Boonville, Missouri Via Boonville, Indiana

Boonville, Indiana, Timothy Briner, 2007

A little less then two weeks ago I traveled from Brooklyn, New York to Lousiville, Kentucky to Boonville, Missouri. Boonville, Indiana happened to be directly on my way from Louisville to Boonville, Missouri and it was lunch time, so I stopped.

Boonville, Indiana is hauntingly beautiful. It has an amazing town square but there is almost nothing there--it was practically dead. After some hesitation, I decided to walk into a bar on the square (its windows were blacked out). Other then a 20' x 50' mahogany back-bar with huge pillars and a ginormous mirror, it was kinda crappy on the inside. I saw two guys playing pool and Kenny, the owner, was standing behind the bar. Kenny is sixty-nine years old and has lived in Boonville his entire life. His father was a saloon keeper before him and his daughter is following in their footsteps. As I entered I asked him if he served any food. "what?" He said. "He can't here you, ya need to scream." says one of the guys playing pool. "food?" I ask. "wha?" I then move my hand to my mouth (probably looking like an idiot). "I make a burger...but you can go to McDonald's and get it quicker," he says. (Screaming & pointing) "HOW ABOUT THE PLACE OVER THERE," I say. "They don't make 'em like I do," he says. "I'LL TAKE A BURGER THEN."

Twenty-Five minutes later the burger comes out. There is no ketchup, mustard, etc. in site. Just a plain burger, bun, chips and a soggy pickle. "Can I get some ketchup?" I ask. "Hugh?" "CAN I GET SOME KETCHUP!?" Kenny snickers at me and says, "That burger is perfect the way it is." Needless to say, I didn't get any ketchup. And yes, it was a pretty damn good burger. Especially for three bucks.