Chris and I were back in Springfield on a hunt for motorcycle boots because our current gear is essentially just leather sandals held together by 100MPH tape and prayers.

The last time we tried to find Mediterranean food in this town we wandered into the Kebab Shack.

That place is now extinct.

I am not in the business of celebrating when a local spot fails because that is a tragedy for the community but I am also not shocked that the doors locked because holy balls.

It was an amalgamation of incompetence which featured a floor that looked like a municipal swimming pool had a stroke. There was a literal lake of water between the dining room and the bathrooms.

Evidently they did not have any cups, so I had to hike out to the car to grab my own drink while Chris struggled to pay because the server treated the cash register like it was a piece of alien technology she was seeing for the first time. The “server” vanished into the void like a star witness in a cartel trial the second she admitted they did not have a single cup in the building, stating she was getting more cups and did not show back up in easily an hour or more that we were there.

She quit or went to have a breakdown.

The kitchen was a greasy arena of sadness where a single kid, after the exit stage left from the server, was trying to run the entire show alone after that chick peaced out and never returned.

We waited for over an hour in a building that featured an accidental water feature leaking from the soda machine while a Turkish family chatted with me about the chaos of this place, and their homeland.

The food was surprisingly good for a place that lacked basic plumbing and a management team but the entire experience was a total dumpster fire.

This trip we set our sights on Crave Mediterranean Cafe and the difference was a night and day transition from a hostage situation to actual civilization. Stepping into a room that smelled like toasted pita and hope instead of mildew and failure was the reset I needed. We were seated immediately and the atmosphere was light years ahead of the kebab shanty we suffered through last year.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we deal with a sugar crisis and an appetizer that tastes like an unexpected taste of summer cookouts.

Updates:
I have a massive update for the Chops Guide community because we officially hit 2500 followers on our Facebook page. I am spinning up the website again at chopsguide.com for more long form content that does not have to deal with the sanitizing filters of social media. We recently had three winners for the giveaway contest and the sooner we hit the next milestone the sooner I can justify giving away more gear to the people helping me spread the word.

Books
I just finished Book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl for the second time and I am currently staring at the calendar waiting for the eighth book to drop on my birthday like a tactical nuke.

I jumped straight into Morningwood which is the first book in the Everybody Loves Large Chests series. It follows a mimic demon that disguises itself as a treasure chest and eats adventurers. It is a refreshing shift into a protagonist with zero morals and a permanent appetite.

All shirts at Unstable Apiary Designs are on sale until Bee Conference Season in June so go grab some fresh gear while the prices are low.

#SpringfieldMO #CraveMediterranean #ChopsGuide #FoodReview #DungeonCrawlerCarl #Morningwood #LitRPG #TravelAgent