I love Walt's Hitching Post. It's a classic restaurant, quite the opposite of the plastic, fake-memorabilia, grown-up fast food joints springing up all around us. The photos on the walls from the golden days of racing at the old Latonia course are genuine and priceless. There are ghosts of old bookies haunting this place, and I've even heard legends about the restaurant being lost on a bad bet, way back when.

There are some outstanding meals to be had here among the memories, and the prices are fair. The fried chicken ($12.95) requires an awfully long wait, but when it arrives it is worth every second. This is Southern skillet fried chicken at its absolute best. The skin is crisp; the breading is tasty; the pieces are large, flavorful and meaty. It is praiseworthy stuff.

Another highlight of any meal at Walt's is the bread basket. Salt rye bread is served buttered and warm, and the cornbread is crisp on the outside and soft inside. I've had a lot of cornbread recently that has disappointed the hell out of me, but not this. It's wonderful.

I've always loved Walt's house dressing. It's called tomato garlic, and it's a savory French dressing that really packs some oomph. Their fresh Roquefort ($1 upcharge) is also homemade and outstanding.

If you're a fan of Montgomery Inn ribs, I will go out on a limb and say that you'll like Walt's better ($15.50 for a regular order, $16.95 for a full slab). I happen to be partial to meatier spare ribs, but I can appreciate baby back ribs and God knows I've eaten enough of them to tell you when they're well prepared. These are. Smoked outside over wood, they're flavorful and meaty, not greasy, and the sauce is probably the best I've ever had.

The home fried potatoes are also a home run. Best when served with onions ($1 upcharge), these are probably my favorite potatoes anywhere in town. They're hand-cut, and the variation in size and shape of the slices gives them a nice mix of flavor and texture -- none of the blandness of shredded potatoes.

I love Walt's oversized linen napkins, the absence of annoying background music, the classic French onion soup with loads of cheese melted on top and even the awkward teenaged busboys. These are all great things, and should never change. Well, the busboys should change, like all teenagers should -- but I digress.

I'm trying to postpone that moment I've been dreading when, like a parent at their most annoying, I've got to tell Walt's where they are falling short, for their own good. Why? Because I love them and I want them to stay in business forever. So here we go. Be brave.

One of my companions ordered fried scallops ($15.95). Even if it's silly to order fish in a ribs joint, sometimes people do. The result was a plateful of food that I would expect to be served in a Catholic grade school cafeteria on a Friday in Lent. The dull, tasteless breaded scallops were moist, but not much else. The fact that they were served with olive-drab, canned green beans only made them that much more like The Revenge of Lunch Lady Doris. Not good.

To compete with the TGI Applebacks of the world, a menu needs the occasional revamp. I don't think the world needs another blooming onion; in fact, God forbid. But upgrading the vegetable side dish to something fresh and seasonal, even some crisp steamed broccoli, is a start. Not using frozen service industry breaded scallops is another. If you want to use iceberg lettuce in this day and age, you're not really showing effort. But you can get away with it up until the point where the iceberg is wilted. No wilted lettuce. And especially not as a plate garnish. It's depressing.

We lost a wonderful landmark recently with the passing of F&N Steakhouse in Dayton, Ky. The owners were quite candid in saying that it was hard to compete with the pre-fabricated extravaganzas at Newport on the Levee. Walt's is also threatened by encroaching mega-eateries, and I recommend that they call on the spirit of those old Latonia jockeys. When you see the younger ponies pulling ahead, give the old warhorse a gentle, humane, but necessary whuppin'. In this day and age, the race goes to the swift. ©

Walt's Hitching Post
Go: 3300 Madison Pike, Covington

Call: 859-331-0494

Hours: 11 a.m.­1 a.m. daily

Prices: Moderate

Payment: Major credit cards

Red Meat Alternatives: Side dishes, salads, some fish

Accessibility: Entrance on the side

Grade: C+