Weekend in St. Louis & Springfield

Saturday February 7, 2009 cont.
 
You can't possibly come to Springfield without a stop at Cozy Dog, so that was the next stop.  This place is easy to spot.  Just look for the the two corn dogs on the sign getting cozy.

The building itself is unremarkable, but I did like the sign overhead that simply states "FOOD", with arrows pointing down.

The inside also features those same corn dogs hugging each other.
 
They must really be in love!
 
I have never been a fan of corn dogs.  The breading is almost always too heavy and it seems to just sit in your stomach.  I was pleasantly surprised by just how wonderfully light and flavorful the breading on these cozy dogs were, though.


These were much more enjoyable than I expected.  While others may have put mustard on their cozys, I found it didn't need anything at all.  Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the limp, greasy fries.

 
The tables each have maps and info on Rte. 66,

with more signs and decorations of the historic road filling the restaurant interior.

I really like the cute little girl in the photo!
 
Cozy Dog
2935 S. 6th Street
Springfield, IL
217-525-1992
 
 http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=5442&RefID=5360
 
Needing more time to digest before what I assumed would be a very filling dinner, I stopped at Lincoln's home.

Located in the center of a lovely well-preserved historic district, I took a very informative tour.  My tour guide looked just like musician Dave Grohl.  Many of the pieces inside the house are original, including Lincoln's desk.  But check out the clashing wallpaper and carpet!

Yikes!  Apparently, that was the style at the time, which is hard to believe.
 
Time for a dinner horseshoe.
 
More to come.....

We were in Cozy one time and a large family with (I believe) 6 young boys came in.  They oredered a family dinner which must had 20 corn dogs and fries and drinks for everyone.  it was quite a site! 

That "unremarkable building" is actually a rebuild.  The original Cozy Dog was just to the south of the current structure, where the Walgreen's now sits.  Some years back Walgreen's had a strong hankering for that prime real estate and worked out a deal with the locals to condemn the Cozy Dog so they could buy the lot.  The outcry from locals and Route 66 enthusiasts was so loud, Walgreen's agreed to build a new Cozy Dog north of the original stand.

The original was quite a sight.  It was rabbit warren-like; different structures jutting out of each other, built piecemeal as the place expanded over the years.  The new building is more efficient and probably easier to upkeep, but it definitely lacks the character of the original.  I suppose the food is all that really matters, and that has remained consistent.

I'm surprised the fries were no good.  They've always been fresh cut, skin on fries; way better than any commercial, frozen brand.  Maybe you just got a batch that had been sitting around for a while.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the Cozy and the Dr. (those ribs will spoil you for anyone else's).  On to (I'm just guessing) Darcy's Pint(?) for your Horseshoe!

Buddy

Buddy, you are a walking encyclopedia.  Thanks for the info on the Cozy Dog building.  While the signs had character, the building did not.  Now I know why.  And you guessed right on dinner, too. 

You've had nothing but bad corn dogs, probably the prefab kind.  When they're right, they're soooo good.  My son puts maple syrup on them--a little gross but surprisingly good with the salty.

Saturday February 7, 2009 cont.
 
When I arrived at D'Arcy's Pint,


the parking lot was full and there was a crowd milling around outside.  The hostess told me it would be around a 1/2 hour wait, but I could get seated right away at the bar.  Being a non-drinker, I am not a fan of sitting at the bar.  Although I have no problem taking photos in any restaurant, I am self-conscious about sitting at a bar and not drinking.  But since I was on a tight schedule, I had no choice.
 
The menu features a surprisingly large roster of different horseshoes.  The stunning blonde bartender was very helpful in going over the list for me.  But, she did insist to me that the hamburger horseshoe is the original, when I thought it was the ham.  Since she was the local, I felt no need to argue with her.  Not sure which one to get, I decided to use the WWDD (What Would Davydd Do) method and settled on the pork tenderloin shoe.  First though, I had a salty bowl of clam chowder.

 
 
My horseshoe arrived and it sure looked impressive.

That photo doesn't do justice to the size of the sandwich.  It was massive!  Now, I am a fan of my hometown Turkey Devonshires, which come drowned in a pool of cheese sauce.  But the gloppy cheese sauce in this horseshoe just overwhelmed everything else.  What I did like was the big, meaty tenderloin, with the crunchy edges.

 
By the time I left, there was over an hour wait.  This place is very popular!
 
D'Arcy's Pint
661 W. Stanford Avenue
Springfield, IL
217-492-8800
 
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=4233
 
Even though I was stuffed beyond belief, I still had one more stop to make.  Luckily, there was plenty of driving time in between.  Almost two hours after leaving Springfield, I arrived in the small town of Grafton, Illinois and found Fin Inn.

An aquarium themed restaurant, sitting right across the street from the Mississippi River, it has not appeared in a JMS book since 1986's Roadfood and Goodfood.  I had a bear of a time getting a good shot of the outside of the building, but at least I can show you the cool open fish sign.

 
Most of the tables have aquariums with live fish,

but, of course, I sat at one of the tables that did not.  Still, there were fishing swimming right across the aisleway from me, so that was close enough.

 
I asked the waitress if the fish they served was from the Mississippi River, but she told me the only one is the Buffalo fish.  Having my heart set on catfish, I went for that.  The meal started off with a typical salad, except that the dressing was a particularly good homemade honey mustard.

My side of green beans was tired and uninspiring, so I wasn't expecting much of the catfish.  I could not have been more wrong.

The fillets were extra thick and full of remarkably fresh tasting meat.  As full as I had been earlier, I had no trouble polishing my entree off.  That is, as long as I didn't look at the live fish, while I was eating fish.
 
That is a look of disapproval!
 
Fin Inn
1000 West Main Street
Grafton, Illinois
618-786-2030
 
I got back to my hotel room in St. Louis around 9:00PM and knocked off the rest of my ribs before bed.
 
More to come.....

Buffetbuster,

I've never had a horseshoe but that tenderloin one sure looks interesting. I take it you don't pick that kind of sandwich up but proceed with knife and fork.

Davydd-
Despite the presence of bread, had I tried to pick it up, I would have probably gotten more of the cheese sauce on my lap than my mouth!

What a great trip report.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a Turkey Devonshire?  Is it the Pittsburgh equivalent of a Hot Brown?

rumaki-
Thanks for the compliment.  Yes, the Turkey Devonshire is the Pittsburgh version of a Hot Brown.  I had one for dinner just last night.  You can see some photos in this thread.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx?m=381005&high=devonshire

OMG, I am reminded of the first time we took a Minnesota relation out for cold boiled shrimp--and she kept having to apologize to the little guys for pulling off their legs.  I'd have had to hang my napkin over the carp's tank.  Food looks wonderful though.

So could you conceivably extend the hot brown/devonshire thing to a plate of chilaquiles?  (Stewed chicken for the meat and chips for the fries.)  Is that too far to make it an example?

CajunKing
Where is Robert Todd Lincoln buried??

I actually knew this one, Arlington Cemetary in Washington DC, because of a PBS special I saw about Arlington, but the best way to answer this is http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=628

buffetbuster
  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.

I was always of the impression that Philly cheesesteaks used cream cheese, which is, assuming I'm right and still presuming even if I am, why Kraft calls it's particular cream cheese Philidelphia brand.
 
Here's another place I could be mistaken for TWO reasons, but the place this trip should end would be The Berghoff in Chicago. It seems you're taking a Route 66 trip "backwards", and The Berg is one block north of Jackson Blvd, which is a one way street headed west, as well as where the Route starts, usually with breakfast at Lou Mitchell's, at Buckingham Fountain. which got "shot" after Sinatra sang Love and Marriage to open the gone but not forgotten Fox series Married With Children.

Wow.

BigUglyMich-
Would love to do the entire Rte 66 thing someday, but this is not that day.  But, you bringing up The Berghoff does bring back good memories.  I flew to Chicago to eat there right after they announed they had plans to close.  My flight was late and I ended up having to talk my way into the restaurant.  Great meal and I'm so glad I got to eat there.
 
Nancy-
I don't think that is a stretch at all.

Sunday February 8, 2009 
 
For those of you with short memories (or a life), one of the highlights of my St. Louis trip last year was a visit to Park Avenue Coffee for gooey butter cake.  Later in the year, both Travelin Man and ChiTownDiner paid a call, so this place has gotten plenty of love here on Roadfood.  But it is much deserved.  Since where I wanted to eat my first meal of the day didn't open until 10:00AM, I drove over to the nice Lafayette Square area and pulled up in front of Park Avenue Coffee.

 
The interior looks like a standard 21st century coffehouse

until you come to the pastry area.

I love how the signs in front are labeled "Gooey Butter Cakes", "More Gooey Butter Cakes" and "Even More Gooey Butter Cakes".  They have many different flavors sitting out and even more hiding in the back.  Asking the young man to list what is available is an exercise in frustration, because you want to try them all! 
 
I decided to eat an Elvis (peanut butter & banana) and a Red Velvet there.

For those who don't know, gooey butter cakes are exactly what they sound like.  They are ultra dense and soft and you can really taste the richness of the butter.  This is most definitely not diet food.  I knew the Elvis would be excellent because peanut butter and banana are ideal ingredients inside one of these and those two tastes work so well together.  I was suspicious about the Red Velvet one, though, but it blew me away how good it was.
 
Not wanting to overdo it, but still wanting to sample other flavors, I had them get me six to go.  One more each of the above flavors, plus a chocolate covered cherry,

a chocolate chip cookie dough,

a white chocolate raspberry

and a peanut butter espresso chip.

I took all these back to work and shared them with the ladies in my office.  It was a big hit, and they all swooned over different flavors.
 
The young man who waited on me here was incredibly friendly and helpful.  Kind of scary, he remembered me from last year!  Just like cecif did in her most recent wonderful trip report, I took a photo of the shirt he was wearing,

because I liked it so much.  I had no idea if he was the owner or not, but he gave me some interesting info.  First, they are doing so well, that they can't keep up at the current facility.  So, they are opening up another location that will be bakery items only.  Secondly, QVC came in and asked to sell their products on the air.  Seems like they are really doing well and from what I taste, it is much deserved.
 
My only question, is do they deliver to Pittsburgh?

Probably not.
 
Park Avenue Coffee
1919 Park Avenue
St. Louis, MO
314-621-4020
 
 http://parkavenuecoffee.com/
 
More to come.....

Dayum boy, so why don't I work in your office huh?  That's awesome.  So how is a gooey butter cake different from a bar cookie?  Just gooeyer?  (Is that a word?)

Nancy-
It is both gooeyer and more buttery.  Whoever named that thing is a pure genius!

Tremendous report.

I'll be a long time trying to get this out of my mind though:

If I were to become a disgruntled rock star, and I needed a non-alphabetical hieroglyph to be my name, that above would make a perfect candidate.

buffetbuster, you ask if Park Avenue Coffee would deliver to Pittsburgh.  From checking out their website, I am pretty sure they would.  In "dale's blog" he says in reply to a question, "We can ship Gooey Butter Cake to South Carolina, but it might be rough to ship you a Caramel Macchiato."  If they can ship to South Carolina, I am sure they could ship to Pittsburgh (unless someone waylayed the cake in transit).  :-)

buffetbuster -

I beleive Chicago is on the way to Pittsburg if the delivery were to take place!

The only thing better than actually eating a Gooey Butter Cake is having The Travelin Man in a full gallop coming at you with a dozen under his arm!

I just got back from a early dinner at "The Precinct" here in Cincinnati and I am stuffed to the gills, but I saw that picture of gooey butter cake and wantd some.

Cliff, my friend, you  outdid yourself on this trip, a quality report and some excellent foods.

Hmmmmm Cincy is on the way to Pittsburg too...  yummmm gooey butter cake.

buffetbuster


Saturday February 7 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.
 


First, Buddy, Leonardo was tickled that you mentioned him and his Popcorn balls, “ 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”. He laughed and said “Well I made the internet”.

Leonardo is truly a great guy, and good friend, and has been for over 20 years.
Now Cliff, I really enjoyed your visit and meeting you. I’m very impressed with the quality of Roadfood people, everyone that has visited Springfield and stopped at my stand has been a treat, and I really mean that. You’ll always be more than welcome at the Doctor of  BBQ stand, and If there is anything I can ever do for you, all you need do is call.
Jack
An update:
BuffetBuster, Buddy, and all,
A friend and I ate breakfast this morning at Charlie Parker's, and of course the food was excellent as always. Cliff  I printed your pictures and post (using photo supreme paper and they looked great) prior to going there, and was going to give them to the owner, but was shocked to find out the restaurant has changed hands. I met the new owner, his name is  Mike Murphy and he seems to be a very nice person. I invited him to come to Roadfood and become a member, he said he would, and was planing a web site for Charlie Parker's this summer. Nothing else has changed at Charlie Parker's, same great service, same typical Springfield atmosphere, and same good food.
PS Cliff you’re not a really big guy, and after reading your entire post I’m amazed at the amount of food you ate in your visit to Springfield, wow I’m impressed. And again thank you for visiting “The Doctor’s” and for your very kind review.
Jack

BB, it is always a pleasure to read your reports . Since i hope to follow in your footsteps this year with a visit to the St. Louis and Milwaukee ballparks, it looks as if you have already found a lot of places I will need to visit along the way. Hope you get out my way soon or we get to Pittsburgh.

Jack (Dr. of BBQ)-
Thanks again for your hospitality and making a stranger feel welcome!  Visiting with you (and the ribs & beans) was the highlight of my trip.  Continued success!
 
mrchips-
I would also like to visit both St. Louis and Milwaukee to see games this year.  Let me know when you are thinking about going and maybe we could meet up.

Sunday February 8, 2009 cont.
 
Needing to kill some time before my next restaurant opened, I decided to drive around and take some photos.  Nothing particularly interesting, though I did like this one of the old courthouse, framed by the arch.

 
My first lunch was going to be at Hodak's,

which opens at 10:00AM.  You gotta love a place that specializes in fried chicken that opens that early!  I arrived around 9:40 and parked in the lot in the back.  A woman, who obviously worked there, parked near me and I asked her if they opened at 10:00.  She told me to come on in now, which sure beat sitting in my car.
 
When I walked in, there were about eight waitresses sitting around and eating and I obviously was the only customer.  I sat in the back dining room and I examined the menu.
 
After I placed my order, I got up and walked around.  Similar to other fried chicken places I have visited, they have many, many chicken figurines used as decoration all over the interior.


As impressive as this collection was, it still wasn't as many as I have seen at The Chicken Pie Shop in San Diego or the long gone Southern Kitchen in Charleston, WV.  But, Hodak's has something those other two places didn't have......  chickens in the bathrooms! 

This is the wall tile in the men's room.  BTW, I don't normally make it a point to take my camera to the bathroom in case they have chicken tile, it just happened to be in my pocket this time.
 
After almost a full half hour, which can only be a good sign, my chicken arrived.

This was an entire half chicken, which meant four pieces.  The chicken had a thick rugged crust, which tore away in big chunks.  The meat here was incredibly juicy.

Although these pieces were not nearly as big and meaty as the ones I ate two nights earlier at Porter's, the meat here was more moist and tastier.  For a little bit extra, you can get Hodak's hot bbq sauce.
 
I found this sauce to be too heavy for my taste, but still enjoyed dipping the chicken pieces.
 
The fries, which came with the meal were nothing special as were the baked beans I got as a side.

Much better was the fresh, crisp cole slaw.

 
I have never really thought of St. Louis as a fried chicken town, but after meals at Hodak's and Porter's, I may have to reconsider.
 
Hodak's Restaurant
2100 Gravois Avenue
St. Louis, MO
314-776-7292
 
 http://hodaks.com/
 
More to come.....

You know though, my 'favorite' chicken places tend to be the ones that do the chicken and slaw well.  I can put up with bad fries, or ignore them, but the chicken and slaw you gotta hit out of the park.

Nancypalooza


I can put up with bad fries, or ignore them, but the chicken and slaw you gotta hit out of the park.

Amen to that!!!

We are finally in the homestretch.....
 
Sunday February 8, 2009 cont.
 
I don't particularly like repeating places that were included in previous trip reports.  But there is no way I could even think about visiting St. Louis, without a stop at Crown Candy Kitchen.

This place is the last bastion of genteelness in a really crummy neighborhood.  Although I feel safe going there during the day, I would probably stay away at night.  One of these days I would love to take on the five malt challenge,

but after all the fried chicken and gooey butter cakes, that day would not be today.
 
Since it was going on 11:30, I was hoping the lunch crowd wasn't there already.  Luckily for me, there was one small booth open.  BTW, all the seating here is in old, uncomfortable, white booths.

 
One thing I have never done here before is try something besides dessert.  So I decided to get a sandwich.

Obviously, this is egg salad on toast, with chips and a pickle.  I was kind of hoping that the sandwich wouldn't be so big, but you can see there is so much egg salad on it, the bread can't cover it all.  I sure didn't feel cheated.  This was a fine sandwich!
 
But, now to why I was here, the ice cream.  A favorite of mine is a banana split and I have never had one here, so.....

Served in an old-fashioned glass dish, everything was fresh and sweet and just reinforced my love for this place.
 
I took photos of the available ice cream flavors

and the candy

on the way out.
 
Crown Candy Kitchen
1401 St. Louis Avenue
St. Louis, MO
314-621-9650
 
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=297&RefID=297
 
I still had about an extra 45 minutes before I needed to head to the airport.  Knowing that C & K BBQ

was open on Sundays, I decided to make one more stop.  Though on previous occasions I have been there when they were very busy, this time I was the only customer.  The inside is small and quite a bit of it is taken up by this partition, seperating the young man who takes the orders and the customers.

Last year, I tried the snoots (snouts), but saw no reason to go down that path again.

 
My favorite thing here is the potato salad.

Sweet and whipped ultra-thin, I always regret not getting a larger portion.  As usual, I went with the rib tips.

Sorry about the photo.  I took nine pictures of it and this was actually the best.  Man, I suck!  The rib tips are undoubtedly fatty, but the meat you pull off is very tender and flavorful.  It is enhanced by the very thin and sweet bbq sauce.  Since I got my food to go (there are no seats here, so everything is to go), the sauce had gotten all over everything!  As good as the rib tips were, I only ate about half of them, since I was now pushing maximum volume.
 
But here was the surprise of the trip.  When I was placing my order, I said to the guy, "I assume you are out of dessert".  Everytime I have been here before, they said they had run out.  I figured I would see the Loch Ness monster before eating dessert here.  He seemed surprised and said they had everything listed.  I perked up and got a slice of red velvet cake.


And this was a piece of cake worth waiting for.  Unfortunately, I boneheadedly threw out my plastic fork with the rib tips.  So, I had to eat the cake commando-style.  The cake was incredibly moist and you can see bits of red mixed in with the sweet cream cheese frosting.  And the photo doesn't do justice to just how red this cake was.  Remember the scene from Airplane, where the woman was trying to put lipstick on during turbulance and she ended up with red all over her face?  That is what I looked like by the time I was done.  Too bad no one was there to take a photo, huh?
 
C & K BBQ
4390 Jennings Station Road
St. Louis, MO
314-385-8100
 
From there it was straight to the airport and home.
 
Thanks again to everyone for reading my trip report!