Kentucky Native Café
When I walked into Lexington’s Kentucky Native Café, the heat and humidity immediately assailed me and fogged up my glasses. The early spring day was cold and blustery outside, and the warmth of the greenhouse was just as delicious as the café’s food. That and the verdant surroundings—the fig tree arching overhead, vines creeping across the support beams, and potted trees adorned with flowers and citrus fruit—created a welcome respite.
The café is one of the interwoven enterprises of Michler’s. The 125-year-old family-owned business began as a florist, then added the plant nursery. When Robin Michler, the fifth-generation family member currently stewarding the business, rejoined the operation in the 2010s, one of the first moves was to open the café.
The lush property already drew neighbors, friends and customers to this oasis of green near downtown. Serving food seemed the perfect way to invite people to extend their visit. While the series of greenhouses fills the property that fronts Maxwell Street, an expansive outdoor garden behind proved the perfect location for the café from April to November. Seating moves into the greenhouse in the chillier months, after the garden and landscape plants have emptied out for the season.
“There’s a collection of things people can do, and food is one piece of the experience,” Michler said. “Café guests take time to walk through the greenhouses and see what orchids are in bloom, purchase native perennials grown in-house, or stop in the bakery for a loaf of bread to take home.”
After ordering at the walk-up kitchen, diners choose a table. Hanging vines and vertical plantings between tables provide a sense of privacy, even seclusion. The winter garden retains the same surrounded-by-plants feeling and invitation to linger, complete with a koi pond.
The menu changes constantly, to the point that the only place it is “published” is on the chalkboard by the ordering window. The flexibility allows the chef to create dishes from what is locally available and in season. Guests are welcome to call ahead to inquire what the café is serving that day. Shareables for the table, such as pretzels and hummus bowls, are always available.
A meal costs between $12-$16 and includes two to three small plates. The day I visited, the dishes included sweet potatoes and onion with lemon-tahini dressing, mushroom-barley soup, trout spread and asparagus sandwich, and an almond croissant. For dinner and weekend brunch, the eatery serves sweet and savory crepes in addition to the small bites.
I especially recommend the carrot dip: a complexly seasoned, vibrantly colored savory spread with a dollop of creamy goodness. The accompanying focaccia had a delightfully crisp crust and a light, tender center. My companion had the roasted sweet potatoes and raved about the bright, tangy, sweet flavor mix.
Beverages include wine, house-made sodas and bellinis with fresh-squeezed seasonal fruits. A house beer—Michler Weisse, the summer house beer, or Glasshouse Helles, the winter house beer—is always on tap, along with other local brews.
The bread and pastries—focaccia, chocolate croissants and Danish—all come from the adjoining full-scale bakery, Bread and Roses. Those looking for groceries can check out the small retail counter with cheese, local eggs and olives.
As tasty as the food is, the café is first and foremost in service to the garden and the community. It’s best known as a welcoming third space, where lingering is encouraged. Often, people come alone to read and write, and some have told Michler they wrote entire books sitting in the nurturing environment.
Kentucky Native Café also is a place for gathering. Local musicians play every Sunday afternoon, and a reading series takes place the last Monday evening of the month. These events are popular, but Michler loves seeing the smaller gatherings that take place: birthday celebrations, retirement parties and visits with out-of-town relatives. Then there’s the book club that meets once a week, and the nightly gathering of guys who drink beer and talk politics.
“The focus is on being open and available, and we never close for private events,” Michler said. “I enjoy seeing people bring their own lives into the space.”
417 Maxwell Street, Lexington
Tuesday-Sunday, 10AM-10PM
The Country Barn’s Country Boy Café
The Country Barn’s Country Boy Café in Elkton (Todd County) offers another opportunity to soak in al fresco summer dining or escape winter in a greenhouse. A family-owned garden center and market that opened in 1999, the barn is known for selling fresh, seasonal and locally grown produce. Neighboring Fairview is recognized as a Dedicated Produce Community. Country Boy Café, which was added to the business in 2018, features its own bounty and that of other local farms in an accessible farm-to-table menu.
The dough and sauce for the café’s pizza are made in-house from scratch with a “country twist.” The cheeseburger pizza has beef, bacon and cheese sauce, plus condiments ketchup and mustard. The breakfast pizza has eggs, sausage, bacon, peppers and onions topped with cheese. Seasonal combos capitalize on what is fresh—such as the summertime jalapeno and peach special.
When fruits ripen, they show up throughout the menu. There’s a big push for peaches, plus blackberries and apples, in turn. They are baked into goodies, incorporated into main dishes, and churned into ice cream.
Speaking of ice cream … the café offers 12 flavors, made in-house and served in waffle bowls, milk shakes and banana splits. Flavors include vanilla and chocolate, plus seasonal strawberry and black raspberry chip, and more exotic choices such as Kahlua Chip and Caramel Brickle.
“We have a strong focus on garden-to-table dining,” owner David Weaver said. “People say our pizza is the best they have ever had, and our subs put Subway to shame.”
The café is just part of the experience at The Country Barn. A full espresso bar serves frappes and specialty lattes. An onsite bakery makes pretzels, sourdough loaves and pies that are sold in a small grocery section alongside a full line of seasonal produce from neighboring farms. Diners can also pick up local honey, jams, jellies, soup mixes and grab-and-go items such as jerky and local cheese.
Beyond food, the garden center has one of the largest selection of annuals and perennials in Western Kentucky. Staff create custom container gardens and grow holiday plants, and the barn offers outdoor seating and garden décor for sale.
112 Britmart Road, Elkton
Monday-Friday 8:30AM-6PM, Saturday 8:30AM-4PM
Sage Garden Café at Wilson Nurseries
The Sage Garden Café in Frankfort specializes in garden-to-table dining, with meals featuring herbs and vegetables grown just outside its door. Plants and flowers brought over from the adjacent Wilson Nurseries greenhouse create a tranquil, natural environment.
One nod to the garden setting is the flower-pot bread—house-made sourdough baked in a terra cotta pot. The lunch menu features artisan sandwiches with seasonal salads and soups. There are the hearty Bourbon Smokehouse Burger and Mary Cat’s Monte Cristo: ham and mozzarella grilled on house-made sourdough bread, dusted with powdered sugar, and served with cranberry dipping sauce. Sage’s house side is slaw fraîche, a fresh take on coleslaw with cabbage, veggies and sunflower seeds lightly dressed with herbs, white wine vinegar and olive oil.
The oatmeal walnut bread is a favorite choice. At brunch, it is the basis for the cranberry chicken salad sandwich with sprouts and leaf lettuce. Another option is a bacon, Brie, lettuce and tomato sandwich. The Croque Madam is rich: ham and mozzarella toasted on sourdough with over-easy eggs and mornay sauce.
A daily seasonal quiche, served with a garden salad and fruit with mint-infused local honey, highlights seasonal flavors. Regional favorite Midway Bakery crafts the pastries and cakes, and wine, beer, tea and espresso complement the meals.
The café offers a catering service either onsite or off, including for the nursery’s all-inclusive event venue. The botanical landscape presents a unique and picturesque setting for weddings and other special events.
3690 East-West Connector, Frankfort
Weekdays 8AM-4PM; Saturday 9AM–4PM; Sunday 10AM-4PM