Bluegrass Pizza and Pub in Danville: Tasty Stop While Seeking Bourbon
Bluegrass Pizza and Pub in Danville has a cool atmosphere and good food. Photos by Kevin Gibson
Took a day trip recently to Danville, Ky., for a distillery experience and a walk around the Centre College campus on a blustery day. The pizza place we discovered as we decided on lunch was a surprising highlight: Bluegrass Pizza and Pub.
Located in downtown Danville at 314 W Main St., Bluegrass Pizza is a rock-themed eatery with a bar and lots of records, posters and other music memorabilia everywhere you look. I even found a hand-made cigar box ukulele.
The question my girlfriend Cynthia and I had was whether the food and experience would match the fun décor. The verdict we walked away with was that both aspects outdistanced the already-cool atmosphere. The first thing we encountered was that the staff was beyond friendly and ready to answer our questions. Both Cynthia and I were surprised how much our 20-something young server wanted to chat us up – and in a good way.
We started our lunch with a pair of appetizers, as we were both starving: An order of cheesesteaks and an order of lime-Buffalo wings (the latter mostly because I had stalked some photos online and the wings looked amazing). But the menu offers plenty of options for warm-ups, like pesto feta cheese sticks, fired pickles and something called Hot Sicilian Junk Fries, which is a trio of Italian meats, two cheeses, banana peppers and more over fries. (There’s even a Junk Fries of the Month special.)
Oh, those wonderful wings.
Pizzas can be build your own or a specialty pie, like a Hot Brown, Pesto Chicken, Mighty Meat, etc. Also, in addition to pizza, there’s a huge selection of salads, calzones, Italian sandwiches and plenty more.
When the first round arrived, we were struck immediately by just how much fresh garlic emanated from the cheese sticks. Thick, gooey mozzarella laid over a light layer of perfectly cooked dough and sprinkled with parmesan, it was nearly a pizza on its own, and would easily make a meal for a single. And the marinara sauce served on the side was clearly freshly made, lightly sweet but mostly leaning toward savory and bright.
The wings arrived after I’d had one of the tasty sticks, so I shifted gears to the glistening, red-orange chicken wings. The sauce was delicious, much more than Frank’s Hot Sauce and butter, instead possessing a rich, spicy flavor with just a splash of lime flavor to add some brightness. Best of all, they were cooked extra crispy, locking in the juicy white meat, which was perfectly done and ample. Those were some of the best wings I’ve had in some time. I would consider driving back for another basket.
Then came our pizza, a basic (but classic) large pepperoni. The thin, yeasty crust was worthy of dipping in the leftover marinara, and the bottom of the pie was charred just right. (We both love the char on our crust.) To Cynthia’s joy, the pie was riddled with crust bubbles rising up. And once again, the pie was notably garlicky, another good thing. And it was large enough that we had plenty to take home leftovers. I don’t think the pizza quite hit the heights of the wings, but it wasn’t far behind.
Danville is a good hour and a half away, but if you happen to make a trip down to Wilderness Trail Distillery, it’s a short drive to downtown to check out Bluegrass Pizza. Totally worth it, and I suspect we’ll return next time we get back to the area. It’s welcoming, moderately priced and friendly. And there’s lots of garlic.
