Table Talk
Table Talk: December 8–14
Plus chocolate goodness, Aviary by Lavender Falls, holiday pies and more in this week's Table Talk.
by Katie Pollock Estes
Dec 08 2020 at 8 a.m.
Photo courtesy Prairie PieSweet treats meet with a Cake.Sgf and Prairie Pie collab in this week’s Table Talk.
Traveller’s House Moves Into the Airport
Springfield-Branson National Airport has seen a lot of coffee over the years. The small kiosk just past the TSA checkpoint has rotated through some of the city’s most beloved brews, but it’s now time for perhaps the most fitting of all: Traveller’s House Coffee & Tea. The Springfield-based shop started with a location on West Republic Road, then opened a location on South National Avenue in 2018. As of November 23 it has expanded further to Springfield. Now, they’re ready to greet and send off Springfield travelers as they venture across the country.
Sunday Soul Food
If there’s a time of year for southern-style, home-cooked comfort food, it’s now. Lucky for us, a new Springfield shop has shifted its hours to keep us supplied. Queen City Soul Kitchen (2006 N. Broadway, Springfield), the brainchild of Paul Allen (aka Chef Paulie), Prosper Springfield Director Francine Pratt and community entrepreneur Dr. Lyle Foster, is now open every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. for walk-in service. The north side shop previously functioned on a pop-up only basis, serving collard greens with smoked turkey, creamy macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, homemade cornbread and more. Having these options available to us on a regular basis might be a little dangerous.
Cake.Sgf and Prairie Pie’s Collab
Dessert lovers rejoice: the Springfield sweets scene is spreading. Early this year, local singer songwriter Ellie Schmidly Jones, owner of Cake.Sgf, began baking and selling beautiful cakes by the slice at Cherry Picker Package x Fare (601 S. Pickwick Ave., Springfield). Her cakes have been a hit, especially as she’s taken on custom orders. Schmidly recently took the month of October to hash out the business side of her cake-making hustle, developing a logo, sorting through packaging and moving into a commercial baking space at Prairie Pie’s location at 307 S. Jefferson Ave. The pie shop’s dining space is scheduled to open early next year and will serve Cake.Sgf by the slice. We can’t wait for this sweet shop!
Tasty Gifting: Week 2
During the month of December, I’ll be offering up some ideas for locally made food gifts for your holiday shopping. We all know our local small businesses could really use the love this year, and who doesn’t enjoy giving a little something tasty that represents 417-land? There’s a different theme each week, and this week we’re highlighting candy and confections that could make stellar stocking-stuffers.
Askinosie Chocolate
We love Askinosie Chocolate because it’s easy to find a treat for any chocolate-loving tastebuds here. You can go classic with numerous single-original dark chocolate bars. You can lean into the holidays with a gingerbread bar or peppermint bark sipping chocolate. Or you can go wild with their creative CollaBARation bars that include things like or coconut sugar, avocado and rosemary, or licorice (that’s one of our faves!).
Uncommon Confections
Uncommon Confections, a little local candy maker whose products are sold online and at some local retailers like Harter House’s Eastgate location, creates things like salted caramels and chocolate coated pretzels. But our favorite treat is the chipotle toffee. It has the tiniest hint of spicy heat that tingles the tongue and goes perfectly with the sweet toffee and chocolate coating.
Silver Dollar City
Everybody knows you can do some pretty serious holiday shopping at Silver Dollar City, and Brown’s Candy Factory in particular is a wonderland for anybody with a sweet tooth. Find homemade fudge, brittles, chocolate-covered berries and a ton more while you’re there and save them for holiday treats or tasty gifts.
Davis Candy Co.
Speaking of brittles, Davis Candy Co. in Branson specializes in those crispy-sweet treats. They make traditional peanut brittle alongside some other fun varieties like ones made with black walnuts, pecans, cashews or even a combo of pecans and coconut.
Bon Bon’s Candy House
There are so many kinds of sweets at Bon Bon’s Candy House—from beautiful bon bons and truffles that would make a special gift to fun Christmas-themed candies that would be perfect for stuffing a stocking. Our forever favorite is the dark chocolate coated English toffee, but we’re also loving the waffle cone caramel chocolate bars and the darling little green glassy Christmas tree lollipops.
Queen City Soda & Sweets
Nostalgia is the name of the game at Queen City Soda & Sweets, where you can find stocking-stuffers that bring back all those sugary childhood memories—like Astro Pops, Whistle Pops, candy buttons and tons more. If you have a soda-lover on your list, they also sell bottles of a huge variety of uncommon sodas in both fun and classic flavors.
