1932 Reserve, Osage Beach
May 2024
Until two years ago, executive chef Scott Romano worked alongside Michelin-star and James Beard award-winning chef Charlie Palmer. Romano ran Palmer’s restaurants and lived in Sonoma County. After the last round of California fires, Romano and his wife moved back to her roots in the Ozarks where he has merged his culinary prowess with Spears’ team.
Spears, who grew up in Kansas City, had great memories of time spent at the lake. After playing professional soccer, he worked for chef-driven restaurants in San Diego’s luxury boutique hotels. Desiring to be closer to his roots, Spears and his family moved back to the Midwest and opened 1932 Reserve.
“We’re an upscale-casual restaurant with elevated food right on the water but with the feel of a Kansas City or St. Louis establishment,” says Spears.
On a Tuesday night, my husband and I dined in the circa 1932 building completed one year after the construction of Bagnell Dam. Located at the 17.5-mile marker, diners can pull right up to the dock and sit on the expansive deck overlooking the water. Inside, concrete floors and exposed ceilings lend an industrial vibe. The centerpiece bar displays lanterns salvaged from the original building, once the Ozark’s first lakeside lodging. Today, luxury vacation lofts lie above the restaurant.
We scooped up bold chorizo-chipotle sauce with the signature PEI mussels and golden fries. Sesame cauliflower fritti, encased in a crispy panko-sesame crust, came plated in a pool of finger-licking, chili-ginger sauce garnished with kimchi.
Flaky sea bass, pan-seared to perfection, was accompanied by artichokes, asparagus and fingerling potatoes atop a divine basil beurre Blanc sauce. Fork-tender, the hand-cut filet came with rosemary mashed potatoes, cauliflower puree and a robust red wine reduction. The two-day, brined pork chop with chorizo and cheddar smashed potatoes was accompanied by a delicious pecan-smoked bacon cream. Savory whipped bacon butter complimented corn bread garnished with jalapeno pickled green beans.
Desserts ranged from ooey-gooey butter cake to carrot cake and decadent s’mores cake. The bar serves more than 200 whiskey labels, several hundred wines and beer on tap. Hand-crafted cocktails included their Blackberry Bramble, so popular it’s on tap.
Visit 1932Reserve.com for more information.
Ozark Mill at Finley Farms, Ozark
February 2024
Chef Kevin Korman spent much of his 25 year career working with restaurants from Florida to Tennessee. When he got the call about this project, he was intrigued. One year before the restaurant opened in 2020 he began work on menu concepts.
“I’m a big believer in sense of place. Cooking locally is all about storytelling through food,” says Korman. “I dug into the history of Ozark cuisine, which has Appalachian influences and tied the cuisine into the mill itself.”
Farm-to-table and grain-to-table, the menu reflects Korman’s philosophy. Not only does the restaurant dedicate acreage for growing produce, but it also initiated a composting program. An ever-evolving “Market Menu,” highlights produce grown on-site as well as by local dairy farmers and ranchers.
“Last year we grew an heirloom variety of corn that we sent to Dogwood Canyon where they milled it at our sister property and sent it back as cornmeal. We used it in our entrees and desserts,” says Korman. “Sustainability is huge so we pickle, puree and freeze in order to use our produce year-round.”
My husband and I started with five-cheese spinach dip created with a roasted wild mushroom medley and white truffle oil on grilled bread. Quite popular, the green tomato cake showcased the 600 pounds of tomatoes annually grown on site. From the “Market Menu,” an unexpected riff on traditional caprese salad featured charred cucumbers mixed with heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs and burrata. Excellent short rib pasta with 12-hour braised Missouri beef sat atop a light alfredo pasta tossed with herbs, arugula and roasted wild mushrooms. Creamy chicken and dumpling-like cornbread gnocchi hinted of mustard for a non-traditional twist. Peach cobbler won out for dessert. Fresh thyme and peaches garnished a flakey buttermilk biscuit and crème fresh ice cream.
Cocktails and mocktails incorporated in-house syrups. Draft beers hailed from local breweries. Wines tied into the overall menu. Afterward, we strolled through the chef’s garden and across the restored bridge to check out the farm’s open-air wedding chapel at sunset.
For more information, visit FinleyFarmsMo.com/eat-drink.