Waffle House

 3135 N. Glenstone Ave.
Springfield, MO

Saturday morning. My adult-sized daughter was moving out of her apartment of several years to a less dark and less (hopefully) maintenance-needy apartment a couple of miles away in Springfield. Since I am not in peak physical condition, nor have I ever been, I offered to rent her a U-Haul truck and take her tween daughter out of the way for the day. I had an agenda, the Ozarks Model Railroad Association was having a convention/show at the fairgrounds that day.  I thought my granddaughter might actually appreciate the level of detail on some of the layouts and the mechanics of moving tiny machines around a fixed path. She's an artsy type, pretty good and at ease drawing things, and has a delightful fascination with nature. She's also really, really hard to impress or entertain.
So that morning I picked her up and took her to the fairgrounds. She was, almost immediately, less than impressed. Yawning, in fact. I had been looking forward to this event for at least a couple of months, so I took my dear sweet time, despite the audible sighing. 
After we left the show I noticed it was nearing lunchtime. I asked my young date what she wanted and she answered 'Subway?'. 
The last time she suggested this I complied. The Subway store we went to was all but empty, the line prep line worker was idle. I decided to let her order her own, to encourage confidence and stop "treating her like a baby."
To her credit, she boldly stepped up to the counter and ordered "a regular sandwich".
The young worker looked up at me, confused, bewildered. . . .so was I. 
So the patient young man walked her through the individual steps. "What type of bread" followed by a list of the bread types on hand. Plain white bread was the choice. Then came the proteins,  beef, chicken, ham, turkey meatball. . . ."Ham!" she exclaimed. The young man then listed off the 7 or 8 cheeses options. "American!" she whispered. "What else?" the young man  did a Vanna White style motion with his hands over the produce area. She shook her head. He reached for the squeeze bottles of dressings and sauces.  "Just mayonnaise" she uttered.
Ham, American cheese, Mayo on white bread, not even toasted. THAT's what constitutes a "regular sandwich".  I could have made her one of those at the house. . . .
Anyway, on THIS Saturday morning I was in no mood, nor did a mere sandwich appeal to me. So I did a very grandfatherly thing, I overruled her. When she mentioned Subway, I offered to take her to Waffle House instead.  A somewhat defiant "Fine" was her only response.
The Place:

Just down Norton Road at the intersection with Glenstone.  It looks, remarkably, like EVERY other Waffle House. With over 2000 locations, mostly in the midwest and south, the company tries to position its stores near interstate ramps. This one is no exception, just north of an I-44 exit. Waffle House is unique among fast-food retailers. The Wikipedia entry for the franchise states:
"According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Waffle House is one of the top four corporations, along with Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe's, for disaster response. Waffle House has an extensive disaster management plan with on-site and portable generators, and positions food and ice ahead of severe weather events such as a hurricane."
(Factoid: During her junior or senior year at Springfield Central High school or after graduation from same, my own daughter worked at a Waffle House for a year or so, just west of this location at the Kansas Expressway I-44 exit. The Kansas Expressway location has been converted to a vape and vape accessory shop recently.) She took her wages and generous tips and bought her first car. I don't recall if this was before or after her most notable job of that era, one of the original, Springfield Hooters waitresses. Yeah, My daughter was a well qualified Hooters girl. I weep with pride to this day. 
The Food:
 I go to Waffle House fairly often, I know the menu well. Not that I ever need a menu. I

ALWAYS  order the same thing. 2 eggs, over medium (runny yolk), hash browns, smothered (with diced onions) Two sausage patties, 3 bacon strips and wheat toast. The drink may vary, coffee or orange juice. I usually tell the server "Surprise me." when they ask for my jelly preference. Most servers appreciate that bit of freedom to choose.
We sat at the lower counter, on stools, rather than the few booth seats that hug the outer walls. It was pretty busy, being lunch time and all. The grandkid studied the menu like she had never seen it before, turning over the colorful, laminated page several times. "Just order anything you want." I said lovingly. I had no fear, This was Waffle House, no lobster, no foie gras, no wine list, no caviar. 
To my surprise, she still managed to pick the most expensive plate of

food, The Delmonico, with a thin steak, hash browns, covered (with a cheese slice) and toast. "Delmonico", so the experts at the internet tell me, is a thin ribeye steak cooked in the fashion of 'sous vide' which is French for 'under vacuum'. That's right, it never sees a pan. (though it may be seared on a griddle for a few seconds for color. For a more detailed explanation of this, please refer to my tedious essay on Maillard reactions) 
The sous vide method involves dropping the slab of meat into a plastic bag, sucking all of the air out of it, then immersing the bag in really hot water. This 'secret' method of cooking thin cuts has  been around for a while.   Since the slab is so thin it is very hard to keep it from overcooking (past medium). this method allows even temperatures around the entire steak, while keeping it tender. There, you learned something. 
She asked for steak sauce. She then proceeded to pour roughly half the bottle directly on top of the steak. So much that it was more of an icing than a saucing. The A1 covered the entire top side and formed a pool on her plate. She ate her cheese topped hash browns very much like her cat, her face almost touching the shredded potatoes on the plate and sort of shoveling/lapping in one shred at a time. It was an utterly fascinating thing to watch. 
Summary:
It was very good. How could it NOT be, This is all that they do 24/7/365. My granddaughter finished well before I did, her plate was clean. I sopped up the thick yolk with my toast and finished off the other half of my toast as a strawberry jelly sandwich in place of a dessert.
I had a plan B in case my young date didn't get quite the thrill as I did at the train show. Hobby Town. There she lit up and got sing-songy as she squeezed all the squeezable toys, and eventually picked out twenty dollars worth of things I can only describe as 'assemble it yourself glitter putty." Her day was made. I dearly love my granddaughter, she makes me smile.

Galloway Grill - Litton Lunch Special Edition

4211 S Lone Pine Ave.
Springfield, MO

Website

"Litton Advanced Circuitry was a division of Litton Industries, which was a major conglomerate and defense contractor, specializing in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing and other high-technology electronic components and systems. Litton Advanced Circuitry was primarily located in Springfield, Missouri, but the site was acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001. Operations at the Springfield facility ceased, and the site was eventually demolished in 2008"

Welcome to a special edition of this trivial, silly journal effort.  I felt the need for the above 'explainer' since my fan base has changed significantly over the last couple of decades.
I worked at ACD/IPE  (Advanced Circuitry Division/Interpak Electronics) for around 15 years. My wife, who I first met there worked there for 17 years. 
I started as  a test equipment technician, on the factory floor, then was promoted to Engineering Assistant and eventually to Network Engineer and Network Manager. I was laid off in August 2001 along with a few hundred other employees as the tech industry bubble burst.  We made circuit boards. We specialized in "BUTS" boards (Big, Ugly, Thick Suckers)  otherwise known as backpanels. Back in the mainframe days companies like IBM, DEC, Wang, Unisys etc. made big central computer systems. These computers had an enormous 'motherboard' with slots for several 'daughter' boards. These motherboards could be 1, 2  or 3 feet wide and just as tall. They were usually multi-layered circuit boards, laminated layers sandwiched together, 1/4 inch or more thick. These boards were usually ordered in relatively small quantities. Sometimes only one or two for prototype orders. 
It was a chemical process, copper clad sheets of fiberglass, which through multiple photochemical processes, the unneeded copper (most of it) was etched away, leaving the circuitry behind.  Lots of acids and caustic chemicals were used to accomplish this.  
Employing as many as one thousand souls during its peak, tapering down to the mid seven hundreds, on average, during my tenure, LOTS of friendships developed. Those of us that worked there spanning a decade or more were very much like a family.
Those of us still in the area, those of us still LIVING in the area, get together every three months for a casual lunch. Typically around a dozen to as many as twenty old timers, at various restaurants, very much a casual affair.
The first several minutes each time is spent re-introducing ourselves to each other, without
embarrassment, since we are all above or well above retirement age and may not have seen

the other person in 25 years or more. After that we tend to reminisce, catch up, talk about medical treatments and conditions, interspersed with discussions about who recently passed away and what ever happened to so and so?
Since returning to the Springfield area in late 2024, after NOT living in the area since 2001, I've been able to attend all three of these lunches that have popped up.
This was the second time at Galloway Grill, I already knew what I would order.

The Place:   

On the Southeast corner of the city, there was once a post office in Galloway, along with several main street type businesses. The town of Galloway never was very big, population-wise, there was the old rail line, now mostly a trail, and a river-feeding stream. 
Currently there is a little revitalization going on, hipster apartments, a roundabout, probably a few upscale condos nearby. 
The 'Grill' is in an old clapboard sided building, repurposed and added onto a few times over the past years. The current owners bought the place early this century, after standing vacant for a few years following a lease dispute. They renovated it but kept intact much of the old-school character. It's a bar and grill, pool tables, several TV screens playing muted sportsball events, friendly, short skirted, dutiful servers scurrying about. 
The Food: 
The double-sided, laminated menu offered soups and salads, burgers and sandwiches. I hear the burgers are quite good. Since this was the middle of the day and I was driving, I did NOT

order a beer, even thought this was one of their claims to fame. Instead I asked for unsweetened ice tea. The lady server delivered the tea, it was quite good, not weak or bitter. 
Nor did I order fish and chips, primarily since they don't seem to offer that. My backup, here
stateside, when I'm not in the mood for a burger is a BLT.  Galloway Grill makes a really, really good BLT. LOTS of lettuce and crispy bacon on this selection. Listed on the menu as a KC style BLT. I have to admit I have no idea what that actually means. It did list, specifically, that Hellman's brand mayonnaise was one of the ingredients . . . maybe that's it?
The bacon was the real star though, cooked perfectly crisp, some would even say 'brittle'. Very smoky as well.
The plate came with "Beer Fries"  which, as best I could tell, just crispy fries with some sort of seasoning sprinkled on. I tasted no beer, or even beer batter, at all. Just seasoned fries. Pretty darn good fries though.
Summary:
I may insist that my family let me take them here in the near future, or the distant future. I've only seen it at lunchtime though, dinnertime could very well be quite different. The lady sitting beside me said this was her favorite bar. 
The lunch as an event was super. People I once knew only casually became old friends. No fights broke out, but a lot of energetic conversations, and lots of laughter. Some of the conversations continued in the parking lot, a few hugs were exchanged. . . . plans for the December get-together were already being made.

Colton's Steak House

2020 E. Independence St.
Springfield, MO 65804
Web site

Adam suggested this place, we quickly agreed. We've been there before, once. Since our last visit, which as best as we remembered, a good experience, it was actually recommended as a place we should try by my lovely, hardworking daughter. She's been a resident of Springfield for a few years. 
So we piled in to our trusty, low mileage Sonata and headed out, aiming toward furniture row on the south side of the Queen City of the Ozarks. 
The parking lot was large, but crowded, a popular place to be sure. Entering, there were several people in line. The din of the customers was palpable. The place had an obvious, but not over the top western theme, saddles, boots, paintings of horses and cowboys.. . Mostly it was dimly lit. Not exactly a romantic atmosphere but not as bawdy or raucous as your typical

Texas Roadhouse. 
We were escorted to a booth right away, the front desk seemed to be in firm control of the Saturday evening rush.  April, our designated server, asked about drinks. Angel and Adam asked for their usual, I went out on a limb, again.
Confession: I'm not a beer guy. Even when I worked at Anheuser Busch and was receiving a free case of beer each month, several bottles of the stuff were never consumed. I know guys, mostly guys, that can drink beer all afternoon, every day, I'm just not that guy. I do enjoy a GOOD beer though, occasionally, with a good meal. "Blue Moon IPA on draft" I demanded. 

April disappeared for a few moments then reappeared with the drinks, except for my beer. She did set a mug of water in front of me, which I appreciated. I learned that this is typical in somewhat fancy places, maybe a union thing, the beer would be delivered separately, by a minion from the bar.
During the 15 minute drive I asked my dinner companions what they might like. "We'll see, maybe a steak of some kind." came the answer with "What about you?" added on. "I'm not sure."  I tried to convince them that I was open to a wide variety of options. "Probably fish and chips again." came a snide remark from the back seat.  True, as best as I could recall, that was what I had the last time, and pretty much my go-to for any new place we try. This is a thing that started during our 2022 trip to Iceland.  There's a wide variety of  oddball meal options in Iceland, there were things I wanted to try and several things I had no intention of ever trying. So when we ended up in a Ring Road near-or-attached-to our hotel restaurant, fish and chips was almost always a safe and available option. Iceland is closer to the UK than it is to the U.S. so the customs and cuisine are more British/Irish than American. I do love, love, love the Icelandic hotdogs though. . . .trust me on this.
When April took our orders, and it came to my turn, I hesitated. All eyes were on me.
"I'll have (mental drumroll for dramatic effect) the fish and chips please."
Snickers all around. April picked up on it. "I take it that this was not entirely unexpected."
She scurried off. I took a few moments to sip my Blue Moon, and scanned the place.. Lots of staff people, walking briskly, sometimes carrying food or drinks or empty handed . . .there seemed to be a lot of people on the front of the house staff, LOTS of them, all bustling about. 
I tried to calculate the staff to table ratio. it seemed very close to 1:1.  Plenty of staff, busy, quick, but unhurried, much like an airport, hustle and bustle that SEEMED chaotic, but was somehow well orchestrated. 

The food arrived after a few minutes. It was gorgeous. I asked April for malt vinegar, but aside from that all our needs were met. I tried the coleslaw first, because I KNEW the fish would be lava-hot. I did break open a couple of the three fillets though to let the trapped, searing steam out. The coleslaw was of the creamy style as opposed to vinegar. There was also a sweetness from the  apples that they had mixed in. 
The 'chips' or as normal people call them, fries, were thick, very think, and not quite crispy. I would prefer that they be thinner and crispier but that's pretty much an American burger and fry thing. Not a UK inspired fish and chip thing. I'll allow it.
The fish itself was very good. In lots of places the breading slides right off, leaving a pile of breading and several fistfuls of flaky, unmanageable meat. Not here though. It must be a technique thing The breading added a satisfying crunch and the innards, the cod, was thick and fresh. I was only able to finish about half of that which was served, which is fine, they make take-away boxes just for this sort of first-world problem. Four or five minutes in the trusty air fryer and voila! Lunch.
Angel ordered the steak (medium) and shrimp plate with a side salad and a baked potato. 

The seasoned grilled shrimp rested on a base of plain rice, for no particular reason other than presentation. It certainly wasn't necessary for the meal since it abutted a fair-sized baked potato. The shrimp was seasoned, lightly, with branded Colton's seasoning rub. A small jar of which was on the table. Similar to seasoned salt and just shy of Old Bay in flavor. There was also a bottle of Colton's Steak Sauce that was eerily similar to A1 Sauce. 
I have a standard response when I order a steak and the server asks if I want steak sauce: "Not if you cooked it right."
I mean, how hard can it be to make a good steak? Butter, salt and pepper, don't overcook it. Bing, done. Steak, cooked medium or medium rare, brings plenty of taste on its own. If i ever eat a steak in front of you and I ask for steak sauce, too late, I'm already disappointed.

Summary: All was very, very  good. April stopped by three or four times to check on our satisfaction and to top off Angel's tea and Adam's soda pop. Angel had finished most of her side salad, then had one of the complimentary rolls, even though she had earlier said that these warm, slightly yeasty carb-bombs would be too filling. She pretty much swallowed the steak whole and completely eviscerated the potato, leaving only the skin shell. There was no visible trace of the shrimp.  A thing you might want to know about my darling wife: Angel is, by every measure, a carnivore. She frequently snacks on 'meat cookies'. Leftover chicken steak or pork chops found in the chill chest. She doesn't even bother nuking them first. Frankly, it is kind of scary. Like a primitive mammal, gnawing away down to the bone.
I asked for opinions on the drive home. The answers ranged from "pretty good" to  "very good"  Would we be going back? Hell yeah!
If you are anywhere near any of their 35 locations and this restaurant is NOT recommended to you, then you need to find a wider circle of acquaintances. Top notch service, great dishes in a comfortable atmosphere.