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Can't claim to have invented this but a grilled hot dog on a toasted bun with chunky peanut butter and Sriracha on top.

Are you sure that isn't sambal oelek? I don't think sriracha has seeds. Regardless, they look tasty.

I also grew up in Lexington. Unfortunately, we are trapped by chain restaurants in large part, so be prepared.

I second the recommendation on the Tolly Ho. Get the cheese fries.

If your friend is up for cajun/creole food, there are a couple of oddly great options, Bourbon n Tolouse (on Euclid Ave) for traditional favorites (their ettoufee is great), and Gumbo Ya Ya's for more esoteric dishes (try the maque choux over pasta). Both places follow the same formula: your choice of sauce over rice (with a choice of pasta at GYY), for less than $8. Great deal, great food. If I recall, GYY (and possibly BnT) is a resurrections of a restaurant started in the 1990s by a NOLA ex-pat named Joe Vuskovich (who now has a chain called Yats, which was the place originally in Lexington).

We finally have a sichuan place, Panda Cuisine, that is good. It's on Nicholasville Rd.

For a true taste of Lexington though, your friend needs to go to Ramsey's. There's one near UK's campus. It's a meat-and-three place. The veggies are great. I'm partial to the pork tenderloin sandwich and the meatloaf.

Joe B's is good, but they have terrible beer. Near campus (and Joe B's) there is a Mellow Mushroom (yes, the chain), and a place called Pazzo's, which is very much like MM, but is local. Both have pretty good pile-on-the-toppings pizza. Better yet, they have amazing beer selections on tap (over 30 at each).

Beyond that, it all depends on what your friend thinks is "fancy."