Grad School

Welcome back folks!  Today we are going to look at a little place downtown called Grad School.  This was an interesting trip for a couple of reasons.  First, we were joined by my awesome mom and second, this review was a request from Mr. Jeff Winters.  We again had our Wednesday lunch and the place was absolutely packed.  It's a small building and every seat was taken when we arrived.  We had about a 10 minute wait and was then seated and ready to eat.

The restaurant is a little narrow building with a bar along the right as you walk in and several tall two seat tables along the left.  The food is actually made behind the bar, right in front of everyone.  It was kind of cool to get a preview of the food as it was cooked while we waited for a table.  Towards the back of the restaurant are a couple booths and a larger room with tables for bigger parties.  It was a bit chilly today, but they apparently have outdoor seating when it's warmer.  So it was a bit cramped, but it wasn't awful.  I don't want to belabor the point, but it is important to note that if there's a wait, you will most likely be standing outside.  We were essentially forced right up against a poor couple's table while we waited.

The menu was relatively small but there was a little bit of something for everyone from sandwiches and burgers to pasta.  The hook of the menu is that in several of the dishes you can choose your protein from beef, chicken, tilapia or falafel.  This adds a lot of variety that isn't there at first glance.  We had the stuffed mushroom appetizer which was very good.  Sarai ordered their turkey sandwich, I had their specialty "Full Ride" burger and my mom had a chicken and rice dish that was very good.  We also ordered the funnel cake for dessert.  Funnel cakes is the only dessert on the menu and we all love funnel cake.  It felt a bit out of place, but it was still awesome.

Overall, this is a good place for lunch.  I wouldn't consider it great and I probably won't be rushing back there for dinner.  The food is good and very affordable.  The three of us got out of there for just a hair under forty dollars.

Of five stars...

Overall experience: ★    ★    ★    ☆   ☆   

Service: ★    ★    ★   ★    ☆ 

Food: ★    ★    ★    ☆   ☆   

Atmosphere: ★    ★    ☆   ☆   ☆  

 

 Justin's impressions: 

I ordered the Full Ride burger off the menu because the server told us that it was the best burger he had ever had. It looked great when we saw it being prepared during our wait so I went with it. It was not the best burger I'd ever had, but I'm someone who is well known for hyperbole so I'll let him off the hook. The burger was good, it had soft cheddar cheese on it that was great, other wise it tasted like a Steak 'n Shake burger with a bit more meat. The fries were pretty much just average fries. Sarai and I differ in our opinions here, but I got the bottom of the fryer so I just had a bunch of little pieces of fries. I really liked the stuffed mushroom appetizer for the most part, however the facon bits they used were a bit too crunchy for the consistency of the dish. I also loved the funnel cake, but who doesn't love funnel cake?

I really feel like Grad School is a very good place to grab a quick lunch but would have a really hard time arguing that there is anything that really sets it apart. I do really like the idea of their menu being very vegetarian friendly. There aren't a lot of places in Springfield that are. There wasn't much of any sort of atmosphere, it felt like any other place you'd go to grab a quick lunch. The service was adequate and friendly, but wasn't spectacular.

My favorite part of the meal was when Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" came over the loud speakers in it's full completely uncensored glory. 

My last note will be to mention that there wasn't any sort of beer that you could order. This is probably a good thing after being a bit tipsy before two in the afternoon last week.

                                                                    Sarai's impressions

Okay, I really was  trying to go healthy. To be honest with you, I had every intention of ordering something vegetarian. But then I saw the Tur-Reffic sandwich on the menu. This sandwich had a surprising blend of ingredients to include a thick slice of grilled turkey, tomato, lettuce, sliced avocado, bean sprouts,  and (here comes the unhealthy part) bacon with mayo.  Upon first sight, I thought “this could be pretty good.” The actual taste was something I wasn’t prepared for. In a word: Tasty.  I am not sure how they seasoned the turkey, but it was prepared well. The fries were fresh and delicious. The atmosphere? The words "dirty diner" come to mind, but that doesn't mean that it is dirty. It would need a serious remodel if they planned to stay open forever. It was cramped and not very well lit. It's not the best place to dine if you are claustrophobic because the space is smaller and there are a ton of people there.

Over all, I would give this plate a decent rating, along with the appetizer and the funnel cake for dessert (my favorite.) I wouldn’t object to returning for a lunch one afternoon.

Farmers Gastropub

Our inaugural trip was to Farmers Gastropub this week.  We had heard a lot about how great the place was and we were not disappointed.  We went for lunch, so there were a few people there but they weren't overly busy. 

The restaurant itself is decorated like an English pub and is very comfortable.  There are several different seating arrangements including the bar, booths, stand alone tables, outdoor seating, and a little area with a couch and big comfortable chairs near the fireplace.  We were greeted immediately upon walking in from behind the bar and told to choose our own seats. 

The server was there immediately and was great.  He was talkative without being pushy and did a great job selling the high points of the menu including the daily specials.  We received our food very soon after we ordered and our glasses never came close to being empty.  The menu included standard English pub food, bangers and mash, fish and chips, hamburgers and the like.  However there were also a several things to suit a lot of different tastes.  One of our favorite things about Farmer's is that all the food is fresh and bought from local farms. You really can tell a difference in the taste.  While we were there an employee walked in with bags full of fresh bread that he had just purchased from a nearby bakery. 

There was a family there with two young children so, at least for lunch, it seems as though it is a very family friendly place.  Dinner time might be different considering it is in the downtown area.  We also saw people going outside to smoke, but we did not ask if you could smoke inside (which is something we need to remember to ask).  That about sums up our overall experience, check out what we individually have to say below!

Overall Experience: ★   ★   ★   ★   ★  

Service: ★   ★   ★   ★   ★  

Food: ★   ★   ★   ★   ★  

Atmosphere: ★   ★   ★   ★   ★  

I know what you're thinking. Are we going to rate this high every time? Most likely not. This restaurant is what gave us this idea to start this blog. And, yes, it was that good.

 Justin's Impressions:
The server recommended the fish tacos so I had to take him up on his recommendation and they were incredible.  Great flavor, a TON of food and great presentation.  We also had a good bread and olive oil appetizer and a very good fresh brownie for dessert.  One of my favorite things about Farmers was the beer list.  Their list of beers, both on tap and in bottles, was extensive and had a lot of beer that isn't common in this area.  I had a Founder's Dirty Bastard and a Tallgrass Oasis, both were awesome.  I loved the feel of the dining area as well.  It was cozy and just a great place to have a couple of beers and a great lunch.  I'm trying not to be all rainbows and sunshine in our first review, but the place was just that good.  The atmosphere was great, the service was awesome, and the food was incredible.

 Sarai's Impressions:

I ordered the Ham and Cheese Panini. As an appetizer, we had the bread with organic olive oil. The smear was a mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil with baguette bread.  All of the Food (including the sample of Justin’s dish that I acquired) was incredible. It was a perfect combination of flavor.

 There isn’t a single thing I would change about the service, food, or atmosphere. I am insistent that we go back for more, and maybe with friends this time. It’s perfect for couples or families, and accommodates larger groups.  

Please click the tab "Eateries Visited" for more information about Farmers Gastropub.

Welcome!

Hi guys!

We were sitting eating lunch today and decided that we should write our own blog.  I mean, that's what all the hip kids are doing these days right?  We also decided that we wanted to follow through on something that we have always talked about doing.  That is eating at all the local places that Springfield, Missouri has to offer and seeing what is awesome, and not so awesome, about Springfield's local cuisine. 


Springfield has more restaurants per capita than most cities in the United States, so why not take advantage of it? 

We aren't at all professional chefs or food critics.  We are pretty much just "normal" people that like to sit down and take in the food and atmosphere of a place and generally have a good time.  We also have the advantage of having a time set aside every week that we can go eat out and report back to you guys.  We have spent so many nights wondering where the heck to go and we have tried everything to go out on a limb (asking friends, shaking our phones with urbanspoon, searching restaurant in the Yellow Pages), but we usually end up in the exact same places that we know we like.  This is an attempt for us to do the leg work and let everyone know where we enjoyed.

We will rate every place we go to in a few different categories: overall experience, service, taste, and atmosphere.  We will then give a little run down of what we liked and didn't like overall, then follow up with our individual feelings about the place.  We want to stimulate conversation and interest for the local businesses here in our community as well as provide a resource to help decide where you can go on a date night when you have a sitter for the kids.

We want to thank you for coming along on this journey with us.  It should be fun, and heck, its a good excuse for us to justify eating out once a week.  Pretty awesome deal for everyone.