Yesterday was kind of a crazy day for me. I had a ton of stuff to do. First I had to put the blog post up and my mouse on my computer is going out and it’s driving me nuts! That’s neither here nor there, but I just wanted to throw that out there. After that I had lumch at Raedene’s Country Cafe in Creve Coeur, then I did a couple things that aren’t even going to be posted today, then it was off to Sky Harbor for a birthday celebration and then suddenly...there’s Amber and Jon looking like a couple of world-class troublemakers at Big Behm’s Sports Bar! Kind of a kooky day and night, we’ll start off where it more or less began, right here at...
Raedene’s Country Cafe! The other week when I got shut out of having lunch at the Peoria Journal Star, Dennis Anderson, who’s the Executive Editor of the paper told me he felt bad about that and offered to buy me lunch, which I thought was really nice! So we decided to meet here at Raedene’s Country Cafe in Creve Coeur. An MBIP reader sent me an email saying I should check this place out and here we are, proving that I do indeed take requests!
And yes, they’re open! Let’s go in and see what’s going on inside.
It’s really nice in here. It’s got a real old school diner feel to it and check out the table over there, it looks like lunch is already in progress!
That’s Dennis over there to the right and MBIP pal, Steve Tarter on the left. Steve has appeared on the blog before and he used to write for my magazine POP. Back then I was his editor and he worked for the bus company. Now about 23 years later, Steve is the business editor for the Peoria Journal Star and I empty garbage for a living...somewhere I took a wrong turn or something! But let’s not dwell on that, let’s say hi to our other luncheon guest...
Terry Towery, who was a writer and editor at the PJ Star for over twenty years. Terry is currently in the process of getting his novel published. The novel is titled, “The Final Victim,” and it’s going to be placed on submission soon by his literary agent, Laney Katz Becker of Lippincott, Massie, McQuilkin Inc., in New York City. Stay tuned to MBIP as things develop with the novel!
Jennifer is our pretty waitress who not only took our lunch order...
She took our photo as well! Cheers from all of us! Now I’m taking the MBIP camera back for a little stroll around Raedene’s Country Cafe.
Tables line the walls in here with colorful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and country styled knick-knacks and pictures adorning the walls.
The kitchen is over here...
And here’s the chef who’s going to prepare our lunch! Sadly I forgot to write his name down, so we’ll just call him, chef. No wonder everyone else at the table has written for the Peoria Journal Star and I empty garbage for a living!
There’s more tables over here with a window view of Main Street in Creve Coeur.
And just in case you forget where you are, here’s a roosterly reminder that you are indeed at Raedene’s Country Cafe!
Meanwhile, back at the luncheon table...
Raedene, the owner of this fine establishment came over to say hi to us. Raedene said she opened this diner about six years ago and business has been good. Before she opened the diner, Raedene had been a waitress for years, she started at the White Corner Cafe in Canton when she was just 12-years-old! She told us that Raedene’s opens up at four in the morning and on Saturday morning there's a lively crowd of early morning diners and folks just closing down the bars gathered in here. I need to check that out, so stay tuned for an early morning Saturday post from Raedene’s in the future. And I might even be wearing a chicken suit for that! As I said, stay tuned!
And now lunch is served and everything looks so delicious. Clockwise from the upper left: Dennis got the patty melt and fries, Steve got the roast beef, potatoes and gravy platter, Terry got a half a skillet breakfast thingy and I got the corn dog and fries. And yeah, I ordered my lunch off the kiddie menu...you got a problem with that?
Well, it looks like the corn dog does! He’s kind of copping quite a surly attitude here. Okay, Mr. Corn Dog Man...
Ask and ye shall receive! You’re delicious by the way!
I wanted to get a shot of the other pretty waitress on duty—hey, it’s what I do—and here’s Melissa posing with Jennifer! Cuteness times two!
Dennis told us that he rates restaurants according to how the electric paper towel dispenser shoots out a paper towel. He said that the longer the towel the better the rating and he gave Raedene’s an eight star rating out of ten. I had to check that out and yes, that is definitely an eight star paper towel dispenser! Thanks to Dennis for buying lunch and to Terry and Steve for joining us and to everyone at Raedene’s for the wonderful lunch and fun hospitality!
And then suddenly...it’s nighttime! This is a wonderful and magical thing!
We’ve landed at Sky Harbor and the corn dog theme continues as the sign is announcing that it’s Daryl Klusendorf’s birthday! Well, we have to check out this celebration, for sure!
And here’s a whole new crew of MBIP friends gathered to celebrate Daryl’s birthday! From left: Yours Fooly, Daryl, the big corn dog himself, Shannon, Amber and Joe!
As you can see from the birthday cake, Daryl’s 62-years-young tonight!
Shannon went over to the piano bar to sing a great rendition of “In My Life,” by the Beatles. A perfect choice for this birthday evening! Shannon’s on the rotating list of musicians who perform regularly at the Sky Harbor piano bar and you should definitely go and listen to her, she’s great on the piano and her voice is beautiful!
And that led right into a happy birthday sing-along for Daryl!
Here’s Daryl blowing out the birthday candles with his pretty mom looking on!
After the cake was cut, Daryl and Steven tried to make a 62-year sign with their hands but it ended up looking like gang signs gone horribly wrong! But thanks for trying guys and happy birthday to Daryl!
And then suddenly, it’s Amber and Jon at Big Behm’s looking like a couple of world-class troublemakers! I love it when that happens! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Hell Hath Frozen Over! I Walk In Off The Street And Eat My Lunch And (Pretend) To Write For The Peoria Journal Star! Plus The MBIP Vs. Bartender Armwrestling Tour Continues At Jerry’s Bar!, Friday Night @ Sky Harbor Featuring The Musical Stylings Of Shannon Moore Shepherd and Saturday Night Cheeseburger @ Big Behm’s Sports Bar and Grill.