A Small Town Girl's Guide » Kimmswick

The Blue Owl (Kimmswick, Missouri)

MilliGFunk — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:43:19 +0000

I was a lot more excited to write about The Blue Owl before I became violently ill last week with a stomach bug that made it impossible to sit up at a computer, much less write about food. Seven days later, and finally feeling well again, I’m here to tell you about Kimmswick, Missouri’s infamous restaurant and bakery.

The Blue Owl, photo by milligfunk

The town of Kimmswick is one hundred and one years old. It’s a well-restored and historic Mississippi River town that’s created a brand for itself in the St. Louis Area.

Especially during the holidays, there’s no small town in the St. Louis area that’s established itself as a holiday crafts and shopping destination quite the way Kimmswick has.

Famous for its gooey butter cookies, sky-high pies, homemade apple butter, white chili and its waitresses in their ruffled blue aprons, the Blue Owl is a requisite meal stop for visitors to Kimmswick.

Food for Five, photo by milligfunk

Last Saturday I had lunch there for the first time, and I wasn’t disappointed. Nor were the four people dining with me. Our meal choices ranged from chicken salad croissantwiches to tropical salads, and each of us was pleased with our food.

Desserts, photo by milligfunk

Our waitress, who’s name I’ve forgotten, was nothing short of a menu-reciting artist. She named the dozens of cakes and pies on the menu in a fashion not unlike that of a fast-talking auctioneer. When she was finished naming The Blue Owl’s desserts, the five of us sat dumbfounded. How to decide??

Between all of us, we could only name two of the desserts she’d listed, so we walked to The Blue Owl’s bakery to weigh our options. We chose red velvet cake, turtle cheesecake, death by chocolate and Snickers pie, and not one of us was disappointed.

The next time you’re near Kimmswick, this small town girl suggests you stop into The Blue Owl for a bowl of white chili and a piece of cake or pie. Or maybe you should start with the pie. Just a thought.

The Blue Owl is located in Historic Kimmswick, Missouri at the corner of Mill and 2nd Streets, and can be found online at www.theblueowl.com.

***

Bacon Rinds

MilliGFunk — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:28:57 +0000

Because in rural Missouri, everything’s better with fresh cooked bacon (rinds).

In case you can’t read the sign, you can get capuccino at the bacon rind booth, as well as hot chocolate and hot apple cider.

Fresh Cooked Bacon Rinds, photo by smalltowngirl

***

For more about meat at the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival, be sure to read about the Best 12″ in the Midwest.

For other blogs about the Apple Butter Festival, click any of the links below:

Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival

Baetje Farms

The Perfect Gift

Apple Butter Festival Train

Please, Feed the Animals

The Best 12 Inches in the Midwest

MilliGFunk — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:12:19 +0000

Get your mind out of the gutter! I’m talking about 12 inches of the best meat in the Midwest. Not that kind of meat, people.

The Best 12 inches in the Midwest, photo by smalltowngirl

This is BBQ we’re talking about. 12inches of BBQ kabobs for just $5.00. Yee-haw y’all. Welcome to Missouri!

Sweet Meat Stix, photo by smalltowngirl

***

For more blogs about the Apple Butter Festival:

Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival

Baetje Farms

The Perfect Gift

Apple Butter Festival Train

Please, Feed the Animals

MilliGFunk — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:47:16 +0000

Ice Cream or Animal Feed? photo by smalltowngirl

Petting zoos are such odd things. Can you imagine trucking your camels and llamas and goats around to fairs and festival and carnivals, charging a nominal feel to let people pet them?

Camels and Mini-Vans, photo by smalltowngirl

This particular mobile petting zoo was set up at – you guessed it – the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival. Camels and goats and llamas, oh my! I’m not sure how much they were charging kids to go through the petting zoo, but for just $1.00 extra, parents could buy an ice cream cone filled with animal feed. How many kids do you think ate the animal feed that day? Small town Missouri, please continue to delight me with your oddities!

***

For more blogs about the Apple Butter Festival:

Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival

Baetje Farms

The Perfect Gift

Apple Butter Festival Train

MilliGFunk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:26:03 +0000

The Apple Butter Festival is a huge, two-day festival every October in historic Kimmswick, Missouri. This year was my first time attending, and I was impressed by the size of the event. Hundreds of food and craft vendors set up tents, the Blue Owl served food in and outside of the restaurant, Kimmswick’s shops were open for business, and live music was playing all day long.

Apple Butter Fest, photo by smalltowngirl

Of all that the festival had to offer, I think that it’s train was the most unique thing. The train offered rides around the festival to kids and adults.

Apple Butter Train, photo by smalltowngirl

The train engineer was a very friendly older man with an adorable puppy.

“Them’s some fancy boots you’re wearing”, he said to me. I thanked him and asked for permission to photograph him with his dog.

Train Engineer and Dog, photo by smalltowngirl

***

For more blogs about the Apple Butter Festival:

Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival

Baetje Farms

The Perfect Gift

MilliGFunk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:32:49 +0000

Fish Face, photo by smalltowngirl

Just in case anyone’s wondering what’s on my holiday wish-list, I think it’s safe to say that I need one of these blue-eyed fish-faced things. I don’t know what they are, but if this dude drove all the way to Kimmswick, Missouri from Florida to sell them, I most certainly need one.

Fishin', photo by smalltowngirl

***

Check out my last blog on the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival.

Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival

MilliGFunk — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:59:38 +0000

Apple Butter, photo by smalltowngirl

Saturday and Sunday, October 24th and 25th were the annual Kimmswick, Missouri Apple Butter Festival. As a self-proclaimed expert in all things small town Missouri, I put on my rockin’ cowboy boots, grabbed my camera, and made my way to Kimmswick, Missouri.

I parked at Windsor High School and walked the 1.5 miles or so from the high school to the festival. It was a beautiful fall day, and the walk was a welcomed reprieve from the hours each week I spend sitting at my desk and in my car.

Kimmswick, photo by smalltowngirl

I’ve made some pretty corny (get it, hehe) jokes in my blog this fall about corn on the cob, kettle corn, candy corn, and small town fall festivals. Much to my delight, one of the first booths I came across at the Apple Butter Festival was an Old Tyme Kettle Corn booth. I took this next photo with you, my a-maize-ingly dedicated readers, in mind.

Sugared Kettle Corn, photo by smalltowngirl

In case you’ve missed my corny fall festival posts, check out my corn on the cob in the news, and my kettle corn contemplation at Sprottfest.

The Apple Butter Festival was huge by small town standards, and I got a slew of good pictures. Come back later this week for more Apple Butter posts!