Tag: branson

Food Review: Olé Eatery in Branson, MO

Branson has a new authentic Spanish tapas restaurant! And it is better than I imagined. Here’s the breakdown:

 

ENVIRONMENT

While we will cover the incredible food, we must first talk about the environment. In a shopping mall, Olé Eatery is nothing fancy.

It is broken down into two rooms; one is where you order and pay at the counter. The other is the dining area, which is large and open.

This atmosphere does not set the scene for the incredible food we were about to have. With the meal I had here, I would expect a romantic, date-night type of atmosphere instead. It definitely needs sprucing up.

 

FOOD

The menu can be found here on their website. It is full of four different paellas (Spain’s national dish) and many tapas, or small shareable dishes.

Paella Negra: $21.89
Description: “Black Rice” Spanish rice cooked with squid ink with shrimp, clams, calamari, and scallops.

I lived in Spain for a summer, studying, and I had my fill of paella. It’s safe to say my expectations were high. I almost got the traditional Paella with chicken and Spanish chorizo, but I asked the man behind the counter which paella was the most flavorful and he suggested this one.
While I’ve had squid ink pasta and found it pretty bland, this perfect dish was anything but bland. There was so much flavor! The rice was cooked perfectly and it was saucy, not one dry bite. The seafood was cooked perfectly. The garlic aioli and fresh herbs that topped it off gave it a fresh bite. I LOVED this dish. It was the most flavorful, delicious paella I’ve ever had. Also, while the serving appears small, it was very large. Drew and I could barely finish it all.

Chicharron: $9.29
Description: crunchy pork belly with sweet chili aioli

While this dish was good, it was my least favorite. Fried pork belly is always good and they fried it well, it just was a little dry and could use more of the chili aioli.

Patas Bravas: $5.49
Description: Potatoes with Spanish Salsa Brava and lemon oil

I did not want to get this. I wanted the ham croquettes, croquetas españolas, but they were out. So, I went for one of the cheaper menu items. I was not disappointed! While they are no ham croquettes, they were cooked well enough they had a crunch and the sauces were delicious.

Churros: $5.49

Churros in Spain were my favorite thing to eat.  Well, except the dulce de leche gelato. In Spain, you would typically get a “hot chocolate” with your churros. However, it was not regular hot chocolate. This was thick, like a melted chocolate bar. You dip the churros in the “hot chocolate”. It’s just how it is done.
So, I was a little disappointed to see the small amount of chocolate drizzle over the churros and a small dollop of what seemed like chocolate icing on the side.
While the churros were good, they weren’t anything unique. Next time, I’ll try the guava empanada.

 

OVERALL

I loved this meal. The paella was the best paella I’ve ever had. Hands down. The tapas are super fun, too. I can’t wait to try their croquetas españolas next time if they aren’t out. The staff was very kind.  The atmosphere is the only thing that could improve. The food is way too good to be in an environment that doesn’t do it justice.

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.