Best of Rural Missouri 2024

Annual contest reveals favorites of Rural Missouri readers

For more than two decades, the wonderful readers of Rural Missouri have shared what they love most about the Show-Me State. This 21st edition of the contest received thousands of responses from across the state highlighting what makes Missouri such a great place in which to live and explore.

Each category has a first place, second place and editors’ choice. Readers who submitted their choices for every category in the online ballot were entered in a sweepstakes to win a $500 Visa gift card to use at whatever Missouri destination they enjoy most. This year’s winner is Jeannie Werner of Bloomsdale who is a member of Citizens Electric.

Across the 18 categories for the 2024 contest, you’ll see some first-time winners, as well as many return honorees. Be sure to print off a copy of the map at the end to use as road-trip inspiration this year (as always call ahead or go online to make sure business hours match your plans). We’ll also display these pages in the Missouri Electric Cooperatives Building during the Missouri State Fair in August. Don’t forget to stop by and see us.

RESTAURANT

1st: Beks, Fulton; 573-592-7117

Diners with discerning taste flock to Beks in downtown Fulton for their delicious menu offerings and inviting atmosphere. Garry and Rebekah Vaught opened Beks on Valentine’s Day 2005 and today executive chef Danny Proctor serves up his take on elevated entrees and signature specials in the heart of the Brick District. At lunch, customer favorites include the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich and Beks Burger. Come dinner, Danny prepares a variety of specials inspired by everything from what’s fresh to the day’s weather. Diners can expect entrees from a cracker-crusted walleye to mussels over pasta to a duck breast with currents, orange, fennel and marsala sauce topped with goat-cheesed stuffed peppadews (pictured). “I like cooking the things I’m strong at and then finding new dishes I’ve never done before,” Danny says.

2nd: 1808 Public House, Doniphan; 573-996-9797

Editors’ Choice: Cole’s Hearth Room, Palmyra; 573-776-2056

PIZZA

1st: Brooklyn Pizza, Fulton; 573-642-1122

Whether you get it by the slice or an entire 16-inch pie, it’s definitely from Brooklyn! For nearly a dozen years, Brooklyn Pizza has served the authentic New York-style pizza owner Brian Atkins grew up eating in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. Brian and his team at Brooklyn Pizza don’t stray too far from tradition, using fresh ingredients, hand-tossed dough and whole-milk mozzarella. Pepperoni is one of their most popular toppings, and you can’t go wrong getting it on a Sicilian pie. The 16-inch square pizza is cut into a dozen slices and features a thicker crust that is soft and chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Other popular pies include the White Spinach with white ricotta sauce, mozzarella and plenty of fresh spinach on top and the Missouri Pie with ground pork and beef, green peppers, onions and garlic.

2nd: Pizza Glen, Clinton; 660-885-8021

Editors’ Choice: Firehouse 54, Eagleville; 660-867-5472

BBQ

1st: Blind Hog BBQ, Tipton; 573-353-8936

A visit to Blind Hog BBQ is reminiscent of your grandpa’s weekend family barbecue. Wholesome ingredients are cooked low and slow, the portions are hearty and the focus is on the food. Owner Adam Libbert has spent his career in the food industry and six years ago he opened his mostly drive-thru restaurant on the main drag in Tipton. “Pork steaks are definitely the cornerstone of the menu,” he says. “Our pork steaks are so tender you can cut them with a plastic fork.” Beyond the flavorful pork steaks, customers can sink their teeth into pulled pork, ribs, chicken or brisket. Or you can opt for a nonbarbecue main dish, such as taco salad on Thursdays or fish on Fridays. A handful of homemade sides round out your meal. Beyond pickup and drive-thru orders, Blind Hog BBQ is available for wedding and event catering.

2nd: Sweet Smoke BBQ, Jefferson City; 573-761-0617

Editors’ Choice: Strawberry’s BBQ, Holcomb; 573-792-9689

ONION RINGS

1st: Pear Tree Kitchen & Bar, Macon; 660-385-1500

The perfect process makes the perfect onion rings, according to Michael Abbadessa. He would know. His restaurant, Pear Tree Kitchen & Bar, sells 500 to 600 orders a week. “The whole process is done by hand and the onion rings are seasoned with our original Pear Tree Magic Dust seasoning,” he says. Each day, one employee slices onions all day long. Another two bread the rings, and then two others drop the rings into the fryers until they are the perfect golden brown. Finally, another employee stacks nine rings for a small order or 18 for a large. This legendary appetizer is great paired with a batter-dipped pork tenderloin sandwich or a batter-dipped lobster tail, both of which use the same breading as the onion rings. Or opt for the restaurant’s signature dishes of steak, fish and pasta.

2nd: Anvil Saloon & Restaurant, Ste. Genevieve; 573-880-7060

Editors’ Choice: Ecco Lounge, Jefferson City; 573-636-8751

CATFISH

1st: The Catfish Cafe, Buffalo; 417-345-1277

It’s no surprise catfish is king at The Catfish Cafe in Buffalo. John and Lisa Phillips opened the restaurant in 2019 after John spent 15 years perfecting his fried catfish skills from his mentor, Gary Dyer, in Lebanon. The Catfish Cafe’s award-winning meals start with fresh, farm-raised catfish from Mississippi that is lightly seasoned with white cornmeal and John’s propriety spice blend. Like your catfish between two slices of bread? There’s a trio of options with a catfish sandwich, catfish club and catfish po’boy. Catfish dinners are served with fries and coleslaw and come with three, five or seven pieces. You can make your catfish spicy for $1 more. If you’re particularly peckish, John offers all-you-can-eat dinners featuring his catfish and more. “Catfish is what I’ve done since I was 20 years old,” he says. “We were excited to bring that to Buffalo.”

2nd: Frank’s Fish Shack, Clinton; 660-492-6444

Editors’ Choice: Hyde-A-Way Catfish Inn, Broseley; 573-785-9200 

BAKERY

1st: Koehn Bakery, Butler; 660-679-6221

You can’t go wrong with an order at Koehn Bakery, but that doesn’t mean it will be an easy decision. This business, which has roots back to the early 1980s, is everything you want in a bakery. A smorgasbord of donuts and cinnamon rolls are baked fresh every morning. Or, if you want a savory breakfast, go for a sausage roll or biscuits and gravy. Beyond breakfast, you can enjoy a deli menu of sandwiches, subs and wraps (the owner strongly recommends the chicken salad). Indulge your sweet tooth with their bakery menu, which includes several types of cookies and cake or around a dozen varieties of pie, which can include gooseberry, strawberry, pecan, raisin and even minced meat. This bakery is focused on recipes that stand the test of time and volume — the bakery’s two ovens can simultaneously bake up to 125 pies.

2nd: The Rolling Pin, Glasgow; 660-338-0800

Editors’ Choice: The Little Clay House, Marshfield; 417-468-1070

BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH

1st: Home Town Diner, Hermitage, 417-912-6704

If you leave Home Town Diner hungry, it’s your own fault. Rich and Joy Porter traded in their concession business for a brick and mortar in 2020 and have been serving sweet and savory breakfasts since. Options include breakfast staples such as homemade biscuits and gravy and breakfast sandwiches. For a breakfast that will surely fill you up, choose the Mountaineer Skillet. Skillet potatoes are cooked with sausage, green peppers, onions, cheese and eggs and the whole dish is smothered in gravy. The oversized four-egg supreme omelet comes with your choice of meat, peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheese and is served with biscuits and gravy or taters and toast. Satisfy your sweet tooth with one of Joy’s housemade waffles generously topped with strawberries or pecans.

2nd: Bourbon Café and Coffee Saloon, Bourbon; 573-668-0108

Editors’ Choice: Mary Jane’s Cafe, Warrensburg; 660-429-1596

FOOD TRUCK

1st: Mudcat Mobile, Oak Ridge; 573-382-2642

Down-home cooking is on the menu at Mudcat Mobile. This food truck has roots as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Oak Ridge, owned by Rebecca and Ronald Moore. The couple now offers their made-from-scratch entrees to customers in several locations around southeast Missouri. “Our menu changes depending on location,” Rebecca says. Burgers are the main fare. You can choose a classic bacon cheeseburger or take it up a notch with the Rodeo, which includes beer-battered onion rings and barbecue sauce. Or go for the Mac Attack, which is a cheeseburger topped with macaroni and cheese, bacon and queso. The menu can also include chicken sandwiches, rice bowls, nachos, quesadillas and smoked wings. See their schedule and menu on Facebook.

2nd: Atomic Hog BBQ, Clinton; 660-525-6354

Editors’ Choice: Zydeco’s Cajun Kitchen Food Truck, Moberly; 660-693-3544

WINERY, BREWERY OR DISTILLERY

1st: Stone Hill Winery, Hermann; 573-486-2221

Missouri’s wine tradition spans 180 years and today includes 126 wineries. Few, however, have as much tradition and innovation as Hermann’s Stone Hill Winery, established in 1847. Stone Hill was the state’s largest winery and the second largest in the nation at one time. Prohibition shut it down, but in 1965 Jim and Betty Held began restoring the winery to its former glory. Today the Held family continues to produce award-winning wines in the cavernous Stone Hill cellars. Their wines run the gamut from sweet to dry, with bottles of red, white, rose, sparkling, dessert and even sangria. Stone Hill offers tours, tastings, a museum and a fine-dining experience at its Vintage 1847 Restaurant.

 2nd: Logboat Brewing Co., Columbia; 573-397-6786

Editors’ Choice: Holladay Distillery, Weston; 816-640-3056

BED AND BREAKFAST

1st: The Inn at Hermannhof, Hermann; 573-486-5199

Travel back to the 1800s while enjoying all the comforts of modern life with a stay at The Inn at Hermannhof. The B&B features eight unique guest rooms that each offer two fireplaces, a two-person jetted tub and a four-poster king bed. Breakfast is served downstairs in the historic Festhalle. The owners also have six hillside cottages that include 20 rooms, plus four house rentals that can accommodate up to 10. Amtrak stops right at the back corner of the inn and the city trolley can take you to area attractions, including the numerous world-renowned wineries. Many of the inn’s staff members are local to Hermann and can serve as spur-of-the-moment tour guides and experts, pointing you to historical sites, boutique shopping, delicious restaurants, carriage rides and more.

2nd: School House Bed & Breakfast, Rocheport; 573-698-2022

Editors’ Choice: Hawkins House B&B, Eminence; 573-772-0095

LONG WEEKEND GETAWAY

1st: Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale; 800-225-6343

For getaways short or long, look no further than Big Cedar Lodge. You can experience big-city amenities and attractions in rural southwest Missouri. The 4,600-acre lakeside retreat connects you to the relaxing outdoors. During your stay, you can visit the world-class golf courses, take a boat out on Table Rock Lake, enjoy a concert at the amphitheater in Thunder Ridge Nature Arena or simply relax at Cedar Creek Spa. A short drive away is Dogwood Canyon, a 10,000-acre nature park offering horseback riding, hiking and biking. For dining, visitors have more than a dozen options. The lodge offers 262 rooms, or you can opt for glamping, private cabins or cottages. Groups are welcome, and guests have access to swimming pools, beaches, canoes, mini golf and a fitness center.

2nd: Hermann; 573-486-2313

Editors’ Choice: Cape Girardeau; 573-335-2313

ROADSIDE ATTRACTION

1st: Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store, St. Robert; 833-487-2687

Fans of road trips and tongue-in-cheek jokes will not be disappointed by a stop at Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store. With everything from a sideshow museum to 80 flavors of taffy to an 18-hole mini-golf course, it is the ultimate roadside attraction. Plus, there’s fudge. You can choose from around a dozen flavors of fudge that is made fresh daily and cut to order. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the Funkyard, which is an open area with vintage trucks, giant dinosaurs, a red double-decker bus and plenty of props for selfies. You can also gaze at the world’s largest belt buckle, which measures 13 feet wide and 10 feet high. For those who want to remember this funky pitstop, you can buy one-of-a-kind gifts, toys and Route 66 souvenirs. Just be ready for loads of middle-school humor.

2nd: Osceola Cheese, Osceola; 417-646-8131

Editors’ Choice: The Big Pump, King City; 660-483-0637

STATE PARK OR HISTORIC SITE

1st: Elephant Rocks State Park, Belleview; 573-546-3454

Be ready to feel small at Elephant Rocks State Park. This awe-inspiring collection of geologic formations is a natural playground for children and adults. The elephant-shaped boulders were formed from 1.5-billion-year-old red granite and stand end-to-end like a parade of circus elephants. The largest, appropriately dubbed “Dumbo,” weighs in at a truly massive 680 tons. An easy way to see the rocks is via the Braille Trail, which was designed for people with visual and physical disabilities. Don’t miss Fat Man’s Squeeze, which is a narrow gap between two boulders, or The Maze, which is a 100-foot section of scattered boulders. This park is the perfect place for picnics, field trips and family fun.

2nd: Meramec State Park, Sullivan; 573-468-6072

Editors’ Choice: Watkins Mill State Park, Lawson; 816-580-3387

KID-FRIENDLY ATTRACTION

1st: Appleton City Carousel, Appleton City; 660-476-5857

It’s hard to imagine a better place to take the kids than the Appleton City Carousel. The carousel previously made the trip to Appleton City with a traveling carnival. That ended with the death of the owner in 2019. But Linda Lampkin purchased the ride and set it up as a nonprofit organization so all could enjoy its colorful menagerie that includes eight animals and 10 horses. The price to ride is whatever people want to pay, as long as it’s bills and you don’t want change. It’s housed inside an octagonal building with seven garage doors that open to allow for a breezy ride. “I built the carousel to help the town,” Linda says. “The day it opened two other businesses opened too.” It is open weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

2nd: St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis; 314-781-0900

Editor’s Choice: Wild Animal Safari, Strafford; 417-859-5300

EVENT OR FESTIVAL

1st: Apple Butter Makin’ Days, Mt. Vernon; 417-466-7654

More than 100,000 visitors will flock once again to the courthouse square in Mt. Vernon on Oct. 11 to 13 for the community’s annual Apple Butter Makin’ Days. Of course, the headline of the event is the hours of stirring apple butter in copper kettles. Beyond this homage to a tasty tradition, the free and family-friendly attraction offers hundreds of booths selling handmade crafts and fair-style food. Live entertainment takes center stage all weekend long, and a variety of contests from bubble gum blowing to nail driving to husband calling gives nearly every talent imaginable a place to shine. You can test your favorite recipe in the apple pie baking contest and even meet the freshly crowned Apple Butter Queen. Plus, the accompanying parade is one of the largest in southwest Missouri.

2nd: Missouri State Fair, Sedalia; 800-422-3247

Editors’ Choice: Azalea Festival, Fredericktown; 573-944-2237

CAVE

1st: Fantastic Caverns, Springfield; 417-833-2010

Just outside of Missouri’s Queen City are the natural underground wonders created by the constant drip of acidic water through soluble limestone at Fantastic Caverns. Guests ride through the 1-mile show cave in a tram pulled by a bright red Jeep. The one-hour tour shows off the features of the cave including stalagtites and stalagmites, columns with colorful mineral stains, large deposits of flowstone and delicate draperies. The cave was discovered by a farmer’s dog in 1862, however the farmer kept quiet as he didn’t want the cave exploited by Union or Confederate troops. Five years later, a dozen members of the Springfield Women’s Athletic Club responded to a newspaper ad and became the first people to explore the cave. The cave is 60 degrees year-round.

2nd: Meramac Caverns, Sullivan; 573-468-2283

Editors’ Choice: Stark Caverns, Eldon; 573-867-2283

MUSIC VENUE

1st: Ozarks Amphitheater, Camdenton; 573-346-0000

One of the largest outdoor venues in the Midwest is nestled in the heart of the Lake of the Ozarks. This 10,000-seat venue offers fans concerts under the stars with big-time music acts. Concertgoers and sound engineers are amazed by the top-notch acoustics, says Mary Kay von Brendel, director of operations at the amphitheater. “The architecture of the stage set perfectly in the hills makes our acoustics second to none,” she says. “It is fun to watch the engineers when they do their signature clap to check sound quality and watch their faces light up as they realize the extraordinary sound quality.” Plus, the gentle slope of the seating means you can see the stage from anywhere. For 2024, headliners include Gary Allan, Whiskey Myers, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night and Warrant.

2nd: The Blue Note, Columbia; 573-874-1944

Editors’ Choice: Wildwood Springs Resort, Steelville; 573-775-2400

BOUTIQUE SHOPPING

1st: The Country Closet, Carl Junction; 417-438-9334

In Carl Junction, the ultimate boutique shopping experience awaits. Owned by mother-daughter team, Brenda Waterman and Brianna Schaeffer, The Country Closet is a one-of-a-kind boutique and florist that’s been in business since 1996. Shoppers can find everything from women’s clothing to home décor to jewelry to seasonal decorations to candles. For kids, you’ll find clothes, toys, puzzles and more. They also offer a large selection of greeting cards to complete your gifting needs. The floral part of the business includes custom arrangements, wedding flowers, corsages and more. Many shoppers return again and again to find the perfect gift for someone or themselves. The Country Closet is open Wednesday to Saturday.

2nd: Red Door Boutique, Rolla; 573-308-9921

Editors’ Choice: Willow + Elm, Maryville; 660-227-0335

Click here for a printable version of the map.

Best of Rural Missouri Hall of Fame

During the 21-year history of the Best of Rural Missouri contest, some restaurants, places and people have emerged as perennial favorites among readers. Last year we created a Hall of Fame for these top picks. The list below highlights those entries which have received five or more first-place wins during the history of the statewide contest. We’ll include our Best of Rural Missouri Hall of Fame each year and hopefully we’ll add to the list. Be sure to include them in your plans of great places to visit, eat and explore.

Hall of Fame:

Missouri Hick Bar-B-Que, Cuba, 573-885-6791

Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Camdenton, 573-346-2986

St. James Winery, St. James, 800-280-9463

Silver Dollar City, Branson, 417-336-7100

Branson, explorebranson.com

Lake of the Ozarks, funlake.com