Burgers, Barbecue and Pie

mayor al


Love2bake- We were introduced to Carmel Pie at the Catfish Hotel next to the Shiloh Nat'l Military Battlefield. They not only served a wonderful Carmel Pie, but they gave us copies of their recipe!  Even a novice like me...and my 15 yr old grandson, have been able to make this fantasic treat several times since. I have not seen it anywhere outside of the Arkansas/Tennessee region.
Let us know when you make one !!

Al, I think you are right about the geography of Carmel Pie.  I have had it at two other places, one in Tennessee and once in northern Mississippi, which is close enough. 

Yep, the hardest part of making Carmel Pie is finding cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk that are NOT the "easy-open, pull-top" style. Those do not take to being boiled for several hours.  In addition to a great pie, this makes a fine Apple-dip, and topping for ice-cream when thinned a bit.
 
Here are our efforts awhile back, with my Grandson doing the hard work !!

 

 

 

 

I had no idea that cheese dip was an Arkansas thing until we met the winners of the World Cheese Dip Championship at the New Orleans Roadfood Festival.

buffetbuster


TTM-
What, making sure Hunka Pie was closed for no apparent reason wasn't enough of an appearance for you!

Admittedly, it was a start.

Ralph, that is very cool that the cheese dip champion was in NOLA. Any chance that you tried it?

Mayor:  O'Charley's in Knoxville serve the caramel pie.  I looked up the recipe and it was easy.  Just take the sweetened condense milk can and put it in slightly boiling water for several hours and use your pie crust and it happens.  I was always afraid that the can would burst and splatter every where but it did not happen.
 
Thanks for sharing your results.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

buffetbuster


Ralph, that is very cool that the cheese dip champion was in NOLA. Any chance that you tried it?

 
I did try it. Cheese dip, much like a milk shake, is not a photogenic food:
Championship Cheese Dip by Ralph Melton, on Flickr
 
It was pretty good, with medium amount of spice and a texture that reminded me of chili. But I didn't notice it being a conspicuously glorious cheese dip.

Ralph-
Thanks for posting the photo of the cheese dip.  It really doesn't look like what I had at all.  Kudos to you for trying it, when it couldn't have been one of the sexier options available.

Friday April 27, 2012 (cont.)
 
Our dinner destination was Catfish N, right across the river from Russellville in Dardenelle.  We pulled up ten minutes before they opened at 4:00PM.  To kill some time, I walked down to the river from the yard next to the restaurant, just to show how close they are to the water. 

Signaling they were open, a young lady unlocked the door, came outside and put an American flag in it's post. 

There is no menu here.  Everything is all-you-can-eat buffet. 

I had to ask what Plantation Punch was, very well knowing it was Kool-Aid, which was my beverage choice.
 
Despite my screenname, I am not a big fan of buffets.  I typically like to call them "Bad food and plenty of it".  But the food on this buffet looked a notch or two better.  The fact that we were the first ones in the door and had the first chance at it certainly helped.  Some photos of the buffet:






 
Between the two of us, I think we tried just about everything.  Here is my first plate:

The catfish had a very heavy coating, with good catfish flavor.  We both liked it.  Johnny enjoyed the fried chicken better than I did.  While it was juicy, the skin was hard to pull away.  The green beans looked like they were from a can, but were nicely seasoned.  The corn was fresh and buttery.  The very sweet carrot salad, which had raisins in it, was another item we both enjoyed.  There were two different types of hushpuppies.  The regular had a pleasant oniony taste.  The jalapeno was even better, with big chunks of the pepper inside.  Other than that, it was all a blur and nothing in particular stood out.
 
There were two different types of cobbler, peach and apple.  I tried the peach. 

Both were very sweet.  Johnny is a big fan of this type of cobbler, with the crunchy top and the soft underneath that absorbs the juice.
 
The interior is mostly wood and is designed to look like a fishing camp. 

And they do have plenty of colorful, entertaining signs hanging around.  
 

And the young ladies who work here were very helpful and nice.  When one grabbed my glass to get me a refill and asked if I had the Kool-Aid, I replied, "No, I have the Plantation Punch".
 
Catfish N has not appeared in a Jane & Michael Stern book in over a decade.  Although the food was hot and fresh, I'm still not a big fan of buffets.  But, if you are in the area, you could do a lot worse than Catfish N.
 
Catfish N
Dardenelle Dam Road
Dardenelle, AR
479-229-3321
 
As much as we had already eaten on this day, there was still one more mountain to climb.  Luckily,there was some driving distance between here and there.  Just before we got back on the freeway, I spotted CJ's Butcher Boy Burgers in Russellville.  I quickly tried to think of ways maybe we could just go in and split a burger.  But,we were just too full and tired of burgers from our time in Oklahoma.  CJ's will have to wait for another trip.
 
Much more to come.....

Looks pretty good, my friends( includes your cousin!) Shrimp looks fresh. My Mom used to make the best carrot salad in the world. Didnt appreciate it until I was older...

Buffetbuster
 
Glad you made it to Catfish N
 
It was on my list of Catfish places to check out but honestly, the on-line reviews scared me away.
 
Catfish Hole in Alma won out.
 
 

The price of the Buffet looked very reasonable for what was offered.
Maybe you need to change your handle to "No Buffets, Buster"!

BB, I agree I don't like a lot of buffets either. The one you when to looked real clean, fresh and well worth the price. Nice pictures and great report.................Thanks for taking the time..............pnwc

love2bake


Oh my--that CFS looks awesome!  Was the gravy made from the drippings?  Out here in CA they put sausage gravy on CFS which is just not right, in my opinion. :(  Love your report, btw.

I assume you are talking about the CFS from Classen Grill.  I can't say for sure that the gravy was made from the drippings, but it did taste that way.  It definitely was not sausage gravy.  Thanks so much for the kind words!
 
Now, can you please tell us more about the National Pie Championships?  Were you a contestant?  Or even better, a judge? 

buffetbuster

love2bake


Oh my--that CFS looks awesome!  Was the gravy made from the drippings?  Out here in CA they put sausage gravy on CFS which is just not right, in my opinion. :(  Love your report, btw.

I assume you are talking about the CFS from Classen Grill.  I can't say for sure that the gravy was made from the drippings, but it did taste that way.  It definitely was not sausage gravy.  Thanks so much for the kind words!

Now, can you please tell us more about the National Pie Championships?  Were you a contestant?  Or even better, a judge? 

Yes, I was a judge!  Second year doing it, and it's a blast.  This year I judged the citrus and nut pies in the amateur division, raisin pies in the professional division, all of the categories in the junior chef division, and best in show for all of those.  That was over two days.  If you would be interested in judging next year, you should definitely apply.  About half of the judges are food industry professionals, and half are regular people who love pie!  It's so much fun.  There's also a commercial pie category, but I've not wanted to judge those.  However, I do volunteer for other things on the day those are judged, and when the judging is complete, the volunteers can try any of those pies they want to. :)
 
Yep--I was referring to Classen's CFS.  I love real CFS, and I don't find anything decent out here in the SF Bay Area.  I need a Texas trip.  I recently was at Stockyard Cafe in Amarillo, and their CFS was good, but very different--cooked on a flattop, I think.  However, their gravy was fabulous.  And their green beans with bacon, too.  But I probably need to travel between Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio to do a CFS tour right.

Awesome pics and I'd love to get to that place

Friday April 27, 2012 (cont.)
 
Our final destination of the day was AQ Chicken House in Springdale.  I have to admit, based on the review, it sounded touristy and I wasn't expecting to love this place.
 
They have a big parking lot that was mostly empty by this time of night. The outside is busy, with neon signs

and old cars sitting out front.

A giant metal chicken sculpture

greets you as you walk in the door.  The chicken theme runs throughout the interior decoration and for the most part it is tastefully done. 


While Johnny was in the men's room, I killed time looking through an old guest registry they had sitting out.

 
Whenever we are out eating together, Johnny and I try to avoid ordering the same dishes.  This way, we get to sample a much bigger variety of things.  Here at AQ, we made an exception.  You can order your chicken a lot of different ways, so we both settled on the chicken sampler platter.

The first things to show up were our root beers

in glass bottles and some huge, soft dinner rolls. 

There was already honey on the table, which for me, is always a good sign.  The rolls were the perfect conduit for loading up on honey.
 
Our entrees arrived and we got different pieces of chicken for the different styles. 


We both thought that the barbecued and pan fried chicken pieces were moist and juicy.  But we agreed that the clear best on plate was what they called "over the coals".  This style, as explained by our waitress, makes you think the chicken just came off the backyard grill.  It had a strong lemon pepper flavor which permeated deep into the meat.  Outstanding!
 
At least we managed to order four different sides.  The mac and cheese was not good.  Johnny thought the noodles were overcooked and I thought they used low grade cheese.  The sweet potato casserole was whipped and had lots of cinnamon in it.  The green beans were in a mild porky juice. 

Johnny's favorite of the sides was the battered french fries.  These are battered and then deep fried, which gave it a coating more like onion rings.
 
Because we didn't show up as hungry as we liked, I was shocked that Johnny also ordered a side of the chicken and dumplings. 

But, I wasn't about to complain.  This was loaded with big chunks of tender chicken, plus wide, flat noodles, all covered in a thick gravy.  I ate more of this than he did as he was running on fumes by now.
 
When I mentioned dessert, Johnny wanted no part of it.  He is clearly the bigger eater of the two of us, but on this day, he had had it.  This is a very rare occurence and I figured if I got something he liked, he would still contribute.  So, I went with the fried peaches,

which came with several scoops of ice cream on top.  Much to my surprise, Johnny took about half of a bite, said it was really good, laid his fork down and said no mas!  After how much we had consumed on this day, it was more than understandable.  But, now it was up to me.  The best way to eat this dish is what I like to call, the Indian Pudding technique.  That is making sure you get a bit of the ice cream and the fried peaches with each spoonful.  Even though it wasn't overly sweet, what really elevated this dish was that they used what sure tasted like fresh peaches and not canned peaches. 

I didn't completely finish it, because it was an imposing portion size, but I did come close.
 
Our meal here took much longer than we had hoped, considering how tired we were.  Despite that, we really liked our waitress, who was in her 60s and had a twinkle in her eye.  She spent a good portion of the meal at our table chatting with us.
 
The AQ Chicken House (the AQ stands for Arkansas Quality) turned out be a place we very much enjoyed and we would definitely return.  Johnny said his one regret was he just wished we had shown up hungrier.
 
AQ Chicken House
1207 N. Thompson Street
Springdale, AR
479-751-4633
 
On the way to AQ, we passed Neal's Cafe, a restaurant Wanderingjew had recently visited and gave high marks.  We discussed the idea of stopping in afterwards for pie.  But, at this point, all we wanted was to relax.  It was a short distance from here to our hotel in Rogers.
 
Much more to come.....

love2bake-
Thanks so much for the info on the National Pie Championships.  What a gig!  That must be so much fun, although there certainly has to be some work involved, too.  I could see me possibly wanting to do that someday. 

Buff,
 
I couldn't agree more with your review of AQ's Over The Coals chicken. I am not a fan of their barbecue chicken, their pan fried chicken is very good (but, like all other pan fried chicken, loses out in comparison to Stroud's) but the Over The Coals is a fantastically unique taste combo of pan fried and grilled chicken that creates a unique category of chicken all its own.

Saturday April 28, 2012
 
The plans for this morning was a breakfast at the Bean Palace restaurant, which is on the third floor of the War Eagle Mill.  When I first visited here in 1999, it was way out into the boonies.  It is still quite a distance from the city of Rogers, but civilization is slowly creeping closer. 
 
The building

sits next to a 100+ year old bridge

that only one car can cross at a time.  If you walk onto the bridge (there was a grandfather/grandson fishing from the bridge while we were there), you can watch the waterwheel in action. 

Roadfood settings don't get much prettier than this.
 
The first floor of the mill is where they sell what they make here. 


The shelves are lined with biscuit mix, pancake mix, hushpuppy mix, cornbread mix, fish fry coating mix, etc.  Basmati rice? 

Sure, why not?  They do also sell jams, jellies, salad dressings, pickles, etc.,

although I doubt any of that is made here.  We did enjoy sampling the sweet potato butter,

which was a first for me.  You can watch the inside wheel turning very fast.

They also have a scary photo of a flood from 1985 where everything looks underwater.

 
The second floor is devoted to selling housewares, such as plates, bowls, cups, pots, etc. 

Some of our breakfast would be served on the same dishes.
 
The third floor restaurant may look a little cramped

with the slanted ceiling, but is actually homey and comfortable.  There were new menu items,

but we both chose off the regular menu.  After ordering, we sat down and waited for our food to be brought to us.  The tables are wooden benches covered with checkered tablecloths and the salt and pepper shakers are mini versions of the mill.

 
Johnny got the buckwheat waffle supreme, which means for an extra buck, it gets covered with blueberries and whipped cream. 

The waffle was thin, but dense and Johnny really liked the buckwheat flavor.  You get three strips of bacon with a side order
 
and it was very crispy, just how Johnny likes it.  And there was no extra charge for the whipped cream on the end of the bacon. 
 
Having had pancakes on previous visits here, I went in a different direction this time and got the Ozark French Toast. 

It was soft and eggy, but still had a coarse texture, with orange honey butter on top.  Delicious!  The syrup is served warm and better yet, comes in these containers

with the extra long handles.  As much as I love syrup (and honey), I hate how sticky it makes my hands.  I really should buy one of these to take home.  Finally, my favorite food here is the sausage patties. 

They might not look like much and they did burn them a little, but they are incredibly flavorful and they must grind their own sausage on premises.
 
We did split a dessert of blackberry cobbler. 

It was a small portion size, but there were plenty of sweet blackberries and we both like the breading part of cobblers to be doughy like it is served here.  A fine way to finish our breakfast.
 
War Eagle Mill
Bean Palace Restaurant
11045 War Eagle Road
Rogers, AR
870-789-5343
 
We ended up spending a couple of hours here, enjoying the tranquil setting.
 
Much more to come.....    

My husband was guest-lecturing at the U of Arkansas law school in Fayetteville, and brought home buckwheat mix from War Eagle Mill.  We made pancakes out of it over Memorial Day weekend and they were excellent!
 
I'm a huge fan of buckwheat pancakes and waffles. Growing up, we always had buckwheat pancakes and waffles (never buttermilk, plain, blueberry, or anything else) and they were always made from Aunt Jemima Buckwheat Pancake Mix -- which, alas, has been discontinued.  I've never found a mix I liked until we got the War Eagle Mill mix.

Rumaki-Red Mill makes a buck wheat pancake mix-try it!

I am really enjoying this trip report.  I log in every couple of days to see what's new.  I will hate to see it end.  It's been some time since I was at AQ chicken house, but I will vouch for the great stuff there...my second favorite place for chicken after Strouds.
 
Barbecue, burgers, and pie....oh my.    Everything a hungry guy needs.  

BB,
I see a whole new career in your future-----------
"Professional Pie Contest Judge"
If there's a Supreme Court of Pie Contest Judges, you qualify!

Cliff,
CATFISH N',  has been one of our planned meal stops when we use I-40 to head to SoCal or other "Out West" destinations.  It fits just right between Memphis/DuValls Bluff on the East  and Shawnee (Van's BBQ) OK on the West. Glad to see it hasn't changed over the years.  I love the spicy hush puppies too.
 

Mayor Al-
I think cousin Johnny ate more of those jalapeno hushpuppies than anything else!
 
rumaki-
Did he buy the buckwheat mix from the War Eagle Mill or was it available in another store?  Glad that you found a new mix that you enjoy.
 
the grillman-
Thanks again for the kind words.  Since I have been working on this trip report for over a month, I am looking forward to it's end!  AQ has your second favorite chicken after Stroud's?  That really is high praise!  Is the pan fried what you like best or is it one of the other styles? 

rumaki


My husband was guest-lecturing at the U of Arkansas law school in Fayetteville, and brought home buckwheat mix from War Eagle Mill.  We made pancakes out of it over Memorial Day weekend and they were excellent!

I'm a huge fan of buckwheat pancakes and waffles. Growing up, we always had buckwheat pancakes and waffles (never buttermilk, plain, blueberry, or anything else) and they were always made from Aunt Jemima Buckwheat Pancake Mix -- which, alas, has been discontinued.  I've never found a mix I liked until we got the War Eagle Mill mix.

 
It may interest you to know that you can make buckwheat pancakes by using Aunt Jemima Original pancake mix and buckwheat flour. I've listed the recipe below for you:
Ingredients:

3/4 cup (175 ml) Aunt Jemima Original pancake mix
1/3 cup (75 ml) buckwheat flour (purchase dark flour)
1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking powder

Directions:

Stir dry ingredients together and add milk and egg as per package instructions

Saturday April 28, 2012 (cont.)
 
On one of my previous trips to northeast Arkansas, I visited Bubba's BBQ in Eureka Springs, but it was closed over that holiday weekend.  This time, I was very happy to revisit while they were open.  Bubba's has not appeared in a Roadfood book since the 2002 version.  When this happens, it always makes me wonder whether the restaurant is no longer worthy of being included or that it has been too long since they have been here.  In this case, I am fairly certain that it is the latter, because we really enjoyed our meal at Bubba's.
 
The exterior of the restaurant

is unusual in that you have to walk down stairs to get to it.  And like any good Southern bbq parlor worth it's salt, they have pig images everywhere, inside and out 




including one in a bikini, which they seemed especially proud of.  Our waitress was an older lady, who was also a real rascal.  The t-shirt she was wearing was, uh......  interesting.

 
One of the things we noticed was the quirkiness of the place.  We appreciate quirky.  Instead of the usual beer posters and autographed photos, some of the stuff hanging on the walls was bizarre and funny.


I can safely say that this is the only bbq parlor I have ever seen with a Father Guido Sarducci poster.

 
The menu also had it's quirks.  The menu shows the customer the difference between the regular and large sandwiches. 

And they also call the chicken and ribs combo, Nick's Cluck and Squeal.

 
First thing to our table was some of the best sweet tea of the trip. 

Our waitress was so efficient that after only two or three sips, she was right over to top it off again.  Neither one our our teas ever got to half empty.  To get the meal started, we split the sausage appetizer.

These were two delicious, fatty links that had a serious kick to them.  I added some of that thick, dark and sweet bbq sauce on the table to mine and it was an irresistable combination.  The sausage also came with some garnishes, including raw onions, cheese, olives, pickles and peppers.
 
For the entrees, I went with the pork shoulder plate. 

The meat was tender, ultra-moist and you could taste the smoke flavor.  As much as I liked the bbq sauce, I ate most of the pork unsauced.  The plate included beans, cole slaw and bread on the side.  The beans

included thin shreds of pork and plenty of that sweet sauce.  Both of us loved the beans.  Not so with the slaw. 

Johnny prefers his slaw to be on the sweet side and here it was more tart, which is right up my alley.  They call the bread French bread, but it sure looked and tasted more like ciabatta to us.  Either way, it was soft and fresh. 
 
For his entree, Captain Combo did not let us down, ordering the sampler combo,

which comes with ribs, beef and more of that delicious pork shoulder.  The ribs were not very big, but they made up for it by being very meaty.  Johnny thought the beef was slightly dry, but was greatly improved by the sauce.  One of Johnny's favorite things to do in a bbq parlor is to put the bbq beans on bread or a biscuit.

 
Hanging just over my head in our booth was an old newspaper article from 1995 asking if Bubba's was as good as McClard's. 

While I would not go that far, we both felt that this was an excellent meal and that Bubba's is still Roadfood worthy!
 
Bubba's Barbecue
166 W. Van Buren
Eureka Springs, AR
479-253-7706
 
We got back in the car and headed north into Missouri.
 
Much more to come.....

Mmmm...boy.  I sure hope some of these fried peaches are in my future.  I've bookmarked a bunch of the places you visited. 

BB and Johnny-this last place looks , almost, the best!What say you???

Ann-
As good as Bubba's was, it still would place as the third best bbq of the trip, behind McClard's and another place coming up.  Looking back at the trip, I first think of all the great burgers and then pies, but we really did have some excellent bbq, too. 

Bubba's served as a multi-meal and rest stop for me a few years back, when Janet and my Mom decided  that instead of "just-passing-thru", we should spend a day in Eureka Springs so they could really search through the antique/consignment stores that are all over the town.  Not being my forte, I settled in at Bubba's with a book and a 7 hour visit that included just about everything they had on (and off) the menu. ! 
 
 Yeah, Annie, I like Bubba's ! I just wish it was closer to "a road we travel" these days. These two places (Catfisn'N and Bubba's)..and many more, are good reasons to save those older editions of the ROADFOOD books !

mayor al
 
These two places (Catfisn'N and Bubba's)..and many more, are good reasons to save those older editions of the ROADFOOD books !

A double AMEN to that Al!!!
 
As much as we enjoyed Bubba's Barbecue, I don't know if I would want to spend seven hours there.  But, considering the alternative.  We had to drive through the touristy part of Eureka Springs to head north and we could not get out of there fast enough.  

Saturday April 28, 2012 (cont.)
 
This was a day in which we had plenty of options on how to proceed.  My original idea was to drive through Springfield, Missouri on the way back to Kansas City to try their beloved deep fried cashew chicken dish.  Another idea was to possibly drive through the very eastern part of Kansas to hit one of the famous chicken houses in Pittsburg (I hate spelling that word without an H).  But, things changed just a couple weeks before the trip during a conversation with The Travelin Man.  It turns out he was going to be working in St. Louis while we were on this trip and when he heard which Roadfood restaurants we planned on hitting once back in Kansas City, he decided he had to join in.
 
We made plans to meet at our hotel in Overland Park and we arrived just a few minutes before TTM.  He threw his luggage in his room and we were off.  First stop would be Pryde's of Old Westport,

which is a store that sells gourmet housewares and kitchen accessories.  This may seem like an odd place for us to visit, but on the bottom floor they have The Upper Crust Pie Bakery.  I was here last year and had a wonderful mini lemon chiffon pie.  Just outside the door they have a sign

that had I been driving, would have made me slam on the brakes and most likely cause a seven car pile-up.  Unbelievably, the other side of the sign was even better. 

You probably can't see it because it is invisible, but I wear a watch that always says it is Pie O'Clock!
 
The inside of Upper Crust is small and cramped, but they still manage to make it attractive.  There is even pie art on the walls for sale.  

They also offer some terrific pie t-shirts,

including one that disparages cake. 

Unfortunately, they don't have any in XXL.  What?  Exactly who do they think is their pie eating audience?
 
It was getting late and they were nearing closing time, so they had what they called Pie Happy Hour on their cutie pies. 


The small mini pies are called cutie pies here and they were now 50% off.  They did offer several pies by the slice,

but those weren't on sale.  The ladies here were very patient with us as we asked them to go through all the available flavors at least twice.  After all, this was a very big decision.
 
Finally, I selected banana cream, Johnny chose blackberry cream and TTM went with gooseberry.  They boxed them up for us

and we set them aside for later, since we had some Kansas City bbq to eat first.
 
The Upper Crust Pie Bakery
115 Westport Road
Kansas City, MO
816-561-4990
 
Since I have been home, Howard Baratz wrote to say that he recently visited the Overland Park location and had a good experience.  Maybe Howard can chime in here also.  At the time, I was not even aware there was a second location.
 
More to come.....         

I'm looking forward to the KC portion of this report.  As you know, Mrs. Roadhouse is a Kansas City native, prior to me dragging her up to Chicago.  As such, we spend a fair amount of time there each year and are always looking for new places to eat.
 
bb, you've never steered me wrong.  I look forward to enlightenment (didn't know there was a pie shop in the basement of Pryde's, so we're off to a good start).  You didn't happen to make it over to Christy's Tasty Queen for one of their killer BPTs, did you?
 
Buddy
 
Christy's Tasty Queen
1405 South 55th Street
Kansas City, KS 66106
(913) 287-2800

Buddy, I have not been to the Christy's incarnation, but have 
been going to that Tasty Queen since the 50's as my sister and Brother went to the HS across the street.We lived  in the neighborhood til I was 6 when we moved over roughly between OK Joe's and the Fairway Stroud's.
 

So do you still get over there at all?  Where is Rogue Valley?  Oregon?
 
Buddy

yes,Oregon. No pork tenderloins out here.

Do you still have family in the area?  You should plan a trip back to the old stomping grounds.  More than enough Roadfood in KC to keep you busy for at least a week.  Christy's still got it goin' on!  BPTs worthy of Davydd's attention!
 
Buddy

Sorry Buddy, it seems I will be letting you down.  Since this is cousin Johnny's first trip to Kansas City, we stuck with old favorites.  Christy's Tasty Queen sounds like a winner, but it will have to wait for our next visit.

You never know.  Your old favorites and mine are not necessarily the same.  Except Stroud's, of course.
 
Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse


Do you still have family in the area?  You should plan a trip back to the old stomping grounds.  More than enough Roadfood in KC to keep you busy for at least a week.  Christy's still got it goin' on!  BPTs worthy of Davydd's attention!

Buddy

Sounds like a plan. My HS class celebrated it's 40th reunion last year and I didn't attend,but we are supposed to have a 60th birthday party this year for those of us left.

Saturday April 28, 2012 (cont.)
 
There was only going to be time to take Johnny to one bbq parlor while in Kansas City.  Knowing that, there was no question that LC's Bar-B-Q

would be the choice.  It doesn't show it in the photo

very well, but smoke was pouring out of the chimney when we pulled up.  There is usually a line to place your order, but we got lucky and caught them at a slow time.

 
LC's does offer a fairly big menu

of bbq items, but burnt ends is the reason you come here.  On my last visit, I was here with TTM and wanderingjew, where we made a tactical error and we all ordered the burnt ends sandwich.  This time, we at least tried to get a little bit of variety.  We only ordered two burnt ends sandwiches


for the three of us to share.  By the way, this is a sandwich in name only.  Since the meat and the bottom slice of white bread (which has completely disintegrated) are covered in the delicious sauce, you really need to eat this with a fork.  The burnt ends are Kansas City's most famous contribution to the bbq world.  And here at LC's, the burnt ends are spectacular!  Those outside pieces of meat are rugged, crusty, smoky and provide incredible flavor.  They are also fatty, but that is the nature of burnt ends.  And to think, this used to be part of the brisket that would be thrown away!
 
French fries

come with the sandwich and these are thick cut beauties, that have a wonderful creamy inside.  I prefer to eat these also with a fork, after covering it with sauce.  The other entree we tried was the ribs. 

Presauced, these also had a nice smoky flavor and provided a good chew, but the ribs didn't quite reach the level of the burnt ends.  And you can hardly fault a place for that.
 
Before we left, I went up to the counter and asked if I could get a photo inside of their smoker. 

That is what bbq is supposed to look like!  While walking the tray of food to our table, Johnny slipped, but managed to hang on.  It would have been a shame to eat burnt ends off the floor, but if that's what we had to do.....
 
LC's Bar-B-Q
5800 Blue Parkway
Kansas City, MO
816-923-4484
 
We headed back to the hotel to eat our pies.  They have dining tables in the lobby and the nice women at the Hyatt Place volunteered to get plates and forks for us.  While we were doing the unpacking, you couldn't help but notice that they stamp the same cake insult

on the inside of the box.
 
All pies were cut up into equal thirds for sharing.  Johnny's blackberry cream,

oddly enough, had very little whipped cream topping.  This was a thick vanilla custard, loaded with blackberries both inside and a big one on top.  This was a clear winner!  The banana cream

was extremely light, with a thin, buttery, flaky crust.  The gooseberry

had a hard crusted top and wasn't overly tart.  This was still a fine pie, but was the one I enjoyed least.
 
And what's a Roadfood trip report without at least one photo of a Roadfooder taking a picture of his food?
  
 
We relaxed around the hotel for several hours, until it was time to head out for a late night dinner.
 
More to come.....

That blackberry cream pie really looks outstanding.

Did Cousin Johnny slip on grease on the floor? :)

Ralph Melton

That blackberry cream pie really looks outstanding.

That's the problem with traveling with Cousin Johnny.  His food always looks better.  Luckily, he is willing to share!
 
1bbqboy-
Yup! 

While I was hoping you'd make some new inroads for me in Kansas City dining, it was still nice to see an old friend.  What I really can't believe is that you ordered two burnt end sandwiches, but no beans!  I know you are hungry boys, but one of those monsters usually feeds me and Mrs. Roadhouse.  I would have tried the sausage or pulled pork as an alternative to that second burnt end sandwich.
 
Plus, LC's beans are spectacular!  They're loaded with more of that burnt end meat and taste great; as good or better than Gate's.  Oh well, I guess you'll have to go back to try the beans.
 
Buddy

Saturday April 28, 2012 (cont.)
 
Our dinner destination was Jess & Jim's,

my choice for best steakhouse in Kansas City.  Most likely TTM's, too.  They are open until 10:00PM on Friday and Saturday nights, so we didn't arrive until 9:00.  This may have been a mistake, since they were mostly empty and already in the process of cleaning up for the night.  Jess & Jim's has lots of charms, starting with the fact that they have a huge cow on the roof of the bulding.

As soon as you walk in, they have a display case with the different cuts of steak

to help you with your ordering.
 
Meals here start with a platter of pickled beets. 

Johnny, the beets fan of the group, was the only one to partake.  Personally, I don't mind beets, but I was saving my appetite for other things.  TTM ordered the steak soup. 

I have nothing in my notes about how it was, but he didn't do any complaining, so it must have been good.  Maybe he will chip in here with his thoughts.  The salads here are simple, but quite good.  TTM got his with the house dressing,

which is a French, while Johnny and I got honey mustard.  You also get a basket of deliciously crusty garlic bread.

 
They do offer a nice selection of steaks to choose from

and they are reasonably priced.  My entree was the 10oz. Kansas City Strip steak.

Well seasoned, very tender, this was an excellent steak.  If memory serves me right, both Johnny and TTM went with the 12oz. Ribeye. 

They both complimented the perect medium rare and it is obvious they really know how to cook a steak at Jess & Jim's.  You also get a choice of potato and the easy decision is the fully loaded baked potato. 

This is a larger than normal baked potato, weighed down with sour cream, bacon, cheese and butter.  What's not to like about that?
 
Despite how good the food was, there were a couple of disappointments.  The service was indifferent, which is definitely not the norm.  And, I was also hoping to capture the food rolling up to our table on the service cart, with the sizzling steaks.  Unfortunately, by the time I got up and got the camera ready, the steaks were already off the cart and in front of us.  At least I got the baked potatoes on the cart,

but the photo still ended up blurry.  Boooo!!!
 
Jess & Jim's
517 E. 135th Street
Kansas City, MO
816-941-9499
 
It was back to the hotel for the night.
 
More to come.....  

Buddy-
Did not know the beans at LC's were that good.  Which is a shame, because Johnny and I are big fans of beans.  Are they like a bbq or maybe a pinto bean?  At least we now have another exceuse to go back.

BB, your strip steak looks like my idea of perfect -- just the right size for me.

bb,
LC's beans are what I would call a classic KC BBQ bean; about the same texture as a canned, baked bean, but enhanced with the house sauce and other fixin's.  In LC's case, those fixin's include some prime 'Que meats and onions.
 
And as I predicted, one of your favorites, Jess & Jim's, believe it or not, is a place I've never been.  Now that I know the prices are so reasonable, I'll need to make it a stop on our next visit.
 
Thanks,
 
Buddy

Buddy-
Thanks for the tip and description of LC's beans.  Had we known,we would have ordered them for sure.  And when I say that Jess & Jim's is my favorite Kansas City steakhouse, I should say that the only other two I have visited were Hereford House and Golden Ox.  But, Jess & Jim's is my clear #1.

I like the look of Jess & Jim's steak soup...I'm guessing it contained onions but by chance were there also mushrooms?
 
Those pickled beets reminded me that I need to dust off my golf clubs.

Buffetbuster
 
You've clearly gone to all of my favorite places in KC.
 
I've never been to Hereford House,  and it's been way too long since I've been to Golden Ox to compare it to Jess and Jims althought I recall really liking the Golden Ox I know you say that Jess and Jim's is your favorite, but how does Hereford House compare with Golden Ox?

Sunday April 29, 2012
 
Last day of the vacation, so we better make this count! 
 
No doubt there are lots of good breakfast spots in Kansas City, but it is nearly impossible for me to come to town and not visit Niecie's.  They moved a few years ago from a smaller building into what looks like used to be a fast food joint. 

The inside is airy, comfortable and relaxing. 

As soon as we walked in, our favorite waitress, Miss Myra C said to another waitress, "It's the guys from Roadfood."  Now, I never tell people that I am from Roadfood or anything like that, but I once took a photo of her and added it to the official review, so it is easy to see why she thinks that.
 
The menu here has all the soul food classics.  My typical breakfast is the powerful and salty country ham, but today I went for the fried pork chops. 

On the menu, they are listed as 2 Pork Chops (fried right).  And they are indeed fried right.  Even though the pork chops themselves are not particularly thick, they are juicy and provide maximum piggy flavor.  I took my girlfriend here a few years ago and she still talks about these pork chops. 
 
TTM ordered the bacon and eggs,

plus a couple of pancakes. 

As soon as they were sat down in front of him, I was immediately jealous.  That is what pancakes should look like.  Not necessarily wide, but thick and fluffy.  And I did manage to get a bite and they were as good as they look.
 
There must have been some kind of rip in the time/space continuum, because despite the presence of TTM, they did have chicken and waffles. 

Johnny took advantage of this rare event.  The waffle is a homemade, big, soft Belgian.  You get three delicious, salty, crispy coated wings with the order.  Johnny enjoyed it very much.  They do have fine desserts at Niecie's, but none of us were keen on filling up too early in the day, so we decided to split a piece of the chocolate cake. 

Rich, moist, this is one of the great chocolate cakes anywhere.
 
As good as the food is, Niecie's is about much more than that.  The clientele is mostly African-American and there is a real sense of community.  The back and worth joking between the regulars and the staff is as entertaining here as anywhere I have seen.  And Miss Myra C is usually in the middle of it.  At one point, she is singing along to the background music.  As she is carrying a coffee pot, she runs over to sing loudly one verse in front of an older man, who just sat there and giggled.  It is obvious that the employees enjoy working here and the customers love being here.  It is a happy place.
 
I have taken Miss Myra C's photo on numerous occasions.  Halfway through the meal, I hadn't said anything about that yet, when she came over and said something about wanting a picture.  After we were finished eating, she gathered part of the crew together behind the counter to pose. 

That is Miss Myra on the right.
 
Niecie's 
6441 Troost Avenue
Kansas City, MO
816-444-6006
 
We had time to do some sightseeing and we chose a museum I had never visited before.
 
More to come.....   

ScreamingChicken

Those pickled beets reminded me that I need to dust off my golf clubs.

Where do you golf, a cranberry bog?
 
I'm reasonably sure that there was mushrooms in the steak soup.  If there was extra appetite, I would have ordered the steak soup,too, because it looed really good. 

I missed Niecie's on my trip to Kansas City in May -- I didn't get there in time to eat before I had to be at a "speakers' dinner" the evening before the conference I was attending.  That was a catered meal at a law firm, where they served several varieties of barbecue.  It was OK, but I did miss going to to Niecie's, which I thoroughly enjoyed when I was there a few years ago.
 
I agree the spirit of the place is wonderful -- they are so friendly and welcoming.  I thought their fried chicken was very good, though not quite as good as Strouds.
 
If you like Niecie's (and who couldn't?), you MUST go to Mississippi Belle the next time you're in Indianapolis.  Very similar vibe, and the food (especially the hot water cornbread) is all excellent.

rumaki-
If you have been to Niecie's, liked it and then compare it to Mississippi Belle, then that is all I need to know.  Next time in Indy, it will be at the top of the list.  Is it a breakfast place also or more for lunch and dinner?

Buffetbuster:
 
I don't think Mississippi Belle serves breakfast (they open at 11 a.m.), but they do offer an all-you-can-eat (table service, not buffet) Sunday "dinner."  Closed on Mondays.
 
I went for lunch on a Saturday -- more low key, but still delicious!
 
  http://www.ibj.com/dining-mississippi-belle-offers-food-thats-fried-and-true/PARAMS/article/23416

Sunday April 29, 2012 (cont.)
 
Even though I have made at least a dozen visits to Kansas City in the last decade or so, somehow I failed to visit the National World War I Museum.  Being a big history lover, not sure how that happened.  The main architectural highlight is the tower,

where we are told you get a real nice view of the city.  But, it had been raining on this morning, with threats of lightning, so the tower was temporarily closed.  Also, once you pay at the admissions desk, you have to cross over a see-through bridge,

with flowers underneath, to get to the main part of the museum.  Interesting.
 
There are lots of informative displays,




including interactive ones

that were popular with the kids.  Here are some of the things that stuck out to me:  There was one gallery where they had quotes from famous people of the time on the senselessness of war.

As you walked around, they even had videos on the floor,

that really made you feellike you were surrounded by the images.  And maybe my favorite part was the striking war posters.



 
We ended up spending about two hours here and could have easily spent double that.  This is a terrific museum and I will definitely be back.  But, we had one more food stop to make before our afternoon flights.
 
And how could we possibly end this trip with anything else but a revisit to Stroud's?

Just to make sure, I did check with Johnny to make sure he wouldn't prefer going to someplace he had never been to before, but he was all for more of that great pan fried chicken.
 
Since it was raining when we arrived and there was already lots of cars in the parking lot, we decided that Johnny would drop me off to go get our name on the waiting list, while he parked the car.  Since I didn't have an umbrella, I took off running for the door up the path,

where a goose was resting.  And when he saw me coming, he took off running.  This must have been some kind of sight, seeing someone my size chasing a goose all the way to the front door.  When he walked inside the restaurant, the first thing TTM asked, "What were you going to do with the goose if you caught him?"
 
We ended up having to wait for about a half hour for a table.  While waiting, I started chatting with a man who was there by himself.  It turns out he is from central South Dakota and he drives all the way down to Kansas City for medical treatments.  Apparently, he has a problem with plaque buildup in his arteries.  Yet, he still visits Stroud's everytime he is in town.  Wish I had thought about it at the time, but since he was by himself, we should have invited him to join us.
 
Not sure what I can really say about the food





at Stroud's that hasn't already been said by me and others many times.  The food was just as good as always, only this time, my favorite item was the cinnamon rolls.

Hot out of the oven, these soft rolls covered with just the right amount of cinnamon would be worth coming to Stroud's all by itself.
 
Stroud's
5410 NE Oak Ridge Drive
Kansas City, MO
816-333-2132
 
From there, Johnny and I headed straight for the airport, while TTM had a later flight.  Johnny had a straight flight home, while I had to connect through Memphis.  Only having a 45 minute layover, there was no time to grab any bbq in the Memphis airport.  I arrived at home just about 10:00PM. 
 
Hanks a lot for reading this trip report!