Gather around, boys and girls, and I'll tell you all a story about a small city that made a big mistake -- but still has one good thing. You see, once upon a time, not too long ago, the little city of Crescent Springs, Ky., was promised by a city slicker from up north that if they let him do anything he wanted, they'd all be rich and fabulous. So the silly city said, "OK!" And the city slicker bulldozed all the prettiest trees in the city, smashed the hills and turned it into something that resembles Mt. Rumpke's ugly little sister. And what did the silly city get in return? A big, dumb hardware store.

So the people in the city had very little left to be happy about. Except one good thing that the developer forgot to destroy: The Speakeasy (2325 Anderson Road, 859-341-4977). Sure, it isn't fancy, but just like the trailer homes hidden among the trees before the bulldozers came, the Speakeasy is genuine. It's a real place, a bit gritty in spots, filled with stories.

There's a giant round wooden table with a built-in lazy Susan. It belonged to a great big family with 10 kids. The dad was so ingenious that he figured it was quicker to build that lazy Susan into the table than it was to say "Pass the salt" every night and have it pass slowly from kid to kid to kid. When all the kids were grown, the table wound up at the Speakeasy. That table's seen a lot of life in its day.

Yes, the Speakeasy's a lot like the funky trailers that used to surround it -- the air inside's not the freshest. But the folks at the Speakeasy have some pride, and they'll tell you that their fish sandwich is the best in town. They'd be right. It's a great big piece of cod, fried just right and delicious.

And the folks there brag about their burgers, as well they should. When I crave a real, honest, flavorful hamburger, this is the one I want. It's juicy and thick, and they'll cook it medium-rare and throw on a bunch of peppers and mushrooms if that's the way you want it. Heck, people ate medium rare burgers for a long time before they started worrying so much about 'em. And maybe the worrying is worse for you than the burger. The onion rings are worse for you than that, but they taste so good that I don't care.

Yes, Crescent Springs made a big, ugly mistake. But, luckily, they've still got the Speakeasy to comfort them. Oh, and Crescent Springs Hardware and Crestview Drugs, which are cool, too. But this is a restaurant column, so you'll have to find that out somewhere else.