Table Talk
Table Talk: May 18–24
This week: Happy Hour at Prairie Pie, lessons from a chef, Korean fusion restaurant opens and more.
By Megan Dollar
May 18 2021 at 8 a.m.
Photo by Joseph BulgerHead to Prairie Pie on Thursday and Friday evenings for happy hour
Happy Hour at Prairie Pie
If the charming interior and delicious baked goods weren't enough to draw you in, Prairie Pie is now serving booze. On Thursdays and Fridays the Jefferson Avenue pie shop will be open for a happy hour from 4–6 and for dinner until 9 p.m. During the happy hour, pie slices will be $1 off and a selection of beer, wine and cocktails will be sold. We know what we're doing this week!
Culinary Lessons from a Missouri Chef
Three Missouri brothers are bringing a new culinary experience to the state. Calvin, Alex and Joe Davis, the grandsons of KC Masterpiece creator Dr. Rich Davis, have compiled their talents to create Cook Camp, an interactive and immersive dining experience that will travel across the state. Calvin, the oldest of the brothers, was nominated for the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year award in 2019 for his work as head chef at Freshwater—a fine dining restaurant in Kansas City's Westport neighborhood. He leads the culinary side of the business by creating curriculum and teaching cooking classes wherever the brothers travel.
Cook Camp held their first Springfield cooking class in late April at Best of Luck Beer Hall, and now the brothers are coming back to Springfield. Tomorrow, May 19, Chefs Calvin and Alex will be taking over the kitchen at Best of Luck Beer Hall, serving an a la carte menu with the theme of classic beer hall food with an elevated and locally focused twist, says Calvin. If you can't make it tomorrow, they'll be back for the same gig on June 4 and 5.
If you'd rather get your hands dirty and participate in the cooking, Cook Camp's next cooking class in Springfield will be held on June 6 and 7 at Best of Luck Beer Hall. Chef Calvin will teach attendees how to make from-scratch pasta and, together, you'll make a tagliatelle carbonara goat cheese agnolotti. Register online at cook-camp.com.
Kung Fu Taco
We're sad to see one of our Springfield favorites, Little Korea, go, but we're excited to see that the restaurant's owners are hanging on and simply shifting gears. Last weekend, Kung Fu Taco opened inside the same storefront where Little Korea used to be located at 3354 S. National Avenue in Springfield. The spot is still serving up lots of Korean goodies but those flavors will now, as the name suggests, be fused with the flavors of Mexican cuisine, too. The menu boasts a wide selection of Korean fusion tacos (almost 20 different combinations) as well as classic Asian appetizers like egg rolls and dumplings, rice bowls and udon noodles. Be sure to check out the Korean street food favorite, tteokbokki, or spicy rice cakes, too. Eventually, Korean fusion nachos and burritos will be added to the menu, too.
La Habana Vieja, a New Cuban Restaurant on C-Street
Chef Michael Frazier, a Brooklyn native, has recently relocated from New York to Springfield to open a Cuban restaurant unlike anything else in Springfield. La Habana Vieja, which translates to "Old Havana," is set to open in early June. Frazier says that the restaurant will be a mix between a fine-dining restaurant and a social club with a high-end atmosphere, high-quality food but a relaxed vibe. "It's nothing Americans or even Cuban Americans would think of when they think of Cuban food," Frazier says. Of course, croquettas and ropa vieja, two very classically Cuban dishes, will be on the menu, but other, lesser-known dishes like Cuban ratatouille, coconut shrimp made gambas-style, will be featured, too. Frazier says the intent of the restaurant is to evoke feelings of Cuba's golden days when Cuba was "just another Carribbean island" popular among tourists.
