Cape Girardeau is home to great dining options

I don’t know if it’s because it’s a river city, or borders the south, but Cape Girardeau has some outstanding dining options. And we took advantage of that!

You can get pretty much any ethnic food you want. Chinese? Greek? Mexican? Cajun? Hamburgers and hot dogs? Yep, pretty much anything you can think to eat, you can find in this city of about 38,000 people.

We started our visit with croissants and lattes at Cup ‘n’ Cork downtown. We met Stacey from the Convention and Visitors Bureau there. She was kind enough to buy us breakfast. She chose a veggie option for her egg and cheese croissant. Lisa and I went with a sausage, egg and cheese croissant. We both had a vanilla latte to refresh our systems after an early morning drive to the Cape from Omaha.

The restaurant offers a fine selection of coffees, as well as wine. So, in the morning you can enjoy a cup of Joe. Then, in the evening, unwind with a nice glass of Chardonnay.

We visited the Cup ‘n’ Cork on their last weekend at that location. They actually move about two blocks away over the weekend we were there.

We enjoyed a late lunch after taking in some of the area’s attractions. Muy Bueno was our choice. The Mexican eatery west of downtown had excellent options for lunch. It offers lunch specials and combinations, so you can get quite a bit for a very reasonable price.

Lisa had a taco and tamale special. I tried a taco and enchilada. Delicious.

The cool thing about Muy Bueno was that the cast of the movie “Gone Girl” dined here often while in town filming the movie. The owner showed us the autographed movie poster that director David Fincher sent them. It hangs near the cash register.

We also saw the chair where star Ben Affleck sat at when he dined here. Very cool.

After finishing our lunch at Muy Bueno, we hit the streets of Cape Girardeau for more touring.

During our drive around the area, we stopped for a twofold purpose at Andy’s Custard. The sweet shop is featured in the movie “Gone Girl,” and we wanted a sweet snack. The old-fashioned-looking drive-in offers some great custard treats. Lisa had a sundae with strawberries and banana. I had a strawberry shake that included chunks of real strawberries. Both were delicious.

We grabbed a late dinner downtown at Brousards. The Cajun restaurant was the perfect choice for capping off our first full day of touring the city.

We each had sodas with our meals. The drinks come in large glasses, which the staff is good at keeping filled.

Lisa went for her favorite Cajun items – shrimp etouffe and gumbo. Hers was a combo. Huge is an understatement. I chose a half-order of jambalaya (my truly favorite Cajun dish). Neither of us could finish the meals, so we took doggie bags to the hotel. Side note: When dining at such establishments, if you can agree on a dish with your partner, you may want to split these meals).

The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel. But, as we were touring downtown Cape, we grabbed a vanilla latte at Dynamite Coffee. It’s not called Dynamite for any reason. The coffee is delicious. I told the owners it rivals the brand from Seattle.

We also grabbed giant doughnuts at the farmer’s market. Donuts and coffee. Yummy!

Afterward, we headed out for more sightseeing.

We purposely planned a late lunch, so we could check out a new sports restaurant (to us) and catch some of the Nebraska football game. It was the season opener. I figured we’d eat and watch the first half, and then head back out.

We went to Beef O’Brady’s. The restaurant chain sponsors a college football bowl game by the same name. I thought it would be enjoyable to watch the Huskers in a new restaurant.

Unfortunately, that Beef O’Brady’s did not carry the Big Ten Network. With Missouri being in the Southeastern Conference, the eatery carried the SEC Network. I was a bit disappointed, but that can happen. As I told Lisa, we did want to check out this chain, so that was OK. It allowed us to eat our meal and then leave sooner than we would have.

Neither of us wanted a true meal of our own, so we ordered an appetizer sampler. Sliders, French fries, fried shrimp and boneless wings made up the dish. It hit the spot. We watched some sports. Ate some sports food. All good in the end.

After our lunch, we capped our sightseeing day with a trip to Trail of Tears State Park and the driving tour for the “Gone Girl” filming sights.

By the time dinner rolled around, we were hungry. It was pushing 9 p.m., so we went to Dexter’s for some Missouri barbecue. This place did not disappoint. The food was excellent.

Lisa had a brisket with pepper jack cheese and potato salad. I had a brisket sandwich with pimento cheese and sides of BBQ beans and coleslaw. Definitely a great choice for BBQ.

Lisa saw Cupcake Daddy across the street, so we thought we’d just check it out. What a mistake! This place had cake, cupcakes, cheesecake – all kinds of cheesecake, and wine. We left with a slice of red velvet cheesecake to split at the hotel. The treat was very rich, but also very tasty.

So, when traveling to Cape Girardeau, plan to check out these places and other possible dining options for some great food. Service at each location was excellent to outstanding.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the Cape Girardeau for the gift cards to Muy Bueno, Beef O’Brady’s, Dexter’s and Brousards. However, all opinions and views are ours.