OK...I've lived here more than 25 years and started writing reviews of the best and worst things in this place I call home. All-in-all, Columbia is a great place to live and not a bad place to visit. You might want to check out the following sites to get a feel for this burg.
Oh...one more thing. I use a "hit counter" for my web page that provides information on how visitors to this page (and my other pages) get here. It is humbling to see that most of my visitors stumble across this page looking for Thai food in a place called Columbia (which, in addition to Columbia, MO, includes Columbia, SC, Columbia, SA, District of Columbia, the neighborhood around Columbia University, etc.). So, if you are one of these lost souls...I sincerely apologize in advance. However, you might want to read further anyway. It's not beyond reason that something about this page will prompt you to visit (e.g., you're driving cross-country on Interstate 70 and you see a Columbia exit and you'll remember something you read here that will prime you to stop for the night here rather than forge ahead to the Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville).
GeneralConvention and Visitors' BureauCity of Columbia Web SiteFoodFor a town its size, Columbia has a large selection of restaurants and food stores. There is a wide range of ethnic restaurants (including Thai, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Middle Eastern), traditional midwest-greasy-spoon places, and steak joints. There are also ethnic food stores that stock imported goods that are hard to get in the mainstream supermarkets. Below are a few of my (currently) favorite eateries.
Shakespeare's Pizza1 The Close-by Lunch Places (downtown but
close to campus) Favorite Barbecue Restaurants
Smokin' Chicks
(maybe my favorite) Favorite Ethnic Restaurants Chinese - House of Chow n.b. A few of the restaurants listed
above (House of Chow, Osaka, Kojaba, Jina Yoo's, Rio Grande) are in strip malls. Means
that it's less fun to go for a nice after dinner stroll from the restaurant.
For this reason, I prefer the downtown Columbia restaurants. Some other guy's "top ten" list of Columbia restaurants (it's a pretty decent list) Music
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Why go to Columbia, MO?My friends from both coasts think of me as stuck in the hinterlands, devoid of culture and basic amenities. To them, St. Louis and Kansas City are part of the American outback and Columbia is the outback's outback. Well, it ain't so bad and those of us who have made our home here feel pretty fondly about the place. Although I'm always skeptical of rankings by magazines, the fact that Columbia often pops up as a great place to live provides some ammunition to shoot back at skeptics' assaults. In 2006, Money magazine ranked Columbia in the top 100 "best places to live" and Forbes magazine ranked Columbia at #16 in "best small places for business." Outside magazine recently (July 2008) ranked Columbia, MO at #10 "best places" (mainly for the bicycling I think) and as recently discussed (2/3/09) on CNBC, holding up reasonably well during the current economic downturn. For a town its size, Columbia boasts a good music scene (although many top acts tend to perform mid-week; see music venues on left side of page). A new musical event is Roots and Blues and Barbecue Festival that was inaugurated in 2007. The 2008 (October 3 and 4) lineup included Tab Benoit, Buddy Guy, and Del McCoury to name just a few. The 2009 Festival wil be held on September 25th and 26th. In recent years, the True/False (Documentary) Film Festival (held in February) has become a major cultural event for the town. Getting to Columbia from Far Away Columbia is a wonderful place to live and work but convenient air travel is simply not to be had. Many members of the community wish the university, other large employers, and the cities of Columbia and Jefferson City would get it together and recognize how poor air service compromises the region's cultural, intellectual, and commercial interests. Unfortunately, they've lacked the vision and will to be effective. In my opinion as a frequent air traveler and resident kvetcher, the City of Columbia's Airport Advisory Board has failed to provide effective leadership on this persistent problem.13 As of mid-August (2008)there's once again air service to Columbia on a Northwest affiliate via Memphis that offers flights three times a day. I've been using it fairly regularly for flights to the east coast and the south and it isn't too bad. Not sure how I feel about Memphis as a hub yet though...kind of a depressing airport and the luggage handlers don't seem very conscientious (they clearly let my checked baggage get extremely wet when it was being transferred between flights). Also, the gates for Columbia, MO are sometimes at the far end of one of the terminals...it's a bit of a hike to connecting flights (or can be). Despite these minor complaints though, it was pretty smooth and reliable and others that have used it recently express a high level of satisfaction with the service. So far, so good. I'll keep this updated. Update (1/2/09): First, Happy New Year! Second, I just discovered how quickly the last return flight of the day from MEM gets booked up; tried to get tickets for travel dates in January and February and the last flight of the day was booked up...making the return service unavailable for me given my meeting schedules in DC. So, if you know you want to take this flight, book early. Caveat aviator. If you don't want to fly Northwest through Memphis, your best bet is to fly to St. Louis (STL) or Kansas City (MCI) and either rent a car or take a ground shuttle run by a company called MO-X which offers convenient service between the two airports and Columbia. The distance between Columbia and STL is shorter than between the distance between Columbia and MCI and the MO-X runs are more frequent to/from STL. So, all other things being equal, choose STL. However, depending up the route and carrier, flights from MCI are often less expensive so do your own due diligence. If you get claustrophobic or bromidrophobic, hope the van you're in isn't full; MO-X sometimes really packs them in and it can be unpleasant. So pray for a light passenger load if taking the MO-X shuttle. (On some occasions MO-X runs buses with much more comfortable seats and more room.) Places to StayThe sad truth is, there is no great place to stay in Columbia except my house and you probably can't get a reservation there as it books up real quick. The good news is there are a lot of places to stay and most are pretty reasonable even if uninspired. A few of the interesting B&Bs that I had listed here in the past are gone although one place, Taylor House, has reopened and, by all reports, is a great place to stay. Although I personally prefer the anonymity of a chain, many people prefer the coziness and intimacy of a B&B and I routinely recommend Taylor House to visitors to the community. (It is also only a few blocks north of Casa Sher.) I also just read that another popular Columbia B&B of yore, the Gathering Place, has recently reopened (July, 2008), so things are definitely looking up in the B&B scene. Also note that there's a very popular B&B in the nearby town of Rocheport, the School House B&B, that B&B aficionados are sure to enjoy. (Rocheport also hosts the Yates House and Amber House B&Bs.) Click here for a link to a big ol' list of places to stay. What we lack in quality and innovation we make up for in quantity and price. Radio Stations
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Footnotes:
1Truly great distinctive pizzas (and
sandwiches aren't bad). Unfortunately, any pizza joint is a major challenge to
low-carb dieters who must carefully reflect upon what they're missing here.
2 This stalwart of downtown Columbia is officially no more. It really is sad. For more than 15 years, this was my favorite place to dine (and drink) in Columbia. When friends would come in from out of town, this is where they would want to go. The fact that I once had an item on the dessert menu named after me there is not the reason for my enthusiastic endorsement; it's really good! Their wait staff was among the best in town too.. The loss of the Strada Nova's bar is especially great. No other drinking establishment in this town came close to the ambience of the bar which was in the back...where it should be...with a rear door to slip in and out without the hubbub of the dining crowd to pass through. This place will be sorely missed. The closing of my alma mater, Antioch College, and Trattoria Stada Nova in one summer was almost too much to bear. My hope is both will rise again some day.
3 Unlike less classy places like Aureole, Le Cirque, or one of those increasing numbers of signature chef places (e.g., Emeril's or Puck's diasporic creations), there is a "dog policy" there so leave the pooch at home. A drive through the country on rural roads with the convertible top down on a summer's day or evening is the best way to travel to this spot on a rural stretch of the Missouri River. Sitting on a picnic table and watching the sun set over the Big Muddy while eating Chim's fare is a local pleasure. However, be forewarned...it's a strange, eclectic crowd. Also, eating outside in the summer in Missouri can be a sweltering occasion.
4 This is a place for wings, beer, chili, etc. It warrants special mention because dining there on any given night is a side of Columbia that I would never see otherwise. Not good, not bad...but a parallel universe. Wings are ok (though exalted by some).
5 Still, in my opinion, the best steak place in Columbia. Not related to CJ's and, important, do not confuse the CiCi's...a chain pizza place. Unfortunately, CC's original place downtown is now deserted but their place on Forum Boulevard (part of a strip mall which kinda sucks) is still plugging along and the atmosphere inside remains pleasant. I just hate to see more upper-end downtown dining places disappear. Many of us like downtown and hate strip mall dining.
6 Best place to eat in the heart of downtown (while recognizing the lungs of downtown are pretty damn close...it's a small town).
7 Read the linked Wikipedia entry. In the small world department, the co-owner/manager, Rick Robertson, was a housemate of mine when I was a grad student in Bloomington, IN and he was an undergraduate in the School of Music. He was then known to us affectionately as "teen-age Rick" after an infamous character in a 1960s underground comic
8 You know the thought experiment..."if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life..."? Well, if someone were to ask me, "if you could only eat at one Columbia restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?" my answer, without a doubt, would be Murry's. Eclectic and broad menu, great wait staff, consistent, open late, music, lots of ala carte dishes, wonderful desserts. Only problem from my perspective is that it is not walking distance from my office or my house. However, it's only a five minute car ride (we Columbians are spoiled).
9I actually get quite a bit of hits on this page from people looking for places to eat in Columbia but I was still surprised when I was contacted by "Cherry Street's" owner asking me why I hadn't listed their establishment. I noted that I typically don't go there and the few times I had gone (albeit some time ago), I found the place "OK" but that I never really enjoyed the place because it was too acoustically bright (i.e., loud) and just never grabbed me. Well, since then I've been back several times and the unfavorable acoustics have been effectively dampened, the food excellent, and the atmosphere as nice as any place in this town. I'm glad I've been back and I recommend this place as highly as any in our little town.
10 Best breakfast place but be forewarned, it sometimes takes a long time for the food to be served; avoid if in a rush. Good place to bring toddlers...non-tacky play area in the back.
11 Definitely unique if not bizarre. Best place to eat endangered species while surrounded by the work of a vast number of taxidermists. It's worth a trip just so you can say you've been there. It is a good half hour drive from Downtown which, in these parts, is quite a haul.
12 You want to know how clean the place is and whether the employees wash their hands after using the WC (or doing "whatever?"), this is the place for you!
13 About a year ago, I ran into an old acquaintance at a coffee shop who spontaneously told me she was on a city-wide commission involved in improving air transportation to/from Columbia. Note this committee is not the Airport Advisory Board but a different committee tasked with future planning and community improvement. Anyway...she told me that the Airport Advisory Board is, by charter, totally impotent. So, I should not imply that the members of the board are incompetent but, rather, that the committee is basically worthless independent of the membership. I hope that clarifies things.