Turns out our Band Kryptonite diversion was just that: a quick detour from what would become greater coma-inducing lunches, snacks and the almighty Oklahoma Joe’s barbecue. Following our tour kick-off show at Off Broadway, pals Christine and Melinda, who is the bass player for our buddies The Union Electric, rewarded us with a late-night feast of sandwiches stuffed with slow-cooked beef, side salads, black beans and rice, plus mini-slices of oven-cooked pizza. We’ve been coming to St. Louis for four years, and Mel and Christine go above and beyond to accommodate. On tour, home-cooked meals are as rare as a virgin at Fourth Street Live, and nothing beats unwinding with a few beers en route to a full-futon collapse.
The next day, we skipped breakfast — an equally rare occurrence, given past experience — and ate at Blues City Deli in Benton Park. “When you see cops coming in and out of a place, it’s usually a good sign,” Melinda says. She was right. The former supermarket and occasional venue specializes in gourmet sandwiches. We got there just before a line formed outside the door, grabbed an outdoor table and gnoshed on subs, potato chips, Rold Gold pretzel sticks and soft drinks. Blues City is everything you’d expect from a gourmet sandwich place: fresh deli meat and professionally executed sandwiches on bread that doesn’t slice up your gums like a switchblade.
Around 2, we took off for Kansas City to play at News Room. We arrived at the club with about an hour and a half to spare when Mick, Union Electric’s drummer, made the call: Oklahoma Joe’s barbecue on the Kansas side. We showed up to see a line forming outside the restaurant (see a theme here?). As we moved our way in, we noticed a few things: It’s inside a gas station, which at first might seem weird, except it’s brilliant since gas stations always have foot traffic. Second, a plaque with No Reservations’ Anthony Bourdain touting OJ’s as one of 13 places you need to eat before you die.
It’s not hard to come up with superlatives for Oklahoma Joe’s barbecue. KC’s sweeter recipes hit the right spot. Thinly sliced brisket lost none of its flavor or tenderness, while pulled pork in need of zero seasoning, lean turkey and spicy barbecue beans combined for the kind of swine flu no one minds catching. A reminder of why no one in this band is a vegetarian. We would’ve driven four hours just for this meal.
On Saturday, The Electric Fervor caravan doubled back to St. Louis and landed at Tower Taco. Our 10-person crew tested its Mexican-American beginning with two versions of salsa: a fire engine red mild version, and dark-green spicier, red-pepper kind. We nearly ate our weight in chips, sipped on margaritas, Negro Modelos and Iced Teas, and prepared ourselves.
None of us ordered the California Burrito, and in hindsight, we’re glad we didn’t. Not because it wasn’t appetizing, but its sheer size rivaled the square mileage of said Golden State, were it covered in melted cheese and stuffed with beef. One of our fellow diners took the plunge, but didn’t even come close to finishing. On the flip side, lunch for the following week was covered. Gargantuan queso beef bombs aside, make Tower Taco a must-see; but bring your A game, and take a taxi afterward.