Last Thursday I happened to be in Corbin for a hearing. Corbin, interestingly enough, is one of few cities in Kentucky that is in two counties (Whitley and Knox). In fact, an unincorporated portion of Corbin is actually in a third county (Laurel), but due to state law, a city cannot be located in three counties.I found Corbin to be notable because of its relative lack of a cohesive downtown area - probably because it isn't a county seat, and lacks a true courthouse area and the traffic and businesses such a center brings. Anyway, I decided for some random reason to go through town on my way back home, and I literally stumbled upon the Sanders Cafe - the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. I had yet to eat lunch, so I figured why not? So I followed my instincts and "ate where it all began."
The Sanders Cafe is weird. Putting aside the fact that it is a KFC with a museum in it, the building itself is a bizarre blending of the past and the present. Imagine taking a full service KFC counter and those plastic booths they have and dumping it inside of a Cracker Barrel. This is sort of the feel of the place. There is also a fully accurate recreation of Colonel Sanders' kitchen, and a mock up of what a room in the old hotel that the Colonel ran looked like.
As I ate my chicken sandwich and potato wedges, I began to realize that given its stature throughout the rest of the world, I was probably sitting in the most famous place in all of Kentucky. In a way, I guess this was sort of sad, but in another way I guess its better than what other states have as their claim to fame.
I guess its better than nothing to be known around the world for good food and hospitality - and pretty cool string ties.
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