Tag: amy westerman

Food Review: Dinner at The Root

The Root has always been one of my favorite lunch spots. Their banh mi and burger are my go-to’s. It took way too long for me to finally get there to try their dinner options, but I finally made it with 5 other friends…well, Drew is more than a friend.   It had its ups and downs, and I’m going to be blatantly honest in this review. Here goes:

DRINKS

Negroni, $6.00
Description: Rocktown gin, Cappelletti, Dolin sweet, lemon twist

We all started with a drink. The drink menu is vast, with great descriptions of each drink and very well priced.  The Negroni I got was strong (no complaints!), but very tasty. I would definitely get this again.

Honey Hard Ginger Lemonade, $7.00
Description: Rocktown bourbon whiskey, fresh ginger and lemon juices, local honey, lemon twist

Drew got the Honey Hard Ginger Lemonade, which was also strong, but he loved it. I, personally, can’t get into whiskey cocktails, but the other flavors were very nice.

MENU

The menu has something for everyone: meat-lovers, vegans, whomever. And as fancy as some of the descriptions sound, it was surprisingly fairly-priced.

FOOD

Veggie Cracklins, $4.00

Our table started with the “Seasonal Veggie Cracklins”, which I would have never ordered on my own, but thanks to my vegetarian friend, I got to try these. They were delicious and so unique! They looked just like pork rinds, but tasted nothing of the sort. Instead, they were spicy, with a little sweetness from the carrot they were made of. I have NO IDEA how they make these, nor can I find a similar recipe online, so they are pretty ingenius.

Purple Hull Pea Hummus w/ Crostini, $5.00

We also ordered this hummus for the table. It was good, but nothing crazy delicious. The crostini was nice and crisp, but there was no additional flavor added. I would have loved a little garlic oil or something on them to give a little extra.

Pork Carnitas, $16.00
Description: Slow braised Rabbit Ridge Farms pork shoulder (Bee Branch) with War Eagle Mill grit cake, homemade tortilla slaw, herb mayo

I ordered the carnitas, and this dish was my personal favorite. Each bite of the pork was perfect: no fatty pieces, very tender with crunchy edges. The herb mayo sauce it was placed on was delicious! The grit cake was a great, smoky addition. The slaw needed salt, but gave a bright balance to the dish. Getting a bite with all four components was very tasty.

Spicy Fried Chicken, $14.00
Description: Delicious Berbere spice glaze, homemade mac & cheese, house fermented sweet pickles

One of our friends said she has only ordered this spicy fried chicken for dinner and can’t seem to order anything else because it is perfect. So, Drew opted for this one,  but with the spicy sauce on the side rather than coating the chicken. Also, he requested the braised greens instead of the mac n’ cheese. Picky much? Ha.

The pickles were delicious. The chicken was nice because it was boneless, but still obviously thigh meat and very juicy. While the skin was crispy, there was just no flavor from the chicken. Then, the spicy sauce was just….spicy. The only flavor we got from this was heat. So, if you like “Nashville hot chicken”, you’ll love this. Personally, for $14 and 3 small pieces of chicken with one side, I don’t think it is worth it.

The braised greens. They were terrible. There seemed to be no seasoning, just bitter greens. Drew didn’t even finish them. He definitely should have opted for the fries.

 

For the rest of the dishes, these were our friends’ and we did not try them, but here are pics and some of their comments:

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings, $13.00
Description: Grass Roots Farmers Cooperative chicken, black pepper and buttermilk dumplings, served with a side salad

 

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, $13.00
Description: Homemade meatloaf with Simon Farms beef (Conway) and served with a locally sourced side salad

Cristianna said this was very spicy, perhaps because of the curry ketchup? It was also a little dry, due to them slicing it and griddling each slice.
The mashed potatoes were also bland and needed some salt.

The meatloaf probably is the best bang for your buck. For only $13, this plate was the largest. The rest of us left full, but not stuffed (though no leftovers)- which is perfect.

 

WHERE THINGS WENT WRONG

I NEVER complain about service. I understand waiting tables is a grueling job. However, this dinner was nearly ruined by our waitress, so I have to mention it.
From the second she came to our table, our waitress clearly did not want to be there. Not one smile, not one pleasantry. No, she did not give her name, nor would I give it if I knew it.  She answered questions as if we were bothering her. For example, “Instead of the mashed potatoes, can I get fries?” Answer: “I don’t know, but I guess I’ll check”, in exasperation.  But, honestly, that is perfectly fine. A waitress not being happy will not ruin my food.
What will ruin it, though, is being rude to customers. First off, the service was very slow. While the tiny restaurant was full, it took almost an hour after our food order to receive our food. At about 45 minutes, one of my friends asked if our waitress could check on our food. Granted, I would have never done this, it will come when its ready. However, she was just curious, she wasn’t being rude in the least.
The waitress came back and said “As expected, they are working on it”, with an attitude. When she moved on to fill water at the next table, we mentioned that she seemed rude and our table agreed most waitresses/ waiters do not speak to customers like that. At that moment, she looked at us (in front of the other customers she was serving) and mouthed “I can hear you”.  At that moment, it was decided we don’t like our waitress, and she definitely does not like us.
We saw her only one other time after that, to see how to split our checks, that evening. Of course, she asked “I assume these are all separate?” in annoyance. (Which, by the way, was not true.) Other servers gave us our food, refilled our waters, etc.

With all that being said, the other staff members were beyond pleasant. The guy with the dread-locks was so kind and friendly, as was the new girl refilling water glasses. Everyone else was as nice as could be. Our waitress was the only issue here.

OVERALL

Will I come back? Of course! I love The Root. However, I did miss my banh mi at dinner, so I’ll probably be back for lunch for my next visit. Also, there was a “help wanted” sign on the door, so I may apply for a job next summer. Seriously, that would be pretty fun. More importantly, I can help the wait staff project the true kindness and community The Root is based upon.

 

Lake of the Ozarks Review: ALL of it.

This past weekend, Drew and I took a long weekend at Lake of the Ozarks. We have never been, but heard it is huge and beautiful…and we love the show “Ozark”. It was not exactly what we imagined, however. Here’s the breakdown of everything:

INN AT GRAND GLAIZE

This hotel was pretty cheap, about $90 a night, and right on the lake. They even had plenty of boat slips we could use for free, which most other places charge you an extra fee for that. So, we brought our boat and put it in the water with ease.

The hotel itself is pretty old, but the rooms were nicely updated and the beds were comfortable- firm, but also soft….just right. The room came with a fridge and microwave and we opted for the private deck with a view of the lake:

While there was a restaurant and bar there, it was pretty dead. There was also a small pool and pool bar (only open on Friday afternoons and Saturdays), which also remained pretty dead. So, we didn’t spend much time at the hotel.

Overall, I’d definitely stay here again due to its convenience to the water and restaurants nearby, and affordability. Plus, the staff could not have been more sweet.

THE LAKE!

On the two days we were in the water, Saturday and Sunday, both were pretty packed, even in the mornings. The lake is huge and windy, allowing massive boats to speed around at their will. This creates a LOT of big wakes. With our small ski boat, our travel ranged from fun to frightening.

There are massive mansions everywhere to look at on the coasts. So, driving around and just gawking at houses kept us entertained for a while. Lake Hamilton, you got nothin’ on Lake of the Ozarks.

On Saturday, we wandered upon “party cove”, which we heard was “crazy” and not kid-friendly. I disagree. There were plenty of families and nothing I saw was inappropriate.  Though, there were a couple bachelor and bachelorette boats, and tons of big rigs tying up together, all with loud music and everyone drinking. So, there was some partying. It got pretty busy around 3:00, but nothing to be scared of. We were still able to lay out and enjoy the scenery/ people-watch here.

 

THE SHOPPING

The outlet mall here, Osage Beach Mountain Outlets, was pretty great! You know I’m a sucker for a bargain, and we found plenty of great deals at Eddie Bauer, Banana Republic, Gap, Yankee Candle, and plenty more. If you have a couple hours to kill around here, check this out, for sure.

The Bagnell Dam Strip is rated highly online, but we found it pretty boring. Full of gimicky, touristy shops and swimwear for sale, there isn’t much to do there. EXCEPT for this incredible candy store, Grandma’s Candy Kitchen. After a few free samples, I had to get some of this delicious fudge. We had a coupon and got 1.5 lbs for $12 which isn’t bad at all for a fudge shop full of tourists.  Some flavors include dark chocolate caramel, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate coconut, and my favorite: chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, and peanuts.  Don’t worry, we’re still eating on it….and it is still delicious.

 

THE FOOD- PLUS BARS AND POOL PARTIES

Where things get “crazy” here are at the multiple pool parties at restaurants around town. Many you can drive your boat to, park at a slip, and enjoy.

Backwater Jack’s

Thursday evening, we visited Backwater Jack’s due to its great food reviews. It was about an 8 minute Lyft trip from our hotel, though you can park your boat here.
We show up a little shell-shocked. This place is HUGE with a large pool, a big stage with a band that has tons of people dancing, and then 10x that many people eating at this massive, multi-story restaurant.
Luckily, there was no wait for 2 people, though many larger families were told there would be an hour wait.

We started with drinks. Drew got a frozen margarita ($6) and I got a “pain in the ass” which is half frozen piña colada and half frozen rum runner ($7). They were very tasty, but pretty small.

Little did I know, when I ordered the “grouper fingers” I was going to be eating one of the best things I’ve ever tried….and I would be getting them all three days here. These grouper fingers are apparently popular at most restaurants at Lake of the Ozarks, so you can get them about anywhere. However, they were best here….and cheaper here. ($12) Grouper is coated in frosted flakes, deep fried, then drizzled with honey. A raspberry tartar sauce is served on the side. SO GOOD!

We also split a seafood salad ($12) which was nothing special, but we got our greens in.

We had to try their most popular side as well. The fried potato salad was delicious! Definitely give this a shot. It is lightly dressed, keeping the potatoes a little crunchy and there is great flavor- not too much mayo.

We ended up coming back here on Saturday for dinner. We got the grouper fingers again, plus their red beans and rice with cornbread. ($7). This wasn’t great, but it had some flavor. If you love red beans and rice, I’m sure you’ll like it. But it is not the most tasty version of this dish in my opinion. Plus, the cornbread is very plain, and just a tad sweet.

Drew also tried their famous homemade wantons. They make these in-house and looked incredible. However, I don’t eat cream cheese, so he was on his own here. He wasn’t that impressed. He said they were pretty bland.

Oh, they also serve sushi here, though we opted out.

*The crowd: On Thursday evening, the crowd was mostly couples in their 50s-60s. However, the crowd was much more varied on Saturday, as I’m sure all restaurants are around here on the weekends.


Dog Days

On Friday afternoon, this place was hoppin! There was a TON of people swimming in the pools. They have a family-friendly/ children’s pool plus an adults-only pool (though they are right next to each other). This restaurant/ pool/ bar seemed very similar to Backwater Jack’s. The restaurant was huge and packed, as was the pool. You could park your boat here as well. We went with Lyft again, as it was only a 5 minute ride from our hotel.  However, there was no live band.

The food, though!

We got drinks here again, but they were a little more expensive, about $1 more each than at Backwater Jack’s. They had the same “pain in the ass” and every other fruity-flavored drink you can imagine.

The best thing they have at Dog Days are these Tuna Poke Nachos ($14)! Fried wontons topped with seared yellowfin tuna, mango, wakame, pickled ginger, green onions, sesame seeds, wasabi cream, and a soy ginger sauce. It was delicious!!!  It also made for a not-so-heavy lunch, which was nice while you’re eating in a swimsuit.

*The crowd here was full of all ages, but mostly 20-somethings. It died down the later it got into the afternoon, though.

Shady Gator

Saturday night we checked this place out for a late night dinner/snack. Upon arrival, it was obvious it was packed. This place is so large that one area had a big stage with a band playing that you could not even hear from the other side of the restaurant, where there was a DJ and dance floor.

We got a fun rum drink to share and some more grouper fingers!

These grouper fingers were very delicious as well, but they were pretty greasy and had more batter than fish. Oh, I’d still get them again, but Backwater Jack’s were better.

We also got some chicken strips for $10. They were pretty good, but for $10, I expected a little more food. The honey mustard was tasty and sweet, though.

*The crowd here was VERY young. It seemed like mostly drunk college students were here. And it was packed. And loud. Oh, and there was a foam party on the dance floor where you could watch these swimsuit- wearing said college kids dance and slide around.
While this may sound fun for some, it got pretty overwhelming quickly and I decided this isn’t for me. We got out of there quickly!

 

OVERALL

The Lake of the Ozarks has a lot to offer: great house and boat-watching on the lake, cliffs to jump off of, a party cove (maybe minus the party now-a-days), the biggest deal here now are the pool party/ restaurant venues. If you don’t like crowds…stay away. But do get some amazing food here! I’m not sure I’ll be back, but if I do, it is because the food is calling my name.