Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 29

Over-the-top burgers with a story
by Paul Newton | pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
photos by Paul Newton and Sara Schafer
here's no definitive path for finding your footing
as a rural restaurant. Some go to culinary school,
others rely on family recipes and more lean on their
business acumen. The path for David and Kim
Orahoske and their burger joint is a bit more winding. It
includes a hand-built cabana, ice cream, Hillbilly Fair,
George Foreman grills, dog park and hayrides through the
Enchanted Village of Lights.
The Orahoskes serve over-the-top burgers and sandwiches
alongside pasta, hot dogs and ice cream at Taboo
Gourmet Burgers and Ice Cream in downtown Laurie.
Located on the west side of Lake of the Ozarks, Taboo specializes
in fresh, hand-pattied burgers - and the stories
behind them - that are stacked with toppings and sauces.
David and Kim are members of Co-Mo Connect and
are mid-Missouri transplants who had good careers. They
were looking for a little extra income on the weekends. " We
decided there were a few festivals coming up and we could
sell ice cream, " David says. " I didn't want to do something
that looked thrown together. So I built a cabana to sell the
ice cream. "
They sold at the Apple Festival in Versailles and the
Hillbilly Fair in Laurie. " We didn't get rich, but it was worth
doing, " David says. " The mayor of Laurie asked us if we'd
open an ice cream shop downtown. "
In January 2017, Taboo Ice Cream and Deli opened
serving Central Dairy products inside an A-frame building
on Main Street. As Kim helped customers inside the
600-square-foot shop, David got antsy in the back. He
eventually got a George Foreman grill, thinking he could
sell a few burgers.
" The first ticket came in and I thought it was so cool,
then the next one had two burgers, " he says. " And then we
start getting these orders for like six burgers at a time and
I'm pressing out burgers on this Foreman grill with this
tiny little grease tray. Within a month we did enough burgers
to afford a full-size grill and hood. "
Burgers and sandwiches soon became the main attraction
at Taboo with three dozen options. David and Kim are
self-described food fanatics and the expansive menu mirrors
their travels over the years.
While serving in the Marines in Huntington Beach,
California, David would frequent Wimpi's Drive-Thru and
get the MOP Burger with mustard, onions and pickles. At
Taboo, their Wimpy Burger is served with one-half pound
of beef and MOP.
The Goober Burger with peanut butter, pickles, onion,
lettuce and bacon came from visits to the now-shuttered
Wheel Inn, the birthplace of the burger in Sedalia.
" I want this place to be a getaway, " David says. " I want
you to relax, try something different and forget about
whatever problems you might have going on. "
The Fair Dinkum is one of the biggest sellers at Taboo Gourmet
Burgers and Ice Cream with two half-pound patties, four slices of
American cheese, ketchup, mustard, onions and pickles.
JANUARY 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 29
" I love doing all the
community stuff.
This started with
us visiting with
people at a festival
and now we're not
just serving them
burgers. "
- Kim Orahoske, owner,
Taboo Gourmet Burgers and Ice Cream
T
http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP
Rural Missouri - January 2024

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