Waffle House
Hundreds of locations in the US
106 W Terra Lane (Location visited)
O’Fallon, MO

It was my last day in Jefferson City and had to drive to St. Louis to catch my flight back to Canada. Since I was not sure of how light/heavy the traffic would be, I chose to leave relatively early (as early as 6:00 a.m.). I could have had breakfast at the hotel (which was “free”); however, you get what you pay for. Well, it was not bad; it was not good either… Anyway, this post is not about the hotel’s “free” continental breakfast but Waffle House, as the name suggests, a restaurant where waffle is the supposedly the main item. Between Jefferson City and St. Louis I think I saw at least 4 locations. But, every time there was a sign telling me one was coming, I missed that exit (and I was driving on the rightmost lane the whole time!). Fortunately (?), when I was close to St. Louis, traffic was starting to get heavy and, well, finally took the correct exit, hehehehe.

Of course, the question is… Why Waffle House? No particular reason other than because I wanted to try something that I couldn’t find here and, somehow, Waffle House caught my attention. And, then, it begs the question: do I like waffles? The answer would be yes and no – it depends on what is used to make the batter and how they are made (read: the waffle machine).

As I walked in, I was given the option to choose where ever I wanted. I sat and smell something… No, not that sweet aroma of batter being cooked in the machines, or that of fat sizzling on the hot pan/griddles… Instead, it was that of cigarettes… It seems they do not have a no-smoking policy. As a result, I asked to move to another table at the other end of the dining room.

Once again, the question, what do you order in a restaurant called Waffle House? Once again, waffles, of course! But, what else? For an odd reason, I thought they might have chicken and waffles; I was disappointed. Anyway, the menu did not really caught my attention and ended up ordering two slices of sausage to go along and orange juice for drink.

The waffles were the buttermilk version. Though I had the option to add pecans or chocolate chips, I chose to keep it basic. Unfortunately, after eating the first bite I regretted that decision. It was bland and barely crispy. No matter how much butter and syrup (not maple syrup, mind you…) I added, it did not change a thing. Since I was hungry (I was on the road for 2 hours already), I did not say a thing and just ate it. As for the sausage, it was dry without any redeeming quality. Overall, it was a disappointment. Somehow I wished I had gone to White Castle (which I have not been either) instead. Oh, well, next time, I guess…

Bandana’s Bar-B-Q
Several locations in the MidWest US
2336 Missouri Boulevard (Location visited)
Jefferson City, MO

Last week, when I wrote about “local” dishes, I mentioned about St Louis style pizza. Today’s post is about the other “local” specialty, in this case, barbecue. I won’t delve into the hundred of different forms, variations and what not. Rather, I will take what I was served and go from there. However, there goes the question: since it is supposed to be a “local” specialty, which restaurant? Since I had only one shot, I had to choose “carefully”… Ha! I was driving around without really a clue of where to go (but somehow I knew I was going in the “correct” direction), when I ended up in Bandana’s BBQ.

One thing that not sure if should have worried me or not was the fact I couldn’t really “smell” that burnt wood/charcoal as a result of slowly cooking the meats. I won’t say it distracted me but, assuming it was something prepared on a daily basis, even when it was at night, I would have expected that smell to linger.

The dining room, not sure if expected or not, was quite simple. For example, check the lamps! Anyway, to the food. I was looking for BBQ and hit into yet another wall. Which meat? I mean, there is chicken, turkey, pork, beef or ribs! And then, there is the question of sides: BBQ beans, coleslaw, potato salad, green beans or baked potato… Decisions, decisions… While in the decision making process, the waitress dropped by and started explaining to me the different sauces. In fact, they had five of them. Unfortunately, there was an information overload and do not remember all the details.

You got to love a place where, to clean yourself, the give you a whole roll of towel paper!

After explaining them, I made my decision: no fowl this time. So, I ended up ordering a platter with three type of meats: beef, pork and ribs with a side of BBQ beans and coleslaw. And, oh yeah, there is also garlic bread but, reality is, that felt more of an afterthought.

And, just in case, a closer look at the different parts of this dish:

Coleslaw. It was slightly creamy but not overly so.

BBQ beans. I think it was a bit too “sweet” for my liking; but then again, I should have expected it.

Pork, you got to love pork!

Ribs and, slightly out of focus, the beef.

And, yes, I tried a bit of all the sauces!

Overall, it was good in its own way and there was a bit of disappointment at the same time. The meats were tender; however, they were barely lukewarm. Sure, it is something that ought to be sitting there and serve when ordered. It is just that I wished they kept it at a higher temperature. Now, some might argue that will dry up the meat but, if you know your fu, that should not be a problem. As for the sauces, though not memorable, it got along with the meats really well. One thing that I noticed was that their “hot” and “spicy” was not hot and spicy enough for me. I guess my tolerance is higher than what I thought… Would I come back? Not sure! I mean, given that I am not a local, I might be tempted to go to other places before deciding myself!

Hardee’s
Multiple locations in the world
3601 Country Club Drive (Location visited)
Jefferson City, MO

When I was around 12 or 13 years old, a Hardee’s opened in Panama. Of course, like any new restaurant, it created some hype and a lot of people flocked there in the first couple of weeks. I was able to tag along with a neighbour, since he was taking his family there, and I still remember their burgers loaded with some “strange”, crunchy ingredient in it. That ingredient is bacon. While I am used to eating pork rind (not to mention the crispy skin of a Chinese roast pork), it would be my first time eating bacon. I won’t say I really liked it (too heavy) but that left me an impression. Unfortunately, the Hardee’s did not last, as their burgers were priced higher than MickeyD’s and, after a while, their hype faded. Fast forward not long ago. While in the US, I was looking for something quick to eat when I recalled seeing a Hardee’s nearby and that gave me a chance to remember those memories…

When I walked in, there was a small queue. Not much of a problem, though, as it did take me a while to decide what to order. I did not want bacon (not that it is “bad”, just that I wanted something else). That “something” else came in the form of mushroom, or their 1/3 lb Mushroom ‘N’ Swiss Thickburger. Readers should have notice by now that I LOVE mushrooms and, despite I knew they would be using button mushroom, that was not going to be a problem. After I made my order, rather that waiting at the line, I was given a small number/tag and told to wait at the table.

It took around five or so minutes for my order to arrive. I must mentioned something “funny” happened. Since they were deliverying it to my table, the manager did not find me (I was not sure if it was my order, either). After walking probably by the third time, he located me and apologized. The bonus? An apple pie (seeing at the centre top in the picture below).

What is that bowl thing to the right? That is a salad. Wait, before somebody jump into asking why, here is the reason: I hadn’t had my share of veggies lately (or at least during that trip) and I was planning for something “different”/”going all in” that night, being my last night in Jefferson City (details on that meal tomorrow night). Notice this has nothing to do with calories or what not, it was just a matter of eating veggies. As for the salad itself, it was just OK. The lettuce was “crispy”, nothing watery in the bottom. However, it was not the green part. I guess given that it is a fast food place, I shouldn’t be too critical of it.

As for the burger, back when I was a teenager, my default burger was a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, aka, “Hamburger Royale”. I am not sure if it is my perception but this burger is about the size of the burger I had then. No, really, it does look like the same size!

The burger was OK for a fast food place. It was dry but the mushroom managed to “overcome” that dryness. However, there was a catch 22. The mushroom sauce had an artificial feeling, as if it was prepared from a packaged/dehydrated mix. There was no other sauce (catsup or mustard) but, had I added any, I am sure that would have created a really odd mix.

And, finally, the apple pie. I just nibbled a piece, as I was not really interested in it. It wasn’t too sweet (which I must admit surprised me) but, again, it would have been something I would have ordered.

Overall, I went there only because I was curious about the place. Had I looked harder, I am sure there would be other more interesting places. Do I regret coming here? No, but now that I know, I would be really hard pressed to come back again. Now, to finish this post, there was an item in the menu that made me shake my head. Sure, we have poutine in Canada (a dish which I still have to try, so it is just a matter of time) but… But… It just looks wrong…

Arris Pizza
5 Locations in Missouri, plus a location in Oklahoma
115 W High Street (Location visited)
Jefferson City, MO

Since I have been travelling “a lot” in the last six months (compared to the last 5 or so years), every time I stop at a new city, I ask the locals for something unique of the region. When I was in Baltimore, I went for crab cakes; in Merrillville, due to its proximity to Chicago, deep dish pizza; in Philadelphia, cheese steak; and so on.

When I was in Jefferson City, I asked my usual question and, at first, they were bewildered. In a way, they couldn’t think of something “local”. And I won’t blame them, some places with such a massive influx of people, it becomes a melting pot and no cuisine becomes “dominant”. And I can easily relate that, since there is no such thing as a “local” dish in Vancouver. Oddly, when I asked for a restaurant location (at that point “anything works”), I was able to find one of the regional “specialties”. And that is the subject of today’s post, Arris’ Pizza

It seems Arris’ Pizza is a local institution. After it was first mentioned, almost everybody agreed on that suggestion. Who am I to question the locals? Anyway, a 10 Km or so drive it was on a chilly, windy, dark night so it better be good!

On Sunday’s random post, I mentioned about condiments and here is the one found in Arris’ Pizza’s tables. One thing I found “odd” was the presence of artificial sweeteners by “default”. I mean, I understand they would provide it if you had coffee or tea at the end of the meal… However, I think I found out when a nearby table asked for iced tea and the waitress asked if they wanted it sweetened or unsweetened.

As for the food, when I asked (my clients) what they would order, they did disagree a little bit; however, there was a constant: their Greek salad. Again, whom am I to disagree? And here it is:

I will admit it right away: this is the oddest “Greek” salad I ever had. The ones I have had in other places are mostly cucumber and tomatoes, plus other veggies, like green peppers, onions and olives, and, of course, feta cheese and olive oil. However, as you can see in the picture above, there was too much iceberg lettuce for my liking. But, the cheese/dressing used was able to detract the blandness of the iceberg lettuce thanks to its pungency/tanginess. Regardless, I was disappointed. As for the “main”, I ordered a pizza.

Why pizza? It just happen that there is such thing as St. Louis style pizza (on the same lines of Chicago or New York style pizza). From what I was able to gather, rather than mozzarella, it uses a blend of other cheeses (provolone, swiss and white cheddar), not to mention the crust tend to be on the crunchy side. As for the one I ordered, I chose the House pizza which has “ground beef, mushrooms, red onions, green peppers, pepperoni, cotto salami, and our Greek sausage“. Before I continue, notice something strange about the pizza above? For example, the slits? Yes, it was not cut into wedges like the one most people is used to (or at least I am); rather it is cut into squares. Again, it seems to be a local thing – so long and “forgotten” that, when I asked why, nobody from the staff knew.

As for the pizza itself, I found it strange. In a way, I am used to have some acidity from the tomato sauce; however, I couldn’t really taste it from this one. Before anybody comments “but, what about ‘white’ pizza?” Well, true but, in that case, I am expecting it not to have that tomato acidity. Here, I did not find it. Notice, I am not calling it bad; it was different. As for the rest of the pizza, there was a good balance from the ingredients. One thing that I think they could have improved was the type of mushroom – like using fresh rather than canned. Despite it was covered by the cheese, after eating so much mushroom, I could tell just by the texture.

In the end, I couldn’t finish it and packed half of it to go (yeah, my hotel room had a fridge). I was also given these two chocolates. Overall, I can’t say I love it; however, I can’t say I don’t like it either. Probably if I was served more of this, I might learn to appreciate it the same way the locals do. Unfortunately, I don’t think any place here in Vancouver serve them. Still I enjoyed the experience and certainly would give it another chance.

Sbarro
Several locations around the world
3600 Country Club Drive (Location visited)
Jefferson City, MO

On my first day in Jefferson City (my final destination after my crazy trip and overlay through Denver), I faced the same old dilemma. Where to go for lunch? The problem with my work location is that, aside from being in the middle of nowhere (not literally but close), anything nearby required driving. In fact, my second day there, I was taken out out to a Mexican restaurant (which won’t be blogged because I did not bring my camera, not to mention it would be odd trying to explain why I was taking pictures of the food) and, just to get there, a 10 or so minutes drive in highway was required.

Anyway, target #1 was a nearby mall, which was next to the hotel I was staying at. For some odd reason, this mall, Capital Mall, barely had anything in the food court. Hungry, running out of time, I settled on the first thing that was not available locally – Sbarro.

Now, to those living in Alberta, sorry! I know there are Sbarros over there, just that, as far as I know, there aren’t any in Vancouver, OK? Anyway, something that caught my attention was a dish I haven’t heard before: Baked ziti. After ordering it, I came to realize it was a pasta casserole dish made with penne. Hmmmmm… Let’s try again: think lasagna where, rather than using lasagna, you are using penne pasta.

I had the option of going for a salad or meatballs; I went for the later. My order also came with a drink and a bread stick. The bread stick was meh so I won’t comment on that. Now, back to the ziti, I am not sure if it was the time of the day (it was around noon) or what but I found the sauce a bit too liquid-y and not thick enough. It did have some tomato flavour but not too much. As for the meatballs, they were better than Olive Garden’s so you can make your own conclusion.

Overall, I won’t say it was good or bad. It did serve its purpose which was to fill me up. And, specially given the poor options available in that location, I won’t complain much.