Custom Sales Book - 17

all it an old adage, a truism, a sage piece of wisdom handed down from generation to generation: “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Apparently, this doesn’t apply to Rural Missouri readers. Last year, after witnessing a precipitous decline in participation in the annual “Best of Rural Missouri” competition, we hinted that 2009 might be the end. While we’ve always enjoyed organizing the contest, we understood that preferences change. No hard feelings, life goes on. But even the hint of doing away with the contest apparently awakened a sleeping giant. Soon after last year’s April issue reached mailboxes, we were buried under a barrage of e-mails, phone calls and letters. You implored us to continue the contest. So, we did. And you responded. The number of ballots cast for the 2010 Best of Rural Missouri contest essentially doubled from the year before! We did offer online voting for the ﬁrst time, and it was well received. While we maintained the regional theme, we did offer a new “Wild Card” category this year. We asked you to use this category to tell us about a place that everyone should know about but that doesn’t ﬁt another category. We received hundreds of different entries in this category including “Best Butcher,” “Best Missouri Oddity,” even “Best Place for an Oil Change.” No surprise, though, the best of the best came out on top. We do need to congratulate Neal Kinsey of Charleston, Letha Moore of Bolivar, Orren Snavely of Lake St. Louis, Martha Pope of Marceline and James LaFerney of Fulton. These ﬁve Rural Missouri readers’ entries were randomly drawn as winners of a Best of Missouri gift basket. “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” That may be true sometimes, but this year you proved you know what you’ve got in the Best of Rural Missouri contest. It won’t be going anywhere any time soon. We promise. Enjoy this year’s results! Best Restaurant Since we went to the regional format three years ago, only the Northwest

9th Annual
NW NE

CENTRAL

by region — 2010
region seems to be in dispute. Otherwise, all winners remain unchanged. This category truly represents “dining worth the drive.” Central: Charley’s Buffet; 23785 Highway B, Lincoln; 660-668-3806 Typically, “all-you-can-eat” and “made-from-scratch” don’t go together, but that’s exactly what you get at Charley and Evonne Peaster’s buffet in rural Benton County, along with more than 60 homemade desserts on a 30-foot dessert bar. Open Friday and Saturday nights only. Northeast: The Pear Tree; 222 N. Macon St., Bevier; 660-773-6666; www.thepeartreerestaurant.com For nearly 25 years, patrons have raved about The Pear Tree’s onion rings, prime rib and lobster tails. Now, you can purchase the House Vinaigrette and Madam French salad dressings, too, available at local retailers. Northwest: Emmet’s Kitchen & Tap; 111 N. Main St., Fayette; 660-2483363; www.emmetskitchen.com Named for owner Rob Schluckebier’s grandfather, Emmet’s offers a great array of cajun and creole dishes. But if you don’t like it hot, there are lots of other options. Rob uses “The Spice” (his own concoction) in all his recipes. Southeast: Sybill’s Saint James; 1100 N. Jefferson, St. James; 573-265-4224 Since 2007, Sybill’s has offered elegant ﬁne dining that you’d usually expect to ﬁnd in a big city restaurant. Luckily, the prices aren’t big city. Taking that special someone out for a special meal? This is the place to go. Southwest: Lambert’s Café; 1800 W. State Highway J, Ozark; 417-5817655; www.throwedrolls.com A catcher’s mit is optional at the “Home of Throwed Rolls,” but deﬁnitely bring your appetite. Known for large portions of comfort food, you have no one to blame but yourself if you go away hungry. Best Catﬁsh Nothing is more Midwest than a good ol’ fashioned ﬁsh fry, and catﬁsh is the ﬁsh of choice. These ﬁve winners would have no trouble ﬁtting in at any backyard gathering. Central: Dowd’s Catﬁsh & BBQ; 1760 W. Elm St., Lebanon; 417-532-1777; www.dowdscatﬁshandbbq.com Located off Interstate 44 along historic Route 66, Dowd’s is a landmark for southern fried catﬁsh — crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. When new owners took over in 2007, they knew there was no reason to mess with a good thing. Northeast: Hatﬁeld & McCoy’s; 7337 Mexico Road, St. Peters; 636-397-6334 If you love catﬁsh, Hatﬁeld & McCoy’s has the plate for you. The nine-piece “Belly Buster” special will have you growing gills. Northwest: Jumpin’ Catﬁsh; 834 SW Blue Pkwy, Lee’s Summit; 816-5543474; www.jumpincatﬁsh.com With three locations in the Kansas City area, Jumpin’ Catﬁsh offers farmraised, all-you-can-eat fried catﬁsh every night. Lemon-pepper or cajun grilled catﬁsh also are local favorites. Southeast: Catﬁsh Kettle; 775 Weber Road, Farmington; 573-756-7305; For almost 24 years, the folks at Catﬁsh Kettle have been doing their fried catﬁsh just one way with the same type of special breading, and the people just can’t get enough. The Kettle also has great homemade sides like hushpuppies and coleslaw. Southwest: The Blue Inn; 117 West 4th St., Appleton City; 660-476-2690 Technically, The Blue Inn is in the central region, but our readers called it southwest. We will, too. Here, you can get all-you-can-eat catﬁsh coated with a homemade breading. Eat lunch for $6.99 or dinner for $8.99, which also includes boiled shrimp. Best Barbecue Apparently, the ﬁnal word in Missouri barbecue has not been spoken. After crowning back-to-back winners in each region the past two years, we have a new player in this category. A word to the others: Keep an eye out; the competition is heating up. Central: Chuck Wagon BBQ; 13683 Highway 7 West, Warsaw; 660438-2503 The Chuck Wagon deserves its popularity. Everything we tried was outstanding. The ribs were tender and delicious. Open Thursday through Sunday in the summer; Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the winter.

Best Catﬁsh — Central Missou ri: Dowd’s Catﬁsh & BBQ, Lebano n

Best Restaurant — Northwest Missouri: Emmet’s Kitchen & Tap, Fayette

photo by Heather Berry

photo by Jason Jen

kins

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Custom Sales Book

Custom Sales Book
Contents
Comments
Columns
Ghosts of the Grasslands
Out of the Way Eats
Mail Bag
Best of Rural Missouri
Hearth and Home
News Briefs
What’s Old is New Again
Marketplace
Around Missouri
Missouri’s Horse
Neighbors
Look for the Dinosaur
Just4Kids

Custom Sales Book