Realm of the Shadow Redux

Ok folks, I’ve ate at numerous BBQ joints in my time, some famous and some not so famous but without a doubt there is only one that I would travel out of my way to visit. That one is Super Smokers BBQ in Eureka or St. Peters, MO.! To me there is no better pulled pork, chicken, beef brisket or ribs than at Super Smokers. Marinated with a custom made rub before it is placed in their Fast Eddy smokers made by Cookshack and smoked for hours on end in tasty apple wood!

What more could you ask for? Well, how about the choice of BBQ sauces (6 of them!) ranging from a mustardy Caroline sauce, sweet St. Louis, Kansas City, tangy Tennessee, spicy Texas and their own Championship sauce (I think I got all of those right!) placed in empty beer cartons for some atmosphere. All of which are worth the trying and believe me, you get plenty of food to try them all if you decide to! Portion sizes are well worth the money that is charged for this meal and couple it with the home-made applesauce and seasoned green beans (my favorite sides at Super Smokers) and you won’t be able to complain at all.

Now I mentioned atmosphere and Super Smokers is full of that! Once you walk into the restaurant you realize that you are not in some fancy smancy high brow place but instead in a quality eats place that focuses more on flavorful food than they do on “putting on the airs” quite often found in high dollar restaurants. You walk up to the cash register to order your food cafeteria-style after gazing at the array of foods listed on the menu wall (yep, the menu is hand written on the wall and you truly get hungry just reading the choices!). Once you order your food you get a number and find a seat, your food will be right out before you know it.

The walls are covered with an eclectic collection of memorabilia and writings on the wall (I still remember the first time we went to Super Smokers and they allowed the customers to write comments on the walls, a practice no longer allowed but they still have some remnants around the place). Pictures of what I assume are the 3 original founders of Super Smokers depicted in the famous “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” poses, witty sayings, and an assortment of other items decorate this rustic and interesting establishment. Enough so to feast the eyes as well as the belly in!

Couple that with friendly service from wait staff like Kimberly and the General Manager Jake who are friendly, outgoing and eager to ensure your visit there is fulfilling and memorable and you have the makings of a world class establishment fit to serve anyone from the locals to the White House (yes, they have even catered to the White House, check it out!).

So, if you are anywhere near either St. Peters or Eureka, MO and are even a little bit hungry, I highly recommend stopping in and grabbing a rack of ribs or maybe one of the many sandwiches that are offered there. Definitely not only worth dropping in but also worth going back to on each visit down there. Being right outside of Six Flags surely can’t hurt either as it is the perfect place to enjoy a great meal after being slung around on the coasters all day long! This place goes on my favorite places to eat and travel 40 miles to do so list!

Tags: Family, Fun, food, vacation by shadowchaser
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A different (but good) retreat! It has been a long time since I have attended a church retreat that has been so relaxing and non-pressured. New Church Ministries out of Atlanta, IL is a relatively new church for the McLean/Atlanta and surrounding region. Our daughter and her husband attend there and invited us to go to the Church Retreat at the Circle Z ranch near Platsburg, MO. Circle Z Ranch is owned by the family of the pastor’s wife and is a truly lovely ranch with 3 lakes that are teeming with fish.

I took Friday off of work so we could caravan down with our daughter and son-in-law (Nikki and Tim Goggin). We left bright and early from Atlanta (around 4:30 a.m.) and took I-55 down to U.S. 36 at Springfield, IL, this took us to Hannible, MO (home of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain) where we stopped to have breakfast at McDonalds. Breakfast was uneventful and we were soon on the road once again to run into 52 miles of road construction on U.S. 36. Tim of course was overjoyed by the prospect of being stuck behind a semi-trailer for almost the entire 52 miles of construction (we heard about this on the 2 way radios that he had purchased for the trip)! Finally we made our turn off on highway 35 then on down to highway 116 to Plattsburg. Once through Plattsburg we made our way along the backroads to the ranch along a gravel road (which we found out later that we did not have to take, thanks Ed!).
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Tags: Family, Uncategorized, camping, vacation by shadowchaser
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Everything went well on getting started today. Mike and I got along well with getting everything packed up and cleaned up. Made certain the dogs had plenty of food and water for the rest of the day and that the ferocious feline was able to get to her food and litterbox. Off we go to pick up Jean at work.

After picking up Jean we take the backroads to Clinton when Mike realizes that he had left his “day bag” at home. Me, being the considerate father said “sucks to be you.” I was not about to turn around as it was mostly personal hyeine items that could easily be replaced.

As we continued on down towards Carbondale and we passsed Assumption, we noticed some handmade signs that concerned me quite a bit. These signs were about the economy and AIG which is understandable but the concern was the fact that the author was blaming the problems on the Jewish race and claimed that AIG is owned by the Jews (a fact that I have not acertained. the validity of as of yet). It seems as if anti-semitism may still be a problem in certain parts of central Illinois.

That aside, the rest of our first day was uneventful with us arriving at Ted and Sally`s house where we enjoyed a fine spaghetti meal and great conversation. I enjoyed a movie while Mike dealt with a National Guard issue and Jean visited with Sally Jo (see I spelled it right). More to come later.

Tags: Family, vacation by shadowchaser
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