Where to eat lunch in Owensboro

Kentucky Legend Café: Delicious Place to Enjoy Lunch in Owensboro, Kentucky

April 5, 2022 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Some of the more popular posts we’ve done on Genuine Kentucky have been the ones under the category “Where to eat in Owensboro, Kentucky.” Seems like we’re very fortunate here in Owensboro that we receive a lot of visitors from all around the area and each very much wants to know where the best places to eat are!

When it comes to eating lunch in Owensboro, there are lots of options but I want to highlight one, today, that’s kind of off the beaten path.

The beautiful Owensboro Convention Center isn’t just a great spot for activities and events here in Owensboro, it’s restaurant (The Kentucky Legend Café) is apparently an extraordinary place to eat!

Allow me to say, right up front, that I have never (personally) eaten at The Kentucky Legend Café. For health reasons, I can only eat gluten-free/wheat free and, to my knowledge, the wonderful café doesn’t have a gluten-free menu.

Sigh.

I have had several members of my family (including my husband) eat there and have given it glowing reviews.

The Kentucky Legend Café is open for lunch from 10am to 2pm Monday through Friday for dine-in and carry-out. All Daily Lunch Specials are $10 and come with your choice of side item. Upgrade to a combo with a drink for $12.

Salad bar and soup of the day are also available.

While you can (and should) enjoy lunch at the beautiful Café anytime, they have something extra fun going on next week! See Lunch Specials at the Kentucky Legend Cafe for more information about this creative week.

More information:

The Owensboro Convention Center is located at 501 West 2nd Street.

You can find The Owensboro Convention Center on Twitter.

Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina: A Favorite Place to Eat Lunch in Owensboro

July 13, 2016 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Shocked. I’m BEYOND shocked that I haven’t written about one of my favorite places to eat lunch in my hometown – Salsarita’s. I loved it before I had to start eating gluten free and I think I love it even more now that I DO have to eat gluten free. I love the fact that they offer so many delicious options.

I also love the fact that it’s one place my big crazy family can gather for lunch or dinner and know that we’ll all find something that’ll blow us away. Within our family, there are two of us who have to eat gluten free, a vegetarian, a couple of steak lovers, three chicken fanatics, and a few who seem to choose something different each time we go.

If you’ve ever been to a Chipotle or Mo’s Southwest Grill, Salsarita’s will remind you of them. It is, however, larger than a lot of Chipotle restaurants, with much more comfortable seating.

The main way Salsarita’s sets itself apart from the rest is in the choices it offers. Not only can you have Bowls, Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas, Salads, or Nachos – the choice of meats is better than other similiar restaurants: Chicken, Pork, Ground Beef, Steak, or Shrimp.

{Review Continued Below…}

You have a large selections of toppings and fillings as well. Pico de Gallo (“Salsa”), onions, cheese, cilantro, black olives, rice, beans, etc… etc… etc… You’ll definitley want an order of chips and queso – I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful they are.

All of the food is out of this world delicious each and every single time. Every single bite is always so fresh and scrumptious – it’s little wonder it’s one of our favorite places to eat.

{Continued Below the Queso and Chips!}

Unless you live in Owensboro, you might not understand the following compliment, so I’ll explain. Some of the best places to eat in town have parking that ranges from less than desirable to flat-out horrible: Wasabi Express (Frederica Location), Mi Ranchito (West Parrish), Jimmy John’s (Frederica), Feta Pizza (Downtown)… Salsarita’s gets another point from us simply because they have a big parking lot!

Can you tell I hate tricky parking???

Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina is located at 3500 Villa Point (Out Highway 54, on the right, just past Kohl’s).

See Salsarita’s Website for their menu and gluten free and vegetarian options. The food and friendly people will blow you away.

Chick Fil A: Perfect For Lunch, Whether You’re Gluten Free or Not

August 6, 2015 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Chick-Fil-A Waffle Fries and Grilled Chicken Nuggets: Both Gluten Free and Delicious

Chick-Fil-A is just one special restaurant – no matter how you look at it. When one finally came to Owensboro, I was over the moon excited. Turns out the entire town and surrounding area must’ve felt the same way because our Chick-Fil-A on Frederica does exceptional business.

In fact, I know Owensboro could easily support a second location…. say, closer to where I live???

If you have to/choose to eat gluten free, Chick-Fil-A is a dream come true. Their Waffle Fries, Coleslaw, and Grilled Chicken Nuggets make a delicious meal (lunch or supper) and each is gluten free. I’ve never had a single issue at Chick-Fil-A which means cross-contamination isn’t likely (since I’m hyper-sensitive to gluten, I’d know).

Even Chick-Fil-A’s Sweet Tea is Fantastic

Not only is the food always perfectly delicious, Chick-Fil-A restaurants are consistently spotless and the service is almost always what you’d expect from such a exemplary restaurant chain.

Even vegetarians can enjoy lunch at Chick-Fil-A. The waffle fries, with a side of coleslaw, is more than filling.

When it comes to dining out Gluten Free, Chick-Fil-A’s waffle fries are a real blessing – they’re some of the only fries that ARE gluten free. They’re also one of the few restaurants where you can actually go through a drive thru and come away with a gluten free meal.

It may seem like a small thing to most people, but to the gluten free crowd, it’s a pretty big deal.

Chick-Fil-A Waffle Fries, Grilled Chicken Nuggets and Heavenly Chick-Fil-A Sauce!

If you’ve never tried the Chick-Fil-A Sauce, you should just leave your house right now and go get some… unless it’s a Sunday, of course – in which case, you’ll have to wait a day.

The strongest Chick-Fil-A cravings hit on Sunday, don’t they?!?

The Chick-Fil-A Sauce is a little something we call magic sauce in our family. We eat it with the fries, the chicken, and have even been known to just use our fingers. Good manners fly right out the door when it comes to “magic sauce.”

Chick-Fil-A’s Coleslaw is Some of the Best You’ll Ever Eat

Oddly enough, even though I’m OBSESSED with their coleslaw, I’d been eating regularly at Chick-Fil-A for months before I even realized they had coleslaw. My husband ordered some one day while we were having lunch at the Owensboro location. When I saw him take it off of his tray, my jaw dropped. It was like I had come face to face with Santa Clause.

Michael offered me “a bite” which may or may not have turned into about a dozen bites. I’ve never eaten there without a side of my own coleslaw since.

For which we’re both thankful.

Last of all… if you read my Kentucky Restaurant Reviews regularly, you know I’m a bona fide Ketchup snob. If it’s not Heinz or Hunt’s, I WILL turn all snobby pants. Chick-Fil-A avoids that little scenario by having Heinz Ketchup.

Good on them!

Chick-Fil-A Grilled Chicken and Magic Sauce (aka Chick-Fil-A Sauce)

The Owensboro Chick-Fil-A is at 4601 Frederica St. and it’s a perfect 10. If there are lots of cars in the parking lot, don’t fret – they move the line along very quickly. The restaurant is so incredibly popular, they’ve learned to move super-humanly quick!

Heinz Ketchup… Yay!

Firehouse Subs Owensboro, Kentucky…. Now Open!

June 11, 2015 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Firehouse Subs Hero Sub

We have a new restaurant in Owensboro that everyone’s really excited about – Firehouse Subs. I, personally, have never eaten at a Firehouse Subs but everyone who has tells me they’re extra, extra special.

Unfortunately, if you’re like me and my oldest daughter and cannot eat wheat/gluten, you’ll miss out on all the wonderful sandwiches as they don’t have gluten free bread or an “Unwich” option like Jimmy John’s.

HOWEVER, there are quite a few wonderful salads to choose from. I’ll write about one of these beauties as soon as I have a chance to enjoy one. The chili is also apparently gluten free and, again, I’ll let you know how awesome it is as soon as I check it out.

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The Decor is Beautiful!

We already had supper planned last night, but after eating, my husband and I drove over to take a look at Firehouse Subs and grab a sweet tea. When we pulled into the parking lot, we ran into one of our daughters, Stephany, and her husband, Rusty.

Great minds think alike! They had eaten supper at Firehouse Subs and raved about their sandwiches. The food shown here are their pictures and they’re’ enough to make your mouth water. She had the Italian Sub and Rusty had the Firehouse Hero Sub – they both said their subs were out of this world delicious.

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Firehouse Subs Italian Sub

Steph also told me that their sweet tea was fantastic. A few minutes later, I discovered that she was as right as Kentucky rain.

Michael grabbed a meatball sub to bring home and eat while we watched baseball on tv. The aroma was indescribable – It smelled amazing.

I’m crazy about the decor – the homage to Firemen is extraordinary. Talk about a career that requires bravery! I love the colors, the references to firemen, firehouses, and firetrucks and… possibly most of all, I LOVE the Dalmatian print tabletops.

Brilliant!

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[shareable]Firehouse Subs is now open in Owensboro – 5220 Frederica St![/shareable]

I’m Crazy About These Tables and Chairs

At the end of the counter, there are a lot – make that A LOT – of hot sauces for you to choose from. Be as brave as you dare – the sauces are ranked in order from the least hot to the most ridiculously hot. As for me, I’ll stick around the 1’s thank you very much!

Every Hot Sauce You Could Think Of is Here

Although I’m a chicken when it comes to hot sauces, there were a few brands I’d never seen before and am half-convinced I’ll check them out on my next visit.

Maybe.

I have my eye on the Bee Sting sauce. Sounds amazing!

As for drinks, in addition to some of the best sweet tea I’ve ever had, they also have unsweet tea and just about every conceivable combination of Coke products you can think of. The machine is one of those amazing drink set ups that looks like it was straight off an episode of The Jetsons. Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Vanilla…. there are over 120+ possible combinations including Firehouse Subs’ own Cherry Lime-Aid and Cherry Lime-Aid Lite.

I’ll have one of those on my next visit… it’ll help put out the fire from the Bee Sting Sauce!

You can check out the extensive Firehouse Subs menu on their website by clicking the link. Learn more about Firehouse Subs by reading the Press Release below… but, most importantly, head over to Frederica Street and try them out as soon as possible.

Press Release:

Firehouse Subs announces the grand opening of its first location in Owensboro on June 9, 2015. The award-winning fast casual restaurant chain is famous for serving premium meats and cheeses steamed piping hot and piled high on a toasted sub roll, which is served “Fully Involved®” with fresh produce and condiments. Founded by former firefighting brothers, the restaurant’s firehouse décor is based on the founding family’s decades of fire and police service, and the new location is decorated with firefighter memorabilia.

The restaurant is located at 5220 Frederica St. and is open Sunday – Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. This is the fourth restaurant for local owners Mickey, Jan, Curry and Katie McKeel, who own restaurants nearby are excited to bring the fire to Owensboro.

Firehouse Subs restaurants boast custom, hand-painted murals that pay tribute to the local community. The Owensboro mural depicts a local firetruck along with local firemen coming to the rescue at Riverside Park. Chief Mural Artist Joe Puskas and his team paint every mural from his studio at Firehouse Subs Headquarters. Since the opening of the first Firehouse Subs in 1994, Puskas has painted more than 890 murals.

Firehouse Subs extinguishes guests’ hunger with medium and large hot specialty subs, including the number one selling Hook & Ladder® sub, served with smoked turkey breast and Virginia honey ham smothered with Monterey Jack cheese. Other top sellers include the Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket,™ loaded with USDA choice beef brisket smoked for at least 16 hours in an authentic Texas smokehouse and topped with melted cheddar cheese and a special combination of sauces, including Sweet Baby Ray’s® Barbecue Sauce. In 2014, Firehouse Subs debuted its Under 500 Calories menu of six subs and four chopped salads. The low-calorie menu is the most significant menu addition in Firehouse Subs’ 20-year history and is available at all Firehouse Subs restaurants nationwide.

Unique to Firehouse Subs is Captain Sorensen’s® Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, named in honor of the founding brothers’ father, Rob Sorensen, a 43-year retired fire captain. The sauce has a spicy-sweet flavor from the datil pepper, a hot pepper similar to habaneros but with a sweeter taste. Firehouse Subs, the largest user of datil peppers in the world, will produce more than 60,000 gallons of its signature hot sauce this year. Additionally, each restaurant offers an assortment of 50+ complimentary hot sauces.

The touch-screen operated Coca-Cola Freestyle® fountain is available in every restaurant and offers 120+ sparkling and still beverage brands with 70+ regular and low-calorie options. Choices include the top selling non-carbonated fountain drink, Cherry Lime-Aid™ and Cherry Lime-Aid™ Light, exclusive original recipes by Firehouse Subs, served with fresh squeezed lime.

In 2005, Firehouse Subs created the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation® with the mission of providing funding, life-saving equipment and educational opportunities to first responders and public safety organizations. Many first responders make do with older equipment and have limited or no access to needed resources, but Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has given $13 million to hometown heroes in 43 states and Puerto Rico, including more than $154,000 in Kentucky. Local fundraising initiatives include recycling empty five-gallon pickle buckets and selling them to guests for $2 each, a Round Up Program allowing guests to “round up” their bill to the nearest dollar and spare change donation canisters.

About Firehouse Subs:
Firehouse Subs® is a fast casual restaurant chain with a passion for Hearty and Flavorful Food, Heartfelt Service and Public Safety. Founded by brothers and former firefighters Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen, Firehouse Subs is a brand built on decades of fire and police service, steaming hot subs piled higher with the highest quality meats and cheeses, and its commitment to saving lives through the creation of Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation ® . The founders are the real deal, the food is their creation, and the company is built upon a family of franchise operators who share their same passion for serving others. In 2014, Firehouse Subs debuted nationwide a new low-calorie menu, Under 500 Calories. Firehouse Subs consistently ranks No. 1 among fast casual brands in the categories of food quality, friendly service, and taste and flavor. In 2015, Firehouse Subs was ranked No. 1 consumer choice for welcoming and comfortable atmosphere by Technomic’s 2015 Chain Restaurant Consumers’ Choice Awards, and the brand produced the second-fastest growth in U.S. franchise units as ranked by Nation’s Restaurant News.

Connect with Firehouse Subs:

Website: Firehouse Subs
Twitter: @firehousesubs
Facebook: Firehouse Subs
YouTube: Firehouse Subs YouTube

Owensboro’s Firehouse Subs is located at 5220 Frederica St. and is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Jimmy John’s in Owensboro… What Took You So Long?

January 29, 2015 by Joi Sigers 2 Comments

Jimmy John’s has become one of our favorite places to eat lunch in Owensboro, Kentucky.

I only have one thing to say to the Jimmy John’s “Unwich” pictured above…. Hello, gorgeous! Jimmy John’s recently opened on Frederica Street in Owensboro and I couldn’t be happier. For one thing, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a happier, friendlier group of workers in one place in my life. Owensboro’s Olive Garden is one of the only places I can think that rivals the friendliness.

Must be an awesome place to work for everyone to be so happy.

Something else they are is fast. “Freaky” fast. This speed is never more appreciated than it is at lunchtime. If someone is on a lunch break and has a limited time to eat, I cannot imagine a better option than Jimmy John’s.

If they were any faster, they’d meet you at your car when you pulled into the parking lot and hand you your order.

I know one thing, it’s an awesome place to eat. Unlike the vast majority of restaurants (fast food and otherwise), Jimmy John’s has clearly thought of those of us who have to eat gluten free – they have an option for the bread-less crowd and it’s called an Unwich.

You can choose any sandwich on the extensive menu and simply say you want it as an Unwich. It comes wrapped in a big beautiful piece of lettuce which is then wrapped in a colorful Jimmy John’s wrapper. It’s so neat and tidy you could even eat it on the run.

The fact that “Unwich” is listed on the menu and the fact that every worker I’ve encountered clearly knows what it is takes all guess work and clumsiness out of the equation.

Even their chips are gluten free!

I hear that their bread is also fantastic and I can say this… it smells like Heaven, so I have no doubts that it’s extra special.

Two of my daughters, two sons-in-law, and I have been going to Owensboro’s Jimmy John’s regularly. Truth be told, our little group is probably keeping them hopping. My oldest daughter, Emily, and I have to eat gluten free and having a new lunch option that actually caters to the gluten free community is something we appreciate greatly.

The unwich means a lot to both of us. I started off ordering (and loving) a different Unwich each time I went – but then I fell extra hard for the “Club Lulu” (Turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato & mayo.) and have gotten it about 3 times in a row.

The great thing is that everything on their menu is fantastic, so whether you have to eat gluten free or not, you’ll find countless options. Great sandwiches AND great chips to go along with them.

Everything is ridiculously fresh and delicious – it blows me away every time. Their sweet tea is also uncommonly delicious.

Something else we all completely love at Jimmy John’s are their gigantic pickles. You’ll definitely want to order one of them along with the sandwich of your choice. They’re outstanding… and HUGE.

For a fast (freaky fast), fresh, and delicious lunch in Owensboro, you’ll want to try Jimmy John’s on Frederica… if you’re looking for a great place to eat gluten free in Owensboro, it’s an absolute must!

For a list of Jimmy John’s sandwiches, see their menu online.

Owensboro’s Jimmy John’s is located at 2300 Frederica Street – right next to Walgreens…. and within walking distance of Starbucks. Just sayin’.