Cigar men are the greatest of sorts, in my opinion. Not that I like smokers. Or cigars. But the sight of a man in a pot-bellied apron with a big, fat cigar drooping from his mouth saying, "See here, folks!"...fantastic!
Where might you see such a man? Does such a man even exist? He exists and he cooks like a god at the Santa Fe restaurant in Ethel, Missouri. The Santa Fe is only open two days a week, Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, but it's worth every gas mile to eat the cigar man's delectable home-cooked meals.
"Hey, there folks," the cigar man says with a jolly laugh as my family comes in to the small, brick room with picnic-style seating. "I made some noodles today so the fried chicken wouldn't fall off the plate!" None of us know what he's talking about, but we each bask in the presence of his unlit, wet cigar perched on that lovely little old man mouth of his. The antique train memorabilia on the walls behind him makes him another small town treasure in our eyes.
And does it ever really matter what that man is actually saying? He could be telling us, "I cut up some dead bodies and put them in the barbequed ribs we're serving tonight" and my family would just smile and eat every single bite we possibly could in order to keep the essence of every superb, possibly cannibalistic, taste.
If you also like food, and like eating food on Saturday evenings in small town locations, give the Santa Fe a call: 660.486.3334
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Oh, and as I read through and stalk you from a far, because that's what I do when I'm really bored at work (reading, not stalking), I've decided that this post is the perfect time to tell you that I'm a cigar smoking man. Not like I used to be because like good scotch they're expensive. But I do not and will try not to have the big pot-belly. I'm sorry to disappoint.
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