LRF Rocks the Rockies: Part 1–Green Chile

July 6, 2018July 15, 2018 - Scott Leave a comment

So I mentioned a couple of months ago that my wife and I vacationed in the Colorado Rockies last summer. This was our first road trip in my wife’s new Camry Hybrid.

2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid — The wife’s new ride. What should we name it?

We decided to take the Camry instead of the van, first since it was just the two of us, and second, if you can get all the way across Nebraska without having to stop for gas, this is always a good thing. (We would also find out later how beneficial they can be for mountain driving.)

Our first Colorado meal was just across the border in Sterling at a Colorado chain Mexican restaurant called Santiago’s.

Unfortunately, I had drained the battery on my phone using Trip Advisor for the last 6000 miles of Nebraska trying to find somewhere to eat. As a result, I do not have a picture to share of one of Santiago’s signature items, the Stuffed Sopapilla.

If you’ve been to a Mexican restaurant, you’ve seen sopapillas, usually in a dessert setting. They’re dough folded over and fried, coated in cinnamon and drizzled with honey. They are frequently served with ice cream.

This is a different animal though. It’s shaped roughly the same, but about twice the size. Then they stuff it with any two items from the burrito menu (except steak). I had chicken and rice with carnitas in mine. Then they smother it in their signature green chile, and THEN they deluxe it (yes, they use “deluxe” as a verb) with cheese, lettuce and tomato. I had been working up a hungry from driving literally all day, and it was still all I could eat. For only $6.75.

Let me go back a minute to that signature green chile. The official name at Santiago’s is “Authentic Green Chile Sauce with Pork,” but if you just say Colorado Green Chile, everybody knows what you’re talking about. Whenever I’m away from home, I always like to try regional specialties. On this trip, it was the green chile.

Green Chile is to Colorado as the horseshoe is to Springfield. Just about every restaurant has it in one form or another, sometimes as a soup you can order a bowl of, sometimes as a condiment. Of course, each establishment has its own recipe, but here are the basics:

Simmer two bone-in pork chops in a stockpot for 2-3 hours. Then remove what’s left of the chops.
Add the following:
- 26 ounces roasted chopped green chiles (This region favors chiles from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico)
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 5 ounces tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease
- 2 teaspoons salt
Simmer for 2 hours.
If you want it thicker, blend in some cornstarch.

(For cooking your bacon!)

A word of caution. If you’re not from Colorado, your digestive system isn’t used to this. It seems harmless at first, but later . . . well let’s just say if you’re not traveling alone, you might want to take one for the team and sleep on the couch that night. Your spouse will thank you.

Louisiana Grillin’ Down in the Holler

May 5, 2018September 30, 2018 - Scott Leave a comment

Southern Illinois, where the Coffman clan has its roots, has many a culinary gem hidden away in the hills of the Shawnee National Forest. One of these is The Blue Boar, down in Kratzinger Hollow between Cobden and Anna. (Local tip–the word “Hollow” is pronounced “holler,” even among the educated. That’s just the way it is. If you go down there and say, “Kratzinger Hollow,” people will look at you like this):

via GIPHY

The Blue Boar sits next to the Great Boars of Fire Lodge, a banquet hall and catering facility known for its award-winning BBQ. The Great Boars and I go way back. Not only did they cater my wedding, but my uncle John was one of the original Great Boars back when they were “just” a competitive BBQ team.

John Belcher, my late uncle. Wish I had a picture of him grilling. Maybe some of the Anna folks can help me out?

Along with fellow Great Boars Dave Fombelle, Jerry McFadden, Bob Lyrla, Jim West, Sonny Beanland and Richard Sheeley, the Boars won 1st place in shoulders at the World Champion Barbeque Cook Off in Memphis. They also held the record for the highest points ever scored at the Jack Daniels’ World Champion Invitational. For four consecutive years the team was ranked in the top 10 in the World by Memphis in May. They also have won The Illinois and Missouri State Championship.

So yeah, they’re pretty good.

The Blue Boar builds on this legacy by adding a New Orleans vibe.

Blue Boar Cobden Illinois Louisiana theme — Looks like Mardi Gras exploded on the wall!

You can’t go wrong with anything coming off the grill or out of the smoker. They also have a variety of po-boy sandwiches, burgers, and of course, cajun-inspired dishes, like shrimp or crawfish etoufee. They add chicken to the smoked sausage in their red beans and rice. Come hungry so you can start off with a plate of the pulled pork nachos, which include my still-favorite-ever baked beans.

Juicy Lucy burger at The Blue Boar Cobden IL — The Juicy Lucy ($8.99) is a half pound of ground chuck stuffed with cheese. It’s a bit messy, but you won’t mind.

The highlight of their weekend brunch menu is the Bubba Benedict, which is a Southern Illinois version of what we would call a breakfast horseshoe up here in the 217.

The food is only half the experience at the Blue Boar, however.

Take some time to enjoy the peaceful down-in-the-holler setting. If the weather’s right, get a table on the large covered patio out back. After you eat, take a short stroll across the bridge behind the restaurant to the grotto.

Behind the Blue Boar, Cobden, IL — My kids at the Blue Boar, Easter 2017.

You never know what you might see up in the trees!

Insect sculptures at the Blue Boar, Cobden, IL — Watch for various sculptures on the grounds. These giant metal insects reminded me of James and the Giant Peach. I may or may not have screamed like a girl when I turned around and unexpectedly saw this one.

So if you find yourself down in Southern Illinois orchard and vineyard country and have a hankerin’ for some really good BBQ, hop onto Kratzinger Hollow Rd. off old US 51 just on the outskirts of Anna and go GETCHA SOME!

Kathmandu

April 19, 2018June 30, 2018 - Scott 1 Comment

Last summer, my wife and I vacationed in Colorado. As I have mentioned before, one of the fastest ways to connect with a new place and its people is through their food. As it turns out, the Colorado Rockies are home to many immigrants from Nepal. The Rockies are nothing like the Himalayas, but they’re the best we can do for mountains in the lower 48, so the Nepalese make do. As a result, there are quite a few Nepali and northern Indian restaurants in the Rockies. Our favorite that we found on this trip was Kathmandu.

The Kathmandu Restaurant has two locations. The newer one is in downtown Boulder, but the one we visited is in the smaller town of Nederland, about a half hour’s drive up into the mountains from Boulder. Astute Stephen King fans might recognize Nederland as the hometown of the Colorado Kid.

We didn’t come from Boulder, though. We arrived in Nederland from the north, along the Peak to Peak National Scenic Byway. This is a 55-mile road that begins in Estes Park, where we were staying, and meanders southward to the casino town of Black Hawk. Nederland is a little more than halfway down.

Mt. Meeker Colorado — Mt. Meeker, 13,911 feet. From the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway.

Kathmandu is on a dusty side street a couple of hundred yards off the main drag. We arrived in time for the lunch buffet, which they offer daily from 11 to 3 for $10.99. (Tip: Leave your jacket in the car. It is ROASTING hot in this place!)

Kathmandu Restaurant, Nederland, Colorado.

So what is Nepali food like? Well, for the most part, it tastes a lot like Indian, which I adore. One notable addition is momos, which are handmade, Tibetan-style dumplings, fried or steamed, and filled with chicken or vegetables and mild seasonings.

And papadums. Love me some papadums. These are basically chips made out of fried lentil flour. I could eat those all day. Actually, I could eat all of it all day. Or at least until 3:00, whereupon the buffet closes.

So if you’re in the Boulder area, or going for a leisurely drive in the mountains (not TOO leisurely–the drivers in Nederland do get a bit cranky with tourists), go GETCHA SOME!

Horseshoes–They’re Not Just for Springfield Anymore!

March 23, 2018December 3, 2022 - Scott Leave a comment

It seems like everywhere I go, there’s some regional specialty that I always need to try. That’s actually one of my favorite parts of traveling–connecting with people through their local foods. Springfield, IL has several of these, but we are best known for one in particular–the horseshoe.

The horseshoe was invented at the Leland Hotel in Springfield in 1928 by Chefs Joe Schweska and Steve Tomko. A classic horseshoe is constructed by placing two pieces of toast on a pre-heated platter (the anvil) a cut of ham shaped like a horseshoe on the toast, cover the whole thing with cheese sauce and add french fries for the “nails” in the horseshoe. OK, the visual is a bit of a stretch, but what are you going to do?

Down through the decades…

Chefs across Springfield have come up with a multitude of variations on this classic. Just about every restaurant in the county has some variation of a horseshoe on their menu. Some have hand-cut fries, like Ruby’s in Auburn (which unfortunately, has closed). Some have battered fries, like Abe’s Hideout.

Grilled chicken Horseshoe Abe's Hideout Springfield, IL — Grilled chicken horseshoe at Abe’s Hideout. Excellent grill flavor, perfectly crispy fries, and delicious homemade cheese sauce.

Some do crinkly fries like tourist favorite D’arcy’s Pint.

OMG Burger Horseshoe Patsy's on the Square Divernon, IL — OMG Burger Horseshoe at Patsy’s on the Square in Divernon, which has also, unfortunately, closed. Underneath all that is a fresh-made hamburger, bacon, and a fried egg. (I feel like I’m forgetting something.) The grilled onions are my own touch.

We even have a breakfast variation, though I have seen something similar in other parts of the country referred to as “haystacks.”

Breakfast shoe with ham at Chatham Cafe in Chatham (where else?). These are also great with hash browns.The word is starting to spread, too. Horseshoes have been seen on menus as far away as New Hampton, Iowa (check page 5 of the menu), Chicago, even London! (Still trying to find out the name of the pub in London that had them, but one of my daughter’s friends that lived in Manchester knew what they were, so I believe the rumors are credible.)

So you’re probably getting the message loud and clear that a horseshoe is not what you would call “health food.” This is about as comfortable as comfort food gets. Unless, of course, you order a horseshoe when you really should have just gotten a “pony,” the smaller size. Or if you get a truly ridiculous creation like the Stuffed Meatloaf horseshoe at Lake Pointe Grill in Springfield (as of November 2022–ALSO closed.) It starts with their meatloaf, a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage, that is stuffed with white cheddar and gouda cheeses. Then they wrap bacon around it. Then they make a horseshoe out of that. At $13.99, it’s pricey for a horseshoe, but oh my lanta, I don’t know how I’m still alive after finishing it.

Everybody has their favorite shoe, and most of them are good. My vote goes to the Poorboy horseshoe at Bernie & Bettys in Springfield. Start with the best Italian beef this side of New Orleans and match it up with some of the best cheese sauce in town–that’s a winner every time!

So now I’ve got you all hungry, and some of you that aren’t close to Central Illinois are cursing my name. Hey, the Low-Rent Foodie’s got your back. If you can’t get to Springfield, try making one yourself with the. . .

Official Leland Hotel Horseshoe Recipe!

This isn’t exactly a closely guarded secret around here, but you have to know whom to ask. About 20 years ago, I worked briefly for the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is now housed in the former Leland Hotel. While the potato and meat variations are endless on a horseshoe, pretty much everyone agrees that what makes or breaks it is the sauce. What follows is the best there is:

2 egg yolks
1/2 cup beer
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups of grated sharp Old English Cheddar or Colby Longhorn cheese
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Beat the egg yolks and beer together. (Pause for a moment to appreciate what an awesome sentence that is.) Melt the butter and cheese over boiling water, stirring in one direction only with a wooden spoon. Add the seasonings. Stirring constantly, add the beer and egg mixture a little at a time. Keep the mixture piping hot as you stir, but don’t let it bubble. Constant stirring and the very best cheese will yield a smooth, uncurdled mixture. Serves four normal humans, or two Low-Rent Foodies.

GETCHA SOME!

St. Martin Part 2: The French Side

March 14, 2018June 13, 2018 - Scott Leave a comment

So last week I told you the story of our trip to Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of that tiny island in the Caribbean. We had heard that the food was legendary on the French side, so we planned to visit the town of Grand-Case (pronounced grahn cahz) to see about lunch. At the suggestion of Alton Brown in his show Feasting on Waves, we decided to seek out the lolos, cheap outdoor restaurants on the beach.

So, how to get there? St. Martin has lots of cars, but not a lot of roads, so getting anywhere takes a while. We hailed a cab, and told our driver where we wanted to go and what time we needed to be back to the ship. He told us it would be virtually impossible to get a cab to bring us back from Grand-Case, but he didn’t want to see a pair of tourists stranded in a foreign country, so he offered to wait for us while we ate, then drive us back to Philipsburg himself. I said if he would be willing to do that for us, I’d buy him lunch. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made on a vacation.

French Side St. Martin — Crossing over to the French Side. I was on the wrong side of the taxi to have the camera, apparently.

When you arrive in a foreign country on a cruise ship, you are a tourist by definition. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially in a country whose primary industry is tourism. Yet, somehow, it never felt quite right to me to identify myself as a tourist. Somebody just there to see stuff and leave. If I’m going to go all the way out to some island, I want to make some kind of connection with the place and its people. I have found that food is one of the fastest ways to make this connection.

Our cab driver’s name was Roberto Pantophlet, but everybody on the island calls him “Choo-Choo.” We hit it off immediately, as he commented on my ubiquitous Chicago Cubs cap. It turned out that his son, Simon, was pitching in the Cubs farm system that year. All the way around the island in the slow, slow, traffic, we talked about baseball, family, faith and island living. By the time we finally reached Grand-Case, I felt a lot less like a tourist.

Grand Case St. Martin — Boulevard de Grand Case

So, the lolos. My goodness, where to begin. Have you ever been to an outdoor barbeque, maybe at a county fair or some such place, with huge amounts of meat cooking on a grill right in front of you? And the incredible smells making you want to permanently excise the word “diet” from your vocabulary? Where the only thoughts jockeying for position in your mind are what you want to try first and how much of this can you eat without dying? OK, now multiply that by about six, and you’re starting to get the idea.

Lolos Grand Case St. Martin — Lolos. Pro Tip–one Euro = one US Dollar at the lolos. So not only are you getting awesome food, but the best deal in the Caribbean as well!

We chose The Rib Shack, the last Lolo on the right, for no other reason than due to sensory overload, we just needed to sit down.

Rib Shack Lolo. Grand Case, St. Martin — The Rib Shack

Honestly, I could have spent at least a week in this place. There was so much to try, a single visit didn’t even make a dent. Of course, you have to get ribs at the Rib Shack. They are marinated in lime and cider vinegar with onion and garlic and served with “rice and peas,” which we would call “red beans and rice” stateside (see photo at top of post). We also tried several other local favorites, all of them fantastic.

Stewed Conch and Curry Rice. Rib Shack lolo, Grand Case, St. Martin — Stewed Conch and Curry Rice. So good that I about had it gone before I remembered to take a picture of it.

Saltfish and Carib. Rib Shack lolo, Grand Case St. Martin — Saltfish fritter with Carib beer. Every island has its own main brew. This one is actually brewed in Trinidad and Tobago.

Crab Back. Rib Shack lolo, Grand Case, St. Martin — Crab Back. A spicy stuffed crab that is quite possibly the best thing I ate all week.

This experience was over way too soon. Yes, the food was great, and I wanted more of it, but this day remains the best “local” experience I have had on a cruise. For a few hours, I wasn’t just in another world, but felt like I was actually part of it, not just some foreign interloper with American money.

Choo Choo Pantophlet. St. Martin — That’s Choo Choo on the left.

Hurricane Irma update

The pictures in this post were taken in 2010. On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma tore across this island as a Category 5 storm. As you can imagine, it made a hell of a mess.

Six months later, as I write this, the island is making a near-miraculous comeback. Many hotels and restaurants have reopened, and many areas have been cleaned up. The Huffington Post has some remarkable before and after shots, published just a few days ago.

I never did hear what happened to Choo Choo or his family. Facebook isn’t really much of a thing on the island. I found a couple of people who might be relatives, but they didn’t respond to messages (not surprising, I guess).

I hope they’re OK.

Hy-Vee Market Grille

March 9, 2018 - Scott Leave a comment

Hy-Vee is a Midwestern grocery store chain that operates some 240 stores in eight states, including here in Springfield, IL. It has become a retail anchor here, bringing 24-hour shopping into a part of town that had been going downhill fast. I’m glad they’re here. Full disclosure: although Hy-Vee appears to be an excellent grocery store, I don’t shop there, strictly because of location. I live two towns over, so it just isn’t convenient for me.

What I DO go to Hy-Vee for is the Market Grille, a restaurant attached to the store. Specifically on Sundays and Mondays.

Sunday Brunch

It is a long-standing tradition with my family that we will go out for one big meal after church. Then we won’t eat for the rest of the day. A good brunch buffet accomplishes this goal quite nicely. Hy-Vee Market Grille has a brunch buffet that will make your jaw drop. It cost $17.99 a person last I checked (add $1.99 for drink), so it’s not cheap. (Pro tip–look for coupons in the Sunday newspaper). But when you realize what you’re getting for your money, you don’t mind so much.

In the main restaurant area, you see what you would expect to see at a decent brunch buffet. Breakfast foods, a carving station, smoked salmon and cocktail shrimp, a lunch entree or two with some interesting variation on potatoes, a dessert table, and a sampling of cheese and/or sushi. Not bad. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Walk out through the sliding glass doors into the main store area and prepare to be amazed. There is a good-sized salad bar out there and a deli with several stations where shoppers frequently get meals to go. Most of that stuff is included in the buffet as well! You can get asian entrees, pizza, BBQ, all kinds of sides, even the huge desserts that you’ll need help finishing. All included. The “outside” part of the buffet is also available during the week, I believe for $14.99.

Monday Night Specials

Now on Monday night, the draw for me is trivia. I have a lint trap for a brain. What I mean is that I frequently forget important things, but the most useless information just gets stuck in my head and won’t leave. I greatly enjoy putting this otherwise impractical skill to good use in an environment of friendly competition.

Trivia Workshop, a local organization that runs various trivia events, has a traveling show called Pub Quiz, whereby they do a trivia contest on Monday through Thursday evening in a weekly rotating location. Since these are typically slower nights for these establishments, the trivia is a draw for a certain segment of the population, to which I happen to belong. Hy-Vee’s starts at 7:30 on Mondays. The place gets packed though, so you need to be there at least an hour early to get a seat. Of course, while you’re there and waiting, you’ll probably get something to eat and/or drink. That’s kind of the point.

Hy-Vee Market Grille sweetens the deal on Monday night with a burger and tap special. It is a point of some contention who has the best burgers in Springfield, but these folks are definitely near the top of the list. They switch up the menu a fair amount, but a perennial favorite is the Mac-n-Cheese Burger. Served open-faced on sourdough bread (because there’s no way you could pick this thing up without wearing it), this half-pound burger is covered in white cheddar mac and cheese, then finished with some bacon bits and toasted panko bread crumbs. It sells for $12, but on Monday night, the second one is half price!

Need something to wash it down? (That’s not really a question.) Hy-vee Market Grille has an ever-changing array of craft beers on tap. They’re half price on Monday night too.

As good as the burgers are, and as good as the deal on them is on Monday night, sometimes I’m craving something else. My favorite dish at Hy-Vee Market Grille is the BBQ Bacon Fried Rice (pictured above with an Old Bakery Porter, brewed in Alton, IL). It’s exactly what it sounds like. Although one does not normally think of either BBQ or bacon when thinking of a Thai-inspired fried rice dish, after you try this, you won’t be able to unthink it. This dish sells for $13, the beer for $6 (but only $3 on Monday night!).

Now as I said before, I don’t do my normal shopping at Hy-Vee because of the location, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t ever. Do any of you shop there? If so, what’s the main draw for you?

Happy Sushi

March 4, 2018 - Scott Leave a comment

Everybody’s got that one food (or maybe more than one) that they’re afraid to try. Maybe it looks wrong. Maybe it’s a texture thing. Or maybe it just flat-out sounds nasty. And then you try it and wonder why you waited so long. A lot of people are that way about sushi. I am one of them.

I imagine what turns people off about sushi is the whole “raw fish” thing. Understandable, but you might be surprised to learn that sushi isn’t primarily about the fish. It’s about the rice. Not only that, but “sushi” is an adjective, not a noun, describing the sour taste of the vinegared rice.

My daughter and I took a sushi-rolling class at Lincoln Land Community College. This was definitely an exercise in “Is there a picture of it in the cookbook? Bet it don’t look like that!” My only experience in rolled foods is pinwheel appetizers and burritos. Mostly burritos. You can’t stuff a California roll like a burrito. Otherwise, it will end up looking like this.

Fortunately, here in Springfield, IL, you don’t have to eat ugly, sad sushi like this, because we have Happy Sushi at the corner of 9th and South Grand. My favorite is the 10.10 (which is also what it costs). This is cream cheese, spicy crab and shrimp deep fried in tempura batter.

In addition to the 40 or so kinds of rolls on the menu, Happy Sushi also serves teriyaki, fried rice and udon noodle dishes. I have been told that Chef Hiro will even make a custom roll for you, if you tell him your favorite fish.

But hey, as delicious as Happy Sushi is, there’s one thing you won’t find on their menu. . .

dessert sushi — “Dessert” sushi made from Rice Krispie treat with Fruit Roll-up and gummi eyeball.

Gotta tell ya, those are a lot easier to roll.

So where’s your favorite place to get sushi? What’s your favorite roll?