Columbia Home Magazine - October/November 2012 by The COMO Companies Magazines | COMO Magazine

Couture

cupcakes Elevate your treats p.43

Candy

man

Inside Patric Chocolate p.58 From Trat to

trey p.73

oct/nov 2012 The Foodie Issue

Tom Davies Eyewear Event Wednesday, October 17th Introducing

Couture Eyewear Custom made eyewear

Tom Davies design representative, along with our trained optical staff will be accepting appointments to custom design your eyewear from noon to 4:00 pm. Your eyewear will be a one-of-a-kind design with frames perfectly fitting your face and featuring colors, materials, and designs of your choice. Please call to schedule your appointment (anticipate a one hour fitting) at 445-8787 or email optical@myeyedentityeyewear.com

Tom Davies Evening Event Wednesday, October 17th 4pm-8pm (no appointments necessary)

Featuring Bespoke Ready to Wear Limited Edition and Introducing Buffalo Horn Williams & Associates Eyecare

2200 Forum Blvd. Suite 102 | Columbia, MO 65203 | (573) 445-8780 Facebook: EyedentityEyewear

Dr. Shelley Williams

Tw i t t e r : @ E y e d e n t i t y E

www.myEyedentityEyewear.com

Dr. Joseph Rich

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME Dream It. Stage It. Sold.

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1515 Chapel Hill Rd, Columbia, MO 65203

Photo by julie dorn

Giving Back As a company, we choose our sponsorships carefully. But when the Boys & Girls Town of Missouri called, our team immediately said "Yes, this is an organization I think we should support." So we set up a meeting with Julie Dorn and Mary Ropp there. They wisely suggested that I come visit the campus, and I told them that was a fantastic idea, that I was aware of the incredible things they were doing. Well … I thought I was aware. But I found that I actually I didn't have a clue. I am a woman, after all, so it's a little easier for me to admit that I was wrong. If any of you thought that Great Circle Boys & Girls Town of Missouri is in any way related to Missouri Girls Town (located in Kingdom City), well ... you are wrong, too. Both great organizations ... similar names, yes. But totally different. I learned a lot about Great Circle Boys & Girls Town of Missouri during my visit. They provide a service not only to the mentally ill children in our community but to their families as well. One out of every 10 children deal with a behavioral or mental disorder, and the need for qualified support systems for these children is real. Mental illness is a hard thing for people of sound mind to understand, especially if it's your own family member that is sick. My brother, who is no longer with us, had a mental illness. I found myself often thinking … I wish he would just straighten up and act right. Why doesn't he want to get out of the house? I think the reason mental illness is so hard to understand is because it's not the kind of sickness you can see. Usually when our bodies get sick, there are signs; a high temperature, for example. But with mental sickness the signs are in a person's behavior. In many cases it is possible for people who have behavioral and mental health issues to lead normal and healthy lives, but to do that they need treatment: therapy and sometimes medication. And I can tell you from experience--their families need support too. The counselors and therapists at Great Circle offer just that. I had planned to deck myself out in diamonds for my picture this issue in honor of their upcoming fundraiser, Diamond Night. But honestly, once I saw the condition of the campus and how much this organization doesn't have, I didn't think my plans were appropriate. I thought a picture of one of their living room couches would be suitable this time around. As you can see, they need new furniture, among many, many other things. Before I left, I asked Rebecca Nowlin, the director, one last question: What would you do if you had unlimited resources for Boys & Girls Town of Missouri? She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Many of our children come to us with their belongings stuffed in a garbage bags. If I had unlimited resources I would provide these children suitcases. I would buy recreational equipment for the kids' entertainment. The basketball court is outdoors and it's too cold in the winter to use. I honestly wish I could pay a little more to my staff." Rebecca described them as having hearts meant for service and as dedicated and hardworking, noting the 10-hour shifts many of them work. I urge you all to get out your checkbooks, an envelope and a stamp. Write a check (big or small--anything helps) to: Great Circle Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, 4304 Bearfield Rd., Columbia, MO 65205. Put it in the mail box. Trust me. They need it.

Betsy Bell, Publisher

Edito r i a l Betsy Bell, Publisher Betsy@ColumbiaHomeMagazine.com Lily Dawson, Associate Publisher Lily@ColumbiaHomeMagazine.com William Dawson, Copy Editor Genevieve Dawson Dazet, Copy Editor Cons u lta n t Sherry Hockman, Interior Decorating Editor-At-Large MANAG E M ENT Chris Harrison, General Manager ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Business Manager ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cindy Sheridan, Operations Manager CindyS@BusinessTimesCompany.com DESIGN Kristin Branscom, Art Director Kristin@BusinessTimesCompany.com Creativ e Se rv i c e s Kayse Loyd, Creative Marketing Director Kayse@BusinessTimesCompany.com Rebecca Rademan, Graphic Designer RebeccaR@BusinessTimesCompany.com M ARKETIN G RE P RESENTATIVES Teresa White TeresaW@BusinessTimesCompany.com Madeline Allee Madeline@JeffersonCityMag.com Annie Jarrett Annie@JeffersonCityMag.com CONTRIBUTIN G PHOTOG RA P HERS Taylor Allen, Katie Bell, Jake Hamilton, Whitney Hayward, Angelique Hunter, Anastasia Pottinger, Silverbox Photography, Emily Southerland CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lily Dawson, Nicole Flood, Kate Smart Harrison, Ellie Hensley, Leigh Lockhart, James Muench, Dianna Borsi O'Brien, Jill Orr, Sarah Redohl, Emily Southerland, Marcus Wilkins, Molly Wright Int e r n s Katie Bell, Katie Cowell, Jake Hamilton, Caitlin McIsaac SU BSCRIP TIONS Subscription rate is $12.95 for 6 issues or $18.95 for 12 issues. Call Cindy Sheridan at 573-499-1830 ext.1003 to place an order or to inform us of a change of address. Columbia Home is published by The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, MO, 65202. 573-499-1830 Copyright The Business Times Co., 2012. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Correction to August/September 2012 Columbia Home, p. 65: Blake Merson was a cancer survivor and did not die from a rare form of the disease. columbiahomemagazine.com | 13

table of contents

FEATURES

43 Couture Cupcakes

Kick up your cupcake mix with easy toppings and fillings fit for a party.

50 Rooted in Columbia

The heritage and history of one of Columbia's favorite restaurants.

56 Did You Know?

Expand your knowledge of local Columbia restaurants with these fun food facts.

58 A History of Yum

Patric Chocolate founder, head craft chocolate maker, genius. An inside look at Columbia's world-class chocolate factory.

84 31

65 Laura Lee's Healthy Plate

Laura Lee Brown trains her clients on nutrition, fitness and overall health.

69 Pick-a-Pepper

Rocheport farmer Emma O'Connell and the agriculture-technology fusion.

73 From Trat to Trey

The historic Columbia dining experience is revived in the heart of downtown.

79 A Community Comes Together Columbians help make a Congo immigrant and his family feel right at home.

96 29

Couture

CUPCAKES Elevate your treats p.43

Candy

MAN

Inside Patric Chocolate p.58 From Trat to

TREY p.73

OCT/NOV 2012 THE FOODIE ISSUE

On the cover Emily Southerland's philosophy is to take what you have and make it as beautiful as possible. When it comes to cupcakes, the sky's the limit ... and with some of these cake decorations, she just might get there. Page 43.Â Photo by Emily Southerland.

IN EVERY ISSUE 13 Welcome 16 Calendar 20 Home Tour 27 Expert's Advice 29 Design Trend 31 Designer's Palette 32 Dear Kate 34 Shopkeeper's Story 37 Mommy Chronicles 38 Edible Education 84 Travel 86 Makeover 89 Fashion Forecast 91 Entertainment 93 Weddings 95 Announcements 96 Welcome to the World 99 City Scene 103 Home Bound 106 The Last Word columbiahomemagazine.com | 15

october Sunday

Monday

The Found Footage Festival, Mojo’s, 8:00 pm, $10.00, $12.00

Titanic: The Musical, Jesse Auditorium, 8:00 pm, $19.00, $25.00, $29.00 Billy Childs Quartet, Murry’s, 3:30 pm & 7:00 pm, $18.00$37.00

Columbus Day University Band/ Symphonic Band, Missouri Theatre, 7:30 pm

October 15-18 MU Homecoming Blood Drive, Hearnes Center, 11:30 am-7:30 pm daily

Tuesday

Big K.R.I.T., The Blue Note, 9:00 pm, $15.00

Cirque Chinois, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $19.00, $25.00, $29.00

Artful Bra Contest Silent Auction & Reception, Missouri Theatre, 5:30 pm, Free

Straight, No Chaser!/ “A Chunk of Monk” Project, Ragtag Cinema, 6:00 pm $5.00, $8.00

Take Steps, Stephens Lake, 3:30 pm

Wednesday

October 3-7 No, No, Nanette, Rhynsburger Theatre, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $10.00, $12.00

New Dance Horizons, Missouri Theatre, 7:00 pm, $10.00, $15.00, $19.00

Kenny Barron Quartet/ “A Chunk of Monk” Project, Missouri Theatre, 7:00 pm, $19.00, $24.00, $29.00, $35.00

Salsa/Latin Dance lessons & dance party, Eastside Tavern, 9:00 pm-11:00 pm, $5.00

Thursday

University Philharmonic, Missouri Theatre, 7:30 pm

Tech N9ne, The Blue Note, 8:00 pm, $22.00 in advance, $25.00 at the door

Matt Haimovitz, cellist, Missouri Theatre, 7:00 pm, $15.00, $19.00

The Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $19.00, $22.00, $29.00

Fall Tent Sale, McAdams' Ltd.

16 | october/november 2012

2nd Annual BOOtox Party, Concannon Plastic Surgery & Medical Spa, 1:00 pm5:00 pm

Halloween

Saturday

October 5-7 The Duck Variations, Berlin Theatre, 7:30 pm, $7.00

Art Show, McAdams' Ltd., 10:00 am-6:00 pm

38 Special, Missouri Theatre, 7:00 pm $29.00, $39.00

October 12 &13 Artrageous Fridays, The District, 6:00 pm9:00 pm

MU Football v. Vanderbilt, Faurot Field, TBA. Ticket prices vary

MU Football v. Alabama, Faurot Field, TBA, Ticket prices vary October 13 & 14 Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, Hartsburg, MO, 9:00 am-5:00 pm daily

Campus Decorations, Greek Town, 6:00 pm10:00 pm

Homecoming Parade, The District/MU Campus, TBA

Eighth Blackbird, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $15.00, $19.00

Columbia Heart Walk, Stephens Lake, 9:00 am, Free

October 18-20 Medea, Corner Playhouse, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $8.00

October 25-28 Medea, Corner Playhouse, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $8.00

October 25-28 The Rocky Horror Show, Columbia Entertainment Company, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $10.00, $12.00

Friday

Halloweenie, The District, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm

MU Spirit Rally/ Campus Wide concert, TBA, 9:30 pm-11:00 pm

MU Football v. Kentucky, Faurot Field, TBA, Ticket prices vary

Romp, Chomp, & Stomp Tailgate, The District, Following Parade

november Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

George Clinton & P Funk, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $19.00, $25.00, $29.00 November 1-4 The Rocky Horror Show, Columbia Entertainment Company, 7:30 pm (Sundays 2:00 pm), $10.00, $12.00

Terrell Stafford Quintet, Murry’s, 3:30 pm & 7:00 pm, $18.00-$37.00

Grouplove, The Blue Note, 7:00 pm, $20.00

Neil Hamburger, Mojo’s, 9:00 pm, $10.00

Veterans Day observed

Parenting with Love & Leadership Live seminar with John Rosemond, Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater, 1:30 pm

Election Day

First Tuesday Book Sale, Columbia Public Library, 12:00 pm-7:00 pm

Dream Factory 5K, Stephen’s Lake Park, 10:00 am, $25.00

Veterans Day

November 13-15 The Glass Menagerie, Rhynsburger Theatre, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $10.00, $12.00

Parsons Dance, Missouri Theatre, 7:00 pm, $12.00, $19.00, $29.00

November 2-4 S.Stewart Home Christmas Open House, Broadway Shops, Open to the public all day

Saturday

This is the 60s, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $19.00, $29.00, $35.00

Miyamoto Studio Recital, Whitmore Recital Hall, 8:30 pm-9:30 pm

November 8-11 The Glass Menagerie, Rhynsburger Theatre, 7:30 pm (Sunday 2:00 pm), $10.00, $12.00

Ladies Night, McAdams' Ltd., 3:00-9:00 pm

Lonesome Jake, Whiskey Wild Saloon, 7:00 pm

November 8-11 Rock Bridge High School fall musical, Rock Bridge Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $6.00

November 15-16 THIRST by The Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Missouri Theatre, 7:30 pm, $19.00, $29.00

November 9-11 Columbia Weavers & Spinners’ Guild 23rd Annual Holiday Exhibition, Boone County Historical Society Museum, Begins 5:30 on Friday

November 10-11 Columbia Antique Market, Central Missouri Events Center, 9:00 am-5:00 pm & 10:00 am-5:00 pm, $5.00

MU Football v Syracuse, Faurot Field, TBA, Ticket prices vary

November 15-17 Once On This Island, Hickman Auditorium 7:30 pm, $5.00, $7.00

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trax 5K Run/ Walk, Rock Bridge High School, 8:30 am, $25.00 early registration

Friday

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $12.00, $19.00, $23.00, $29.00

Book Trivia Night, Columbia Public Library Friends Room, 6:00 pm-8:30 pm

November 29 & 30 Comedian Mike Vecchione, Déjà Vu, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm and 10:15 pm, $8.00

Concannon Plastic Surgery & Medical Spa Sale, Concannon Plastic Surgery & Medical Spa, All day

Chris Isaak Holiday Show, Jesse Auditorium, 7:00 pm, $29.00, $34.00, $39.00

November 29 & 30 The Dining Room, Berlin Theatre, 7:30 pm, $10.00, $12.00

columbiahomemagazine.com | 17

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columbiahomemagazine.com | 19

20 | october/november 2012

Patti Blakemore’s home blends a hand-hewn log cabin with a traditional Adirondack-style touch. By E l l i e H e ns l e y Ph oto s by A ng e l iqu e H u n t e r

Many little girls dream of being princesses who live in white stone castles, but even at a young age, Patti Blakemore wanted to be the architect of her own fairy tale. Her favorite childhood memories took place at her aunt and uncle’s log cabin in the Michigan wilderness, a far cry from her city life near Detroit. When she and her sister visited in the summer, they loved to play, fish and explore, and Patti hoped that one day, once she grew up, she could build her own cabin to which she could escape. When she reached actual adulthood, other goals took precedence. She met and married her husband, John, had two daughters and went into interior design. Her keen decorating sense came in handy for the six “regular” homes the family lived in while they were frequently relocating

for John’s advertising career, yet the idea of building a cabin remained in the back of her mind. In 1988, the timing was finally right. She wasn’t working anymore, their daughters, Courtney and Whitney, were away at school, and John had recently accepted a department head position at Stephens College, which left them free to move to the country. Spurred on by her sister’s successful completion of her own log cabin and determined to learn more about the building process, Patti signed up for a workshop in North Carolina with Peter Gott, a world-renowned master log-smith. “I was the only woman with a whole group of guys,” Patti says. “We actually constructed a small cabin from beginning to end during this fiveday period.” columbiahomemagazine.com | 21

do I want my outlets and light switches?’” John says. “Because once they’re in, they’re in, and they can’t be changed.” Fortunately, Patti describes herself as a meticulous homebuilder who took time thinking over every stage of the process. She found it so fascinating that she took over the role of general contractor for the cabin, though she’d had no formal education in architecture. “I was the woman in charge,” she says. “Whatever crew came in here, like plumbers and electricians, I hired, oversaw and paid them.”

Too much downsizing Before Gott’s crew left, Patti had one of the men carve all of their names into one living room wall. “I said: ‘We’ve all spent so much time and energy on this. I think it should be “puzzle.” They hewed each log by hand and

signed as a piece of artwork because that’s

When Patti came home from the workshop,

notched them, which is how the frame was

how I feel about it,’” Patti says.

all of her doubts about building a cabin

held together in lieu of using nails. But it

At that point, she and John had spent

had been erased. Eager to get started, she

would be two years before the puzzle could

so much on the cabin, they decided to sell

hired Gott and a crew of experienced cabin

be completed. “There’s a process in building

their house in town and live in the country

builders to come construct a 1,500-square-

a log cabin where you have to let the logs

full time. Although the move was intended

foot cabin for them on the south side of

rest because when they’re green, they’ll

to help them downsize, after actually living

Columbia, which was nothing but wooded

shrink,” Patti says.

in the small space, they realized they had

Embracing the process

downsized too much.

countryside then. The red and white pine

Once the logs settled, a cement substance

logs came by truck from North Carolina to

called chinking was used to fill the gaps in

Thus began the first of two renovation

ensure their quality, then the men spread

between. After this step, the walls could

projects that lasted until 1994. Patti also

them out on the Blakemores’ property,

never be reopened, which meant all the wir-

helped design and oversee the construction

stripped the bark and numbered them so

ing had to be in place. “For every plug you’re

of both additions, but this time she wasn’t

the crew knew where they went in the

going to need, you’ve got to think, ‘Where

willing to wait so long to see the finished

22 | october/november 2012

product. “I never intended to add on with logs because that would’ve taken forever,” she says. “The two years I spent the first time wore me out. I wanted a quicker fix than logs.” Almost immediately, Patti decided the cabin’s bucolic look would blend well with elegant Adirondack-style architecture, first popularized by wealthy industrialists who built stately, luxurious lodges out of materials they could find in the Adirondack Mountains. “I love that style,” she says. “It really fit in with nature and had a lot of Victorian features I admired, like the turret.” Sure enough, the Blakemores built an actual turret on one end of their house. Other features they borrowed include squarepane divided-light windows, indigenous stones for the chimney and clapboard cedar siding that flow seamlessly into the original cabin. In the upstairs rooms they added hand-hewn timbers to keep the log theme going throughout the house. Patti did a sumptuous makeover, in part because of the fancier furniture she inherited from her parents. “This was very rustic when we first started, and I thought: ‘What am I going to do? How am I going to combine Empire antiques with a primitive log cabin?’” Patti says. “That was a real challenge; I really enjoyed the juxtaposition.” Now their home is around 5,000 square feet with lots of kitchen, dining and living space, a terrace room, an office, a library and two guest bedrooms for their daughters and families to stay in when they visit. They

also have a matching barn that serves as their garage and a springhouse that borders a sparkling stream, which inspired them to name the place Clear Creek. Although the rest of the south side is now bustling with traffic, apartment complexes and businesses, their 12 acres remain the same brilliant green, wooded patch of country they found so charming 22 years ago. But now, after years of work, Patti’s castle in the sky, her personal escape into the wilderness, is finally a reality.

From the grand formal room to the master bedroom, the Blakemore's home is a log cabin of coziness and timelessness. columbiahomemagazine.com | 23

Patti Blakemore and her husband, John, enjoy a garden as warm and cozy as the rest of their home.

24 | october/november 2012

DR. GREGORY H. CROLL, M.D.

Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Discover the confidence that you deserve.

FACIAL Botox, Restylane, Eyelid Surgery

BREAST Augmentation, Reduction, Lift

BODY Abdominoplasty, Liposuction

573.817.1800 1504 E. Broadway, Suite 214 Member Of The American Society Of Plastic Surgeons, Inc Diplomate Of The American Board Of Plastic Surgery

Dr. Gregory Croll

columbiahomemagazine.com | 25

26 | october/november 2012

expert's advice | dr. Gregory croll

Plastic Surgery Exposed Dr. Greg Croll is a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and has had his own practice in Columbia for over 10 years. Can anyone get plastic surgery? In short, no. There are multiple factors that must be considered. These include anatomical considerations, medical considerations, emotional considerations and financial issues. Just because a patient wants to have a particular procedure does not mean that they are a good or even reasonable candidate for that procedure. The risks and probable benefits need to be fully discussed with every patient. Patients should be comfortable with their decision to have surgery and confident that they are likely to achieve the benefit that they seek and that the procedure will not just be a financial benefit for the surgeon. What can I do to slow the “ravages” of aging? Obviously, none of us can prevent all of the effects of aging, but we can do some things to minimize them. An active lifestyle (exercise), healthy diet, avoidance of nicotine and of excessive sun exposure all help to decrease the effects of aging on our skin, body and mind. Activities that reduce stress (hobbies, yoga, meditation, laughter) can also slow the aging process. In summary, the healthier and happier you are, the less likely you are to “show your age.”

Photo by taylor allen

What types of breast implants are best for breast enhancement surgery? The two basic types are saline-filled and silicone gel-filled. There are also several subtypes of each of the above. A patient’s anatomy, lifestyle and expectations all must be taken into account. This is a discussion that patients need to have with their surgeon in order for them to make the best decision. How do I know that the claims made in ads are true? In a nutshell, you don’t. You must be inquisitive and skeptical of any advertisements that guarantee a particular result. This is true for any new technology. You don’t want to be among the first group that jumps to try any new procedure. Wait until it has been used enough to be shown to be truly effective and more importantly, safe. As a physician, I feel that this is even more important.

What’s the harm in performing plastic surgery procedures on a smoker? Smoking causes the blood vessels to get smaller and deliver less blood and oxygen to tissues. This significantly increases the patient’s risk of complications. In elective cosmetic surgery, this needs to be seriously discussed with the patient. What are the most common procedures? In 2011 there were over 12 million minimally invasive cosmetic procedures with the majority being Botox injections and injection of fillers (Restalane, Juvederm, etc.) There were approximately 1.6 million surgical cosmetic procedures, the most common of which were breast augmentation, rhinoplasty and liposuction.* How long do the benefits of plastic surgery last? Not all plastic surgery procedures are the same. Generally, the noninvasive procedures will have a shorter duration than invasive surgical procedures (months versus years). This is an issue that your surgeon should discuss with you if you are considering any cosmetic procedure. What is the difference between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery? Simply stated, cosmetic procedures are those intended to improve appearance and reconstructive procedures are those intended to repair an injury, restore function or treat a medical problem. What kinds of questions should I ask during my consultation? As a potential patient, you should approach the consultation as an educational opportunity. Strive to learn all that you can about your options, potential benefits and risks involved, the surgeon’s training and experience, expected outcomes, restrictions and recovery time, cost, etc. I urge patients to get a second opinion. Above all, they should become with their surgeon and feel comfortable communicating concerns; no question is a bad question.

*According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons columbiahomemagazine.com | 27

28 | october/november 2012

home design trend | pastels

Philip Lim Spring 2012

Pretty Pastels by lily daws on photo s by taylor a llen

Ho-hum hues are packing a powerful punch in the fashion world for 2012. Own this trend by placing minty green vases, pale pink dishware and baby blue bedding in your home. You can find pieces like these at local shops Tallulah's, Lifestyles and Pier 1 Imports.

Product information (counterclockwise from top left): Floral Pillow, Lifestyles Furniture, $59.95; Striped Vase, Hockman Interior Design at the Marketplace, $69.95; Compote Pedestal Dish, Tallulah's, $65.00; Salad Bowl & Spoon, Tallulah's, $150.00, $46.00; Owl Cookie Jar, Pier 1 Imports, $39.95; Ruffled Place Mats, Tallulah's, $10.00 each; Pastel Blue Vase, Hockman Interior Design at the Marketplace; Geometric Vase, Ashley Furniture, $26.00; Cake Pedestal, Tallulah's, $31.50; See-thru Glass Lamp, Pier 1 Imports, $50.00; Serving Bowl, Dillard's, $10.00; Wallpaper Samples, Johnston Paint and Decorating. columbiahomemagazine.com | 29

30 | october/november 2012

designer's palette | tallulah's

Tallulah’s Tablescape Focusing on quality materials, unconventional shapes and the color red, the ladies at Tallulah’s have put together a family tablescape that can be set for any night of the week. By L ily Dawson Photo s by Taylor Allen

Tallulah’s owner Melissa Alabach likes to set her tables with basic dinnerware and then throw in pops of color. “Red is such a warm, comfy color,” she says of her inspiration for this palette. Alabach chose this color because it can fit a casual or elegant occasion and exudes a vibrant and festive mood. This dishware is also family-friendly. The pieces are made from quality materials and most are microwave safe, dishwasher safe, stovetop safe and oven safe. Tallulah’s owners, two moms themselves, make a point of keeping kids in mind when stocking their store. The cornerstone of this palette is the Vietri dinnerware. These products are known for their durability and

use in various kitchen appliances. The imperfections in shape add interest to the plain dishes. Beatriz Ball is another versatile brand of silverware; it can be used as beautiful display pieces as well as functional serving dishes for the table. “Customers look to Beatriz Ball because you don’t need to polish them. They never tarnish and can even be placed in the oven,” Alabach explains. Classic red paired with neutrals at the outset are a classic interpretation of a traditional tablescape. Well thought out, functional dishes set a standard for quality products, all purchased at the local kitchenware boutique Tallulah’s in The District. Tallulah’s is located at 812 E. Broadway. columbiahomemagazine.com | 31

dear kate

Life, love, family and more. Your questions answered.

dear kate, 913 East Broadway | Columbia, MO 65201

(573) 256-4795

www.swankboutiq ueonl i ne.com

32 | october/november 2012

I am two weeks into a new job and am feeling overwhelmed and underprepared. I recently graduated from a Master’s program and this is my first job in a professional setting. I am excited about the work I have the opportunity to do, but I question daily if I am qualified to do it. There is so much I don’t know and honestly I wonder if I am the right person for the job. I’ve studied, interned and trained, but I still feel like I know very little. My colleagues seem completely confident and at ease. What have I missed? SD Dear SD I don’t think you have necessarily missed a thing. Being overwhelmed by a new job is not reserved for a select few, such as fresh graduates or under-qualified hires – it happens far more than you might think. Starting a new job, as a rookie or seasoned professional, can be fairly daunting – new policies and procedures, new office culture and dynamics, new roles and expectations – it’s a lot to absorb and acclimate to. First and foremost, if you’re looking for evidence that you can do this job, remember, they hired you! The powers that be obviously believe you not only have the aptitude and ability to fulfill the position, but you are also the right person for the job. Don’t psych yourself out and prove them wrong! Allow yourself time to learn the ins and outs both of your job and the organization itself. No one comes in knowing everything and those that think they do have far bigger troubles. Ask lots of questions and get the right answers. It’s okay not to know how to do something. Perhaps a better question might be, how would you know how to do something the way they want it done until they teach you? Just because you’re out of school and in a professional setting doesn’t mean you stop learning. Hopefully you never stop learning on the job, regardless of how long you’ve been working in the field. And do yourself a good turn and don’t simply focus on what you don’t know or how much you have to learn. Sure, the learning curve is sizable, but you are not a blank slate! You have things to contribute – remind yourself of this as often as you remind yourself of what you see as your shortcomings.

dear kate

, My 13-year-old daughter recently announced she was a vegetarian, which was something of a shock coming from a child whose favorite food has always centered around some kind of burger. We are a meat-friendly household and I personally don’t believe a vegetarian diet is ideal. That said, I do not want to make this a divisive issue

and if she’s going to try it I want her to do it right. Any thoughts on how to incorporate this new way of life into my household? HP Dear HP Your daughter’s vegetarian diet could be a weeklong experiment or a lifelong commitment; whatever the case, it doesn’t have to be a negative thing! This is your daughter expressing her independence and individuality, trying out her voice. And it’s an excellent opportunity to support her in this endeavor. A vegetarian diet is not a bad one; it’s just different. Talk with her and find out what sparked this decision and work together to figure out how she is going to make it work. Help her research the healthy way to be a vegetarian, because, as with any diet, meatless or not, there are unhealthy ways to go about it. While dining solely on macaroni, french fries and peanut butter may fall within the spectrum of vegetarianism, it is not particularly well balanced! Changing your family’s dining routine to accommodate her new eating habits is not necessary. I would guess that animal protein is not the only thing served during meal times and thus there will still be options for her on the table. Encourage her to find things to substitute for the dishes she cannot eat, whether it’s keeping a box of veggie burgers in the freezer or making a pot of rice and beans she can eat over the course of a few meals. This is also an occasion to expand your family’s palette and experiment with new recipes. There are heaps of delicious vegetarian dishes that you now have good reason to try. Enlist your daughter as sous chef or perhaps make her chef one night a week and see what vegetarian meals emerge from your kitchen. Who knows, she may convert the entire family!

She just won. You can too. Like us on Facebook. facebook.com/columbiahome

www.columbiahomemagazine.com

Have a question for Kate? Email kate.smart@gmail.com

Kate Smart Harrison holds a B.A. in psychology from Loyola University, New Orleans and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Missouri. Kate also attended a graduate program in Austria for peace studies and conflict transformation. Disclaimer: The advice provided in this column is for general informational and educational purposes only; it is not offered as, and does not constitute, a therapeutic relationship or psychotherapeutic advice. None of the information presented is intended as a substitute for professional consultation by a qualified practitioner.

Locally Owned • American-Made

Next to Bright City Lights 1400 Heriford Road, Columbia, MO 573-777-5999

columbiahomemagazine.com | 33

shopkeeper's story | lifestyles furniture

Waves of Change

How Lifestyles Furniture expanded from a college-oriented business to a medium/high-end furniture store while its owner Jerome Rackers was raising a family and making memories on the water. By Molly Wri ght

In 1991 Rackers graduated from college and landed a job with Legend Automotive. When he decided selling cars wasn’t for him, he applied for the assistant manager position at Lifestyles Furniture, a popular downtown futon store since 1976. Rackers didn’t get the job, but Lifestyles owner Dan Neenan saw potential in the young man and offered him a delivery position. Just three months later Rackers was promoted to assistant manager, and three months after 34 | october/november 2012

that he became manager. Under Neenan’s tutelage, Rackers not only learned the furniture business but also the importance of providing exceptional customer service. According to Rackers, “Dan always said, ‘One store can make you a good living if you just take care of the customers who come in the door.’”

Expanding family and business Rackers was married in 1993. The following year, Neenan approached him about buying Lifestyles. Surprised by the offer, Rackers remembers telling his boss, “You know what I make, so I’m not sure how to make that happen.” With Neenan’s assistance, Rackers bought the store, which catered primarily to the college crowd, on July 1, 1995. “We really went after the back-to-school college business,” Rackers says. “I used to fill my garage and my sister’s basement before school started, and we didn’t have anything left by the end of the season.” During this time, Rackers’ life was changing considerably as well. Just weeks after he bought the store, his daughter Emily was born. Two years later they had their son Cory.

“Most people know what they like; they just need our coaching to help bring it all together.” — Jerome Rackers

photos by taylor allen

It’s really no surprise that Jerome Rackers has a passion for boating. As a child, the Columbia native spent many happy hours with his family at the Lake of the Ozarks, and as an adult he still goes to the Lake every chance he gets. “My wife would tell you I have boats on the brain at any given time,” he says. But an equally strong passion to own his own business is what prompted Rackers to dream big, purchase a small futon shop and then expand it to include furniture for every room of the house. Today, as owner of Lifestyles Furniture, Rackers offers a wide variety of furniture styles and accessories, custom-order upholstery, expert design advice and customer service second to none. Born in 1968 as the elder child of Al and Hedy Rackers, Jerome grew up in the Parkade neighborhood along with his younger sister, Nicole (Nichols). His father managed the produce department at Nowell’s on Nifong, and his mother Hedy taught business classes at the Career Center. Rackers attended kindergarten at Parkade School but spent the next eight years at Columbia Catholic, followed by four years at Helias High School in Jefferson City. While at Helias, Rackers followed in his father’s footsteps and worked part time at Nowell’s on Worley from 1984 to 1987. Following graduation Rackers enrolled at the University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University), where he majored in marketing. Never one to sit still, he had a variety of jobs, from engraving to managing referees for the local Parks and Recreation Department. “I managed all the referees for three different sports,” Rackers says. He often returned to Columbia to visit family and friends, and during the Christmas holidays he supplemented his income by making fruit baskets at Nowell’s on Worley. However, it was during a summer break in Columbia when Rackers met his future wife, Cheryl, at The Blue Note. “Two weeks later, I found out where she worked at the mall and asked her out,” he says. As he got to know her, he discovered she was from Columbia as well. “At one point in our childhood, we lived a street and three houses apart.”

63 East Broadway, Columbia, MO 65203 • 573-874-1550 Hours: Mon-Sat 10am – 6pm • Sunday 1pm – 5pm or By Appointment

Lifestyles' display room is a grand collage of furniture and interior decor. In 1998 Rackers expanded Lifestyles to include sofas and also bought his first warehouse. It turned out to be a good call; by 2003 Lifestyles’ sofa sales surpassed futons by a high margin, which prompted Rackers to take the store in a different direction. Part of this restructuring included changing the store’s location. In August 2004 Lifestyles moved from Seventh and Walnut into the old By George nightclub building on Broadway, which once housed Westlake Hardware. “That’s when the store really changed for me,” Rackers says, “from college-oriented to a more medium/higher-end furniture store.” Today Lifestyles sells furniture and accessories, from rugs and lamps to clocks and artwork, and the staff of five also offers advice and guidance. “Most people know what they like; they just need our coaching to help bring it all together,” Rackers explains. Additionally, Lifestyles specializes in custom-order upholstery. “We want you to come in, pick your color, your style of sofa, the fabric, your pillows you want and have you leave completely satisfied with the product you put together, even if we assist.”

Plans for the future Overall, Rackers says he considers himself fortunate in life and business. “I think I was in the right place at the right time with the right opportunities,” he says. He also looks forward to improving Lifestyles in the future. For a start, he would like to offer only American-made goods. “We are at 70 percent now, and 100 percent of our upholstery fabric is American,” Rackers says. Continuing to offer high-quality merchandise is also top priority. “I don’t want to walk through the mall and have to duck from people because I sold them something that wasn’t worth selling. I would rather sell a product that people think is more expensive, that lasts longer, than sell a cheap product that doesn’t last.”

Email: src@cmhspets.org call: (573) 443-7387 Ext: 211

CMHSPETS.ORG Buy your calendar at these local retailers:

Rackers also hopes to continue spending as much time on the water as possible. Even with his children growing up (Emily is a senior and Cory a sophomore), as a family, they enjoy making memories at the Lake. Above all, Rackers is glad he can still call Columbia home. “My wife and I both feel very fortunate to be able to come back to the place we grew up to make a living and raise our family.” columbiahomemagazine.com | 35

36 | october/november 2012

mommy chronicles | Lessons learned

Lessons Learned By J i l l O r r Recently while we were eating break-

Me: But isn’t that stealing?

fast, my husband revealed something

Husband: No, they know people do it.

about himself that nothing in our 17-

They expect it. Trust me. I do it all the time.

year history could have prepared me

The conversation went on from there

for. And he said it as if it was no big

with each of us presenting strident ar-

deal, as if I should have expected —

guments about fruit testing.

even approved of — his position.

That day, I learned that my husband,

As it turns out, I most certainly did

who has bungee jumped off a cliff in

not approve, and to put an exclamation

Australia, raced cars on the Nürbur-

point on it, I’m going to reveal his dirty

gring in Germany, skied double black

little secret here in this magazine.

diamonds, married a temperamental

Below is an excerpt from our shocking conversation: Me: I took a chance and bought these new cherries at the store yesterday.

Jewish girl from Chicago and brought her to live in a small town in mid-Missouri, is so risk averse when it comes to fruit that he will break social conven-

Husband: Oh, yeah?

tions and ignore basic hygiene to avoid,

Me: Yeah. It was a bit of a risk because

what? A sour taste in his mouth?

I’ve never had this kind before, but they

The way I see it, whether the fruit is

were like $3 less per pound, so I decided to

good or bad, it took the farmer every

go for it.

bit as long to grow it and the grocer

Husband: Why didn’t you try one first?

just as much overhead to sell it. Aside

Me: Couldn’t. They were in a sealed bag.

from bruises or obvious mold, you can’t

Husband: Oh, I would have just opened

really tell how a piece of fruit is going

the bag and taken one.

to taste before you eat it. And the only

Me: What?

method of determining if the fruit is

Husband: Yeah, totally. I do it all the time.

worthy of purchase takes the option to

Me: You do?

buy it off the table because by then it is

Husband: Yeah, I’ve been burned too

already in your stomach.

many times with bad fruit. I always test it first now. It’s the only way — trust me. Me: Wait, what? You test fruit? In the grocery store?

Call me old-fashioned, but I think certain things in life come with inherent risk. Buying fruit is one of them. Marriage is another, along with using a

Husband: Yeah, all the time. Like, if I’m

rest stop bathroom and trying to snatch

thinking about buying one of those big bags

a french fry off my plate. You pay your

of apples, I’ll just open the bag and eat one.

money; you take your chances. There

You know, to make sure they’re good.

are no guarantees in this life, and if you

Me: Wait, you’re telling me you open

want to be 100 percent sure your fruit

sealed bags of fruit and eat, like, an entire

is going to taste perfectly sweet, you’d

apple, orange or nectarine right there on

better buy it out of a can. Unlike my husband, I am not a risk-

the spot? Husband: Yeah, all the time.

taker by nature, but I believe some

Me: That’s horrifying.

things are worth the gamble—my

Husband: No it isn’t. It’s practical. Fruit

husband is one of them. A good nec-

is expensive, and I want to make sure it’s

tarine is another. And you can trust

going to taste good before I buy it.

me on that.

Jill Orr is a stay-at-home mom of two (an odd title because she is rarely ever at home). In her pre-Mommy days, she graduated from the University of Missouri with an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master's in social work, with an emphasis on children and family studies. But she wishes she would have gotten a Ph.D. in What's For Dinner and How to Get Bubblegum Out of the Carpet. That would have served her better. Read her blog at jillsorr.com.

columbiahomemagazine.com | 37

38 | october/november 2012

edible education | grass-fed beef

The Wine Cellar and Bistro

Exploring the benefits of grass-fed beef By Molly Wri ght p hoto s by j ak e h amilton

When Executive Chef Craig Cyr and Sommelier Sarah Cyr, owners of The Wine Cellar and Bistro since 2003, began offering locally raised grass-fed, grass-finished beef specials, it wasn’t long before their clientele clamored for more. Today, using steaks from Covered L Farm in Centralia, Missouri, grass-fed options are part of the restaurant’s permanent menu. But the menu option is also a good fit for the Cyrs personally. As part of the Columbia "farm to table" restaurant movement, they support local farmers on each season's dinner menu. Additionally, they supplement their restaurant’s kitchen produce from their own small organic farm. “Using local and organic products are a huge part of our restaurant philosophy, not because it is a restaurant fad, but because that is the way we like to eat,” explains Craig Cyr. But is there really a difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef? Some people say it just tastes better. And according to Nutrition Journal, grass-fed animals have lower levels of unhealthy fats and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, both of which translate to benefits for human cardiovascular health. Additionally, grass-fed beef has higher levels of A and E vitamins and antioxidants. And when it comes to grass-finished cattle, or cattle raised on a forage diet their entire lives rather than “finished” in a feedlot, research indicates possible cancer-fighting and diabetes-lowering properties as well. For the Cyrs, offering grass-fed, grass-finished beef just makes good sense. “Craig and I know that our customers may not be able to eat locally and organically for every meal,” says Sarah Cyr. “We want them to understand there is always a place where they can come and know a lot of thought has gone into each ingredient. So our customers can just relax and enjoy, with only one question to consider: Which bottle of wine?!” columbiahomemagazine.com | 39

40 | october/november 2012

Where can you buy grassfed beef in Columbia?

(Some offer fresh, others offer fresh and/or frozen options) • Gerbes, all three locations • Hy-Vee, all three locations • Schnucks • Clovers, both locations • Natural Grocers Where do the different cuts of meat come from? • Chuck is from the lower neck and upper shoulder of the cow. Roasts include: chuck roast, shoulder roast, arm roast, chuck eye roast and country-style chuck ribs. Steaks include: flat iron, top blade steak, mock tender steak, shoulder tender medallions, Sierra cut, Denver cut, ranch steak and chuck eye steak. • Beef Round is from the animal's hind leg, butt, ham and thigh. Cuts include: rump and round roasts, sirloin tip roast, London broil, sirloin tip center steak and sirloin tip side steak. • Sirloin is found in front of the round, from the backbone down to the upper belly. Cuts include: center cut and sirloin steak, tri-tip steak and tri-tip roast, ball tip roast and steak. Coulotte steak and bottom sirloin flap meat are from the lower belly. • Short Loin comes from the center of the cow's back, between the sirloin and the ribs, stretching down to the center of the belly. Cuts include: tenderloin, short loin, bone-in strip steak, strip steak, filet of strip, T-bone and porterhouse steaks. Filet mignon is from the tenderloin portion of the short loin. • Flank is the belly portion of the short loin and sirloin. Cuts include: flank steak, cubed steak, stew meat and ground beef. • Ribs are between the chuck and the loin. This is where the short and back ribs come from. Besides ribs: rib eye steak and roast, prime rib, filet of rib and cowboy steak. • Shank and Brisket are from the upper front leg, between the shoulder and knee. Cuts include: shank steaks and beef brisket. The brisket is actually from the breast area between the front legs. • Hamburger is from every part of the cow. Quality is based upon the lean to fat ratio. columbiahomemagazine.com | 41

Top 5 Ways to Stick to your Fitness Goals Tips from the trainer |Eating out in Columbia

1) Pick restaurants that buy fresh local produce. Good for them, healthy for you. 2) Ask the server to box up half the entrĂŠe before it even hits the table. This prevents over eating. 3) Skip the pre-dinner bread basket and chips and salsa. 4) Select foods prepared with healthier cooking techniques, such as steaming, grilling, baking, roasting, or stir-frying. No fried foods! 5) Just say NO to fast food!

24/7/365 | Tanning beds at both locations. North Location: 3200 Penn Terrace,Suite117 | Columbia South Location: 2101 Corona Road, Suite 103 | Columbia 42 | october/november 2012

story and Photo s By Emily Southerl a nd

The goal with these cupcakes is to keep them easy enough that anyone can do them—usually with most of the ingredients and supplies already on hand in a typical home. There are no cakes-from-scratch to mess with, and even the decorating part uses Ziploc baggies if you don’t have cake decorating tips and bags in your home. What makes them special is the homemade frosting and the final decorative touches that elevate them from just another batch of cake-mix cupcakes to memorable and charming “fancy” cupcakes fit for a party. columbiahomemagazine.com | 43

44 | october/november 2012

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix • Fresh raspberries • Raspberry jam • Flaked or shredded sweetened coconut

Coconut Buttercream:

• 1/2 C. butter, softened • 1/2 C. shortening • 3 Tbsp. milk • 1 tsp. coconut extract (found in baking aisle near vanilla) • 2 C. (1 lb.) powdered sugar

Directions:

Prepare your frosting while your cupcakes bake. Once your cupcakes are baked and then cooled, you will work on filling them with raspberry jam. Take a sharp knife and cut a medium-sized circle out of the top of the cupcake, angling inward so you’ve cut out a cone. Don’t cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake! Cut the bottom of the cone off and keep the circle “lid.” Fill the resulting hole with a teaspoonful or less of raspberry jam, and replace the circle lid. Your cupcake is now filled and ready for frosting. As with the lime cupcakes, you can use a Ziploc baggie to pipe on your frosting. Fill it with frosting, zip it closed, and cut of a small corner from the bottom. (No bigger than a centimeter or so.) Holding the top of the bag firmly between your thumb and forefinger, use the force of your palm to squeeze the bag from the top so the icing comes out steadily. Ring your cupcake with a line of icing

starting from the outside and going in. This may take some practice, so feel free to try it on a plate a few times, then scrape the practice frosting back into the bowl for the real work. Once all your cupcakes are piped, you are ready to decorate them with shredded coconut. I found it worked well to have a small bowl of coconut shreds and to dip your freshly-iced cupcake upsidedown into the coconut to coat the top. You can also just sprinkle the coconut by hand onto the tops. Finish each cupcake off with a fresh raspberry. Voila! It should yield between 22-24 cupcakes. Don’t forget to use paper liners!

Procedure:

Cream butter and shortening together. Add milk and coconut extract and stir. Slowly add in powdered sugar a cup at a time. You might need to sift the sugar. If it seems very dry, you may add a bit more milk, but no more than 1 Tbsp. You want it stiff so it holds its form when piped.

columbiahomemagazine.com | 45

46 | october/november 2012

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil’s food cake mix • Reese’s mini-cups • Traditional rainbow sprinkles • “Red Hots” sprinkles • Paper liners!

Peanut Butter Buttercream: • 1/3 C. butter, softened • 1/3 C. shortening • 3/4 C. peanut butter • 1 tsp. vanilla • 3 C. powdered sugar • 4-5 Tbsp. milk

Directions:

Prepare your frosting while your cupcakes bake. Once your cupcakes are baked and then cooled, you will pipe on your frosting. Fill your Ziploc bag with frosting, zip it closed, and cut off a small corner from the bottom. (See the Key Lime cupcake instructions for more help with this trick.) Holding the top of the bag firmly between your thumb and forefinger, use the force of your palm to squeeze the bag from the top so the icing comes out steadily. Ring your cupcake with a line of icing starting from the outside and going in. Once all your cupcakes are piped, you get to make the cute “mini cupcake topper” for your garnish. To do this, you will place one mini Reese’s peanut butter cup in the center of your frosted cupcake. Using your Ziploc bag of icing (or if you use real decorating bags and tips, a star tip works really well here), pipe a small blob of frosting onto

Procedure:

Cream butter and shortening together. Add peanut butter and vanilla and stir. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time. Add milk one tablespoon at a time between adding sugar. The frosting should be very firm, but able to be piped from a tube, so add a bit more milk if it is too stiff.

the top of the peanut butter cup to make it look like a cupcake. Add a few colored sprinkles and one Red Hot, and you have a teeny tiny faux cupcake adorning your real cupcake! It should yield between 22-24 cupcakes. columbiahomemagazine.com | 47

48 | october/november 2012

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix • 2 Limes • Graham Crackers

• • • • • • • • •

Key Lime Buttercream:

1/2 C. butter, softened 1/2 C. cream cheese 3 tsp. lime zest 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4 tsp. salt 8 C. (2 lb.) powdered sugar 6 Tbsp. lime juice 2-4 Tbsp. milk (3 drops of green food coloring and 6 drops of yellow food coloring, if desired.)

Directions:

Prepare the cake according to the box, adding in the zest of one lime. (You can use the juice from this zested lime in your frosting later). Prepare your frosting while your cupcakes bake. Once your cupcakes are baked and then cooled, you will pipe on your frosting. If you do not have decorating bags and tips at home, you can use a sandwichsized Ziploc baggie as long as it zips closed. Fill it with frosting, zip it closed, and cut of a small corner from the bottom. (Truly, no bigger than a centimeter or so.) Holding the top of the bag firmly between your thumb and forefinger, use the force of your palm to squeeze the bag from the top so the icing comes out steadily. Ring your cupcake with a line of icing starting from the outside and going in. This may take some practice, so feel free to try it on a plate a few times, then scrape

the practice frosting back into the bowl for the real work. Once all your cupcakes are piped, your garnish is simply a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs and a thin quarter-slice of lime. All done! Your cake mix should make between 22-24 cupcakes. Make sure you use paper liners!

Procedure:

Beat together the first five ingredients until creamy. Add sugar one cup at a time, alternating with a bit of lime juice, until smooth each time. Add milk last, one tablespoon at a time. You might use more or less depending on how stiff your frosting is. You don’t want it too runny. Add food coloring last if desired.

Emily Southerland is a professional photographer, mother of two and homemaker extraordinaire. When she isn’t crafting up fun projects and gourmet treats, you can find her blogging about her daily musings at emilys-littleworld.blogspot.com. columbiahomemagazine.com | 49

How a Columbia tradition grew By Ma rcu s W i lk i n s photo s by WHITNEY HAY WA RD

50 | october/november 2012

For Sycamore co-owners Mike Odette and Sanford Speake, it was always about the details. Snow-white tablecloths and dusky lighting. The elevated kitchen’s presentbut-polite shouts and sizzles. A handcrafted walnut bar with mahogany stain. Beams of light from a bustling downtown intersection cascading through storefront windows. Overhead, trumpet tones of…is that Dizzy or Miles? By 2004 Odette and Speake knew the strategies of comfort and style, having worked at the elegant Trattoria Strada Nova as well as Columbia cornerstones Booche’s and Murry’s. Whether patrons sought a setting for a special occasion or a slider and a frosty libation, the duo had peered behind the curtains.

Planting the Sycamore So when the entrepreneurs laid plans for their magnum opus, they focused on the restaurant’s finer points. Before concerning themselves with cuisine, location or menu composition, they leapt to stemware and décor. “We wanted to pay attention to details like music and lighting,” Odette explains. “You go to all these other places, and it’s easy to pick out what they’re not doing right before you even get to the food.” With the help of partners Amy Barrett and Jill Speake (Sanford’s wife), starry-eyed conversations

over

drinks

crystallized.

The team spent little time discussing cuisine and service philosophy, trusting that Odette and Speake’s talent would lead the way. Sycamore opened to rave reviews in 2005 at its high-profile location on the corner of Eighth and Broadway. “Mike and I took on the fun and interesting tasks: Designing the kitchen, how many plates, designing the bar, what we were going to put in the bar, what’s going to be on the wine list,” recalls Sanford. He credits Barrett, now an engineer with the Columbia Fire Department, with overseeing the more thankless, bureaucratic details of establishing an eatery. The name “Sycamore” was present practically from the beginning. Other titles came and went, but the quartet always returned to the native tree. Odette suggested the arboreal moniker as a sturdy, regional symbol befitting of an establishment determined to grow roots. columbiahomemagazine.com | 51

From Clockwise: Owner Mike Odette chats with his local meat supplier. The raspberry brown butter tart is a dessert favorite. Top off a tuna salad on house made honey wheat bread with a couple slices of bacon. Sycamore Restaurant sits at 800 E. Broadway.

For Odette and Speake, like most restaura-

ily and friends. He read cookbooks and culi-

“I would take my sleeping bag and sleep

teurs, those roots followed a meandering path

nary magazines and eventually took a job at

in the restaurant, then I’d get up in the

before finding purchase in the downtown

the Rappolds’ second business, Europa Bak-

morning, roll it up, stow it and walk to

CoMo soil.

ery on Fifth Street.

school,” Speake says. After stints at a few Napa Valley restau-

Branches Converge

In 1990 Odette migrated to Trattoria Strada Nova on Ninth Street. He ascended to head

rants and some cross-country touring in a VW

When Odette moved from Sedalia, Mo., to Co-

chef, honed his skills and studied up for more

van, he landed at famed San Francisco chef

lumbia in 1986 to attend Mizzou, he was not a

than a decade.

Vincent Calcagno’s Vince SF. For the first time

“restaurant person.” He was more of a rudder-

“That was my culinary school,” he says. “I

less student trying to decide if chemical en-

was young and single and making more than

gineering was truly his calling. He ultimately

I had been making, so I was able to do a little

“You could get a hot dog on the menu,

dropped out and found work at Café Europa,

weekend traveling. Back then you couldn’t

a locally made artisanal hot dog served on

a restaurant in a Victorian house on Walnut

just get on the Internet and look at menus.

a locally made bun, with a $500 bottle of

Street. The quarterly menu was ahead of its

You had to get on a plane.”

vintage Bordeaux,” Speake says. “We were

time, offering continental fare and a solid wine list.

in his career, Speake felt first-class expectations as a waiter at a unique establishment.

Speake grew up two time zones away

expected to know ingredients, how it was

in Mendocino, Calif. At age 15, the school

prepared and details like the difference between braising and roasting.”

“I fibbed to get the job, saying that I

nurse found him a job at her husband’s

had restaurant experience when I didn’t,”

vegetarian bistro, Wellspring. Speake went

He might not have known it yet, but

Odette says. “I started out making sal-

off to San Francisco State University, then

Speake had found his niche. He moved

ads and cold plates, and I hit it off with

returned to Mendocino where Wellspring’s

with a girlfriend to Columbia in 1994, and

the owners (Bob and Chris Rappold) who

owners had transformed it into Papa Lu-

although the relationship didn’t last, his

worked there every day.”

igi’s Italian restaurant. When the business

love for mid-Missouri blossomed. When

It was at the café that he came to appreci-

changed hands to become yet a third es-

Speake applied at Trattoria, Odette noticed

ate the idea of the convivial table — the slow

tablishment in the same building, Speake

the waiter’s impressive résumé and intro-

relishing of quality food and drink with fam-

stayed comfortably put.

duced him to the owners.

52 | october/november 2012

columbiahomemagazine.com | 53

54 | october/november 2012

Sanford Speake and Mike Odette

“I get grief from friends in California be-

onions, matsutake mushrooms and a rose-

birthplace of the Columbia Beer Enthusi-

cause they say I sound like someone with

mary pan sauce. Odette, a semifinalist for

asts, a club that explores a national selec-

the chamber of commerce promoting Co-

the James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Mid-

tion of craft beers paired with food. Syca-

lumbia,” Speake says. “I tell them it’s differ-

west award in 2009, is dedicated to using lo-

more opened with just two beer taps but

ent than the big drama of California, and

cal and seasonal foods in exciting and unex-

now boasts six, with coast-to-coast offer-

there’s a pastoral quality. There’s a slow-

pected ways. For a garnish, he stuffs edible

ings on any given night.

ness, but it’s a slowness that you can take if

squash blossoms — grown by the Columbia

Speake’s time spent in Napa Valley influ-

you want because there’s plenty to do. There

Center for Urban Agriculture — with cheese

ences the broad wine list, as does his ser-

are great restaurants and outdoor activities

from Goatsbeard Farm (Harrisburg, Mo.) to

vice mantra, “trust and respect.”

readily available because of trails and rivers.

be dusted with masa flour and flash fried.

And because of the university and colleges, there’s culture, music and arts.”

Bloom and Grow in Mid-Mo

“That extends to the way we interact with

“We get to know the folks where the food

each other, and hopefully, when the cus-

comes from. We visit their farms, and they

tomer leaves, the experience that they’ve

come here as guests,” Odette says. “I think

had is greater than the sum of the parts:

that connection shows up on the menu.”

service, atmosphere and food,” he explains.

Preparing for a busy Friday evening in Au-

Customer appreciation does, too. Al-

As revelers fill the space with celebratory

gust, Odette’s kitchen staff hustles amidst

though wildly popular items, such as short

toasts and laughter, Odette heads to the din-

the thrum of the automatic dishwasher and

ribs and beef tenderloin filet, are consis-

ing room to visit the tables. Speake is already

the whir of the food processor. Line cooks

tently available, they tweak the menu daily.

making the rounds, deftly assisting the ser-

position sauté pans, spatulas and ladles,

If a patron were to visit every night, they

vice staff while chatting up some regulars.

and although the employees move purpose-

might be oblivious. But come by at the peak

Clearly, Sycamore’s roots are strong.

fully, the air is fun and light.

of each season, and several new entrées will

Tonight’s special consists of free-run

materialize.

chicken from Buttonwood Farm in Califor-

Sycamore is also known for its array

nia, Mo., served with new potatoes, pearl

of beer and wine. The restaurant was the

“I hope to be here for another 20 years,” Speake says. “I hope this place is part of downtown Columbia. Ideally, I hope when I’m 65 and I retire, it’s from Sycamore.” columbiahomemagazine.com | 55

Did you know?

Expand your knowledge of local Columbia restaurants with these fun food facts

By Josh Chittum

Sourcing product from 24 local farms, Broadway Brewery is sure to offer you nothing but the freshest.

Shakespeare’s goes through two tons of provolone cheese every week at The District location alone.

Patience is a virtue, something Buckingham Smokehouse has plenty of. The pork butt is smoked for 18 hours before being served.

Travis Tucker, owner of Bleu, buys hormone free grass fed beef locally, from his father. And whenever Dad can't supply, one of his friends just up the road delivers. Even though they’re the smallest part of the bird, D. Rowe’s chicken wings are smoked for four hours to give them that well-known taste.

Chris McD's serves up seafood from 20 countries. Stop in for everything from Norwegian salmon to Japanese scallops. 56 | october/november 2012

Regardless of what time of day you’re stopping by the Broadway Diner, you should probably try the Stretch. The dish starts with a layer of hash browns topped with scrambled eggs. A serving of homemade chili drowns the eggs, and diced onions, green peppers and shredded cheddar cheese add the perfect finishing touches.

Main Squeeze composts 14.5 tons of food waste every year.

Take a break from your typical margarita and try an avocado margarita from La Siesta.

The namesake of Jina Yoo's Asian Bistro was a contestant on Master Chef, a reality cooking show in Korea. Stop by her Columbia location and taste her Asian fusion creations.

Chim’s Thai Kitchen uses only dry-roasted chili peppers to add a kick to its dishes because they add the desired spiciness without covering up the original flavor of the dish.

As the name suggests, Ingredient is all about what goes in its food. For lunch or dinner, choose from more than 75 ingredients to create custom salads and brick-oven pizzas.

A Columbia favorite since 1884, Booche's serves anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 of their famous burgers over MU Homecoming weekend.

B&B Bagels sells enough bagels every week, stacked one on top of another, to nearly reach the top of the St. Louis Arch. (Brian at B&B says his bagels are 1 inch tall, and he sells 7,500 every week. The arch is 630 feet tall, or 7,560 inches.)

For their signature deviled egg appetizer (topped with housecured and smoked salmon), 44 Stone uses about 9,500 hard-cooked eggs every year.

Turning out Italianinspired cuisine since 1976, the Pasta Factory goes through a gallon of marinara sauce every 20 minutes at peak times.

Sparky’s is known for its unique flavors featuring everything from lavender honey to carrot cake, but the ice cream shop received national attention in 2011 with the release of its cicada ice cream.

Patric Chocolate received national attention when it won the Good Food Award in 2011 and 2012 for its craft chocolate bars.

With more than 150 items on its dessert menu, Murry’s is a great place for a sweet treat. And although it’s not dessert, try Brock's green pepper rings for something truly unique.

The Wine Cellar and Bistro strives to provide as many local products as possible and brings more than 50 to its customers, including a special chocolate you can only find at the downtown restaurant.

With more than 50 gluten-free menu options including pizza and pasta, The Rome is sure to have your gluten-free Italian food needs covered.

Sycamore goes through 40 pounds of pork bellies every week. Served on its bar and lunch menu as sliders, the bellies are also used for Sycamore's house-made bacon.

More than a mouthful, The Super Deluxe Happy Fun Time Burger at Addison’s began as a joke. Co-owner Jeremy Brown says he’d always wanted to put a “monster burger” on the menu. Nearly half a pound of beef is topped with four slices of cheese, four pieces of bacon, onion straws and all the fixin’s. Brown says he was going to take it off the menu after a couple of weeks but left it on when a few people ordered it. Now it’s a great seller and was named one of 15 winners of a nationwide cheeseburger contest sponsored by U.S. Foods and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. columbiahomemagazine.com | 57

By Josh Chittum Photos by Jake Hamilton

p a t r i c â&#x2122;Ľ c h o c o l a t e

58 | october/november 2012

"Yeah,” Aimee Cunningham says as she taps the side of her head, "he's kind of a genius," referring to her boss since 2009, Alan "Patric" McClure, founder and head craftchocolate maker at Patric Chocolate.

How it all began McClure grew up in St. Louis and Kansas City, learning an appreciation for food as he helped his mother in the kitchen. After graduating from MU with a degree in religious studies, McClure did some traveling during which he tasted different foods and learned crafts such as baking, chocolatemaking and cheese-making. Returning to Columbia in 2006 after two years of travel, McClure still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Eventually he made plans to go to graduate school, but after being accepted, the academic advisor whom McClure wanted to

work with and who was in part the reason he had decided to attend grad school left the university. With his future wide open, he thought back to his travels, and the passion for chocolate that had become a hobby inspired him to develop it into a business, something McClure says he never planned on. And in January 2007, Patric Chocolate opened its doors. The building is hidden away in an industrial park off of Peabody Road, and at first glance you would never know it was home to a chocolate maker. There’s no sign and the neighbors are contractors. But when you step into the building, you are immediately hit with a chocolate aroma so strong you taste it in the back of your throat. There's even enough cocoa dust to put a slight haze in the air. This is all part of Patric's Bean to Bar process; a process that is hard to argue with considering the

number of accolades McClure has won for his bars, including The Good Food Award in 2011 and 2012. According to its website, "The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced."

A passion for the product McClure says it all starts with good cacao, which he traveled across the world to find, from Madagascar to Venezuela. He had to ensure not only that the product was of a superior quality, but that it was also ethically produced. Much of the raw cacao Patric Chocolate uses is shipped in large burlap bags from family farms McClure visited on his travels. "We pay fair trade prices for all of our cacao. And in some cases we pay as much as two and a half times fair trade,” McClure says. “There are instances of cacao being columbiahomemagazine.com | 59

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harvested with slave labor, and I want to make sure we don't support that." When McClure rattles off the specifics of roasting the cocoa from behind his beard and glasses, he's nearly encyclopedic with chocolate wisdom; you would think he could talk about it in his sleep. And that would make sense considering for the first two years at Patric, Alan was the only employee, and to ensure what he was working on turned out right, he would sleep on a cot he kept at the production facility. “I don’t know how he didn’t quit,” Patric employee Sara Trikenskas says. She’s worked there since 2011 and is still surprised at everything McClure comes up with. The most recent additions to the line of Patric Chocolate bars are the Columbia Art Bar and the MIZZOU Crunch Bar, due out in the fall of 2012. The Art Bar will be sold at

Photo by Whitney Hayward

area art-centric businesses and non-profits. Each bar will come with a signed piece of art from a local artist, and five percent of

ABOVE Top: Patric Chocolate uses a variety of ingredients for its special flavors. ABOVE: Pools of mile chocolate flow from vat to mod every day.

the proceeds from bar sales will go to the Columbia Office of Cultural Affairs. MIZ-

mulch. Held together by tape, zip ties and

the machine, his reputation as a craft-

ZOU Crunch was developed in conjunction

bungee cords, the Grizzly occasionally

chocolate maker helps sell the machine.

with students from MU. The bars are Pat-

gets nibs and shells clogged in the tube, so

"When people hear these are the same ma-

ric's first that are specific to Columbia.

workers have to give the machine a good

chines Patric Chocolate uses, they want to

A different kind of Chocolate Factory

whack. And what else would you use to do this in a chocolate factory besides a rubber spatula?

buy them,” Balu says. “They want to try and achieve that same high level of quality. But no one is as good as Patric Chocolate.”

When you look around the production fa-

When McClure started, the equipment

cility, one of the more eye-catching pieces

he needed to make small batches of choco-

of equipment is the Grizzly. Originally

late didn’t exist. So he worked with Cocoa

made to separate grains, the machine is

Town, which originally produced the ma-

obviously the birth of McClure's genius. It's

chines to be used with lentils and grains,

a series of hoses and tubs sucking up the

to make them specifically for chocolate.

ment I needed to use to get qualities I

nibs and shells, removing the lighter shell

M. Balu says he went back and forth with

wanted out of it."

and leaving only the nibs. Waste shells are

McClure perfecting the machine. And not

So after years of hard work and national

given to local gardeners that use them as

only did McClure’s knowledge help build

attention, how much does McClure make

"I worked backward," McClure explains, regarding how he needed the machines to operate. "I started with chocolates I liked, figured out why I liked it and what equip-

columbiahomemagazine.com | 61

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Photos by Whitney Hayward

Alan "Patric" McClure proudly displays his final product. from his burgeoning chocolate empire? Nothing. That's right. Zip. Every dollar McClure profits is invested back into the business. So how does McClure pay his rent? With the love and support of his wife Viviane Ducret. "When I tasted 'the stuff' that Alan created, I was convinced of his talent in the craft of chocolate-making,” Ducret says. “Not only does the chocolate he makes taste like a revelation, but the marriages of flavors he creates--PBJ OMG or the Anya Apricot bar--are just pure genius!! So, when things got to be professional and Alan's love of chocolate turned into Patric Chocolate, it was not even a question that the salary I earn every month would go towards allowing this beautiful chocolate endeavor to grow and eventually become successful." “The biggest goal I have, McClure says, “is the goal I've always had. Make the best chocolate we can and get it to the most people possible.” columbiahomemagazine.com | 63

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Healthy Plate Laura Lee Brown trains clients on nutrition, fitness and overall health By N ic ole Flood Photo by Taylor Allen Laura Lee Brown isn’t your average personal trainer. She strives to teach her clients through training that emphasizes a lifestyle change full of whole foods, fitness and overall health. “Fitness and nutrition complement each other so well that they need to be put together,” Brown explains. “With this program, people are learning how to work out, and then they’re also learning how to get the proper nutrition through healthy eating.” Brown became passionate about fitness when she was running track for the University of Missouri. She decided to go into personal training, and after getting certified, she started training clients at Wilson’s Fitness Center in September 2011. While teaching clients how to get fit, she also began discussing nutrition with them. “I noticed that all my clients were missing the whole nutrition side of it,” Brown remembers. “Every one of them was asking me what they should do.” It all came back to eating whole, healthy foods, but most of her clients didn’t know where to start.

From healthy beginnings, a business grows Brown grew up valuing nutrition, and she attributes much of her interest and knowledge to her mother. “I’m the youngest of nine, and my mom made everything from scratch,” she says. “Every dinner always had a big green salad with homemade dressing; greens were something my mom never overlooked.” Everything Brown knows about nutrition — from homemade salad dressing, to using whole-wheat flour, to using honey instead of sweeteners — she says she learned from her mother. When Brown was coaching one client on how to make healthy choices, the client asked, “Can you just do it for me?” With that, Brown started making lunches for some of her clients, and a business grew from there. “People would hear about it and want me to do it for them, too,” Brown says. “It got to where I couldn’t do it for all the clients by myself anymore.” Brown knew she needed to go somewhere with her program because of the volume of lunches she

was making. Laura Lee’s Healthy Plate was the resulting business. “I want people to come here and for it to be a one-stop shop for a healthy lifestyle,” she says. Clients can get personal training, whole-food supplements and meals at Laura Lee’s, and the staff is always there to help, whether it be for nutrition, fitness or any other health issue. Because her mother taught her much of what she knows in terms of healthy cooking, Brown named the business Laura Lee’s. “My mom tended to call me by my full name whenever I did something really great that made her proud,” Brown divulges. “I hope to share what she’s taught me, and I hope passing on this passion for a healthy lifestyle makes her proud.”

Moving forward with health and fitness All of Laura Lee’s staff members know every person on the Healthy Plate Program. “I want it to feel familiar and make it a personalized place,” Brown says. In addition, Brown doesn’t just show clients the exercises; rather, she teaches them how to do them on their own and also explains why it is beneficial. The same goes for meals. She doesn’t just give people meals; she wants clients to learn how to prepare healthy options for themselves. “The whole point is that people can get these frozen meals, but they’re all processed, and there aren’t very many nutrients in them,” Brown explains. “They’re just calorie restricted. What I focus on is getting a lot of variety and a lot of nutrients in every meal that clients receive: lots of color and just nutrient-dense foods.” Laura Lee’s Healthy Plate offers clients personal training, lifestyle coaching, kitchen makeovers, grocery store visits, weekly weigh-ins, cooking demos and metabolic testing. “I want to be a learning service for people, nutrition-wise,” Brown says. “I want to help them learn to eat better. What I’m emphasizing is a lifestyle change so people can eat abundantly and keep moving forward with nutrition, fitness and overall health.” For more information and to keep learning with Brown, visit Laura Lee’s Healthy Plate on Facebook or at wilsonsfitness.com/?page_id=2442. columbiahomemagazine.com | 65

Eat this, NOT that Eat mashed cauliflower, NOT mashed potatoes. Cauliflower can taste good if you do it right, and it’s packed with antioxidants such as vitamin K; omega-3 fatty acids, which help decrease inflammation; and high amounts of fiber to help clean your digestive system. Cauliflower also contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B9. It serves as a good source of protein, phosphorus and potassium.

Eat raw honey, NOT pasteurized honey.

Eat raisins, NOT dried cranberries.

Laura Lee's Tips

Lara bars, NOT cereal bars

Lara bars are healthy snacks that are made from mixtures of whole foods such as dried fruit and nuts with no sugar.

Virgin coconut oil, NOT butter.

Raw honey is an alkaline-forming food that contains natural vitamins, enzymes, powerful antioxidants and other important natural nutrients. These are the very nutrients that are destroyed during the pasteurization process.

This oil is a solid at room temperature, so it’s easy to use as a spread. Put it on your bread, drizzle it on your popcorn, cook with it, bake with it and even use it on your skin. Coconut oil can help you lose weight because medium-chain triglycerides contribute fewer calories than other fats, are minimally stored in your body as fat and stimulate your body to burn more calories.

Eat all-natural peanut butter or almond butter, NOT highly processed ones. I go for the kind you can make yourself at Hy-Vee or the Smuckers brand. When I eat peanut butter, I want just peanuts and maybe some salt. You would be surprised how many extra ingredients are in some of the food we eat that are completely unnecessary.

Drink almond milk, NOT soy milk.

Almond milk only has 35 to 40 calories per cup unlike any other kind of milk and has more calcium than regular (cow’s) milk. Make sure you buy the unsweetened kind though.

Eat brown rice breading, NOT wheat or white flour breading.

It tastes good and is gluten free. Although whole wheat is not bad for you, we often over-use it in our diet. If we could branch out and use lots of other nutritious grains to prepare our food with, we might not run into as many food allergens or get too much gluten in our diet.

Eat raw nuts, NOT roasted or salted.

Eat brown rice pasta, NOT whole-wheat pasta.

Drink protein frappuccinos made at Laura Lee’s, NOT coffee shop frappuccinos.

Get your coffee and protein for less than 120 calories. 66 | october/november 2012

Eat plain yogurt with honey or fruit added, NOT flavored yogurts.

Eat chia seeds, NOT flax seeds.

Both are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, but flax seeds have to be ground to release their nutrients, and chia seeds do not. The gel-forming quality of chia makes them valuable for dieters. The gel makes you feel full longer, which helps you stick to a low-calorie meal plan. Chia seeds also help with hydration, as they soak up water when they form a gel, which makes them helpful for endurance athletes. Chia seeds are higher in calcium and lower in calories as well.

Drink herbal teas, coconut water and kombucha, NOT juice, Gatorade or soda.

Eat sea salt, NOT table salt. Although there’s no difference between the two in sodium content, sea salt is all natural.

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Dr. Willett and his staff will make your smile beautiful. Dr. Kent Willett, D.D.S. Dr. Kent Willett, D.D.S., is a General Dentist practicing in Columbia, since 1981. He is well known for his talents in both sedation dentistry and cosmetic dentistry, while being a long-time member of the prestigious Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida, where he has completed studies in restoring difficult dental cases. He sees referrals from all over the United States seeking high quality dental care. • American Dental Association • Academy of General Dentistry • Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation • Missouri Dental Association Dr Willett is not a specialist, he practices general dentistry. Dr. Willett has completed an American Dental Association approved one year residency program in which Conscious Sedation is taught. Cosmetic dentistry is a non-specialty interest area that requires no specific educational training to advertise this service.

Today’s dentistry lets us have the smile we choose, not just the smile we were born with. Learn how Cosmetic Dentistry can help dramatically improve your smile, without a care in the world. Oral sedation gives you the peace of mind you’ve always wanted and makes for a totally comfortable dental experience.

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Emma O'Connell combined agriculture and technology to create Pick-a-Pepper.com.

Rocheport farmer Emma O’Connell may have launched more than a website. She may have launched a food revolution. “I feel like I have created something that’s unique and also has the potential to change the way we get food and how our food system functions,” O’Connell says. “People are using technology for everything, all the time, and I just didn’t see why they couldn’t use it for this.” About 300 vendors nationally have signed up on her Pick-a-Pepper.com website since the online farmers’ market launched last September, she said, with an average of about five to 10 new vendors signing on each week. Likewise, more than 500 customers have signed up, both individuals and restaurants. Although the site doesn’t provide enough income for a full-time job yet, O’Connell said it shows enough promise that she applied for a $100,000 grant from the USDA 70 | october/november 2012

Farmers Market Promotional Program in May to launch a marketing campaign and add functionality to the site. She hopes to hire a student intern or two if she can get the funds. “I was really impressed,” says customer Jennifer Erickson, who used Pick-a-Pepper for the first time recently and chose to have her milk crate of food delivered by O’Connell herself rather than picking it up at The Marketplace in Columbia. “This one looked gorgeous; there was a big bunch of flowers in a mason jar with water. “I ate all the strawberries already, and those were really neat because they were kind of smaller and less red than the ones you would see at the grocery store. It was like candy; they were so delicious.”

Free storefronts The site allows farmers and food artisans — people who sell craft food products such

as bread, jelly or candy — to set up their own storefronts for free, allowing them to connect with customers from around the nation and world. The customers, the majority of whom are women age 25 to 45, pay a 35-cent transaction fee for up to five items when they purchase food. “It’s not a percentage or anything like that, which is what the other websites that are out there that are similar charge,” O’Connell says. “I’m not charging the vendor because I think that the vendor should keep the money, and the customer should have to pay.” Her startup business plan figures assume that if five items are sold per day and per month in 50 states, the business should make $2,625 per month. If sales can grow to just 20 items a day, monthly receipts should increase to $126,000. An alumna of Rock Bridge High School and the University of Missouri, O’Connell

said she got the idea for the site after working in restaurants and attending the Columbia Farmers Market for a couple of years. Seeing a need to make local farm food more accessible, she wanted to create a way for farms such as her own Redbud’s of Rocheport to connect with restaurants and customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She also likes that the website allows farmers to sell produce in any quantity that they can.

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“It has allowed me a way to sell outside produce from my farm, but it also gave other farmers an additional market for their goods,” O’Connell says.

Going global As part of the growing local food movement, in which consumers make an effort to purchase locally grown produce, the site appears to differ from others on the Web because it’s an online market. Most other local food sites attempt to link customers with local farmers or farmers markets, while Pick-a-Pepper handles transactions and serves as a market itself. Primeval Gardens, a family farm near San Diego, Calif., practices community supported agriculture. Owner Iris Gardner says Pick-a-Pepper is more user-friendly than others, and she likes

Quality of life NOW you can see the benefits of chiropractic. We are offering you the opportunity to visit our office for a full examination ($20) and an x-ray, if needed ($20).

that it keeps track of her sales. She said she lists about 10 boxes of produce a week for $25 apiece. “It’s a great site for people growing stuff or whatever,” Gardner says. “My biggest problem is that it is not well-known enough yet.” To fix that problem, the USDA grant would help O’Connell publicize the site. “The more successful the site is, the more successful all the people trying to sell stuff on the site are going to be,” Gardner says. “The more people know about it, there’s no reason not to use it because it is such a great resource to get your stuff out there.” O’Connell says her site helps people who live in food deserts — areas that have no, or few, grocery stores, such as downtown Columbia — to obtain fresh food, a goal promoted by the USDA grant program, according to the agency’s website. “It’s a grassroots way for people to connect with farmers,” O’Connell says. “For wholesale, there is nothing out there. There are no food trucks that deliver local foods, except in big cities, but it’s just not common. There’s no com-

In addition to this great offer, we will also donate $10 from every new patient to support the Buddy Pack Program provided by the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri!

mon way for people in smaller towns to link up with markets in bigger cities.” And she has at least one local happy customer because of the convenience. “I would definitely go back,” Erickson says. “I’m sold on the

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whole idea.” columbiahomemagazine.com | 71

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From Trat to

trey A significant Columbia culinary experience is revived on 21 N. 9th St. by Sar ah Redohl photo s by Jak e Ham ilton

columbiahomemagazine.com | 73

Concannon P l a s t i c S u r g e ry & M e d i c a l S pa

BL AC K F R I DAY

EVENT 11.23.2012

74 | october/november 2012

ABOVE Top: Trey Restaurant sits at 21 N. 9th St. Right FRom Top: Fresh, local produce is a decorating staple at Trey. Owner Trey Quinlan is always hard at work in the kitchen. The restaurant's back room bar gives Trey an old-worldly speakeasy feel. Trey sits somewhere between the Gilded Age of Mark Twain fame and the Roaring 20s. From the rustic, cracked butcher’s block to the carbon filament light bulbs hanging in chicken wire orbs, the new downtown restaurant doesn’t feel new at all. Owned by Trey and Jessica Quinlan, the American bistro opened in August in the same place Trey got his first taste of the culinary world 14 years ago, filling in for his brothers’ shifts at Trattoria Strada Nova. Trat, the nickname by which the popular Italian eatery was known, closed seven years ago. After moving to Denver to manage another restaurant, the old Trat owners returned to Columbia and opened Red and Moe’s in the same location.

The nostalgic nickname almost came alive again in Quinlan’s restaurant. Then, he and his wife considered Tratanudo, Italian for “graceful pause.” Initially, the couple planned for an Italian bistro, but when friends and family began to think of the heavy Italian foods popular in the U.S., they changed their minds. Trey, a new American bistro, was born, giving Quinlan more freedom in his kitchen.

A Nouveau Style Working alongside Teri Rippeto at Red and Moe’s, he found the style of food he now serves up on simple, classic china. Nouveau cuisine is a style of French cooking developed in the 1960s that focuses on the

natural flavors of foods, but Quinlan sums it up in one word: fresh. “To do that, we have to go local,” Quinlan says. “If you buy produce from far away, it sits waiting to be shipped, sits while it’s shipped, and sits again before it gets to you. Nouveau is using really good ingredients instead of hiding bad ingredients behind good flavor.” The sunray tempeh ratatouille is a contemporary take on the French classic, catered to Missouri’s seasonally available vegetables. You can discern the mild garden flavors of local squash and sweet peppers, even in the spicy tomato stock, garlic and scallions. The basil on the organic salmon, over a bed of smashed potatoes and boiled tomatoes, is grown locally from July to September. “We try to take what’s locally available and use the flavor profile to adjust our menu,” Quinlan explains. As seasons change, the menu at Trey will, too. Although Quinlan plans to keep a couple of staples, he doesn’t want to get repetitive. columbiahomemagazine.com | 75

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76 | october/november 2012

The Look of Trey

ABOVE Top: Trey's design is a fusion of elements from 1900 and today. Right FRom Top: Cocktails at Trey are unique, featuring bizarre ingredients like jalapenos. Trey shops local markets to find fresh local produce for his signature dishes and specials. Between seasons, specials are Quinlan’s opportunity to get creative. “My wife and I will hit up the farmer’s market and get whatever’s freshest, from trout to shiitake mushrooms.” The Quinlans never go shopping with an ingredient list, instead relying on quality ingredients and creativity. Quinlan recommends the mussels, which are conscientiously farm-raised, as a standard example of his nouveau style. Because serving mussels is contingent upon how much rainwater the mussels are exposed to (too much means mussels won’t ship well), Trey’s mussels are faultlessly fresh. They’re chewy but tender, and the natural sea salt flavor comes through.

With or without a squirt of lemon juice, you know you’re eating seafood. Fresh, local produce doubles both as dinner and decoration. Crates of cherry tomatoes and an array of grapefruit and watermelon line the bar. Tomatoes add a bit of acidity and meatiness to everything, according to Quinlan. The grapefruit is the third ingredient in the pork cutlet and cabbage salad, and the watermelon is part of a late-summer appetizer with mint and feta. The wine list is short, but the selections match Trey. From recently popular new vines in Argentina and Chile to the old vines from the Burgundy region of France, it’s a mix of tradition and alternative.

Everything about Trey is natural, with exposed brick walls, industrial ceilings and an array of dark wood, from the tables to the haphazardly arranged mirrors on the wall. Abstract art of blue and beige hangs sparsely on other walls. During the day, the front of the restaurant is flooded with natural sunlight—the style, like the food, is beautiful in its starkness. Larger tables and family-style seating dissolve into a lounge with a 14-foot couch and an old refurbished barn wood bar. “It has a speakeasy feel to it,” Quinlan says. “Patrons come and go from the back door, and you can’t even tell there are people back there when it gets late at night.” With signature cocktails like “Firewater” and ingredients like jalapeno syrup, the bar in the back certainly is intriguing. As the lights of Trey on 9th Street dim and the back bar of this building of significant culinary history in Columbia fills up, anything nouveau fades away along with the past century. columbiahomemagazine.com | 77

Dene Myers

Designs

Residential & Commercial Interior Design 573-581-0050

denemyers@sbcglobal.net

78 | october/november 2012

A Community Comes Together Nene Rwenyaguza Gets a Home

By D i a n na B o r si O ’B rien | photo by angeli q ue hunter

For nearly seven years, Nene Peter Rwenyaguza thought his wife and three children were dead. Now, in a few weeks, his wife, his three children and a boy she adopted while they were apart will be arriving in Columbia and they’ll come to a home furnished by Columbians, many of whom have never met Rwenyaguza.

It’s a home furnished by friendship; it’s a story filled with faith. Ten years ago, Nene Rwenyaguza fled his home in the Congo to save his life. His wife and three children ran one way and he ran another, hoping separating would save all of

them. That night, the rebels set fire to his village, and when he settled down in Nairobi, Kenya, as a refugee seeking asylum, he was told no one from his small village had survived; his wife and children were dead. Seven years later, he learned his wife and children were alive; by then he was living in Missouri as a refugee. Now, after three more years of paperwork and persistence, his family will soon be arriving in Columbia. He’ll finally see the children he last saw when they were 1, 2 and 4; and meet his new son, age 14. When his family arrives, they’ll be welcomed into a three-bedroom apartment, completely furnished, including a computer and a

washer and dryer. Many of these items came from Columbians he has never met through a project organized by Charlotte Gaddy, a friend he made at Boone County National Bank. Of course, he and his family face challenges. His struggle to learn English holds him back from getting a better paying job. Rwenyaguza will have to pay back the costs of bringing his family here, which could total as much as $7,000. He will also have to find a way to support his family of five. The cost of housing the family will consume half his income. These financial problems will be eased at first because, like all refugees resettled in the U.S., Rwenyaguza’s family members will columbiahomemagazine.com | 79

receive financial assistance for housing and other expenses. Also, he’ll be able to repay the transportation costs in small increments. Still, despite any future financial challenges, Rwenyaguza is unconcerned; he calls himself blessed.

A Long Way from Home Rwenyaguza, 39, can’t remember a time when his native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, wasn’t at war. Even before he was born, his mother and three of her children

A Long Journey At first, Rwenyaguza simply fled to nearby Kenya, settling in Nairobi, the country’s capital, a sprawling, gritty city of roughly 3 million people. News of violence against his ethnic group in refugee camps kept him from seeking help there. In Kenya, some people were wary of him due to his ethnic background, fearing he might be an outside agitator; Kenya, too, has had its own ethnic troubles. Then he found a church to attend and once again began his theological studies.

in Nairobi as well, and like Rwenyaguza had avoided the refugee camps. When she sought asylum, the international agencies that coordinate such refugee assistance reconnected them. Rwenyaguza cried with joy. A special telephone card allowed them unlimited calls, and the family began rekindling their relationship while they waited to be reunited. Bringing family members into the U.S. requires proof that they can be supported, and there are mounds of documents and requirements to work through.

were taken as captives and held for three years by another tribe, and two of the children died during that time. The Congo, Africa’s second largest country, was formerly called Zaire and gained its independence from Belgium in 1960. For

Rwenyaguza seems overwhelmed describing the items, repeating the word, “new” over and over, amazed at the bounty.

years, unrest ebbed and flowed, but his village of about 80 families largely escaped the

For six years, he struggled, working, preach-

While Rwenyaguza was working through

violence. Until then, Rwenyaguza had lived a

ing and praying. At times, he says, he thought

the process for his family, he got a call of an-

quiet life, raising cattle, teaching school and

he’d go mad grieving for his family. “But I be-

other kind.

attending theology school. Then one night in

lieved in God,” he explains, “and I believed

A group of Africans in Columbia who met

2002 the rebels burned all the grass huts and

they could be alive.” He decided that unless he

at the First Baptist Church called Rwenyaguza

took all the cattle, sheep and goats. “At night,”

saw for himself that they were dead, he’d act

to be their pastor.

says Rwenyaguza through an interpreter, Ru-

as if they were alive: no remarriage for him.

bin Byishimo, “when they came back after the

“The Word of God gave me comfort,” he says.

men, I ran away.”

Finally, he received the news that he’d be

He hesitated. Moving again, even further from his wife and children? Moving to where he didn’t have a job? He called his wife; she

When he fled, he took only one thing with

resettled in the United States, and he was

him: his Bible. Later, he’d find it contained a

concerned: if he moved so far away, how

Rwenyaguza came to Columbia and began

photograph of him and his wife, the only one

would his wife find him if she were alive?

pastoring to the African refugees here. Years

he’d have of the two of them, the only sight

Yet he was determined: “I wanted to be away

earlier, a member of the First Baptist Church

he’d have of her for seven years.

from the war; no more bullets.”

had begun helping African refugees make it

said if God calls, answer.

The conflict that drove Rwenyaguza from

He also knew his opportunity was rare.

to church activities, says Ed Rollins, associate

his home goes back decades. The Congo has

Only a few refugees are accepted for perma-

pastor at First Baptist Church. When Rwe-

more than 200 ethnic groups, including Rwe-

nent resettlement in the United States, with

nyaguza arrived, he began attending several

nyaguza’s, the Banyamulenge Tutsi. These

several stipulations. Rwenyaguza met the

of the church’s services and prayer times each

Tutsi are devoted Christian farmers, accord-

qualifications, and he arrived in St. Louis in

week. “He’s a deeply faithful man,” says Rol-

ing to the Center for Applied Linguistics, a

2008. That year, only 848 refugees from the

lins. Before long, Rwenyaguza asked if his

nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., but re-

Congo were accepted into the United States,

followers could officially join First Baptist,

bellions through the years have forced them

according to the U.S. Department of State,

and more than two dozen were officially wel-

to flee from their homes. In 1994, the Rwan-

Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migra-

comed into the church. “We discovered there

dan genocide spilled into the Congo as Rwan-

tion. With the help of an international agen-

are more refugees than we knew,” recalls Roll-

dan Hutu attacked Tutsi. Since then, the Cen-

cy, he found a job at a restaurant, but getting

ins. African worship service revivals can draw

ter notes, these attacks on the Congolese Tutsi

to work wasn’t easy. The trip required three

more than 100 people. Today, the Sunday af-

have continued, at times with the support of

buses and a train, but even when it snowed,

ternoon African worship service is simply one

some extremist politicians.

something he’d never seen, he made it. His

of First Baptist Church’s services.

The turmoil and violence has caused

commute meant he had to arrive hours be-

nearly a half a million Congolese to flee their

fore the restaurant opened, and that snowy

country, according to the United National

day when the others arrived, they found him

High Commissioner for Refugees. Inside the

shivering in the doorway, which makes him

Finding Friendship

country, another 1.7 million of the Congo’s 74

chuckle now when he recalls it.

At first, making a living wasn’t easy for Rwe-

million people are internally displaced.

“They’re a part of us and we’ve been praying about his family,” says Rollins.

nyaguza in Columbia either. He’d gotten a

Making the Columbia Connection

transfer for work, but the pastoral position

conflicts have been resolved, as both groups

While in St. Louis, he learned his wife and

was only part-time, and the Columbia restau-

work and worship together in Columbia.

children were alive. His wife had been living

rant where he also worked closed. He man-

For Hutu and Tutsi in the United States the

80 | october/november 2012

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At times, he says, he thought he’d go mad grieving for his family. aged to find several part-time jobs and a member of his faith group helped him buy a car, which made finding work easier. That’s how he met Gaddy at Boone County National Bank. The assistant vice president of consumer lending, she had helped him navigate the process of getting a car loan, and as with many foreigners, she periodically had to remind him of the requirement to maintain car insurance. Each time they met, Gaddy says she got to know him a little better, to hear a little more of his story until one day, she asked him how he was getting on and what church he attended. With that question, Gaddy says, Rwenyaguza came alive. Typically a quiet man who struggled with his English, she remembers how he lit up and said, “You know my Jesus?” Gaddy, thrilled,

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answered, “Yes, I know him very well.” Gaddy, a lifelong traveler, has a special fondness for foreigners, and Rwenyaguza’s demeanor endeared him to her. Soon, he was coming to her home for dinners and holidays. Along the way, she encouraged him to apply for a job to the company that cleans the bank, a full-time job he now holds. This summer, she learned his family had been approved for settlement in the U.S. and she sprang into action. She spoke to friends and family members, telling Rwenyaguza’s story and about his need to furnish a home for his four children and his wife. A friend asked if she could help, and Gaddy asked her if she’d send emails to her friends with a list of household goods that were needed. Before she knew it, Gaddy says, the word was out everywhere.

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A man she’d never met had a new king-size bed delivered to the three-bedroom apartment Rwenyaguza had rented in anticipation of his family’s arrival. Others brought furniture, linens and clothing, guessing at the sizes of his children, now 14, 12 and 11. Still more donors helped fill his kitchen with appliances he’d never seen before. Today, Rwenyaguza seems overwhelmed describing the items,

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Exterior Colors of nature that never need painting, all of them “green”

repeating the word, “new” over and over, amazed at the bounty. Any surplus, says Gaddy, will be given to other refugees, of which there are a number in Columbia.The Refugee & Immigration Services in Columbia has resettled 1,300 refugees since 2001, including 58 Congolese, says Phil Stroessner, a job developer and analyst at the nonprofit contracted for refugee services in Missouri. His agency helps refugees find jobs, obtain housing and find their place in the com-

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munity. He notes Rwenyaguza’s story of separation due to violent conflict is not uncommon.

For now, Rwenyaguza waits. Officials, he’s told, are waiting to obtain four airplane seats together, so the family won’t be separated even for a flight from Nairobi to Columbia. And once the family arrives, life will present challenges. Rwenyaguza will be supporting a family of six on a janitor’s salary. Despite knowing 10 languages, he still struggles with English. And

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when his family arrives, he’ll be expected to pay the U.S. government back for their airfare, an expense he’s happy to reimburse. Still, he’s undaunted. After all, he’s got Gaddy, Columbia and his

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travel | Yosemite National Park

Half Dome Tuolumne Meadows

RV Trek

Curry Village Pizza Half Dome Patio

Merced River

Vacation Getaway

Yosemite National Park

Best known for its waterfalls, Yosemite National Park is one of the largest national parks in the country. From hiking and biking to rafting along the Merced River, this trip is perfect for a family that wants to get in touch with nature. By L i ly Daws on | Photo s by Anastas ia Pottinger Tuolumne Meadows: Located in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne Meadows is a favorite lodging spot for guests. Amenities include canvas tents, showers and family-style meals. 84 | october/november 2012

RV Trek: Accommodations in Yosemite range from riverfront campsites to mountainside lodges. For a large family, try renting an RV for accessibility to the areas surrounding the park.

Half Dome: Take the 8.5-mile hike to Half Dome from the valley floor. This granite crest rises nearly 8,800 feet above sea level and is one of Yosemiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most recognizable icons.

Curry Village Pizza Patio: After a long day of hiking, this is just the meal youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for. Pizza, beer and amazing views of Half Dome and Glacier Point are the perfect end to an active trip.

El Capitan: This vertical rock formation is located on the northwest side of Yosemite Valley and is often shortened to â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Capâ&#x20AC;? to experienced hikers and rock climbers. Reaching almost 3,000 feet on its tallest end, the granite pillar remains one of the most challenging foes to rock climbers worldwide.

El Capitan

Olmstead Point

Merced River

Merced river: Running through the southern part of the Yosemite Valley, the Merced is a favorite white-water rafting spot in the National Park. Inexperienced rafters beware: the water is ranked a class IV thanks to its steep gradient, sweeping bends and obstacles.

Olmstead Point

Olmstead Point: This viewing area off the Tioga Road looks southwest into the stunningly picturesque Yosemite Valley. You can see Half Dome and Tenaya Lake from this viewpoint that was named after famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. columbiahomemagazine.com | 85

makeover | Mary Ropp

Indulging in Me

Before

Mary Ropp By l i ly dawso n | P h oto s by Tay lo r A l l e n a nd K atie B ell

Mary Ropp spends her days as the Business Development Officer at the Bank of Missouri. She is involved in many community events and has a spunky personality that is infectious. She works up to 75 hours a week at her job and must keep up a professional appearance. Her daily look usually is made up of a neutral pants suit and a conservative hairstyle. Mary is concerned about wearing color and coming across as too casual for her bank job. She’s enlisting the help of some local professionals to help her achieve a new look that will spice up her wardrobe. 86 | october/november 2012

Dryer’s Shoe Store: Ropp’s hectic work schedule certainly keeps her on her toes. Often, those toes are stuffed in tall high heels for hours at a time. Shawny at Dryer’s Shoe Store suggested Mary stick to heels with a lower cut in the front to elongate her legs. Mary has wide feet so Shawny suggested she try Earthies and Dansko shoes, both known to have a wider toe box.

Swank Boutique: Mary often goes from day to night without an outfit change. Her long workdays often turn into evenings, and events and meetings mean drab suits for hours on end. Erin and Nickie at Swank Boutique in The District went on a mission to find something that would work in both settings and that incorporates the colorful palette that Mary had been lacking. The Swank team prescribed pieces with structure and a pair of great fitting jeans for the weekend.

Expert Tip: Steve Stephenson of Salon de Cappelo recommends styling dry, damaged hair with a hair dryer and round brush only to save those precious locks from further wear caused by hot irons.

after

Salon de Capello: Steve Stephenson of Salon de Capello wanted to keep a natural look for Mary. He worked with Ropp’s base color and added some other shades to match with the dark blonde color of her eyebrows. For the cut, Stephenson added some texture and a new style intended to help with the health of her locks. Mary complained of weak, brittle hair that Stephenson attributed to overuse of her hot curling iron. He gave her a style that can be completed with just a brush and hair dryer and a couple of different products to protect the damaging effects of the hot iron.

Concannon Plastic Surgery and Medical Spa: Mary was in need of a beauty routine that would last her all day long without having to be touched up. She is comfortable with color on her eyes and lips that Farrell, Concannon Medical Spa’s esthetician, corrected with a more natural-colored palette. She gave Mary a lot of tips when applying Concannon’s mineral makeup line ColoreScience. Farrell stressed the importance of only applying eyeliner 75% of the way across your eyes and topping the liner with pressed powder so it can last longer. The medical spa also treated Mary to a special nail cuticle treatment and dry oil foot massage. columbiahomemagazine.com | 87

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Beauty

fashion forecast | BRITCHES

Country Cool By L i ly Dawson | P h oto s by Tay lo r A l len

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entertainment | Lily's must list

Still licking your fingertips from Roots ‘N Blues leftovers? Mid-Missouri’s barbecue landscape is blossoming right now with favorite spots like Buckingham Smokehouse, Lonnie Ray’s and the new (to Columbia) arrival of Lutz’s Famous BBQ. By L i ly Daws on | Photo s by a ng eli que hunter

Fall always brings beautifully colored trees, brisk weather, fun football Saturdays and, for Columbia, barbecue. Roots N Blues kicked off

Get lost in the life-size Corn Maze at Shryocks Callaway Farms. Open Fridays-Sundays through Nov. 4.

barbecue season in September with their 6th annual fest, and tailgating fans rejoiced in the hours spent smoking and roasting their own meat. Columbia has seen a growth in its

The 7th annual fall production of “Thirst,” featuring new works created by the Missouri Contemporary Ballet. Nov. 15-16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts.

barbecue restaurant options as well. Columbia mainstay Harpo’s recently revamped its menu and switched over to saucy ribs and chicken. Jefferson City favorite Lutz’s Famous BBQ

Trey just opened, a restaurant located in the locally-loved 21 N. 9th St. spot. Specializing in seasonal and regional fare, chef Trey Quinlan’s namesake restaurant reminds Columbians of a delicious Trattoria and Red & Moe’s mashup. Trey also serves brunch daily starting at 11 a.m.

has made its way across the mighty Missouri to appease Columbia fans. This abundance of barbecue in Columbia is flanked by great barbecue places in St. Louis and Kansas City as

October 12-14: Artrageous Fridays in The District. Local artists showcase the vast cultural offerings of the creative community.

well. For the more tenacious eater, drive a few famous Rendezvous dry-rubbed ribs.

Ellis Fischel’s annual Artful Bra contest fundraiser. Silent auction and reception to be held October 16 at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, 5:30 p.m.

Some other area barbecue spots to try are the Rooten Tooten trailer at 1205 N. Garth Ave., Shotgun Pete’s BBQ Shack at 28 N. 9th St. and Buckingham Smokehouse BBQ at 3804 Buttonwood Dr.

Lily Dawson has lived in Columbia for over 25 years and enjoys spending her time exploring this wonderful city. She serves as the associate publisher for Columbia Home.

hours east and south to Memphis for world-

columbiahomemagazine.com | 91

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wedding | Steinhoff-Harrelson

On a Precipice By Ellie H en s ley p hoto s by s ilverbox photo gr aphy Kristen Harrelson (née Steinhoff) jokes that when she first saw her husband, Tyler, in the architecture studio at the University of Kansas, he seemed “nerdy.” They were both hard-working freshmen up to their elbows in assignments, and it took them almost a year to realize they wanted to see each other outside the classroom. A few fraternity group dates later, Tyler invited Kristen to come watch his little league basketball team play at the local elementary school gym. She was flattered by the invitation and even more touched when she saw what a wonderful coach he was to the boys. “From the moment I saw Tyler lead these enthusiastic little kids around the court, I knew he was a keeper,” she says. “He won their hearts and mine.” In 2010 the couple moved to Boston, where Kristen got a job at an architecture firm and Tyler found work as the project manager for a contracting company. Discovering New England’s beautiful beaches, parks and hiking trails was one of Tyler’s favorite parts of the move, but Kristen was used to being more of an indoor girl. “When I met Tyler, he was definitely an outdoorsman, and I wasn’t,” she says. “But she’s getting better,” Tyler comes to her defense. “And at least she likes it.” They worked their way up to a three-day weekend hike in Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine, where there was one trail that Tyler was determined to conquer.

“The Precipice Trail, as it is called, is host to at least one serious injury or death per year, but I was able to convince Kristen that we were in great athletic shape and had nothing to worry about,” he says. Parts of the trail were definitely scary, especially to Kristen, who is afraid of heights, but they finally made it to the top. “The view was breathtaking, and we will never forget the teamwork that transpired for that most magnificent reward,” Tyler remembers. After surviving the treacherous hike, Tyler knew they could make it through anything together. So around Christmas, when the winter’s first snow storm made Kristen late getting home from work, he handed her her peacoat, led her up to the rooftop, popped open a bottle of champagne and asked her to reach inside her pocket. There she found a beautiful diamond ring, and as she looked up, he kneeled on the snowy deck and proposed. On June 9, 2012, Kristen and Tyler were married at the Firestone Baars Chapel at Stephens College in Columbia, Kristen’s hometown. They honeymooned in Costa Rica and then returned to Boston, where they originally planned to keep living and working, but they felt too far away from their family and friends in the Midwest. This September they moved to Prairie Springs, Kan., where they are excited to renovate their first house and build their new life together. columbiahomemagazine.com | 93

Let us Help You Update Your Home for the Holidays After

Before

After

Before

Beth Clark, OWNER Charles Clark, OWNER 573.489.0992 â&#x20AC;˘ charles@majestichomesandremodeling.com â&#x20AC;˘ majestichomesandremodeling.com 94 | october/november 2012

announcements | engagements

Love Stories

Three Columbia couples on the road to "I do"

By lily daws on

Molly Catherine O’Connell and Christopher Cody Willman

Molly O’Connell and Cody Willman were married August 25 at Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbia, MO. The ceremony was attended by 250 guests and performed by Monsignor Flanagan. Their reception was held at Reynolds Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Missouri, where the couple attended college. They each had six close friends and relatives in the bridal party. The couple met during their freshman year in college at MU at a fraternity party. A mutual friend introduced the two, and they started dating on April 1, 2005, which Cody jokes was all part of an elaborate April Fool’s joke. The pair lives in Kansas City where Molly works for Cerner Corporation and Cody for Farmers Insurance. Molly is the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth O’Connell of Columbia, MO, and Cody is the son of Paul and Sue Willman of Overland Park, KS.

Trisha Suzanne Becker and Steven Glen Farrow

Estelle Marie Hardnock and Frederick Anton Grove

Stella and Tony were both raised in Columbia and graduated from Hickman (Stella) and Rock Bridge (Tony) high schools. Though the same age, the pair only started dating in the fall of 2011. Tony is a 2009 graduate of Central Missouri State University and currently runs Grove Construction, while Stella has moved into a management role in her mother’s fashion-focused downtown boutique shop, My Sister’s Circus. The couple is planning a January 19, 2013, wedding at Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbia, MO, followed by a reception at Lela Raney Wood Hall. They love spending time together cheering on the Tigers at football games, meeting downtown for lunch and going out for rides on Tony’s motorcycle. Stella is the daughter of Celeste Ann Hardnock and Walt Hardnock and Tony is the eldest son of Bob and Carol Grove.

Trisha Becker and Steven Farrow are Columbia College graduates who have now transplanted themselves in Tempe, AZ. Trisha, daughter of Gary and Vivian Becker, is originally from Glasgow, MO, while Steven, son of Anne and Dan Farrow, hails from Columbia, MO. The couple is planning an August 10, 2013, wedding in Columbia at Trinity Lutheran Church, with a reception at the Tiger Hotel. Steven popped the question the day before Trisha’s college graduation day at the Becker’s bed-and-breakfast in Glasgow, MO. Trisha is now pursuing a law degree at Arizona State University and Steven works for State Farm Insurance. They have no set honeymoon plans yet, but are considering San Diego or Venice, FL.

Would you like to see your engagement featured in Columbia Home? Email your photo to Betsy@ColumbiaHomeMagazine.com columbiahomemagazine.com | 95

Welcome to the World Wesley David Coats P a r e n t s : Kourtney and Sarah Coats B i r t h w e i g h t : 6 pounds, 3 ounces

What's the funniest thing that's happened to you since becoming a mother? My husband was changing a diaper one afternoon, and I got “christened” clear across the room. What did you not expect that happened? His arrival! I was 36 weeks pregnant, and we went to Wichita to celebrate our 1st anniversary. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable and soon decided I might be in labor. We went to the nearest hospital (Wesley Medical Center, a mile or two from our hotel), and baby Wesley arrived an hour later! He was obviously in a hurry to join the party, and we thought it was pretty cool that he was born at the hospital that shares his name. Thank goodness we didn't try to make it home to deliver–he would have arrived on the side of the road!

Anderson Klein & Edyn Harper Hustedde Pa r e n t s :

Birth weights:

Blake Hustedde &

Anderson was 5 pounds, 5 ounces

Tiffany Anderson-Hustedde

Edyn was was 3 pounds, 14 ounces 3

What's the funniest thing that's happened to you since becoming a mother? During a particularly grueling sleep-deprived night my son needed to be redressed for the third time due a peeing spree. After the first two times of being peed on you would think I would have learned my lesson. In my distress I didn’t realized that I had dressed Anderson in his sister Edyn’s pink sleeping gown and went on with my morning. My husband greeted who he thought was our daughter due to the dainty little dress but was quickly surprised when our son cooed back at him. 96 | october/november 2012

Lukas Channing Jackson

Home Decor • Gifts

Pa r e n t s : Stephen and Andrea Jackson B i rt h w e i g h t: 8 pounds, 8 ounces

What has surprised you the most about being a mother? How quickly Lukas has grown and changed. Everyone has always told me that time goes so quickly with children, and each milestone that he reaches seems to surprise me.

Christmas Open House Nov. 2-4

What did you not expect that happened? I didn’t expect all the mothers in my family to be right about going through diapers so quickly! I don’t think any mother could ever have enough.

Seasonal accents Maclyn Nicole Hairston Pa r e n t s :

B i rt h w e i g h t:

Casey and Neisha Hairston

6 pounds, 8 ounces

What has surprised you the most about being a mother? With this being my 3rd, nothing really surprises me anymore!! But if I had to pick it would be how well the older two have adjusted to having a baby at home and how well they help take care of her. What's the funniest thing that's happened to you since becoming a mother? Watching my daughter Harper, 5, and son Reid, 3, interact with Maclyn, and seeing their take on things, is pretty funny.

Would you like to see your baby featured? Email your cutie to Betsy@ColumbiaHomeMagazine.com

S. Stewart Affordable Fine Living

HOME

Broadway Shops at Hwy. 63 & Broadway 2703 E Broadway Suite 127 | Open Mon-Sat 9-6

573 - 442-9131 columbiahomemagazine.com | 97

98 | october/november 2012

city scene

Uncorked: A Wine Experience

Robin & Tom May

Cale & Micki Kliethermes

Laura & Joel Kreisman

Pat & Karen Neylon, & Vance Allison & Glenn Leshaner Pat & Owen Jackson

Jason & Amanda Hoffman

John & Donna LaRocca

Ann Campion Riley & Dave Riley Scott & Michele Muroski

Uncorked: A Wine Experience was held August 17 at the MU Alumni Center. The fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club introduced partygoers to a variety of many wines from around the world.

Loretta & RD Ross

Leighanne & Zach Lamb

Darlene Huff

Jonathan Sessions & Carrie Gartner

columbiahomemagazine.com | 99

If there is any of my talent that seems good, if any of the photographs stir your heart, if any seem beautiful and lovely, if any seem praiseworthy or if anything that I say or do has a profound and positive effect on you, then I give all the credit, all the praise and all the glory to God and my saviour Jesus Christ, in whose name, and by no other name under heaven, is salvation found.

We ALWAYS give you all of the images on disk - no matter what kind of photo shoot it is.

www.do-photo-graphy.com

100 | october/november 2012

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

city scene

Magnificent Moms Party

REASON

#183

i Chose WilliaM Woods’

Jay, Thomas, Maclaine, Cooper & Shelli Thelen

Matt & Susan Bear

“

Cathy Anderson, Ainsley Stubbs, Heather Duren-Stubbs, Kerri Burrows, Deb & Steve Duren

Graduate sChool

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

MY MBA WAS ESSENTIAL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

TO MY CURRENT PROFESSIONAL

SUCCESS . UNIVERSITY PREPARED ME TO NOT ONLY WORK

WILLIAM WOODS

Sarah, Dominic, Jason & Isabelle Renteria

AS PART OF A TEAM, BUT TO BE THE

Aaron, Georgia, Nola & Betsy Bell

LEADER OF THAT TEAM .“ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sally, Lauren, Brayden, Meredith & Brad Blakemore

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Karen, Emma & Isaac Bentley

Mary, Sue, Ted & Jenny Kettlewell

Joseph, Linda & Isaac Vandepopuliere & Anastasia Pottinger

Chad, Sidney, Christy, Piper & Harrison Stretz

How many reasons will you have? Discover more. Christian Jones, MBa ’02

Rob, Alyssa & Laura Merson

Moberly Regional Medical Center CEO

Nola & Betsy Bell & Lily Dawson

The first ever Magnificent Moms Party to honor Columbia Home's top ten mothers took place August 29 at the Designer Kitchens and Baths showroom. The guests of honor were treated to refreshments, gift bags from local supporters and kind words from their family and friends.

WilliamWoods.edu/GraduateCollege 1.800.995.3199 columbiahomemagazine.com | 101

102 | october/november 2012

Home Bound Houdini

Age: 2 Â˝ years (male) BREED: Beagle Mix TEMPERAMENT: Pretty shy around new people and places. Seems laid back and independent. Wellbehaved dog. Neutered.

Lacy

Age: 9 years (female) BREED: Labrador Retriever TEMPERAMENT: Big baby! Loves toys and snuggling on the couch to watch TV. Needs some TLC. Super gentle and loving. Spayed.

Marshall

Age: 3 months (male) BREED: Domestic Short Hair TEMPERAMENT: Shy guy here at the shelter. Needs some gentle love to warm him up. Very cute, will be a great cat. Neutered.

Madonna

Age: 2 years (female) BREED: Domestic Short Hair TEMPERAMENT: Cuddly girl who loves to be close to her people. Spayed.

Imogene

Age: 1 year (female) BREED: Domestic Short Hair TEMPERAMENT: Sweet girl, a bit shy but comes right out with a bit of love.

These friendly faces are at the Central Missouri Humane Society. columbiahomemagazine.com | 103

ADVERTISER INDEX

“

It’s better to be looked over than over looked.

“

-Mae West

www.face.missouri.edu | 573.882.8333

Custom solutions for every room in your home. Call today 573.474.1072 Free, in-home consultations www.organizethatspace.com

104 | october/november 2012

Academy of Fine Arts.................................................................... 19 Como Realty.................................................................................... 19 Albright Heating & Air Conditioning....................................... 103 Andrew Stone Optometry..............................................................81 Angelique Photography............................................................... 42 Ann Tuckley Interiors.................................................................... 8 AnyTime Fitness............................................................................... 42 Bailey Cosmetic Surgery and Vein Centre'................................ 2 Boone County National Bank........................................................ 4 Boone Hospital................................................................................. 9 Boys and Girls Town of Missouri............................................... 12 Buchroeder's................................................................................ 108 Busenbark Carpet Outlet............................................................. 26 Calena's Fashions.......................................................................... 63 Carpet One......................................................................................... 5 Casey Buckman Photography..................................................... 72 Century 21 Advantage................................................................... 72 City of Columbia Water & Light................................................ 105 Columbia Facial & Plastic Surgery.......................................... 104 Columbia Parks & Rec Trade........................................................ 10 Columbia Pool & Spa......................................................................76 Commerce Bank................................................................................ 3 Concannon Plastic Surgery & Medical Spa....................... 88,74 David Owens Photography......................................................... 100 Dene Myers Designs....................................................................... 78 Designer Kitchens & Bath............................................................. 78 Diamond Banc..................................................................................41 Downtown Appliance.................................................................... 25 Dr Gregory Croll.......................................................................... 25 Dr Willett......................................................................................... 67 Dryer's Shoe Store........................................................................ 88 Dungarees....................................................................................... 62 Fechtel Beverage & Sales Inc...................................................... 18 Five Guys......................................................................................... 105 Fletcher Auto Group..................................................................... 60 Girl.................................................................................................... 37 Hello BT Tour.................................................................................. 85 Hockman Interior Design............................................................. 53 The Home Store............................................................................... 64 Innovative Designs.........................................................................76 Interior Design Associates........................................................ 100 Isle of Capri.....................................................................................81 Jina Yoo's Asian Bistro.................................................................. 67 Joe Machens Ford.......................................................................... 54 Johnston Paint & Decorating Direct......................................... 62 Kliethermes Homes........................................................................ 14 Landmark Bank............................................................................. 107 Laser Body Sculpting................................................................... 28 Lifestyles Furniture..................................................................... 68 MacBrooks...................................................................................... 53 Majestic Homes............................................................................... 94 Mary Moss....................................................................................... 33 McAdams Limited............................................................................ 94 Mid-City Lumber Co........................................................................ 83 Midwest Remodeling................................................................... 102 Missouri Contemporary Ballet.................................................. 36 Organize that Space.................................................................... 104 Petals for You.................................................................................76 Ragtag Theater............................................................................... 98 S. Stewart & Co., LLC...................................................................... 97 Shelter Ins. Agent - Mike Messer.............................................. 102 Smarr Custom Homes................................................................... 82 Studio Home.................................................................................... 90 Studio J Home LLC........................................................................... 25 Swank Boutique.............................................................................. 32 Tallulah's........................................................................................ 64 Taylor Allen Photography.......................................................... 98 The French Laundry & Alterations............................................ 30 The Tiger Hotel............................................................................... 40 Tiger Family Chiropractic & Wellness Center..........................71 Truescape Landscaping................................................................ 68 University of Missouri Healthcare............................................. 6 We Always Swing Jazz.................................................................... 96 William Woods University...........................................................101 Williams and Associates Eyecare................................................ 7 Wilson's Fitness..............................................................................11 Wine Cellar and Bistro................................................................. 92 World Harvest Foods................................................................... 63 Columbia Home & Lifestyle magazine is published by The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, Mo., 65202. (573) 499-1830. Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

columbiahomemagazine.com | 105

the last word | Leigh Lockhart

Just Start Cooking At Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café the focus is food that betters the body — while tasting pretty amazing. By L e i g h Lo ck h a rt | photo by Whitney Hayward Sitting at the juice bar, a customer who works in health care smiles when he refers to Main Squeeze as “the clinic.” I laugh, and we toast the sentiment with a glass of my favorite green elixir, Regenerate Your Life, freshly juiced apple, celery, cucumber, cilantro and kale. It’s the best tasting medicine I’ve ever had. When I channeled my passion for juicing and vegetarian cooking into creating Main Squeeze 15 years ago, I didn’t regard food as medicine; rather it was just one of the human pleasures meant to satisfy my belly and my palate (and apparently my compulsion for buying kitchen gadgetry). Over the years, though, it’s been impossible to ignore the connection between the horrifying changes in our food system and the rising rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

What have they done to my food, Ma? Grocery stores are full of crazy foods your grandma wouldn’t understand: apples soaked in artificial grape flavoring, pancakes stuffed with sausage on a stick, strawberries that avoided frost by being modified with genes from an arctic fish, pink slime. And unless you’re in New York City, you’re welcome to wash it all down with your favorite fountain drink by the gallon. How did we go from sourcing most of our foods close by, eating what’s in season and preparing meals at home to gobbling up the infamous Double Down sandwich at the drive-thru? Government subsidies of giant agribusiness (read “people who do not care about your health”), tireless marketing efforts to convince us we need a product because we don’t have time to eat right and the processed food industry’s dedication to smartly packaged, nutritionally empty foods are to blame. Thankfully we are a bright bunch, and we are figuring it out.

We want to trust our food. Folks come to Main Squeeze for different reasons: students grabbing a 100 percent fruit smoothie between classes, people 106 | october/november 2012

who watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and are now juice fasting, moms and dads who care a lot about what their kids eat, folks with food allergies, vegans, busy professionals and athletes who know eating healthy improves their performance and people like me who are frustrated and disappointed by the quality and healthfulness of a lot of the food out there. We want to trust our food. Of course loads of folks come in just because the food is fresh and, well, tastes really good. But the most unexpected group of customers, those who have surely changed me and over the years my menu, are those who are fighting: to lose weight, to manage a chronic health condition, to rehabilitate after a health crisis. And some are fighting for their lives. These are the people who have raised my level of food consciousness to its current point. These individuals have made a commitment to use the food they eat every day to combat their illness and regain their health. It’s been uplifting, deeply depressing and awesome to watch the struggles and successes of people who have taken control of every aspect of their wellness including what they eat. They have educated me, and it’s truly an honor to play a small part in their journey. Last October I lost a dear customer to cancer. The last meal she requested was from Main Squeeze. The enormity of that responsibility sat with me for weeks and had a lot to do with our latest menu revision. I stopped thinking, “People won’t eat kale” and started just making really delicious kale dishes. I stopped thinking, “People won’t pay the price increases if we buy more organic food” and increased our menu to 80 percent organic. I just started cooking and stopped thinking — except about my friend and so many like her. It’s a great life when you get to do what you love. It’s even more perfect when it has a small positive effect on those who make it possible. And Main Squeeze is having our best year ever. Leigh Lockhart is the owner of Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café, located at 28 S. Ninth St. in Columbia.

columbiahomemagazine.com | 107

Columbia home | 2001 Corporate Place, Ste. 100 | Columbia, MO 65202

108 | october/november 2012

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