I did, however, snap a few pictures. As you can see, by few, I mean few! Sorry, but this mother of the bride was exhausted.
I’m not a golfer, so I can’t tell you many details about the golf course other than it was lovely, the workers were very, very friendly, and my husband hit a few trees. Don’t tell him I told you that part. He disturbed more than a few squirrel’s naps, I’m sure of that. Funny thing is, he never hits trees (or bunkers) – I think the “Father of the Bride” was also pretty spent.
We ate at Lake Barkley State Resort Park’s lodge – about a minute up the road. I honestly don’t know why anyone would bother going anywhere else. I’ve often thought that the golf carts at Kentucky State Resort Parks should feature pictures of the great food in the Lodge’s restaurant. Maybe even a menu. Each golf cart has a plastic thing hanging from the front. Perfect place for a picture of a tall glass of sweet tea! You know, let the golfers know what they can enjoy when they finish their round of golf.
I’m pretty sure if they knew that fried catfish, grilled chicken, a salad bar, fresh iced sweet tea, onion rings, beans, and desserts were waiting for them they wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else. You can order off the menu OR enjoy the buffet. You’re a winner either way.
Michael loves to step off of a state resort park’s golf course (all worn out and hot) and head immediately for the restaurant in the park’s lodge. He knows the tea will be cold, fresh, and perfect (and at parks like Lake Barkley State Resort Park, the cup will never be allowed to be less than filled – excellent staff). He also knows the food will be uncommonly delicious, as it always is. If I’m along with him, he also knows there’ll soon be catfish on the table. It’s such an obsession of mine, I can’t even tell you.
Picture it – you get off of a golf course and all you want to do is sit down in a cool place, drink a lot of iced tea, and eat a good, quiet meal without any hassle. But there’s more. At Kentucky State Resort Parks, you can almost always count on a gorgeous view as you enjoy your meal! The pictures below are from Lake Barkley’s Windows on the Water Restaurant’s balcony. Look at that beautiful view of Lake Barkley. I could watch the birds and sailboats all day. In the fall and spring, it’s amazing to sit out there and drink coffee while enjoying the view.
Most of the time, we order off of the menu. We will , however, often check the buffet to see what’s up. If fried catfish is in the lineup, I’m all for the buffet. When you order off the menu, you can have fried catfish, grilled chicken, Kentucky Hot Brown, hamburgers, vegetables, etc. With your meal, you get a choice of two sides. You can even substitute the salad and soup (when soup’s available) bar for one of the “side items” for just a dollar. After a hot day on the golf course, the beautiful salad bar looked especially inviting, so we each ordered the salad bar in place of the beans we normally order. We both ordered onion rings as our other side.
The salad was a delicious as it was beautiful. I loved the French dressing – it was just perfect. Michael said the Honey Mustard dressing was also great. I didn’t take a picture of his because, frankly, mine was so much prettier. He made such a mess with the dressing. Men!
I don’t even have to tell you, but I ordered the fried catfish. It was as good as I’ve ever had! Flavorful, juicy, and with a coating so delicious I licked my fingers. The only thing I missed about the meal was rolls. Kenlake State Resort Park‘s restaurant (Aurora Landing) always gives you a little basket of amazing, amazing, amazing rolls and butter with your meal. They’ve spoiled me! Now, when at another restaurant, you can find me looking around for my rolls.
I guess it’s for the best, actually. With the calories saved, we spent them WISELY on dessert, as you can see pictured at the top!
Michael ordered another of our favorite items off of the state park menus: Grilled chicken. The chicken is always amazingly delicious. Always. Mushrooms, onions, and some of the best grilled chicken you’ve ever eaten.
The beauty you see pictured at the top is the Tuxedo Cake. I don’t even know where to begin in describing this excellent dessert. The layers of white cake and chocolate cake, combined with drizzled chocolate sauce and little chocolate sprinkles in the delectable chocolate icing, and topped off with a couple of generous dollops of whipped topping made for a dessert this chocoholic will never forget. Oh, man, was it delicious!
Desserts vary at Kentucky State Resort Parks vary, but they are ALWAYS amazing.
I ordered coffee along with the dessert because a personal mission of mine is to never leave a State Park’s restaurant without at least one cup of coffee. As I always, always say, coffee at our state park’s tastes better than coffee you get out anywhere – coffee houses don’t have coffee this good. Trust this coffee fanatic, if you want to taste how coffee is supposed to taste, go no further than a state resort park’s restaurant. They use excellent John Conti coffee beans and, though they don’t admit it, I’m almost certain they have magical Java Fairies on duty at each park. They do something otherworldly with their wands, creating coffee so perfect you never want to stop drinking it. Sometimes my husband has to pull me out by the arm.
You really can’t go wrong at Lake Barkley’s Windows on the Water restaurant – whether you order the buffet, off the menu, or kind of a combination of the two like we did.
Whether it’s at Lake Barkley State Resort Park or another of our state’s excellent State Resort Parks, I hope you’ll do yourself a huge favor and eat at the lodge’s restaurant on your next visit. Once you have, you’ll never look back! It’s where you’ll insist on eating each and every time. Actually, you’ll become like us – very, very often we’ll go to a state resort park for the sole purpose of eating. The gorgeous views, friendly people, and peaceful relaxation are bonuses.
And what bonuses they are!
As I said, I was WAY off my game, so I didn’t take many pictures. My husband took A LOT, however, and we’ll post them soon. In the meanwhile, you can enjoy the few I managed to snap. I’m not sure, but I think I somehow managed not to take a picture of a single fairway, green, flag, or tee box. But the pond with the fountain, I was all over it.
Wow, I must have been a dishrag. Thank God for the catfish, sweet tea, Tuxedo cake, and coffee. Life was restored!
