Well, it’s been about two weeks since I posted anything. I’ve been swamped! I am writing a cookbook featuring my best 50 rotisserie chicken recipes, and that was due the publisher 10 days ago. The very next day, I left to Florida for the Association of Food Journalists conference. It was an amazing conference.

I got back and had a lot of cleaning and writing to do. This is the first moment I’ve had to pause for literally 10 minutes. I will be back at it next week with more rotisserie chicken recipes and other recipes. As I near my 117, I am going to branch out with more recipes.

Also, I have so much to share about the incredible trip to Florida.

But for anyone in Missouri, I wanted to share this story I wrote last week for the Joplin Globe about Columbia. There’s an amazing concert there this weekend.  Columbia is a great town. I have several recommendations of things to do and see.

By Juliana Goodwin

For the Joplin Globe

My husband and I visited Columbia a few months ago and we’re counting down the days until we go back.

I had not been to the college-town in years and was just amazed at the downtown revitalization.  Downtown Columbia was bustling with new boutiques, shops, bakeries, upscale and causal restaurants, breweries, a dueling piano bar and more.   We had a blast exploring.

The downtown offers enough reason to visit, but what has us so excited this time is the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival Sept. 25-27 in Stephens Lake Park in Columbia.

For three days, big name musicians like Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Irma Thomas, Buddy Guy, Brandi Carlile and many more—will play to throngs of music lovers in Columbia. The line-up of 30 national, international and local musicians is spectacular.

This will be my first big music festival and I am so stoked.

If those musicians interest you and a road trip is calling your name, you better start looking for lodging or plan to camp because hotels are hard to come by. Festival tickets are $49.50 Friday; $65 Saturday; $49.50 Sunday; $125 for a Weekend Pass. Given the talent that will be on the stage, I think it’s a bargain.  I’ve paid more to see a single musician.

The fall festival was first organized in 2007 and features musicians in the genres of roots, blues, gospel, country, folk, bluegrass, rock, and soul.   American Blues Scene Magazine called it “One of the most prominent festivals in the country!” – at least that is what the website says.

If you hate crowds this is not the weekend to visit, but Columbia is still worth a trip and fall is my favorite time to travel. Here are a few recommendations:

On our last visit, we stayed downtown at the Broadway Columbia, a Doubletree by Hilton hotel, which is about a year and a half old. We loved the hotel, particularly its rooftop bar.

The view is amazing, albeit it’s a view of Broadway and the city, so it’s not like you’re looking at nature but it’s still wonderful. We were fortunate to have a gorgeous sunset that night- so much so that we pushed our dinner reservations back to take more photos of the orange-encrusted clouds against a pink sky.

The rooftop bar is clearly a local favorite and it’s easy to see why. There are fire features, tall barstools, a festive atmosphere, and a menu to order from.

We had dinner reservations so didn’t order any food, but it smelled heavenly. I will definitely plan to try it next time.

If you like craft beer, you have a few choices in Columbia. First, is Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, 115 S. 5^th St., which was producing craft beer since 1994 before craft beer was cool. The beer and food are both pretty good and this is a downtown staple.

But Columbia has two other breweries: Broadway Brewery & Restaurant, 816 E. Broadway, which is another good choice; and Logboat Brewing Company, 504 Fay St. I haven’t personally tried Logboat but it has excellent reviews online and the Belgium-style IPA is on my list for my next trip.

For a casual dinner but good food, try Addison’s, 709 Cherry St.  This restaurants puts a twist on traditional American fare, like nachos. Here’s a description of their nachos: Italian pasta chips topped with Asiago cheese sauce, tomatoes, scallions, kalamata olives, banana peppers, mozzarella cheese, and chicken, black beans, or chorizo sausage. My favorite appetizer is the Crab Rangoon Dip- you get all the creaminess of the filling, but use fried wontons to scoop it up. Again, just an innovative way to present something traditional.

For a fine dining experience, I highly recommend with Wine Cellar & Bistro, 505 Cherry St., downtown.  Chef Craig and Sarah Cyr (sommelier) own the restaurant and wine bar, which has an award winning wine list and affordable options. The couple have owned the restaurant for 11 years and it’s my favorite place to eat.

But if the dinner menu is out of your price range, then be sure to check out the lunch menu because it offers half-size dinner portions for half the price.

Also, Sunday through Thursday, there’s a three course menu available for $30.  I dined on the delectable goat cheese truffles that melted in my mouth the second I tasted them; and tender scallops for the main course.  For this appetizer, they rolled goat cheese into balls (hence the truffle), breaded and fried the balls and served on it a bed of caramelized onions with balsamic reduction.

For my main course, I had the blackened scallops with Missouri pecans, organic California wild rice, ginger-scented braised greens, lemon and grapefruit beurre blanc sauce. The restaurant sources as many local and regional foods as possible, which I love.

I was also amazed at the olive oil and balsamic vinegar served with the bread. They reduce the vinegar in house and they sell it to take home.

Whether you chose to dine at one of these places or go to the concert, Columbia should definitely be on your list of places to explore.

Want to go?

For more information on the festival: http://rootsnbluesnbbq.com/