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Kentucky.com - Lexington, KY, USA - Summer is the perfect excuse for a weekend road trip.

So each Thursday from now until Labor Day, contributing travel writer Patti Nickell will tell you about a Kentucky locale well worth your gas money and travel dollars. Some will be familiar, others will be hidden gems, but all will guarantee a good time.

First up is a culinary adventure in the River City.

Hey, harried moms and dads. Memorial Day has come and gone, signaling the official beginning of summer, and you still have heartburn from your mother-in-law's baked beans at the family cookout and sore muscles from one too many innings of softball with the kids. So, before you plunge into a summer chock-full of kid- and family-related activities, how about something for just the two of you?

If the idea excites you, consider a drive to Louisville for a romantic rendezvous at Proof on Main, the hot restaurant that has been receiving rave reviews from New York to Hong Kong.

As you sink into your plush chair and order a cosmopolitan, you'll feel those tight muscles loosen, and heartburn is the last thing you'll have after indulging in Chef Michael Paley's creative cuisine, although we can't promise a full sensation in your stomach.

Paley's modern-America-meets-Tuscany menu features such delectable dishes as octopus bagna cauda; baked ricotta; pan-roasted scallops with caramelized spaghetti squash; minted pea bruschetta with artisan bread, pine nuts, arugula and Parmigiano; and daily specials that aren't in the least "blue plate" -- ranging from handmade gnocchi to rabbit cacciatore.

Esquire magazine food critic John Mariani selected Proof as one of the best new restaurants of 2006, noting, "Chef Paley serves food every bit as colorful and bold as the restaurant's design."

And what a design it is. Juxtaposed with the building's original brickwork and reclaimed wood floors (it was part of Main Street's Whiskey Row from the 1840s to the 1920s) are such whimsical touches as hand-blown glass pendant lights sparkling from the ceiling and glass art votives, bronze statuary in the lively bar area, and a unique outdoor chandelier gracing the front entrance.

If you are surprised by the proliferation of art, don't be. Proof on Main is in the trendy 21c Museum Hotel, a recent entry on CondŽ Nast Traveler Magazine's "Hot List." It has a 5,000-square-foot gallery housing the multimillion-dollar art collection of Louisville investors and contemporary-art collectors Laura Brown and Steve Wilson. In its homage to the hotel, the magazine also gives a nod to Proof on Main, noting, "It serves generous cuts of bison and does a snazzy take on country ham fritters."

Likewise, you should not be surprised by who might be dining at the table next to you. Any place that has garnered this much recognition brings out the beautiful people en masse. Recent celebs spotted dining at Proof on Main have included hometown favorites Diane Sawyer and Muhammad Ali; the champ's daughter and Dancing With the Stars finalist Laila Ali; and Ted Turner, former ER hunk Noah Wyle, celebrity Chef Bobby Flay of the Food Network, political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin, and indie-film director John Waters.