Poppa Mojo's offers delicious oasis between jam sessions this holiday season

The holidays are fast approaching, and with Thanksgiving's imminent return, I am already starting to feel the crunch. Cookies to make and freeze, family members to organize into a gathering where all can be present, presents to buy ... on and on and on, and most of the time, I kind of like the bustle. It makes my heart warm and fills the cold days with something to do. But sometimes, I need a breather, and I found the perfect place for that.

I was scrolling through restaurants online, as I am wont to do. I noticed a place called Poppa Mojo's Pizzeria and Frozen Daiquiris Blues & Jazz Club. Well, there's a lot going on in that name, but I was mostly interested in the Pizzeria part (and just a little in the Daiquiri part, not going to lie). I hopped on their page and read about the pizza, made with buffalo-milk mozzarella for extra richness, and thought that maybe, there was something a little special here, so I went to find out.

I'd had a packed morning, go go go from the time I got up until now, around 3:30. I hadn't eaten yet, and I was ravenous. I arrived at Poppa Mojo's at 130 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, parked where I could on a Saturday, and walked into a dimly lit, garland festooned space that definitely felt like it could be open until 1:30 a.m., which Poppa Mojo's regularly is. Now, however, the place was waiting just for me.

I spoke to the wonderful server/chef and ordered some Mojo Wings because they just sounded good, and a pizza with sausage, Canadian bacon and mushrooms, because that sounded good to me, too. I asked him about the buffalo-milk mozzarella and he confirmed that the pizzas were indeed made with it. He said that it added a richness to the cheese that you couldn't get in regular mass-produced mozzarella, and I was eager to try it. The online page also mentioned that Poppa Mojo's used a well-seasoned 10-year-old pizza oven for cooking the pies, so I was excited to see the fruits of this set up as well.

I waited for a bit, and noted the stage area that was ready for live music. On the menu, there were special theme nights for most days of the week, like the open mic/jam session on Wednesday, for instance.

Big, juicy Mojo Wings, smoked with a Bourbon dry rub and bathed in barbecue sauce definitely gave me a new appreciation for chicken wings.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

The wings arrived first and smelled absolutely amazing. Big, juicy wings smoked in a Bourbon dry-rub and then tossed in barbecue sauce won me over, though I'm not a huge wing fan. I was so hungry, and that well-seasoned chicken was so flavorful, that I think I would absolutely order these again. If barbecue isn't your thing, you can have them tossed in hot sauce or a garlic Parmesan sauce instead.

The pizza came out pretty as a picture. No joke -- it looked like someone had used a grid to place the ingredients, so carefully and precisely was each piece of meat and mushroom placed. This made for the nearly perfect pizza, with each bite having a bit of every topping included. The cheese was indeed rich with a little more bite and substance than normal mozzarella, an extra savory flavor that couldn't be denied. The sauce wasn't overly sweet but was full of herby goodness, with strong overtones of basil and oregano. The crust was crispy outside, soft inside, and did not get soggy. This pizza was so good that when my husband had some for the first time that night as reheated leftovers, he took his first bite with a quiet, satisfied, "Mmm." High praise from him, and it speaks to the quality of the pizza that the flavor held up upon reheating.

Poppa Mojo's is a unique little bar, which is made unusual by actual good food being served there. I am sure that it is a rollicking good time at night, with jazz and blues and daiquiris, open mic nights and late-night jam sessions. But for me on this day, it was all about the quiet escape, and the warm good food on a chilly day. Poppa Mojo's felt familiar and comfortable, and I could see it being the kind of place where you would love to hang with your friends for a few hours on a weekend night.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I've added Poppa Mojo's to that list.