Cairn Coffee in Winchester KY

When we walked in to Cairn Coffee House in Winchester the other day we immediately knew we loved the place.  My wife started comparing Cairn to Purdy's in Richmond.  That's very high praise.

This is a very beautiful coffee shop in a great old building.  The shop is clean, spacious and warm.  In fact, we spent a good amount of time reading by their fireplace on a cold day before the seasons changed.

AND, it seems that I keep finding coffee shops that are drive thru, small kiosks, or only have a few seats inside.  This shop is the opposite of that.  Cairn is easily one of the most inviting places to stay and relax.

They have even opened up the store front window areas for seating, which looked cozy too, and it is just a great use of space!

I was looking at their website, and it seems they are a non-profit business ran by Calvary Christian Church.  Check out their site for more info on this, but I really like the spirit of that sort of thing.

They have some very nice items for lunch too!  We had a great strawberry chicken salad and some other items.  They do have an interesting sandwich with beer cheese on it, and they are on the Beer Cheese Trail!

Winchester, KY

I have found myself in Winchester a lot lately.  It is a very photogenic area.  Here are a few pics.

Gaunce's Cafe and Deli in Winchester Kentucky

Some friends in Winchester took us to Gaunce's Café and Deli.

Apparently, everyone in the area knows about how good the food is here.  it was crowded when we went!  I can see why though.

I told a co-worker from Winchester that I went to a great deli place in town, and they instantly knew where I was talking about.

Our whole party loved everything.  Soup Sandwiches, everything here is a winner.  We got a beer cheese plate too.....  I would go back just for that.

Halls on the River in Winchester

Hall's on the River is QUICKLY becoming one of my favorite restaurants around.  It is a short, scenic drive from Lexington and Richmond and they have some of the best beer cheese anywhere!

Plus, there is some history connected to their location.  Actually, a lot of history.

In 1776, Daniel Boone's daughter was in a canoe with Elizabeth and Fanny Callaway.  They were captured by a Cherokee-Shawnee group.  A few days later the girls were rescued. 

One of the rescuers, John Holder, married one of the Callaway sisters.  Later (in 1783), Holder opened a Tavern on the spot where Hall's is at now.

More recent history in the restaurant involves the River itself.  There is a display inside of  Hall's UNDER the river during flooding!

I had some of their beer cheese soup the other day.  It had a nice kick to it, and it was filling.  In fact, I had to take some of it home.

On another recent visit, I had their beer cheese burger.  They were generous with the cheese, and the burger was huge.  A fried banana pepper on it really put this one over the top.  And, like the soup, I had to take half of it home for a meal later... it was huge!

http://www.hallsontheriver.com/

Ale-8-1 Bottling Winchester, KY

Once, I attended a sporting event in Lexington where a free six pack of Ale-8 was given to each ticket purchaser. I thought it was the greatest promotion ever!

Anyway, I love Ale-8. If you are not familiar with it, it is usually compared to ginger ale.

I guess that is the best comparison, but it is still very unique.

Most people think it tastes better from the bottle than from a can (I think this theory applies to all drinks myself, but especially Ale-8).

The beverage is very popular in my neck of the woods and I am glad that many locals support this Kentucky product.

The Ale-8-1 company does have a very nice factory tour! I went there on a recent Friday morning.

There was a short video about the company, and the history of the drink.

We were taken to the bottling area. it was very cool watching them fly through. Check out the photos!

The tour is actually short, but informative. I think this would be a very nice adventure for a kid, or someone with a short attention span.

They do have a nice display of old bottles and other products.

There is a very cool gift shop selling shirts, caps, and other Ale-8-1 products. I would say that their gift shop is more reasonably priced than many.

We had a great tour guide who gave everyone on the tour an Ale-8 and a book about Kentucky facts (I will get a review of that book up soon). The good folks at Ale-8 hooked me up with a very cool 2012 calendar too!

Thanks for being such a cool Kentucky company Ale-8-1!

http://www.ale-8-one.com/