Table Talk
Table Talk: January 12–18
This week: from comfort food to comforting crews, remedies for a Missouri winter.
By Megan Dollar
Jan 2021
Photo by Brad Zweerink.This week is all about the things that comfort us during the cold months, whether it's food, like a taco from Team Taco, or a chance nice day.
A Taco Tuesday Team
Last week marked the start of the Taco Tuesday pairing of our dreams: TT @ TNT W/TT. (To be long-winded: Taco Tuesday at Tie and Timber with Team Taco.) The Cherry-and-Pickwick duo announced the new, weekly pair-up last Tuesday with a fun Instagram post. Now, every Tuesday, you can grab a taco (or any other food item—I suggest the pork belly nachos) from Team Taco and take it across the street to Tie & Timber Beer Company for $2 off your first pint. Remember: temperatures will break 50° (!!!) this week, so throw on a coat, grab a friend and hit the patio for this Taco Tuesday treasure.
MO' of Mike Hickman's BBQ
Mike Hickman began selling BBQ specialties out of his tire shop, Hickman Auto and Tire, about a year ago. He saw such success that he knew he had to do something more with his food, so he bought a food truck and started selling all of his creations on the northwest side of Springfield in mid-2020. Everything Hickman serves is homemade—from the meats he smokes himself to the bleu cheese, ranch dressings and biscuits served with it. So, it’s not really surprising that he found himself selling out of food more quickly than he’d have liked. Then, when the Missouri winter came, he started losing customers: People don’t want to wait in outdoor lines, or eat outside, in the cold. So, in late December Hickman signed a lease on a brick and mortar space not far from where his food truck was previously located. Within the next few weeks, Hickman hopes to open up the new Missouri Mike’s BBQ & More at 2833 W. Chestnut Expressway. He says he wants the space to be “your spot,” a.k.a. a place where everyone can enjoy good food and good company.
Feed Your Soul
Ain’t no thing like a chicken wing, especially in the midst of gloomy season. That’s why we’re especially excited for Queen City Soul Kitchen’s new menu for January: Fried chicken wings, corn pudding, peach cobbler and more. The restaurant, which is located on Broadway Ave. south of East Kearney St., started offering family-style take out meals every Sunday just last month. We can’t wait to curl up by the fire and taste Chef Paulie’s new creations for January—they’re sure to be a wonderful antidote to the winter blues.
Escape the Dumpster Fire
After just one week into 2021, things weren’t going—err—exactly as planned. “Let’s be honest,” Great Escape Beer Works wrote in an Instagram post. “2021 has been odd.” Their response? “Dumpster Fire Lager.” For a limited time, the small-batch, locally-made lager will be served on draft at the little brewery tucked away in Galloway. With temperatures creeping just past 50° this week, grabbing a pint of Dumpster Fire and escaping to the brewery patio doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
