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Cleveland's at the Woodford Inn: 'Nice' doesn't do it justice

By Howard M. Snyder hsnyder@herald-leader.com

VERSAILLES — Finally we have a nice restaurant, said a Versailles native who visited Cleveland’s at the Woodford Inn with me. That’s not taking a swipe at the other good restaurants in Versailles — Melissa’s Cottage Café or Railheads, among them — but Cleveland’s is lovely.

Situated in a parklike ­setting, Woodford Inn, formerly an ­orphanage, is now a small ­boutique hotel with 10 rooms and a ­restaurant that rivals the ­restaurants of Midway, Lexington and all points east.

My first trip to Cleveland’s — opened in June by Ouita and Chris Michel of the Holly Hill Inn and Paige and Jared Richardson of ­Wallace Station, business partners and in-laws — was a ­gathering of Kentucky cousins. My first cousin once removed was in town ­”viztin’,“ and she invited me to join this lopsided gathering: I was the only person on her father’s side of the family; the rest of the guests were on her mother’s side. I felt sort of like a skunk at a picnic. We filled the main dining room.

I thought if Cleveland’s can pull this off, it’s ready for a review. And pull it off it did.

With only a few minor ­infractions at our table, Cleveland’s fed 32 or so hungry people almost all at once.

Cleveland’s menu isn’t huge, but it’s adequate. It combines old Kentucky and Southern favorites, like the hot Brown, fried chicken, fried catfish, shrimp and grits, and dressed eggs. (That last entry made me smile. Growing up in these here parts, I didn’t know what a ”deviled“ egg was. We always called them ”dressed“ eggs.)

For a second visit, I called a friend (that Versailles native), and we returned the next night for a wonderful dinner. It started with yummy ”dressed“ eggs ($4.95 for four). The yolks had been mixed with lemon, dill (wonderful) and mayonnaise, whirred in a food processor, then piped back into the egg white using a pastry bag. They were heaven.

The shrimp rémoulade ($7.95) was half a dozen large, not jumbo, shrimp served as a salad rather than in cocktail form. The punchy sauce was drizzled over all of the shrimp, which had been cooked perfectly.

We split what was called the ”kilt salat“ ($5.95), which turned out to be a wilted lettuce salad. It, too, was heaven. A hot vinaigrette made with bacon drippings (ha, ha ... grease), vinegar and sugar was poured over a salad of mostly spinach. Chopped hard-boiled eggs, bacon and onion garnished the plate.

The entrees we sampled were lovely. The shrimp and grits ($8.95) had six large shrimp on a bed of mild-tasting cheese grits, topped with a sauce diable (that’s fancy French for hot sauce). They made the sauce with a bottled Louisiana hot sauce (Crystal), but it wasn’t that hot. That was a problem with continuity: I had tasted it on the first visit, when my cousin ordered it, and noted it was quite spicy. The shrimp, however, were cooked perfectly — with a slight tooth — both times.

The smothered steak ($11.95) blew my expectations. I hadn’t paid much mind to this entree because I was thinking ”chicken-fried steak smothered with cream gravy,“ but my dinner guest picked it. In reality, it was more like a pot roast cooked in red wine, onion, bacon and mushrooms. It was a chunky daube de boeuf or boeuf ­bourguignon. The winy flavor was held in the beef, making this dish rich, rich, rich.

The desserts were another treat. Drunken pineapple upside-down cake ($3.95) was made with butterscotch instead of the traditional brown sugar/caramel topping ... er ... bottoming. It was excellent.

The special peach trifle ($5.95), not on the menu, was brilliant. A layer of banana mousse topped a layer of cake, which topped a mixture of fresh peaches and blackberries (they were so small, I’m almost sure they were wild). It was a perfect ending to a hot summer night.

The only menu item I didn’t like at Cleveland’s was the corn bread, which was dry. It was made with a mix of cornmeal and flour and, to me, was not true corn bread.

Another problem had been ­encountered at the ”Kentucky ­cousin“ dinner: Two cousins ordered the hot Brown without the bacon. That didn’t happen. The entrees were served fully assembled. Despite that misfire, the hot Brown was properly made. Turkey (a roasted breast sliced with an electric slicer, it was not the best and reminded everyone of deli turkey) on toast, covered with a rich Cheddar mornay sauce and topped with bacon, not ham. The tomato was served on the side. The original hot Brown, created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, didn’t have tomato at all (it was created in the 1920s, when you couldn’t get a tomato in the winter) or ham.

Now, Versailles residents won’t have to drive to Midway to enjoy fine dining. Cleveland’s at the Woodford Inn lays a beautiful table. All it needs to do is work on that corn bread.

Dinner for two, including tax, but not tip, was $65.35, but I fear the prices are introductory, so grab it while you can.