Road Tips

Sakura Express - Bettendorf, IA

We've run hot and cold on some of our sushi places around the Quad Cities lately.  There seems to be an inconsistency in taste and quality from day-to-day at many of the places.  However, it seems that Friday night is the time to go get sushi as the cuts of fish seem to be the most fresh on that day.  We've eaten at nearly every sushi place in the Quad's over the years, but there was one place that we still hadn't tried - Sakura Express.  On a cold early spring Friday evening, we went over to Bettendorf to give Sakura Express a try.  

The people behind Sakura Express are the same people who opened Fuji Sushi on Davenport's west side.  (Click here to see the Road Tips entry on Fuji Sushi.)   Michelle Zheng and her cousin, Jessie Chen, and other members of their immediate family have a financial stake in a handful of Chinese restaurants in the greater Quad Cities.  Zheng's brother, Jeff, learned to be a sushi chef after the Zheng family relocated to the U.S. from Hong Kong nearly 10 years ago.  The Zheng's eventually moved to the Quad Cities to join up with other family members including Jessie Chen.  Chen, whose cousin Eric owns the Panda Garden in Bettendorf, had moved out to from the East Coast to work with other family members in their restaurants.  

After helping out other family members in their various restaurants around the area, Chen and Zheng opened Great Wall Chinese on Davenport's west side in late 2009.  They opened Sakura Express in the Spring of 2016 and opened Fuji Sushi last year.    

We got into Sakura Express around 6:15 - sort of early for us to eat, but we were glad we got there when we did.  Not more than about 15 minutes after we had gotten there and ordered up our sushi rolls and niguri sushi a couple of larger groups came in for dinner.  The place isn't large and we took a table at a booth off to the side.  They had counter service for to-go orders, but they did have a waitstaff, one of whom came over to drop off menus for us.  They had a limited beer, wine and sake menu and I got a Kirin beer while my wife got some green tea.  After our sushi was presented to us, I ordered up a second Kirin, but the suddenly busy waitress brought me a Sapporo instead.  That was fine - I drank it.  

My wife wanted to start out with a kani salad.  Usually, a kani salad is served in a bowl at other sushi places we've been to.  But Sakura Express served their heaping kani salad on a small indented dish.  My wife thought the kani salad was very good.

We got a couple of sushi rolls - a spicy tuna roll and a spicy salmon roll.  The sushi rolls were just all right in our book - they weren't all that flavorful and sort of mushy in texture.    

For sushi that evening, we got nigiri sushi consisting of smoked salmon, yellowtail and tuna.  The smoked salmon had sort of a petroleum taste to it - it wasn't all that good.  The yellowtail was sort of fishy in taste and was sort of mushy, as well.  The tuna was the best of the three, but it wasn't as good as other tuna nigiri that we've experienced over the years.  The tuna texture and consistency was firm, but, it also had sort of a funky taste that we didn't care for.  It was almost like a medicine taste or a 

Eh, for what we had at Sakura Express, we'd probably pass at going back another time.  We really liked the sushi at its sister restaurant in Davenport - Fuji Sushi.  But the sushi rolls at Sakura Express were a little mushy and the nigiri sushi we experienced had sort of a funky taste to each of the types of fish we had.  Compared to other sushi places around the Quad Cities, Sakura Express is probably on the bottom of the ones we've tried.  

 

Brick House Tavern + Tap - Chesterfield, MO

I had a morning appointment in the Chesterfield Valley west of St. Louis and the night before I stayed at a hotel along Chesterfield Valley Road.  Food options in the immediate area went from fast food to chain restaurants to places that I'd already eaten at and didn't really want to go back to.  I seriously thought about heading over to Annie Gunn's, an upscale steakhouse on the east end of the Chesterfield Valley.  But it was late and I really didn't want a high-priced dinner that evening.  Just walking distance from the hotel was a Brick House Tavern + Tap restaurant.  Now, I sort of figured that Brick House Tavern was a chain because I had seen a couple in the Chicago area over the past few years.  But they had always intrigued me enough that I decided to take a short walk and give the place a try.  (See map)

The Brick House Tavern + Tap is housed in what was formerly a Joe's Crab Shack location.  Now, I detest Joe's Crab Shack with a passion and when I found out that their parent company was going through bankruptcy last year, I was innerly chuckling to myself that enough people finally wised up to how horrible their food really was.  But it turned out that the same parent company of Joe's Crab Shack also owns the Brick House Tavern locations, as well.  That's why this former Joe's Crab Shack location ended up becoming a Brick House Tavern. 

(A side story about the old Joe's Crab Shack in Chesterfield.  Years ago, my wife and I ate at a Joe's Crab Shack in St. Peters, MO and it was so bad we thought it had to be an anomaly.  However, we tried another Joe's location someplace else - can't remember where it was - but it largely sucked, too.  We pretty much wrote Joe's Crab Shack off the way we long ago had written off even thinking about going to Red Lobster.

About 12 years ago, I happened to be checking into the same hotel that I was staying in on this particular trip. I ran into a rep friend of mine and a guy from a manufacturer who I'd known for a number of years.  They invited me out to dinner - at Joe's Crab Shack.  I immediately said that I don't do Joe's Crab Shack, but my friend who worked for the manufacturer - and who lived in Southern California - was adamant that the Joe's location near his home had the best seafood he's ever had.  I said, "Well, yeah.  Where you live, the ocean is right there.  In the Midwest, it's a haul from here to the ocean."  

Undeterred, he still insisted on taking me out to dinner at the Joe's next door.  He was a nice guy and it had been awhile since I'd seen him.  I thought, "What the hell?  He's going to pay for dinner and a bunch of alcohol.  Sure, I'll go and find something that I can stomach."

Long story short - I had peel and eat shrimp that were so overcooked and rubbery that it was embarrassing that the kitchen would even let the things be served.  But my friend who was paying for dinner was more than happy with his meal.)

The first Joe's Crab Shack started in Houston in 1991.  Three years later, it was bought by the Fertitta family who owned the Landry's Seafood restaurants based out of Houston.  Initially, they were going to turn the Joe's Crab Shack into a Landry's, but decided to go with the laid-back, shrimp shack concept of the restaurant.   They grew both the Landry's and Joe's Crab Shack restaurants eventually selling off the Joe's Crab Shack to another Houston-based equity group - JCS Holdings - in 2006.  

JCS Holdings eventually changed their name to Ignite Restaurant Group in April of 2009 and had begun to turn some of the Joe's locations into Brick House Tavern + Tap restaurants that were more of an upscale sports bar with steaks, seafood and craft beers.  By 2014, there were about 140 Joe's Crab Shack locations and 26 Brick House Tavern + Tap locations across the country.  However, that number had dropped to 112 Joe's Crab House locations by early 2017 and by the spring of last year Ignite Restaurant Group was forced into bankruptcy proceedings.  Coming full circle, Landry's, Inc. bought back both Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern at a bankruptcy auction last summer.   They have since franchised out many of the Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern locations.

The Chesterfield Brick House Tavern is franchised by the Kelly Companies, an investment firm with offices in Pittsburgh and San Diego.  In addition to owning 11 Brick House locations, the company also owns franchise rights to restaurants such as Joe's Crab Shack, McCormick and Schmick's, Fox & Hound, Champps, and Mitchell's Fish Market.   

It was a very short walk from my hotel over to Brick House Tavern on what was a warm early Spring evening.  It was around 7:30 and I found a place that was half-full with people seated in large booths in the center of the restaurants, along with tables in the area toward the sides.  The walls were, of course, brick with a large brick hearth fireplace in the center.  Most of the lighting was accented on the walls with muted lighting coming from the ceiling.  It appeared to be a cozy and somewhat laid back atmosphere.  There was a glass enclosed patio off to the side of the bar that had a few people sitting in there that evening.  

I wanted to sit at the bar, but it was full.  I took a booth off to the side and was greeted by my server, Darcy, who dropped off a menu for me.  I saw that they had the Ballast Point Sculpin on tap, so I ordered a pint of that to enjoy while I looked over the menu.  

Most of the items on the menu are upscale bar food - appetizers such as Buffalo chicken meatballs, zucchini curls, duck wings, and hand-cut panko/parmesan encrusted mozzarella sticks.  They also had steaks and pork chops, seafood, sandwiches and burgers.  

I was looking at a couple of things that sort of sounded good and homey to me - the prosciutto-wrapped meatloaf made with ground chuck, veal and Italian sausage topped with a sweet chili ketchup and mushroom gravy.  I had a side option for that and I wanted mashed potatoes.  It was either the meatloaf or the sirloin tips - they marinate the sirloin tips for 24 hours before they grill them and are served with a mushrooms & onion gravy.

When it came time to order, I took the meat loaf.  But a couple minutes later, Darcy came back with a menu and announced that they were out of the meat loaf for the evening.  I winced when she said they were out of the meat loaf.  Thankfully, I had the sirloin tips as a Plan B.  "Uh, yeah," Darcy sort of hesitated.  "We're out of the sirloin tips, too."  

"You're kidding me," I exclaimed.  As she handed me the menu to look over again, I sort of snarkily said, "Why don't you give me the menu of WHAT you have this evening."  I immediately felt bad after I said that.  But I was mildly pissed that they didn't have the two things I really wanted.

Darcy explained that a large group had come in from one of the surrounding office buildings earlier in the evening.  "It was pretty busy in here up to about 30 minutes ago," she said.  "The meat loaf and the sirloin tips are always a favorite."

Opening back up the menu, I so didn't want a burger that evening.  My stomach was set for the meat loaf, and the sirloin tips were going to be a nearly even consolation prize.  I just about cut my losses and was going to head out when I decided to have the "Steak & Shrooms" - two sirloin filets with sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions, topped with smoked provolone.  Fried mushroom caps and a somewhat spicy piquant sauce came on the side.  Thyme potatoes were supposed to come on the side, but I was able to get Darcy to substitute tater tots instead.  

The sirloin filets were, well, all right.  They were tender enough, but I'm sure the marinated sirloin tips would have been more flavorful and tender.  With the provolone cheese and sautéed mushrooms, there was some flavor to the meal.  The piquant sauce was nice to dip the tater tots into.  It wasn't outstanding, but it wasn't bad.  When I needed another beer, Darcy brought me a Sculpin in a 25 ounce glass.  "This one is on me, since we were out of the two things you originally ordered," she said.  I was grateful for the gesture, considering my mild pissy-ness earlier on.  

The Brick House Tavern was just OK, in my book.  Given that they were out of two things that I originally ordered and my third choice was just all right, I can't say that I was all that enamored with the place.   But my server Darcy was pleasant and accommodating.  For a small national chain that is in a high traffic area like Chesterfield, I can see where Brick House Tavern can be successful.  I'd rather go to a place that isn't quite so corporate in nature, but for what the Brick House Tavern was, it was fine.  

Galloway Grill - Springfield, MO

Down in Springfield, MO recently, I was looking for someplace close to my hotel that had sandwiches and beer - nothing fancy and something quick.  I had looked up a couple three places online to see if there was anything in the immediate area that tripped my trigger.  I found a place that sounded good and decided to head over there for dinner.  This is my little story about my visit to Galloway Grill on S. Lone Oak Rd. on the southeast side of Springfield.    

For a number of years, the building that Galloway Grill now inhabits was the home of Galloway Station, a popular local eatery that had opened in 2003 and was named after Galloway Creek, a babbling brook that ran behind the place.  When the owners of Galloway Station and the landlord of the building could not agree on a new lease about six years ago, they were forced to move to a new building.  Today, Galloway Station is located on E. Republic Ave. on Springfield's far south side.

The building on S. Lone Oak sat vacant for a number of months before Dan and Ann Carter bought the building with the intent of reviving the place as a restaurant.  They renovated the whole building putting in a new kitchen, new flooring and an outdoor beer garden.  The Carters opened Galloway Grill in November of 2013.  

Galloway Grill is located along the Galloway Creek Greenway, a multi-purpose trail that runs parallel to Galloway Creek (see map).  The paved trail is part of the Ozark Greenways trail system around Springfield that is used daily by walkers, hikers, runners and bicyclists.  The Galloway Creek trail was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2003 by the National Park Service, the first in Missouri to be named.  Because of its proximity to the trail, Galloway Grill attracts dozens of bicyclists, joggers, and people out on walks in the warmer months.   

All the head-in parking in front of the Galloway Grill was filled up, but there was a gravel lot just across the street.  That lot, too was full, but a car was pulling out as I was looking for a parking spot.   The barn-board facade of the building was illuminated by festive hanging lights.  It definitely appeared to be a pretty popular place. 

The party was definitely going on inside the restaurant.  Groups of all ages were seated throughout the place. Old time beer signs were hanging from the walls helping to illuminate the area along with hanging white incandescent lighting.  

 
They close off the beer garden in the winter time allowing for diners to use the area as an overflow seating area.  They had gas heaters in the beer garden making sure diners were warm enough on cold winter's nights.  It wasn't all that cold out when I was there, but there was still enough of a chill in the air where they had to use the heaters that evening.  

I wanted to sit at the bar, but it was very small - only about six seats.  And they were all occupied.  I found a table toward the back corner of the place and took a seat there.  Not long after I did that, a pleasant young lady by the name of Lindsey came by with a menu.  She asked what I wanted to drink and I took a look through the beer menu.  It turned out that many of the old time beers that they had signs on display - Hamm's, Schlitz, and Pabst Blue Ribbon - they served at Galloway Grill.  It turned out that they even had Stag - I didn't know they even MADE Stag any longer.  I ended up getting a Boulevard Irish Ale, one of my more favorite seasonal beers.  Curiously, it was served in a plastic Galloway Grill 16 ounce cup.  

The menu is pretty basic at Galloway Grill - burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, and salads are the main items.  They may have had a special that evening, but I don't remember if they actually had one.  They also had a limited kid's menu, as well.

Because they didn't have a lot on the menu, I ended up just getting the cheeseburger.  But you could really customize the burger with a choice of 8 different types of cheese, or a dozen toppings such as jalapeños, ham slices, chili or a housemade blue cheese sauce.  The burger patties were made with 100% certified Hereford beef, seasoned and char-grilled.  I got Swiss cheese and bacon on my burger.  

 
The burger plate was garnished with raw red onion rings, lettuce, and a dill pickle slice.  And they seemed to be making a big deal out of the beer-battered fries at Galloway Grill that I decided to give them a try.  ("They're our most popular side," Lindsey told me as she was selling me on the beer-battered fries.  "People really love them!")  

The burger patty was thick and juicy - I definitely needed more napkins than the single napkin they provided on the table.  The bun was fresh, lightly toasted, and helped with the overall taste of the burger.  (I've always said the mark of a good burger is a good bun.)  The Swiss cheese was thick cut and oozing over the top of the burger.  The bacon was crispy and also helped enhance the overall taste of the burger.  

The fries were, well, all right.  I didn't see why they made such a big deal about them at Galloway Grill.  They had a crispy outer shell and a somewhat flaky inner core.  I guess I could see how some people may think they were great, but I just didn't get that big of a kick out of them.

Galloway Grill was a good find, a nice and homey little tavern that had a somewhat limited menu of burgers, sandwiches and appetizers that would appeal to most people of all ages.  They had a good beer menu - including some vintage "bottom-shelf" beers you don't find everywhere these days - and the service I received during my visit was friendly, prompt and efficient.  I can see why Galloway Grill is such a popular place - not only during the warmer months when bikers are using the nearby trail - but also in the winter months when they make it warm and cozy inside. 

Barley's Kitchen + Tap - Overland Park, KS

Staying in the southwest suburbs of Kansas City on a recent trip getting ready to meet with a new account the next day, I was sort of hungry, but I wasn't.  Ever get that feeling?  I knew I needed something or I would be waking up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling, but I didn't want a big heavy meal - like barbecue - that would also keep me awake from eating too much.  Down the road aways from the hotel was a place that I'd read about on previous visits to the area - Barley's Kitchen + Tap.  I decided to head down 119th Street in Overland Park to go have dinner there that evening.  

Barley's Kitchen + Tap is under the umbrella of the KC Hopps restaurant group run by Chris Sutton.  Sutton is a native of Chicago and had a keen interest in food while growing up in a family who exposed him to various cuisines.  Sutton considers himself a "foodie" and many of his vacations have been food-emphasis taking him all over the U.S. and Europe to try different restaurants.  

Sutton started his first restaurant - 75th Street Brewery - in 1993.  It was the first brewpub in Kansas City and was open for 23 years before closing for the expansion of a restaurant next door.  Over the years, Sutton's KC Hopps company opened and ran a number of places such as O'Dowd's Little Dublin in the Country Club Plaza area of Kansas City, 3 locations of the now closed 810 Zone sports bar, and the Blue Moose Bar and Grill with 3 locations in the greater Kansas City area and 3 more in the Kansas cities of Topeka, Lawrence and Manhattan.  In 2013, KC Hopps bought a minority stake in the venerable home-style Kansas City restaurant Stroud's - a place that I've wanted to go to, but just haven't made it to yet - with the plan to expand the Stroud's name beyond Kansas City.  In addition to running restaurants, Sutton has also been a consultant to beer-centric restaurants around the Midwest and Southeast.  

Sutton opened a beer-centric restaurant - Barley's Brewhaus - in Overland Park in 1995.  It featured a large number of beers and an upscale casual menu for food.  Barley's Brewhaus expanded to locations in the Kansas City suburbs of Leawood, KS and Shawnee, KS.  They closed the Leawood location in the spring of 2016 and later in the year KC Hopps rebranded the restaurant as Barley's Kitchen + Tap with an updated and more eclectic menu that better reflected the quality brands of beer they offered at the restaurant.  

The Overland Park Barley's Kitchen + Tap is located near the corner of 119th Street and Quivera Rd. in Overland Park.  (see map)  It was just after 8 p.m. on a Monday evening when I walked into the restaurant.  There weren't a lot of people in there - Monday nights are usually the slowest for most restaurants.  (One of the reasons that A) my wife and I like to have our date nights on Monday night; and B) many restaurants are closed on Monday nights, much to the chagrin of my wife and me.)  

The space was large and open with community tables near the bar and some booths in the back area.  There was a small alcove behind the bar area that featured some tables with a number of contemporary and vintage beer signs.  The hostess who greeted me said that I could pretty much have a seat anywhere in the place.  

I ended up seated at the bar, which was the most popular place to sit that evening.  A group of six people were huddled around the corner of the bar to my right toasting a colleague whose funeral they had attended earlier in the day.  Two more couples were seated down the bar to my right.   I was greeted by Scott, a friendly guy who was bartending that evening.  He gave me a food menu and I took a look at the vast amount of beers they had on tap to choose from.  I got a Free State Yakimaniac IPA from the Free State Brewery in nearby Lawrence, KS which was the very first brew pub that I went to back in the late 1980's.  The Free State IPA had a bit of a hoppy taste, but I felt it was very smooth and very good.  

On the menu at Barley's Kitchen + Tap is a wide choice of food items.  The menu features a number of appetizers and sharable plates, soups and salads, a health conscious part of the menu features meals that are 600 calories or less, and they have a number of sandwiches, flat breads, and entrees to choose from.  They even have a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza on the menu as a nod to the owner's Windy City roots. 

I had been traveling a lot up to this visit to Barley's Kitchen + Tap and I was falling into a serious food funk.  I was hungry, but I wasn't.  I really didn't know what I wanted, but I knew I didn't want a burger.  They had a seafood pasta entree that was intriguing, but I felt it would probably be too rich.  There were a lot of interesting items to choose from, but nothing was really tripping my trigger.

At that time, I had been on somewhat of a chicken wings in Buffalo sauce-kick.  I saw that they had a Buffalo chicken wrap - breaded chicken strips that were deep fried and tossed in a spicy Buffalo sauce and wrapped in a chipotle flour tortilla shell with chopped bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onions along with both mozzarella and provolone cheese.  Blue cheese dressing came on the side.  I told Scott that was exactly what I was looking for.  

After having a house salad with a wonderful chipotle ranch dressing (I had promised my wife that I'd eat more salads on the road), Scott brought out my Buffalo chicken wrap.  And it was pretty big - a lot larger than I thought it would be.  It was cut in half and filled with large chunks of fried chicken tenders covered in a spicy sauce.  A side of fries came with the wrap.  The only problem is that I was given a side of roasted garlic buttermilk dressing and not the blue cheese dressing.  Scott saw to it that I immediately got a side of the blue cheese dressing, even though the roasted garlic dressing was pretty good.  

The wrap had a number of good flavors going on.  The chicken was crispy, yet tender and had ample amounts of the Buffalo sauce all over it giving it a nice spicy kick.  Along with the crisp lettuce and onions, it all mixed with with the combination of the mozzarella and provolone cheese.  I was able to eat one half of the wrap, but then opened the second part and picked the chicken out to dip in the blue cheese dressing.  It turned out to be a nice, light and flavorful meal.

The fries that came with it, well, I wasn't too interested in them at first.  However, I tried a couple and found them to be delicious - a nice crispy outside, not too oily or greasy, with a nice flaky potato presence inside.  I actually ate more of the fries than I thought I would as they were very good.  

Barley's Kitchen + Tap was impressive with the number of beers they had to offer, as well as the somewhat upscale and diverse menu that they present.   I went on what was a very slow night, so the service I received sitting at the bar was prompt and friendly.  My Buffalo chicken wrap was very good and I enjoyed my dinner salad that was served with a delicious chipotle ranch dressing that had a nice little kick to the taste.  While I wasn't all that hungry and in a bit of a food funk when I went into Barley's Kitchen + Tap, I have to say that I was more than happy with what I got to eat there that evening.  

Baked Beer & Bread Co. - Davenport, IA

A new place opened in the Village of East Davenport over a year ago called Baked Beer and Bread Co.  For a number of reasons, we hadn't tried Baked yet.  One time we went there and they were closed.  Another time, we went in on a Saturday afternoon to get a sandwich and we were told they had brunch until 2 p.m.  Finally, we were trying to figure out a place to go to for dinner on a recent date night and I said, "Well, hey!  We've always said we wanted to try Baked!"  My wife was in full agreement and we went there that evening.  

Actually, we had been to Baked before when co-owner Stephanie Sellers had the bakery part of the business up and running in the fall of 2016.  But we'd known about Stephanie and her fiancé/partner Bill Sheeder from both the Downtown Davenport Farmers Market - where Stephanie sold some of her pastries - and their ownership of a small coffee shop/cafe a couple blocks east of Baked in the East Village.  

Bill's main vocation is running a commercial cleaning company, but he had a background in the restaurant industry working at - and managing - some local pizza places around the Quad Cities.  Stephanie ran a small bakery - The Sweet Life - in nearby LeClaire, IA for four years.  There was a good little coffee shop/beer and wine bar/pizza joint in the East Village by the name of Brew that my wife and I enjoyed very much.  But, it closed up in 2013 when the owner moved out of state.  It sat empty for some time, but one morning Bill Sheeder happened to be walking past the building with the owner standing out front.  Sheeder and Sellers had been thinking about opening a little restaurant and Bill asked the owner about the spot.  Much of the equipment - including a commercial-grade convection oven - was still in place in the restaurant.  By that evening, they had worked out a deal for Sheeder and Sellers to take over the little restaurant.

Pictured at right - Bill Sheeder and Stephanie Sellers.  Photo courtesy The Radish

When they finally opened Brew in 2014, the menu Sheeder and Sellers had to work with was limited because of the small kitchen area behind the bar and they always knew that they'd like to do something bigger with more room to try different things.  It turned out that a building two blocks away that used to house an art gallery and store had been empty since 2012.  One day in 2015, Sheeder inquired to the owner of the property if the building was still for sale.  It turned out that it was and he took his fiancé down the alley a couple blocks to look at the building.  She thought he was crazy at first, but after looking at the space through the windows she thought it would make a wonderful restaurant space.  

They bought the building and gutted the insides.  With the help of a friend of Sheeder's who was an artist/designer of rustic fixtures and furniture accessories, they were able to procure large quantities of barn board - many of which were over 100 years old - that were used for the walls and bar at the new space.  Stephanie set up her baking kitchen in the spot and was selling pastries, breads and other baked goods out of the new building in November of 2016.  

By January of last year, they were starting to host musical events in the space.  The bar and brewpub opened in February of 2017 with local brewer Brian Traughber overseeing the on-site microbrewery, and on April 20 of last year the restaurant began to serve food with the kitchen headed by Midwestern-born chef Philip Winkler who focused on foods that were sourced locally.  (In late 2016, Sheeder and Sellers sold Brew to local businessman Tim Chen and his wife, Jennifer who also own The Plaid Rabbit gift and stationery store in the East Village.  Click here to go to Brew's web site.)

Baked Beer and Bread Co. is located on Mound Street just north of 11th St. in the East Village.  (see map)  The bakery is in the front part of the building opposite the nano-brewery.  While they have 16 beers on tap at Baked, they only had a couple of their own beers on tap that evening.  

The dining room is down some stairs with a small bar area toward the head of the room.  We were seated at a table in front of the stage that had a large "BAKED" sign on the wall with light bulbs illuminating it.  It was pretty loud in the place and it got increasingly loud as more people came in.  

A friend of Bill Sheeder's who's a local artist specializing in rustic designs provided the barn boards that adorn the walls of Baked.  Part of the wall features an American flag that was made with barn boards, stained and lacquered.  Many of the barn boards inside Baked are said to be over 100 years old.  

We were given menus as we sat down and we were soon greeted by our server, Alleyah, a very nice young lady who asked what we'd like to drink.  I got the Chester Copperpot pale ale brewed at Baked.  It was smooth with a bit of a hoppy bite, but sort of flat in taste.  My wife opted for the Pure Happiness Double IPA from the Alpine Beer Co. in California.  It was very hoppy, but my wife likes hoppy beers.  Still, it was probably a little too intense for her taste.  

Looking through the menu, the offerings at Baked ranged from some interesting starter items such as smoked pulled pork sliders and jalapeño popper donuts to tacos, sandwiches, burgers, and an array of salads.  The blackened salmon tacos caught my eye, as did the pan-seared meatloaf with skin-on mashed potatoes.  The reuben made with in-house smoked corned beef topped with cole slaw, apple butter, a Green Goddess spread and a housemade Thousand Island Dressing was also tantalizing.  

Alleyah came back to tell us about a couple of specials that evening and to answer some questions my wife had about the menu.  But, quite honestly, it got to be so loud in there that I had to have her stop and repeat what she was saying three times.  My hearing isn't what it used to be after being exposed to live and recorded music played loud on big systems over the years, but it was just downright impossible to make out exactly what she was saying.

I ended up going with the Bakin' Burger - a 1/2 pound, locally-raised beef patty that was chargrilled and topped with a mild cheddar and bacon strips on a grilled brioche bun.  I got my choice of a side with the burger and I had a choice of about a dozen different items such as maple-glazed cornbread, chorizo/sweet potato mash, parmesan cauliflower, or smoked baked beans.  I ended up getting the beer mac 'n cheese for my side.  

 
My wife went with the Knuckle Sandwich - in-house smoked brisket topped with a housemade aioli and creamy cole slaw.  She got a couple sides for an upcharge - the braised kale and the sidewinder potato fries.  I was quite surprised that she didn't get the pan-fried Brussels sprouts as she had been on a kick of having them at home.  

I had asked for my burger to be cooked medium, but it came out woefully overcooked.  When Alleyah came back to see how things were, she asked me how the burger was.  "Overcooked," I told her.  She offered to get me another one, but I had already eaten about half of this burger.  I told her that I was fine with what I had.  She offered again, but I said it wasn't necessary.

When Alleyah asked my wife how her sandwich was, she didn't pull any punches.  "I see why they call it a knuckle sandwich," my wife said.  "It's as hard as knuckles!"  She had told me this before our server had come back to check on us and she gave me a chunk of brisket to try.  It was tough to chew and didn't have much flavor.  Alleyah offered, once again, to replace her sandwich, but my wife refused - even though there were parts of the brisket that were literally inedible.  She concentrated more on her braised kale salad than anything else on her plate.   

While my wife liked the braised kale, I have to say that my beer mac 'n cheese was pretty drab in taste and completely underwhelming.  I dug into the mac 'n cheese and half of the dish of macaroni noodles came up with the fork.  They were all stuck together with the cheese coagulating with the mac noodles.  But we both liked the sidewinder potatoes that my wife got.  I normally don't get fries that much any longer, but the sidewinder fries were cooked to a golden brown outside and were light and flaky on the inside. 

As my wife and I went to leave after paying the bill, we were surprised by the number of people in the bakery area that were waiting for seating to open up in the dining room.  It was a weeknight when we were there, so  we were quite amazed that it was as packed as it was.  

For our first experience at Baked Beer & Bread Co., we were highly disappointed.  My burger was completely overcooked, my wife's brisket sandwich was inedible in some places, and my mac 'n cheese side was very underwhelming.  However, my wife thought her kale salad was very good, as were the sidewinder potatoes that she ordered and we shared.  While it was extremely loud in the place mainly because of the wooden floors and barn board walls, we couldn't complain about the service we received from Alleyah that evening.  I think she felt bad that we didn't care for the burger and brisket that we had respectively, and she was pretty quick in giving us our bill  when we were done with our meal knowing that we wanted to get out of there sooner than later.   We really wanted to like Baked since it is close to our house.  And while we probably will go back to try something else at some point, it's going to take a lot to wash away our disappointment with our first visit. 

Whole Hog Cafe - Springfield, MO

After a couple of morning meetings with accounts in Springfield, MO, I was getting ready to head up toward St. Louis for an evening meeting there.  But I figured I'd better get something to eat since it would be later on before I'd be eating.  I was in the mood for barbecue and I punched in barbecue restaurants in my GPS.  One place that came up was a place that someone had told me about before - Whole Hog Cafe.  There are two locations for Whole Hog Cafe in Springfield and I stopped in at the one on N. Glenstone near Interstate 44.  

Well, unbeknownst to me, Whole Hog Cafe is a regional chain of company-owned and franchisee-owned barbecue places based out of Little Rock, AR.  You've seen this story before if you've read about other barbecue places on Road Tips - a group of friends get together to barbecue some meat, they get pretty good at it, they enter some contests - and win, they set out for national barbecue competitions - and win those, too. Then they decided to open their own barbecue place that turns out to be a hit.  That's what happened with Whole Hog Cafe founders Mike “Sarge” Davis, Ron Blasingame, and Steve Lucchi.  

Ron Blasingame - whose daytime job was running an office furniture leasing company - was a former Marine who fell in love with all types of barbecue.  In the 1990's, he became a certified barbecue judge for both the Kansas City Barbecue Society and for the prestigious "Memphis in May" barbecue contest held annually in Memphis, TN.  During his judging of events, he learned a lot of different techniques for barbecuing meats and worked with a lot of different types of smokers and cookers.  He once fashioned a galvanized trash can into a smoker for one of his cooking apparatus.  

Pictured right - Ron Blasingame.  Photo courtesy Arkansas Times.

Blasingame formed the "Southern Gentlemen's Culinary Society" with Davis, Lucchi, long-time friend Steve Bishop, and Blasingame's brother, Mike in the mid-90's.  The team entered barbecue contests across the South and perfected their rubs, sauces and cooking techniques while winning a number of barbecue festival titles.  

In 2000, the group entered the Memphis in May barbecue contest for the first time and ended up getting second place for their ribs.  Two years later, the group garnered 1st place in the "Whole Hog" competition during Memphis in May, and got another 2nd place nod for their ribs.  

After winning the Memphis in May in 2002, Blasingame started to sell his barbecue to the public out of a trailer that was parked at a gas station in the Cantrell Hill neighborhood of Little Rock.  Lines formed and word of mouth got around the city that this little trailer had the best barbecue in town.  Blasingame partnered with Lucchi and Davis to open the first Whole Hog Cafe later that year in a strip mall in Little Rock's Riverdale neighborhood.  

Ron Blasingame bought out Steve Lucchi in 2004 and continued to be the majority shareholder in Whole Hog Cafe with Mark "Sarge" Davis as the managing partner.  However, a liver ailment in 2009 put Blasingame in the hospital.  His conditioned worsened and he died a week after being admitted.  He was just 60 years old.  

Suddenly, Blasingame's wife Kathy - who was never really involved in the restaurant - was the majority owner in Whole Hog Cafe and she called upon her brother, Chris Maynes, to come out from New Jersey to help her run the business.  Maynes came to Little Rock for a crash-course in running a barbecue restaurant working with Sarge Davis.  Maynes convinced Steve Lucchi to come back to help show him the ropes.  Maynes stayed for five months and caught the barbecue bug, himself.

Up to the time of Ron Blasingame's passing, Whole Hog Cafe had been expanding with not only company-owned locations around Little Rock, but franchisee-owned locations in Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and New Mexico.  (Chris Maynes returned home to New Jersey and opened a Whole Hog Cafe franchise in Cherry Hill, NJ in 2013.)  The Whole Hog Cafe franchise concept eventually caught the eye of Paul Sundy, a Springfield, MO restaurateur/night club owner.    

Sundy owned a popular nightclub in downtown Springfield before opening up Big Whiskey's - an American-style restaurant - in 2006 with two partners.  Big Whiskey's quickly became one of the more popular destinations in Springfield and Sundy looked at opening other locations around the city and beyond.  It was during a trip to Little Rock in 2008 to scout out a possible Big Whiskey's franchise location there that he learned about franchise possibilities for Whole Hog Cafe.  

Sundy was also a partner with Jay Hickman in a Springfield restaurant, while Hickman was a partner with Daniel Bryant in another Springfield restaurant.   Bryant had also been looking at becoming a Whole Hog Cafe franchise owner, however he had been looking at putting in a location in Tulsa, OK.  Sundy, Daniels and Hickman then set their sites at doing a Whole Hog Cafe in Springfield.  They found a location that had been a former video rental store and opened their Whole Hog Cafe franchise in 2010 along W. Sunshine Street on the south side of Springfield.  The group opened a second location on Springfield's far north side in 2014. 

It was that second location that I stopped into on my way out of town that day.  (see map)  From the outside of the place - and my somewhat faulty long-term memory of what was there before - I thought it used to be a Big Boy or a Bob Evans restaurant at one time.  Just inside the front door there were a number of large trophies from previous barbecue contests that Whole Hog's team had participated in over the years.  

The dining area was a long room with a bar that looked like it was more designed for people waiting to pick-up "to-go" orders.  Checkered table cloths topped the tables in the restaurant.  Even though they were playing some Gov't Mule in the background, the atmosphere seemed sort of stodgy and staid.  

 
The menu was on a black board near the front entrance.  You place your order at the front counter and they bring it to your table.  Whole Hog Cafe features ribs, pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken, smoked pork loins, sausage and burnt ends on their menu.  They did have beer, but not what I would call and extensive beer list.  

And they did have a combo meat platter, which is what I like to get when I go to barbecue restaurants that I haven't been to before.  Unfortunately, the combo meat platter didn't include any of the baby back ribs that I wanted to try, so I ended up getting the pulled pork and brisket.  For my two sides, I got some cole slaw and some of their baked beans.  

For sauces, they had about a half dozen to choose from.  They didn't name their sauces, but numbered them.  #1 was a sweet, sort of runny sauce.  #2 was a tangy vinegar/tomato-based sauce.  #3 was the spicy version of #2.  #4 was a traditional Southern spicy/peppery vinegar sauce (which was actually pretty good!).  #5 was a heavy sweet molasses sauce, and #6 was a mustard and vinegar sauce that I was not interested in, at all.  They also had a "Volcano" sauce that would probably burn your face off.  That was only available in small amounts at the front counter.  I like to experiment with combining sauces and I thought that the sweetness of #1 and the spicy/vinegar taste of #3 was a great combination.  

The brisket was thinly cut, moist and tender.  There was a slight smoke ring around the perimeter of the beef and it had a very good flavor.  It was easy to cut since the brisket was sliced so thin, but it was some very good brisket.

The pulled pork was sort of dry and stringy.  Heaping some barbecue sauce on the pork helped tremendously, but on its own, I wasn't all that impressed with it.  

The baked beans also needed a little help with the combination of the #1 and #3 sauces, but the cole slaw was actually very good.  It had a sweet and tangy flavor to it, not too sweet and not too vinegary.  It was one of the better styles of cole slaw I've had at a barbecue place.  

Even though I found out after the fact that Whole Hog Cafe is a chain of barbecue places, I thought it was all right for what it was.  The brisket was good, the pulled pork was so-so (as were the baked beans), but the cole slaw was the highlight of the meal.  I wished that I could have tried some of their baby back ribs - most place that do combo platters will let you have ribs as part of the meat combination, but Whole Hog Cafe did not.  While I thought the atmosphere was sort of drab, they did play some good music (blues, Southern rock) when I was in there.  Other than that, I thought the place was clean, the food was serviceable, and it was a typical barbecue place that you'd find just about anywhere.  

Drake's - Indianapolis

I was staying on the north side of Indianapolis on a recent trip out there and I was looking for places to eat in the area.  Sometimes, I'll find a place on a map or GPS and when I pull up in front of it, I realize that I've already eaten there.  That happened to me this time, as well.  I was sort of resigned to go back and eat there until I looked across the parking lot at another place called Drake's that looked like it was interesting.  

Bruce Drake was a restaurateur in Lexington, KY running a seafood restaurant - Drake's Regatta.  One of his regular customers was Brian McCarty who had an opportunity to buy a restaurant.  McCarty called upon Drake for advice, both in purchasing the restaurant and then running the place.  In 1997, McCarty bought A.P. Suggins restaurant in Lexington.

Two men who were regular customers at McCarty's restaurant were also developers of the Landsdowne Shoppes upscale shopping and entertainment area in Lexington.  An upscale steakhouse in the immediate area had moved to a new location and the developers asked McCarty if he would be interested in putting a similar restaurant in the development.   Once again, McCarty called upon Drake - only this time it would be more than just advice.  He asked Drake to become a partner in the new restaurant.  

McCarty and Drake worked on a concept and traveled to other markets to try restaurants for ideas.  It was at a restaurant in Atlanta where the owner there told the two that they needed to go to Chicago to try a couple of the "prime beef" restaurants there.  Following a couple meals at the Chicago steak houses, Drake and McCarty came up with the concept for Malone's, the first prime beef restaurant in Lexington.  They opened Malone's nearly 20 years ago and it continues to be the top destination for prime beef steaks in Lexington.  

Using Malone's as a cornerstone, McCarty and Drake set up a restaurant group called Bluegrass Hospitality Group.  Early on, the corporation was a Damon's Ribs franchisee, but they also developed restaurants in and around Lexington such as Sal's Chophouse, Meats BBQ, Harry's, Aqua Sushi and OBC Kitchen.  

One of the first restaurants that McCarty and Drake came up with was an upscale casual eatery/piano bar by the name of Oscar's.  Oscar's opened in 2000 in Lexington and was open for nearly 9 years until the piano bar craze sort of ended.  Bluegrass Entertainment rebranded Oscar's as Drake's - a casual eatery/sushi bar (Aqua Sushi), and a dance hall with the tag line "Come Play".  The concept went over so well that they soon opened two more Drake's in Louisville and one in Huntsville, AL.  The Indianapolis Drake's was opened in 2012 by a franchisee, and there's also company-owned and franchisee locations in Florence, KY, Franklin, TN, and Knoxville, TN, with two more locations opening (if they haven't opened already) in a suburb of Lexington, and one in Bristol, TN.    

The Drake's in Indianapolis is located near the Keystone Crossing area along E. 82nd St.  (see map)  I got into Drake's around 8 p.m. on an unseasonably warm early spring evening.  Record high temperatures had been broken in Indianapolis that day and the staff had opened the large patio windows that looked out from the bar.  Because of that, the bar area was pretty full, but I was able to find a spot at the bar.  

The back part of Drake's featured what appeared to be a shamrock shaped bar, and had a number of tables throughout the area.  This was also the area where their Aqua Sushi sushi bar was located.  I had a hard time reconciling the fact that a sports bar had a sushi place located in it.  But, there seemed to be some people having sushi in this area.

After I was seated, I was greeted by Krystal, one of the bartender/servers that evening.  She offered up a food menu and asked me what I'd like to drink.  They had 20-some beers on tap and I noticed that they had the Three Floyd's Alpha King pale ale on tap.  I like to drink the Alpha King and when I have it I think of my buddy Craig who died of cancer unexpectedly five or six years ago.  He was the one who turned me on to Alpha King a number of years ago.  

For supposedly being an upscale sports bar, the menu didn't really reflect that.  It featured foods that were your standard sports pub fare - burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and a few entrees such as seared salmon, tacos with beer-battered fish, pan-seared chicken breasts, and a Korean BBQ chicken flatbread.  I also could have ordered sushi at the bar, if I wanted.  

I almost ordered the chicken tenders, but I ended up getting the Mushroom/Swiss cheese burger instead.  I asked Krystal if they could put bacon on the burger, as well.  I got a choice of a side with the burger and there wasn't much to choose from - seasoned fries, broccoli florets, waffled sweet potato fries, and cole slaw - but they did have tater tots!  I was set.  

The burger was presented to me in a metal pan on a bed of wax paper.  The burger patty was sitting on chopped lettuce, shredded red onion, and a slice of tomato.  I could tell pretty easily that the bun was dry, but I decided I'd be able to get around that.  

Well, it turned out that it was a good thing the bun was dry because the burger was juicy and messy from the first bite.  The bun did a good job of staying together and sopping up the juiciness from the burger and the messiness from the Swiss cheese and mushrooms.  It was definitely a multi-napkin burger.  It turned out to be a lot better than I initially thought it would be.

The tater tots were a great side with the meal.  The only problem is that they couldn't find any hot sauce for me to use on the tater tots until someone came from the kitchen with a bottle of Tabasco where they had purposely pulled out the drip hole at the top of the bottle.  I had to gingerly pour some of the Tabasco sauce out onto the wax paper making sure that I didn't pour the whole damned bottle out onto my plate.    

Drake's might not have been my first choice that evening, but it turned out to be pretty good one.  The Swiss/mushroom/bacon burger I had was juicy and messy, the tater tots were a nice compliment to the burger, and they had a good beer selection including the Three Floyd's Alpha King of which I enjoyed a couple of those.  While the place was busy - the bartenders were hopping the whole time I was there - they were still able to keep up with any needs that I had.  The only thing that I can't reconcile is having a sushi bar in a sports pub.  But other than sushi, it's pretty much your standard sports grub.  If you're looking for something like that on the north side of Indy, Drake's is a good place to try.  

Fiddler's Hearth - South Bend, IN

A few years ago, my old neighbor and his wife - who are HUGE Notre Dame football fans - went to South Bend for a football weekend and spent one evening in what my neighbor said was the neatest Irish pub that he'd ever been to.  And my neighbor is one of those guys who despises pubs who open in strip malls, put an Irish flag up on the wall and Guinness on tap, and then call themselves an authentic Irish pub.  When I was in South Bend awhile back, I was looking for someplace where I could get a sandwich or some comfort food along with some good beer.  I found a place in downtown South Bend by the name of Fiddler's Hearth.  When I got inside, I texted my ex-neighbor and asked him if the place he loved was the same place.  "Yes," was his quick reply.  When I texted back that I was seated at the bar, I got a picture back from him of his wife who was flashing an obscene gesture at me.  I knew that I was in the right place.  

Terry Meehan was a native of the South Bend area, but his family lineage dates back to Ireland.  Meehan is the direct descendant of the first non-native child born in the area after his forefathers moved from Ireland to northwest Indiana in the 1800's.  His wife, Carol, grew up in California, but came from a family with deep Scottish roots.  Their son, Sean, is an accomplished bagpiper.

The Meehan family were members of the St. Patrick Church in downtown South Bend.  The church was in need of restorations and the Meehan's organized the first what turned out to be a number of fundraising "celli's" - a traditional Celtic food and dance party.  During one of the celli celebrations, Meehan realized that in the city that is home to the Fainting Irish - sorry, Fighting Irish (old habit from being a University of Iowa football fan) - that there was no Irish public house in the city.  

Pictured at right - Terry, Carol and Sean Meehan.  

He set out to find a location that they could transform into an authentic Irish pub complete with music.   The Meehan's found a spot on S. Main just south of Colfax and they put in a small bar, an authentic hearth and a stage for live music.  Fiddler's Hearth opened on October 1, 2002.  

I was able to find parking in a parking garage just across the street from Fiddler's Hearth that allowed me to park for free for the first two hours.  (see map)   Entering Fiddler's Hearth, I found a small and cozy space that was filled to the rafters with people in there having dinner.  True to form, there was an old fashioned fireplace with two high-backed winged chairs in front of it.   The lighting was subdued and the place had a welcoming vibe.   

The dining room featured a number of tables with Irish paraphernalia on the walls.  A small stage was at one end of the dining room and some musicians were setting up instruments on the stage.  (Fiddler's Hearth has musical entertainment seven nights a week.)  This was truly a traditional Irish pub in my friend's overall criteria  of what a true Irish pub in America really is. 

I was able to find a seat at the small L-shaped bar in the back corner of the restaurant.  The stools they had weren't all that comfortable, but I knew I wasn't going to get a table for as busy that it was.  One of the bartenders, a young lady by the name of Emily, was multi-tasking when she greeted me as I sat down.  She asked if I needed a menu.  She grabbed the menu and sat it down in front of me before she hurried off to drop off a couple of drinks at the waitstaff station.  She finally settled down enough to come back to see what I wanted to drink.  They had a number of craft beers to choose from on their beer menu, but I ended up getting a good ol' Smithwick's that they had on tap.  

The menu at Fiddler's Hearth featured a number of Irish and British Isles specialties including Scotch Eggs and Welsh rarebit as part of their appetizer list.  They had boxty (grated potatoes - sort of an Irish potato pancake) that was stuffed with a choice of smoked salmon, steak, barbecued pork, chicken or vegetables.  Traditional meals such as fish and chips, bangers and mash, lamb stew, and shepherd's pie were also on the menu.  Fiddler's Hearth also had a number of sandwiches and burgers on the menu, as well.  

I ended up getting the Steak and Guinness pie with a side of mashed potatoes and broccolini.  The Steak and Guinness pie featured a puffed pastry on top covering a mixture of chunks of steak, mushrooms and onions in a beef broth/Guinness beer gravy.  The steak tips were tender, the mushrooms added an earthiness to the taste, there was a hint of onions on the flavor, but it was all tied together with the wonderful beef stock/Guinness gravy.  The only quibble I had was that the portion was pretty small for $15. 

I was able to dip some of the mashed potatoes into the gravy and that helped with their somewhat bland taste.  And the broccolini was overcooked and lifeless.  That was OK with me as I really didn't care if I had a green vegetable on my plate that evening.  After I finished, Emily tried to tempt me into getting their white chocolate bread pudding with a whiskey cream sauce.  As good as it sounded, I was fine with what I had.  

As I said, my old neighbor is a stickler when it comes to categorizing what is and what isn't an authentic Irish pub in America.  And it's no wonder he liked the ambiance at Fiddler's Hearth.  Warm, friendly, cozy, an inviting atmosphere - these are all the things I experienced during my visit.  Along with a good craft and Irish beer selection, the food featured at Fiddler's Hearth was good, authentic Irish and British Isles fare.  This was one of the better authentic Irish pubs I've found in all my travels over the years.  Fiddler's Hearth is definitely a place to visit if you get to South Bend.