Cooky's

Golden City, MO

BEST PIE. When you talk about this marvelous dessert, you must pronounce it "pahye". Everything I've had at Cooky's is good. Really freakin' awesome. It's an hour drive north from Joplin and yes, it is totally worth it.

Strawberry Pie: fresh strawberries, just outstanding. Not overly crusty, leaving the focus on the fruit.

Butterscotch Pie: If you don't like butterscotch, well, you are missing out. This slice of pie was orgasmic. And gone in about 30 seconds... I tried to savor, but was helpless.

That coming from the girl who can eat a hot funnel cake in less than 2 minutes.

Cheeseburger: not too greasy, just good flavor.

Susie Qs: I'd never had these before exploring Southwest MO... It's basically one giant curly fry. But better, fresh-cut flavor. Great with Ranch.

Three of us went last time: 3 Dr Peppers, 3 cheeseburgers with Susie Qs and 3 pieces of pie. Less than $25. You really can't beat that, especially for the amount you get and great service.

A Little Bit About Me

I'm a TV News Reporter. I frequently spend my lunches in small town in between interviews... meaning I eat at a lot of hole-in-the-wall places. And In my personal experience, they're usually the best food for your money.

Expect to read about a lot of places in towns you may have never heard of... And remember, I don't celebrate mediocrity, so when I say something is awesome, I mean it.

Happy eating!

Egg McMuffin

Ahh, the elusive Egg McMuffin. Salty and tasty. I'll never understand why they don't serve it all day... is it to make me want them more? BECAUSE IT'S WORKING.

The ham, the cheese (which, yes, I lick off the wrapper) the egg. The muffin. No complaints here. Except at 10:30.

You've gotta get the combo. The hashbrown sets off the McMuffin-ness. Crispy, salty, hot and soft in the middle. I like the orange juice, too. Especially if it's in the Grimace cup.

(Egg McMuffin and Grimace trademarks of the McDonald's company.)

Andy's Frozen Custard

Apparently, I have a bit of a sweet tooth at the moment.

One of the things I miss most about Columbia, MO (aside from college of course) is the prevalence of ice cream and frozen custard shops. Andy's and Sparky's being my faves.

Andy's frozen custard will make you any combination of stuff on their menu or you can choose from their list of concoctions. I've never gone wrong with either option.

Call me 'stuck in my ways' but I always battle it out between the chocolate custard and cookie dough concrete and the chocolate custard with raspberries concrete. What can I say? I just don't like to mess with success.

Braum's

It's been awhile! I apologize to anyone who reads my blog regularly--I've been eating home-cooked meals. So really, no, I'm not sorry.

My grandfather, may he rest in peace, loved Braum's. I'm not sure if he really liked the food, or he went there because there always seems to be babies there. But then again he really liked anything his wife didn't cook (she was the worst cook I have ever known. Known for using the phrase, "it's just a little brown" followed by the sound 'scrape, scrape, scrape'.).

But I digress. Braum's always smells like they have great hamburgers, but I always go for the dairy stuff. They have all sorts of ice creams that rival Blue Bell (to be discussed in another post) and melt in your mouth with a rich creaminess you can only get from a good bowl if fresh ice cream.

You can also buy all that in tubs in the store part of your favorite Braum's.

But the chocolate milk. FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC. You can't make chocolate milk this good. It's rich and delicious and in no way watery. When you buy a half gallon, you'll have to shake it up so it's the right consistency and flavor (not all preservative-y like the store bought kind, with which I'm also obsessed).

So next time you're down South, or on your way home from work, get some. Because seriously, it's almost as awesome as I am.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Hello, All. I'm a fatty (not really, I just feel like one).

I really, REALLY need that new pair of running shoes after my latest trip to Lubbock, TX. So many delicious food options, so little time and stomach space.

I got the "little" cheeseburger. With bacon. Still the size of a regular cheeseburger. And you can get all the toppings you want. Tasty, tasty.

Fries. Quite delicious, y'all. Just like homemade. Fresh. I don't really like ketchup all that much, but it was good on Five Guys fries. A large is WAYYYYY to many though. Share them with at least 2 other people.

Go, seriously. But don't expect to go for cheap. A little burger runs for about $4.

Las Vegas: Rosemary's Restaurant

My mom declared her meal here "the best [she'd] ever eaten."

This is a big deal, people. She has "eaten a lot of things."

For once, I'll start with dessert. My mom and brother got the coconut bread pudding, but were disappointedly "too full to eat it." They both made an effort and looked so sad when their stomachs declared themselves closed for business. They also brought some freebie desserts that while delicious, did not take precedence over me frambois float. My dad thought they were great though ANNNND ate all of his flourless chocolate cake.

The frambois float=deliciousness. I mean it's just frambois and ice cream, but I didn't think of it, so I have to deem it genius on the chef's part.

I'll tell you right now I wish I could eat scallops. My mom got them and I got to eat part of one. They were in a buerre blanc sauce with bacon. They sat on a bed of parsnip mashed potatoes and had a dressing of fried parsnips on top. Just incredible, people.

My brother got rack of lamb and declared it the best he'd ever eaten. He's going to be on Jeopardy! so I trust his judgement. My dad got veal; he was too busy eating it to tell us how it was. He ate it like he liked it... I got the filet mignon and while it was not cooked how I wanted it, it was still tasty-tasty. Little fried wads of mashed potatoes accompanied the dish along with some asparagus.

Now the appetizers. My mom had a caesar salad and it looked better than any salad ever. The croutons were a bit too large and one flew across the room as she tried to make it smaller (okay, it just fell on the floor). My brother got the Texas shrimp with a bleu cheese coleslaw. num num. The barbeque sauce had cream in it! Gooooood. My dad and I both had the signature appetizer: figs stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and sitting in a pool of fresh pesto. Dude--fantastic.

Drinks! My dad and brother sampled some beers, and while I tasted them all, I wouldn't dare take a guess at what they were called. But they did all have their own glasses so the beer would taste as they were intended to taste. I had an orange chocolate drop martini. It was like eating a chocolate orange peel!

Go to Rosemary's. It's a little out of the way, but it is certainly the best food in Vegas.