Columbia, Missouri

[A Patric]

Sutton's is still in business. I tracked it down yesterday and tried a burnt ends sandwich. It was pretty darn good. However, he said that he will be moving to another location soon, so it might be closed again for a while. Also, the place was pretty dirty. I had to not think about the cleanliness of the place while eating. Great sandwich though.

[babern38]

yeah, the place is pretty dirty. Its like an old house made into a restaurant. Food was pretty good though. I'l have to go back now that I know its still in business.

Sutton's is still in business.  I tracked it down yesterday and tried a burnt ends sandwich.  It was pretty darn good.  However, he said that he will be moving to another location soon, so it might be closed again for a while.  Also, the place was pretty dirty.  I had to not think about the cleanliness of the place while eating.  Great sandwich though.

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[A Patric]

Anyone know about Jina Yoo's Asian Bistro on Forum? It isn't open yet, but I found this:

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160074042.html

which notes that it should open in May. There isn't much more info. though.

Changing the subject, has anyone been to Glenn's Cafe Cupp since it has opened in Booneville, and if so, do you know when it is open. There is no information (either hours or phone number) on-line. I never had the opportunity to eat al the first Glenn's, but I have heard many good things about it.

Thanks,

Alan

[babern38]

My mom stopped by Jina Yoo's today after I mentioned hearing about it here. She said it looked like it wouldn't be open for another 1-2 months. There was no ceiling or anything else in place she said.

On another note, have you seen that a new thai restaurant is open on nifong. It took up the building where (blue moon cafe) or whatever its name was. Its right next to the break time and across from first national bank on nifong. I think they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've never had thai breakfast, but it sounds intriguing.

Edited May 12, 2007 by babern38 (log)

[A Patric]

My mom stopped by Jina Yoo's today after I mentioned hearing about it here.  She said it looked like it wouldn't be open for another 1-2 months.  There was no ceiling or anything else in place she said.

On another note, have you seen that a new thai restaurant is open on nifong.  It took up the building where (blue moon cafe) or whatever its name was.  Its right next to the break time and across from first national bank on nifong.  I think they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I've never had thai breakfast, but it sounds intriguing.

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I had no clue that it was there. But, upon hearing about it from you, we went. Unfortunately, it was not great. On the plus side, there is an extensive menu. On the minus side, there is an extensive menu.

Basically it seems to me that though the appeal of so many items will bring many people in to the restaurant, it really isn't possible to do everything well at that point. The sauces really tasted like not much more than the Mae Ploy Thai curry pastes with a bit of coconut milk. It is also expensive, and the environment is not pleasant. It is dirty and all the blue just somehow makes one feel, well...blue.

Also, they do not have Thai breakfast. In fact, the Blue Moon Cafe is still operational, they are just serving Thai food as well (two different "chefs" in the back). So, for breakfast, it is Blue Moon fare, and then for the rest of the day you can order off of either menu. I would recommend trying it for lunch during the week, because prices are more reasonable it seems. You can only order off of the dinner menu on the weekend.

One other drawback is that if the Thai waitress isn't there yet, as she wasn't in our case, you get served by Blue Moon servers who absolutely don't care for, or about, Thai. They referred to satay as "chix stix," didn't know what the peanut sauce was that they had forgotten, and if you even think of trying to pronounce the items actual name, forget about it. Stick with by-the-number orders.

Oh, and try not to let the drive-through loud-speaker and calls for double cheese burgers bother you as you converse with friends and/or loved ones.

Lest I be judged as ungrateful, I do still appreciate that you brought this restaurant to my attention as I like to know what is out there.

There was one highlight: they give you the choice of the standard Jasmine rice, or glutinous brown rice, which is actually dark brownish/purplish/black. I have always enjoyed this type of rice, and it's more forceful nutty qualities, but haven't seen it at restaurants before.

Best,

Alan

Edited May 12, 2007 by A Patric (log)

[babern38]

While I apologize for your unfortunate experience, I do appreciate you taking one for the team and writing a review to spare the rest of us.

[A Patric]

No problem. Someone had to do it!

On another note, I just heard about another Mexican restaurant down on the business loop. I think that someone said it was new and good, but I don't know if I trust this person's opinion since he'll gladly eat at El Maguey any day of the week. I'll have to check into it though.

It is called El Torito. All I could find out about it is:

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/webapps/cfform...tab=1215&insp=0

The address is:

El Torito

200 Business Loop 70 E.

Columbia, MO 65201

Let me know if you, or anyone you know, has tried it.

Best,

Alan

Edited May 13, 2007 by A Patric (log)

[babern38]

I passed by that the other day. Its in the building where george's steakhouse used to be. I don't know why George's closed, but now its a mexican resturant.

Maybe I'll go for lunch tomorrow since I'm off work. I'll be sure to let you all know. Hopefully it will be a favorable report.

[A Patric]

I don't remember who it was, but someone upthread recommended stopping by Carlito's to try the carnitas tacos. Hesitantly I stopped by to order one. It was one of the best tacos that I have had in quite some time. The pork was nice and browned, tender, and seemingly with a subtle note of smoke. In short....excellent!

Thank you for the tip.

[A Patric]

Hi all,

For anyone who knows a bit about steak, specifically the difference in flavor/tenderness between prime and choice, as well as the difference in flavor between dry-aged and wet-aged or unaged beef, how do you compare these with the flavor of the local Sho-Me Farms beef?

http://www.shomefarms.com/Index_1.html

The owner says that he dry ages the beef for 21 days, and that he doesn't have the meat graded but he believes that all of it would grade as choice or better. He did not specify to what extent he thinks the beef might be graded as prime if it were to be graded, but he did say that he feels that his beef is as good as any prime beef due to the "born tender" gene selection that he has done in conjunction with Mizzou. It appears that there is actually a particular gene that leads to more tender beef. Also, his cattle are fed with a high-omega 3 diet that is a combination of grain and grass, and so they are lower in saturated fat and much higher in omega-3 than the average beef, and this is obviously good in terms of health.

At any rate, anyone know anything about how it compares to other beef?

Alan

[A Patric]

We're thinking about trying out El Torito. Has anyone tried it yet? Babern?

As for the new Glenn's Cafe in Boonville. The food was really average, they were out of some items, even after giving them to us as options. The catfish I had was really average. The breading seemed to have no spice to it, and for a "cajun" place, this surprised me. I was expecting a nice spicy breaded catfish fillet, but what I had was actually not even as flavorful as Captain D's--no exaggeration. The "trout" dish was okay, but they were out of trout so had to sub salmon--my wife prefers trout. The morel mushrooms that came with the trout dish really had no flavor They were quite dry and as one of the major selling points for the dish, were a disappointment. We were served no cornbread at all though everyone at every other table had a basket of it. I don't know how the cornbread "rules" work there, but we were both quite disappointed about that because it was one of my wife's favorite things at the old location. We got cheap saltines and melba crackers instead. The green salads were okay, but nothing special.

When it came to dessert, the bread pudding I ordered was really excellent. It was the high point of the evening for both my wife and myself. However, after telling us that they had a special peach cobbler with buttermilk-cinnamon ice cream (I think it was), they actually didn't have it, so my wife ordered the peach cheesecake instead. It was of good quality, but not especially amazing.

As for the service, everyone was nice, and the food was served in a timely manner, but the servers were all very young, mostly high-school students, and because of this, they didn't really have the experience, and definitely not the training to be serving at a place where many dishes are hovering around $20 or more. When you constantly have your meal and/or conversation interrupted so that someone can ask if it is okay to remove the empty dishes that have been pushed to the opposite side of the table, and obviously are not being used, then something is wrong. And, I think it may just be me, but I really dislike when people ask me "Are WE ready to order yet?," or "Have WE had enough time to look over the menu?," or "How are WE doing tonight?"

I won't lie, I am probably more disappointed in the experience because I have heard such great things about the place, and probably would have been more lenient with a restaurant about which I had heard nothing. But for $50 for two people when the meal consists of two dishes (and the side salads), two desserts, and two sodas, one expects a little better quality in food and service.

I probably will end up going back if they are still around after a year or so in order to see if things have changed. I really like the idea of the place, the inside of the restaurant is very nice, and many of the flavor combinations were intriguing, but this time, they simply failed.

[babern38]

First, we must have gone to Glenn's cafe on the same night because they were out of trout that night too. I wish I had seen your review earlier, because I wouldn't have ordered that dish. You are right, the morels were sooooo bland!!. That was one of the biggest reasons I ordered that because I hadn't had morels in so long. very disappointing. The desserts (bread pudding and the sampler) were the highlight. Their gumbo is still pretty good and far better than that served at Jazz.

I had hoped that the effort of driving to booneville would have been more rewarding. I also agreed that the high school staff needs better training.

Second, I'm not familiar with el torito. Where is it? Is that the place that took over George's on business loop?

[A Patric]

Second, I'm not familiar with el torito.  Where is it?  Is that the place that took over George's on business loop?

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That's the one. See this post, and the one right before it:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1408894

I haven't yet gone, and am still pondering whether to bother.

Anyway, sorry for your Glenn's experience. Hopefully they will make some changes and rectify a few issues over the next year. I'll give them at least that much time until I go back again.

[babern38]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that Jinny Yu's Asian Bistro opens this Friday. I stopped by last week when they had their open hous, but it was absolutely packed and they were just passing around some appetizers. I was there long enough to think that the place looked very nice. I'm excited to return this weekend.

On a side note, after that brief visit my family and I wound up having dinner at Simma Down which is the restaurant in the new Wilson's gym. It was pretty good. The sushi chef needs some work as the rolls kinda fell apart and took forever to be made (we were the only customers). The salads were nice as well as the strawberry soup.

[babern38]

Went to the soft opening at Jinny Yu's tonight and was quite pleased. Our waitress was very new at the job and new very little about the food, but my family and I are easy going and didn't care the least.

First, the space is very nicely decorated. My only comment is that they may be trying to squeeze one 2 many tables in making the floor a bit crowed, but we were in a booth off to the side and had no problems.

Currently there is simply an abbreviated menu (3 cold apps, 3-4 hot apps, and about 6 entrees). The owner told us they had about three menus of which they will change about every few weeks to perfect the individual dishes and then have a big grande opening in october with the complete menu. They will also start serving lunch on Monday.

My parents and I split two apps. First was a seared tuna. The tuna had been marinated and was very flavorful, yet retained all the taste you'd expect from the fish. It may have been cooked a bit too long and was not as pink as preferred in the center. There was some tiny roe on top (the roe was red and the size of tobiko). Underneath the tuna was mixed greens with a tangy ginger/soy dressing.

The second app was a chicken satay served with chips instead of lettuce to wrap. The chicken was good, but I'd prefer lettuce wraps over the chips as it would be much easier to eat and give the illusion of health.

The entrees consisted of Bibimbap, salmon, and flank steak. All were very nice. I had the salmon which was marinated in sake and served with a fried spinach and shiso leaf. (not sure where the shiso leaf was). My dad had the flank steak which had a lot of flavor and just a nice touch of heat. My mom had the big bowl of Bipimbap which looked quite tasty, but I didn't try.

The only dessert offered was a sweet potato and banana rolled in a wonton wrapper and deep fried served with ice cream. I enjoyed it

For its first night open i was quite pleased with everything I tried. I'm looking to returning both for lunch and when they start adding more to the dinner menu. Hopefully the service will catch up to the kitchen by the time I return, which won't be long. This should be a nice additiion to Columbia restaurant choices.

[A Patric]

For pizza lovers, there is a new place connected to Nikkai Grill, and perhaps owned by the same people:

NY Famous Pizza

The crust is thin and chewy, the slices are large, and there are many different topping choices, some more common than others. It may be worth a try.

Things seem to be reasonably priced.

[emilyr]

One of my best friends from college and her parents are going to be driving home from their Thanksgiving celebrations through Columbia on Saturday, and we're going to go out to lunch. Where should I take them. It needs to be fairly casual and easy to get to from I-70 (though not necessarily right off I-70) because she gets lost easily . Downtown is kind of my target area so that we can walk around and "sightsee" or window shop a bit after.

I was thinking maybe Booches. We've all eaten together before when I stayed at her parents cabin up in Northern Wisconsin and we tended to go to pub/roadhouse type places, but it doesn't have to be quite that casual.

[A Patric]

Flatbranch maybe?

[emilyr]

Flatbranch maybe?

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Yeah, that what I thought of this weekend too. I think that's probably what we'll do. Thanks!

[emilyr]

It's been a while since anyone's mentioned McKenzie's. My Christmas bonus from work this year is a gift certificate from there, so I'd be interested in what people think. I like steak fine, but I'm not a huge steak person; is it good for other items?

[RobertCollins]

Wow, I have learned so much from this thread.

When I was at MU -early seventies- the GI bill didn't cover a lot of eating out so that was mostly reserved for Sunday when my wife and I would take the laundry and go have Sunday dinner with my in-laws in Boonville. The food was always great.

After they passed we kept the house and the family uses it as a vacation home so I will make notes of this thread before we head there this spring.

Coming there from Seattle usually leaves me a bit challenged for good food stores so the listing of sources is beyond helpful.

[emilyr]

Here's another event coming up this summer in CoMO: Inside Columbia's Wine and Food Festival.

Just thought I'd throw it out there. It's still a long way off, but I think I'm going to the Cocktail Competition the magazine is throwing this weekend.

[emilyr]

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but I ate at Taqueria El Rodeo this weekend and it was quite delicious. The tortillas were just about the most perfect I've ever tasted. The mole con pollo was great. I've only had mole a few times, but this blew those past dishes out of the water. I think I found my go-to Mexican in Columbia!

[mywhitedevil]

Hi all,

For anyone who knows a bit about steak, specifically the difference in flavor/tenderness between prime and choice, as well as the difference in flavor between dry-aged and wet-aged or unaged beef, how do you compare these with the flavor of the local Sho-Me Farms beef?

http://www.shomefarms.com/Index_1.html

The owner says that he dry ages the beef for 21 days, and that he doesn't have the meat graded but he believes that all of it would grade as choice or better.  He did not specify to what extent he thinks the beef might be graded as prime if it were to be graded, but he did say that he feels that his beef is as good as any prime beef due to the "born tender" gene selection that he has done in conjunction with Mizzou.  It appears that there is actually a particular gene that leads to more tender beef.  Also, his cattle are fed with a high-omega 3 diet that is a combination of grain and grass, and so they are lower in saturated fat and much higher in omega-3 than the average beef, and this is obviously good in terms of health.

At any rate, anyone know anything about how it compares to other beef?

Alan

←

Sorry for the late reply' I've been off the board for quite a while, but I would disagree that it would grade out at prime. From what I've seen and eaten, I would say that it would grade out fifty-fifty split select/choice. It's harder to tell, though, as I've only experience with the frozen product. I would be more willing to open a shop locally if there were more local producers, and if they had the beef graded.

[ulterior epicure]

Now, is that dry-aged or wet-aged for 21 days? If it's dry-aged, then that's pretty impressive, if true.