Dining Day Trips

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Summer is road trip season, the best time to pull the top down, find the windiest highway between points A and B and just think up a destination when you're about halfway there. The call of the open road awaits, but so does the call of your stomach. After all, you can't sit in the car forever. But if you've got a day-or in some cases just an afternoon or evening-to spend, the number of destinations for food and fun in 417-land come from all around. Every place is a new experience, and if you're hungry there are equally as many new tastes awaiting you too. So cinch up your seatbelt, but leave the belt on your pants a little loose. The road beckons, complete with new foods to try. It's time to heed the call.

Bongo's Bistro - Stockton

Without London, it's likely there would be no Bongo's Bistro (106 West St., Stockton; 417-276-2221). Owner Aubrey Foster will gladly admit to that. When he moved back to Stockton with his wife 13 years ago, Foster set about taking the knowledge he gained from working at two restaurants in St. Petersburg, Florida - the Playboy Club and Campanella's Italian Restaurant (owned by the well-known chef Ralph Campanella) and putting it all into his own space. He settled on a spot next to Highway 32 and opened the first Bongo's Bistro in 2002. After only two and a half years, however, a tornado blew apart the restaurant and left Foster with the job of rebuilding his business.

And he did rebuild it-next door. The current Bongo's is a combination bistro and upscale liquor store. (Picture a gas-station-sized Brown Derby International Wine Center connected to a dining room smaller than most local coffee shops.) Earth tones dominate the setting and three paintings by the Springfield artist Josh Mitchell adorn the wall. Above, the once plain-Jane ceiling tiles are repainted in black with red accents. On Friday and Saturday nights the crowd builds to the point of spilling out the front door, and servers snake their way through both rooms (the store side doubles as an overflow area with tables and chairs) with haste to meet customers' tastes.

And there, in the middle of it all, is London Foster. She's 13 now, tall and lanky and helping to carry dishes back to the kitchen. Foster moved back to Stockton because he believed it was a good place to raise his kids. He smiles as his daughter walks past, her flip-flops clicking as she walks and a toothy smile on her face. He owes London a hug and a "thank you" at the end of the night; Bongo's Bistro owes her everything.

Experience

...A most unusual way in which to build a wine collection, courtesy of the liquor store half of Bongo's. For a 10-percent corkage fee, you can take any bottle you purchase in the store and enjoy it with your

If You're Staying

...Come with scuba gear. Stockton State Park (19100 State Hwy. 215, Dadeville; 417-276-4259, mostate parks.com/Stockton.htm) offers all the amenities needed to enjoy Stockton Lake, and it's all waiting for you in one place. The marina has boats to rent of every variety along with two launching ramps. Fishermen can catch their limit of bass, crappie, walleye, catfish or bluegill. There's even a half-mile hiking trail to wander through for a view of the lakeside scenery.