Hillary Brown

Ask anyone who half pays attention to the local food scene what characterizes the past year, and they might say, “Too many Mexican restaurants.” They’re not wrong, exactly. It becomes a bit numbing to keep writing that such and such spot will become yet another Mexican restaurant.

TAQUERIA MI RANCHO (840 Hull Road, 706-540-7796, @taqueria.mi.rancho): Even if you think Athens has too many Mexican restaurants—and I’m still not sure that’s possible—here’s one you should make an exception for. Operating out of a convenience store attached to the Marathon gas station across from the Space Kroger on Hull Road, Taqueria Mi Rancho is a focused delight, operated by a family that used to cook out at the J&J Flea Market. Many years ago, I had their pollo a la braza, a phenomenal marinated then grilled chicken on the bone, and I’ve been chasing it ever since. Return visits to the flea market showed it wasn’t there anymore, and I was bummed, but here it is again, cooked by […]

WEAVER D’s (1016 E. Broad St., 706-353-7797): Dexter Weaver, the eponymous owner of this restaurant that supplied the name for the R.E.M. album Automatic for the People, is pretty sure Weaver D’s will hit its 40th birthday next January, but he did put the property up for sale last month. The quarter-acre lot and the green-painted building that dates from 1950 is listed at $800,000, and Weaver says he has had some investors who are interested. Unfortunately for us, none of them want to keep it as a restaurant, and it would be a surprise if they did. Even a truly preservation-minded owner would be hard pressed to keep operating an eatery so identified with its owner, whom you can […]

It’s your annual Turkey Day roundup of local businesses offering sides, turkeys, full meals and desserts for pickup, or that are open on the day to serve you a feast. We’ll update the version of this article that appears at flagpole.com as more information becomes available.

SULLY’S STEAMERS (255 E. Clayton St., 706- 850-0210, sullyssteamers.com): I’ve been skeptical of this place since it was announced. I’ve had steamed sandwiches before that I liked, including at a barbecue place in Lawrenceville that made them with ham, lettuce and tomato, but the form is tricky to get right. Sully’s doesn’t just make steamed sandwiches, though, it makes steamed bagel sandwiches. When I first had one, the words “look how they massacred my boy” sprang unbidden to my mind, for the essence of bagelness had been extracted by the big tortilla steamer. No chewiness, no crisp toastiness, just some kind of wet bread that held ingredients together. You could say this is true of many breakfast items: a tortilla obviously, or sometimes a biscuit, wrapped in foil and steamed into a Thing-like melange of components.

Open since 2018, Buvez, the day-to-night coffee shop, meeting place, art gallery, eatery and performance venue, will close at the end of the year. Owner Bain Mattox said that he loves the place and its role in the community, but he was having to dip into his savings to keep it going month after month. All his other businesses (including Normal Bar and Automatic Pizza) are feeling the crunch of tough economic times, too, but not to the same extent, and the margins on running Buvez were first thin and then underwater. With January always the toughest month for business, it seemed like the right time to pull off the bandaid.

LEXINGTON – This year, the Pediatric Forensic Medicine at Golisano Children's at UK marked its 10th anniversary serving the needs of Kentucky's children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

LEXINGTON – This year, the Pediatric Forensic Medicine at Golisano Children’s at UK marked its 10th anniversary serving the needs of Kentucky’s children who have experienced abuse and neglect.