5-Day Road Trip Missouri & Iowa

Having taken the easy road to Michigan and/or Wisconsin more times than I can count, and even having done a complete circle tour of Lake Michigan, the Chow Poodle and I decided to head out down Route 66 to St. Louis, then over to Kansas City and finally back home through Iowa. It was a nice little 5 day road trip. We left lots to come back to and explore at a later date.

First up: Pontiac, IL.


Unlike a lot of towns along the traditional Route 66 which suddenly found themselves isolated and their economies devastated when the Interstate came along, Pontiac has hung in there and thrived (to a certain degree). The town fully embraces its Route 66 heritage and has painted 20’s and 30’s inspired murals on many of the buildings in town as well as established a Route 66 museum. While we didn’t linger very long, we did enjoy a decent breakfast at the Apple Tree Restaurant.



Why the Apple Tree you ask? Because as we were walking down the street we came across this sign wired to a railing outside a building.

Apple Tree Restaurant Specials


Any place that lists that many pies is worth a look, in my book. The Apple Tree is just the kind of diner you would expect to find in a small town; counter seating, a few tables and the place where all you have to do is walk in the door and your usual order is already on the grill.

Apple Tree Restaurant




As it turned out, we were a little early for pie, but we did order breakfast. I had a mushroom and swiss omelet and the Chow Poodle had scrambled eggs with bacon and pancakes. We also split an order of biscuits and gravy.

Breakfast at the Apple Tree Restaurant






I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking this place is destination dining. The food is competently prepared at best, and the B&G were not good at all. The drawing card here is the atmosphere and (probably) the pies.



Having struck out in the pie department at The Apple Tree Restaurant, and heeding the siren's call of the above mural, we headed over to Pfaff’s Bakery for some doughnut holes and, what one local described as the “best thing in the bakery”, an almond horn.

Pfaff’s Bakery




The pastries were very good, and true to the buildup, the almond horn was a thing of beauty. I wish we had bought more to eat in the car on the long trip ahead.

Next up: The Gateway to the West

The Apple Tree Restaurant
107 East Madison St.
Pontiac, IL 61764

Pfaff’s Bakery
313 North Mill Street
Pontiac, IL 61764
(815) 844-7957

I hope you took some good pics in Iowa.

Tyrgyzistan wrote:I hope you took some good pics in Iowa.

Coming soon.

St. Louis

After a brief non-food-related stop in Springfield to visit the Chow Poodle’s sister, we finally arrived in St. Louis, The Gateway to the West.



It was hot in St. Louis. I mean blazing hot. The outside temp indicator in my car was registering 105. After a brief mandatory stop at The Arch, we beelined to Ted Drewes for some frozen custard.

Ted Drewes




Obviously, on a hot summer day, we weren’t the only ones who came up with that bright idea, but the line moved quickly, and I soon found myself enjoying a Cardinal Sin; vanilla custard with tart cherries and hot fudge.

Ted Drewes Cardinal Sin


That left us just enough time to check into our hotel and cool own for a few minutes before meeting the lovely Josephine, who now call St. Louis home. Since the Chow Poodle had never been in St. Louis before, I was thinking Italian on The Hill. Josephine came through with the suggestion of Trattoria Marcella, a small neighborhood, ingredient-focused spot.



Josephine, looking happier than I have ever seen her, nailed it with this recommendation. Although when brothers Steve and Jamie Komorek opened the place back in 1995, they more or less looked down their noses at the stereotypical fried ravioli which is a staple at so many of St. Louis’ Italian spots (and indeed, along with Pro-vel, the mystery cheese, is the singular dish that many people think of when the words St. Louis and Italian are spoken together). They soon gave in to the pressure and added fried ravioli to the menu in, what I assume was an ironic gesture. The joke was on them, though, when their version of this St. Louis workhorse got voted the best in town.

Trattoria Marcella Toasted Ravioli




I’ve only had this dish once before, and it wasn’t something I thought I needed to order again…until I tried this version. Everything about it was a notch above what I expected. The pasta itself, though nicely toasted, was still toothsome and not dried out. The filling tasted of high quality ingredients. The meat had lots of flavor to it and, like the wrappers, not dried out at all. The filling actually reminded me (in a very good way) of the kreplach filling at the now closed What’s Cooking? On Lincoln (R.I.P.). Finally the marinara sauce was clearly made in house and had a nice hit of garlic. The toasted parmesan sprinkled on top put it over the edge. I was more than happy eating this dish, even though when I first ordered it, I did it out of touristic obligation.

We also started off with an order of Fritto Misto. In this case consisting of calamari, spinach, lemon, garlic & asiago. This was well prepared and the fried lemon & spinach added a nice contrast to the squid.

Trattoria Marcella Fritto Misto


After a couple of salads, Shaved Brussels Sprouts with fontinella, toasted almonds & a lemon rosemary vinaigrette, and a Field Green Salad, it was on to the mains.

I had Tagliatelle alla Bolognese. Pasta made in house and sauced with a true Italian sensibility.

Trattoria Marcela Tagliatelle alla Bolognese


Josephine had a fish special that, I think was grouper served with a polenta cake. My mind is foggy on the specifics of this dish, but I do remember it tasting great. Josephine, feel free to correct me here.

Trattoria Marcela Fish Special


The Chow Poodle ordered another special. This one consisting of tortellini in a light cream sauce with fresh tomatoes and spinach served on top. She liked it very much.

Trattoria Marcela Tortellini Special


Our visit to St. Louis was really just an overnight stopover on our way to Kansas City. While I was there, I discovered that feeling dissed by Kansas City is kind of a thing to the locals in much the same way that some Chicagoans feel dissed by talk of things in NYC. St. Louis, for example, has a rich BBQ tradition that usually gets overlooked in favor of their neighbor to the West. I know I’ll be back to St. Louis sooner than later to follow up on some of the intel I found about the local BBQ scene. There’s a lot to explore down there.

But all didn't end on a happy note. Once again, I was lured by false hope fed by the love that people heap on the Waffle House. I spotted one from the road on our way out of town and decided to give it a try for a quick breakfast. I've never had a decent meal in a Waffle House, and despite always being told that it's the fry cook that makes the difference, once again I was thoroughly disappointed by by the "food". Do they only have one decent fry cook for the whole chain that I never seem to run into??? What is it with you people??? Don't you realize this place sucks???

Waffle House - St. Louis




Next: Kansas City (both sides of the border)

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
6726 Chippewa Street
St. Louis, MO 63109
(314) 481-2652

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
4224 South Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63111
(314) 352-7376

Trattoria Marcella
3600 Watson Road
St. Louis, MO 63109
314-352-7706

Waffle House
1200 South 5th Street
St. Charles, MO 63301
(636) 916-1662

Re: Pontiac

You're lucky that the Apple Tree was open. They have very short hours. Food (and pie) are good, but so frustrating because of their hours.

Pontiac has become the town of murals, with many painted around town in the last couple of years. They are pretty neat. They have a fair number of bus tours, so they have opened an art gallery and souvenir shop downtown, both staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. The souvenir shop sells Illinois-made items. The art gallery is pretty cool, considering you're in, well, Pontiac. I recommend both.

For food, you have the home-town favorite, Mario's for thin-crust pizza. They open at 4:00. Their breadsticks are far and away better than Olive Garden's. Makes you think, right.

Downtown you also have Bernardi's, which is an outpost of the Mona's/Caponi's franchise from Toluca. It is not my favorite, to say the least.

Also you have Delong's downtown, which really isn't bad. Recently added is Lydia's Cup, which is primarily a coffee shop with other menu items. Meh.

There are a couple of antique stores, and a couple more in Chenoa (20 miles south on 55). Sadly, Dwight doesn't have much to recommend it, although the Country Mansion is a beautiful setting and succesfully passed the "Four Weddings" test on TLC. Turtle's is a good bar/restaurant, with good fried chicken and catfish. And I was stunned at how good the pulled pork was recently on a Saturday night. They only do this on weekends, but the pulled pork was excellent, and not crapped up with a lot of superfluous bbq sauce. You could smell the smoke when you walked in the door. I highly recommend this.

Enjoy central Illinois!

Kansas City

With the taste of bad waffles still in my mouth, we pulled into Kansas City. The first thing I needed was some BBQ to erase the memory of breakfast, so our first stop was Danny Edwards Boulevard BBQ. This was a pilgrimage of sorts for me. Lil’ Jakes Eat It and Beat It on Grand used to serve my favorite brisket in the city. It was a required lunch stop when I used to regularly have work in KC. Sadly, the wrecking ball claimed Lil’ Jakes in 2007 as part of the new Power & Light District, but Danny reopened in much larger quarters (relatively speaking) about a year later and this was to be my first visit to the new location.

Danny Edwards Boulevard BBQ


Even the old pink pig made the move, no longer having the words eat it and beat it emblazoned on its loin section.

Eat It, But You Don’t Have to Beat It


OK. Enough with the background info already. It’s time to answer the big question: Can you go home again? Is Danny Edwards still serving up food at the same level as the old place? The answer: HELL YES. I’m glad to report that Danny and his crew are still cranking out some of the best brisket in Kansas City. I’m not sure why this place doesn’t get more respect. It’s right up there with LC’s and the other “greats” in terms of quality. Maybe it’s the fact that they are only open for lunch that they don’t get talked about more often. In any event, I’m talking about them now.

The layout is similar to many other KC BBQ joints. You order at the counter and then take a seat. They call you when your order is ready or, as in our case, a waitress brings your order to the table and takes care of your drink requests.

Danny Edwards BBQ Counter


We ordered a “Smoky Joe” sandwich. Smoky Joe seems to be the new code word that many places use when they are talking about burnt ends that are actually not true bunt ends, but are chunks cut from the brisket flat instead of the point. In Danny Edwards’ case, it seemed to be a combination of point & flat chunks. We also tried a new menu item, a Smoked Corned Beef sandwich.

Danny Edwards Burnt Ends (Smoky Joe) Sandwich


Danny Edwards Smoked Corned Beef Sandwich




We also had some beans and onion rings as sides. Everything was great. We got lucky and timed our visit perfectly. It was just after the lunch rush, but not so late that things had been sitting around. The burnt ends were very juicy and not dried out, as can sometimes be the case. They were also not over sauced. The smoked corned beef was spectacular. It was fatty, smoky and well spiced. I was a happy camper. I highly recommend Danny Edwards to anyone visiting Kansas City.



We headed over to our hotel to escape the 105 degree temperatures and took a bit of a siesta. Later, we weren’t feeling all that hungry, so we decided that a burger was in order for dinner. We headed over to another old favorite of mine, Town Topic.

Town Topic is a tiny shoebox of a place that’s open 24/7, located just south of the main downtown area. It’s derided by many locals as a last resort spot for some grub after a night of drinking, similar to our own Diner Grill (there is a second Town Topic location that I have never visited that is reported to be more “restaurant-like”).

Town Topic




I’ve got to disagree with the locals here, because I feel that Town Topic puts out one of the better “30’s style” burgers anywhere. They are smashed to order and grilled to lacy-edged goodness. The optional onion rings are no slouch, either.

Town Topic Double Cheese Burger




The Chow Poodle Enjoys Her Strawberry Shake


The next day, we met DougT for breakfast at Jerry’s Café, which is the new place operated by Jerry of Woodsweather Café fame.

DougT and Stevez at Jerry’s Café




You can tell you’re at Jerry’s because the same mural art that was all over both incarnations of the Woodsweather Café are all over the place at the new Jerry’s, too. It was nice to catch up with Doug in person. The food was good and our waitress was a classic old school diner type that was motherly, funny and efficient.

Jerry’s Café Biscuits & Gravy


Jerry’s Café Corned Beef Hash


Jerry’s Café Bacon & Eggs


I’m not sure I’d recommend a special trip to south Kansas City to eat at Jerry’s, but if you’re in the area, it’s a very solid choice. The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is still on the menu.

After breakfast, it was time for the touristic shopping section of our trip. First stop: Smoke ‘N Fire, a BBQ supply superstore in Overland Park, KS. I was looking to replenish my supply of alder. I’ve been unable to find any in Chicago, and last time I was able to get some, it was in Kansas City. The choice was between The Woodyard, where I’ve eaten BBQ before and Smoke ‘N Fire. Since I’d never been to Smoke ‘N Fire before, the choice was easy.

If you cook BBQ, Smoke ‘N Fire is a place not to be missed. Besides an extensive array of grills and smokers on display, they have a supermarket sized inventoy of BBQ accessories. Everything from sauce mops to marinade injectors is available. If there’s a BBQ related tool that you can think of, chances are, they’ve got it in stock. Their sauce and rub collection is impressive and there is nothing to rival their selection of wood in the Chicago area.

The wood selection takes up an entire wall of the store and includes quite a few varieties (unfortunately, alder is not among them). Each variety is available in several different sizes running from whole logs to chips and everything in between. I ended up picking up some sugar maple chunks, which I’ve been using lately. Sugar maple is a very mild wood that works well with chicken. I also bought a long handle coal rake and some other odds and ends. I had a great time in that store. Sadly, I was so entranced, I didn’t take any pictures.

The in-room tourist literature at our hotel had a bunch of ads from a place called Velvet Creme Popcorn Company, which was established in 1937 and sounded a lot like Garrett’s here in Chicago. We had a long drive coming up the next day, so we decided to go there to get something as close to Chicago Mix as we could to snack on during the next day’s road trip to Iowa.

Velvet Creme Popcorn Company


As soon as I walked in and took a look around, I noticed the absence of anything close to the smell of popcorn in the air. I heard the sound of sad trombones playing in my head; as if I had just missed bucket number 6 in the Grand Prize Game.

I asked the woman behind the counter if she could make us up a small bag of half caramel and half cheese. She said “Sure” and proceeded to scoop popcorn out of large industrial bins that looked very similar to the ones that JP Graziano’s uses to store beans and dry goods. Unfortunately, popcorn doesn’t have nearly the shelf life of beans, so this popcorn was pretty stale despite us being at the factory. She then hermetically sealed the bag of popcorn in case we had any dreams of actually tasting it while still in the store.

Velvet Creme Popcorn “Chicago Mix”


Let’s just say that Garrett’s has got nothing to worry about from the likes of Velvet Creme. If you’re in KC, Skip it.

Kansas City also has the dubious distinction of being headquarters to both Russell Stover Candies and Whitman Samplers. Both owned by the same company. If you grew up in Chicago eating Fannie May Candy that news is a big shrug, but if you grew up in small town Michigan like the Chow Poodle, it’s a BIG DEAL. To this day, her Aunt from northern Michigan sends us a box of Russell Stover every Christmas without fail. Anyway, our next stop on the touristic shopping segment of our trip was the Russell Stover Factory Store. To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to it myself. I wanted to see if the stuff they sell in the store was any better/fresher than the stuff in the booby-prize box at the corner Walgreen’s.

They did sell some premium versions of their chocolates by the piece/lb. Admittedly, they were better than the boxed versions, but that’s damming with faint praise. For me, it was a nice few minutes out of the heat of the day, but for the Chow Poodle…well a picture is worth a thousand words.

Russell Stover Factory Store


Arriving in Kansas City in the middle of the biggest heat wave in recent memory made it tough to pursue the eating marathon I was hoping for. At this point in the day, we decided the air conditioned comfort of our hotel room was better than walking around in 103+ degree heat, so we again took a siesta until dinner time. And what a dinner it was. We met up with DougT and his wife for some pan fried chicken at Stroud’s. This was the Chow Poodle’s first visit to Stroud’s, and my first visit to their new “South” location on the Kansas side of the line.

Other than to comment on how the décor of this new Stroud’s is much brighter and more “restaurant-like” than either of the other locations I’ve been to (including the original R.I.P.), the food was exactly the same; that is to say an excellent family style fried chicken dinner.

Stroud’s Cinnamon Rolls


Stroud’s Chicken Soup


Stroud’s Pan Fried Chicken


Also served are green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. Man that’s some good chicken. We even had enough left over to take a couple pieces back to the hotel for later snacking.

After dinner, Doug took us to Foo’s, a local frozen custard place. The custard there rivals any of the Wisconsin greats and easily outclasses its cross-state rival, Ted Drewes. I found it to be very rich and creamier than Drewes. Apologies for this picture.

Foo’s Frozen Custard




The custard was excellent, but besides the custard, they also featured some beautiful chocolates from Christopher Elbow, a local chocolatier who is the diametrical opposite of Russell Stover. We didn’t get a chance to visit his store in Kansas City, but we will on our next visit.

Christopher Elbow Chocolates


While we were enjoying our frozen custard, Doug told me about his current favorite ribs in KC. They were from a place called Brobeck’s BBQ, which wasn’t all that far from where we happened to be. Before I knew what happened, Doug had called in an order for us to pick up on the way back to the hotel. Sure, we had just eaten a giant dinner at Stroud’s followed up by frozen custard. But who was I to pass up the best ribs in KC right now? So off to Brobeck’s BBQ we went.

Brobeck’s BBQ


We got there right at closing time, so I took the order to go and ate it ala trunko in the parking lot.





The ribs were very good. Nice and meaty, with a good bit of smoke flavor, but not over the top. They were served sauceless, just the way I like ‘em. I wish I had an extra day or two to stay in KC and explore more of Brobeck’s menu, which is very deep. I also didn’t get a chance to make it back to LC’s, which was high on my list. In any event, I’d recommend a visit to Brobeck’s, especially if you’ve been to KC before and are looking for someplace new to try for BBQ.

The next morning we were on our way out of town, but we had to make a quick stop at the City Market to check it out. The market has been continuously running since 1857.


The market was very nice, with many permanent ethnic food stands on the outside perimeter of a central square where the farmers displayed their wares.



I talked to this fellow for a while and he was not too optimistic about the crops, based on the drought. I wish Chicago had something like this. Every time I visit another town that has a permanent market, I get more and more frustrated at our City’s lack of one.

Anyway, that’s about it for Kansas City. We headed out after the market for Iowa.

Next: Iowa – Gothic Pie and Tenderloin

Danny Edwards Boulevard BBQ
2900 Southwest Boulevard
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 283-0880

Town Topic
2021 Broadway Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 842-2298

Jerry’s Café
1209 W 103rd St
Kansas City, MO 64114
(816) 941-4055

The Woodyard
3001 Merriam Lane
Kansas City, KS 66106
(913) 362-8000

Smoke ‘N Fire
8030 W. 151st Street
Overland Park, KS 66223
(913) 685-1111

Velvet Creme Popcorn
4710 Belinder Rd.
Westwood, KS 66205
(913) 236-7742

Russell Stover Candy
2814 Shawnee Mission Pkwy.
Fairway, KS 66205
(913) 945-2744

Stroud’s South
4200 Shawnee Mission Pkwy.
Fairway, KS 66205
(913) 262-8500

Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard
3832 W. 95th St.
Lakewood, KS 66206
(913) 383-3667

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates
1819 McGee Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 842-1300

Brobeck’s BBQ
4615 Indian Creek Pkwy.
Overland Park, KS 66207
(913) 901-9700

City Market
20 East 5th Street
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 842-1271

Doug Brobeck's 'Que is a long time favorite of ours, dating back to his days as the founder and original owner of Stilwell Smokehouse on the Kansas side of the border.

When our daughter, abe_froeman, got married, Smoque did the catering here in Chicago, but Brobeck's was our "go to" place for the secondary reception we held for all our KC friends who couldn't make it up to the main event. We had a serious Greasehouse feast of Ribs, Brisket, Sausage, and Chicken, along with a wide range of sides. I love Brobeck's Corn Nugget apps, so Doug threw in a couple orders just for me. They're a semi-regular stop for us on Christmas visits and whenever else we're in town.

Doug used to have a Sauce Smorgasbord at Stilwell Smokehouse, serving some of his favorite sauces (other than his own excellent in-house recipes). He used to buy gallons of our Roadhouse Hot & Spicy several times a year, and whenever I visit I always pick up a few bottles of his outstanding Mustard BBQ Sauce for personal consumption.

Steve, glad you enjoyed the ribs. Like so many foods, they probably would have been better if consumed on site (think a certain unnamed Pizza Joint). Hope you'll go back and try more of the menu--check out the Sausage for sure!

Thanks for a nice report.

Buddy

Thanks, Steve.
...and Buddy

Looking forward to Iowa! Great photos!

You can't leave us hanging at Gothic Pie!

So what exactly was wrong with the waffle at Waffle House? I am pretty sure I ate in one of those years ago but I can't remember for sure. Looking forward to your Iowa post.

stevez wrote:Other than to comment on how the décor of this new Stroud’s is much brighter and more “restaurant-like” than either of the other locations I’ve been to (including the original R.I.P.), the food was exactly the same; that is to say an excellent family style fried chicken dinner.

Stroud’s Cinnamon Rolls


Stroud’s Pan Fried Chicken


Also served are green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. Man that’s some good chicken. We even had enough left over to take a couple pieces back to the hotel for later snacking.

Steve, I have to agree with you, the chicken at the new Stroud's is just the same as at the old Stroud's, but boy, was that old house a great relic of the Kansas Sunday chicken dinner tradition- one of the most memorable meals of my childhood was in such a place in Topeka, now long gone. I might add that the cinnamon rolls hold up pretty well as leftovers. (My relatives all took theirs back to the hotel for the following day's breakfast and reheated them in the microwave.)

stevez wrote:I wish Chicago had something like this. Every time I visit another town that has a permanent market, I get more and more frustrated at our City’s lack of one.

Amen. It's just a shame that Chicago doesn't have one. However, there is a lot of upkeep involved, and, having learned a bit about the farmers' markets in St. Louis, I can see why, at this juncture, the City of Chicago does not want to consider a central market. Just look what they did to Navy Pier.

Here in St. Louis, the Soulard Market has been struggling on a certain level, and there is plenty of competition. Right now there is a plan afoot to do about $15 million worth of renovations to Soulard Market just to deal with cleanliness, weather-resistance, and accessibility. Another issue is the way "business as usual" happens in a city. There's the matter of assigning business licenses and the fees generated and all. This keeps out the small and organic producers for the most part. Licenses are owned and space is allotted not based on merit, but based on some standing licensing process. Most of the merchants at Soulard buy their produce at a big wholesale market, so the quality is just not there.

The small farmers and artisans are thriving here in St. Louis at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market, which takes place in a city park. It's the St. Louis equivalent to Chicago's Green City Market. So that is where I do most of my shopping, and where I can get my Amish produce, Ozark Forest Mushrooms, organic meats, Gelato di Riso and Salume Beddu. If I go early, I can do yoga with a couple hundred other supple shoppers.

I plan to do a series on St. Louis Markets. And yes, I am as happy as I have ever been. Thanks for coming to St. Louis. I hope you and Julie will be back soon. Barbeque awaits!

Iowa

We had already been planning this trip when I heard a story on NPR about this woman named Beth Howard. Her husband passed away and left her an RV, which she used to travel around the country making a documentary about pie. There’s a much longer story about her journey (both physically & spiritually) on her website and in a book called Making Piece, but to keep this on topic I’ll cut to the chase. She ended up renting the house in Eldon, IA that Grant Wood used as a backdrop for his painting, American Gothic. She lives in the house and sells pies out of its living room on weekends, calling it the Pitchfork Pie Stand. It turns out that Eldon was right on our way home, so how could we pass up an opportunity to stop in for a piece of pie?



There is a small museum set up on the property. It’s run by the Wapello County Conservation Board and staffed by friendly volunteers. They are more than happy to loan you costumes so you can pose like we did above. There’s no charge for any of this, but donations are gladly accepted, and never asked for.

It must be a little strange for Beth to have a constant stream (well OK, it’s a trickle) of people coming by and getting dressed up to mug for the camera just outside her window, but I guess she’s used to it by now. The pie stand itself is nothing more than a couple of folding tables set up in her living room festooned with various kinds of fruit pies.

Pitchfork Pie Stand


It’s just Beth and one other guy constantly baking pies in the house’s standard size oven. There’s room for maybe 5 – 6 people inside the stand. We couldn’t really decide on just one type of pie, so we went for three small pies; a chess pie, an apple pie and a strawberry crumble pie that turned out to be the best strawberry pie I’ve ever eaten. These berries were at the peak of ripeness and just delicious. This is coming from a guy who would normally turn up his nose at strawberry pie in favor of just about any other flavor.

Pitchfork Pie Stand Pies


In hindsight, I wish I had bought more pie; especially some of those hand pies pictured at the bottom of the above photo. She had made them that day for the first time as an experiment, and once I tasted the strawberry pie, all I could think of were those strawberry hand pies in the picture. The crust was nice and flaky and reminded me of the Cooks Illustrated pie crust that subs vodka for half the water.

We had a nice visit, but it was cut short by a family of 6 people who wanted some pie. We ended up leaving to make room for all of them in the cramped space, but not before asking Beth to sign a copy of her book for the Chow Poodle, a fellow pie baker. All I got was a stinking t-shirt.



If you’re planning a visit, I’d suggest calling ahead. She’s open on weekends through Labor Day, but she said that she would be closing down to attend the Iowa State Fair, where she’ll be vending pie.

After the pie stand, we drove to Iowa City for the night, but not before a slight detour to Oxford, IA, home of Augusta Restaurant, the winner of the 2008 Iowa Pork Producers Award for best Breaded Pork Tenderloin. The interesting thing about Augusta is that it’s actually a place that serves New Orleans inspired food. It was started by Ben & Jeri (I kid you not) Halperin after Katrina forced them to flee New Orleans. Evidently Ben is a Chicago boy, but they ended up in Iowa and started this restaurant.

Augusta Restaurant




I came for the tenderloin, but how could we not try some of the Louisiana inspired items as well. I couldn’t be swayed from my BPT mission, but the Chow Poodle stepped up and ordered New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, a dish described on the menu as having rosemary garlic wine sauce with herbed bread.

Augusta Restaurant BBQ Shrimp


This dish was a complete miss, from the watery sauce to the big hunk of Gonella-like bread at the bottom of the plate. The Pork Tenderloin, on the other hand, was a stellar example, served atop a fresh baked bun and house made sweet potato chips.

Augusta Restaurant Breaded Pork Tenderloin




The tenderloin was very large, but not pounded so thin that it dried out upon frying. The bottom BPT picture is actually only about 2/3 of the tenderloin on the bun. The Chow Poodle commandeered at least 1/3 of the sandwich after one taste of her shrimp.

I also ordered a side of cream corn. I was very pleasantly surprised by this dish. It was literally nothing more than fresh seasonal corn, lightly sautéed in butter and topped with a little bit of cream. It was pure Iowa summer in a cup. There was no thick cream sauce, just the slightest bit of dairy to make the already perfect summer corn a touch richer.

Augusta Restaurant Cream Corn


If you’re going to be anywhere near Iowa City or Cedar Rapids, Oxford is not that far away and the Augusta Restaurant is well worth a visit. I’m not sure if I’d roll the dice on the Cajun stuff, but the BPT is great. The menu also lists fried chicken and catfish that I would imagine are pretty good, too.

The next morning, it was time for the final leg of our trip. We’d be home in time for dinner, but not before a stop at Iowa-80, the world’s largest truck stop.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop




World’s largest truck stop is no idle boast! This place is huge and goes well beyond any truck stop that I can think of. If you’re a truck driver you can find any kind of truck bling imaginable. If it shines or lights up, they’ve got it in stock.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop Truck Bling Department


There are lots of amenities for over the road truckers, even a dentist on duty.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop Services


There’s even a shrine to some of the world’s largest food in one of the men’s rooms.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop Hall of Fame










So, how was the food, you ask? If you stay out of the food court and go the actual restaurant, pretty decent. They are said to have a pretty good BPT, but we were there for breakfast. We ordered some biscuits & gravy and eggs W/sausage.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop Biscuits & Gravy


The B & G was a mixed bag. The gravy was pretty good, but the biscuits seemed like they were out of a bag. The hot sauce was great, though. It is called Whiteford’s Cayenne Pepper Sauce and is made by a guy in Wheaton who is also the pitmaster at The Abby in Lake Geneva. But I digress.

Iowa-80 Truck Stop Hot Sauce


Iowa-80 Truck Stop Sausage & Eggs


The sausage and eggs were excellent, thanks to some great sausage patties (don’t get the links) that are sourced locally. The sausage is nicely seasoned and has a great fat content. The sausage patties were the best thing we ate at the truck stop that day.

Thus ends our little adventure. A quick little 5 day road trip. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

American Gothic House/Pitchfork Pie Stand
300 American Gothic St.
Eldon, IA 52554
(310) 463-6294

Augusta Restaurant
101 S Augusta Ave
Oxford, IA 52322
(319) 828-2252

Iowa 80 Truck Stop
(I-80 Exit 284)
515 Sterling Drive
Walcott, IA 52773
(866) 446-9280

Whiteford’s Hot Sauce
195 W. Elm St.
Wheaton, IL 60189
(630) 668-7571

I hope those were the only pics you took in the mens room?

The award winning tenderloin is across the street at Gramma's Kitchen, its a big salty battered loin.

Eldon is also home to the shell of what was once Tom & Rosie's Big Food Diner, closed over a decade ago.

stevez wrote:

If that's not your Christmas card, we'll make it ours!

Great report. Thanks, Steve!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

stevez wrote:

If that's not your Christmas card, we'll make it ours!

Great report. Thanks, Steve!

=R=

Agreed, and you rock those specs. Thanks for the detailed report and pics as usual.

Stevez--

Finally got around to taking the trip with you here--great fun! You sure know what to do in KC! [BTW, when you were at Velvet Creme you were exactly *three* blocks from my house! I'm conveniently located less than a mile from Okie Joe's, and less than 3 miles from Stroud's! ]

Your Grant Wood pose is *better* than the original. Really. And yeah, you've gotta use it for your holiday card!!

Geo

The Pitchfork Pie Stand lady posted a message on her blog about wanting to go to Connecticut this weekend, and a day later she had raised enough money to take her RV filled with pie supplies to the East Coast.

You can follow along at her facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-World ... 0640816598