Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 29

by Paul Newton | pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
photos by Sara Schafer and Paul Newton
T
he chef thought she had it figured out. Every weekend
she served elegant, refined dishes at Catalpa
- her quaint, 10-table Arrow Rock restaurant - to
customers heading to a show down High Street at
the Lyceum Theater. " I got a lot of acclaim for the fine dining, "
says Liz Huff, a regular winner in the Best of Rural
Missouri Contest. " I'm trained in French cuisine and I'm
really good at it. "
Enter COVID-19. With indoor dining brought to a halt,
Liz wasn't sure how she was going to survive.
" I stayed in bed for two weeks crying, " she says. " I had
bills. I had a mortgage. I had a kid. I had to figure out
how to make it work. "
In order to survive, Liz's kitchen pivoted from her
famous roast duck and lobster to burgers, sandwiches,
frozen cocktails and milkshakes served
in the restaurant's front yard. A few months and
15,000 sandwiches later, Liz knew what she
wanted to do. " What came out of that was this
pure joy I saw in people's faces when they came
here that summer, " she says. " I came home at
midnight one evening and told my husband,
'Fine dining is over.' "
In 2022, Liz moved Catalpa one-quarter
mile down the road to the historic Arrow
Rock boardwalk. She renovated a former
yarn shop and today serves upscale, quickservice
pizzas, sandwiches, frozen drinks
and milkshakes to guests in a fun and open
environment.
Liz's path toward the kitchen was
inspired by her mother's interest in international
cuisine. " We had Malaysian and
Ethiopian food for dinner; we were the only
people in Marshall, Missouri, with fish flakes
in our pantry, " she says with a laugh. Liz
watched Julia Child on television and was
cooking lobster thermidor for her family at
age 12.
After culinary school she was the food services
manager at Harvard University, a butcher
and ran a Spanish tapas restaurant. The pull of
home eventually led her back to Arrow Rock to
open Catalpa in 2011.
At the current iteration of Catalpa, Liz works in
an open kitchen allowing her to see and chat with
all the customers who fill her 90-seat restaurant. The
beauty of the operation is the speed in which her recipes
are cooked. Specialty ovens bake the sandwiches
and pizzas in around 2 minutes allowing theatergoers
a quick bite to eat before or after the show. Her menu
features plenty of housemade sauces and ingredients from
her fine dining restaurant but served in a more approachable
way. " My philosophy has always been since I started,
The Catalpa Supreme is the most popular red sauce pie at Catalpa.
The 11-inch crust is topped with pepperoni, hamburger, Italian sausage,
bacon, mozzarella cheese and marinated red onions and jalapenos.
JULY 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 29
" What came out of
that was this pure
joy I saw in people's
faces when they
came here that
summer. I came
home at midnight
one evening and told
my husband, 'Fine
dining is over. ' "
- Liz Huff, owner,
Catalpa
http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP
Rural Missouri - July 2023

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