Recently in _US: Midwest Category

I take great pride having roots in the Midwest. Unfortunately, the to-dos of everyday life keeps me from visiting Missouri as often as I'd like, but every once in a while I run across something that truly makes me miss the kindheartedness--and sometimes quirkiness--of the folks who live in middle America. Case in point: Lambert's Cafe.

In a barn-like structure a few hours south of St. Louis,  hungry patrons are catching their supper--literally. Lambert's Cafe dubs itself "the only home of the throwed rolls." And rightly so. At each of the three locations, guests simply raise their hand if they want one of Lambert's famous rolls, and the server throws one to them (the video above speaks for itself).

How did this wacky practice get started? Though Lambert's Cafe, in some form, has been around since the 1940s, Norm Lambert was passing around rolls to customers on a particularly busy day in the 1970s when an impatient man told him to "throw the #@$#@! rolls." And throw them, Norm did. A tradition was born.

The restaurant's traditional Midwest menu--chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, barbecue pork steak, and chicken wings--is mixed with somewhat more eclectic items, like chicken gizzards, livers, and hog jowl. Vegetarians, don't despair. Lambert's serves a few veggie-friendly items, and everyone ordering from the menu is entitled to the "pass arounds" as well. Servers waltz around with big bowls of fried onions and potatoes, macaroni, and fried okra, and diners can take large helpings of whatever looks good.

[Lambert's Cafe]

Do you have any wacky restaurants where you live?

Hey there, city-lovers! Cynthia Farrell writes to us from chilly Minneapolis, Minnesota, and tells us why her city is much more than just a frozen tundra.

Want to see your city on IT? Just complete our list of fill-in-the-blank questions then copy and paste the list into an e-mail, fill in your answers, and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. And if you're still waiting for us to feature yours, fear not! We're attempting to post them as fast as we can (if you include photos and links, we're likely to get the post up faster).

Minneapolis is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is Minnehaha Falls.

When I crave Neapolitan-style pizza I always go Punch.

To escape the airplane noise over my house I head to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in the southwest suburbs.

If I want to take a walk in the woods, summer or winter, I go to Fort Snelling State Park, right in the city.

For complete quiet, I can hide away in a cabin up on the North Shore of Lake Superior, only a 3-4 hour drive away.

If you come to my city, get your picture taken with the Mary Tyler Moore sculpture on Nicollet Mall.

If you have to order one thing off the menu from Café Maude it has to be the house cut fries with truffle fontina fondue.

Hello city-lovers! This was our first entry to come in from the under-10 set, and we had to admire the remarkably well-honed tastes of Ruby (age 4) and Kiva (age 8), who were eager to share the favorite spots in their Bay View neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Also, we love anyone who puts a tater tot on their fine dining list.

The Bay View Neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is Our City

The first place we take a visitor from out of town is the Farmer's Market at South Shore Park.

When we crave flavored milk, we always go Anodyne Coffee Roasters.

To escape the crowded city we head out on Lake Michigan in our kayaks.

If we want to climb on rocks we go to Cupertino Park.

For complete quiet, we can hide away in Seminary Woods.

If you come to my city, get your picture taken with the oldest copper beech tree in the state.

If you have to order one thing off the menu from The Palomino it has to be tater tots with Cajun cream dipping sauce.

Many people have heard the story of how ice cream cones came to be. For those who haven't (shame on you), the invention of ice cream cones is widely credited to a pastry chef at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, who bent his waffles into cone shapes and gave them to an ice cream vendor to use when he ran out of ice cream cups.

What most people don't know is that the Gateway to the West is home to another unique treat (and my favorite food)--toasted ravioli. This is nothing like Macaroni Grill's Dessert Ravioli, with over 1600 calories and 74 grams of fat (who eats this stuff, anyway?). In fact, it's no different than normal ravioli, other than the fact that it's sprinkled with parmesan cheese, served with marinara sauce, and deep-fried, which makes it even better. The New York Times has even said, "What spicy chicken wings are to Buffalo, toasted ravioli is to St. Louis." Two St. Louis restaurants are credited with the appetizer's invention in the 1940s: Charlie Gitto's (now a popular chain) and Oldani's in The Hill neighborhood. Regardless of who invented it, no one can argue that it's a fabulous Midwest treat.

Today, some national chains have picked up on the delicious goodness that is toasted ravioli (The Olive Garden offers it as an appetizer), but it remains largely a Midwest specialty. Check out the best places to get toasted ravioli in its hometown after the jump.

Hello city-lovers! Today's city of choice is Chicago, and it comes at the hands of Traci and Jeff Dybdahl. Jeff is an attorney, Traci a PhD student, and they love exploring their (relatively) new city together.

Still haven't sent in your own city suggestions? Easy enough. Just complete our list of fill-in-the-blank questions then copy and paste the list into an email, fill in your answers, and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. And if you're waiting for us to feature yours, fear not! We're attempting to post them as fast as we can (hint -- it helps if you include the links!).

Pancake Ice forms on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin

To mark the release of our March issue (now on newsstands), we're celebrating cities over the next few weeks, and we've asked our readers to share what they love most about their towns. 

Still haven't submitted? Here's your chance. We've put together a list of fill-in-the-blank questions that should help get you started and we'd love it if you would copy and paste the list into an email, fill in your answers (as many as you like) and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. Declare your love for that special city in your heart!

Today, Sonia Dubielzig, of Madison Wisconsin shares what she loves about her city. Sonia is a transportation planner currently living in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It's only an hour's drive from Madison (her hometown) but a world apart in politics, culture, and attitude. 

Having just spent a week in snow-covered Seattle, the thought of spending even more time in a winter wonderland is the furthest thing from my mind. But on January 10, 100 ski resorts are lifting their fees in celebration of Winter Trails Day. Twenty-two states from Washington to Maine are giving snow-goers the chance to try cross-country skiiing or snowshoeing for free, meaning that those who claim the only winter sport they enjoy is making snow angels have no excuse not to frolic in the white stuff. January is also "Learn a Winter Snow Sport Month" (betcha didn't know that), and other resorts across the country are hosting plenty of events straight on 'til Groundhog's Day.

Thanks to Gadling for the tip!

Photo: Vahid Jahed via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool

All through December we'll be showcasing the best of the holiday season in cities around the world. Today it's Christmastime in Chicago, and we've asked local experts for the essential ways to enjoy the winter's best. Visitors and locals alike come together to celebrate the holidays and the New Year, and we encourage you to share your own favorites with us in the comments below.


Sylvia Rollins, Chief Concierge,
Kimpton's Hotel Monaco Chicago

• The Annual Reindog Parade at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. A dog is a Chicagoan's best friend--and it's never more evident than at the Reindog Parade. Dress up your pet in holiday style for the costume contest and canine parade through twelve gardens. Prizes are awarded for best overall costume, best puppy costume, and best owner/dog look-alike.

• The Christmas Day Bagel Ride. Starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 25. The locals love biking--and bagels--and all the merrier when joined together. This social and leisurely paced 12-mile bike ride begins at Chicago's Waveland Clock Tower, 3700 North Recreation Drive, and ends at the Bagel Restaurant & Deli located at 3107 North Broadway.

• 25th Annual Christmas Sing-Along and Double Feature. From December 19-24, locals will make the late Gene Siskel proud by watching screenings of White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life at the the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue. Christmas carols with Santa are sung in between the films.

• Celebrate Kwanzaa with "Raven Black" (4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28) at Chicago's heralded DuSable Museum of African American History. This fascinating musical production, set during the Great Migration, features the People's Jazz Theatre and music of the African Diaspora.

• The Annual "12 Bars of Christmas" Pub Crawl. Starts at 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6. This walking pub tour comes complete with drink specials and is held at more a dozen bars in Chicago's Wrigleyville (where you'll find plenty of avid Cubs fans).

• Symphony in Lights. Families bring little ones to this spectacle of lights featuring a football field-sized display of 250,000 LED bulbs synchronized to the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The show is held every hour on the hour between 5 and 9 p.m., through December 31, at the Promenade in suburban Bolingbrook. Carriage rides, ice sculptures, carolers, storytelling and an appearance by Santa Claus occur nightly. 

Earlier this summer, we learned that besides cheese, Wisconsin offers stellar tuba concerts and frigid films - a pretty strange combination. But as if that's not weird enough, the state is now home to another quirky attraction.

Ever wanted to see Orson Welles's original typed script for Citizen Kane? Or how about a drinking glass Theodore Roosevelt used in 1912, shortly after being shot in the chest in an assassination attempt? These artifacts, along with about 60 others, are featured in Odd Wisconsin, a new exhibit that chronicles strange state history and opened earlier this month in the Wisconsin Historical Museum. 

"Even if they don't know anything about Wisconsin history or anything about this organization, it is going to be definitely satisfactory," museum curator Joe Kapler told CNN. He also said the artifacts will be intriguing to anyone with an interest in "curious stories."

I'm intrigued. While it still might not top the Spam museum in weirdness, the odd exhibit certainly fits the bill for an odd stop in Wisconsin.

Photo: Bra Flag (1971), by Marjorie Engelman. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Museum.

We blogged about friendly little Lawrence, Kansas, earlier this year, but it seems the "Liberal Oasis" of the Midwest has a few spooky skeletons in its closet. Room 506 of the historic downtown Eldridge Hotel is purportedly haunted by the ghost of Colonel Shalor Eldridge, one of the state's most celebrated Civil War figures.

Colonel Eldridge built the eponymous hotel in 1857, a year after a pro-slavery sheriff from neighboring Missouri burned down what had been the Free State Hotel, standing on the same historic corner of Seventh and Massachusetts streets. In August 1863, during the bloodiest event in Kansas history, the hotel and most of Lawrence was burned down by William Quantrill's Raiders. The Colonel, who had always held the Eldridge near and dear to his heart, triumphantly rebuilt it in 1865. To honor the Eldridge's historic importance, it was rebuilt in 1925 due to deterioration concerns. Today, it's the city's leading hotel.

It's also the city's leading haunted attraction. Ryan Kehr, room divisions manager, says the story is that the Colonel's attachment to the Eldridge is what keeps his supposed spirit lurking. "It's not proven that he died or was killed here, but the family did live in the hotel at the time of his death in 1899," Kehr added. "He was always very sentimental about his hotel."