Photo by Tessa Cooper
Table Talk
Springfield Food News
Read all about what's happening with the food scene in Springfield in this week's Table Talk.
by Tessa Cooper
Apr 01 2025 at 8 a.m.
THIS WEEK'S TABLE TALK PRESENTED BY
Good Pizza, Good Cause
Every April, Garbo’s Pizzeria hosts its Celebrity Chef Contest. This friendly competition raises money for The Arc of the Ozarks (as if we needed another reason to love this pizza joint that’s been around since 1990). This year, they asked me, your resident 417 Magazine food writer, to participate! Owner Laine Scholz tasked me and two other well-known names in the local food scene to create a limited-edition pizza. Before I tell you about my pizza, here’s what I need you to do: Make plans to go to Garbo’s this month and order my pizza, The Florence. One pizza order equals one vote, so go each time you’re craving some ‘za (which, if you’re like me, it’s multiple times a week).
Here’s a bit about The Florence
This pizza is inspired by the ones I’ve gotten to enjoy during my travels across Italy. It’s light and fresh and offers a taste of the dolce vita. I named this creation after my other best creation, my daughter (who is, coincidentally, named after my favorite Italian city). She joined our family this past November, and I can’t wait for all the pizza we will get to eat together when she can start chowing down.
Sauce: Garbo’s Traditional Pizza Sauce
Cheese: Fresh mozzarella cheese
Toppings: Fresh basil, prosciutto, sliced cherry tomatoes, a balsamic reduction drizzle
The Florence will be available for the month of April, and if it wins, you’ll also be able to order it as a limited menu item for an entire year. Buon appetito!
Chow Down With Chuy
The wait is finally (almost) over! Show Me Chuy is officially opening to the general public this Friday, April 4 (reservations strongly encouraged). Nothing warms our food-news-loving hearts quite like getting an invite to a friends and family soft opening, so we were thrilled to get a sneak peek of the Italian-Mexican fusion offerings last week. The cuisine reflects the skills Chef Chuy García honed as the chef at Avanzare with the flavors from his home state of Jalisco, Mexico. Judging by the food they served that evening, it looks like the menu is going to lean a bit more towards Italian with a light coastal Mexican flair. For example, Chuy’s Pork Chop is a pan-seared pork with a side of garlic oil and herb pasta, but it gets a dose of a fresh, tropical flavor with mango pico de gallo. The rest of the dishes we sampled were primarily pasta, like penne with shrimp and cheese and cream ravioli (our favorite). On the drink side of things, we got to try the Mezcalita with tamarind, which is another offering that leans into García’s hometown flavors. We are already making plans for our return visit when they officially open!
Trend Alert: Iced Strawberry Matchas 🍵🍓
While hunting for food news this week, we happened upon a local drink trend. Strawberry matcha is the drink flavor duo that’s taken the seasonal drink menu by storm. We’ll admit it: We’ve enjoyed not one but two iced strawberry matchas in the past seven days, and we’re seriously contemplating making it a third. Here’s where to find them.
El Cafecito: The Coco Fresa Matcha has been El Cafecito’s bestseller off their seasonal menu so far. It’s a creamy, layered take on the trend.
keikeu: This newcomer to 14 Mill Market is offering an iced strawberry matcha with a made-in-house strawberry purée and matcha imported from Japan.
417 Simply Better: Take advantage of the glorious spring weather between the rainstorms this week and swing by the food truck park at Metro Eats, but don’t leave without 417 Simply Better’s iced strawberry matcha.
Urban Grounds: This Ozark coffee shop is doling out iced matcha lattes made with strawberry milk for the foreseeable future.
Eurasia Coffee Co.: We saved our personal favorite for last. Eurasia’s take on the trend is an iced matcha with strawberry-rose cold foam on top. We could seriously eat that cold foam by the spoonful, and the rose adds a nice floral flavor to the earthiness of the matcha and the sweetness of the strawberry.
Itty Bitty News Bites
• Buttermilk, the new ice cream stand that’s replacing Box Turtle Creamery in Rountree, is opening to the public on April 12! We have plans to check it out and will report back.
• One thing about us is that we are always going to let you know when we discover a new place where you can find Chef Roland Parny’s pastries. We just got word that Roman Empire Coffee in Rogersville has them, so we are running, not walking, there.
• The Workshop at Finley Farms is now open on Sundays, so you can get your caffeine fix seven days a week.
• On a similar note, Banter Brewing is also now open Tuesdays, which means they are also joining the seven-days-a-week club. To celebrate, they are offering the “Twosday Night” special of $2 off cocktails.
• Outdoor dining season is back! Which means so is Cassidy Station’s farm-to-table dinners. The first one for the season is on April 17 and features a menu by Chef Pat Duran of Metropolitan Grill. Tickets cost $150 each.
• There’s another tasty dinner happening on April 17. Avanzare is hosting a six-course wine pairing dinner with wines from Tenuta di Arceno.
• Andy’s Frozen Custard just released a cute car freshener that smells just like their signature Vanilla frozen custard. Who thinks we need one for the red 417 Jeep?!
Table Talk: March 24–31
Mother’s is Brewing Up Changes
Mother’s Brewing Company
has had a few changes up its sleeve as of late, and opening up its
expansive upstairs to the public is the latest. Named Breadbox, it
offers nearly 4,000 square feet of room to socialize over a cold one,
plus some salty bites that pair well with it all (think pretzels,
hotdogs and pizza). While nothing beats spending time outside in the
brewery’s outdoor area, we’re excited to now have the extra indoor space
on the chillier spring days we’ve been having. The Breadbox is also an
event venue, and they’ve already broken the space in with a few special
dinners and private events. Speaking of events, owner Jeff Seifried also
made the recent decision to close Cufflink Coffee on the first floor,
and it now serves as an additional space for private parties.
New Sweet Treat Alert
It seems like there’s always some exciting happenings going on at 14 Mill Market
between all the events they host and new kiosks that pop up. keikeu is
the new kid on the block at the food hall, and our mouths are watering
just looking at their socials. Owner Leo Kim, who also brings us The Gochu,
is the culinary genius behind the coffee, tea and dessert business. We
plan on paying them a visit in the next few days and letting ourselves
really indulge. The first thing we want to try is the strawberry matcha
cream cake, and if it’s half as good as it looks, we’ll be one happy
customer. We’ll also keep the party going by ordering an Acai berry chai
to-go. 🍰
PSA: The Original Corner 21 is Back!
Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine temporarily closed its Sunshine location
while they got the new Republic Road location up and running.
Unfortunately, this closure was extended due to a chef injury. But good
news! They’re officially back open and doling out spicy Szechuan chicken
from both locations now. We heard word has already gotten out, and the
original location was buzzing this past weekend.
