Shelbyville

Shelbyville is a cool town with a decent amount going on. It's about halfway between Lexington and Louisville, so it's not really close to either location. While Shelbyville is somewhat isolated because of this, the population is large enough and there's enough going on that Shelbyville doesn't feel boring or too small town. Sure, it's a bit quaint, and it bills itself as very "Southern Charm" which it does have I suppose, but Shelbyville is a great place nonetheless.

First, like I mentioned, there's a fair bit to do in Shelbyville. For food, you can choose from quality BBQ at Ken-Tex, which I've visited a few times over the last year and a half and I've always been happy with the results. For Mexican food you can try out Marimba or Fiesta Mexicana. I'm more of a Marimba fan. You'll find plenty of dining options in Shelbyville, and while there are any super fine dining type places here, you'll probably be pretty satisfied.

I'm separating this restaurant because of how cool it is, but you should also check out Claudia Sanders Dinner House. This is where Colonel Sanders had Kentucky Friend Chicken for years and years. When he sold the company it didn't become part of the new company. Claudia was the name of the Colonel's wife and they still have some incredible home cooking here. It's definitely a place to check out in the area.

Of course, there's more to Shelbyville than a few restaurants. As this is Kentucky, you can find a good bourbon distillery or two. I suggest the tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery in nearby Frankfort. You could do Heaven Hill in Bardstown too if you're a fan, but Buffalo Trace was more fun in my opinion. The Talon Winery has tours also, though I've never taken one there.

Shelbyville is a fun place with some cool history, but it's also a reasonably safe town with enough people to keep things interesting for a while. You're not really close to any bigger cities, but you're not far away if you want to make a short drive for a day trip to the city. Shelbyville is definitely worth a look for visiting or living!