Weekend in St. Louis & Springfield

I always take time to clean out the interior really well before I return my car rental.  On this trip, I looked at all the salt on the floor and thought, they are on their own with this one!

CK-
One shoe, coming up!

Saturday February 7, 2009 cont.
 
My first stop in Springfield was Ritz's.  Since a breakfast horseshoe was in one of Michael Stern's photos, I assumed that they were open for breakfast.  When I got there, nary a car in sight.  My first reaction was that they were out of business, but the newspaper in the machine out front had today's date.  Oh well, I moved on. 
 
So breakfast instead was at Charlie Parker's.  It seemed to take forever to get to this place and along the way, I was sure my GPS didn't know where it was going.  Finally, I arrived at a shiny quonset hut,

with a jam packed parking lot.  There were at least 30 people waiting, both inside and out.  But, there was one seat open at the counter.  After checking that nobody ahead of me wanted it, I went ahead and took it.  One of the best things about sitting at the counter here is that I had a great view of the neon sign hanging overhead of the window to the kitchen.

All the food coming out of the kitchen looked delicious.  Notice the saying on the back of the t-shirts the waitresses are wearing, "Eat it and beat it".  From what I saw, all the waitresses here really hustled and I received excellent service.
 
The inside gave the appearance of being very new and was designed to look like a 50's rock and roll diner.

As you can see, it was standing room only!
 
My waitress came over and asked what I was having.  I told her I had never been here before and needed to see a menu.  I seem to have bad luck at times with the people sitting next to me at counters.  Although I almost always enjoy talking to the locals, sometimes they can just be annoying.  In this case, the guy next to me, hearing it was my first time here, suggested the vegetable omelet.  He made several references that it was the best value on the menu.  I thanked him, but told him I was going to get the breakfast horseshoe, since that is something that I can't get at home.  For some reason, that made him upset. A few minutes later, he tried to sell me some candy bars.  Luckily, he soon left.
 
For those who don't know, the horseshoe is a Springfield only dish.  This particular breakfast horseshoe,


was ham, American fries (which was a strange name for what was basically home fries) and egg over top of toast.  My sassy waitress asked if I wanted to cover my shoe with cheese, gravy of both.  Both, of course!  When she sat it down in front of me, I made a comment on how big and filling it looked.  She told me, "You don't order the horseshoe if you are watching your cholesterol.  Actually, you don't eat at Charlie Parker's!" and laughed.  Very, very true!
 
The photos may not do it justice, but this was a huge meal.  It sure seems like an odd mix of foods on top of each other, but other than the ham, which had too much fat in it, I was very pleased with it.  My first horseshoe!
 
As full as I was, it could have been worse if I had ordered one of their giant pancakes.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=6469&RefID=6248
 
Charlie Parker's
700 North Street
Springfield, IL
217-241-2104
 
Time to do some sightseeing.  I had been through Springfield once before and toured the state capitol and the Lincoln Museum.  This time, I started with Lincoln's tomb.


Inside the tomb itself, they ask you to please show reverence and not talk.  And of course, the couple next to me were chatting away.  But since it was wet out and my sneakers were squeaking with every step, I wasn't doing much better.  Lincoln's body is actually buried 10 feet underneath the concrete and I was curious about why that was.  Just this morning, I saw a preview for a show on the history channel where someone planned on stealing Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom.  So, now I understand the precautions.  Out front of the tomb, they have an effigy of Lincoln

where the nose is well worn from everybody rubbing it for luck.
 
Okay, time for lunch!
 
Much more to come.....

buffetbuster

Dude.....now you're speaking my language.  I could care less about ketchup, but you know I am a HUGE fan of "World's Largest" anything!

I have seen World's Fair Donuts before.  I am not sure if there is more than one location, but I am pretty sure that it is near the St. Louis Botanical Gardens (where I saw a Chihuly in the Garden exhibit a few years back) and O'Connell's Pub, which I have raved about before.  I have never stopped there, because they are usually closed in the hours that I would make it to O'Connell's, but it looks like a worthy stop now.

ChiTownDiner desperately tried to talk me out of going to Gus' Pretzels, and I wish that I'd listened to him.  I thought they were terrible - not just "oooh...these could have been better" or that they weren't what I was expecting.  They were bad.  Like you, I saw the pretzels being made, and thought I would have hot product delivered to me - nope.  They were room temperature.  And, I don't much care for dipping sauces (my rant on why everything needs to be dipped into some other flavor to make it taste better will have to wait for another day), but such sauces should compliment the item being served, not be the soul purpose for purchasing a "transporter" just to eat the sauce. 

Somewhere between St. Louis and Chicago, lying in a bush at the side of the highway, are the remnants of my failed visit to Gus'.

TTM-
I knew the giant ketchup bottle would be right up your alley.  Can I assume that you weren't at Gus' as early as I was?  Because my pretzels were extremely hot and fresh.  Although, you would think they would be making pretzels all day long. 

TTM,
 
The second I read BB was heading toward Gus's, I said, frak, TTM didn't tell him the story, or he forgot!!
But go for the mustard sauce packets in Memphis!!
 
And someone compare  Gus's (different Gus) on Front Street to Strouds for fried chicken.
 
 
 
 

buffetbuster


TTM-
I knew the giant ketchup bottle would be right up your alley.  Can I assume that you weren't at Gus' as early as I was?  Because my pretzels were extremely hot and fresh.  Although, you would think they would be making pretzels all day long. 

Giant ketchup bottle AND a giant Lincoln head!!!!    Man....I am so very jealous of this report - and, that's even with the lousy pretzels! 

I was there pretty early, as I needed to make the run from STL up to Chicago.  I wasn't the first one in the door by any stretch, but it was early morning.  Compare that with the visit I had recently to Philadelphia.  I hopped off the plane and made a beeline towards south Philly for the Italian Market and a stop at the Center City Pretzel Company.  I arrived around 11 am, and those pretzels were warm to the touch through the bag.  I will likely give Gus' another try the next time I am in town and just hope that I caught them on a less-than-stellar day.

Crew - I knew I had just told that story and couldn't quite remember who!  I will attempt to give Gus's Fried Chicken a shot - and I mentioned it on the phone to buffetbuster, so I think he will be up for making an off-the-itinerary stop with me sometime over the weekend!

BB -

When we visited Gus's, I was not really impressed.  I had the sausage one also and it was okay, but a little bland. 

Just please tell me that your trip included a visit with the Dr. of BBQ.  Pleeeeaaaaase--the suspense is killing me!

Buddy

Come on now, Buddy, do you really think I would ignore your advice?
 
TTM-
I stopped at City Center Pretzels last year and I agree that they are better. 

The Travelin Man

buffetbuster

Dude.....now you're speaking my language.  I could care less about ketchup, but you know I am a HUGE fan of "World's Largest" anything!

I have seen World's Fair Donuts before.  I am not sure if there is more than one location, but I am pretty sure that it is near the St. Louis Botanical Gardens (where I saw a Chihuly in the Garden exhibit a few years back) and O'Connell's Pub, which I have raved about before.  I have never stopped there, because they are usually closed in the hours that I would make it to O'Connell's, but it looks like a worthy stop now.

ChiTownDiner desperately tried to talk me out of going to Gus' Pretzels, and I wish that I'd listened to him.  I thought they were terrible - not just "oooh...these could have been better" or that they weren't what I was expecting.  They were bad.  Like you, I saw the pretzels being made, and thought I would have hot product delivered to me - nope.  They were room temperature.  And, I don't much care for dipping sauces (my rant on why everything needs to be dipped into some other flavor to make it taste better will have to wait for another day), but such sauces should compliment the item being served, not be the soul purpose for purchasing a "transporter" just to eat the sauce. 

Somewhere between St. Louis and Chicago, lying in a bush at the side of the highway, are the remnants of my failed visit to Gus'.

 That's the only time i've seen ketchup spelled catsup, except on these forums. I haven't seen Brooks (        )  in years at any store!

BB

I just had a big dinner @ Killer Seafood and you are making me drool.

Horseshoes and Dr of BBQ oh man I'll need a nappy to wipe up the drool with.


If I remember right about Lincoln's body.  They were going to steal it for ransom. They were a group of I believe counterfitters.

Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln (the only member of the familly NOT buried ther with the family) had the body exhumed in 1901, to be reburied there under LOTS of concrete, in a cage with a HUGE rock on the top.

Lincoln's tomb is 1 of the 19 Presidential Tombs (of 39) I have visited, and I have been here twice. 
 
Sorry BB for hijacking your thread

Bonus points for answering this one without the aid of google or the internet

Where is Robert Todd Lincoln buried??

Nancypalooza
Those ravioli look awesome.

Nancypalooza; Buffetbuster; Dearfolk,
   Betcha can't eat just one raviolus!
      Unforgettingly Latinately, Ort. Carlton in Amazin' Athens.

No I'm pretty sure I'd have to have at least two Ort.  :)

Cliff, I hope you were listening to 'Come on Feel the Illinoise' while you were toodling around.  That horseshoe looks great but it's exactly the kind of thing I'd get 1/3 of the way through and pass out.  I love that it's in a quonset hut.

Nancypalooza

Cliff, I hope you were listening to 'Come on Feel the Illinoise' while you were toodling around.

::groan::

No, seriously.  I'm listening to it right now.  Or are you groaning because you don't like it?

http://www.amazon.com/Illinoise/dp/B000S56R1I/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1234453865&sr=8-4

Nancy, my musical ignorance leaves me somewhat red-faced here.  I thought you were making a bad pun reference to this heavy metal hit.

Sorry. 

Oh no, I'm not that clever, but clearly the guy who wrote that album is. 

Here's a great pic of a horseshoe and a story about how they're made:  http://tinyurl.com/aep3ze

Saturday February 7, 2009 cont.
 
I arrived at Joe Rogers Chili Parlor

at around 11:15 to find a very full parking lot.  One thing I have to say about Springfield, they sure support their Roadfood restaurants, which is a quality worthy of admiration. 
 
There are counter seats here,

but they were all taken.  Before I even had a chance to look at the menu board

(the above photo is just part of it), I was asked what I wanted.  I told the very nice woman, "I've never been here before, but I guess I'll take a bowl of chili".  She then very patiently described all the differences in the chili and I settled on the Touch aka just a touch hot.
 
Here is what I was given.

Before I even had to ask (she undoubtedly saw the look of surprise and probably disappointment at the greasy looking chili), she informed me that the the hot oil is where the heat came from.  Another woman standing there, who was a customer, told me that some people have that part of the chili ladled off, but then you lose all that flavor.  Telling them I will keep an open mind, I sat down at an open table.
 
The chili comes with a generous bowl of oyster crackers,

good for sopping up the liquid.  Also, I paid a little extra and got some onions and cheese.

I experimented with the chili and the toppings until I reached the perfect compliment of ingredients I was looking for.  This was a very earthy, comforting bowl of chili, heavy on both meat and beans, that really fit the bill on a cold winter's day.  Despite the appearance I did not find it to be overly greasy at all.  Besides, who would want to eat greaseless chili?  If there is one thing I would do over is to get it hotter next time.  I think the medium hot would be more in line with what I would prefer.  For those who really enjoy hot chili, they offer the firebrand.  And if you eat an entire bowl of firebrand, you get your name on the wall. 

Thanks, but no thanks!!!
 
While there, I also sampled a chili dog, but was not overly impressed.  I found this to be greasier than the chili.

 
Joe Rogers Chili Parlor
820 S. 9th Street
Springfield, IL
217-522-3722
 
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=6496&RefID=6346
 
Although I was feeling fine, it was time to visit a local doctor!
 
Much more to come.....

BB, what kind of cheese is that?  At first glance I thought you'd gotten a plate of onions and mustard!

Brad

Brad-
The cheese was Cheez Whiz.  I dabbled with it, but used very, very little.  While Cheez Whiz might be perfect for a Philly cheesesteak, it doesn't add much to chili.

So did you just spoon some of that with-a-z cheese onto the crackers or right onto the chili?  I guess I'm so used to grated cheese on chili that that seems strange.

Nancy-
I tried the whole cracker, cheese, then put some chili on top thing, but it was unsuccessful.  Had it been grated cheese, I wouldn't have hesitated just mixing it right in.

Good going finding the Giant "Catsup" Bottle- We found it to be surprising hard to find for something that big on our trip-
We drove back and forth a couple of times and were just abuot to give up when we stumbled across it, victorious again!

Great trip report!

irisarbor-
I know what you mean about the giant catsup bottle not being where I thought it would be.  Luckily, I found an address for it and was taken there by my GPS.  You sure would think something that big would be easier to find.

Saturday February 7, 2009 cont.
 
The Roadfood poster Dr. of BBQ has his trailer in an empty lot, right in the heart of Springfield.  Both BuddyRoadhouse and ChiTownDiner highly recommended a stop here, which is good enough for me.  The Dr. was outside putting chicken and ribs on his smoker when I arrived at 11:45AM.  Here is an action photo I took later.

After introducing himself as Jack, he invited me into his trailer.

 
The first thing you notice about the interior is how clean the place is.  Actually, spotless would be a better word.  Jack introduced me to another man (unfortunately, I have already forgotten his name), who soon left.  Jack quickly set me up with an order of ribs.


As you can tell from the photo, those are no ordinary ribs.  They were big and meaty and you could really taste the smoke.  Outstanding!  As good as they were, I think I liked the beans even better.

The beans were sweet, but that wasn't the predominant taste.  I asked Jack if he puts any of his yummy sauce in there, but he said no.  Whatever it was, those were some terrific beans!  Despite the fact I had shown up here not exactly hungry after my previous two stops, this food was just too good to ignore.  I ate all of my ribs but two, which Jack wrapped up and I took with me.  They ended up making a fine late night snack at my hotel room.
 
Even better than the food, Jack is a natural host and made me feel very welcome.  He is especially good at having fun with the many customers who pulled up during my time there.  It was no surprise to find out later that Jack used to have a radio talk show in Springfield.  Although I was on a bit of a tight schedule, we ended up talking for almost 90 minutes about food, Roadfood, politics and other interesting topics.  This was one of the highlights of my weekend.
 
On the way out, I snapped a photo of all the wood sitting in Jack's lot. 

He had told me earlier that he uses hickory.  Jack, thanks so much for the hospitality!  I urge every Roadfooder to make a pilgrammage to pay a housecall on the Dr. of BBQ.
 
Needing to do some sightseeing before I could even think about eating again, I stopped at the state capitol building.

I had previously taken a tour in 2005, but this is such a beautiful building,

I was happy to see it again.
 
One thing I noticed that struck me as rather odd is that people in the entertainment field keep getting elected as Secretary of State.  If you remember from a previous trip report, Charlie Daniels is the S of S of Arkansas.  Here in Illinois, the S of S is none other than character actor Jesse White, best known in commercials as the Maytag repairman.
 
Who's next?
 
Much more to come.....

From the looks of your photo, I'm going to guess that the gentleman who was introduced to you was Leonardo, Jack's right hand man.  Leonardo, in addition to working with the Dr., makes some fine gourmet popcorn.  His caramel covered popcorn is outstanding; rich and buttery with a sweet crisp coating of caramel and bits of nuts.  Swapping Roadhouse Bar-B-Que Sauce for Leonardo's popcorn has become an annual tradition when we pass through Springfield on our Kansas City Christmas trips.

Buddy

thanks for the photos.....nice......I too was very impressed by Springfield on my trip through this summer....Charlie Parkers, Cozy Dog, the original Maid-Rite...Springfield is a great roadfood destination.
 
I'm glad you got to see Lincoln's Tomb......on the day we were there....it was closed.  I think it was a Tuesday in late July....man, I was heated....I felt like punching the moose in the nose.

BB, the actor Jesse White actually died a number of years ago.  The IL Sec of State is, IIRC, out of the Chicago area where he was a community activist known for the Jesse White Tumblers, an organization designed to reach out to kids in need of guidance.

In a totally bizarre twist, the actor who replaced Gordon Jump who replaced Jesse White as the Maytag Man is also an avid barbecuer.

Brad

Buddy-
Yeah, it was Leonardo.  I am just awful remembering names.

PlanoJim-
Love the line about punching the moose in the nose.  The previous time I was in Springfield, I drove around looking for an interesting place to eat and ended up at the Maid-Rite.  Are you saying that is THE original Maid-Rite?