After a good friend got a bad review from a restaurant critic a few years ago, we decided to do our part to balance the scales by writing a “good news” food column for BereaOnline. Our plates have been a bit too full the past two years, with the births of our two “buns in the oven,” and we had to put this column on the back burner, but now we’re back in the groove! We plan to write a regular column highlighting one nearby restaurant and one restaurant we’ve enjoyed in our travels for each issue of the new BereaOnline. We hope you enjoy the stories, and welcome your suggestions of new places to try!

There’s no rating scale, since we’re determined to only write about the good experiences we’ve had, but we decided to rate the cost of our meals (not including gratuity) in the following manner:

= Under $15
= From $15 - $30
= From $31 - $50
= Over $50
(Costs are based on the entire purchase price of the meal including every item in the summary.)

Alexander is Great in Versailles

Although Versailles isn’t exactly a far piece from Berea, this eating experience was worth noting in our “Travel” section. While we were in Versailles visiting Southside Elementary School for a dance program, the P.E. teacher took us to Alexander’s Sandwich Shoppe, a downtown-y, many-windowed place with a traditional, sandwich feel. The menu was original, starting with the house specialty, “Alexander the Great,” of course, ending with the obligatory Reuben, and including several other notable names in between. We were tempted by the “Superfecta,” a hot meatball sandwich, and the “Filly,” thinly sliced turkey and melted provolone, but settled on “Alexander the Great” (ham, salami, pepperoni, provolone, banana peppers, lettuce, tomato, onion and balsamic vinaigrette served on hot French bread) and “The Grandstand” (roast beef, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on hot French bread).

The kitchen was out of potato chips when we ordered, so the manager brought us potato soup instead, with an apology for the inconvenience. We felt like we got the better end of that trade! The soup was delicious, as were the sandwiches. Our companion ordered the whole sandwich and saved half for later, while we gobbled our half sandwiches, polished off our soup, and went back for seconds on the sweet tea.

According to the locals, Alexander’s is also famous for its pizza, and the menu offers customers a chance to build their own pizza or sandwich.

The décor in Alexander’s was the kind that inspires conversation – original art of many styles on the walls, comfortable chairs, small tables and quiet music. We were on a school schedule, so our experience was a little hurried, but we wished we had the whole afternoon ahead of us, to look out the windows at downtown Versailles, and finish off our tasty lunch with a cup of hot coffee and a piece of their chocolate mousse pie or creamy homemade cheesecake! Well, there’s always next time!

SUMMARY:
Alexander’s Sandwich Shoppe
160 South Main Street / Versailles, KY
Appetizer: Potato Soup
Jennifer’s Entrée: The Grandstand
Alfredo’s Entrée: Alexander the Great
Drinks: Sweet Tea
Price:

Still a Favorite after all these Years

When I was a little girl, I used to stop in at “Around the Corner” Restaurant after school. My mom even helped out there every once-in-a-while, but, more often than not, we ate there together, enjoying a little mother-daughter time. Those are still some of the best food-associated memories I have from childhood.

Tonight I sat in the same location, a guest at PapaLeno’s Restaurant for the gazillionth time since it opened in May of 1984. Alfredo and I walked over after a meeting at the Berea Arts Council, as we’ve done more times than we can count, and ordered our usual favorites - Grilled Chicken & Veggie Pasta for Alfredo (spaghetti, marinated grilled chicken strips, olives, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, tossed with a light garlic butter sauce and served with a stick of garlic bread) and an Italian sub for me (salami, capicola, provolone, onions, banana peppers, lettuce, tomato & Italian dressing served on fresh, homemade PapaLeno bread with chips & a kosher dill pickle). Alfredo always orders his pasta with extra chicken and no black olives. We’ve enjoyed other food there at different occasions, but we seem to keep coming back for those favorites. Alfredo is even so fond of the chicken and veggie pasta that I have invented my own version of it at home! The original is a creation of PapaLeno’s owner, Brad Lewis and friends. Brad’s brother, Jerome, is also an owner, and I should mention (in the true spirit of small town existence) that we grew up across the street from each other!

We know the drill there, as do many faithful Berea patrons – belly up to the bar and place your order while you watch masterful workers send pizza dough whirling high into the air. This time, there was no line at the counter – probably because we were there at barely 5:00 pm – and Heather took our orders with a smile. Even if the line extends all the way to the door, the orders all seem to get taken efficiently and it’s worth every second of the wait.

We chose a table in the window, as we almost always do. PapaLeno’s has tables for all needs – booths for quiet chats or studying, groupings on the floor for larger group gatherings, and tables literally in the window areas for people-watchers like us. We saw several people we knew walking past as we ate, and even people we didn’t know looked in at our 3-month-old Isabel in her carseat and smiled. Seth brought us our entrees in timely fashion and cheerfully picked up a fork and knife for Alfredo, who had forgotten that on the way to the table.

We finished every smidgen of our food, minus a couple of noodles and some chips, slurped the last of our Cokes and wished we had room for dessert. If we hadn’t had errands to run and a two-year-old at home with Grandma, we might have been tempted to wander around the campus or into a couple of shops until we had worked up enough of an appetite to warrant a visit to Berea Coffee and Tea for a yummy Mocha Jo! Maybe in the spring…

PapaLeno’s has expanded to an additional location in Richmond that has been open since Labor Day, on the EKU bypass next to Banana’s Tavern.

SUMMARY:
PapaLeno's
108 Center St Berea
859 986 4497
Jennifer’s Entrée: The Italian Sub
Alfredo’s Entrée: Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pasta
Drinks: Cokes
Price:

Alfredo Escobar is a native of Chile, and a professional artist, and Jennifer Rose is a professional folk musician and dance educator.