A trip to the local grocery store!

Forsyth MO. - It was mid-March, 2020 and at about 10AM on a Wednesday, I made the decision to go to a local Country Mart Grocery store for some supplies...

The coronavirus was still raging all across the continental landscape. While, here in Missouri, there were only 16 cases out of a population of 6 million with no one yet dying! Although to hear the folks at CNN talk, this virus was going to be the end of the world as we know it. OK, then... I guess that's that. It must be true. Because, how often are those folks ever caught lying? Just saying.

I arrived at the store at about 9:20 AM and my first impression was that, while the store looked busy, it didn't look like there was much in the way of panic buying going on. If nothing else, it felt more like a typical weekend morning... Busy, but really not impressively so.

As I meandered my way through the isles, my first stop took me to the pharmaceutical section for a bottle of mouthwash and a few bars of soap. (Yes, just plain old soap). I noticed that where there was a generic selection available, that was what customers were buying. The Brand names were pretty much left sitting on the shelf. (That was something that showed up again and again as I shopped).

Next, it was onto the Produce Department where I grabbed some apples and an onion. I also noted that the large ten pound bags of potatoes was almost gone even as the smaller five pound bags were in ample supply. Everything else about that department seemed pretty normal.  I did overhear one of the store personnel remark that TP was hard to come by, and I wondered in passing, what the connection was between the virus and TP?  (Hint: There is none).

As I passed the canned goods isle, I glanced down the isles and noted that a lot of customers seemed to gravitate towards the purchase of corn! Why was that true, for God's sake? Perhaps, it was on sale. From a strictly nutritional standpoint, corn is not all that energy dense. (Nowhere like potatoes are). [As an aside; I would think that a collage post-grad might want to do some research on what people buy in stores like this during a time of a 'pseudo' crisis.] I call this crisis 'pseudo' based on the incidence of infection by the coronavirus being at about .00026% of the Missouri population. (If people wanted to be afraid of something, let them worry more about the regular flu which has hit the country pretty hard this season)!

When I finally made my way to the checkout area, I witnessed a group of ladies who looked pretty tired even at such an early hour, Hey! If you're planning on shopping at a grocery store, over the next couple of weeks, please consider slipping your checkout person a few bucks to help brighten their day....

As I stepped out of the store and headed for my car, the sun was breaking through the clouds and you could feel spring just about to burst out all over the place. I realized that things were going to be just fine and that all I really needed to do (besides washing my hands) was to keep the TV tuned to some old movie while bypassing the media talking heads and the politicians who were desperately trying to; score points, enhance the sense of panic and to throw taxpayer money at a problem that was going to very likely clear up like the early morning mist on a summer day.



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Doc Holidays Pawn!

Forsyth MO. - I stopped over at Doc Holiday's - a local pawn shop located at 15261 US-160 when coming into town from the north, as I wanted to purchase some ammo and also to look to see if they had a small Glock semi-auto in the 9mm caliber. I was getting tired of carrying a 40 caliber Model 19 Glock and desired something a little lighter. Cody the manager had a slightly used model in the back which I wanted to think about.

The store, which has all sorts of sport related and other forms of equipment, including guitars, has been around for a number of years and was actually fun to browse on an otherwise cool Tuesday in March. I'd just gotten done voting at the Baptist church on Hwy 76 and felt the mood to explore a bit before heading home to watch more stuff about the growing threat of the pandemic caused by a coronavirus.

Finally, a good tasting coleslaw!

Forsyth MO. - After searching for years to find a commercially prepared coleslaw that I could actually tolerate, I cam across a 15 ounce container made by Reser's. It was located in a cold case next to Deli counter at the Country Mart store in Forsyth. It sold for three dollars and change and was pretty darn tasty!

Charlie's was under contract to sell!

Forsyth MO - Charlie's Steak Ribs and Ale, a popular steakhouse located on the corner of Hwy 160 and Y was under contract to be sold with a closing date set for Friday, March 6th. Unfortunately, that fell through according to a spokesperson for the company that represents the property. So, it's now back on the market!

Forsyth Long Horn Update

I was able to drive by the former Long Horn and grabbed a quick pic. Yep, it was up for lease again! This happening after a guy named Jimmy dumped a lot of money into the establishment including the purchase of a new sign. (Maybe Italiano Jimmy was called back to Italy to get more pasta)....

Sonic and McD burgers!

Forsyth Mo. - February was not a particularly good month to embark on any kind of diet, as I recently discovered. It's generally cold and there's not much to do other than eat. So, of course, my thoughts always turn to one of food right about noontime. On this day, I decided to head out and grab a burger at McD's, but then had second thoughts. My last purchase of a Big Mac and a medium French fry was $7.56. I thought that was a bit much, and so altered my course to head over to the local Sonic instead.

When I got there, I ordered a Cheeseburger and medium fry at a cost of $7.13. Nutritionally the Big Mac and the Sonic Cheeseburger are pretty close with the Big Mac being a tad more diet friendly. 

The upshot of this was me thinking that is really comes down to a matter of taste and frequency. I planned to allow myself only once such visit a month in the future.

Mid Winter 2020 Forsyth restaurant news!

Forsyth MO. - Winter is a particularly hard time for many small business owners and especially for restaurants! I mean who wants to go out in crummy weather? At right is an impromptu listing of most of the food emporiums that existed within the city limits of Forsyth Missouri as of this post. Out of the total of twelve, 2 are closed with one re-opening soon.

One of the surprises for me, was the Hong Kong Express which I had avoided even though it had been open for some time. When I entered the venue for the first time, I was struck by two things right off the bat; it was very clean looking and the smell of food were out of this world. I asked for and got a take home men. I then wandered over to the buffet which was very clean with food that looked freshly prepared (the time was 2:30PM when I visited). I also learned from the manager that they have both combo platters and individual selections of beef and chicken dishes.

Everything on the menu looked to cost roughly 7 to 8 dollars, to order as meals, with the cost of the buffet (all you can eat?) unknown to me as I forgot to ask. That situation will be soon corrected when I next go there to actually order some food! The establishment offers a 'Dine In Take Out Drive Thru' range of choices with home delivery being available after a certain hour on meals cost over $10 for just $1.99 (not counting tip). Any interested party can give them a call at 417-546-2424 to verify the above information.  I plan to do a food review on this establishment in the near future and will have a link to that post here. One thing I did take note of was that anything on the menu that had the word 'Hunan' meant that it was spicy or hot! There are also little hot pepper icons next to any dish that could be considered hot.

Two other locations that I hope to visit fairly soon will be the Williams Mountain Pizza venue which I've heard also serves up some great pasta dishes and Yummy Donuts - Both of these will be getting full reviews also.

There was no word on when the former Long Horn Family Dining location was going to reopen other than that its new name was The Family Forsyth Restaurant. Also, the long delayed opening of the Shadowrock Bar and Grill is somewhat of a question mark.

The only other news of any import was the announcement that the Frosted Mug was planning to hold a 35th Anniversary party on April the 2nd. The theme was going to be the 80's with a DJ and specials on food and drinks being planned.

A late breaking rumor had it that Charlie's - the popular restaurant located on Hwy 160 and Y had been sold and was to re-open as a steak house. I had not confirmed this rumor as of yet.

Local restaurant news!

Forsyth Mo. - A few news tidbits concerning restaurants in town.

Long Horn - Apparently the Long Horn will re-open soon as they had a sign to that effect posted on their billboard which read The Forsyth Family Restaurant.

Update: Jan 30 - I did get a chance to talk to a man named Jimmy, an Italian who will be re-opening the restaurant 'soon'. He told me very little other than that they had finished hiring.

McD's - The McDonald's located at the intersection of Hwy 160 and Coy was still cranking along when I stopped there recently and ordered a Big Breakfast to go. The cost of $4.43 was acceptable for this 750 calorie meal a deal. At least to me it was.

Frosted Mug - Other than the Super Bowl Blowout planned for Feb 2, the Mug will also be offering a special Valentines Day meal for two at just $24.95 on Feb 14. I was unsure if the Stella beers were part of this deal and failed to ask.Update: I was told that the $3.75 beers were not part of the deal. Perhaps love means also buying your girl a Stella!

Charlie's Steak, Ribs and Ale - One recent rumor had it that this establishment that had been up for sale for a number of years was sold! I had not confirmed this as of Feb 9, 2020.