Do you Burgoo?

On April 20, 2004, an F3 tornado struck this small town in Illinois, killing ultimately 9 people, injuring 6 people, destroying more than half of the downtown area, and damaging over 100 homes.  Since then, although the mental scars remain, Utica has rebuilt, and seems to have come back with a vengeance.  The downtown area of Utica and up to just North of the Illinois River bridge has built back up with quaint businesses, bars, and restaurants.  It’s quite a scenic area and sees quite a bit of traffic with it’s close proximity to Starved Rockhttp://www.starvedrockstatepark.org, Buffalo Rockhttp://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/east/buffalo/home.htm, LaSalle Speedwayhttp://lasallespeedway.com, and LaSalle/Peru.  Utica also has a few annual celebrations, but is best known for it’s Burgoo Festivalhttp://www.lasallecountymuseum.org/programs/burgooinfo.asp.

Traditional burgoo stew contained whatever meat was donated by hunters and whatever vegetables were donated by farmers.  In Utica, it’s typically lean beef, vegetables, and spices only known by the burgoomeister.  These ingredients are combined in multiple 55 gallon pots, cooked and stirred for 24 hours over an open fire.  The result is a thick and hearty stew.  Of course, there are fables and stories about the burgoo to attempt to scare people away or dare them into eating it.  One popular rumor is that the stew is stirred with bare feet.  I can promise you, that large wooden paddles are used in this process and no one’s bare feet touch the stew.  You will want to get there early though, because the longer the stew cooks, the vegetables will start to get a bit mushy.  Of course, there are other things to do during the festival.  Take a visit to August Hill Winery and Illinois Sparkling Co. for your wine and sparkling wine needs.  Now, I’m not well versed on Illinois wines, I can say that the sparkling wines from Illinois Sparkling was really tasty.  In fact, one of their wines was mentioned in Time Out Chicago’s “100 Best Things We Ate & Drank This Year” for 2012.  Of course, I’m in the process of conquering this list, so I had to snag a bottle.  Also downtown is a great little chocolate shop, Skoog’s Pub and Grill, and Duffy’s Tavern.  And don’t forget to people watch during Burgoo, there is a distinct mix of people and it gets really interesting.

24 hours of stirring.

The end result - Burgoo!

A bit further South of downtown, in a little strip mall type thing, there is a dessert stop, Two Girls and A Cupcakehttp://www.yelp.com/biz/two-girls-and-a-cupcake-inc-utica.  Of course I had to investigate this place, for obvious reasons.  Now, if you are in Utica, I suggest you stop in a try one of their cupcakes.  Me?  Well, I may give it a second chance, but my first experience was very disappointing.  Although their customer service is great, their prices, not too bad, and the interior is fun, the cupcake was dry.  Once I hit a dry cupcake, the flavor is ruined.  As I said, I would be willing to give it a second try.  But one thing I’ve noticed about cupcake shops is the majority of their product is dry.  I’ve made better cupcakes from Betty Crocker.  This makes me sad, because God knows everyone wants a Maple Bacon Cupcake or at least a great Red Velvet cupcake, but to have a dry cupcake, meh, ruins the experience.  

Before you leave Utica, make sure you still have an appetite, because there is one place that needs to be on your list of stops, Ron’s Cajun Connectionhttp://www.ronscajunconnection.com.  Don’t be fooled by the location, this place is the real deal.  The Chef/Owner Ron McFarlain, born in Lake Charles, Louisiana and established the Cajun Connection in Utica in 1995.  Why he came here?  I don’t know, I don’t care, I just want to eat his food!  The Cajun Connection is only open Thursday - Sunday.  And you want to be here when the doors unlock, or you will be standing in line.  No reservation accepted here, because he doesn’t have to.  And if you have to stand in line, it moves fast and it’s worth the wait.  The staff is welcoming and friendly and Ron will be sure to visit your table.  The food is fast, fresh, and authentic.  On the most recent visit, we did some damage to the boudin balls.  The boudin balls are a Cajun variation on boudin blanc, which is a white sausage made of pork, including the heart and liver.  With the boudin balls, it’s left loose rolled into a ball, breaded and friend.  You can get them mild or hot, we got both and were not disappointed.  We also ordered some hushpuppies, which were small and forgettable.  For my entree, I ordered the Bubba Shrimp, Blackened Alligator, and Red Beans and Rice with Sausage.  The shrimp were perfectly fried and tasty.  The gator, was tender and spicy.  It was my first gator experience and I would definitely order it again.  Reminded me of perfectly cooked calamari.  The red beans and rice with sausage wasn’t too bad either.  If you are wanting to steer away from the sausage, you have that option as well.  Of course, we wanted to save room for dessert, and on special that night was the Banana’s Foster Bread Pudding.  Which Ron brought out to the table, poured a bit of liquor over it and lit it up.  As we sat and watched the flame work it’s caramelizing magic on the bread pudding, we nibbled on the house made, almost world famous pecan pie.  You can never go wrong with Pecan Pie, especially when it has  a hint of cayenne pepper added to it.  And the bread pudding?  Well, I’d drive from Chicago just for that dessert alone.  And to add to the meal, I had a little Abita Pecan Harvest Ale, naturally.

Red Beans and Rice, Bubba Shrimp, and Blackened Gator

Banana's Foster Bread Pudding

Abita Pecan Harvest Ale

Overall, Utica is a nice little road trip from Chicago, or anywhere.  It’s a nice day trip from Chicago.  And Burgoo, well, you need to experience this at least once in your life.  You might get hooked on Illinois Sparkling and Cajun Ron’s, but I guarantee you won’t regret it.