This classic 1950s drive-in has been featured on multiple Food Network shows, including “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Their burgers, like the double-decker Poor Boy, get a lot of love, but the fried chicken is cooked to golden, glistening perfection. You can go to Blue Isle for lunch or dinner any day of the week, but bring a big appetite for their much-loved Sunday Buffet – piled high with everything from fried chicken to country ham to all the fixings, including mashed potatoes, greens and macaroni and cheese.

Blue Isle Home-Style Restaurant and Bar, Winchester The Beaumont Inn is also an official stop on the Kentucky Bourbon TrailⓇ, making it even more of a must-stop. Their famous Yellow-Legged Fried Chicken has been passed down (and perfected) through five generations of the Dedman family. In the heart of Horse Country, the James Beard Award-winning Beaumont Inn is one of the most elegant and historic restaurants in Kentucky. Even if you’ve eaten Kentucky Fried Chicken all your life, visiting the place where it all began is a true Bluegrass “bucket” list item. Before long, Harland Sanders expanded to this restaurant, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The biggest name in fried chicken began at a humble service station in Corbin with a single dining table for travelers.

Kentucky fried chicken