Table Talk
Table Talk: April 28–May 5
Drinkies to go, 417 Restaurant Week, DIY cookie decorating and more in this week's Table Talk.
by Katie Pollocks Estes
Apr 28 2020 at 8 a.m.
Photo courtesy Neighbor's Mill BakeryTry your hand at sourdough baking with Neighbor's Mill Bakery's at-home kits.
Time for Take Out
It’s no secret that businesses in the hospitality industry have taken a blow, and that includes local restaurants that had to close their dining rooms. 417 Magazine’s Restaurant Week To Go is our way of supporting those restaurants (over and over as often as we can!) during this tough time, and encouraging other people in the community to do the same. The event started last week and runs through May 3. Just order takeout from any local restaurant and post about it on social media with the hashtag #417RestaurantWeek. You’ll be entered for a chance to win a gift card to a 417-land restaurant. Eat good food, support your favorite eatery and enter to win a gift card all at once? Yes please. Find inspo for where you can get great take out in our COVID-19 dining guide.)
Cocktail Hour Just Got a Lot More Convenient
As restaurants have gotten creative with how they serve their customers from afar, we’ve seen more and more of them offer their well-crafted cocktails to go. They’re perfect for date nights at home or video-conference game nights with friends when you want something other than a boring old bottle of wine. Here is a tasty little sampling of a few we’ve had in the past week.
• Bottled cocktails (like the killer Saturn! drink) from Golden Girl Rum Club
• Italian margaritas and sangria from Piccolo
• Bourbon slushes (the Sequiota Bike Shop recipe!) from Finnegan’s Wake
• Cocktail mixer kits (like homemade Old Fashioned syrup) from Progress
• Bottled soju from Bawi Korean BBQ
• Slushies (that will bring back college memories) from Tropical Liqueurs
Pipe and Flood Like a Pro at Home
After watching dozens (hundreds?) of pipe-and-flood cookie decorating videos on Instagram, we finally decided to give the artsy hobby a try with a DIY cookie decorating kit from a local bakery. In our case, it was The Rolling Pin, whose summery kits included fun cookie shapes like palm trees, flamingos, suns and flip flops. Our take? The cookies were delicious. The icing was perfect. And the pack included everything we needed to do the project from start to finish in one easy sitting. Our cookies weren’t quite as pretty as the bakery’s example cookies, but learning something new was a sweet reward. You can get cookie decorating kits from several local spots, including these.
• The Rolling Pin
$15 for a six-cookie kit
• Star Cakes Bakery
$15 for a six-cookie kit
• Stacey’s Sweets
$14 for a six-cookie kit
Nab a No-Baked Dessert on the Run
NoBaked Cookie Dough has started an on-the-go drive-through that brings their indulgent little treats to neighborhoods around 417-land. The mobile drive-thru allows customers to choose pints of the restaurant’s ooey gooey flavors without leaving their cars or trekking out into town. The schedule of upcoming neighborhoods where they’ll be making an appearance is on the company’s Facebook page.
A Chinese Food Spot Take on Mask Production
Yen Ching, a long time favorite Chinese restaurant in Ozark, is reopening for to-go orders on May 1 after a temporary closure during the COVID-19 outbreak. But during their time closed, they’ve stayed busy supporting the community in other ways. The restaurant has been sewing handmade face masks constructed with two layers of neutral or colorful cotton, a nose wire, a filter pocket and some filter refills for $8 each.
Ready for More Maria's?
Here's a reason to celebrate and do a little Cinco de Mayo pre-gaming this week: The new Maria's Mexican Restaurant location in south Springfield opens for curbside pickup on Thursday, April 30! When you visit the new location at 4610 S. Campbell Ave. to get a little Mexican fare to go, we recommend digging into the famous Maria's fried tacos and the killer queso de cabra dip.
