Springfield, MO. My family and friends.

My first meal when I visit Springfield is always at the Mexican Villa. This place opened in 1951 and is still going strong. Now, you’ll get lots of negative reviews from people who think they know good "Mexican" food, but this is just good food made with quality stuff; similar to Tex-Mex but with its own twist.

The dish I always get is the Burrito Enchilada-Style. We used to order this before it was even on the menu, and now it’s their best-selling item. It’s a burrito made with beans, meat, white cheese, and their own burrito sauce. Topped with enchilada sauce and more cheese, then stuck under a broiler to melt the cheese. Topped with lettuce and tomato before serving.

Their sauce is a fiery red concoction that I adore, and lots of it gets put on my burrito.

I’m just learning to use my digital camera, so the shots I took of the food didn’t turn out well, but here’s one that’s a gift for signman, who loves old neon signs:

Other places I ate in Springfield:

Pizza House: I’ve talked about this place before. Great thin-crust St. Louis-style pizza. Opened in 1958. Here’s the sausage pizza I had this time:

Aunt Martha’s Pancake House: Opened in 1959, and is still the best breakfast in Springfield. Great variety of pancakes and good country cookin’. I had the Southern Cornmeal Pancakes with corned beef hash, eggs over medium, and real hash browns (not "breakfast potatoes").

Arris Pizza: Another St. Louis-style pizza that is fabulous.

St. George’s Donuts: A fairly new place with fantastic glazed donuts. On Sundays, they open early and make a bunch, but I found out they only sell until they run out that day. I got there at just a little after 7:00 am and ordered a dozen. They had 9 glazed donuts left. I settled for those 9 and a few caramel rolls to take home, but quietly snuck out while the guy who just walked in behind me was told they didn’t have any more. [}:)]

Jade East: One of the specialty foods of Springfield is Cashew Chicken, "invented" in the 1950’s by a chef at the now-defunct Leong’s Tea House. It’s pieces of white chicken breaded and deep-fried, topped with oyster sauce, chopped green onions, and cashews. Although I’m sure everyone has seen something similar, this is different and the guy at Leong’s is credited with it.

This is the reason Springfield is known for having so many Chinese restaurants. The whole city is crazy for this stuff, and you can get it at small shops and big restaurants all over town. Traditionally served with fried rice and an egg roll. I couldn’t really pick the best place for this, but Jade East was convenient.

Beyond one trip to Steak n’ Shake, the rest of the meals in Springfield we cooked. Lone Star, I’ll do a post on some of that later today, since you were kind enough to ask.

Now, back to work…