A Great Meal at Holly Hill

A Great Meal at Holly Hill

Take the drive from Lexington down the interstate to Midway, where fine dining is only an exit away.

A first, I thought the restaurant had an identity crisis. One week I found an Italian-themed menu. Another week brought a touch of France to the Kentucky Bluegrass. Then I discovered that Chef Ouita (WE-tuh) Michel enjoys keeping people's palates in a pleasant form of culture shock. She certainly keeps them happy, no matter what accent she gives the regularly changing menu.

Since Ouita and husband Chris opened their fine-dining restaurant in Midway, Kentucky, 20 minutes outside Lexington, steady traffic has come to Holly Hill Inn.

Don't be fooled by the name. You can't stay here, even though you will want to. The atmosphere of the 150-year-old Greek Revival building welcomes hungry guests with its artistic Bluegrass decor. Its dinnerware is made by Tater Knob Pottery of Berea, Kentucky, and other regional crafts and paintings are on display throughout the restaurant.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Ouita fashions extraordinary dishes from simple ingredients. Free-range chicken might be combined with Italian sausages, sweet peppers, and polenta. A veal shank joins saffron risotto to make osso buco. Whatever language you use, it translates to one word: good.

Whether the food is accented with an Italian, French, or Kentucky flair, you're sure to toast any meal at Holly Hill Inn as internationally superb. WANDA MCKINNEY

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Sep 2003
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