From small-town drugstore to gourmet restaurant
Chef Jonathan Justus apprenticed, “between stints as a bike messenger,” as a butcher in San Francisco and a cook in the South of France before converting his family's drugstore into a restaurant.
Justus Drugstore: A Restaurant, in Smithville, Mo., is the fulfillment of a 15-year dream, said Christine Muhlke in The New York Times. Chef Jonathan Justus apprenticed, “between stints as a bike messenger,” as a butcher in San Francisco and a cook in the South of France. Then, two years ago, he and his wife, Camille Eklof, “transformed his family’s 1950s drugstore into a bit of the big city.” The old soda fountain of the drugstore, located 20 minutes from Kansas City, is now the bar. Justus makes his own charcuterie, bacon, and ham, while Eklof bakes the bread, waits on tables, and serves as general manager.
The house specialty is an Akaushi brisket “braised in homemade root beer.” Other popular dishes are grilled pork porterhouse with apple-maple-ginger sauce, and freshwater striped bass with egg-white gratin, persimmon paint, maple-sherry-ginger foam, and caramel-mint dust. Customers sitting at the former soda fountain can wait for their tables while sipping date-infused bourbon and nibbling turkey fries (aka testicles). 106 W. Main St., (816) 532-2300
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Nuclear near-misses
The Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issues
In the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published