Another Lunch Stop

I've discovered Chris' way of getting rid of me for the day.
Friday night she asked, "Are you going to go for a ride tomorrow? It's supposed to be nice."
I turns out that she wanted to go shopping for furniture and would rather take a friend than go with me.

So I rode.

Yesterday was a nice, easy ride.
94.3 miles according to My Tracks, the app I use when I remember to track a ride.
I stopped at the halfway point for gas and a soda and decided to treat my self to a gas station hotdog, as well. The scenery along highway 14 between Ava and Ozark is beautiful.

Thursday's ride was in the other direction, but I didn't track it.
Mid-afternoon found me near Aurora MO so I stopped in at Bootleggers for a late lunch.
I ordered the hand breaded pork tenderloin sandwich and skipped the fries to try the Santa Fe Steak and Bean soup.
Oh My! The soup was excellent! It was sort of a cross between chili and soup. The rich, dark broth was well seasoned like a mild chili. It wasn't as packed with meat and beans like you would want a chili to be, but had just the right amount of each to make a hearty bowl of soup. I'd go back just for the soup!
Now I should say that I am a fan of fried pork tenderloin sandwiches. This one was better than average, but not a "great-you-gotta-order-it" kind of sandwich. I think the thing that made it more average was that it needed to rest (or drain) just a little bit longer. I know there is a fine line between letting prepared meat rest long enough and serving it it warm, but this was just a little greasy still and was plenty hot. The thing that made it better than average was the freshly baked bun!
I asked the server if the bun was homemade and she said they bake them every morning!

The atmosphere at Bootleggers is pretty cool, It's in an old bank building and still has some of the features of the original building.

I'm sure that I'll be back to try other menu items as I make my way through rural Missouri on my motorcycle. I'll probably even have the tenderloin again. As is said, it is a better than average sandwich.

It was mid-afternoon and it was relatively empty, but the service was fast and friendly and the server was able to easily answer questions about the menu. If you are in the vicinity, you should definitely make the stop.

Yesterday, I ran across this article online.
Mike, it looks like I'll be making a few lunch runs to St Louis this summer!

Bon Appetit!

John <><

btw -- It looks like we're getting new living room furniture.