Table Talk: January 10–16

New Restaurant Alert!

The owners of Prima’s Mexican Kitchen have expanded into morning-meals territory and opened a new Nixa-area restaurant called Bistro 160, located at 1897 N. Highway CC. The spot serves breakfast and lunch only, with a menu that includes things like acai bowls, breakfast pizza, ham-egg-cheese croissant sandwiches, eggs Benedict made with steelhead trout, chorizo breakfast tacos, morning pastries and cheese boards—to name just a few. For lunch, you can find salads, sandwiches and more. Plus, there are gluten-free and vegetarian options. This new morning eats spot just opened last week and operates Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Have you tried it yet?

Comfort + Coffee

Queen City Soul Kitchen is about to open in their new location at 1626 N. Booneville Ave. It’s a spot they share with Big Momma’s Coffee & Espresso Bar, who opened their second location (with a drive-through!) there last month. At this new spot, you can swing through the drive-through to get your morning cup of joe from Big Momma’s, or pop inside to get Queen City Soul Kitchen take-out. Queen City Soul Kitchen’s soft reopening is Friday, January 13, when they are offering a temporarily limited menu. Starting next week, they’ll be open for full hours with a full menu.

English Pub Vibes

The super-beloved Pappy’s Place barbecue joint has been around since 1970, in a spot that has been numerous different restaurants since 1926. Now they are expanding into something new. They’ve purchased the building next door and are opening Pappy’s English Pub there, a new spot to eat and drink that will host local bands and open mic night events. Keep an eye out for a planned March opening.

Valentine’s Day in a Cave

Eating the Ozarks (a local company that offers foraging classes, wild-infused meals and special dinner events) planned a super-fun destination dinner for Valentine’s Day: 1920s Prohibition Dinner at Crystal Cave. It’s a 1920s theme from the suggested dress to the speakeasy vibe (including a password to get in and “bootleggers” offering you all the fixings for a hand-made cocktail). Even the menu has a distinctly vintage vibe: hot lobster dip, Waldorf salad, oysters Rockefeller and more. That’s the fun news. The bad news is: It sold out super-fast.

Wait… wait… the emotional rollercoaster of this event is headed back in a good direction. Due to the response to this fun cave dinner, Eating the Ozarks decided to schedule a Roaring Twenties Speakeasy Picnic Lunch for Two. Similar concept, but during the day. You start with a cave tour, then you get to enjoy lunch inside the cave on your choice of a picnic blanket tucked away in a private nook, or a table if dining on the ground isn’t your thing. Picnic baskets include 1920s-themed hand pies, charcuterie board, hot lobster and wild mushroom chowder and more. Oh and there’s live music too. Tickets are $125 per couple, and you probably want to snag them now before they sell out like the dinner tickets did.