I’ll be jumping on the obvious bandwagon next week with a column on how to eat cheaply in tough economic times. Try to find a food section not tackling this issue, I know, yawn.
Anyway, I’m soliciting ideas. Braising tougher cuts, more beans, real fat, eating less meat in general, etc. Any ideas? Any non-squirrel tips from the Great Depression era?
Thom Yum: New place (Thai) has replaced the High Street Korean place in Jeff City. Haven’t tried yet, as line was out the door…hear service is incredibly slow but hey, they’re newly-opened.
Bravo: Kansas City chain-ish restaurant better than you should expect. Bread is Macaroni Grill-style chem-laden nastiness. But pastas were uniformly good.
Bek’s: Finally tapped into one of Fulton’s “best.” And Jesus, don’t order seafood. I ordered the salmon, which appeared to have been cooked from moment of order until serving (45 minutes, w/apps). Also tried someone’s grilled marlin…they’d apparently started that before our arrival.
Lutz’/Zesto: In the Jefferson City pulled pork-showdown, the early lead goes to Zesto, actually, though nothing’s been wrong with Lutz’ the past few visits.
I had two recommendations for The Brick Oven as a good place to snag a bite to eat in Samuel Langhorn Clemens’ hometown. We enjoyed a not-bad antipasto platter and a quite-good pizza, as well as a couple of Morettis. Not a bad lunch.
Breakfast – sadly – was had at the regrettably schlocky Becky Thatcher Diner. Corned beef hash and eggs should not take thirty minutes to make. Tasted fine, but we were embittered from waiting. Skip it.
I’ll be in Hannibal overnight for work Thursday and could use a couple good dining recommendations there. As luck would have it, my visit corresponds with the National Tom Sawyer Days festival – and a Hannibal Cavemen homestand. Scores all around.
Maybe it was the fact that most of the patrons were wearing shorts, and smoking, outside. Or that a guy was weed-eating fifteen feet from the patio. But we should have taken the first five or six hints that Mackenzie’s was not what we were looking for and left. But we didn’t. After all, 400 million radio ads can’t be wrong, can they? Oh yes they can, big time.
Even though I’m completely incapacitated with work – apparently – I do have a food-related trip this weekend. I’ll be going down to Newman University (think Newman Farm pork) Saturday. The goal is 1200 words for Missouri Life magazine. Should be lots to cover.
Taking recommendations for food stops anywhere between Columbia and West Plains.
I’ll be in Kansas City, unfortunately, but get your omelet on:
This Saturday we will be having a fund-raiser at the Columbia Farmer’s Market (between the Arc and West Jr. High School). We will be cooking omelets to order with local ingredients from 8:15 until 11:15, we hope you are able to make it, we will be just to the South on the grass.
Thank you for your support
Brook Harlan, Carri Risner, and Jeff Rayl
Chef Instructors, Columbia Area Career Center
So I spent all day shuttling around St. Louis. Five events for the boss, nary a second to spare. As far as lunch goes, the rundown, forlorn-looking bbq place across from one of our locations (B & G BBQ) looked the part but was not recommended by the folks in the know. We were left with hotel food, at the Marriott West, which was a few shades above edible.
Clearly, the new gig has brought blogging to a near standstill. Apologies for that; I will keep up with this as much as possible. One upside: beginning next week I’ll be getting around the state quite a bit. First week it’s St. Louis and Kansas City. Next, Columbia. Then Springfield. I’ll probably sprinkle in a few other more rural visits as well, so throw ideas my way. Thinking destinations within an hour of Jefferson City.
Stratton’s Cafe: A far better breakfast than you’d expect in the shadow of the Ritz Carlton. I had a truly excellent breakfast burrito; biscuits and gravy were quality too.
La Vallesana: Tiny dive of a restaurant in St. Louis’ Mexican-dominated Cherokee Street. Well-worth the trip south on Jefferson. Great tacos, unparalleled people-watching, low wallet-impact.
Llywelyn’s: Had a couple here come completely unglued on my for propping my feet up in a chair. On plastic lawn chairs in the deserted beer garden outside. Amongst the bird droppings and Bambino’s-level formality. Almost fisticuffs, no joke. The fish and chips were forgettable.
The City Museum: Amazing climbing/mayhem center. A truly kickass place for kids. Without kids in tow, it’s a monument to $24 very poorly spent.
If you’ve picked up a newspaper, read a food blog or driven anywhere near St. Louis in the past two years, you know about Gerard Craft. The celebrated – and apparently major-market savvy – Gateway City chef has been raking in the accolades since opening Niche four or five years ago. It is arguably the most highly-regarded restaurant in town and I finally (finally!) paid a visit Saturday night.
An interesting note from Eric today.
I’ve heard several market vendors comment that though crowds are up this year, purchasing seems a bit down.
My trout column is online, and in today’s paper. Remember, I don’t come up with all of the headlines.
Los Cuates: Sorry Taqueria El Rodeo, these guys up on Bernadette are closer and so, so good. Last time it was three tacos: cueritos, azabado and chicharrones. Seriously, brilliant food just steps from the depressing mall food court. Be prepared to either speak Spanish or order by pointing.
Main Squeeze: Had an excellent veggie stir-fry (with sesame tofu) yesterday. So good I bought a bottle of Thai peanut sauce at Cherry Hill Market and remade it for dinner, with barley this time.
An MU photojournalism student is working on a project chronicling the winter-spring transition that went on out at Chert Hollow Farm. Though it remains a work in progress, this is really solid work.
So apparently all I’m going to do with this blog anymore is post random videos. Here’s one that at least has something to do with food. Witness, The Tabbouleh Song:
It is an incontrovertible truth that the best television on any given week is Prime Minister’s Questions, Wednesdays on C-SPAN. Here, Gordon Brown gets his from the David Cameron of the Conservative Party:
Faithful readers of this blog may have noticed a few recent posts about dining options in Jefferson City. This is not an accident, as I’ve been going through the interviewing process for a new job; one that I have now accepted: communications director for the Missouri Department of Social Services. The department handles TANF, food stamps, juvenile justice, foster care, child support enforcement and the state’s Medicaid program, MO HealthNet, among other programs. It’s going to be fun and challenging, but will necessarily leave far less time for blogging, lunchtime dining research, and so on. Still, I plan on keeping up with it, and will likely be able to post dispatches from destinations further afield as I familiarize myself with the department’s operations and facilities around the state.
It is not easy leaving the University of Missouri’s Thompson Center. It’s been a great place to work with innumerable success stories and daily inspiration. But leaving I am; I look forward to the challenge and appreciate your readership so far.
Sincerely,
Scott
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