Fourth of July Feeding Frenzy

Fourth of July weekend we drove eight hours north to St. Louis for a family reunion.

Going to St. Louis feels like going home. Growing up we spent numerous summer vacations and holidays running around the city, visiting relatives. It’s a unique mix of tourist town with dash a of city life and Midwest charm. I love it; the Cardinals, The Hill, Ted Drewes, the Arch, Grants Farm, the Science Center, the natives, even the accent. There’s always something to do or somewhere fabulous to eat.

Independence day is highly revered among this particular branch of my family tree. My late grandma was born on July 4th, we are very patriotic (two uncles served in the military), and we like to cook out. As time has passed and people have spread out, we make sure to reserve this weekend each year to come back, catch up, and celebrate.

Between the excitement of returning to a nostalgic place and seeing my family, we could not drive there fast enough. There was a steady combination of cooking and eating out during the weekend, one wonderful meal after another. We have a common understanding of the importance of food.

On to the food re-cap!

On the drive up Friday evening we ate at Coleman’s Bar-B-Que Pit and Grill, our regular stop in Memphis right off of I-55. We both got barbecue pork sandwiches (coleslaw on top, Memphis style), french fries and Ben had baked beans. The meat was a little dry, but a little extra sauce took care of that. They offer a regular and spicy sauce which has a large amount of black pepper. The prices are fairly inexpensive. It’s no KC barbecue, but a good alternative from regular fast food.

We pulled up to my Aunt and Uncle’s house to eleven family members greeting us on the front lawn. A couple more cousins straggled in and the first night fifteen of us were staying in the same house, it was so much fun. My Aunt had cooked barbecue ribs, chicken legs, funeral potatoes (hash brown casserole), au gratin potatoes, roasted vegetables, and salad. There are no photos because the power had gone out and we ate out of the pans by candles in the dark kitchen.

For lunch Saturday we demolished bags of White Castle burgers, fries and chicken rings. Yes, rings made of chicken. I take great lengths to avoid fast food, but White Castle is a STL tradition. We might need these next time, especially if there is a blackout.

Not long after, we loaded up and headed to another Aunt and Uncle’s house for the annual bbq, hillbilly golf tournament, and fireworks. My Uncle cooks up huge amounts of pork steaks, and like a church pot-luck, most of us contribute to dinner in some form. We also had mac and cheese, veggie pizza, veggies, fruit, coleslaw, beans, deviled eggs, cupcakes, chocolate chip cookie bars, and strawberry short cake. This party lasted well into the night, complete with a backyard fireworks show.

I didn’t feel any actual signs of hunger from this point on. Sunday morning my Aunt got up and made homemade donuts for the entire crew. We went to church in our St. Louis Cardinals gear and headed to Busch stadium directly after the service. There were so many of us that it was more cost efficient to purchase group tickets. In addition to the ticket, each of us also got a voucher for a hot dog and drink. We were at a ballgame, so naturally salted peanuts in the shell were involved. I spied the guy in front of me with a Gus’s pretzel bag and asked if he bought them at the stadium, he got them on the street and I scored a pretzel stick.

Following the game our group dispersed to various places, but eventually some of us met up for dinner at Rich and Charlie’s. There was an attempt to split 13 toasted raviolis with nine people, but I made it clear that Ben and I were taking down an order on our own. We shared beef toasted ravioli, house salad and a deluxe pizza. The pizza included all of the toppings they offer except for tomato slices, artichokes and hamburger. Rich and Charlie’s is homey, comforting, not the most gourmet Italian, but more like what someone would serve you at their house (which might be better). I could have polished off an entire bowl of salad on my own, I probably did.

After dinner, and against our better judgment, we skipped Ted Drewes only to make our way to an Oberweis Dairy for ice cream.

On Monday we had to drive back South and stopped for lunch in Sikeston, MO. Bypassing the Lambert’s, we went down the road to Jay’s Krispy Fried Chicken which is housed in an old Hardee’s looking building. They offer a lunch time buffet and serve up fried chicken, I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. The chicken was awesome, the sides were not. Everything had been dumped out of a can, the mashed potatoes were instant, and the au gratin had a terrible fake cheddar flavor. We probably won’t be going back, but for around $7 it wasn’t a total loss.

That night we had Shakespeares pizza (how we got it, another post) and passed out.

I was deliriously happy from the weekend full of family, food and fun times. It was intense, but in a good way. Hopefully I’ll be hungry by then.

Coleman’s Bar-B-Que Pit and Grill
5175 Millbranch Road
Memphis, TN 38116
Phone 901-332-9929‎

Rich and Charlie’s
9942 Watson Road
Crestwood, MO 63126
Phone 314-822-4909
www.richandcharlies.com

Jay’s Krispy Fried Chicken
218 N Main Street
Sikeston, MO 63801
Phone 573-471-8472