Two Rivers Restaurant: Fresh Bistro Fare in Idyllic Site
Decorated in the retro style of a fishing camp lodge from the 1940s, Two Rivers Restaurant really reflects its location at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, Ky. Don’t let the nostalgia-tinged décor fool you: Two Rivers Restaurant, housed in the main lodge, delivers excellent bistro cuisine crafted with a modern sensibility.
As you would expect in a state park, Two Rivers highlights traditional Kentucky dishes and Kentucky-grown produce, making its food enticingly fresh. The walls sport black-and-white photos of fishermen plying their trade decades ago. But the real sight peeks through the windows of Two Rivers: the leafy beauty of the state park itself.
Located just 50 minutes from Louisville, 60 minutes from Cincinnati, OH, and 90 minutes from Lexington, KY, the restaurant provides a great place to eat while exploring the state park — or as a destination in its own right. Two Rivers was featured on public television’s Kentucky Life program and in Gary P. West’s Eating Your Way Across Kentucky: 101 Must Places to Eat.
The restaurant offers a daily lunch buffet daily from 11:30 am. to 2:30 p.m. The cost is $10.95, which includes your drink and dessert. You’ll find Kentucky specialties like tender, fried pork chops (and the option of milk gravy) and barbecued chicken as well as such popular items as fried shrimp, fried okra and more.
The dinner menu features fried catfish dinners (one fillet for $8.95 and two for $11.95), a reminder of why the restaurant got its name: its location near where the Ohio and Kentucky rivers meet. But you can also get other Kentucky favorites, like a Hot Brown, which is sliced turkey and ham on toast points laced with bacon, a cheese mornay sauce, Parmesan cheese and tomato, all broiled into a warm, cheesy delight ($7.95).
Or you can order Kentucky country ham, that salt-laden Bluegrass tradition, fried and served with red-eye gravy ($10.95). Or, for the vegetarians, there’s Kentucky Country Fare: pinto beans, fried potatoes, corncakes and coleslaw ($5.95). And you won’t want to miss fried green tomatoes, served with a spicy ranch dip ($5.95). The soup and salad bar can be added to any of the seven Kentucky Favorite items for $2.95 or substituted for a side item for $1.
Two Rivers serves breakfast 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
HelloMetro Tip: Reservations are never required.
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 by Ivonne Rovira
