Author: amywes5_wp

Food Review: The Social Cafe and Caterer in Branson

***This blog post has two parts now. One from my first visit in January, 2018. The second from about a year after that, located towards the bottom.

1st Post

Finding somewhere good and not typical for Branson (Southern food, diners, BBQ is pretty much what you’re given) is always my goal while here. There have been a couple great places that fit the bill here- an amazing Indian joint (India Clay Oven), a couple good sushi places, and a great Thai place (Thai Thai), but it is usually very hard to find good food here. By good, I mean not deep fried or slathered in gravy or ice cream. No offense to those foods, but it is hard to eat like that anymore…the 30s don’t play.

After reading a couple Yelp reviews about this new cafe and saw they had ramen (it happened to be 14 degrees this day), I knew where we were going to lunch! And, spoiler alert: I found the best meal yet in Branson.

ENVIRONMENT

This cafe is….weird. It is in a building shared with a ministry or two, feels like a church but there was nothing about the actual cafe that suggested it was a part of the ministry? I am assuming they are renting the space from them because of low cost, but I have no idea.

So, the space is open, small, and has ministry ad videos playing…which are very different from the super nice, modern furniture and place settings the cafe has set up. If the cafe was in its own space, I’d imagine it being very nice and romantic. They do try hard to make you feel like you’re having a nice meal- nice silverware and napkins and glasses and little tea lights on each table.

You order and pay at the counter shown above, with the menu on the wall. And then you are served at your table.  There are a few baked goods in a display glass on this counter as well if you’re looking for a small snack.

MENU

I loved seeing a small, focused menu that has some typical dishes (burger) and quite a few non-typical items (Thai chicken wrap, pork belly ramen, roasted red pepper potato salad, etc.) This made deciding what to get pretty simple!

FOOD

Ramen with Pork Belly, Carrots, an Egg, and Green Onion: $9.95

This was not only really good ramen, this ties (perhaps even beats) the best bowl of ramen I have ever had. First off, the broth was SO flavorful. That’s always what is hard to find, so many ramen bowls around here are lacking flavor in the most important part, the broth.
But then it got better. The seared pork belly was plentiful and perfect! It was a little crispy on the outside but still melted in your mouth.
I have never had seared (or roasted?) carrots in ramen before, but they were delicious, adding a nice texture and sweetness.
The egg was cooked perfectly, still runny.
The green onions added a nice crunch and freshness.
The noodles….the noodles were perfect. I know they had to be made in-house. They were different than any other noodles I’d had. Thick, but not too thick, and really dense for a nice chew. Also, they were cooked perfectly al-dente.
I had NO complaints about this dish. I believe its the best dish in Branson. And I’ve been investing this for years.

Yellow Curry with Chicken and Vegetables, Served with White Rice: $9.95

The other dish we tried sounded great because we love curries- Indian curries, Thai curries, etc. This type of curry definitely was more authentic than what I am used to.  It was spicy, not very creamy. The chicken and veggies in it were great and everything was cooked just fine. The flavor just was a little much for me. Plus, I was comparing it to the ramen, which just isn’t fair.

OVERALL

There were only two people working here, the owners. The man was in the back cooking, the woman was our server and was also back in the kitchen cook as well. I love a place with hands-on owners, it shows they really care.
Plus, she was more than welcoming and nice. We were made to feel right at home.
All I can say about the food is I’ll be back every year for this ramen bowl. I’ll try some other things, but always alongside the ramen bowl. This is a must-try.

 

2nd Post

I was excited to eat here again after my last trip to Branson. So, we hit The Social Cafe for lunch as soon as we could. (They only serve breakfast and lunch)

The atmosphere was the same. Even though they are in a weird building (a church), they make the dining experience as nice as possible. Plus, the service is super friendly.

The menu has changed a bit. Now with a couple burger options, a sandwich option, (probably due to Branson’s typical theme of popular food) and then what you will see we got below.

FOOD

Side of Tomato Basil Soup, $3

I am so picky about my tomato soups/ bisques, and I loved this! It tastes so similar to my own recipe, which obviously is delicious. 😉  It has the texture of real homemade soup, full of very tiny pieces of real vegetables. The flavor is perfect, a little tangy from the tomato, but also sweet from the cream and basil. I loved it.

Ramen, $11
Description: Tonkotsu Ramen with marinated pork tenderloin, mushrooms, caramelized carrots, jalapeños, ginger, and green onion.

You know I had to get this ramen again after last year’s visit! Surprisingly, they have changed it a bit. For example, now there’s pork tenderloin instead of pork belly. There’s jalapeños, mushrooms, and ginger added, and there’s no egg.
Here’s what I thought about these changes:
Pork tenderloin: I thought I would miss the pork belly, but this tenderloin was just as “melt-in-your-mouth” and flavorful as the belly, as well as I can remember.
Jalapeños: Added nice heat, though I removed them so I wouldn’t accidentally eat one and regret it.
Mushroom: I love mushroom is ramen, they just fit and are a great texture in broth.
Ginger: This was my favorite addition. I love fresh ginger and this was sliced thin so you could enjoy a small amount in every few bites. Great addition!
Egg: I miss the egg.
Broth: I honestly don’t remember if this broth is any different. However, it is bold, flavorful, and delicious. So many ramen places I have tried have bland broths where you need to add your own flavor. Not this one, it was delicious!
Overall, this is still easily one of the best ramen bowls I’ve ever had and still the best dish in Branson, IMHO.

 

Pasta, $10
Description: Bucatini pasta with butternut squash and red bell pappers in a garlic cream sauce topped with grilled chicken and parsnip crisps.

Drew got this dish and it was stunning to look at! The fried parsnips not only looked great, but they added a crunch to every bite which is unique in pasta dishes. I love this touch!
The chicken was perfectly cooked. The bucatini pasta is fun, because it has a whole in the middle, so the sauce can get inside. The red bell peppers gave good flavor and color as well.
The only issue with this pasta was we couldn’t taste any garlic in the cream sauce. Granted, I’m a garlic fiend and use so much in everything I cook, so perhaps I’m immune to it? After asking for a little salt and pepper, the flavors stood out more and the dish was very enjoyable.

 

Double Chocolate Brownie- FREE! (with Facebook Check-In)

When we were ordering, our waitress let us know if we check in there on Facebook, we could have one of their very large double chocolate brownies for free. So, of course I did!
After our meal, she heated the brownie up and brought it out. It was obviously delicious! What a nice treat to offer your customers for helping share a little on social media! (Very worth it)

OVERALL

I can’t say enough how much I love the idea of this place, how they are bringing delicious, unique-for-Branson food to the area, and how genuinely nice they are. The chef/owner came out and asked me what I thought of the new recipe for the Ramen, which just shows they really care about taking time for their customers, but also that they want to know what we think!
While this may not be a fast stop in Branson (good food can take more than 5 minutes to dish out), I hope you get a chance to try this place out. It’ll be worth it.

Food Review: Grampa’s Catfish & Seafood in Maumelle

Grampa’s Catfish & Seafood has been around for a while, at different locations,  but they are now located on Maumelle Boulevard. Luckily for me, I live in Maumelle! However, it took me a while to finally get out and try the place. Here’s the breakdown:

Environment

Grampa’s Catfish is in a building that has been many different restaurants over the years. It’s nothing fancy, but now the decor is a little Southern/ country, with plenty of things to look at on the walls. Interestingly, there framed pictures of, I assume, the owner’s family and friends all over the restaurant as well.
Our server was very friendly and made us feel right at home. He talked to us throughout the meal and made sure we had everything we needed at all times. Great service!

Menu

   

The menu is mostly southern fried foods, but there are plenty of healthier options as well. So, you can get anything from fried zucchini chips and a fried shrimp po-boy, to grilled mahi-mahi (plain or in a taco) with sauteed veggies.

Food

Coleslaw for the table- FREE

As soon as we sat down, a big bowl of coleslaw was ready for us to share as we decided on what to order. More came when that was gone. It is your typical mayo-based coleslaw, but with good seasoning, better than many others.

Fried Green Tomatoes, $5.99

We started off with the fried green tomato appetizer, that came with some lettuce leafs and ranch dressing. While they were cut thin and crispy, there wasn’t very much flavor in the breading. They were good, but I wouldn’t order them again. Next time, I’ll have to try the fried zucchini chips.

Dinner for Two: Fish and Fowl, $25.99
Description: Four catfish filets and eight chicken tenders, served with two large sides.

What a deal! This enormous meal is more than enough for 2 people. Drew and I couldn’t even eat half of it. The fish was large and the breaded was seasoned well. I took most of mine home, though, to cook it a little longer in the toaster oven, as I like my fried catfish very crispy.
The hand-battered chicken strips were long and thin and plenty. They were good in dipping sauces, but lacked flavor overall.

For one side, we got grilled veggies, and they were garlic-y and delicious! I will always order these.

For our other side, I was a little less healthy and got onion rings. Alongside them came many hush puppies. The only rings seemed hand batter in a beer batter of sorts and were very crispy. The hush puppies were typical, non-spicy balls of fried dough. But I’ve never met a hush puppy I didn’t like.

In the end, we carried home a completely packed to-go box and left with very full bellies. For about $30, we got so much food, and I love a good deal…so I like this place.