Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [163]
Booches
110 S. 9th St.
573–874–8772 or-9519
Columbia, MO
LD | $
A billiard parlor/tavern where the beverages of choice are beer (in a bottle) and iced tea (in a pitcher), or maybe Coke in a paper cup, Booches is a magic name to hamburger aficionados. The hamburgers—known among old-timers as “belly bombers”—are thick, juicy, and maddeningly aromatic, served unceremoniously on a piece of wax paper. It is difficult to say what exactly makes these hamburgers so especially delicious. They are normal-size, available with or without cheese, and the condiments are standard-issue onions, pickles, mustard, or ketchup; yet their smoky/meaty flavor is extraordinary from first bite to last. In 1999, Booches won kudos from the Digital Missourian as an especially earth-friendly eatery, not only because each hamburger is cooked to order (thus, no meat is wasted), but because “no one can leave a Booches burger half-eaten.”
Some of the food’s charm is no doubt due to the offhand way in which it is served in colorful surroundings. Booches is the oldest pool hall in Columbia, and it is likely your burger—or good chili dog—will be eaten to the wooden clack of pool shooters as well as the noise of whatever sports event is blaring on the television. Décor is a combination of sports memorabilia, kudos from famous artists who have enjoyed the beer and burgers, and some delightful politically incorrect humor, including one sign that advises, “Parents—keep your ankle-biting little crumb-gobblers on a leash or I will put them in the cellar to play with the rats.”
C&K Barbecue
4390 Jennings Station Rd.
314–385–5740
St. Louis, MO
D | $
St. Louis has always been a great barbecue town; C&K represents the best of this tradition. It is a small, out-of-the-way place with no seating (all take-out) and late-night hours, well-suited to those of us who get a craving for ribs after midnight.
Ribs, rib tips, chopped meat, even chicken, all bathed in proprietor Darryle Brantley’s exclamatory red sauce, are served in Styro boxes with sweet potato salad and soft white bread that makes a good sponge for drippy extra sauce. These are extremely messy meals, so even though each order is packed with napkins, we recommend getting extras.
In addition to all the expected smokehouse specialties, C&K offers a few rarer items such as snoots (pig snouts baked until crisp and bathed in sauce) and ears (yes, pig ears, cooked until butter-soft and served between two slices of white bread, with or without sauce). These items are for the advanced barbecue connoisseur. We recommend the first-time visitor start with a slab of ribs!
Carl’s Drive-In
9033 Manchester Rd.
314–961–9652
Brentwood, MO
LD (closed Sun & Mon) | $
A tiny sixteen-stool diner on old Route 66, Carl’s is the place to belly up for elegant-oily hamburgers and foot-long hot dogs that stretch far beyond the bun and come smothered with chili. The burgers are mashed flat on the grill so that their edges turn into a crisp lace of beef, and they are thin enough that a double or a triple makes good sense, as does the addition of cheese. Ketchup is supplied in small paper cups.
Burgers are the main attraction, but Carl’s is also a source for three-way chili and tamales topped with chili or sauce. Shoestring French fries are a great companion for any meal, and the beverage of choice is house-brewed root beer drawn straight from the barrel, served in a frosted mug. (Root beer floats are not to be missed.)
Expect to wait for a seat at lunchtime. But not too long. The turnover is quick, and it is an amazing thing to watch the staff juggle cooking for sit-down customers, take-out customers, and call-in customers whose orders come in via the house pay phone.
Central Dairy
601 Madison St.
573–635–6148
Jefferson City, MO
L | $
Missouri is a dairy state, and Central Dairy is one of its top bottlers, turning out seven million pounds of milk per month, and known to local sweet tooths for