Most things in restaurants are measurable as a consumer. It’s easy to compare and evaluate the quality of food and service, the menu, cleanliness, etc. The one thing impossible to quantify is atmosphere.

Atmosphere is what separates restaurants with good food from good restaurants, and the difference is effort. A lot of restaurant owners decide what they want your dining experience to be like and try to push an experience in your face, forcefully mashing the menu’s genre with associated stereotypes. It never works, because it’s not authentic.

Grad School sits in a cozy downtown SGF spot with ambiance pouring onto South Jefferson from its front door on 434 S Jefferson, all without trying to fit any sort of mold. The cozy diner has bar seating and several two-tops right when you walk in. Immediately to the right of the front door is the bar separating guests from the grill. Greeted by sounds and smells of a sizzling grill, and music, handpicked by the staff which you probably won’t hear on a top-40 mix. Your server likely has tattoos and/or a beard. You might even recognize staffers from performing on SGF stages.

While the atmosphere is the first thing you notice, the food is what will bring you back. The menu features a strong rotation of burgers, salads, pastas, specialty pressed sandwiches, appetizers and more. The “starters” include Ali Baba, fresh in-house hummus, and Stuff Mush, sauteéd mushrooms stuffed with mashed potatoes and facon, It’s just one-and-a high chair on this trip, so I go for solo go-to … Cezna’s Wangs. The Cezna’s sauce is a mix of their tradiitonal wing sauce and a sweet & spicy sauce. I’m generally not a fan of sweet wings, but the spice balances it perfectly. Orders of 6 and 12 available.

I used to exclusively order the Rasta Pasta for my entreé until one time I challenged the chef to make it so hot I would cry. To this day I don’t know why I did that. I didn’t cry, though, at least not for a day or so. All dishes are served with no stars, but can be made as hot as you want on request. Since that fateful dinner I have tried a couple of different menus, from The Full Ride burger (double patty, bacon, dress, soft sharp cheddar) to the Mushroom “Steak”, a portabello steak pressed in French bread with bell peppers, onions, avocado, sprouts and provolone. On this trip, however, I go for The Cuban — a glorious pressed sandwich to be sure.

The French Bread is freshly baked and houses an insanely thick slice of house-baked ham, chorizo, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and soft sharp cheddar. It’s a sandwich so large that it should be at least two meals. Toss in a big side of fries and the Cezna’s and I would feel a lot better about myself if I had the self discipline to ask for a to-go box. The total came to $17.50 for the Wangs and The Cuban, which is well North of what I typically spend on lunch, but 1) it was meant to be two meals; 2) I over-ordered for the sake of this review; and 3) the atmosphere makes it worth it every time: Good people, good food, good vibes.

The cool thing about downtown SGF is the nice blend of established restaurants and new places that fly under the radar. When trying to go out and celebrate my wife’s birthday with another couple, we were looking for something new. My wife had a business lunch at Aviary Cafe and Creperie, 400 E. Walnut, a while ago, but decided it was time to investigate the cocktail/wine/dinner menu.

The end result? Let’s just say when you mix twice-fried french fries, soup, wine and shrimp-and-cheese crepes, it was the best meal I’ve had at an SGF restaurant in months, and instantly became a new favorite.

The first impression about The Aviary, which is known as the only creperie in SGF, was the decor. It is a perfect fit for any artwalk, or the downtown artwalk mindset. It’s not perfectly painted, but it’s part of the charm. Add in a nicely dressed wait staff, framed inspirational sayings and stuffed birds (yes, there was a stuffed bird that at certain angles, looked like it was resting on my friend’s shoulder), it had a comfortable feel.

Pommes Frites

And then there was the food. Our group started out with some wine, and I had the Camelot Cabernet Sauvignon (for only $5). I’m not a wine expert, but it was better than an expensive bottle of wine we recently split at a local place known for its great wine selection. It was extra spicy, which I like. Four of us then split a plate of Pommes Frites, described by their menu as “fresh cut and crispy, double fried potatoes drizzled with truffle oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Served with garlic aioli.” After we all took our first horn from the plate, we all looked at each other, trying to figure out how many bites were left. They were that good, especially with the aioli dip.

While sweet potatoes aren’t normally my favorite choice, I went with the sweet potato chipotle soup, a part of the Chef’s Call, an opportunity for a seasonal soup ($3.99). It was the best part of the meal, and I would eat it for the main course the next time. Unlike most potato soups, it didn’t have chunks of sweet potato in it. But rather, whether it was puree or cream of SP, it was a thick broth. And like the Cab earlier, it was spicy without an overpowering sweet potato flavor. It was outstanding.

Shrimp and Cheddar Grits crepe

Finally, the main course came — Shrimp & Cheddar Grits ($9.49): “Southern style grits, Tillamook cheddar, shallots and tender shimp.” While it was good, it ranked third behind the double-barrelled first course. Honestly, if I had room to eat it all, I would have. The cheese was great, but masked the shrimp taste, which is what I was hoping for. And maybe that’s the point. I was, however, thankful for the thin crepe and not a doughy tortilla or even sandwich bread/bun. To be honest, the meal was still above average, but it didn’t live up to the A-plus-plus of the appetizer and soup.

The service was tremendous, even with our questions about their extensive cocktail and wine menu, and our ignorance to some of the french-titled menu items. Overall, with tip, my wife and I spent just more than $50, which is ridiculous for the amount of food, drink and fun we had.

(And, I hate to ruin the surprise, but the stuffed taxidermy in the men’s room was weird. I’m not sayin’, just sayin’. You’ll have to see for yourself, because the food is worth a nice scare.)

Taste of Springfield 2011

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Among the motivations for TAG Media is to eradicate the general disdain for SGF. Even the townies seem to talk down on their city. You’ve heard the complaints of how there’s “nothing to do,” but if you’re reading this magazine you already know that is untrue. Even for a group of firm believers in SGF, sometimes it’s just nice to see the potential of SGFers. The 2011 Taste of Springfield proved just that. In years past, the event has drawn crowds, but … whoa. The first idea of how well-attended the streets would be was the packed parking garage. Even on a busy First Friday Art Walk night, parking is still available. It says something when the only spots we could track down were on the roof of the College Station parking garage.

Taste of Springfield is a personal favorite when it comes to local events because of the copious amount of food to sample and variety therein. Dozens of the best local restaurants featuring portions of menu favorites. Besides, it’s good to get out and see people. It’s also good to eat. Previous events have seen participating restaurants run out of samples early, but if you showed late to this edition, the supply was seriously in jeopardy. Chefs and owners were shrugging off lines of people and apologizing early in the day. Danny Schlink, owner of J.O.B. Public House, said he served more than 1,200 sandwiches in the first two hours. Sure I was disappointed to miss out on tacos from Tortilleria Perches and fried lasagna from Nonna’s (a couple 2010 faves), it was still encouraging.

That said, there were some incredible bites that we were able to taste. Gem of India’s Chicken Tikka Marsala was among my favorite non-typical entreés. The chicken was tender and the red sauce looked far more intimidating than it actually was. I tried a handful of burgers, but the mini slider from PriceCutter Bistro Market was the top offering. Mille’s slayed the appetizer game, with an incredibly fresh lettuce wrap, and a huge buzz (and line) for its Sweet Potato Soup — very unexpected. Of course, the official winners were voted on by the masses.

Of course, beer doesn’t hurt either. It’s hard to say if the elbow-to-elbow crowd stretching from South Ave. and McDaniel to Park Central East and Jefferson was entirely boosted by Oktoberfest Village. Open containers were allowed on the streets for the first time in recent (ever?!?) memory. City officials showed the open mind to clear the red tape it has previously resisted. It seems antiquated considering how common events like this are in other cities, but no less exciting. Security was substantial, but there were no incidents to speak of. Adults behaved as adults and treated the liberties responsibly.

The celebration atmosphere reminded me of larger cities’ versions of Mardi Gras or St. Patrick’s Day festivals. The only real difference being the number of city blocks it covered. Lederhosen, live music, giant beer stein hats, costumes and world-class boxing contenders (BJ Flores) mingling with fans. It was good to see and hopefully it’s a sign of more to come.

Boca Mocha TBLT

My other reservation with lunch was the menu. For this, I am sorry. I was thrown off by the whole “Mocha” thing. The menu starts in coffee with a list of several signature drinks. There was a second take at the baked goods section, mostly because as I waited at the table for my better half, a girl came from the kitchen with a tray full of fresh cinnamon rolls. Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to order part of the very reason I questioned the restaurant choice, but I wished for a moment that somebody would create an app to record smells.

The lunch menu was small but substantial considering my expectations. Right off the bat I notice the Horsey Blue Steak Sandwich. The words horseradish and steak are hard to deny when in close proximity on a menu, but to avoid ordering the same thing as my wife, I went with the T.B.L.T. ($8 — Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato). I had also overheard a waiter offering cream of asparagus soup, and I thought it sounded just crazy enough to try at least once. Boca Mocha’s Cream of Asparagus ($4/cup) soup is incredible. (Yes, I’m wearing a straight face.) Our server said the chef has been known to make up some outside-the-box menu items and I’m sure somebody has made the dish before, but I had never seen it. The other tables were quick to turn it down so this is your Public Servicement Announcement to not be scared.

My sandwich was OK, it was more loaded than I expected. Slices of avocado joined the thick stack of turkey and the bacon was perfectly crisp. It was a good sandwich, but it doesn’t stand out from others. The pasta salad on the other hand was notably good. The small ramekin was packed with flavor which for the first time in my life created a scenario in which I purposely ingested an olive. The spiral noodles were surrounded by a blend of chopped vegetables (red onion, asparagus, green pepper) with a nice vinegar-based sauce. My wife saved me a couple bites of her Horsey Blue sandwich extravaganza ($5.50 half). The beef was thinly cut and tender with caramelized onions, bleu cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. The horseradish was mild, but stood up to the bleu cheese. She got a side of fresh fruit with her sandwich. But that’s not all. Boca Mocha has beer (and a wine list … and alcoholic whip cream). It was a late lunch, so we felt like beer was OK, so we each ordered a Mother’s Towhead and were shocked when the bill came just $2/pint and $2.75 for a 23-oz. glass). Our total came to $25.61, which is on the higher end of sandwich fare, but the open-mind reminder was worth it. We’ll be back.

I love sushi. Love it. Love, love, love it. So when my wife became pregnant with our second child, the abstinence kicked in again. No, not that type of abstinence. A full-fledged commitment to not consuming raw fish type — that type of abstinence. It’s not healthy for the baby, we agreed. Still, that’s not good for my psyche, let alone my sushi-craving palette.

Recently, my wife gave birth and we’ve been counting down the days before we could go visit Haruno, our go-to sushi indulgence spot. But I had a better idea. What if we could have sushi in the hospital? Is that even possible? And I’m not talking sushi from the cafeteria (blech. horrible idea), but I’m talking from a legitimate sushi chef.

That’s where Sushi Smith saved the day. Sushi Smith, owned and operated by Donovan Ault, is a unique concept that brings fresh, delectable sushi to you. Having heard of Sushi Smith, but never trying it, I called Ault and asked for his 50 pieces for $50 deal — and yes, that includes delivery.

Let me repeat that. We got 6 rolls delivered to the hospital on a day’s notice for $50 including delivery. I included a $20 tip, just because I was so excited. The sushi honor roll included:

• Philly roll
• Futomaki
• Shrimp roll
• Super salmon roll
• Shrimp nigiri
• Jalapeno sweet n spicy

I know what you’re thinking. Delivery? How did he keep the sushi cool? By the time he showed up to the hospital and we were diving in, the delivery time was less than 30 minutes. It showed up in a monster cake tray, which was actually perfect. He provided chop stocks, wasabi and soy sauce, although I’d recommend you bring more soy sauce, just to be safe. You’ll need your own plates and sauce dishes.

While the Sushi Smith doesn’t have an Oh My God roll like Haruno, he does have convenience and quality in spades. If you would have plated his creations at any sushi restaurant, you wouldn’t have known it came from a local kitchen and was delivered to a hospital.

I will definitely have Sushi Smith deliver to my house in the future. And not only will deliver to your house, he also does home parties and sushi rolling classes. The sushi was that good, I’ll have Sushi Smith come to my house and give me more than 100 pieces of sushi for a dinner party. Or maybe I’ll keep it all to my self.

To get your Sushi Smith on, contact Ault at donovan@sushismith.com or call 417.300.4569

When you find specific restaurants for specific types of food it can be hard to break from your usual. I had heard good things about the sushi at Fuji, but despite its convenient location (at Campbell & Battlefield) I didn’t think it would be able to touch our favorites. Because it was too late to get the kids ready for a restaurant, and because Sushi Smith requires some notice, we had to go with carry out. The closest sushi joint in proximity is Fuji. I’ve seen it there for years, but it was time to make the leap.
Every restaurant has its specialties and specific items that keep customers coming back. Sushi, of course, is no different: Such as the Lobster Crunch at Izumi Hatake; the Geisha at Umi; Haruno and Kai have the Sex & the City and Oh My Gosh rolls. The first item on Fuji’s sushi menu online is the Mighty Crab, described as a “fast-moving favorite.” Despite the initial skepticism of a sushi roll that includes asparagus we pulled the trigger. Good thing we did, but more on that later.

Twenty-five minutes later we were picking up our order of four rolls, rice and an appetizer. The appearance of the restaurant is stunning and, honestly, unexpected. An extravagant bridge crosses an indoor Koi fish pond. The atmosphere seems nice and would have not been ideal for the kids, so we made the right choice, but we’ll make our way for the full experience on a date night soon. Fuji’s online menu doesn’t include prices, and the lady who took our order didn’t give a total, which is fine, but I like to at least have an idea.
The Mighty Crab was certainly mighty. It’s a monster. Make two fists and put them next to each other like you’re holding a baseball bat. That’s roughly the circumference of the roll. Add giant slices of crab and the roll becomes a little cumbersome. It was too intimidating for my wife, so she didn’t brave the potential mess. Her loss. The asparagus is battered in tempura and reaches beyond each end of the roll. It’s joined by avocado and other goodies I can’t even name.

While the Mighty Crab was an incredible visual centerpiece it was the Ninja Roll which will draw us back: Eel, cream cheese, crab and avocado alldeep fried with tempura flakes. I’ve had other Ninja rolls, but none that would hold a flame to this version. Most fried rolls have a pretty thick layer of batter that dominates the flavor and texture. Fuji’s Ninja is lightly battered and flavorfully thrilling. We were also impressed with a couple of their standard house rolls — the Shrimp Tempura and the Shrimp Crunchy.

We got an order of Gyoza as a side, and the six small pork dumplings did not disappoint. Our total for four sushi rolls, the appetizer and three sides of steamed rice was $43.48. We may try the hibachi in the future, but experience has shown that few restaurants can offer great grub on the grill and in the sushi bar. Fuji offers lunch specials with a familiar hibachi menu. Fuji didn’t become a top sushi destination, but it hass certainly joined the rotation.

The Chicken Fajita Quesadilla at Cielito Lindo = my favorite SGF meal

This review is probably long overdue, but I’ve tried to avoid it because of a bias. I’ve been a customer of Cielito Lindo since high school and return trips are consistent to this day. There are three SGF locations (3530 South Campbell Ave, 2953 South National and 730 North Glenstone) each with its own festive atmosphere, and fútbol on every TV.

While the menus are identical at each location, boasting the standard Mexican-style fare, I’ve always been fascinated by the salsa. It’s never the same. It seems that from trip-to-trip and certainly store-to-store, the flavor is always a bit different. I’m a fan of chunky salsa, and Cielito’s is normally on the thin side, but the flavor is on point, while relying on thinly-sliced onion and herbs — mostly cilantro. Not the case on this trip, as the overriding flavor was that of garlic. The chips are fresh and homemade, not too much salt. The house hot sauce is Tapatió (which I didn’t know was an American product until just now), a distant second to Sriracha in my book, but great to add a touch of heat to your salsa.

My wife and I took the kids to the North Glenstone location (northeast corner at Chestnut Expressway) for lunch on this trip and my mission was to be different. Cielito is the home of my single favorite dish in town, the Chicken Fajita Quesadilla, and I’ve ordered it on every single trip. It checks in at $6.95 so for the purposes of making this a $5 lunch piece and reviewing it without leaving drool on my keyboard I peeped the lunch menu for the first time in decades. The lunch menu contains several combinations of enchiladas, tacos, burritos, chalupas and more, mostly ranging between $4-5. I went with the “Special Lunch No. 6″ an enchilada-chalupa combination with a side of rice for $4.85.

Lunch Special No. 6

I had never tried a non-Taco Bell Chalupa and was surprised when it arrived, though thinking back I shouldn’t have been as Taco Bell has never been too accurate with its Tex Mex interpretations. Failing to find a better way to describe it, if you haven’t ordered a chalupa think of an American open-faced sandwich, except substitute bread for a crispy flat yellow corn shell. Then layer refried beans, guacamole, shredded cheese and a healthy smattering of pico de gallo. The chalupa was quite good in its simplicity. The enchilada was beef, and actually pretty disappointing, consisting of tortilla, beef and red sauce, with a layer of melted cheese atop, thought I’m not sure what I was expecting. It was mostly a flavor thing — the beef and the sauce didn’t have any. The No. 6 isn’t for me, but with 15 lunch special options, it wouldn’t be too hard to find something in the $5 range that works, but I’ll probably just skate back to my regular.

Speaking of, my wife couldn’t resist the Chicken Fajita Quesadilla which is exactly what it sounds like: ingredients of a fajita (green pepper, onion, chicken, tomatoes, white cheddar (?) cheese, and an incredible mystery sauce) stuffed into a tortilla folded in half. It’s huge and covers the bulk of the plate with a dollop of sour cream and guacamole. Sides of refried beans, rice, and a little lettuce salad make it a serious amount of food.

Our bill was $17 and change, which included a soft drink and a kid’s meal.

The service is prompt and friendly, despite large crowds most of the time, and the food is quick to leave the kitchen. The margaritas are standard, but most evenings you won’t have to pay much to have a taste (under four-bucks, check the board on your way in).

Here is the signature dish for Tamale King — the Tamale plate combo. Photo courtesy: R. Brannon Estis Photography

Before you consume this review, understand that I love Mexican food. But, I’m not a huge fan of the tamale. In fact, it’s my least favorite thing on most Mexican joint menus. But when I went to visit Tamale King (1342 W. Sunshine) for a lunch meeting earlier this week, you have to order a plate of tamales, right? If it was Chimichanga King, I’d have to crush chimichangas, right? Isn’t there some sort of rule about this?

First off, the Tamale Plate, which comes with two huge tamales, rice, refried beans and a drink was less than $7. You can see in the photo, that the high quality paper plate is full, with the moat of refried beans about to flood the quality tiled tabletops.

I’m not an expert on tamales, but these tamales seemed to be bursting with seasoned beef, and small bits of vegetables (carrots, etc.). By the end of the meal, I was stuffed. But, was I satisfied, tastewise? Yes and no.

The tamales didn’t change my way of looking at tamales. There’s just not enough cheese, and too much breading for my taste. It’s my same complaint about calzones. Too much breading takes away from the rest of the dish. (Yes, I understand that’s the point, but I’m not a fan.) But the rice and beans were spectacular, aided by the superstar of the day — the spicy salsa. It was bursting with pepper spice, but also good enough to drown everything in it. And at the end, heavy doses of the salsa made the tamales better with each bite. By the end, I had a victory plate. All gone.

You’ll also notice from the R. Brannon Estis photo, the sweet soda bottle. A treat at Tamale King is its assortment of authentic Mexican sodas. I copped a Sangria soda (non-alcohol, thank you). It was a heavy, thick grape soda. And it was fantastic.

Service isn’t a component of Tamale King, as you order at the register, then wait for your meal to come out. It’s a perfect lunch spot. You’ll notice it’s on West Sunshine, which isn’t a high traffic area, but it also mean that an 11 a.m. lunch was early enough that we had the restaurant to ourselves.

Would I go back to Tamale King? Absolutely. I just wouldn’t get the tamales. And that’s on me, not The King.

Tamale King
1342 W. Sunshine
Springfield, MO 65807
417.862.2202
Open 7 days a week

Hog And Sauce Pork Pita Que

I feel like I’ve got a pretty keen sense for tucked away barbecue joints/trailers with smokers, but this drive-thru spot on East Sunshine had passed under the radar. TAG sports editor Allen Vaughan made the discovery for a quick pick-up lunch on the way to the Jock 98.7 Studios (for another spot on episode of The High Road — M-F at 2 p.m., end shameless plug). We had been pining for a $5 lunch and if it weren’t for tax would have fit the bill.

Every sandwich at Hog And Sauce is served on pita, thus the signature item at Hog and Sauce, the Pita Que. Exactly how it sounds, but more delicious. I’m a dry rub, barbecue kind of guy, and Hog and Sauce has it right. I got the pork Pita Que: a load of pork with a spread of sauce … not too much, which is often the case. The flavor of the meat stood out: rich smokey flavor and incredibly tender. Vaughan echoed the sentiment for the beef Pita Que. The pita bread was soft and prooved to be way less messy than traditional sandwich bread. White or wheat pita bread available. The sandwich came with a side of pit beans, which were pretty disappointing. A friend told me that the beans have changed since the shop opened but were once great. They had the consistency of a brothy chili, with scattered meat and beans. Next time I’ll be sure to try the cole slaw instead.

The menu featured four different sandwiches (beef, pork, chicken and combo) at two different sizes, regular and jumbo. Regular sandwiches cost $5, except for chicken which costs only $4. Sides include pit beans, cole slaw and chips. On Fridays and Saturdays ribs are available, which is high on my todo list. They had two sauces available (“Hog” and “Mom’s”).

I would compare the great flavor of the meat to Whole Hog Cafe, but at less damage to the wallet — the price difference seen in accommodations.

Hog And Sauce BBQ
2938 E Sunshine
(417) 888-5050

Perhaps I am too aggressive in refusing to decide a restaurant destination. It has forced my wife to create new tactics in buying more time to choose. Her new go-to move is the “I want something different” stall. Most of the time “I want something different” turns out to mean “something we don’t eat weekly” (or Cielito Lindo), but every once in a while it turns into a game changer. When you go into a new (to you) restaurant, the experience will land in one of four categories: Bad (won’t return), OK (won’t return), Good (might return), Blam. O. (will return, maybe frequently). My wife and I braved the unknown of Ohana Japanese Steakhouse for lunch and it landed firmly in Blam. O. Land.

Apart from a Bob’s Whine and Dine review a couple years ago, we didn’t know much about Ohana so we had zero expectations — which surely played a role in us getting blown away. We arrived before noon so the dining room was virtually empty. There are 10 or so hibachi tables, and just one was full (with a group of recognizable real estate folk). It felt weird to be the only people at a hibachi table, but nobody’s complaining about a private chef. I’ve always appreciated the show hibachi chefs tend to put on, but it was really refreshing to get a quiet show. Bagi, our chef, took pride in cooking quietly and wasn’t overly showy, but he had a few utensil tricks, the standard fire (no volcano, though — my favorite part), and loads of props. Bagi is a hibachi journeyman of sorts. He mentioned stops in Chicago, Salt Lake, Indiana, and most recently Fayetteville. It was his first week in SGF, and while Bagi was still trying to figure out his new spot, he certainly felt comfortable behind the grill.

The lunch menu was similar to other restaurants in the genre — single hibachi items (veggies, chicken, steak, shrimp, calamari, salmon) ranged from $7.95 to $11.95. Each includes salad or soup, fried rice, grilled vegetables and noodles. It also boasts a generous appetizer list, with the likes of tofu, tempura, tatake, sushi, etc. There are a handful of entree salads to choose from as well. My wife ordered the hibachi chicken, and for a $5 difference, I got a chicken/shrimp combo. We each added a bowl of Miso soup for two bucks — it’s the first indicator of steakhouse potential and this review wouldn’t be complete without it.

The soup had familiar items floating around (green onions, tofu, seaweed), but the broth looked different. Liquids were visibly separating from each other. It was very creamy, almost buttery. The texture of the tofu and seaweed was perfect. The salad was simple: Iceberg greens, carrots, and cabbage. The house ginger dressing was pretty good, akin to Thousand Island, but with less noticeable mayo than other Japanese houses.

The most striking thing about the food at Ohana is what was missing. Butter. Bagi used a little butter, but as a greasing agent … not for flavor Have you ever noticed how dipping sauces slide right off the food at most hibachi grills? It’s gross. None of the main course was over-saturated with teriyaki sauce or soy sauce. I could actually taste the vegetables instead of butter. Normally I’m asking for dipping sauce refills, but not today. There’s flavor in the food! I did try the sauces however. Ohana has the usual orange, mayo-based seafood sauce, and it was fine. At other places I would dump the entire ramekin over the rice/noodles/veggies, but it proved unnecessary. The vegetable side included carrots, onions, broccoli and mushrooms. The other sauce was a sweet ginger sauce that matched really well with the chicken.

The shrimp was good, but not worth making it a combo — five pieces, and they were pretty small. The taste was great, but not $1/per piece great. Aside from the shrimp, the personal chef thing proved advantageous in portion size. Bagi came and dominated the grill, leaving us each with a mountain of grub. Depressingly, I failed to practice portion control keeping my string of Clean Plate Awards in tact.

It was an expensive lunch (by our standards), but my wife and I agreed that it was totally worth it. We spent $34 with tip. While we were there our server, Victoria, was kind and extremely prompt (of course, we were her only customers). The lunch crowd began filing in as we received the bill, and more recognizable SGFers were among them. Apparently notables have been in on the Ohana secret. Sitting near the corner of Campbell and Battlefield probably disqualifies it as a secret.

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

Sure there are a handful of Thai restaurants in the greater SGF area. But what happens when you have the craving but not the time for a sit down restaurant? Did someone say drive-thru? Next stop, Thai Express.

Although I’d driven by the location just northeast of where Grand and Glenstone intersect dozens of times over the past couple of years and heard the buzz surrounding it, never had I paid a visit. Once I actually made a detour hoping to give it a go, but much to my chagrin the doors were closed “indefinitely” so as owners could attend to family matters. Just recently I caught wind that a rebirth had occurred and was finally able to try it out.

Opting to forgo the dinner-time mob scene that is the drive-thru, I was pleasantly surprised to find the interior of the establishment pretty much dead, with exception of a few employees and their friends fraternizing in the dining room. My dining partner and I concurred on take-out, as eating in may have been a little weird, us interrupting break time and all. The décor is non-exist and they serve no alcohol anyway so, you know, what’s the point? Being the only patrons inside expedited the ordering process, allowing more time to peruse the goods in the $.50 impulse-buy-knick-knack machines just inside the front door. Show me a better way to spend a half dollar and the drinks are on me. Surprisingly soon after purchasing a fetching novelty ring someone came from behind the counter and presented my order ready to go. Who can argue with two entrees and an appetizer in no more than 5 minutes?

Our Thai spread ended up consisting of 2 soft spring rolls, a medium order Red Curry with tofu and a large Stir Fried Vegetables with tofu, all of which intended to be shared. Upon opening the bag and peeking inside each Styrofoam container (are more conservative to-go containers really that big of an expenditure?) I was immediately disappointed with the amount of food contained in the “large” size, as it seemed pretty comparable to medium, just $2 more expensive. My ingrained humanistic need to overindulge aside, the quality of food left something more to be desired. For starters the Stir Fried Vegetables consisted only of onion, 2 florets of broccoli, cabbage, and more carrots than your body has room for. What more would I ask for? More. Taste wise it was just okay- certainly nothing that I couldn’t reproduce at home. Generally I am not a big fan of Thai-style curry, as I find the sweetness of the often added coconut milk objectionable. As happy as I was to, for once, enjoy the flavor of Thai curry, the sparse inclusion of a few of vegetables was again all I could focus on. The tofu in both dishes had an unpleasant rubbery texture that may have been the result of sitting under a heat lamp all evening. Finally the spring rolls. An iceburg lettuce and carrot mix (IE- bagged salad mix from Dillons), and a few bean thread noodles hastily wrapped in rice paper, served with a side of what tasted like a 2:1 ratio of Jiffy peanut butter and water. Less than impressive.

With a 2 person meal hovering right around $17, the highlight of my venture may have been the understated ring that I spent two quarters on. Thai Express churns out middle of the road fare quick and has a menu of considerable size, even though it might appeal to omnivores more than it did to me. For the full experience maybe you have to use the drive-thru……. Just like they do in Thailand.

948 S Glenstone
865-0101

By Bob of Bob’s Whine and Dine

I’ve been intimidated by Kai for a long time.  My wife and I stepped into the doorway once right after it opened and saw a dark place with lots of ‘trendy’ people dressed in black and we just don’t have the black clothes in our wardrobe to fit into that crowd.

Fast forward to a recent evening where we had reservations for a play being presented at Nathan P. Murphy’s.  We thought sushi would be an excellent start to a fun evening.  Recently, we’ve been to a few trendier places and our fear factor has been lowered a bit so with Kai only a few doors down from our destination we thought it would be a good time to give it a try.

I was surprised that our trepidation wasn’t really warranted after all.  Downstairs is the bar area and while there were several trendy people dressed in black, the upstairs dining room is more normal and typical of your more upscale restaurants.  We were seated at a banquette table and took at look at the menu.

The cuisine itself is Japanese.  There are a few entrées with prices mainly in the $20’s.  There is a variety of hot and cold appetizers along with the Sashimi, Sushi and Nigiri one would expect.  There is also a large drink menu with wine, martinis, beer and drink specialties like the “Anti-Freeze” and the “Coolaid”.

We started with the Kai Salad ($3) and received a simple lettuce salad with some tomato, radish and cucumber sprinkled with a sesame dressing.  I thought the dressing lacked some in the flavor department – I would have liked the heartier creamy dressing you find at other Japanese places.  Everything was nice and fresh though.

We then ordered our sushi and based on the recommendations of our server ending up with the Drunken Tiger ($13.95) and the Monster Lobster ($11.95) rolls.  The Drunken Tiger is Kai’s version of a spicy tuna roll with the addition of asparagus on the inside and slices of lightly seared tuna layered on top.  (Sorry about the picture – we had already had a few pieces before I got the camera out.)  It was very tasty and had a nice crispy fried thing stuck in the middle.  We weren’t exactly sure what the sauces were made of but they went well with the roll.

The Monster Lobster was another good roll.  In this one the lobster was battered and fried and gave the roll a little crunch in the middle.  Other ingredients were crab (not with a ‘K’) and avocado and mango.  This one was also very good.

Once we finished off the rolls, we wanted something sweet.  The thing that captured our attention was the Banana Chocolate Spring Roll ($6) with a Cayenne Chocolate Sauce.  The chocolate sauce was pretty darn good – with just enough cayenne to give it a good kick.  The spring roll itself came off a little on the slimy side due to the banana inside.  Don’t get me wrong – we ate it all – but I think a batter-fried banana with that chocolate cayenne sauce would have been better.

The downstairs at Kai is geared around the bar crowd.  There are tables, but the bar is the focal point.  The full name of the place is “Kai, Afterdark Lounge”, but they should probably call it “Kai, Alwaysdark Lounge” as the upstairs dining room is very dark – with red & black being the dominant theme. This red and black décor must be the trendy thing now (see my review of Flo).  The dining room is narrow and there is a small bar located upstairs also.

Service was pretty good on our visit.

Overall we liked the food at Kai.  It was on the pricy side of things though.

306 S Campbell  – (417) 869-1488

Website (watch out for the loud music on the opening page)
Facebook
Urbanspoon listing with Menu Pictures
Link to Health Inspections

By Bob for Bob’s Whine and Dine

Meatball & Cooper’s got onto my radar due to a coupon I found in one of the local papers.  The top of the coupon proclaimed  “Lookin’ for Home Style Cookin’!” and had pictures of a burger and meatball sub.  It looked like the perfect place for lunch, so I made plans to meet my friend David.

I arrived about 11:45 and there were two other tables occupied.  I took a seat near the oxygen bar (more about that later) and started looking at the menu while I wanted for David to show up.  The menu (viewable on the website) has an assortment of the typical appetizers and includes a couple of non-typical items: meatballs with a choice of sauces and something called the Flying Meatball (meatballs & wings).   When David arrived it wasn’t a hard sell to get him to share a Flying Meatball ($7.95).  The meatballs come with a choice of 5 sauces (chipotle BBQ, marinara, sweet & sour, honey mustard or garlic parmesan).  I asked which sauces were made in-house and was told only the BBQ was, so that is what we picked.  The wing sauce comes in mild, medium or hot (all from a bottle) – we picked hot.

The rest of the menu includes burgers, dogs, pizza, sandwiches and fried catfish.  There was an electronic sign in the window that advertised daily lunch specials (as did the coupon).  When we asked about the day’s special we were told they didn’t have a lunch special that day – I thought it was odd but I didn’t feel like asking why.

The Flying Meatballs arrived fairly quickly and consisted of 4 wings and 4 meatballs and a small side of the chipotle BBQ sauce.  The wings were average and not particularly spicy.  The meatballs tasted ok and the BBQ sauce wasn’t anything special.  I asked if the meatballs were homemade and was told no – but that they ‘doctored’ them up a bit.  By the way they looked, I think there was some Italian seasoning sprinkled on them before or after cooking.  We were told the meatballs served with the spaghetti were homemade, but if so, why use pre-made ones in the other dishes?  Also, I thought the price was too much for 4 wings and 4 ready-made meatballs – especially when you consider that most of the sandwiches cost less than the $7.95 this Flying Meatball set me back.

For lunch I decided on the bacon cheeseburger ($6.45) and David picked his usual – a Philly Cheese steak sandwich ($7.50).  The Philly had a cheese option of Swiss or nacho cheese sauce.  We asked about the nacho sauce and were told it was from a can – but ‘real good’.  David selected nacho sauce based on that glowing recommendation.  As you can see from the picture they were very (actually too) generous with the canned cheese sauce and David scraped most of it off.  He also said that there wasn’t anything particularly great about the ‘really-good’ nacho sauce.  The rest of the sandwich he said he enjoyed – the beef, onions and peppers were all grilled up well and there was lots of meat.  He said he would order it again, but next time would ask to have it topped with the white queso sauce that is available on the appetizer menu instead of the canned, yellow substance they called nacho sauce.

The 1/3 lb cheeseburger was decent but certainly not in the same league as Bair’s.  The patty was a frozen style but it was cooked properly and wasn’t hocky-puck-ish.  I asked for some shredded Colby-Jack instead of the standard American cheese and it was nicely melted to the top of the patty.  The bacon was good and crispy and the tomatoes were nice & red which was a nice surprise given the season.  The fries were average.

The décor is what I would call a cross between dog & sports.  There are a couple of bull-dog murals whom I understand to be the owner’s dogs – who just happened to be named Meatball and Cooper.  There are some TV’s on the walls for watching that big game and there is some sports stuff scattered here and there to round out the theme.  This place is not a bar – so no alcohol and there is no smoking as well (good for them!). They do have an “oxygen” bar in the back corner so it is probably a good thing there is no smoking.  Having an oxygen bar is kind of strange and I didn’t see anyone belly up to it for a hit of some pure O2.

Service was pretty good – we were checked on frequently and my diet coke did not go empty.  One thing I would mention is that it was very cold in the dining room when we arrived.  Others that were there all had coats on.  I mentioned this to the server who didn’t seem to notice the temperature problem (he had a sweatshirt on).  He went to check and returned saying that the heat had been turned off.  It warmed up after that was corrected.

I would say that the bottom line on Meatball and Cooper’s is that I felt letdown on several fronts.  I understand now that “Meatball” refers to the dog and not the food – but I would think having some great meatballs would be something to strive for given the name.  The promise of “Home-style Cookin’” was not fulfilled with most of the items seeming to be from cans, bottles or the freezer.  On the plus side, the sandwiches we had were ok except for the nacho cheese/philly thing.  I appreciate the non-smoking atmosphere, but that oxygen bar concept is kind of weird.

218 N. Massey Blvd, Nixa – (417) 725-9598

Bob’s Whine and Dine

Facebook Page

Website

Link to Health Inspections

Earlier this week I noticed a sign for a new restaurant on West Sunshine that I decided needed a visit.  Rolls N Bowls (RnB) is the name, Vietnamese is the game.  RnB is in the spot where Little Saigon used to be.  I did a little checking there was another name for this same spot for a little while last year – Blue Saigon.  I’m guessing these are new owners but I never went to Little (or Blue) Saigon so I can’t be sure.  What I do know is that RnB joins Bambu to offer Springfield a second option for Pho and other Vietnamese goodies.

Today’s lunch outing was with my buddy Steve who also enjoys a good Pho now and then.  There were only two other tables occupied with we arrived and I was directed to sit wherever I wanted.  The menu seemed to include the normal Vietnamese favorites including several Pho selections, a few plate-type entrées and of all things a sandwich on a French baquette roll.  The sandwich had shrimp on it.  I don’t really like shrimp much, so I decided I better skip that one.

I ended up ordering a bowl of N4 aka Beef & Meatball Pho ($7.49).  Steve selected B1 which was a bowl of noodles (no broth), grilled pork and an egg roll ($7.49).  We decided to split a spring roll ($3.50) so we could get the full roll and bowl experience.

The two spring rolls came out quickly and we were also brought individual bowls of peanut sauce (which avoided a double-dipping scenario).  The spring rolls had noodles, some pork, fresh herbs and 3 shrimp nestled inside a soft wrapper (these are not fried).  We both decided that the rolls were ok – but that we’ve had better rolls elsewhere.  They didn’t have the fresh herb pop that other places have.  The peanut sauce was good and did a nice job of covering up the shrimp flavor.

My Pho come with a small side of bean sprouts, fresh jalapeno slices, a lime slice and some fresh leafy herb (not sure what exactly, but it tasted somewhat like black liquorice).   I added the spouts, a couple of leaves from the herb and the jalapenos to my bowl along with a bit of hoisin sauce from the table.  Doctoring up Pho is part of the ‘Phun’.  The chicken based broth was very good and a bit spicy (maybe due to the jalapenos).  The thin slices of beef had some good flavor and were tender.  The meatballs were some kind of mystery meat.  They had a strange, dense consistency and while didn’t taste bad – were just sort of weird.  I’ll be skipping those next time.  After locating a knife to cut up the noodles in the bottom of the bowl I was able to make a good dent in the large serving.  One thing both Steve and I thought odd was the extraordinarily large spoon that was given to us to eat our meal with.  It is easily twice as large as a normal table spoon.  I used a fork to get to the solids and the ladle (I mean spoon) to sip the broth.

I think Steve’s impression of his meal was good – he emptied his bowl completely.  He did mention that the egg roll was especially good.  I had a piece of his pork and it was tender and tasted good.

Inside the place was bright and clean.  The new paint job looked good.  The dining room is plain without a much in the way of decoration – mainly a big open space with lots of tables.  There is a TV on one wall which was tuned to a news channel while we were there.  The restroom was clean.

Service was pretty good.  My diet Pepsi was always full and our food came out quickly, but there were few other diners during our visit.

We decided that we liked our food.  Prices are just a bit less than Bambu, but I don’t think the portions are quite as large either.  BnR did a good job of satisfying my need for a Pho Phix.

1402 W Sunshine St – (417) 869-1488

Link to Health Inspections

By Bob of Bob’s Whine and Dine

Seems the Tan brothers are at it again.  This time branching out of their Asian and Pacific Rim comfort zone (5 Spice, Ocean Zen, Yum Yum Bowl) and into the trendy bar scene with Flo Eatery and Wine Bar.  Last Saturday, my wife and I decided on an early evening outing to Flo to check things out.

We arrived around 5 p.m. (place opens at 3 p.m. – so not a place for lunch) and found the parking lot with just a few cars.  We were pretty surprised as generally it is hard to find any place to eat without a wait on Saturday evening.

Upon walking in – you immediately notice the décor.  I was seeing red – everywhere.  Red booths, red chairs, red drapes hanging from most of the walls.  If you don’t like the color red – well, you won’t like it here.  There are several lounge areas with couches, low tables and stools that look like giant red marshmallows.  There is seating at the large bar as well as a scattering of tall and regular tables. We settled in at a tall table to check out the menu.

Following the ‘trendy’ bar scene formula, the menu at Flo focuses heavily on appetizers (I think the trendy word is tapas).  There are a few standard bar items (like wings), but most offerings are more upscale in nature and definitely American in selection.  The appetizers are also plated to encourage sharing.  There are only a couple of entrée-sized items.  There is also a sushi menu – it is, after all, a Tan establishment.

We decided on the following:  Caesar Salad for me ($7.95), Baby Greens and Apple Salad for my wife ($7.95), and to share, a Spicy Tuna Roll ($4.50) and Rosemary Garlic Grilled Beef Skewers with mashed potatoes ($12.95).  All of these were from the appetizer menu.

The Caesar Salad was lightly dressed with good flavor.  Instead of traditional croutons, there were 3 slices of crunchy baguette peeking out from under the lettuce which was a nice touch.  My wife reported that her apple salad was good – it came with a balsamic dressing.

The spicy tuna roll was just OK – there wasn’t anything particularly spicy about it and it wasn’t artfully made – it was however inexpensive compared to everything else.  The Grilled Beef Skewers (3 sticks worth) were tender and cooked to a nice medium temperature.  Some of the pieces had more rosemary flavor than others.  The mashed potatoes and gravy were pretty good.  The mushrooms on the side were especially tasty.

We both decided that the food was overall pretty good – but we also thought it was a bit over priced.

Besides ‘Eatery’ the name also includes ‘Wine’ and ‘Bar’.  I think that is the real focus of Flo.  Our server mentioned that Flo has a one of a kind (at least to Missouri) wine dispensing machine.  This machine is supposed to allow the offering of many different wines by-the-glass with each of them being just as fresh as when the bottle was first opened.  Indeed the wine menu is pretty large and there are many choices available by-the-glass.  Prices vary of course, but they offer 1, 3 and 6 ounce portions which would allow one to try several different wines without breaking the bank.  My wife ordered some kind of red wine.  I don’t know about or care for wine, so excuse me from knowing what kind or vintage or anything about it.  She said it was good though (was that helpful?).

I also noticed a vodka wall with what looked like 20 or 30 different vodkas available.  The drink menu is large and features many different types of martinis.  I, of course, stuck with Diet Coke.

Service was top-notch on our visit.  Our server was very friendly – our food arrived quickly and we were checked on often.

There are drink specials every day – and the drink prices during happy hour seemed pretty reasonable.  It’s not really a dinner place, and I’m not trendy which means Flo will not make it onto my regular list of go-to places.  But hey if you are trendy and have the cash – Flo should probably make it on your list.

2925 East Battlefield Ste. 105 – (417) 886-0356

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Health Inspections

By David Norman for TAGsgf.com

One night I was having the daily “What do you want to eat tonight?” conversation with my girlfriend. For us these seven words are a desperate, clumsy verbal dance that we perform every afternoon about 4:30 and will continue to carry out well into the early hours of the evening.

“How about Chinese?” I’ll ask.

“No, I had Chinese for lunch,” she’ll say.

“Pizza?” She’ll ask.

“No, I want, like, real food. You know, ‘food food’, sit down food. Something like that.” I’ll say.

After about two hours of questions similar to those above, we’ll typically just end up eating Always Save macaroni and cheese in front of the TV—which super sucks.

As I was saying, about a year ago, we were having this conversation while driving up and down Glenstone looking for a place to eat. After initially stopping at Village Inn and immediately leaving due to a child vomiting in the booth behind us (no fault of Village Inn) we found ourselves, once again, in the shadow of our constantly lingering, unanswerable question.

Back in the car, my girlfriend turned to me as if pleading, asking me, “So what now?” She was famished and weak from the night’s journey, I could tell. Me, I was ravenous and slowly losing my mind…

Then this happened.

Lo, a light shined in the west and there, comfortably nestled near the corner of Cherokee and Glenstone was our answer. Over our heads the shadow of the looming question quivered as I uttered the name, “The Twilight Grille” to my starving lover.

We literally discovered the Twilight Grille that night by accident, as many people do from what I hear. One almost has to “discover” it due to its location in a strip mall, behind another strip mall on a street that most of Springfield refers to as, “The one with Aunt Martha’s on it.”

I want to begin this review by saying The Twilight Grille has some of the best food I have ever eaten in my adult life, and I have had the pleasure of enjoying many fine meals from many fine establishments, in many different cities. Now, before we go any further, I’m not saying I’m culinary elite; Gordon Ramsey would mock my abilities to both cook and savor food, however, I do know what I like, and I like the Twilight Grille.

When you enter the restaurant you are soaked in smooth, affable warmth and always greeted by a friendly host or hostess. Once seated, you are given an extensive menu that celebrates the rich diversity of American cuisine and a wine list that is fit to complement each dish on the menu. I personally enjoy their house red, again, I’m no connoisseur, so when I say I like house red I have no earthly idea what it is, where it comes from, or what year it is…I just know that is goes exceptionally well with their prime rib. Which, by the way, is cooked to your taste and temperature and melts, yes, melts in your mouth. It. Is. Awesome.

Appetizer: The Chipotle Chicken Dip, thank me later.

Concerning the main course, I tend to order from the carnivorous side of the menu so I can recommend the Prime Rib which comes with rich, buttery mashed potatoes (nom nom nom) and grilled asparagus. Saturday, I ordered the 8oz prime rib, which was more than enough for my appetite and reasonably priced at about 15 dollars—furthermore, I wouldn’t feel right about reviewing the Twilight Grille if I didn’t also recommend the very juicy Roasted Duck and the Ribeye Steak. The duck comes with a fresh raspberry demi glaze, and is served with white truffle polenta and fresh vegetables. The ribeye is served with roasted garlic gorgonzola butter and mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Finally, I find it difficult to put into words how good the Chocolate Cake actually is. Imagine if all the happiness that ever was somehow got baked into the deepest, sweetest, earthy brown of the most perfect slice of chocolate cake that had ever existed and was then drenched in a raspberry sauce of which the raspberries had been picked by the angels in heaven and then prepared for us mortals in a puckering sweet drizzle intended remind the naysayers of all that is good in the world. I’m telling you, dude—that chocolate cake is an experience.

The menu is diverse so there are choices for the both the finicky and casual diner; carnivorous or otherwise, something I both appreciate and find overwhelming at the same time. I just want to try it all. The menu prices average out to around $17.00 per entrée, with exceptions like higher end cuts of meat and market price items; my ticket, with a bottle of wine and desert was $71.00 and well worth the cost and service, our glasses were never left wanting, and that goes for both water and that sultry, dry house red I love so much.

The Twilight Grille, at 1717 E Cherokee Street, is located near the corner of Glenstone and Cherokee in Springfield, across the street from Aunt Martha’s Pancake House. You can reach the Twilight Grille at (417) 886-7116 or check their website at www.twilight-grille.com.

Enjoy.

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls at BamBu

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

When tornado sirens begin blaring you know it’s time to seek shelter. And as it turns out, apparently I’m prone to eating when nervous. Lucky for me I was in close proximity to a spot that I’d heard of as being one of the more veg-friendly establishments in the SGF. Talk about the perfect storm.

BamBu is located in the Fremont Shopping Center on the southwest corner of Battlefield & Fremont, diagonally adjacent to Battlefield Mall. This is one of those strip mall locales that evidently gains a following through either word of mouth or passerby aficionados going to score a stogie next door, as I’ve never seen any advertising and the storefront doesn’t exactly jump out at you from Battlefield. Inside is humble and the décor decidedly Vietnamese—although the big screen TV playing episodes of the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men seemed a little out of place (How about that Charlie Sheen? Dude’s on top of the world yeah?? Eat your heart out Emilio…).

Tofu Vegetarian Stir-Fry

Our server this evening was very polite and quick to take drink orders, and they were presented promptly. After savoring an adult beverage for just the right amount of time an appetizer was in order. The only real option was summer rolls. I have to admit I was expecting a deep-fried version, but was pleasantly surprised at the raw softened rice paper filled with lettuce, mint, rice, and a whole scallion. The consensus was they were great flavor-wise, but also it was agreed that four small rolls in an order would be more pleasing (and less messy) than two large rolls. Although I realize that’s totally splitting hairs and merely a matter of preference.

The entrée portion of the evening was a little more confusing and frustrating. As I mentioned before, word on the street (and from one former employee) was that the menu was totally accessible to the vegan set. Much to my dismay, it wasn’t there in black and white. The server was unsure of what could and couldn’t be made vegan and had to ask another staff member. The verdict was that anything on the Bun Vermicelli or Com Rice Platters portion of the menu could be made vegetarian by substituting tofu for meat and no fish sauce. As there is a downside to every upside, each of these dishes are comprised of basically the same ingredients, each with an alternate mix of meats. This gave ordering with tofu a pretty sparse selection. When I saw Tofu with Mixed Vegetables stir fry, I stopped looking. My sidekick Elizabeth is the adventurous type and thus walked the high wire with Lemongrass Beef on Vermicelli, with tofu in place of the bovine. Both Elizabeth and myself were satisfied with the offerings, and we shared them to get a feel for each. The lemongrass in hers was a bit much for me, but we could both agree that my stir fry was top notch. Both broths were a tad on the bland side, but we soon realized that it was meant to be infused with the chili pastes/sauces on the table. Just be forewarned: the chilies aren’t for the faint of heart.

Lemongrass Tofu

The major downfall of our outing was the time it took for the food to arrive at our table. Just shy of 30 minutes and only 2 other tables seated? To us it seemed pretty lengthy, especially considering several employees were watching a DVD in a back corner of the restaurant for the majority of our time spent there.

The tab was right around $27 with the inclusion of two domestic beers… not shockingly expensive, but when the slow kitchen service is taken into account (not to mention the voice of that dimwit sitcom kid still ringing in my ears) not that great of a value either. There was a convenience factor in that upon leaving I was able to walk 10 feet to Akins Natural Foods and pick up soy ice cream for dessert. But is that enough for me to go out of my way to come back? Let’s just say you’ll see me at BamBu again the next time Springfield has a tornado warning issued in November.

1338 E. Battlefield

881-9881

M-Th 11a-9p
F-Sa 11a-10p
Sunday 11a-6p
again the next time Springfield has a tornado warning issued in November.

1338 E. Battlefield

881-9881

Hours
M-Th 11a-9p
F-Sa 11a-10p
Sunday 11a-6p

Cashew Chicken, of the true original recipe at Leong's Asian Diner

By Bob of Bob’s Whine and Dine

I had lunch today at the new Leong’s.  There has been plenty of info recently in the media about the Leong family history and fame as the creator of we all have come to know as Springfiel Style Cashew Chicken, so I won’t go into any of that here.  I will say that the original Leong’s Tea House was a favorite of my wife’s family.  I have great memories of many big group meals at the round table with the Lazy Susan full of Chinese food spinning around – but I digress.  This is all about the new Leong’s Asian Diner.

I think the name should maybe be changed to Leong’s Asian and Diner because if you look at the lunch menu you will see both the original Cashew and Sweet & Sour chicken (and a few other Asian dishes) along with diner lunch classics like burgers and Philly Cheese Steaks.  The lunch menu also lists a set of daily specials (one for each day except Sunday) – but our server said the daily specials aren’t available just yet.  The daily specials were all ‘diner’ choices like pot roast, chicken fried steak, etc…  Their Facebook page has the full lunch & dinner menus posted.

I’m going to keep my comments mainly to the food on this write-up.  The day of my visit, they’ve only been open 3 days and the kitchen and wait staff are obviously still figuring things out – so comments about service and such wouldn’t be fair.

So on to the food.

Wait a second ... a burger at Leong's Asian Diner?

My dining companions made selections of Cashew Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken (both $6.99 + .50 for all white meat).  Knowing I would be able to sample theirs I decided to go the ‘diner’ route and chose a burger based on our server’s recommendation.  We ordered some Crab Rangoon ($5.99) for an appetizer to share and my wife ordered a bowl of hot and sour soup.  My wife and I also ordered an egg roll each – but they never showed up on the table.  Fortunately, they weren’t on the bill either and as it turned out we really didn’t need them anyway.

The 6 Crab Rangoon’s arrived first.  (The picture only shows 3 as the first 3 disappeared from the plate before I could get my camera out).  The skins were tough and hard to bite through.  Not sure why that was – but I’ll conjecture that they didn’t make it out to the table as quickly as they should after leaving their hot oil bath.  The filling however, was excellent.  These had real crab (not krab) in them and you could actually taste the little crustaceans.  The filling was savory unlike the ‘sweet’ variety most other places have.  I liked the filling – if the wonton skins had been tender and crispy these would have scored a 10 with me.

My wife reported that the hot and sour soup had a good flavor (I snuck a taste and agreed) but she said it lacked the spicy heat she is used to.  It had some body to it with lots of goodies swimming around.

The Cashew and Sweet & Sour chicken was mostly largish chunks fried up in a light and crispy coating.  The chicken was tender and moist.  I thought Cashew sauce was a very good rendition with a mild flavor and a light consistency.  The Sweet & Sour sauce leans heavily to the sour side of the equation – it had a great tang to it which I enjoyed a lot.  This was a nice change from the overly sweet sauce most other places have.  The fried rice was disappointing.  It was mushy and overcooked.  It was like eating Uncle Ben’s (well maybe not that good).  It did have some nice stuff tossed in – carrot, peas, onion & pork.  An issue of both chicken dishes was that there wasn’t quite enough sauce drizzled over the chicken to go around.

My ½ pound burger with bacon, smoky cheddar and caramelized onion was very good.  The meat was hand pattied, the bacon was thick sliced and the onions were cooked just right.  The cook left just a little pink in the middle which avoided the dreaded hockey-puck-patty syndrome – overall a decent burger indeed.  The fries weren’t very crispy being a fresh cut variety – as such they were just ok.  Even though this is a good burger – at $9.50 I didn’t think it was $2 better than the $7.50 Full Ride at Grad School – especially when you consider the superior fries the Grad School offers.

Inside, the basic layout of the place hasn’t changed too much from the previous 2 incarnations (Charlie’s Chicken and Tortilla’s – I still miss Tortilla’s a lot).   They have managed to erase the previous décor with a simple and elegant interior of light green, red and black.  There is a cool glass topped bamboo-themed partition separating the dining room from the bar area.  The occupancy sign says 99 people max – but that must include the wait staff as well.  The dining room is not all that big and given the hype about the opening – I expect there to be long waits to get in.  We arrived a little after 1pm and had a 20 minute wait.  When we left about 2:30 there were still people waiting for a table.

Finding a place to wait will be problematic during busy times – there is a very small area inside by the reception desk and then some space between the inner & outer doors.  Add people coming and going and things get pretty crowded.  I think they should look at some buzzer coaster things if they continue getting the crowds I saw today – that way you can wait outside when the weather is nice or in your car when it isn’t.

The other thing that I found curious was the pay-at-the-register-when-you-leave process.  I wonder if trying to emulate the ‘diner’ aspect of the place may have led to that decision, but it is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing in my opinion.  I don’t expect or want to wait in a line to get out of a restaurant where the burgers cost $9.50 and you can order a $26 filet & lobster dinner.  I hope they reconsider that decision and let one pay at the table.

So, is Leong’s an Asian restaurant, a diner or maybe something different?  Well, there are some diners in town that serve sweet & sour chicken – usually without a lot of success.  There aren’t any Asian places I’m aware of that serve $19 Ribeyes, Chicken Fried Steak or Pasta.  My guess is that Leong’s really wants to be an up scale American food restaurant – but they really couldn’t have that name in this town and not serve Cashew Chicken and some other Asian favorites.

I will return for dinner after they’ve been open a while and report back on that.

1540 W Republic Rd– (417) 887-7500

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Health Inspections

SGF breakfast staple Anton's Coffee Shop proves there is a heaven for an omelette.

Anton’s Coffee Shop has sat on the west side of Glenstone — just North of Grand — for 35 years. It’s safe to say they’ve figured out the breakfast game. Like most established diners, the charm of Anton’s is more than the decades of decor beaming from the walls. The staff rarely turns over and remembers your face and how you take your coffee — even if you haven’t returned in more than a year. For the better part of a decade Anton’s was the (at least twice weekly) go-to breakfast joint, but a new address has made visits far less frequent. But, not much has changed at 937 S Glenstone, and that’s a good thing.

A friendly staff maintains the prompt service while perfectly formed omelettes are still in place. Anton’s offers a few dozen varieties of omelettes (if you can’t tell, I have a one-track mind at this restaurant), but the standard breakfast fare, as well as a few lunch/sandwich/salad options are available as well. The griddle cakes and waffles have come highly recommended, but on this trip, I went with the standard ABC Omelette (avocado, bacon and cheddar) with a healthy dose of Tabasco. It’s a monster four-egg dish and my toughest choice are the sides. It’s hard to say “no” to the grits (yes, there are people who still eat grits), but the hash browns are can’t miss. It also comes with two slices of toast and jelly. When I was a bit younger (and heavier) I would substitute biscuits and gravy for the toast. The Bs&G are tasty, but clearly not the restaurant’s forte. My wife went with the two eggs and bacon meal. Everything was as expected: delicious. The only thing wrong with my meal was the first bite. It was a big one and I was excited. I missed. It feel to the floor after crashing on my new shirt with a fresh stain of Tabasco. I was defeated, but bounced back with glory.

You will end up spending around $8/person. Our total with drinks came to just less than $15, so we spent an even $20 with tip. The ol’ timey charm comes without taking plastic or check, so make sure to have cash on hand.

Curious about the other Anton’s omelette options? Some of the others I’ve tried in the past with great success are: “Spinach and Feta Cheese” — self explanatory; “Ozark” — hash browns, diced ham, bell pepper, onion; “Southwest” — bacon, tomato, jalapeno cheese, salsa; “Mt. St. Helens” — turkey, tomato, onion, habanero peppers, onion, jalapeno cheese. They were all good, but I’ve found perfection in the ABC+T so it’s hard to go a different direction.

The food is great, but every trip to Anton’s is about the atmosphere and friendly conversation. Menus from around the country hang from the walls like foodie trophies from trips outside of the Ozarks.

Hours
Closed Tuesday
Weekdays and Saturday: 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

tagsgf-big_fat_burritos

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Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

As is evident from the “TAG 5” list this week, The Great Burrito War Of 2010 is ON. There was no commiseration between myself and the “4 horsemen”, but somehow I had the same inclination towards burritos as my TAGsgf.com brethren. I can’t prove it, but somehow I think they, in cooperation with the government, are channeling my thoughts. Paranoid? I think not……

The first stop on my tour de la burrito was a homegrown locale that I somehow hadn’t experienced before—Big Fat Burritos. I’d heard rave reviews from life-long SGFers about this spot, and although I wasn’t completely smitten, I was definitely stoked on a one-of-a-kind burrito spot in the fine city of Springfield.

The menu is completely simplistic; every burrito comes adorned with the same toppings (including sour cream and cheese, so, you know, be specific) and your choice of beef, pork, or veggies as a filler. I went for the latter (for obvious reasons) and then came the salsas. All freshly made (the habanero has a crazy good flavor, but, well, just try it if you dare). Also . I left off the sour cream and cheese, then added guacamole (+$.75). My dining companion, whose name definitely isn’t Elizabeth, took the same route sans the avocado mash—she was a little disappointed, for they forgot to include the black beans that should have been.

Next on my list is a head-to-head competition of two chains that have come to be “fast food” burrito goliaths…. Chipotle and Qdoba. It’s pretty clear in my photographs that both spots have very similar burritos. The only noticeable difference is maybe the preparation of their guacamole and salsas. One trivial matter of lameness that’s worth mentioning is Qdoba’s $.49 upcharge for fajita vegetables. Half a buck is literally pocket change, but on a burrito with no meat, cheese or sour cream? C’mon.

Each of the three restaurants have their own unique attributes. And with all coming in right around the $7 mark it was a fair comparison. The homespun flair of Big Fat Burritos makes it worth a revisit. Qdoba was satisfying as always. Chipotle, however, stood out in my opinion as the winner of my self-imposed not-so-authentic Springfield burrito challenge. Now challenge yourself to the same. On an empty stomach. And not all in the same day. Seriously.

Big Fat Burritos

3354 S. National #C phone: 890-1500
M-Saturday 11a-7p
Closed Sunday

Chipotle

1211 E. Saint Louis phone: 831-2159
3356 S. Campbell phone: 883-1944

M-Sunday 11a-10p

Qdoba

900 E. Battlefield Suite D phone: 887-7329
4127 S. Kansas Expy Ste 104 phone: 823-7825
2631 E. Sunshine phone: 877-9777

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Planet Sub's Pesto Bello

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

There are a lot of factors that can spark one’s interest in visiting a food establishment for the first time. Some will succumb to the hype. Others, like some of my TAGsgf.com cohorts, could go for the kid-friendly/family atmosphere. The motive for my patronage of Planet Sub, however, was and is uncompromisingly simple— $1 domestic beers. Sold. After a little research on their website I was convinced that I had another reason besides fermented hops and barley (check out Ben Stange’s Beer Buzz: Homebrewing for Beginners and find out what the !*#? that means) to make a quick stop at their Kimbrough & Cherry location.

Originating in Lawrence, Kansas some 20 years ago under the moniker Yellow Sub (I
cannot confirm nor deny whether it was protected by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Planet Sub has spread throughout Eastern Kansas, Western Missouri, and college towns in Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Although a franchise, it seems more locally owned than your standard Jimmy John’s or Subway. The lone bread offering is a killer made from scratch whole wheat that makes the sandwich what it is. Another reason for any veg to revel in the selection at Planet Sub is the option to add marinated tempeh to any sandwich. Those not familiar with tempeh may find it akin to tofu, as it is also made from soybeans, but the soybeans are in this case fermented in whole bean form, giving it a heartier texture and more robust flavor as well as a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. Healthful.

Any of the 9 veggie subs can be ordered without mayonnaise or cheese and have tempeh added for a nominal charge, which makes quite a satisfying meal. The Pesto Bello, which has a flavor that lends itself well to the addition of tempeh, was my go-to on this visit and I was totally satisfied with my choice. The sandwich ended up consisting of roasted Portobello mushrooms, fresh red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and of course the marinated tempeh. I ordered a large size when in all reality I could have been more than satisfied with a small. You live and you learn.

For about $8 including a bag a Sun Chips I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a bit pricier than Subway, but that aside I can still sincerely attest to the merits of Planet Sub and definitely the Pesto Bello. For one-dollar more I can also sincerely attest to the merits of a Budweiser. What will your reason be for visiting?

Locations:

533 S. Kimbrough
862-4782

3050 S. National
886-4784

Hours:

M-F 10:30a-8p
Saturday & Sunday 11a-8p

Antipasto Salad

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The antipasto salad at Bambino's in Springfield, Missouri. Alex Stocksdale / for TAGsgf.com

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

The proximity of the Phelps Grove neighborhood to the Missouri State campus makes it a hotbed for raucous ragers on any given weekend. The pervasive Monday morning scene throughout the semester becomes ordinary; cheap beer cans strewn about the sidewalk, front porches thrashed in ardent booze-induced stoopers, and very, very concerned landlords. But this was no ordinary weekend, this was Halloween. Trudging through smashed pumpkins and obvious signs of evenings turning out a little less than swell, I finally made it to Bambino’s.

Located a block West of National on the corner of Delmar and Florence, the building that houses Bambino’s was built in the early 1930s as a neighborhood grocery store. Although considerably updated on both the outside and in, it still maintains the quaint aesthetic feel of days gone past. The (mostly) covered patio is, in my opinion, one of the most chill and low-key in the SGF—perfect for enjoying a pitcher on a balmy afternoon. Unfortunately the first day of November isn’t so conducive to outside seating so an indoor table was in order.

The Maria at Bambino's was a bit disappointing. Hopefully, it was all in the timing.

My dining companion, we’ll call her Barbara, and I took a seat just inside the door by the window and were promptly greeted with menus and had our drink orders taken. We chose their homemade hummus as an appetizer. I was a little disappointed to find that it was, although tasty, more of a soup than a dip that can be scooped up with pita. I’ve had it before with the correct consistency, and it is one of my favorites; I guess you can’t win them all. For the main course “Barbara” ordered the Antipasto salad- a very generous portion of green leaf lettuce, mixed greens, onion, red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms and banana peppers. Substitute the provel cheese for veganism, and this salad is absolutely worth $6.99. I chose “The Maria”- angel hair pasta in marinara sauce. I was again a bit disappointed, as the flavor of the sauce was good, but “al dente” had passed the pasta 2 hours ago. Maybe coming in the after dinner lull had a hand in this mishap, yet it was unpleasant none the less. (As a side note, although it doesn’t denote on the menu that “The Maria” comes with cheese, I recommend being very specific to your server that you don’t want it, because you know, things happen).

I can very safely say that the hour in which my visit to Bambino’s occurred directly affected the quality of the food—not that it’s any excuse. The service was attentive without being overbearing…. As good as you’d find in any locally owned establishment. When the check came it was $25 including two crisp and refreshing adult beverages, not including gratuity. If you’re in the Phelps Grove neighborhood (especially during the warm months!) and hungry and/or parched give Bambino’s a try; you may not love it, but you also may not have to scrape pumpkin pulp off your shoes when you get home.

Bambino’s: A Foodie Review (12/7/09)

Phone: 862-9999

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11a-10p Sunday 12p-9p

Delivery: M-F 11a-2p

1141 E. Delmar

Kazoku Amazing Roll

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Bob unintentionally found Kazoku on opening night, but didn't feel like a 'guinea pig'.

By Bob, Bob’s Whine and Dine

My wife and I were on the east side recently, it was dinner time and we were hungry.  I had noticed that there was a new place going into the spot at Eastgate & Sunshine where Tuscan Grill had been and we decided to drive by and see if it was open – it wasn’t (it is called Nicola’s by the way).  Anyway, while cruising the rest of the shopping center we discovered a Japanese place called Kazoku.  Neither of us had heard of Kazoku before so we decided we better try them out.

When we walked in (around 5pm) there was only one other table occupied.  The menu is similar to other non-habachi style Japanese places with a sushi/nigiri menu and staples such as tempuras, chicken, steak, salmon, scallops, shimp, calamari and lobster hibachi entrées.  Prices for dinner entrées are in the $10 (vegetables) to $17 (filet mignon) range.  There is also a nice selection of appetizers.

We decided to order an ‘Amazing’ roll ($8.50) for a starter.  For dinner I selected the steak & scallop combo ($15.95) and my wife chose the hibachi chicken ($11.95).  We struck up a conversation with our server as she was refilling our drinks and we found out that we had arrived on opening night – and we were among the first in Springfield to visit.   We both thought that was kind of cool but I hoped it didn’t mean we were going to be guinea pigs testing out their new processes.  That, thankfully, turned out not to be the case.

Kazoku's Amazing Roll

The first thing to arrive was our Amazing roll.  The Amazing roll is spicy crab (real crab not krab!) and avocado on the inside with spicy tuna on top drizzled with a nice spicy sauce – it was indeed amazing.  There were really good flavors here with enough spice to make you notice, but not too much to ruin your taste buds.  We really liked this roll.

Soon after the roll came the salad & soup.  The salad was pretty standard for this type of place with the lettuce crispy and the dressing standard but good.  The miso soup however is another story.  Sorry to say that this is probably the BEST miso soup we’ve ever had.  It had more body that any other version I’ve had and the taste was complex.  It was just really good.  We returned for lunch the week after this visit and were bummed out that the miso soup is a dinner only offering.  The explanation was that it takes all day to make and they only serve it fresh – not from the day before.

So far Kazoku hit a solid double with the amazing ‘Amazing’ roll and the miso soup.  Next up – the entrées.  Both entrées were served with some grilled veggies, fried rice (white is also available) and noodles.  The grilled veggies were good with some nice caramelization on the edges – there was a little too much yellow squash for me, but my wife made short work of that.  The fried rice was nice with bits of egg, peas and carrots tossed in.  The noodles were different than I remember getting at other places.  They were more like spaghetti than your typical soba style noodle with quite a bit of body to them.  They weren’t bad – just different.  The 4 scallops that arrived on my plate were nicely cooked and tasted good – there was no grit like I’ve had every time I’ve ordered scallops at Umi.  The steak was cooked just as I ordered and it was very tender.  There were a few pieces that had some gristle but overall it was among the better quality regular steak (non filet mignon) that I’ve had at a Japanese place.  My wife reported her chicken to be good as well – she liked the light sauce it was grilled with.

Our opening night visit was considered a success.  As I mentioned before, we returned for lunch the next week for another Amazing roll and a caterpillar roll (eel, cucumber, avocado) and except for not getting any miso soup – left very pleased.  We also noted that there were lots more people on that visit.

The dining room is spartan in what I would guess is a Japanese style.  The color scheme is black, red and white and has a nice finished look about it – no strange curtained booths like at Wayo.  The tables are placed far enough apart so that you can have a private conversation.  As it is with most strip mall restaurants, in the winter, the single entry door will sweep cold air into the dining room on every entry and exit.

Service was good on both visits.  My diet coke was kept refilled, our food came out in an acceptable time and we didn’t have to wait for our check.

There is one more interesting thing that I should mention.  Remember we were checking to see if Nicola’s was open – well as it turned out, Nicola and his entire family came in and sat at the sushi bar for dinner the night we visited.  They seemed to enjoy their meal as well.

My wife and I enjoyed both of our visits to Kazoku – the miso soup and the awesome roll being two of our favorites.   We will definitely be back next time we are in the mood for Japanese.

3637 East Sunshine Street – (417) 882-1454

Bob’s Whine and Dine

Link to Menu

Link to Health Inspections

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

Veggie Spud and Veggie Chili from McAlister's

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

As a preface, I had intended upon visiting Whislers and trying the eight patty bacon cheeseburger. Alas, Bob snaked me and rendered my review useless. Thanks a lot man. I was in turn relinquished to my backup, McAlister’s Deli. I had heard from several veg friends that this was a (relatively) quick and inexpensive fare with a multitude of locations throughout town. Heeding advice from the informed plenty, and my day-after birthday hangover, I decided to give it a go.

As it turns out there is more to McAlister’ s than the fabled sweet tea—I found it to have several on-menu vegan options (with minor amendments) and the option to build your own sandwich/wrap … The options are endless.

On the plate today was the “Veggie Spud” and a bowl of vegetarian chili (for half the price you can order a less-satisfying, yet half-price cup). The baked potato, which comes with mozzarella cheese unless otherwise specified, was adorned with red onions, bell peppers, diced tomatoes, black olives, and a side of salsa that was somehow forgotten on my order. Maybe I had a sense of birthday entitlement, or maybe I just look like a jerk. Said potato was surprisingly over cooked, like a twice baked potato, but had ample veggies. The veggie chili was not as delish as a batch of my own, but maybe the best store-bought version I’ve had, and piping hot to boot; no complaints in that area.

For a total of about $12 it was a swift and easy curb to a post-birthday hangover and pretty tasty fare as well. I recommend it to anyone who wants to eat healthy after having had a long month one weekend.

Locations:

2445 N Kansas Expy # A, Springfield – 866-2331

210 W Sunshine St, Springfield – 831-4450

1711 W Battlefield St # M, Springfield – 888-0899

1460 E. Primrose Street- Springfield – 890-5250

2300 North Airport Blvd Springfield – 862-7295

Ebbets Field South sign

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The new Ebbet's still feels a lot like Rivals.

It feels pretty weird, but I think it’s going to work.

The new edition of Ebbet’s Field doesn’t look or feel anything like the original, but the grub and friendly, casual service. Ambiance is forsaken, but they brought the logo and the menu from the Walnut location to the new Ebbet’s Field South, and it just might work. It’s pretty much exactly what I expected: Rival’s with delicious baseball-themed burgers.

It took a second trip to give Ebbet’s a fair shake. The first visit came soon after it opened for lunch and they were obviously still shaking out wrinkles (no sign, no Dr. Pepper, no horseradish cheese, no wifi password). I met TAGsgf.com’s Allen Vaughan and we both wanted Da Drysdale (burger with horseradish cheese), but settled for Da Sandy (burger with buffalo sauce and provolone). The burger was unusually mediocre so a second chance was necessary (no offense Wayo, Ebbet’s has street cred).

Da Drysdale

On the second visit, it was apparent that business is good early. It was packed for college football on a Saturday. No wait when we arrived, but there was a short line when we finished (1:30 p.m.). This time the Dr. Pepper is delicious, they have horseradish cheese and I’m not working, so “screw it if they don’t have wifi” (the new sign looks pretty good, too). Da Drysdale was incredible. If you like horseradish (and burgers), you’ve got to put one of these away. My wife and son shared Da Catcher (Philly Cheesesteak with Italian Dressing). In two decades of going to Ebbet’s on Walnut, I never knew Da Catcher existed – really great sandwich.

The one constant in every visit to Ebbet’s is the french fries. They are consistently seasoned and fried every time.The new location hasn’t changed them a bit. Of course my favorite item on the menu is the Cajun Wrap – a spicy cod wrap, but that’s unrelated to this review. (Actually, it might be the Red Hot Tenders. Again, I digress.)

With an identical menu, the food is not going to disappoint. I imagine the first burger at the new spot was likely the exception. You’re going to spend around $10 per person, with fries and a soda. If you’re looking for the food and seven televisions in sight from any vantage point, then the south-side spot will suit you fine. But, if it’s the experience of Ebbet’s Field, you have to travel to the original – a true destination restaurant.

Meet Whisler's 8 Decker: 8 burger patties, 8 slices of cheese, and 8 pieces of bacon (apologies to the Viral Vegan for having to see this). It's not on the menu but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

By Bob for Bob’s Whine and Dine

I’ve wanted to try Whisler’s ever since my nephew showed me a picture of the eight-decker cheeseburger he ordered there.  In the picture, there were 8 burger patties, 8 pieces of cheese and 8 pieces of bacon – enclosed within a bun and held together with a wooden spear.  Well, an opportunity presented itself recently and I made a lunch trip downtown with friend Steve to check them out.

We arrived around 11:30 and there was just one other person in line when we got there.  We looked over the menu and then struck up a conversation with the person running the place.  We told him we were new and asked what we needed to know.  He replied you can have anything you want as long as it is a burger.  Burgers (and shakes) is all they do here.  There are 6 types of burgers on the menu including a turkey and veggie (Bocca patty) burger.  The variations are mainly add-ons like ham and bacon with cheese tacking on 15 cents per slice.  There is also a lunch deal for $4.60 which includes 2 cheese burgers, chips and a drink.  The lunch deal is what Steve and I opted for – but we did do an upgrade with Steve getting a Pig & Bull (add ham slice) and I got a Sow & Cow (add bacon).

Our burgers were cooked to order on the single grill and then delivered to us in an unassuming paper bag.  What we found in the bag were two smallish burgers.  They aren’t what I would call sliders – I think the patties may be a bit bigger than that but not by much.  The meat to bun ratio is just about perfect on these little guys though.  Each bite had a nice mix of meat, cheese and bacon/ham.  You could taste the meat and I think it was a pretty good quality ground beef.  The patties were also cooked nicely with nice browned edges.  Since they were smallish, I wasn’t stuffed after eating two of them with a bag of chips, but that meant that I did have room to squeeze in some Gelato Mio afterwards.  Without the gelato – I think an order of 3 or 4 would make a more substantial meal – and Whisler’s will accommodate by selling you burgers 5 at a time for $6.25.

Brown Baggin' at Whisler's

There was one issue both Steve and I agreed on that would have made the burgers even better – a toasted bun.  We asked about that while getting some drink refills and the cook said that if it isn’t too busy he will generally toast the bun – next time I’ll be sure to ask for that.

The eight-decker my nephew got was obviously a special order as it isn’t on the menu – but I get the feeling that as long as it is a burger the folks at Whisler’s will try their darndest to please.

Chips and drinks are self-serve.  Seating is very limited with 2 tables inside and 2 tables outside.  It was a nice day when we were visiting so we sat outside.  The sidewalk tables would have been great had there not been a Banta Food truck parked idling across the street making it hard to have a conversation.

Overall – Whisler’s is one of those places that is just kind of neat to go to.  The prices are reasonable and the burgers are good.  I’ll be back.

208 West McDaniel – (417) 864-5565

Link to Facebook Page

Website with Menu

Link to Health Inspections

The $5 Lunch: Whisler’s

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as one might think. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

Bangkok City is on Walnut, about block west of National.

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

When I first moved to the SGF just over four years ago, I had no comprehension of anything outside of the campus/downtown area. I was desperate to find a Thai restaurant inside my comfort zone, but just didn’ t know where to go. Then fate imparted unto me the holy-grail known as Bangkok City. The billing at the bottom of the sign “Thai Seafood Restaurant” initially made me question whether there would be anything on the menu that would accommodate my self-imposed dietary restrictions, but as it turns out I would have been remiss to have passed by without a quest inside.

The menu features an entire vegetarian section with six starkly different, yet equally satisfying dishes. I first, as is always wise, asked to be sure that the dishes were indeed completely “vegetarian” explaining the products that I choose not to eat. The server seemed in no way put put by this query, and even asked “so, you’re vegan?”She quickly went to check with the kitchen and came back bearing good news….. the items listed as vegetarian contain no eggs, no dairy, and vegetable stock is used. If it could only be as easy at so many other local restaurants, they too could have a four year repeat customer.

On this gorgeous Sunday afternoon the low key patio was the obvious choice. Service was quick as always, with our Singhas arriving within literally seconds of ordering. The lack of a veg appetizer choice is a little frustrating, but a complimentary and delicious Thai salad is a worthy consolation. After a couple more adult beverages it was on to the main course.

The eggplant with tofu and basil is the reason I continue to patronize Bangkok City… to me it is, in one word, perfect. Japanese eggplant, onions, basil, and tofu come together to make one of the most flavorful dishes I have ever tasted. My wing (wo)man Elizabeth ordered the mixed vegetable curry and wasn’t disappointed. This treat consists of a slew of braised vegetables in a spicy coconut milk-curry broth that, when put on a bed of white rice is pretty outstanding.

Our check came in at just over $40, with the inclusion of four import brews – not the least expensive meal that you’ ll find, but a totally worthwhile splurge. Bangkok City is a downtown staple that no one should pass up regardless of eating habits. The staff is attentive (aside from one time on Valentine’s day when, despite making reservations 2 days before, my date and I had to wait 30 minutes to have our drink orders taken, but that was an anomaly), the food is good, and the atmosphere inviting. See for yourself.

1129 East Walnut Street
(417) 799-1221

Hours:

Lunch:
M-F 11a-2:30p
Saturday 11:30a-2:30p
Dinner:
M-W 5p-9:30p
Thursday-Saturday 5p-10p
CLOSED SUNDAY

gelato-mio-1

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Gelato Mio

By Bob of Bob’s Whine and Dine

Gelato?  Springfield?  What???  Ok, so maybe it isn’t all that weird – but there is a new rival in the ice cream / frozen yogurt / frozen custard scene in town.  Located just east of Park Central Square is an unassuming spot that looks more like a coffee house than an ice cream place – Gelato Mio.  The menu includes – well Gelato – which turns out to be Italian-style ice cream and sorbet.  Don’t bother asking for a concrete, Sunday, mixin’s or other ice cream fanciness – all you get here is the cold stuff in a cup with a tiny little spoon.

At any one time there are 18 flavors out in the case.  Free samples are encouraged and my wife and I took advantage of that to sample at least 8 or 9 different varieties.  I ended up with a scoop of rocky road and chocolate peanut butter sharing a two scoop cup ($4).  My wife got dark chocolate along with an espresso something in her cup.  Each cup was decorated with a tiny waffle cone.

This is how Gelato Mio does gelato. Right.

Well, turns out gelato is pretty darn good.  It is richer than regular ice cream and has a thick, sticky texture.  The flavors are very intense.  I don’t think they are created with chemicals – but rather the real stuff – chocolate, espresso, peanut butter, etc.  The tastes I had of the fruit gelato made me believe that only real fruit is used to create those flavors.  On a second visit I got the espresso gelato that had chocolate coated coffee beans mixed in – that was an ‘espressolly’ good combo.  On a third visit I got a combo of bananas foster and double dutch chocolate – can’t go wrong with bananas and chocolate.

There are several tables inside to sit and enjoy your gelato as well as a large comfy sectional sofa seating area.  In the back is an art gallery that was featuring a local artist.  On nice days a couple of tables are outside to enjoy the weather.

Also, on our visit, the owner explained that they were starting to sell coffee drinks heading into the fall season.  Not just regular coffee – but coffee with the espresso gelato added in ($3).  For some reason we got a free cup of the coffee during our visit and it was good.

The gelato at Gelato Mio is shipped in from Chicago.  The story we were told is that an Italian family in Chicago is their source and has been making this goodness for over 20 years.  The owner also said that this particular gelato brand is sold in Vegas at Caesar’s Palace.

As you probably have guessed from my several return visits, I particularly like this Gelato stuff.  I now have another good reason to head downtown.

Gelato Mio at Taste of Springfield

207 Park Central East – (417) 766-9383

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Website (with menu)

Link to Health Inspections

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as it seems. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

No one said that being vegan was easy. When going out to lunch with an omnivorous friend, or in this case my mother visiting from out of town, it can often times be difficult to find a median between being a good host and having a wide array of veg options for yourself. Thanks to local haunts like Grad School there’s no need for compromise.

Located in the building that formerly housed Acoustic Café, Rasta Grill, and a slew of other locally owned restaurants, this “hole in the wall” joint is definitely a diamond in the rough. Owner Danny Schlink and his former Rasta Grill cohorts have taken vegan dining options in the SGF to a new level. Most all menu items can be ordered with their house-made falafel in lieu of meat.

A vegan Long Beach Taco at Grad School

On this particular outing I implored my dining companion / mother to try something that is a little out of her comfort zone—a meatless meal. It was at first a hard sell, as some of my previous attempts to turn her on to veggie meals weren’t well received (tofu just isn’t her bag). After some debate she decided on the Mushroom “Steak” pressed sandwich. Portobello mushrooms, grilled bell peppers and onions, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts adorned the sandwich. She raved about the “meaty” texture and flavor of the mushrooms and the generous portion of fresh, thick cut french fries. A slight amendment of leaving off the provolone cheese, (my mom wouldn’t take it to that extreme, but, baby steps…) and this sandwich is a delicious animal-free treat. I went for the always satisfying Long Beach Tacos, with falafel for protein and sans the garlic aioli (contains mayonnaise). The plate consists of 3 flour tortillas stuffed with falafel and marinated cabbage, served with black bean salsa (albeit a tad on the bland side), basmati rice, and freshly made tortilla chips on the side. A liberal squeeze of Sriracha sauce and these tacos are the best I’ve had outside of California.

The check ended up coming to just over $18 without a tip (thanks Mom!). There is also an extensive selection of canned and draft beer, with the $2 tallboy of PBR being the standout. A warm atmosphere and friendly staff in a prime downtown location make Grad School a destination not to be overlooked. Will Danny’s next endeavor into being a restaurateur that caters to the emerging veg scene in SGF (in the form of J.O.B. Public House) live up to the former? Stay tuned…..

434 S. Jefferson
866-8163

Hours: Monday-Friday 11a-9p
Saturday 12p-9p

The Blue Bull is on the square in the former Riad's location.

By Bob for Bob’s Whine and Dine

The Blue Bull Bar and Grill (BB) sort of snuck up on me this summer.  I’ve been gone a lot and have missed a lot of the news about new places.  Occupying the former Riad’s place smack dab on Park Central Square, the Blue Bull seems to be downtown’s newest place to grab a burger and beer.

It was a gorgeous evening with my wife and I visited and we decided to eat outside to enjoy the weather.  The BB has what I believe to be the largest outside seating area on the square with a nice view of the square and the people wandering around it.

The menu at BB is mainly burgers, sandwiches and salads.  When I asked the server what the ‘specialties’ were she said the burgers and the tenderloin.  I wanted a burger so I selected the Ozark Mountain BBQ Burger and asked for the BBQ sauce on the side.  My wife chose the Spinach Cranberry Salad that comes with grilled chicken.

Ozark Mountain BBQ Burger

Without the BBQ sauce, my burger was really a 1/3 pound bacon cheese burger with caramelized onions.  I’m glad I asked for the BBQ sauce on the side as it had a pretty strong flavor.  The sauce reminded me a bit of the BBQ sauce at Big Whiskey’s down the block as it was sweet, thick and sort of smoky.  It was served on a Ciabatta bun and it looked really good with the cheese all melty, and the onions and bacon peaking out from under the cheese.  So juicy burger, bacon, cheese, onions – it had to taste great right?  Trouble was that darn Ciabatta bun.  See there was too much bread for the size of the burger and I couldn’t really taste the goodness that was happening between the buns.  Mostly I tasted the bread which made the whole thing kind of dry.  This would have been much more successful with a smaller, more traditional, hamburger bun.  The larger Blue Bull Burger which was 2/3 pound or maybe even a whole pound would have been able to stand up to the Ciabatta, but not this one.  On a more positive note, the waffle cut sweet potato fries were really good.  Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Unlike other places, these were not seasoned with sugar or cinnamon – just salt and they were sure yummy.

My wife liked her salad quite a bit; it had pecans, cranberries and some feta to go along with the fresh greens.  It came with a balsamic based dressing.  The chicken was nicely seasoned as well.  She said all of the ingredients went together well.  It was also a fairly large portion – enough to take home for lunch the next day.

The décor of the BB stands up to its name – it is really blue inside.  There are lots of shiny things around to reflect the very blue lights that serve as illumination.  The bar is pretty large with lots of chairs to belly up to it with.  In good weather though – outside is the place to be.

Service was very good on our visit.  My diet coke remained full, our meals came out quickly and the food was hot.

Even though the burger didn’t live up to its looks – I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to the BB.  Next time, I think I’ll try the tenderloin.  Our server was really talking that up as being hand breaded and the best in town.  Since my failed trip to Smith’s – I’ve got a hankering for a good tenderloin sandwich and I hope the one at BB lives up to the hype.

105 Park Central Square – 417-831-BULL (2855)

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Website (with menu)

Link to Health Inspections

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as it seems. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

Pre Tofutti pie

Football season is in full swing and along with the bone-jarring tackles, impossible catches and last minute drives comes something else—gluttony in epic proportions. The scene is pervasive each Saturday and Sunday throughout the autumn in living rooms and “man caves” across town; beer flowing, fantasy stats being analyzed, the one guy who insists taking a shot every time his team has a goal line stand is good luck (Yeah he’s real…. Halftime also signals naptime), and a whole spread of food. The latter is where one can feel, at times, forsaken for being veg. Aside from the veggie tray that someone’s girlfriend or wife picked up at PriceCutter on the way over, or the ubiquitous chips and salsa, vegan-friendly isn’t easy to come by….. Enter Papa John’s.

Although making a pizza from scratch is my preferred method it can be time-consuming and generally more costly. Papa John’s can make planning ahead for dietary restrictions a little less trying, as well as adding a tad of normalcy to the game day feasting ritual.

Tofutti - Mozzarella-style singles

For starters, the regular breadsticks with regular pizza sauce contain no animal by-products. Then go with the Garden Fresh pizza (fresh-sliced onions & green peppers, gourmet baby portabella mushrooms, ripe black olives and juicy, fresh-sliced Roma tomatoes). Ask, very specifically, for no cheese (online ordering helps with this, to assure that you aren’t misheard over the phone) and I recommend extra sauce. Also, assure that you order original crust; others contain honey and possibly whey. This alone is a treat, but if you want to go all out and get the full indulgence of pizza make a stop at Mama Jean’s and pick up some Vegan Gourmet mozzarella-style “cheese”. Also Tofutti mozzarella-style singles will work just fine (many area grocery stores stock this in the health food section). Just grate or crumble the “cheese” onto the pizza and throw it into a 450 degree oven until melted.

Papa John's plus Tofutti, the final product

This was an excellent addition to the Sunday football experience… The omnivorous friends that were in attendance raved about the texture of the “cheese” when melted, although they were a bit wary to begin with. A large ended up costing just over $20 with delivery fee (I talked the guy on the phone into throwing in free breadsticks in lieu of the cheese…Thanks!). It took only about 30 minutes for delivery and with a $7 tip, $27 seemed well worth not going out and missing the beginning of the 3rd quarter. This is a number that any veg football fan should have on speed dial for sure.

SGF locations:
1037 S. Glenstone Ave. 831-7272
1814 W. Kearney St. 869-7272
3305 S. Campbell Ave. 890-7272

More reviews from The Viral Vegan

Panera Bread

Saturday's Taste of Springfield is the city's biggest annual outdoor food festival.

South Ave was filled with foodies on Saturday. The Next Exit and Members Only provided the backdrop, but the focus was on flavor.

The awesome

There was one big winner for the TAGsgf.com staff – Tortilleria Perches. The shredded beef taco and queso dip drew long lines. Simple and delicious. One TAGsgfer finished his ticket allotment and drove straight to the actual restaurant. Blue Bull’s Pork Tenderloin sandwich and pork fingers (think chicken fries) were tasty, though a small portion of sauce would have helped the sandwich slide down. The surprise of the day was Nonna’s deep fried lasagna. You can fry anything. Of course the desserts were incredible. Gelato Mio’s … gelato, The Cup’s cakewich and Mudhouse’s seasonal pumpkin bar each delivered. Andy’s was Andy’s, the best frozen snack not from Gelato Mio. Taco Wagon’s tacos and the cottage pie from Farmer’s Gastropub were other strong entrees.

The disappointing

“The spring roll that will change your life!” was the only poorly spent tickets, mostly because the hype was far from supported, but great salesmanship Parlor 88. I was a little disappointed in the “signature dishes” of some spots. I enjoy Mac & Cheese as much as anybody. If it’s on the menu, I always give it a second thought, but do you really want to feature it at a food festival, Trolley’s? Weak. Sauce. It’s supposed to be on the menu, but not supposed to be the centerpiece. You have good, unique food. Why not give something original the shine?

Also getting finger wags are Taco Wagon for no early food and Horrman Meat Co. for no late food.

This little nugget of happiness is named "Deep Fried Lasagna". Meet in person at Nonna's.

My Taste of Springfield Menu Top 3

Apps

1. Thai Lettuce Wrap from Mille’s
2. Queso from Tortilleria Perches
3. Sausage Roll from Farmers Gastropub

Entree

1. Shredded Beef Taco from Tortilleria Perches
2. Deep Fried Lasagna from Nonna’s
3. Pork Tenderloin from Blue Bull

Dessert

1. Tiramisu Kahlua Gelato from Gelato Mio
2. Cakewich from The Cup
3. Pumpkin Oatmeal Bar from Mudhouse

Alex Stocksdale: The Viral Vegan

Alex Stocksdale is an SGFer going on six years, and a devout vegan. Others following the veg foodie lifestyle continue to grow in town. To outsiders, going veg seems like a difficult task in the area, so we’ve decided to pass his knowledge along to you in a weekly column called: The Viral Vegan. Stocksdale will be dropping tips, reviews and general knowledge each week at TAGsgf.com. He will be shooting some photos, so turn to your good side when you see the guy with the corncob pipe in public. You may have already checked out a sample of his work in a gallery from Cider Days, but you should meander around the gallery below for “that’s cool lookin’” purposes.

Anyway, what better way to get to know somebody than random introductory questions? We caught up for a quick Q&A.

Nickname: Mayer of Moletown (Yeah, I meant to spell it that way)

School: Too Cool

Favorite SGF restaurant: I choose to remain unbiased

Local band: Osage Orange

Car or bike: Skateboard

Three words for why you’re vegan: Compassionate, Benevolent, Animals

Biggest non-Vegan temptation: Las Vegas

Recent book: They still make those?

Z-Day Weapon of Choice: Golden Gun

JCVD or Dolph Lundgren: Chuck Norris

Recent album: I know nothing past 1985

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: That kid and his tiger

Beer: Drinking one now

Dog or cat: “I like turtles…..”

TV show: King Of Queens

Flip flops, OK or too lazy: That’s a complex answer.

Read the Viral Vegan’s opening review: Panera Bread

Going veg in SGF isn’t as impossible as it seems. Look for vegan tips, reviews and more every Tuesday from the Viral Vegan.

By Alex Stocksdale for TAGsgf.com

Vegan (vee-guh n). Webster’s defines it as “a vegetarian that omits all animal products from the diet”. I simply define it as a cruelty-free way of life. Although the word often conjures up thoughts of a drastic lifestyle change, living on a commune wearing clothing made from only hemp, and generally a self-imposed exile from mainstream society, my mission is to change these notions. TAGSGF.com has been so gracious as to allow me a forum to demonstrate how one can live and eat as a vegan, in Springfield, alongside omnivorous friends and family. My hope is that you too
will challenge yourself to broaden your horizons and try eating for your body and the environment.

To start out I picked an easily accessible restaurant for everyone- PaneraBread (STL Bread Company for our friends from the east). Offering 7 vegan bread options (ciabatta, country, focaccia, sesame semolina, sourdough, rye, & three seed), 2 vegan soups (low-fat Black Bean & low-fat Garden Vegetable), and a plethora of salads and sandwiches that are easily amended to be vegan. The staff almost always seems genuinely concerned with accommodating your dietary restrictions and go out of their way to provide pertinent ingredient information- something that can’t be said for many “chain” restaurants.

On this particular outing my dining partner/roommate Elizabeth and I visited the (near) campus location at 500 S. National. Per usual we were greeted with patience as we customized our orders to vegan perfection. We both went with the “you-pick-two”; I went with a half Mediterranean Veggie sandwich, sans the feta cheese, on ciabatta bread (the tomato-basil bread that’s standard is made with honey) and a cup of Garden Vegetable soup (it comes with a ‘dollop’ of basil pesto, which contains cheese, so it needs to be made clear that you want it left off), while Elizabeth opted for the same half sandwich on sesame semolina and the Orchard Harvest salad without chicken or gorgonzola. My sandwich held up to the standard in which I’ve grown accustomed to at
Panera; lots of veggies(and cilantro Jalapeno hummus!) on fresh-baked bread. The soup, albeit a little less than piping hot, was flavorful. Elizabeth’s sandwich was also good (I may have copped a bite or two when she went to get napkins), even with the bread seeming a tad stale. Her salad definitely seemed fresh, although I’m not a huge fan of fruit on a salad (it has dried cherries and pears topped with a cherry-balsamic vinaigrette).

Coming in at just under $15 it was maybe a little pricey for the portion size, but not having a wait staff to tip saved $5. All things considered this was a tasty, fresh meal. Certainly a viable option for a vegan on the go.

Mille's Turn of the Century Cafe, downtown on Jefferson

By Bob of Bob’s Whine and Dine

My wife and I planned a nice evening out visiting downtown for a meal and a movie at the Moxie.  We wanted to eat outside since the weather was nice and decided that Mille’s would fit the bill as they have some outside seating.

Once we got downtown we discovered that Mille’s was hosting their 2^nd Annual Grape Harvest Festival.  They had blocked off the parking lot next door, setup a stage, tables & chairs and a band was playing when we arrived.  We didn’t want to go to the festival so we entered through the front door.  We were seated right away at one of the outside tables.

The ‘Turn of the Century’ moniker gave me a vision of a home cook’n country-style place  – however, don’t be misled.  The menu at Mille’s has no hint of fried chicken or fried pork tenderloin.  Their website says they are Springfield’s only ‘Urban Casual Café’.  I’m not sure what that means exactly but the food selections are certainly on the fancier side and include appetizers like Fondue, Mango BBQ Shrimp and entrées like Chipotle Pork Chops, Sesame Ahi Tuna, and Mahi Mahi Ala Orange.

We ordered drinks and a roasted red pepper hummus appetizer ($6.95) and started to study the menu.  My wife settled on Asian Chicken Salad ($9.95) and since I wanted red meat – I picked the Cherry Port Petite Tenderloin ($19.95).

The drinks took a while to appear but the hummus came out pretty quickly.  The hummus was chunkier in texture that you typically see and it had a good taste.  There were plenty of pita points to go along with it.

Our dinners took a really long time to get to the table.  I’m guessing the activity of the Grape Harvest Festival was having an impact on the kitchen and wait staff.  When dinner finally arrived the plates looked pretty good.  My wife said her salad had lots of fresh greens, and extras like celery and mandarin oranges.  She did say the dressing was oily and was hard to get it to mix.  The salad also arrived with fried chicken instead of the requested grilled chicken.  She didn’t send it back as no telling how long it would have been until a fresh salad arrived.

My tenderloin was described as goat cheese encrusted with a cherry port reduction.  The goat cheese wasn’t ‘encrusted’ onto the meat but instead was dolloped on top of the three tenderloin slices.  This turned out to be good as I didn’t like the goat cheese at all and was able to remove it easily.  I’m not sure I’ve had goat cheese before, but this version was quite musty and there was a lot of it.  The cherry port reduction had a lot of cherries and it was piled over the top of everything.  I did like the sauce.  It was a bit sweet and went well with the beef.  If you like this type of goat cheese, I’m sure you would have loved the combination of the cheese & sauce.  The beef itself was overcooked – it came out well instead of the requested medium.  The garlic ‘smashed’ potatoes were pretty good and the veg of the day was asparagus which was fine.  Given the goat cheese and the overdone beef, I would have been happier with a different choice of entrée.

As I mentioned above, service was very slow and not just because of the kitchen.  There were long periods of time when we didn’t see our server.  My water glass went empty at one point for 15 minutes.  It took 10 minutes to get our check after our server said she would have it right back.  Again, I think the festival had a role in the service issues.  After the hour and a half we were there I was getting concerned about making it to our movie on time.   There is one other thing worth mentioning, we saw all of the other tables around us with a bread basket.  We didn’t get one.

The décor is similar to other downtown venues perhaps a bit more on the bar/grill side than the fine dining side.

Overall, our meals suffered from a couple of mistakes (fried instead of grilled chicken and overcooked beef) and the service was really bad on our visit.  I hope this was an artifact from the festival.  If this service problem happened on a regular night – there is no way I would consider returning.  There are several other things on the menu that sounded good so I’m likely to give Mille’s another shot at some point.

313 S. Jefferson – (417) 831-1996

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Website (with menu)

Link to Health Inspections

Aunt Martha's Pancake House - Look for the little red house just off Glenstone.

While getting to the new places in SGF to share experiences, sometimes it’s nice to get back to some of the city’s staples and revisit them. I hadn’t been to Aunt Martha’s Pancake House in a number of years. During one of those dreaded “whatever you want” food conversations, the little red house appeared. Indecision breezed out the window as a biscuits and gravy craving built. Today it was lunch, but breakfast is suited for any meal of the day.

The diner soaks in nostalgia – my wife giggled at the “Washroom” sign above the restrooms. (Although, now I wonder if washroom might be more appropriate. Who started sleeping in there anyway? I digress.) We choose a booth in the corner and are promptly greeted. Our waitress is kind and quick – exactly the waitstaff you’d desire at a diner circa 1950. And the music (last century bebop) serves a little pep. We beat the lunch rush, but looking around everybody, customers included, seems upbeat – refreshing.

Now, that's what a pancake from a pancake house should look like. Thank you Martha.

The namesake is king of the menu. Appropriately, too. The art of the pancake is overlooked. Most people douse them with syrup and shovel away. You can’t do that with Aunt Martha’s pancakes. It’s time to savor. They are tinged golden brown but soft on the inside and served with warm maple syrup. A timeless flap jack. (I could write a romance novel about how good the pancakes are.)

The rest of the menu was filled with the necessary breakfast diner items. Platters offering egg, choice of meat and a carb side (toast, biscuits and gravy, lil pancakes). We both went with a platter. I was feeling some biscuits and gravy but couldn’t pass on pancakes so I ordered both. It was a very solid standard breakfast. The bacon and sausage were perfect, and the eggs were eggs and we’ve already talked about the pancakes. I like to eat meals like a concert, taste by taste building up to the finale. Because they were what drew me in, I ignored the signs and decided to save my craving, biscuits and gravy, for the encore of this show.

How did I miss the signs that this might not be a great biscuit and gravy experience?

Bad idea. I missed the obvious signs for bad Bs&G.

1. Flat biscuit (singular)
2. Gravy in a bowl on the plate
3. Sausage not visible (grow up … you’re so immature)
4. Gravy resembles soup (complete with spoon)
5. There’s a serving of butter

I assume the problem was mostly our timing. We were in between the breakfast and lunch crowds, so we probably got the previous batch of biscuits and the bottom of the gravy. Still, I don’t have confidence in a gravy in a gravy lacking confidence. The biscuits should arrive at the table already bathing in gravy, steaming with pride, fluffingly golden brown … just knowing they’re delicious.

But, in the end, it was my mistake to hold them for last, especially at a pancake house.

Though the biscuits and gravy were left two bites shy of untouched (had to give it a second chance), it was still a good experience. The breakfast is pretty standard, but while it’s easy to find average pancakes, it’s hard to find perfect pancakes. Expect to pay around $7/person. When you check out, memorabilia surrounds the station, including a personalized photo of Willie Nelson. Aunt Martha’s is tucked away on Glenstone next to the Brown Derby International Wine Center.

Most people go for the loads of live music, onstage performances and array of art. Somehow the namesake seems to get the short end of the stick. This year, the Coffee Ethic is putting “cider” on the lips of Cider Days attendees, with a couple cider stands on location. But the foodie selection at the 13th Annual festival doesn’t end there. This year’s food vendors are varied and exciting.

The Menu

Appetizer

• Ozarks Kettle Corn
• Tropical Treats
  

Main course

• Crosstown Barbecue
• Taco Wagon
  
• Corn Dude Concessions
• Ozarks Food Service

Dessert

• Amycakes
• Gelato Mio
• Just Nuts
• Oh Fudge

Smith's Restaurant is a new to SGF home for home cook'n.

By Bob for Bob’s Whine and Dine

I got really excited when I heard that Smith’s Restaurant was opening a location in Springfield.  For those that don’t know, Smith’s original location is located in the small town of Collin’s Missouri located some 20 miles north of Bolivar on Highway 13.   Smith’s in Collins over the years has become a favorite place of mine to stop for a great home cook’n meal on the way to and from Kansas City.  Their claim to fame is a giant pork tenderloin sandwich which is the biggest and best I’ve ever seen or had.  The tenderloin is so big, they also offer a ½ size which is about the size of other place’s regular sized sandwich.  Smith’s is also a favorite for their ham, beans and cornbread along with home-made pies & cobblers.  It was always a special treat to stop for some home cook’n food.  It was also a popular place with the parking lot would getting quite full during lunch and dinner.

This popularity led to the opening of another location in Bolivar some years back.  I had a chance to visit that location once and found the same satisfying food.  The Bolivar location is more modern and that home-town diner charm is lost somewhat.

This all leads me to my recent visit to the new Springfield location.  My lunch partner on this trip was my mother-in-law who was looking forward to some beans and ham.  When we arrived about 12:45 the parking lot was pretty full.  Turning into the parking lot was a bit of a challenge crossing Glenstone, but we finally made it and ended up with a slot out front.

Once we got in the door, the first thing we noticed was the mob of people in the little reception area.  At first I wondered if we should go somewhere else as I didn’t really want to wait a long time for a table, but upon further investigation, these people weren’t waiting to get in – rather they were waiting to get out.  See, Smith’s is a pay at the door as you leave kind of place.  I would estimate at least 20 people were in line to pay and leave when we arrived.  The line snaked through the reception area, down the hall and into the dining room.  Since it was 12:45 I suppose there were one or more groups heading back to work and everyone had a separate check.  It was a Friday.

Anyway, once we found the hostess, we were seated immediately in a booth and started looking over the menu.  Of course, I knew what I was going to order – yes, the ½ tenderloin $6.99.  There were two special’s on the day of our visit, an all-you-can eat fried chicken buffet for $8.99 or a meatloaf dinner also for $8.99.  Ham and beans weren’t on the menu which bummed my mother-in-law out.  Turns out the H&B is a special available only on Tuesdays.  She ended up also ordering the ½ tenderloin.  The sandwiches come with your choice of fries or slaw.  I wanted to try both so I ordered the slaw as an extra side.

Our meals came out very quickly and I noticed that my tenderloin was a quite a bit smaller in size than my mother-in-laws.  I think she ended up with the full tenderloin by mistake – but I remedied that by switching with her.   The ½ tenderloin is still a pretty big sandwich with the meat spilling over the sides of the bun.  I typically cut the meat in half then stack what are now 2 meat patties back on the bun for a double-decker.  It was during this process that I noticed the first problem.  The tenderloin was just warm – nowhere near the temperature expected for a freshly made sandwich.  The other sandwich had the same issue.  The taste of the tenderloin was good but it would have been so much better had it been hot.  The fries also suffered from this temperature problem – with them being just warm and soggy.  I think I would have liked the fries had they been hot and crispy.  My theory is that there were a bunch of fries & tenderloins made up ahead of time and set under a heat lamp – then plopped on a bun/dish when they were ordered.  The quickness of the delivery would seem to support that theory.  I was bummed.

The slaw was interesting.  It was sort of yellowish/greenish in color and soupy.  It didn’t look very appetizing and I seem to remember this same thing from the Collin’s location.  The taste however was good and on the sweet side.  I asked if the slaw was always that way and our server said yes.  If this were served in one of them fancy eat’n places, they would call it a cold sweet cabbage soup and probably charge $5 for it.  I would prefer it not having so much dressing.

Wanting to try desert, I ordered a serving of blackberry cobbler and my mother-in-law ordered a slice of coconut cream pie – both to go.  When I had the cobbler later that night I thought there was way more blackberry goo than actual blackberry’s in the serving I received.  At least the crust was good.  My mother-in-law said she didn’t like the CC pie saying it had way too much whipped cream and the filling was too sweet.

Service was pretty good during our visit except for what seemed like a pretty long wait for our server to show up the first time.  The glasses used for soda and tea are large, so I only needed one refill on my diet coke.

This particular building has been home to at least a Mexican place, an Asian place and most recently a Ziggy’s location.  The décor has been countrified with old barnwood and antiques adorning the walls and ceilings.  There is a mix of booths and tables and the dining area is separated into several sections.  There are also 2 party rooms available for groups.

As I mentioned above, there is a major traffic flow problem with the reception area.  When I checked out there were 5 people in line.  It is just too small to serve as a check out and check in area and it gets very crowded.  – They should rethink that.  One should also take seriously the little sign on the front door asking you to watch your step – there is a lip on the front door’s threshold that you will trip over if you aren’t paying full attention.

Overall, I was disappointed.  I may have had unrealistically high expectations, but the sandwich was a letdown.  Also, I would be angry if I had to wait in a line of 20 people to check out.  I do intend to go back and try it again and hope that the tenderloin failure on this visit was a fluke.  But as I’ve wondered in the past about other places, why does it always seem to happen to me?

935 N. Glenstone Ave – (417) 832-0255

Link to Facebook Page

Link to Website (with menu)

Link to Health Inspections

The Gelato Mio bike takes downtown's greatest new frozen snack to the streets.

Whether as a dessert destination or just to stop in and add a cheap treat to a night downtown, Gelato Mio is your spot. I wasn’t sure about gelato or what it even was when stopping in before a recent concert, just that it was an Italian relative of ice cream. It turns out that gelato is ice cream’s older brother and has spent its whole life kicking the crap out of his fatter, younger sibling.

Single scoops Wildberry and Cafe Caramel gelato.

While in the Italian ice cream boutique just east of the square, I was briefed. Gelato is whipped faster than ice cream giving it a smoother quality and does not contain butter fat (which helps while watching my figure). The flavors are very different as well. You can get chocolate and vanilla, but the flavor is much more dynamic. I didn’t pick up on the differences, but many of the fruit varieties were termed “sorbetto” and contained actual fruit frozen inside.

As my wife and I entered Gelato Mio, a pair of not-very-sneaky spies in PriceCutter Bistro Market garb were making a quick exit after checking out their gelato competition. Whatever their reasons, the customers had a free laugh. It was very interesting for sure.

Gelato Mio offers free samples of all the varieties, and being my first time, it was very appreciated. I sampled three of the 18 flavors and settled on the Cafe Caramel. A coffee-flavored gelato with ribbons of true caramel. Words cannot explain the mouthgasm. My wife went for the Wildberry, which was very tasty, but the sweetness outstayed its welcome for her. I happily scarfed the remainder.

Gelato Mio is family owned and operated and keeps it simple. Pricing is $2.99 for a single scoop, $3.99 double, $4.99 triple. While there are 18 flavors on display, they have more than 600 in rotation. All varieties are 100% natural with no artificial ingredients.

I’m excited to get back to try another flavor – maybe the Tahitian Vanilla with chocolate shavings. It was hard to pass up the first time.

Have you been? What’d you think? Give it a try and post your flavor of choice in our comment section below.

D'Arpino's

By Bob – Bob’s Whine and Dine

Lunch this day was with my wife and father-in-law at D’Arpino’s. I’ve been to D’Arpino’s several times in the past and have always liked the food here. Today was no exception.

D’Arpino’s has a daily special – usually for $7.95 including a salad and drink. Today’s special was lasagna. My father-in-law ordered that, my wife selected the sausage calzone ($7.95) and I chose the meatball sub ($7.95).

My father-in-law liked his salad, and said his lasagna was very good – with a nice spicy sauce. It was a pretty large portion for a lunch item and while he isn’t a big eater – he nearly finished the entire plate.

My wife’s calzone looked great – nicely browned on the outside, gooey on the
inside with meatballs, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. It was served with a side of the really nice marinara. She liked her lunch a lot. I had a taste and while I usually don’t like ricotta cheese I found that it worked well in this calzone.

My meatball sandwich was another winner. The meatballs were great – tender with a really nice flavor. It was served on what looked like a homemade hoagie roll which was tender on the inside and a bit chewy on the outside – the perfect bread for this sandwich. It also was dripping with mozzarella and sauce such that I needed a fork & knife to eat the first half of the sandwich.

On past visits, I’ve also enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs, the egg plant
parmesan, the chicken parmesan and the lasagna. The house salad dressing on the side salad is very good as well.

Décor is a step above your standard strip mall. Warm colors on the walls,
ceramic tile on the floor (be careful though as it can be slippery), paintings and posters on the wall. I think I heard Frank Sinatra a few times in the background music. It is a pretty comfortable place for a meal unless it is cold outside. There is just one door opening into the restaurant and the cold air can really be felt across the dining room.

Service was spotty today. The dining room was nearly full with a couple of large groups present. The two servers working were really busy. We didn’t get any bread & butter to munch on (it was mentioned at one point however). It took a while after we finished our meal to get our check.

I really like the food at D’Arpino’s. It is good classic Italian. It is a busy place and reservations are recommended for dinner. I’ll be back.

3014 S. National – (417) 889-9898

OZ's Crazy Shrimp Roll - find a better roll for $4.50. Consider it a challenge.

Ocean Zen Pacific Rim has been regarded as one of SGF’s better fine dining spots, but with otherworldly happy hour specials, it has become one of the prime early dinner (and drinks) locations. OZ’s happy hour runs Monday-Thursday from 4-6 p.m. with a late night option on the weekend (Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m.-close). The menu stretches from a variety of appetizers to sushi rolls, salads and sides. The most expensive item on the happy hour menu is $6, so you can affordably create your own meal.

The cornerstone is clearly the drinks and sushi – which seem just a notch shorter than their full-priced counterparts (4-6 pieces). There are eight different rolls available, from the simple (Cucumber and California) to the complex (Ocean Zen Signature), but in the middle is where our orders landed. The Crazy Shrimp Roll is the best $4.50 roll in SGF. If you know one better for that price, get at me – Brett@TAGsgf.com. The Crazy shrimp is shrimp tempura covered with an incredible spicy tuna mix sitting on top. A little kick of Sriracha provides the perfect punch. The Crispy California Roll is another twist on a classic, something Ocean Zen has done across its entire menu.

Every H.H. appetizer is tempting – Edamame, Blue Crab & Cream Cheese Stuffed Wontons, Pineapple Citrus Glazed Crispy Chicken, Mongolian Glazed St. Louis Style Ribs, BBQ Chicken, Spring Rolls … the list is an all-star mix of shortened up entrees and killer apps. We went with the Blue Crab Wontons and were certainly pleased with the result. A light batter with a well-mixed filling of crab and the rest. You can tell when there’s something real in the middle.

Several sides make an appearance in the afternoon as well – Bacon Cheddar Risotto, Grilled Cheezy Bread, Tomato Soup and loaded Mashed Potatoes to start. I had to try the potatoes and will now get them every time I go.

We weren’t drinking on this occasion, but will be back to imbibe. The drink specials included: $5.50 wine by the glass, $2 domestic drafts, $5 specialty drinks (cocktails), and $4 calls.

Three of us went and all left satisfied, both in volume and flavor (especially in flavor). We ordered four sushi rolls, one appetizer and one side, but the bill read just $25.82.

Cedars Chicken Fried Steak is $4.99 at any time of day

By Bob – Bob’s Whine and Dine

Originally published on BWAD (2/5/09)

I’ve been to Cedars twice in the last week for lunch – first with Danny, then again with some of my family. Cedars has two locations – the one I went to on South Campbell across from Wal-Mart and another one (the original?) on West Bypass.

We arrived for lunch both times about half past noon and the place was really jumping. Fortunately we were able to find an empty table both times. Also in both cases, the place pretty much emptied out by the time we were ready to leave after 1pm.

The first visit I ordered the country fried steak ($4.99) that comes with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. The veggie I chose this day was brown beans – the other choice was peas – but I think the veggies change each day as our second visit the choice was baked beans or corn.

The steak was large, nice and crispy outside, tender inside and was seasoned well. The potatoes were not freshly mashed and were either a better than average instant or some other pre-prepared item. They had a good consistency and weren’t bad – but they had that taste of processed food. The beans were very good with bits of ham. The white gravy covering everything was pretty good as well. For $4.99 – this was a really good lunch and was really more than I should have eaten.

On my second trip, I ordered the “Hillbilly” sandwich which turned out to be ground beef, breaded and fried like the country fried steak and served on a toasted hoagie roll. It came with a side of fries, pickle chips, onion, a tomato slice, lettuce and some mayonnaise in a little cup. The meat was formed into a long rectangular patty that extended beyond the hoagie roll on both sides. It had the same type of breading as the country fried steak and I liked it as well. The
fries were a thicker frozen variety – they were ok.

Danny ordered the cashew chicken ($4.99 and I didn’t like it). Others on the second trip had the pork tenderloin (good), spaghetti and meatballs ($4.99 good), pork steak ($4.99 good). With the exception of the cashew chicken – all of the home-style diner food was good. My wife especially liked the BBQ baked beans she had with her meal – she said they were the best baked beans she has ever had.

Cedars has a small salad bar which none of us tried. Breakfast is served in the morning. There are 6 to 10 specials everyday – with most in the $5 to $7 range. The décor is strip mall with some old farm implements hanging on the wall. The restrooms were clean.

Service was very good on both visits – with our friendly servers checking in on us frequently and my diet Pepsi getting refilled when needed.

To tell the truth, I have been avoiding Cedars for a long time. My first and until last week only experience with Cedars was at the West Bypass location many years ago. At that time the place was dirty, smoking was still allowed (this was before the non-smoking ordinance). I have let that experience keep me from trying the South Campbell location. I’m sorry I did that for so long.

The best thing about Cedars is the standard diner food selection – it is pretty good and  inexpensive. I will be back.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

3322 S Campbell Ave – (417) 890-1984

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.

Everybody deserves a vacation, including Bob. While Bob enjoys a cruise on the Alaskan coast, we bring you reviews from the archive.

La Fiesta

Originally published 12/7/07
La Fiesta is located in the small strip center in the Home Depot parking lot on South Glenstone in what used to be Schlotzsky’s. I consider La Fiesta to be (in Steve’s ranking) in the top tier of Mexican restaurants in town. We had lunch on Sunday after church with a group of about 11. We were seated in our own section of the restaurant in the back and it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

The chips were warm and tasted good, the salsa was freshly made and had a really good flavor – it also had a bit of heat to it which I enjoy. Steve ordered guacamole and I thought it was good when I tried it, chunky with nice bits of tomato and onion – perhaps a bit too much onion though in this batch.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

My wife and I decided to order two dishes we have had before, the Special Taco Avodado and the Chipotle Fajitas. The Taco Avodado are three open face corn tortillas topped with seasoned pork, onions and cilantro. I’ve had this twice before and loved it.

This time however things were different. There was a great deal of onion on top and a lot of cilantro – my wife does not like cilantro so she opted out of trying the dish after seeing so much on it. Removing the excess of both of these ingredients was helpful – but the pork is what was disappointing this time. In the past the pork was in small chunk form and had a very nice texture and flavor. This time, the pork was shredded and the texture mushy. This really let me down and I didn’t enjoy the dish near as much as before.

There was something missing in the taste this time as well – and I figured it out after I finished the last taco. I forgot to put the special hot sauce on top that the dish comes with – this was a big mistake on my part as I remembered that the hot sauce is what really stepped up the flavor. I will be trying these tacos again hoping that this was a one-time issue with the pork.

The other dish we tried was the Chipotle Fajitas. We got the mix of chicken and beef and both were tender and flavorful. What makes this one of my favorites however, is the chipotle sauce that they add to the fajitas during cooking – it really elevates this from a good fajita plate into a great fajita plate. The chipotle sauce adds a great flavor and doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. Definitely a dish to come back for.

Service today was very good with my diet coke getting refilled frequently. We got our food in an appropriate time and our server was by often to check on us. This was a nice change from the last time we came to eat here with a group after church. The last time, we waited a very long time for our food – I’m glad to see that they have addressed that issue.

The decor is nice with a modern look and lots of natural light from the windows. This is something that you don’t see much in most Mexican restaurants in town – which tend to be kinda dark.

Even with the problem with my Taco Avodado today this is still my favorite Mexican restaurant in town – fresh ingredients, really tasty food, and nice atmosphere (did I mention very good margarita’s?). When I want Mexican food – this is my first choice.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

3825 S. Glenstone Ave – (417) 886-7040

Link to Health Inspections

In the world of local eateries, The Southside Location is something to covet. As Springfield modernized the city’s better-to-do moved to the outskirts, primarily to the south (and, in more recent years, to the east), and since the prevalent culture means it’s considered an inconvenience to drive more than 10-15 minutes in the city it’s only natural that a business owner wants to be where those with the most disposable income are most willing to go. You can do well as a restaurant almost anywhere, but to really make a killing one must, to butcher a phrase, head south, young man. And bring your “A” game, as there is no shortage of options around you.

Big Whiskey’s has been a successful downtown sports bar for several years, opening in 2006 and sustaining a steady flow of business in its location immediately east of Icon Nightclub on Park Central East. But the plan all along has been to expand into new locations, a plan finally come to fruition with the opening of the second Big Whiskey’s last weekend on West Republic Road across the street from the Remington’s parking lot and about a block east of Kansas Expressway. The space used to belong to Indigo Joe’s, though if you went to that establishment you’ll notice very little in common with what you see today. You’ll also notice relatively little in common with the downtown Big Whiskey’s, as the interior paint scheme is completely changed and details such as the drink toast quotations on the walls are backlit and three-dimensional instead of written in paint. The room is full of deep wood tones and polished metal, a nice and natural-feeling light-dark contrast that adds sophistication to the room. An especially nice new touch is the collection of black-and-white photos laid into the backboards of the booths, all of them whiskey-themed and lending a classy touch to the traditional sports bar “TVs everywhere” formula.

The view over my right shoulder... as in behind me.

Speaking of televisions, I think I sat in the one spot in the entire place where you can’t see anything without craning your neck to a position only Gumby would find comfortable. My girlfriend and I settled into a booth space in the southern half of the building, each ordering salads of different varieties. (Light food just sounds better in the heat of summer.) If you’re familiar with the Big Whiskey’s menu from the downtown location you’ll know what you’re getting here, too; the full range appears to have carried over. If you haven’t been to it before, though, you’ll find your usual bar-food fare, concentrating on burgers and sandwiches and above-average appetizers (try the sliders, for sure) and wings and a surprisingly large selection of salads. Prices are about a dollar more than one would expect to pay in some cases, particularly with the burgers, which are consistently priced higher than the salads, the first time I can ever remember seeing that. My girlfriend’s Buffalo chicken salad was loaded with lettuce and giant cucumber cubes and slathered in Buffalo sauce, which happens to be just how she likes it. She also swapped the regular ranch dressing for the restaurant’s creamy Italian–a risky move, given that we weren’t told in advance it was creamy and that she’s not a fan of creamy Italian dressings. Turns out what could have been a salad-killer was instead the best element, robust and chunk-free. One of the best creamy Italian dressings she has ever had, she said.

The Buffalo chicken salad.

For my part, my Southwest chicken salad got good burst of flavor from its vegetables (thank you pico de gallo and roasted corn kernels) that it lacked from its unseasoned grilled chicken (it’s okay to sprinkle on a little something, seriously), though presumably this is what the Southwestern ranch dressing is supposed to provide. It did, though since I tend to eat my chicken before the rest of my salad this was the flavor equivalent of Monty Python‘s character “The Bishop:” There to save the day, only not in time. (On a side note, does ranch have to be used on everything in bar-and-grill restaurants, and as a base in so many other dressings? I was never a ranch fan to begin with, and now it has invaded parts of many menus it was never meant to conquer. To quote Bono, “I’m ready for what’s next.”) We came in just after lunch Saturday afternoon, so the crowd wasn’t overwheling (about 45% full, I’d say), but there were enough servers roaming about to make it look as though even a packed room wouldn’t endure a wait. For our part our young gentleman was attentive but not overbearing, and though he forgot to bring my salad’s dressing out with the rest of it I can’t say that was a mistake that wouldn’t happen just about anywhere else on occasion. I mentioned it to him and had it in my hands within two minutes. No harm, no foul.

There is no doubt that Big Whiskey’s raises its game in getting its coveted South Side Location, and while its food choices won’t make it stand out from the competition on that end of town (Skybox, Fox & Hound, Hooters, etc.) its decor and attention to detail should. Sometimes what you most covet is something you shouldn’t have; this is also true of The Southside Location, which sometimes subjects a restaurant to higher standards and customer expectations than it can deliver. In the case of Big Whiskey’s, it could be set up to not only succeed but thrive.

(Article published on 5/10/10 incomplete. Some details may have changed since – like Cheezie’s “thriving.” Oops.)

It’s hard to judge value at restaurants sometimes. Ridiculously cheap prices make that call pretty easy, but when the product is great and pricey  that’s when I have a hard time. Especially with pizza. From working in a ‘za shop during graduate school I learned pizza is very cheap to produce. It’s why places such as Cheezie’s and Little Caesar’s thrive. Minsky’s Pizza has a delicious pie with a not-so tasty price tag. A friend and I checked out Minsky’s – franchised from Kansas City – after passing it over a time or to before.

As we were getting seated, our server said something about being able to sneak us two smalls for the price of one. He was trying to pull the “keep it on the hush” card. “There’s a button I can push,” he said. I’d bet most servers could push the same button, but the effort is still appreciated. You can’t say “no” to BOGO, so we ordered two small pepperonis with Alfredo sauce – even though it costs a little extra, butter and Parmesan cheese is never bad.

The pizza comes quick and is piping hot. The first thing I notice is that the cheese is on top, smothering the toppings and sauce. You don’t find this too many places, but it makes me happy because the cheese browns a bit more. Minsky’s crust is phenomenal, almost like a pie crust but not as flaky – in a dogfight with 417 Pizza for my favorite crust in SGF. It’s a damn tasty pie, but not very girthy. The small is about the size of a burrito shell with 6 slices – it’s a four small bite slice (unless you go corn cobbin’ on the crust). With the toppings it’s just about right for the don’t super size me diet.

The problem is the cost doesn’t reflect a small pizza or does it? The cost for one small pepperoni pizza was $12.66 ($8.99 before white sauce and tax). Getting two smalls for that price was great, but if I’m eating with my wife, and we don’t have somebody to “push the button”, $25+ is quite a bit. Especially when you can grab a large from one of the aforementioned pick-up spots for less than $6.

What do you think? Is $12 appropriate because the pizza is “gourmet”? I’m on the fence, because while it’s very tasty I’m not (very often) looking to spend double digits on myself. I’m a sucker for the $5 Lunch.

On the way out I saw a giant pan with a sign reading: “Ready to take the Monster Challenge?” It reminded me that TAG hasn’t challenged food in a bit. Chris and I both finished the Nugget Challenge, so I’d like to think we’d have a chance. The host said it’s been tried many times, but never completed. Bring it on.

Farmers Gastropub has been on my list to visit for a while.  Danny, Steve and I finally got a chance to have lunch again (which has been sort of a rare occasion lately) and we decided a trip to Farmers Gastropub would be in order.  I’ve heard mixed reviews from people I’ve know that have been there so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

We arrived about noon-thirty and there were just a few other tables occupied.  We selected a table along the wall and started reviewing the menu.  Steve ordered us a starter of hummus and “crudites” ($7).   We all wanted to try something different so Danny picked the fish & chips ($9), Steve got the Cottage Pie ($9) and I selected the burger ($9).   We wanted to try the Bangers & Mash but that item (as well as the sausage roll appetizers) were ‘not available’ on the day of our visit.  Funny thing to run out of for a ‘pub’.  The dinner menu appears to be a fixed-price ($36 this week) affair where you select from a couple of appetizers, entrees and deserts.  The dinner menu also appears to change frequently – I supposed based on what is available from their local vendors.

In short, Farmers' burger doesn't get a standing "O" from Bob.

I wasn’t familiar with the term crudites (I was pronouncing it ‘Krud’-ites) and wasn’t sure what we were going to be getting with our humus.  Turns out the term is actually crudités (pronounced ‘krew-di-tey’) and is French for cut veggies served with a dip.  So what we got were a few rounds of toasted baguette and a selection of cut veggies to go along with our ‘dip’.  We all found the veggies good but the humus fairly lackluster.  We also asked for and got a few more baguette rounds (which were good by the way) as there wasn’t quite enough dipping implements for the whole bowl of humus.

Danny’s fish looked pretty good and had a nice crunchy batter.  It was served with what we think was some homemade tartar sauce which Danny said was really good.  I had a taste of the fish and thought it was ok, but nothing spectacular – the batter could have used a bit more seasoning.

Steve’s Cottage pie is a take on Shepard’s pie.  The potato layer was nicely browned and very thick while the meat layer was pretty thin.  It was served with some sautéed zucchini which I’m glad I didn’t get (I don’t like that zucchini stuff).  Steve, however, liked the vegetables.  I had a taste of the pie and thought it was bland needing more seasoning.   Steve agreed with that assessment.

My burger arrived and I was pretty stoked because it looked sooooo good.  The bun had been toasted on a Panini grill and had those cool-looking toast marks on top.  The burger patty was obviously done by hand and the cheese was melted into all the nooks & crannies of the patty.  I added some ketchup along with the supplied tomato and lettuce to the burger and went to savor my first bite.  This, however, is where my love affair with this burger ended.  There was something wrong with the patty.  It was cooked just like I had ordered – a bit past medium – and had what at first tasted like a great charcoal flavor.  But that charcoal flavor quickly turned into a bad metallic/chemical taste.  Danny and Steve were looking at me kind of funny so I had them both try the meat and they agreed there was something very wrong there.  It is hard to describe the flavor.  We all wondered if they had left some cleaning solution on the grill or something.  Needless to say I was very disappointed.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

Moving on, the fries were OK.  They were fresh-style and somewhat crispy.  Not bad, but not as good as Grad School across the street.  The amount of catsup I got was not quite enough for all of the fries.

Service was just OK.  I had to ask for each drink refill but at least they came back quickly.  Our food was brought out in an acceptable amount of time.

There is an attempt to make this Gastro’PUB’ look a bit like a British pub inside and it works OK for Springfield.  There are chairs at the large bar, several large 6 person tables available in addition to the 4 tops we sat at as well as some booths.  There is another dining room towards the back of the space where the tables had white tablecloths.  I guessed that this is for evening dining as it was closed off on our visit. There is also a nice large outside eating area which looked like a great place to get some fresh air on warm evenings (I’m pretty sure smoking is allowed out there thought so maybe you won’t get fresh air).

So, bottom line – the food Danny & Steve got at lunch was pretty ho-hum with just about everything needed more seasoning.  That mirrors some of the comments I’ve heard from others.  The burger was downright awful.  I’m really hoping that this was a one-time deal and there is a simple explanation for the burger since it looked so darn good.  If that is typical of anything coming off the grill – then I would say stay away from any grilled items.  If it was a one-time deal though – why does it always seem to happen to me?

As I was leaving, I looked down the sidewalk, saw Grad School sitting there and wished I’d gone there for my burger & fries (can you say ‘Full Ride’?).

Bob’s Whine and Dine

431 S. Jefferson – (417) 864-6994

Link to Web Site

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We have another BBQ restaurant in town – Billy Sims Barbecue (BSBBQ).  They opened up in mid July on South Glenstone near the Supercenter complex where the Boston Market restaurant used to live.  I love BBQ and there are only a couple of places here in town that are my go-to places for this simple, yummy, yet seemingly “hard to make well” food genre.  Of course I had to check it out.  I’ve been for lunch twice now and am ready to report in on what I thought.

Both visits were during a busy lunch hour but we didn’t have any trouble finding a table as they seem to turn around pretty quickly.  The process at BSBBQ is fast-food single-queue style.  You line up to examine the overhead menu board while making your way to the first stop at the meat cutting station.  This is where you tell the staff your BBQ selections.  On both visits I selected combo plates and have been able to sample, the pulled pork, sliced brisket, ribs, turkey and bologna (yes they smoke bologna here).

After you order, the meat-cutter then slices and portions your meats using a scale (except for the ribs which are counted out).  I noticed that for the pulled pork they add a bit of seasoning from a large shaker and mix that all up before putting it on your plate.  Next stop is the sides station.

The sides selection (sideliners) is pretty typical but has no fried items.  One interesting selection is listed as ‘mini-huskers’ – which is smoked corn on the cob.  I stuck with my usual cole slaw and BBQ beans on both visits.  Combo plates come with a piece of Texas toast.

The last stop is the register where you trade your money for food.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

Bottom line – I really liked the meats.  They all had a great smoky flavor with that nice dark outer smoky layer.  The meats were all tender as well.  The ribs weren’t fall-off-the-bone but were still tender and easy to eat.  The brisket & pork were just a bit on the dry side, but adding sauce fixed that right up.  Speaking of sauce, choices include regular and spicy.  Both were good but I fixated on the spicy one.  The bologna was an interesting meat to try.  It was well smoked like the rest of the meats and because of that, the taste was more smoke than bologna.  I’m glad I tried it but truthfully I don’t know why, for the same price, one would pick bologna over pork or beef.

(Sorry for no food pictures, for some reason my camera weirded out and they didn’t come out.  I’ll post food pics next time I visit.)

While the meat was good, the sides were ho-hum; nothing really special there.  The beans were a little weird.  There is pulled pork mixed into them – but the pork is so finely pulled that it makes the beans look stringy.  They would at least look better if the meat were little chunks instead of pork threads.

Drinks, plasticware– well everything really – is pretty much self serve.  During our visits at lunch time there were a couple of people making their way around the dining room asking if you needed anything.  Food is served on those plastic plate/basket things with a paper liner.

The dining room is pretty much left over from Boston Market and is pretty spartan but kept clean.  The ordering queue however is not easy to get to if you enter from the north side of the building.  It is a tight fit to get to the start of the line between the ropes that mark the queue and the first row of tables.  I would recommend entering on the south side of the building to avoid threading your way to the ordering line.

BSBBQ also has a drive-thru which I plan to make use of when I want my BBQ to go.

I’ll be back to Billy Sims Barbecue – it being close to where I live makes it likely I’ll be back often.

3757 South Glenstone Ave – (417) 883-7467

Link to Web Site

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Link to Health Inspections

Bob’s Whine and Dine

Wayo opened up on South Glenstone in the spot formerly occupied by Beano (and Burger King before that) earlier this year.  The week it opened I made a visit with my brother and his family and decided against doing a review at that time as they were obviously working out many kinks.

I drive past Wayo almost every day and have wanted to try it again.  A gift of a $15 off coupon from a friend pushed me to make a dinner trip with my wife and niece (hungry college student) recently.

Our visit was on a Monday evening.  When we arrived there was one other table occupied.  We sat at one of the regular tables because I thought the closed-in booths looked sort of creepy.

The dinner menu at Wayo is pretty simple.  You can get Teriyaki, Bento Boxes, Sashima/Sushi (chef’s choice on those), Tempura, Noodles as well as something called Katsu – pork or chicken breaded & fried.  Most dinners come with soup, salad and rice.  On my first visit both my brother and I got the ‘Spicy Chicken’ Teriyaki ($12.95) and found it to be almost too hot to eat (especially when you don’t get your drink refilled).  I’m not sure if that is the standard preparation, but on that night it was – it was very hard to enjoy.

So, staying away from the Spicy Chicken, I decided to go for the Bento Box ($13.95).  For the Bento Boxes, there are 10 entrée items to choose from and you can pick 2.  I chose the Teriyaki beef & spicy tuna roll for my box.  My wife ordered the Soba noodles with Chicken ($8.95) as she really liked the noodles on our first visit.

My niece decided on the Shrimp Teriyaki dinner ($13.95) which is her default meal at most any Japanese restaurant.

Bob’s Whine and Dine

We all got miso soup to start our meals, but the soup arrived just a few minutes before our entrées (more on that later).  I thought the soup was ok.  We never got the promised salads.

Bento Box at Wayo

The rolls were ok but not very spicy without the added kick from some wasabi.  I liked the teriyaki beef.  It had a very good flavor and the grilled veggies were all fresh and tasty.  The tempura vegetables were also pretty good and even included a fried asparagus spear, but they were just a bit on the greasy side.  The rangoons weren’t anything special.  The fruit (apple, melon & orange) was a nice touch – and the orange was artistically cut which was fun.  There was a good amount of food in the box and overall I liked it a lot.

My wife said she liked the Soba noodles & chicken.  There were lots of nice fresh veggies and everything was well cooked.  My niece also liked her meal of Shrimp Teriyaki.  So overall we were very pleased with our meals.

Service was a big, big issue on our first visit and unfortunately it was still an issue on this visit.  There was one server working on this particular evening.  I think there were, at the most, 4 tables occupied at any one point during our visit – which I didn’t think would be too challenging.  But obviously it was – we waited a lot for just about every part of our meal.  It took a long time before we were asked for our drink orders.  It took a long time before we got our food orders taken.  We never got our salads, the soup arrived 2 minutes before our entrees.  Refills were few (good thing I didn’t do the spicy chicken!).  And it took a really long time after we were done to get our check.  It was just a frustrating experience.

The chef made it by at one point to check on us.  I met him on our first visit and we liked him a lot.  On that first visit, we got some freebies during the meal, probably because my 5 year old nephew was with us that time.  We got a sampling of noodles and some yummy fried bananas at the end of the meal.  No freebies on this last visit though.

As far as décor goes, they did a pretty good job of removing the fast-food aura of the place.  The color scheme is black & red.  There are enclosed booths lining the outer walls which require a small step up and a twist to the side to get into them.  They have some red curtains covering the upper part of the opening.  The seats in the boots are hard-looking benches.  I don’t think I would like eating in one of the booths as they look a little ‘Munster-ish’.  The sushi bar is located in the ‘lobby’ just inside the doors and you can sit there, order & watch your sushi being made.  The restroom was clean.

The food at Wayo was really pretty good and I liked being able to get a Bento box at dinner time as most Japanese places make that a lunch-only choice.  The service issues are likely to keep me from coming back though – it was very frustrating.

Wayo is open really late (1am) on most nights and have drink & sushi specials for the late night crowd.  I hope someone comments about what late-night at Wayo is like and perhaps let us know how the sushi & sashimi are as we really didn’t go there on this last visit.

2119 S. Glenstone – (417) 886-0300

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With the opening of the brand spankin’ new Einstein Bros. Bagels on National across from St. John’s, we had to see what all the fuss was about. They had over 200 people standing in line opening day…that has to say something about the place, right?

I checked in around 3:30 today, a Wednesday. The newly remodeled space is upbeat and snazzy (yes, snazzy). Bright colors but limited seating. They offer great alternatives in to-go orders and a drive-thru (awesome). They offer breakfast all day and had a limited variety of cold and hot sandwiches, soups and salads.

Lunch rush was over but there was still a line of about 5 people in front of me and within a few minutes about 5 more behind me. They noticed the growing line and had an employee start taking orders from people while in line to speed up the process (much like what Andy’s has started to do on busy nights).

The menu wasn’t very descriptive and was hard to read from in line. They could quickly remedy this by adding small printed menus to scan over while in line (if there were any, they were either out or I missed them). By the time it was my turn to order I just asked the employee what his favorite sandwich was. He quickly answered with the Reuben with Pastrami. I took his advice and chose the potato salad as my side with no drink and to-go.

I sat down at home, starving, and quickly dove into the hot sandwich. Now I know, this is not one of the famously touted bagel sandwiches, but it was good. I would say on a 5 star scale, it was about a 3. The meat was thin but flavorful, the cheese was almost non existent, and the sauce was the highlight of the meal. My side of potato salad tasted alright but the container was barely half full…almost like whoever was filling it was in a hurry and didn’t notice that they forgot half of it.

All in all, the sandwich/side combo was not worth the $7.55. I walked in with $5 cash in my pocket with the hope of finding a nice $5 lunch option to write about. Unless I wanted just a bagel with some sort of spread on it, or a breakfast sandwich, it wasn’t in the chips. Ultimately, I just wasn’t happy having to bust out the card and spending nearly $8 on an “ok” lunch and still feeling…well, unsatisfied. There’s definitely more to be desired. I sat there thinking, wow, there are plenty of better lunch options that I won’t have to spend nearly $8 for. But I will give it another try to sample a breakfast and possibly another lunch option.

This is however great news for Springfield. We love to see some of the bigger chains make their way into our fine little city. Could this be a trend? Is there any chance of getting an “oh so amazing” Jack In The Box anytime soon? Join the “Bring Jack in the Box to Springfield, MO!!!” group on Facebook.