said, we tried it at De Shas and found it tasteless. But, when in Rome . . .. www.deshas.com/html/lexington.html 101 N Broadway (859) 259-3771.

Another day we went to Billy’s BBQ for lunch. (terrific pulled pork with good barbecue sauce and 2 sides). 101 Cochran Rd (859) 269-9593.

We had dinners at:

Jonathan at Gratz Park. Is located in a historical park. We ate in the bar; same menu as dining room but more intimate. (good salad with local produce. R had very moist boned chicken with garlic mashed potatoes; I had slightly overcooked salmon on a bed of corn custard with soy beans.) Very good wine list. 120 W. 2d St (859) 252-4949.

Murrays. Same owners as Merricks; both are in houses and have very similar menus. (wonderful fried chicken, wonderful walleyed pike with great tartar sauce.) www.murrays-merrick.com 3955 Harrodsburg Rd (859) 219-9922.

Woodland Grill. Same owners as Jonathans, above. Very casual. More great fried chicken. www.woodlandgrill.com 111 Woodland Ave (859) 226-0300.