I Love Holidays!

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. I love it all: eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, pancakes. Yum. Yet I rarely dine out for breakfast. Partly because it's an easy meal to make at home and partly because I'm not a morning person.

This morning - the start of my three-day weekend - my husband and I ventured downtown to a Columbia favorite: Lucy's Corner Cafe. I've lived here more than seven years now and had still yet to make it to this Best of Columbia winner. I had no idea what I had been missing.

First, the place was packed despite the fact that most of the rest of downtown Columbia was deserted. It's a lot bigger than it looks as it spans back pretty far. My husband and I made it to the very back room before we found an empty (and clean) table.

The prices were just right. My husband informed me the biscuits and gravy were awesome so I couldn't miss them. I ordered a ham and cheese omelette for $5.10 and it came with hash browns and biscuits and gravy. The hash browns were perfectly cooked - not too crisp but also not too potato-ey, thinly shaved. The egg had no brown, no white and was full of cheese and ham. The biscuits and gravy were the only thing I found a bit disappointing. The biscuits were average and the gravy was only lukewarm. Not what I had in mind. Still good but would have been better with a Hardee's biscuit and piping hot gravy.

Now I know what the fuss is all about. If only I could drag myself out of bed a little earlier now and then I might be able to visit Lucy's for breakfast more often. Mmm...I could go for another omelette now.

Indy Challenge Update

Uprise Bakery Olive Rolls. The roll on the right did not survive the photo shoot.

I've been doing the Indy Challenge since Wednesday. I've had a couple of fails; I am totally addicted to fountain soda (diet soda no less) so I've continued to drop by the Petromart at 70 and Stadium for my caffiene fix. And I badly needed bug spray for my clematis. I should have searched out a local nursery but ran out of time so it was off to Westlakes. But those items together add up to less than $8 so far.

Local businesses I've hit have included Clovers (lemons), Taj Mahal for Palak Paneer, and, this morning, Uprise Bakery.

I've probably mentioned it before, but the to-go packs from Taj Mahal are an excellent buy. My palak paneer and order of Naan bread were a bit over $13. But there's enough for at least 3 large or 4 more moderate servings. I always get Medium spice but be warned, sometimes even the Medium verges on burn-your-lips hot. Last night's offering was toward that hot end but oh, so good.

Then this morning I decided to take my own vacation from the gym (a very rare occurrence). It was a beautiful, crisp morning for July. Cala, Zipper and I walked the paved trail in Cosmo, Zipper being well behaved, Cala scalloping back and forth across the path on her flexi; anything worth doing is worth doing fast, she thinks. Then it was off to Uprise, where I really splurged. A cheddar and ham croissant *and* a cinnamon roll. Oh and a joyful discovery! On Fridays, Uprise has olive rolls. I love their olive bread, but it's hard to get through a loaf before it goes stale. These rolls are a perfect small size for a lunch sandwich. And they will freeze a lot better than the regular bread. Apparently they sell out of the olive rolls very quickly and only bake them on Fridays, so be warned.

Reader Review: Formosa

Every so often we receive a glowing (or not so glowing) review in our Inbox about a local restaurant. Seeing as we can't eat everywhere and still fit into our pants, we like to share those here. Thank you to reader, Laversa Siebuhr, for submitting the following review of Formosa:

Have any of you been to Formosa for lunch lately? I work downtown so I have found this to be a great CHEAP Chinese spot for lunch. But I guess you get what you pay for...

My friend and I went to eat there last week and OH MY! We walked in and there was not a single person around. We stood there for a good 3 minutes before anyone even seated us. Did I mention there was NO ONE else in the restaurant?

We finally got a table and placed our order. We started off with soup, which came free with any combo that day. When our meals came out my friends' plate was wrong. So the waitress went back to get the correct one, or so we thought. We sat there and sat there and I ate and ate and my friend NEVER got her plate. We had been sitting there for 45 minutes! I will say that eventually more people started coming in, but still there were no more than 5 tables of people.

When the waitress FINALLY came back to our table we had empty glasses that were NEVER refilled and we asked for our check. She said she was sorry that my friend didn't get her plate. She said, "the cook must have forgot"! Are you kidding me?!! I mean this is a restaurant, people come here to EAT and you 'forgot' her plate? She was not apologetic at all and was actually laughing about it!

This place looks like it won't stay open much longer, especially if this happens often! I am kind of sad because the food is usually pretty good and it's so cheap. Like I said, I guess you get what you pay for, or in my friends case, you don't get what you were going to pay for. ha!

Needless to say my friend and I hope that our on next lunch date, she gets to eat a lunch. ha!

Inside Columbia Dining Guide

Just received the new Inside Columbia Magazine, along with the appended “Dining Guide”, a palm-sized, nearly 100 page guide to Columbia restaurants. While I’ve only had a chance to glance through it, it seems a little dated. A full page Joey’s Seafood ad graces page 5. Nick-N-Willy’s, Simma Down and bleu Market are all featured, though gone from town. A couple new places, noticeably Kabuki and Ingredient, are not listed. Probably more I just didn’t catch.

I don’t mean to complain though, I understand the time constraints of print. If you went back to edit every time another place popped up or closed down, you’d never finish. And it does seem quite handy to have. Includes a short synopsis of each restaurant and a keyed guide - if they take reservations, wi-fi availability, price range, etc. The restaurants are separated into genres, with an index in the back. Similar to what you’d see in the phone book or Inside Columbia itself, only much more compact. All in all a nice little guide to keep in the glove box when you hear the dreaded, and inevitable, “What sounds good?”

The Indie challenge, I'm trying it!

Are you ready to buy local? Only local? Can you buy local for a week?

I'm going to try it. Sponsored by Columbia Local-Owned Retail and Services, the local Indie Challenge asks Columbia residents to buy only from local-owned businesses for a week, starting Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. Hmmmm, maybe I'd better gas up before then.

There are tons of local-owned independent restaurants in town, so that part will be easy. A bit more difficult will be groceries, but we have both Clovers and World Harvest to choose from. If I need something that is usually found at a big-box, I'll try to go as "small" as I can, such as Westlakes instead of Menards or Home Depot.

Anybody else in? I'll try to let you guys know how it goes.

New favorite...

I'm not a big dessert person. I have, though, always had a hankering for the sweet/savory combo, perhaps the reason I don't develop a sweet tooth after my meal. I'm the one who dumps a packet of sugar in the salsa at the Mexican restaurant and eats peanut butter with chili (seriously, try it). When asked for my preference in pizza, I go for Hawaiian. The pineapple and Canadian bacon pairing is hard to beat....until now.

Kostakis's is a bit out of the way for me, and probably is for most unless you live off of Scott. But if you are a fan of a pizza with a touch of sweet, the Steak del Malia is absolutely amazing, and worth the short trip to the quaint little Village of Cherry Hill.

The Steak del Malia; "sliced steak, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepper jack cheese, drizzled with honey" according to their website, http://kostakispizzeria.com. The pure sweetness of the honey against the aged, salty drive of the feta is much more complex than most area pizza joints can boast. The steak was surprisingly well seasoned and not too tough, a problem frequently experienced when steak is used as an ingredient (surely pre-sliced), and not the central player of the dish. I have a hard time saying anything is the "best" or the "worst", but this pizza sits right up there with the best I've had in a long time. And the end is just as enjoyable as the beginning. The crust is layered and flaky, and with the honey comes off more like a pastry than a pizza crust. This is one crust that won't be sitting in the box after everyone is done.

Added bonus-leftover Steak del Malia is pretty damn good straight out of the fridge, if there is any (but I wouldn't count on it...better get two.)

My Husband Got Crabs...

Legs from Chris McD's. What were you thinking? Chris McD's is one of a kind and arguably the best restaurant in Columbia. It can be counted on for good food, good wine and good service. I experienced all three tonight.

I ordered the 12 oz peppered ribeye special medium well. It came with potato wedges and asparagus with red peppers. Last week a friend brought asparagus to my house and I didn't try it. It looks like a weed. I'm not going to eat that. But Chris McD's asparagus looked so good I couldn't resist. It was cooked in a basil butter sauce and sauteed perfectly.

The steak was cooked just to my liking - no pink or black. It was well seasoned. I had black pepper in my teeth afterwards to prove it. The potato wedges complimented the steak very well.

My husband's crab legs came out piping hot. It took him some time to work his way through him - this being his first time with crabs. The dipping butter was in no way healthy but a nice, gooey add on to the crab meat.

My Pacific Rim Riesling was sweet and not bitter at all. I'm going to have to purchase a bottle for home. My husband had a pomegrante lemondade. He was slightly embarassed by the pink coloring but that didn't slow him down at all.

Even with a $25 gift certificate, our bill still topped $50, but it was worthy every penny.

Arris Cafe

The people that brought us Arris Pizza and The Coffee Zone in Jefferson City have added a new cafe to the mix. Arris Cafe is located on Miller Street just off Hwy 50 past Missouri Blvd. The place is small but cozy with couches and chairs in the corner. It doesn't accomodate larger parties well which is why my group of seven had a little trouble finding a place to sit.

The menu includes paninis, pita sandwiches, salads and a delicious assortment of cheesecakes. I opted for a chicken panini with chips. The plate they brought me was huge. I ended up taking half the panini home. I finished the meal off with raspberry cheesecake. The cheesecake wasn't homemade, instead from the Cheesecake Factory, but very reasonably priced at $4-6/slice.

I was impressed with the amount of food I got for the price and the meals included plenty of fresh and tasty ingredients. They added a little imagination to their sandwiches rather than giving us the same thing we could get at any cafe or sandwich shop.

Arris Cafe also had a nice assortment of wine making it a great place for a night out on the town. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

WSRG: Ingredient

Last night's foray into the Columbia dinner scene was Ingredient (and no, I'm not going to do the whole fancy spelling thing with the name). I've been there before but it's been awhile.

I think some people avoid Ingredient because it's mostly salads. But they have quite a few sandwiches and soups as well. As for the salads, well they're perfect. A huge variety of crisp fresh ingredients to choose from, so you get exactly the salad you want. For $8.95 you get two lettuces and 5 other ingredients from an almost overwhelming selection of vegetables, fruits and nuts. You also get a warm roll. A protein is more unless you choose bacon, which is included in the regular 5 ingredients. I opted for 6 ingredients and no protein along with a soda, my bill coming to a bit over $12.

Twelve dollars for a salad?? Yes. That's less expensive than any of the main dish salads at any of the chains, and far better (the chain salads range in that price for the salad alone, no soda). I got Romaine and Bibb lettuces along with English cucumber, gorgonzola, kalamata olives, avocado, bacon, and roasted mushroom. I added blue cheese dressing. If I had anything to change, I'd drop the gorgonzola (plenty of good blue cheese flavor already in the dressing). I'd also drop the avocado because it's just one wedge; I felt it wasn't worth it, especially since the other ingredients were very generous. But the salad was very good and HUGE.

Ingredient is the absolutely perfect summer destination. With students mostly absent you can find parking, and there's nothing better than a good cool salad on a hot day.

WSRG: Outback

In the Where Should Robin Go quest, my stop tonight was Outback with a friend.

Outback has made a real effort to modify its menu to be more reasonable and as I've mentioned in the past, they have a nice variety of items. Of course their Aussie chips appetizer is ungodly calories and fat, but not everything on the menu is that bad (oh but talk about fries, those are amazing...)

Tonight I chose the Outback Special. For $9.95, I got a 6 oz top sirloin and the choice of two sides. I chose a house salad and the french beans. The beans were very salty which is too bad, because they themselves, without all the salty sauce, were perfectly cooked; just barely blanched and crunchy. The salad was also quite good. I rarely order steak in Columbia because I almost never get it the way I want, but miracle of miracles, it was an absolutely perfect Medium. Tender, juicy, and not a spec of fat on it, beautifully pink in the middle but not red. The meal also includes a loaf of their really good pumpernickel bread and butter. Perfect serving sizes at a great price.