A steak and egg throw down!

While I would never be confused with Bobby Flay as a chef, I can still hold my own as a judge of good food. (Mainly because I eat so much of it)!

Two local establishments in Forsyth Missouri offer up a classic steak and egg menu item that contains; a 6 oz steak, two eggs, hash browns and your choice of bread. Both Fat Daddy's and Charlie's Ribs Steak and Ale are popular hangouts for both locals as well as visitors who come to the area. Both are well established and each is unique in its own way. I think Fat Daddy's specializes in smoked meat dishes while Charlie's has a fine bar that offers up home brewed ales. But, today I wanted to compare a single menu item that is ordered quite often at both locales, the ubiquitous Steak and Eggs platter.

Fat Daddy's

Of the two locations, I feel that Fat Daddy's is the more down home of the two. Everything about this venue smacks of a small town eatery experience. Something that's getting harder for me to find every year. I've eaten there fairly often in the past and have never had a bad eating experience. Their food is consistently of a very high quality and the service is impeccable.

Charlie's Rib Steak & Ale

By contrast, I've always felt Charlie's is the more 'modern' of the two. In size, it appears much larger in terms of seating capacity although if you were to count Fat Daddy's lower level I think they'd turn out about the same. Charlie's also supports a full bar, so if you want to have something like a glass of wine with your meal, then it's the place to go.

So, all in all, I think both establishments are complimentary to each other. Now, what about the food? Well, in a head to head comparison, here's how I scored the dishes:

1. The Eggs – I ordered up my eggs sunny side up at both establishments as you can see in the picture. Fat Daddy's was done to perfection, while Charlie's was a little bit brown on the bottom side. My point for the eggs goes to Fat Daddy's.
2. The Toast – Both were done perfectly and were offered with jelly. No points to either side.
3. The Hash Browns – This was a very close deal as both were awesome in terms of taste. However, for some reason I liked Fat Daddy's ab it more. A point to Fat Daddy's.
4. The Steak – In both cases I ordered my steak to be cook rare and that's pretty much what I got. While both venues offer a 6 ounce steak, Charlie's comes off looking more like a true steak than does the flatter offering from Fat Daddy's. While both were tasty to eat, I give the one served at Charlie's the edge. Point awarded to Charlie's.

So, the score was Fat Daddy's = 2 Charlie's = 1. But, there's one more criteria I wish to bring up; the price and it's worth 2 bonus points!

Fat Daddy's offering cost $11.59 while Charlie's was only $7.99. That's a 31% cost difference in my book and so I'm awarding 2 points to Charlie's for a final score of 3 to 2. The bottom line; both establishments are worth your while to check out and frequent. Sure, Fat Daddy's may cost a little more for some items, but on the whole, I feel they offer a bit more depth of selection than does Charlie's. I'd urge my readers to make up their own minds by going out and visiting both!

From Fat Daddy's online menu

Update: June 2014 - There's yet another sit down eatery now in Forsyth MO that offers  a steak and eggs platter and that would be the Longhorn Family Dining restaurant located at 16093 US Hwy 160 (or right across from Fat Daddy's). They serve a 5 oz sirloin, hash browns, 2 eggs, toast or biscuits and gravy for $7.89. I plan to do a write up on this meal soon and will post a link here! Note that as breakfast selections Charlie's and Fat Daddy's prices remained the same!

Update: February 2016 -  After some slight delay (ahem), I've decided to make my way over to the Long Horn to sample their Steak and Eggs offering. I've noted that the price advertised online for Fat Daddy's has remained the same while a similar 5 oz steak meal (aka Cattle Rustler) had increased to $8.39.

A new store to open in Forsyth! Doc Holiday's!

A new store appears to be getting ready to open called Doc Holiday's. It's located just to the north of the National Enzyme Company on Hwy 160 on what used to be the outskirts of Forsyth Missouri. I drove by the place but could not find anyone there with any information other than what is posted on the front of the building. So, is this going to be a fancy pawn shop or will be be a combination pawn shop and general store. It'll be interesting to see. I'm guessing that they will put up some information on one of the store windows at some point to let curious folks like myself know what to expect. Also, from the looks of things inside, I'd hazard a guess that they'll open sometime in June!

River Run Park now open for the 2013 season!

The 2013 season for River Run Park located close to Forsyth Missouri, at 138 River Run Road
Forsyth MO 65653, opened this morning as work crews finished work on the on-site bathrooms and showers so they would be ready for use by park customers.Everything else looks good to go!

The two park attendants, Sue and Harold, can be reached at 417-546-3646 during regular hours. I stopped by to see them earlier on the day of this post to try and clear up some questions I had concerning the 'Day Use Facility Fees' sign that is located adjacent to the Park Attendant office itself.

As you can see, this sign covers the boat ramp and swimming access but does not say what a camper or people with an RV are supposed to do should they arrive when neither attendant is on site. I was told, by Sue, that in the event that the office was closed (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), campers should take an envelope out of the small box located beneath the sign and place their check into it. The fee is $20 per site per day (max of 14 days). If they happen to have a Golden Pass, then they would pay half that cost (just enter your Golden Pass number on the envelope). Also note the campsite you selected to stay in somewhere on the envelope Just separate the two haves, seal the payment section and hang the other half in the front window of your vehicle.  What a deal!

The trashing of a local park area! Where are the Police?

Ain't this pretty?

I'm not sure whose in charge of the Shadow Rock Park area, but whoever it is they should be ashamed! I'm guessing that would be the City of Forsyth and their seemingly callous neglect of an area just across from Swan Creek that is being progressively trashed by a group of what I consider to be inbred morons! Individuals who I'll bet aren't smart enough to realize that they look like complete idiots as they mindlessly run their vehicles through muddy area in a field adjacent to Shadow Rock Park. Duh!

The end result is a piece of utterly destroyed ground that will probably never recover as the soil has become so compacted that nothing will grow (reminds me of a scene out of some Third World country). And, for what reason? So that a few retards can pretend they're somebody cool? Give me a break! (I'll wager that the collective futures of these dimwits is not very good and that the words 'welfare' and 'prison' are or will soon be significant words to them).

Bloomers – A great garden resource to visit!

Located at 12900 US Hwy 160 in Forsyth MO (right across from the Elks Club), is a well established garden center known as Bloomers! It’s run by Todd and Lori Roberts and features garden vegetable starts, herbs and all manner of flowering plants. Those are displayed in the greenhouse and they’re all priced to sell!

Inside the adjacent building I found a wealth of garden related items including, bags of garden soil,

Miracle Gro potting mix, weed mats, squirrel resistant bird feeders and assorted lawn ornaments just to name a few. Seriously, rather than drive all the way into Branson and burn all that gas, you might just want to duck into this venue first! You can also call ahead at 417-546-2880 to find out if they have what you need!

Wouldn't it be nice if area parks had a plan for severe weather?

Even a simple beacon with posted instructions could help!

After checking at a couple of the three parks that grace the Forsyth Mo area, I came to the conclusion that in the event of a rapidly developing storm system, most campers and RV'ers are pretty left to their own devices. I don't have the impression that anyone has thought out what would happen in the event (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that a tornado touched down and caused damage in a crowded park full of families on a spring day! Sure, I'll be willing to bet that some of the more savvy types might have a weather radio in their RV, or perhaps some kind relative who would call a loved one they knew was in a dangerous area. But I wonder if that would cover all the folks that might be suddenly placed in harms way in a given locale? Does the local Emergency Management personnel have a plan for our parks? And if so, how would it be executed? Where would they be instructed to go and would they even get those instructions in time? All good questions, I feel.

This is an issue I hope gets addressed before someone does get hurt. I'd hate to think that the lack of infrastructure (such as written instructions and a warning beacon for watches and warnings) would be treated the way highway officials seem to treat a dangerous drop off next to some road. All too often, a guardrail goes up only after someone got hurt or killed!

River Run Update for April 17, 2010!

I had a chance to visit with one of the two Park Attendants who are now at River Run Park located just to the east of the town of Forsyth MO and was told that the park would be opening on May the first! I was also informed that the price for a camp and/or RV site would be at $22 per night. This would be increase of $2 from the previous year if it holds true.

While I was walking around the park, I noticed that work was still be performed in regards to the water or power systems, both of which had been re-innovated this past fall and winter.

Additional information about River Run (and to make sure as to the opening date), can be obtained with this link!