When I was growing up there in the eighties and nineties, Lexington, Kentucky couldn’t have been called a destination. When people did come there, it was for the horse country, the races at Keeneland perhaps, or maybe a basketball game at Rupp Arena.

They certainly didn’t come for the food–or the drink, for that matter, despite Lexington’s surrounding countryside holding nearly all of the world’s bourbon distilleries. Before the aughts, in fact, the bourbon industry struggled with the prospect that it might fade away altogether, such was the disinterest in it, both nationally and abroad.

I remember a few culinary highlights—hot browns at Ramsey’s, the breadsticks at Joe Bologna’s, the white pizza at West Coast Gourmet Pizza, where I worked my senior year of high school (and now long gone), the vegetarian dishes at Alfalfa’s. But mostly, there wasn’t a whole lot going on, and what was happening certainly wasn’t doing much to draw people downtown.

Which was a shame, because downtown Lexington had some really good bones, with well preserved eighteenth and nineteenth century neighborhoods, the McKim, Mead and White-designed Fayette National Bank Building (now the 21C Hotel and Museum), historic Gratz Park. It had the square block that comprised Victorian Square, the marginally unfortunately named collection of old buildings that had been preserved and interconnected, forming a sort of mall.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and it’s a shame no more. A recent return trip to my hometown presented all kinds of downtown energy, much of it housed in the very historical buildings that were formerly overlooked. Lexington today presents as a far more sophisticated place than in the prior millennium. Victorian Square has been smartly renamed The Square, for starters. And in all directions from there, progressive bars, restaurants and other businesses have brought Lexington to life–including some craft distilleries that are an important part of bourbon’s renaissance.

Below are some food and drink highlights from my own visit home, all discovered in no small part thanks to my brother, Justin Stodola, who lives in Lexington had all the right recommendations.

Elkhorn Tavern

The bar attached to Barrel House Distilling in Lexington’s thriving Distillery District (which, when I was a kid, was completely abandoned. I didn’t even know it existed). We had some great bourbon-based cocktails here, and wished we’d come in winter instead so we could enjoy a crackling fire. ELKHORN TAVERN | 1200 MANCHESTER STREET

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County Club

This packed BBQ restaurant in a reimagined cinderblock grage uses only local meats. But this vegetarian also found plenty of deliciousness to order. Great outdoor seating, great indoor space. COUNTY CLUB | 555 JEFFERSON STREET

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Goodfellas Distillery

The pizza’s fine, but the wow factor of the space itself–a soaring one-time distillery along the creek where Lexington got its start–is the real reason no trip to Lexington is complete without a meal or drink here. GOODFELLAS DISTILLERY | 1228 MANCHESTER STREET

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Kentucky Native Café

Between the months of April and October, downtown Lexington has its very own secret garden, and it’s the best kind because it serves wine (and beer and snacks). Stick near the building for a more social scene, or find a table in one of the several wooded nooks. KENTUCKY NATIVE CAFE | 417 E MAXWELL STREET

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West Main Crafting Co.

Next door to the must-see 21C Hotel and Museum, this grownup craft cocktail bar serves what I swear on my life is the best Manhattan I’ve ever tasted, made with Kentucky rye whiskey and aged in oak barrels. WEST MAIN CRAFTING CO. | 135 WEST MAIN STREET

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The Break Room

This small building overlooking Town Branch Creek once served as the actual break room for workers at the Pepper Distillery. These days, it’s a pleasantly gruff spot where the best thing to order is a beer. THE BREAK ROOM | 1178 MANCHESTER STREET