Oozing with sweet blackberry filling spread over a layer of cream cheese, the blackberry stuffed French toast was the tastiest I’ve ever eaten. A crispy coating (I’m not sure what it was—they said it was secret) contrasted nicely with the filling. Read more
It used to be if you didn’t eat dinner before going to an evening show in Branson, you were out of luck. The sidewalks pretty much rolled up just before or as the shows ended. Not so anymore. More restaurants are staying open until at least 10 p.m. weekdays and 11 p.m. weekends. Here are three of our favorites located right on the strip, Highway 76, near most of the theaters: Read more
If not for the sign out front, you might think you were pulling up to someone’s home. Actually, you are. The family dog may greet you and escort you to the door of the manufactured home set on a hill overlooking a lush pine valley.
Inside, you may be seated next to the fireplace in the dining room. Family photos fill the walls, including photos of Nicolas Black Elk, medicine man and warrior of the Native American Oglala Lakota tribe, who was restaurant owner Betty O’Rourke’s great-grandfather.
Bette’s Kitchen’s menu includes fare like fried chicken, burgers, BLTs, chef’s salad and soup. However, for our group that Betty hosted, she put out a huge spread of chicken, beef, chicken noodle soup, salads, baked beans, fresh watermelon and cupcakes frosted in vivid colors, punctuated with colorful sprinkles. The meal was served buffet style with paper plates from a folding table in Betty’s kitchen, an experience much like a family picnic.
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In fact, you can savor your meal picnic-style while enjoying the beauty of the South Dakota scenery in the tented outdoor seating area if you prefer.
Betty’s cooking is like that of your aunt or grandmother, down-home deliciousness. The soup was chock full of thick noodles, the chicken crispy and juicy, the beef tender and flavorful. It’s no wonder that Betty served over 2,000 people last summer. Besides local regulars, it isn’t uncommon for Betty to serve busloads that stop in for lunch in the remote location.
Bette’s Kitchen is located at 111 Black Elk Road, one mile north of Manderson in western South Dakota. Phone (605) 867-1739.
Disclosure: My visit to Bette’s Kitchen was hosted by the South Dakota Department of Tourism and Bette’s Kitchen. However, all opinions in this article are my own.
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
Sometimes it’s the little extras that make a place memorable. Lou Mitchell’s is memorable for several reasons. As you begin Route 66 from the eastern terminus in Chicago, it’s the first diner you reach that has been around since before the route was commissioned. Foods that other restaurants prepare from mixes or purchase ready-made, Lou Mitchell’s makes from scratch. However, the special sweet treats are what most people best remember.
In the Greek tradition of offering a sweet treat as a welcome greeting, you are offered a donut hole as you are seated.
All women and children receive a snack-size box of Milk Duds, as well.
Milk Duds were originally made in Chicago. The candy company owner was a personal friend of Lou Mitchell and a regular restaurant patron. “Uncle Lou” started the tradition of giving all women and children a box of the candies, and both the donut hole and Milk Duds traditions have stuck.
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Lou Mitchell’s doesn’t take short cuts with the food preparation. Their orange and grapefruit juices are both freshly squeezed, and vats of freshly made orange marmalade are on the table.
I ordered a ham and cheese omelet, and Skip ordered eggs Benedict. Both came with hash browns that were really American fries sliced remarkably thin. If fried just a little more, they’d be potato chips. My omelet was so large I could only eat half of it.
Skip claims his eggs Benedict was the best he’d ever tasted. It’s not surprising, since the hollandaise sauce is made fresh every morning from scratch.
I knew about the donut hole and Milk Duds traditions before we visited the restaurant. We were surprised, though, with the treat at the end of the meal: a tiny cup of ice cream. Yep, ice cream for dessert even after breakfast.
Lou Mitchell’s, located at 565 W Jackson Boulevard in Chicago, has been in business since 1923. They’re open every day for breakfast and lunch except the seven major holidays. Check the web site for the hours and menu.
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
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Driving Route 66 through Miami, Oklahoma, looking for someplace to eat a late dinner, we stumbled across Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque.
Barbecue is my favorite cuisine, but we’d already eaten several barbecue meals on the trip. Chicken would hit the spot. However, I’d been doing real well in keeping my calorie count down, and I really didn’t want to blow it with fried chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque offers rotisserie chicken as an alternative to fried.
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White meat is leaner than dark meat, but dark meat is my taste preference, so I went with the two-piece dark meat rotisserie dinner served with two sides and a dinner roll. Skip ordered the same but with white meat. I ordered mashed potatoes without gravy and corn on the cob for my two sides; Skip, who is not counting calories, had mashed potatoes with gravy and baked beans.
Removing the skin from my chicken reduced the calories by about a third. I found the corn and roll both sweet and tasty enough without added butter. The chicken dinner satisfied my taste buds while keeping my calorie consumption within my target range.
Charlie’s Chicken is a regional Oklahoma franchise chain. Not all of them offer barbecue. Sides range from the healthier, like green beans, to not-as-healthy but tempting mac ‘n cheese and fried potato wedges. The Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque that we visited is located at 2400 N Main Street in Miami, Oklahoma. Visit their Facebook page for further details.
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Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
Enter the doors of the Hofbräuhaus Chicago and you’re met by the lively tunes of German music mixed with the din of conversation and laughter. Patrons seated at long wooden tables in this hall large enough to fit 550 diners raise beer mugs in toasts before partaking of drink and traditional German foods like schnitzels and sausages. Read more
