Kentucky Blog | Genuine Kentucky
Kentucky Vacations | Kentucky Lake
When I think of Aurora, Kentucky I think of The Hitching Post and great food: Hot Dogs (only the best in the world, guys), Catfish, hush puppies, BBQ from the Winking Pig (also known as Aurora BBQ!), and fudge that is now being sold in The Hitching Post.
I also think of the Elk and Bison Prairie and the 1850′s Homeplace, which are just minutes away.
If you haven’t visited Aurora, Kentucky lately – take your camera, your family, and an empty stomach.
You already know that I LOVE the Hitching Post Old Country Store in Aurora, Kentucky. The owner and workers couldn’t be any friendlier, the store’s a complete delight to look around, I always return home with great finds – such as jewelry, candles (there’s a Hershey’s chocolate candle that’ll drop you to your knees), t-shirts, hats, toys, cookbooks, figurines, and so on and on.
I’ve also told you how much I love the jams, jellies, and sauces they sell in their store. Deliciousness just looking for a mouth to happen in. Now, get this: They’ve stepped up their already yummy game and they’re nothing short of irresistible now.
My husband, our youngest daughter, and her boyfriend spent Saturday in the Land Between the Lakes region and…. OF COURSE… paid a visit to the Hitching Post Old Country Store. The kids had even more fun looking around that we did. Okay, well almost. Things looked better than ever. The porch is so pretty and decorated so charmingly that you almost hate to leave it. However, you know full well that spectacular shopping awaits you inside, so through the doors you go!
They’ve added quite a bit to the store, so the whole experience was even sweeter than before. Speaking of sweet – they now have homemade fudge available (pictured below). That fact, alone, had me smiling ear to ear all day – with a mouthful of happy sweet teeth. The fudge is remarkable, and I consider myself something of an expert.
We had the Tiger Butter Fudge this particular trip, but I have a date with the Peanut Butter fudge on my next trip. Peanut Butter Fudge has always been my favorite, but the Tiger Butter fudge is putting up an admirable battle for that top spot.
I’m thrilled that we can now enjoy homemade fudge in Aurora. Both ends of the Land Between the Lakes are now deliciously covered with fudge (The Fudge Factory in Grand Rivers is the other, of course.).
As you can see from the picture above, as well as the ones below, there are countless goodies for kids of all ages. Every single member of your family will have a ball and a half and the ridiculously warm and friendly owner and workers will treat you like a member of the family. Kentucky style.
I fell head over head in love with some Red Pepper Jelly they gave out as samples. Loved it so much, I bought a jar to bring home with us. It’s from Spring Valley Farms in Holland, Kentucky – and they know their stuff. Their sample had the Red Pepper Jelly mixed in with cream cheese. Oh. My. Gentle. God. Delicious! We promptly bought a jar of the Red Pepper Jelly and stopped by Kroger on the way home for some Cream Cheese and crackers.
It was so delicious I don’t even want to talk about it.
There are plans for the historically delightful general store next to The Hitching Post’s Country Store. Apparently they’ll soon feature work from local artists. I can’t wait to see the art and crafts that’ll be included. Can you even imagine how fantastic it’ll all be?!
On a recent trip to Land Between the Lakes, we ate at Aurora Bar-B-Que in Aurora, Kentucky – Home of the Winking Pig! Sure enough, the pig on the sign? He’s a total flirt.
Three members of our family (my husband, myself, and our youngest daughter – Stephany) are all about Barbecue. Whatever town we find ourselves in, we love to check out their barbecue. That, and Onion Rings. Aurora offered both, so we anxiously waited to dive in. I say “waited,” but actually there wasn’t any wait at all. We got our drinks, sat down…admired the comfortable, overall feel of the restaurant, then here they came with our food.
I’ll get the tiny little “Not so perfect” out of the way first. The drinks from the fountain were watery – downright tasteless. Next time, I’ll take advantage of the cold bottled sodas they sell. (Should have been a sign, right?!) Actually, the last 3 restaurants I’ve eaten at have had bad drinks from the soda fountain, and the tea wasn’t much better. I’m sure it’s something that’s easy to overlook in a restaurant, but from the customer’s standpoint, it’s very, very important.
Now, onto the perfects, a.k.a. everything else!
My daughter Stephany could have eaten all of the fried mushrooms all by herself and then asked for more. They were smaller in size than most fried mushrooms and less game-y tasting than others, if you know what I mean. They’re really unique and very good.
The star of the show, the Bar-B-Q, was amazing! (I wish I had some more right now – I’d actually make a round trip venture just for their BBQ alone.) It had a smoke-y flavor that’s worth driving 5,000 miles for…at least. You can order it on buns (like I did) or on Texas Toast (like my husband and daughter did). The sauce comes hot or mild – and is absolutely perfect…sweet enough without being too sweet.
Like I said before, we always check out a restaurant’s onion rings – again, Aurora Bar-B-Que didn’t let us down. Sometimes I’ve been known to put an onion ring, if it’s really good on the sandwich I’m having, but in this case I wasn’t about to intrude upon the greatness the BBQ had going on. Plus, it left more onion rings for ketchup to mouth trip I love so much! If you’re brave, you could dip one in the hot sauce, but my rings prefer ketchup – they’re pretty picky…delicious, but picky.
Speaking of hot, the hot wings are just that – hot! Michael’s as big a fan of hot wings as he is Bar-B-Que, and he gave them a big thumbs up….a big hot-wing-covered thumbs up.
The onion rings were really good, but the Baked Beans were really, really, really, really good. A lot of people only care about the meat in a meal – what they consider the Main Event. I’m very much into the sides….just as much as the “Main Event.” Too many restaurants neglect the sides – sometimes you get the impression they’ll serve absolutely anything along with the meat, thinking “No one’s going to really care, anyway…” These beans didn’t have that attitude at all.
Sides are just as important as the main attraction (One of the reasons I love Applebee’s – they totally get that) – and I can’t wait to try Aurora’s other sides to see if they live up to the standard set by the baked beans.
If you find yourself anywhere within striking distance of Aurora, Kentucky, look for the winking pig – you won’t be sorry. Just remember to grab a bottle for your drink…and if you have the hot wings, you might want two bottles!
***How cool is this? – They’ve taken care of the drink’s dilemma and now even serve AMAZING iced tea. So now their drinks are nearly as good as the food. I say nearly because no drink can keep up with this barbecue. As I’m typing this, I’m miles away from the winking pig, snow is on the ground with more coming down…and I’m positively dying for some of their barbecue, hot wings, and onion rings.
