Danny Schlink is expanding the laid back vibes of Grad School

Danny Schlink, owner of Grad School, is expanding the concept of his popular, lunch-packed diner on Jefferson with a laid back bar in the same style as the restaurant – The J.O.B. Public House. “What’s the natural progression after Grad School?” Schlink asked. “You get a j-o-b.”

He hopes The J.O.B. Public House will turn around quickly after uprooting foodie staple Merle’s Hot Dog Emporium. Schlink said he took over the lease on Monday, but not to worry, because Merle’s is landing in a larger, more visible location – where Lili’s Diner used to be.

J.O.B. will be a full-service bar with the hope of opening a full-time kitchen at the turn of the year. Schlink said he doesn’t think it will take long to transition and should open fairly soon. When ready, it will be open Wednesday-Saturday. Coincidentally (?) Grad School will be celebrating its second birthday tomorrow (10/7/10).

Watch for updates from TAGsgf.com on the progress of both J.O.B. and Merle’s.

Leong's Asian Diner has a little bit of convincing to do to convert the exterior barn motif.

Coming Soon are very encouraging words.

It was very exciting to see “Coming Soon” on the message board at the future home of Leong’s Asian Diner. The new venture of Wing Yee Leong, son of Cashew Chicken Creator David Leong, will help put the local Asian food scene back in order. There are nearly 100 Chinese-style restaurants in SGF and all of them are trying to duplicate the Leong masterpiece recipe. Let’s just say we’re excited to have the first family of Chinese food in the city fully back in the game. Wing Yee Leong has served as a chef at several other spots, but not since Gee’s East Wind closed in July of 2000, has there been a Leong-run restaurant. Leong’s Teahouse, a long-running SGF staple closed in 1997.

Leong is joined by chef Mike Herndon – the duo has more than 50 combined years in the kitchen.

The building still needs a remodel and there’s some work to do, but you can keep up with the progress on Facebook. According to an update on Sunday, they were going to pick the contractor for the remodel this week.

Stay tuned.

Houlihan's second SGF location is now open on Republic (east of the YMCA, west of Glenstone).

Houlihan’s southside location opened slowly Monday, according to Kitchen Manager Jeff Jordan, but has grown day-by-day. He expects a big opening weekend. It’s SGF’s second location, but features a “totally different menu (from the restaurant at Glenstone and Kearney. “We have a small-plate menu, which is unique,” Jordan said. The smaller portions at lower cost ($3-7) allows patrons to “try a little bit of everything.” For example, Jordan said single eggs rolls and shrimp rolls are featured. The signature nachos, scallops and fried mushrooms were named as some highlight items as well. And nearly everything is made in house from scratch – 99%, according to Jordan. It’s located on Republic Road, east of the YMCA and west of the Nature Center entrance (I missed it on the first pass). Houlihan’s is open Sunday-Thursday (11 a.m.-10 p.m.) and Monday-Friday (11 a.m.-11 p.m.).

It’s a little cozier than the location on the northside, but has an incredible, massive, wraparound porch – complete with a fire pit (provokes thoughts of winter month patio parties with a light dusting of snow and s’mores, but I digress). For now, there is still some light construction, but it shouldn’t impose on your meal.

The new Pickleman's is open for business - immediately across the street from Jimmy John's.

Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe has opened its new location in downtown SGF on the corner of Walnut and Jefferson. The area is already sandwich packed with Jimmy John’s across the street, while locally owned faves Merle’s and Chicago Cheesesteak Company are just a few doors down. Time will tell if there’s enough sandwich business to go around.

Bob from Bob’s Whine and Dine reviewed the other Pickleman’s location.

Lets just get to the point. The new Price Cutter Bistro Market in downtown Springfield, MO is possibly one of the best things to happen to downtown Springfield in a long…long long time. That being said, here are our thoughts after spending some time there on opening night last night.

This place is simply awesome. From the minute you walk in, you feel like you went through a Star Trek transporter and landed in a big city market. Stuff like this simply hasn’t existed in Springfield until now. There are 3 entrances. One off the south end of the building through their parking lot and two off of South Avenue. If you walk in the north South Ave. entrance, you re between the bar and seating area to your right and the massive hot food buffet, breakfast buffet and prepared food cooler to your left. Even further to your left, a Starbucks and a gelato bar.

The Market/Grocery Area

We first walked beyond that to explore the rest of the market. They have an expansive alcohol, beer and wine selection with competitive prices. The layout is a little tight, but that is to be expected with anything downtown (if you’ve ever lived in a loft, you know what we’re talking about). The layout is extremely well planned. If you’re looking at wines, the fine cheese selection is right there. If you’re looking at eggs, bacon is right there. Its the type of thing you’d like to see more of in other stores. I imagine I could complete my grocery run in about 5 mins here.

As far as what types of things they have in stock, pretty much everything a normal Price Cutter does, but less quantity and more selection. They have almost anything you could want or need, but in smaller quantities. I’m a foodie and make a wide variety of dishes at home. I’m constantly unhappy with food selection in Southwest Missouri. This may change that. From a meat counter that includes Kobe beef to one of the best seafood selections in town, along with a touch screen recipe station in front of the meat counter that will help you quickly get a recipe and shopping list that will make quick meal planning and execution easy.

Notable features of market:

• Smart layout
• Wide selection
• Amazing produce selection (photo #11) (its hard to find kale for Portuguese soup in the Ozarks)
• Incredible produce selection (photo #8) with self service olive bar (photo #10)
• Good meat counter with knowledgeable staff
• HUGE wall of bulk-style feeders for flour, rices, nuts, snacks, etc (photo #9)
• Make your own butter station (photo #7)
• Great beer, wine and liquor selection

The Bistro Area

Let me ask this, where else can you grocery shop while drinking a beer, cocktail, or bottle of wine? NOWHERE! We’re in Springfield, MO. This didn’t exists until yesterday! This place is incredible. Also, if you buy a bottle of wine, for a small $5 cork fee, you can drink it while shopping (you can also have them re-cork the bottle so you can enjoy the rest of the bottle at home). There is a gigantic hot bar that serves things like roasted chicken, fried catfish with hush puppies, chicken wings, lasagna and much much much much more with revolving options. The price seemed a little steep at $8.49 for the hot bar (until we realized in included the salad bar too – BOTH are all you can eat). You can also get a fresh made sandwich made exactly how you want it. They also have a full kitchen with a very large staff of cooks to make you anything from their menu of burgers, hot dogs, breakfast, salads, sides and more…all for fairly reasonable prices. They also have an equally large salad bar. This is the best salad bar in town. Not the cheapest, but the best. You can chose from every fruit, nut, cheese and topping that you could want and it goes forever. Some of the salads these people were making looked like Donald Trump funded them. I barely even got to see the gelato bar or the Starbucks because they were absolutely packed. On the South Avenue wall, they have an open cooler with a selection of fresh, but pre-made, packaged and ready to-go sandwiches, sushi, pizza, dinners, sides and more. Everything here is very attractively priced with very large sandwiches going for $3-6 (images #13-14). The food selection is huge. The food is good. Most of it is affordable and priced right with a few choices on the made-to-order menu being a tad bit over priced by a dollar or two. They have a breakfast bar that plans to be open until 2 am. They also have a station where you can get your own crepe or Belgian waffles made fresh.

After walking around the place for 20 minutes, my girlfriend and I started to get pretty hungry and decided to try to find a quick $5 lunch option on the menu. Luckily we found the All American burger for only $2.99. A good old fashioned cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, pickle and tomato. On the menu board it is listed as $2.99 but on the printed menus they were $3.99. The staff was very nice and gave it to us for the $2.99 listed on the menu board. We chose fresh made-to-order chips for only $.99 and were surprised that there was a selection of sweet potato or russet. We chose a mixture of both. We could have walked away there with a $4 lunch and been happy, but we were parched because it was a madhouse in there with so many people checking it out. We added a tea for around a dollar more. The burger was made fresh and was great. Nothing amazing, but very good, fresh, tasty and a good portion. (see images #15-16)

*UPDATE*
We were downtown again for a show at The Outland and needed to grab a quick bite. Our favorite place we planned on hitting was closed so we figured we’d give the buffet a shot. Um, WOW. The ability to quickly grab a hot meal a block away from the center of downtown that fed the tastes of two people in completely different moods was great. My girlfriend shamelessly ate both her gigantic salad and her overstuffed dinner plates nearly clean. The food was good, tasty, and wholesome. No instant mashed potatoes here. The fried chicken was hot and wasn’t dry at all. Same goes for the catfish. The hush puppies were Madeline’s favorite thing. The staff was fast and very helpful. When we were walking away with a tray of two overloaded plates, they said to just come back if we wanted anything else. Oh, those lovely LOVELY words. All in all, it was way more food than we should have eaten (but hey, we had to thoroughly test it out, right? We take our job seriously!)

I just can’t find anything wrong with this picture. Oh well, I see one possible thing. The window on Walnut (the North side of the building) that houses a gigantic wooden rack of alcohol. How long will this window survive before someone busts through to the glorious haven of alcohol on the other side (see image #21)?

Notable features of bistro:

• IT HAS A BAR with draft and bottle beer (domestic and import), cocktails and sodas
• Seating in bar area…also outdoor seating on Southeast corner sidewalk on South Ave.
• Fast. Very easy to be in and out. Staff was helpful in this as well.
• Wide selection for tastes and budgets and schedules
• Plenty of staff…helpful staff
• You have hot food, cold food, salad bar, fried chicken, a bar bar, a Starbucks, a gelato bar and magazine rack all within a few feet.
• The freshly made food is really good (I can vouch for the burger and chips)
• The hot bar food was also better than expected (We heard a number of people commenting on how good the fried chicken, catfish and various items were. To paraphrase a few; “It wasn’t like food from a grocery store, but like food from an actual restaurant.”)

*UPDATE*
Note: They have WiFi!

Price Cutter seems to have really done things right with the new downtown location. My girlfriend and I kept saying how we wish there was something like that when we lived downtown, maybe we wouldn’t have left the downtown area. This may be the big boost downtown has been waiting for to become less of a nightlife destination and more of a neighborhood. I don’t see it hurting other downtown restaurants much. Although they do offer similar things like sandwiches and burgers, they don’t directly compete with anyone. Its one thing when you have two burger joints going head to head, but another when you have a burger joint and a smorgasbord. My only concern is the gelato. There has been an sudden emergence of gelato and dessert places opening this month and hopefully Price Cutter doesn’t hurt their business. In fact I see it possibly going the other way and that people might prefer the boutique dessert shops. If one or the other had to happen, the latter would be ideal because Price Cutter could easily adapt. What are your thoughts?

Hopefully others follow in Price Cutter’s lead and see the potential and help revitalize the downtown area.

Questions or Comments?

So what are your thoughts? We at TAGsgf are very curious to see what you think about the new market and how you think it may affect downtown Springfield.

Here are a few photos I nabbed with my phone. Sorry some are blurry, it was a madhouse in there.

The Roasted Pistachio Gelato is among the favorite flavors.

“Frozen snacks” and “local owned” are a couple phrases that always sound good together. So when the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce cuts the ribbon on gourmet Italian ice cream spot on the square, Gelato Mio, SGFers will no doubt be ready to toast spoons.

Co-owners Andy and Chantal Drennan, the husband and wife team of Drury grads, have spread the flavors around town – including the premiere of Julia Robert’s Eat Pray Love at Campbell 16 and Farmers markets.

Friday’s opening includes a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m., with the official opening and party beginning at 6 p.m. Live music, complimentary champagne sorbetto, and a bounce house for the kids. Gelato will also debut its art gallery which will showcase work from sister cities Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and Isasaki, Japan.

The sign in the window is classy and brief, as much as any goodbye can hope to be. It reads as follows:

“Dear Friends & Neighbors…

It’s been fun.

We thank you for all of your support.

We will miss you.

The Lili’s Crew”

And with that Springfield loses another restaurant in 2010.  Lili’s Diner was one of the original establishments to open in Wilhoit Plaza (corner of Jefferson Avenue and Elm Street) and had been a fixture there since December 2008, not to mention one of only a handful of places open after bar close–till 3:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, in fact. Though there is evidence to suggest the rumor mill has been hard at work on this one for some time now, nothing official surfaced until the aforementioned discreet note posted twice in the Lili’s windows facing Jefferson Avenue. No explanation; only goodbye. Sad to see the quirky greasy spoon go.

A new addition to the SGF restaurant scene came last week when Tulsa-based barbecue chain Billy Sims BBQ opened in former Boston Market location on Glenstone. Attached are a few pics and a look at the menu. Be looking for a review soon.

Know of any restaurants opening or closing? Email TAGsgf.com (Brett@TAGsgf.com).

One of downtown’s best patios will finally be back in action soon. The Blue Bull bar and grill is set to open next month and will offer a laid back and casual atmosphere to the downtown hot spot. Owners Bart Pinkerton and Mike Greenlee hope to create a family friendly place to catch lunch or dinner while taking in the game…while at the same time becoming a nightlife hot spot.

They’re shooting to open the bar with a limited appetizer menu within the first few weeks of August and adding their full menu later in the month.

The Blue Bull will be a bar, they are really focusing on their menu. They want Man Vs. Food and Diners Drive-Ins and Dives too and have a passion for really good food just as anyone. They’re going to be featuring hand pattied 1/3 lb, 2/3 lb, or 1 lb burgers as well as hand breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, hand breaded never frozen chicken tenders, homemade hand-dipped and hand breaded onion rings, wraps. soups. salads, ginormous nachos, wings and normal appetizer fair.

The newly remodeled space has a new wrap around bar that is over 40 feet with a full bar, bottle beer, and tap beer. A special feature feature will be the 4 foot shot wheel that will feature a variety of shots. Get lucky and get a tasty shot, but beware the nasty shots like Prairie Fires or Cement Mixers that can ruin a night. That’s what makes it fun! They’ll also feature large 22 oz. plastic cups (a’la Harpo’s) that you’ll be able to keep.

Bijan's is closing its doors? Say it ain't so.

Color us shocked, just as the rest of SGF and its surrounding area, when 417Mag.com reported that Bijan’s was closing its doors earlier today. According to the report, the landmark downtown restaurant’s employees were notified via text message.

We are trying to find out more, but as of now, all we have to go on is 417′s report. They used an anonymous source, so we’ll see if there’s any backpedaling from the Jalili family. (For the record, we trust longtime friend Matt Lemmon, the author of the story.)

In the least, couldn’t they have gone out on top with some type of fire sale on some of the city’s best fine dining? Even if they didn’t lower the price, everyone would be looking to get a piece of the Bijan’s mystique before the doors closed.

We’ll update with more information as it’s available.

The Opener will be hosted by David Adjey (as seen on Food Network shows Iron Chef and Restaurant Makeover).

Frantic Films will be coming to Springfield, MO within the next 2 weeks to begin filming of a new series called The Opener. The new documentary series will be following a number of first-time restaurant owners as they open their first eatery from planning to grand opening. The show will be hosted by David Adjey (of Food Network Iron Chef and Restaurant Makeover fame). The show will most likely air on Food Network in the fall.

They’ll be in Springfield following local first-time restaurateurs William Peak and Erik Kinkade as they go through the process of opening their first venture, Savor. Savor will be located at 234 E. Commercial Street (at the corner of Roberson and Commercial) and aims to be a reasonably priced steak, seafood and pasta house with a pastry chef and a full service bakery. William Peak is an OTC Culinary School graduate that has served tours at Metropolitan Grill, Flame and Touch to name a few.

The series will be shot in 3 phases. First will be the construction phase, followed by the soft opening and then grand opening. The Frantic Films crew will be in town within the next few weeks to begin shooting. William and Erik are shooting for a late August or early September grand opening. The series is expected to air in the fall on Food Network.

Thanks to Ashley Misako for the tip and Will and Erik for their time. We will be having follow-up articles with more information as they near opening. Be sure to check their website at http://savorbakery.com from time to time (although currently under construction).

The Springfield restaurant business claims another casualty–in a way, at least. Rivals Casual Grille, located just south of what was Circuit City on South Glenstone Avenue, closed its doors July 1, but the owners left an interesting note on the door when doing so:

“We will be changing our concept in the next 4 to 6 months. Thank you to our customers and we hope to see you in the future.”

The good news here is there seems to be a new beginning to go with the ending. It’s unlikely we’ll see another sports bar in the same spot, but with the building’s unusual layout and incredible influx of natural lighting there is no denying it has potential. We look forward to news of its next incarnation, and when it comes we’ll pass it along to you.

-Thanks to Scott Speight for the tip.

Tuscan Grill on East Sunshine will be closing its doors today (as well as J. Parrino’s). Owner of ever popular Gilardi’s, Nicola Gilardi will be reopening the restaurant under the possible new name Nicola’s. Gilardi’s main restaurant, Gilardi’s, has been voted best Italian in Springfield by 417 Magazine readers 2003-2007.

The recent closings of Pasta Pronto a few months ago and J. Parrino’s, and Tuscan Grill today, mark the possible end of an era in the Parrino brothers presence in Springfield’s restaurant scene. Jay Parrino has been an ever constant presence since 1983 when he first opening J. Parrino’s, which he recently sold a few years ago. Over the years, he’s had restaurants in the now defunct Heer’s building, brought us the popular Pasta Express chain (which after the chain was sold changed to Pasta Pronto on certain locations), as well as Tuscan Gill.

This also marks an expanding for Nicola Gilardi to grow his popularity in the Italian dining realm. We’re curious to see what develops over the next few months.

A Springfield staple for Italian dining is set to close today. Parrino’s announced the closing to its Facebook fans and email list last week. If you’re around town and have one last craving for one of their fine Italian dishes, we suggest you stop by tonight.

The recent closings of Pasta Pronto a few months ago and J. Parrino’s, and Tuscan Grill today, mark the possible end of an era in the Parrino brothers presence in Springfield’s restaurant scene. Jay Parrino has been an ever constant presence since 1983 when he first opening J. Parrino’s, which he recently sold a few years ago. Over the years, he’s had restaurants in the now defunct Heer’s building, brought us the popular Pasta Express chain (which after the chain was sold changed to Pasta Pronto on certain locations), as well as Tuscan Gill.

A familiar name among local eateries is coming back after a couple of years away. News of the return of Ophelia’s tapas restaurant and wine bar was first announced to its Facebook fans late last month, but now signage appears in the new location at 216 E. Walnut Street next to Hawthorn Gallery, making it official to the public at large. The new location, once home to The Venice at The Seville and Room 4, is considerably smaller than the restaurant’s old location inside Wilhoit Plaza where Farmers Gastropub sits today, but it maintains its downtown affiliation as well as its ownership by Tom Muetzel, who also owns the popular pub Finnegan’s Wake on South Avenue. The signage indicates the restaurant is accepting applications for wait staff, which is usually a sign that an official opening isn’t far away, but no date appears to have been announced yet beyond “this summer.” (The previously mentioned Facebook page lists the restaurant’s “birthday” as July 1, but that’s not a reliable answer.) We’ll track down more info and get it to you as soon as we can.

Burritos are wakin' up early at La Huasteca

And then BLAM-O! The light shined upon East Sunshine and there was a breakfast burrito. It was glorious. There were no arches in sight and unfound went the drive-thru windows.

Well, we should hope it’s glorious. La Huasteca was mediocre on a good day when it served lunch and dinner. It appears that the restaurant has been working for a while to restructure the menu. Bob’s Whine and Dine posted, on Feb. 17, the diner was closed for dinner and the new “breakfast” sign was lit (following the update are a couple reviews from Bob). A little more than a month later and they’ve got the “Grand Opening” sign proudly hangs.

So there are a few factors to consider before declaring it glorious, but, for now, like Bob said, it is a very “interesting concept.” La Huasteca Breakfast Cafe opens at 6 a.m. If you make it over there for breakfast before we do, let us know what you think.