Table Talk: November 17–24

Kingdom Coffee is Growing

Do you love Kingdom Coffee and live on the southeast side of town, specifically in the Brentwood or Southern Hills neighborhoods? Yes? Well, you’re in luck, because an additional Kingdom Coffee location is moving into a new space on South Lone Pine Avenue. The space, located in a new development just north of Battlefield, doesn’t have an official opening date yet, but we’re hoping it will be early 2021. And, we’re really hoping this space is just as airy and sunny as its downtown sister. The new location will offer a similar, but not identical, menu that includes coffee drinks, smoothies, small meals and pastries. A small alcohol menu will be added, too.

Your Guide To Thanksgiving Eats

Thanksgiving is next week, y’all! Are you ready? Gatherings will likely look quite a bit different this year as we all hunker down with close family and avoid huge parties. But that doesn’t mean the food has to take a hit.

Full Meals, No Work

Springfield’s food scene is absolutely overflowing with ways to make the holiday as easy as it is delicious, taking the cooking off your plate so you can just enjoy the meal. Dig into our tasty roundup of places where you can get everything from a single dessert to a full Thanksgiving spread—and it won’t involve any cooking on your part. The story has something for every tastebud, including families that need to be gluten-conscious. Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom for a refresher of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s Thanksgiving safety guidelines.

Cook It Yourself

We’ve also put together a list of great Thanksgiving recipes, for those of you who do still want to roll up your sleeves and get to work to feed the fam. You can find stuffing recipes, tablescape inspo, tips for cooking the perfect turkey, fail-proof mashed potatoes and much more to inspire your holiday menu. Don’t forget that you can get fresh, locally raised turkeys at MaMa Jean’s Natural Market. The turkeys are from Peace Valley Poultry in 417-land and are pasture raised and free of hormones and antibiotics.

Don’t Skip Dessert

And when you’re ready to think about dessert, don’t forget all the local spots that make top-notch pies for your holiday table. A few favorites include Prairie Pie, The Pie Box, and The Pie Safe (all of which have stellar pecan pies and more). Prairie Pie even puts a sweet spin on traditional pumpkin pie by baking up a pumpkin-sweet potato blend.

If cake is more your thing, St. Michael’s is offering something called a Quad-Four Cake. That’s one cake made up of quarters of four types of their delicious homemade treats. You can choose from among the banana cake (my personal fave), pumpkin cake, double chocolate cake, strawberry cake, lemon-blueberry cake, carrot cake, and two different luscious chocolate-peppermint concoctions—a great option if you’re indecisive or have a family full of people who all like different things.

Foodie Date Night Ideas

There are a couple of events coming up this week at local restaurants that would make stellar date nights if you’re looking for something fresh to do with your sweetie. First, there’s the Winter Tasting Event at Springtown Coffee Co. on Saturday November 21. For $25 per couple, you get to sip on lattes and festive sweet treats from Schuhbox Baked Goods. There are fun little extras like prizes and giveaways, and reservations are required to make sure you snag a spot. (On an unrelated but totally delicious note regarding Springtown Coffee Co.: The coffee shop is now serving soups at lunch time along with grilled cheese sandwiches—another great way to warm up.)

The next night, you can join the Game Night & Tasting event on Sunday November 22 at Best of Luck Beer Hall, where you can enjoy a three-course tasting menu with beer pairings from Boulevard Brewing Co. You bring the board game from home and your date (or a few friends! Groups of up to six are welcome), and they provide the fun atmosphere and good eats. Guests must wear masks when they are not seated, and Best of Luck Beer Hall has spaced out the tables for safety too.

A Few More Tasty Tidbits

There are a lot of little moves, changes and updates happening in the food world this week, so here are a few extras to look forward to.

First off, Country Girls Espresso (which has up until now been housed in the teeniest little building on East Sunshine Street) is moving to a new location. They’re sliding a bit farther east on Sunshine, to the standalone building in front of Sam’s Club at 3650 E. Sunshine St. You can start getting your Cuban sandwich fixes (seriously, the Cubans are incredible) at the new spot starting Friday. The old location is closing today.

At Bambino’s Cafe, the family-style pasta meals that have been take-out lifesavers for my family (they are seriously tasty and an incredible value) are now being served as a dine-in option on Sundays at the restaurant’s Battlefield location. You get a huge portion of a pasta dish and a salad big enough to share, along with lots of freshly baked bread.

Thai Express has some plans for the next three weeks that give a little back to the community, either through perks for their employees and discounts for customers, first responders and health care workers. This week, owner Patrick Nett is adding $1 to the tip jar for every order to boost the kickback to his hardworking employees. Next week, all customers get 25% off their purchase, including the super-popular (and ridiculously value-packed) family bundles. And finally, the week of November 30 will feature 50% meal discounts for first responders and health care workers.

And in Joplin news, The Bruncheonette—which has kept its dining room closed and has been only serving take-out during the pandemic—has announced that the dining room is back up and running. Masks are required when you’re not eating, and tables in the restaurant’s small dining room are spaced out for social distancing. You can still get The Bruncheonette’s creative, cleverly named and truly delish brunch goodies take-out if you prefer, but now the dining room is an option again, too.