A Few Random Thoughts: A LivingSocial meal deal at Hall's on the River

I use coupons on a regular basis, but I'm definitely not into extreme couponing, a practice some people use that you might have seen on some recent television shows. I don't spend hours clipping and cutting coupons, but I do like a good deal, so I've started visiting LivingSocial.com and Groupon.com—online sites to find deals in your area. There is a daily deal for many cities around the country, and businesses such as restaurants, salons, car washes, and even dentists are using the site to offer a percentage (usually 50 percent or more) off of their products and services. For example, you spend $10 on the deal and receive a $20 coupon.

These sites are easy ways to find possible deals in your area and try new places. You can sign up to receive a daily email that lists the deal for specific cities. I receive notices about deals in Lexington, Knoxville, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Gainesville. While I've only purchased deals for Lexington and Knoxville, I want to know about the deals in other cities in case I want to take advantage of them and possibly share or buy them for family and friends. I also think they would be great if you're planning a trip to a specific city.

So far, I've purchased deals from several restaurants, including some we haven't tried before, a magazine subscription to The Bourbon Review, and deals to purchase University of Kentucky merchandise at Fan Outfitters. (Since David will be a dental student here for four years, we can't exactly wear orange and blue all the time contrary to what some of our family and friends might think!) The deals have expiration dates, but the ones I've seen are for at least four or five months up to a year after the purchase date. Other rules include using the entire coupon in one visit and not receiving any money back if you don't spend as much as the coupon is worth, but most of the time, those rules shouldn't be a problem.

I actually purchased a few deals for restaurants when we lived in Knoxville. Lexington wasn't a city on LivingSocial last year this time, but the sites add cities on a regular basis, and Lexington was picked up a few months ago. Our latest LivingSocial deal was to Hall's on the River in Winchester, Kentucky. I paid $15 and received a $30 coupon to spend on food and drinks.

The restaurant is about 25 minutes from our house, and we can take several scenic routes through rolling hills and horse farms to get there. The food is a combination of seafood, steaks and southern speciality dishes, such as Kentucky's famous hot brown and lamb fries (lamb testicles). Two appetizers that we've seen on many menus in Kentucky are beer cheese dip and fried banana peppers. I'm still getting used to the beer cheese dip as a cold dip since I've had beer cheese at other restaurants, and it's served warm. There is a long history of beer cheese in Kentucky, and there is even a beer cheese festival each year in Winchester.

We ordered the beer cheese dip as an appetizer, and it is very good. In addition to the beer and cheese, there are other spices in it such as garlic and probably cayenne since there is a kick to it. It is served with crackers, carrots and celery.

I reviewed the menu online before we went, but there are some dishes on the menu at the restaurant that aren't listed online, including the one I ordered. For our entrees, I ordered the stuffed sole with crab meat, and my sides were a tossed salad and beer cheese grits. Some of the salad dressings are homemade, including ranch and blue cheese. I tried the blue cheese first, but it had too much mayo and very little blue cheese, so I asked for ranch, and it was much better. The fish and grits were very good.

David ordered another house speciality, the fried catfish, and he also got the tangy slaw and smashed potatoes. I am not a fan of cole slaw, but the tangy slaw was excellent, some of the best I've ever had. Our server said it is vinegar-based and based on a German recipe. His catfish and potatoes were also good. Each entree was $15 or more, and while the two sides were good portions, the actual amount of fish we each received wasn't overly generous.

The service was excellent, and we let our server know it was our first visit, and he was very helpful in explaining their popular dishes and making suggestions. There is a large outdoor eating area with covered tables, and even though it's the middle of July, we could have dined outside comfortably on this Saturday afternoon because of low humidity.

I noticed some photos when we walked in that were taken last year when the restaurant flooded. Read this online story at http://www.lex18.com/news/halls-on-the-river-re-opens-after-flood/ to see photos and video of how fast water can rise on the Kentucky River.