Spotlight on The Palms of Lexington

Caitlin McCabe, executive chef of The Palms at Lexington has been enamored by cooking since she was young. The 31-year-old recalls memories of playing “chef," and returning from summer camp to declare to her mother that she was going to be a cook one day. Fast forward, and now, McCabe can be found steering the ship at The Palms, a Lexington institution that’s been open since 1975.  

“It’s Southern hospitality, kind of a blend of everything around the area with an emphasis on comfort food,” she says of the restaurant’s offerings. "Our catch phrase is fun, friendly vibes.” 

Standouts on the bistro-style menu include their fried chicken sandwich, pizzas and a favorite of McCabe’s, the Southern Red Eye — a burger topped with pimento cheese, housemade bacon jam, smoked bacon, and red eye aioli on a buttered brioche.  

“It’s a gluttonous bomb, but magical,” says McCabe with a laugh.  

The New York native says moving to Virginia pushed her to expand her cooking style and that her kitchen staff jokes that after years, they can finally lowercase the “y” in Yankee, in regard to McCabe’s Northern roots. With an associate degree in baking and pastry, bachelor in food service management and minor in beverage, McCabe brings years of experience to The Palms, including a knack for desserts.  

“We run dessert specials and have a couple desserts on the menu as well, and generally make those in house, we try to do as much as we can out of house so we can take as much pride as we can in what we are serving to the people who come in and spend time with us,” she says.  

Formerly of Wild Wolf Brewing, McCabe has been working with Cavalier Produce for most of her professional career, while The Palms has been partnering with them for the past six years, since McCabe joined the team.  

“I was used to working with them, I knew their product was good, I knew they were reliable and have been using them ever since,” she says, noting that The Palms source a bounty of local produce through Cavalier, from mixed greens to peaches during the summer and even seafood.  

“They’ve been a really great resource, and they’ve grown and expanded their product line, we’ve kind of taken advantage of everything they can bring to the table. They have a great catalog of product and we love to be able to feature [purveyors] around us as well.”

Written by our guest blogger Eileen Mellon