The lake area is a summertime hot spot, but it's tons of fun over the winter too. There is always something exciting going on, and if you happen to live out of town, this is the perfect time of year to take a trip and stay at one of our vacation rental houses at the Lake of the Ozarks.
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| photo from Funlake.com |
You get all the comforts of home when you stay next door to Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina, there's plenty of room for groups both large and small, and you're centrally located to all of the action. Here are just a few of the reasons you will want to be at the Lake of the Ozarks in December.
Concert at Dog Days
Our sister restaurant, Dog Days Bar & Grill, closes during the off-season like we do, but for one-night-only, they're opening their doors for a rockin' good party! On Saturday, December 8, 2018, the Dog will open its bar, stage, and dance floor for a night full of fun.
Machine Gun Symphony will take the stage with special guest Zero Zero. Doors open at 7 pm and the party will go on all night long! You can pick up tickets in advance at our other sister restaurant, Wobbly Boots Roadhouse, for $10 each or grab them at the door on show night for $15 each.
Fireside Bourbon Dinner
Wobbly Boots Roadhouse is also selling tickets now for their first Fireside Bourbon Dinner of the season on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. They were named one of the Great Bourbon Bars of America by GreatBourbon.com this year, and these amazing dinners have a lot to do with that title.
Seating is limited to only 20 people. Tickets are $125 each and include a 5-course gourmet dinner prepared by Chef McCowan with an elite bourbon pairing for each course. This is all served fireside in their private dining room. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Lake of the Ozarks Idiots Club, which is an organization that helps lots of in-need children in the lake area. Call 573-348-2277 right away to reserve your spot.
New Year's Eve
Once the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season has passed, New Year's Eve follows quickly behind that. There will be lots of fantastic New Year's Eve parties in the lake area, including one at Wobbly Boots Roadhouse featuring the music of Art Bentley.
Of course, you could also decide to host an intimate gathering of your own inside one of our Lake of the Ozarks vacation rental houses. They include a wonderful lake view, full kitchens, comfortable living rooms, and enough room to sleep up to 8 guests in the Glass House and up to 16 guests in the Red House!
Holiday Shopping
Instead of staying at the Lake of the Ozarks for a special event, spend a few days here taking advantage of some incredible shopping for holiday gifts for everyone on your list. There are brand-name stores plus lots of smaller, local shops with all kinds of unique and amazing items you won't find anyplace else.
Shorty Pants Marina is open year-round so you can pick up some great Shorty Pants t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, cups, koozies, and more to wrap up and put under the tree. A gift card for Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina also makes an excellent gift to look forward to using next spring! (Those gift cards may also be used at Dog Days Bar & Grill and Wobbly Boots Roadhouse.)
Holiday Lights & Events
If it's the special events that attract you to the lake area, there are plenty of those to keep you busy all month long! The perfect place to see a long list of events and activities taking place is www.Funlake.com. There you will find the dates, details, and links to all kinds of the lake area happenings.
You'll find lots of holiday light displays to drive through, and there is even a holiday lights cruise that allows you to admire festive decorations from the water. Camdenton hosts a special Christmas on the Square, and there's an annual parade on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip in Lake Ozark, plus concerts, shows, and many more reasons to spend some time at the Lake of the Ozarks.
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| photo from Funlake.com |
Book Your Stay With Us
You can easily check availability, see rates, and book your stay in one of our waterfront Lake of the Ozarks vacation house rentals from the home page on our website. From there, you can also see photos of the inside of each house, plus read positive reviews from previous guests. The Glass House and the Red House are perfect for both families and groups of friends.
We currently have quite a few dates open at the Shorty Pants vacation house rentals, but if your desired date happens to be booked, check out the vacation house rental next to Dog Days Bar & Grill. It also offers all the comforts of home in a luxury waterfront house that can sleep up to 18. The lake area is a wonderful place to enjoy all year long, and when you stay with us, you'll feel right at home!
If you're getting ready to begin planning a holiday party (or a few holiday gatherings,) you're going to need to feed everyone attending your event. Make that part of the party-planning a lot easier on yourself by hiring the best caterers at the Lake of the Ozarks. Even though the restaurant at Shorty Pants Lounge is closed for the season, we can still cook up a holiday meal for you that your guests will absolutely love!
Wide Variety of Foods
Shorty Pants is a part of the Barrett Restaurant Group which is made up of ourselves, Dog Days Bar & Grill, and Wobbly Boots Roadhouse. When we cater your event, you not only have all of the amazing dishes each of our restaurants are known for to pick from, but the creative chefs from all three venues are capable of making a customized menu from just about any food you love. No matter what the meal - breakfast, lunch, dinner, or "snack-time," you just let us know what you have in mind and our kitchen will come up with a menu perfectly suited to your needs.
Any Event, Large or Small
We are able to cater events for small parties of a few close friends all the way up to groups of 500 or more people! Wedding receptions, holiday parties, office meetings, family reunions... the list goes on and on. If your celebration needs food, we can make that happen in the most delicious way possible!
Our catering schedule works on a first-come, first served basis, so once you have a date in mind for your party, give us a call to get it on our calendar. To guarantee that date, it needs to be booked in advance with our sales office and a final guest count is needed one week before the event.
Your Place or Ours?
We have a couple of awesome catering vans that we can load up with all of your goodies so that they can be delivered directly to you. On the other hand, if you are in need of a venue to host your event, we can help you out there too!
Wobbly Boots Roadhouse is open year-round and has a private room that can be reserved. On certain occasions, even in our off-season, we may be able to host your party at one of the Lake of the Ozarks waterfront restaurants - Shorty Pants Lounge or Dog Days Bar & Grill. We'd be happy to discuss all of the possibilities when you give us a call.
When you're ready to start planning the catering for your event, give us a call at 573-348-2277 or call our head chef, Kevin, at 573-216-5615. If you want to serve your guests the best catering at the Lake of the Ozarks over the holidays, give us a call soon, and remember that Shorty Pants Lounge can cater your events any time of the year. There are always plenty of reasons to celebrate, and the party will be a lot more fun for you, the host, when you let us handle the cooking!
It's that unavoidable time of year when our waterfront bar & restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks is getting ready to shut our doors for a few months. Don't focus on the fact that you can't enjoy Shorty Pants Lounge until next spring, but rather take this time to get yourself on over here while you still can!
Shorty Pants Dining Favorites
Last week our blog featured 10 menu items that we know you're going to miss this winter after we close for the season at the end of the day on Saturday, November 17, 2018. In reality, the dishes on that list are just the tip of the iceberg. We see a lot of repeat customers here at Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina and each of them has a different opinion about which menu item keeps bringing them back again and again.
For many, it's those famous Crab Cakes, while others can't resist our mouthwatering Shrimp & Crawfish Etouffee. The Po Boys are always popular too, but so are many of our non-Cajun creations, which get just as much love and attention as the Creole cooking. You've still got a few more days to come in and enjoy your favorites one more time this year, whatever they may be!
Raise a Glass
Don't forget about all of those freshly made cocktails that our bartenders are so amazing at creating too. You won't find a better Hurricane in town, and our muddled Mojitos and Cajun Bloody Marys are just as irresistible! Even though it's cold outside, you might want to have one last Rum Runner or Pina Colada for the season, and of course, we've got plenty of beer, wine, and all of your favorite liquors to enjoy. Come in and toast another fantastic season with us before it's over!
We Cater Year-Round
Even though the doors to our Lake of the Ozarks restaurant & bar will be closed until next spring, our talented chefs are always available to cater all of your special events year-round! As a part of the Barrett Restaurant Group along with Dog Days Bar & Grill and Wobbly Boots Roadhouse, we have the ability to create customized menus for parties, business meetings, and much more. In some cases, we can even open the restaurant back up for private parties. For more details or to book catering for your event, give us a call at 573-348-2277 or call our head chef, Kevin, at 573-216-5615.
Stay With Us This Winter
Another service we offer year-round is the best vacation house rentals at the Lake of the Ozarks. That means that our spacious and comfortable houses are the perfect place for you to stay when you visit the lake area for all of those fun holiday happenings going on. The Glass House can sleep up to 8 guests and the Red House can house up to 16 guests. They are both located on the water just a short distance from Shorty Pants Marina, which is also open year-round. You can see photos, get additional details, check availability, and book online at www.ShortyPantsLounge.com.
As sad as we are to say goodbye, for now, you can rest assured that Shorty Pants Lounge will be back again next spring with another exciting menu full of Cajun goodness. Please make plans to join us on or before our last day of the season on Saturday, November 17, 2018. We'd love to hang out with you again this year!
It's always hard to see the end of another season at our Lake of the Ozarks waterfront restaurant & bar coming up on the calendar, but we all knew it was coming. Knowing that Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina will be open again serving all of your favorites next spring helps to ease the sadness some. So does coming in during these final weeks to enjoy a few of those favorites before they go into hibernation.
Everyone has an opinion about what our best dishes happen to be. Here are 10 of them that get ordered often, and you've still got until Saturday, November 17, 2018, to come in and get them along with rest of our menu filled with the best Cajun food at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Crab Cakes
Our amazing handmade shrimp and lump blue crab meat cakes are an extremely popular menu item. They are rolled in our seasoned bread crumbs and topped with shrimp, then covered with a savory seafood cream sauce. As fantastic as they are on our own, when we place them on top of a bed of fresh fettuccine for our Crab Cake Pasta, the taste is elevated to a whole new level!
Shrimp & Grits
A Cajun classic! This dish contains large shrimp that are sauteed with Andouille sausage, hickory-smoked bacon, onions, and mushrooms. That mouthwatering mix is served over a heaping helping of homemade Cheddar Cheese & Jalapeno Grits. We've also got another terrific version with our Shrimp & Grit Tacos, which place the famous jalapeno grits under shrimp, Andouille sausage, bacon, and a jalapeno lime sauce in a flour tortilla.
Smoked Wings
Wings are always a menu favorite, especially when they're perfectly house-smoked over hickory like we do them! You can find a very similar wing at our sister restaurant, Wobbly Boots Roadhouse, the king of hickory-smoked meats, year-round. When you get them here, we offer them in the following ways:
- Original
- Extra Hot
- Garlic Parmesan
- Barbecue
Catfish
Catfish is used often in Cajun cooking, plus it's delicious, so you will find it offered quite a few different ways on the menu at Shorty Pants Lounge. Catfish lovers will need to come in a few times to try all of these!
- Catfish BLT
- Catfish Po Boy
- Smothered Catfish (covered in creamy Crawfish Etouffee!)
- Catfish Dinner
Po Boys
You can't run a Cajun restaurant without perfecting the Po Boy, and we believe we've done exactly that! One of the wonderful varieties we serve has already been mentioned above, but we've got even more for you to enjoy. In case you're not familiar with this fantastic sandwich, it's a French roll containing lettuce, tomato, homemade Cajun mayo, and one of the following meats:
- Catfish (fried or blackened)
- Fried Oysters
- Fried Shrimp
- Andouille Sausage (This one features our homemade remoulade sauce in place of the Cajun mayo.)
Creole Quesadilla
Quesadillas are most often considered Mexican cuisine, but not the way we stuff them! Our version contains Cajun flavors that will make your mouth water before you even take a bite! It's a bountiful blend of Andouille sausage, crawfish, and shrimp with pepper jack cheese and sauteed peppers & onions. Mmmm boy!
Big Easy Shrimp
Sure, we make it fresh right here in mid-Missouri, but it tastes like it came straight out of the Big Easy! These large gulf shrimp are sauteed in butter, white wine, and garlic with lemon, rosemary, and Cajun seasonings. It's available as an appetizer or an entire signature entree.
New Orleans Medley
For the diner that has trouble deciding on which dish to order, this menu item offers you four of our very best all on one plate! You get creamy Crawfish Etouffee, rich Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice, and a half-link of our Andouille Sausage. Make sure you attack this plate with a big appetite!
Beignets
This is Louisiana's version of the doughnut. It makes an excellent dessert and an equally delicious appetizer. Our housemade sweet raspberry sauce is served with this perfectly deep-fried pastry tossed in powdered sugar. Great for sharing, but you may want to keep them all to yourself!
Hurricanes
We take the classic cocktail created in New Orleans and do it justice, plus we came up with a few of our very own variations on the delicious drink. Our freshly muddled Mojitos and Cajun Bloody Marys are also amazing, but there's something special about Hurricanes and Cajun food together. Here at Shorty Pants, your choices include:
- New Orleans Hurricane
- Rainbow Sherbert Hurricane
- Spring Hurricane
- Freedom Hurricane
There's a lot more on the menu than the items we just mentioned, so if you want to get a few more helpings in before we close for the season, we're still open 7 days a week at 11 am for lunch and dinner. Also, if you're really going to miss us over the next few months, swing by the marina (which is open year-round) and pick up a comfy Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina sweatshirt. That way when you miss us this winter, you can cuddle up with it and feel a little closer to your favorite Cajun restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks!
We are just 2 short weeks away from the day you dread every fall... the time when your favorite Lake of the Ozarks waterfront bar & restaurant closes for the season. Our last day open fo
r 2018 will be Saturday, November 17.
Don't waste your time being sad. Instead, make plans now to get on over to Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina one more time this year (or a few more times) for all of the amazing things you're going to miss about us over the winter.
Amazin' Cajun
The best Cajun food at the Lake of the Ozarks comes out of our kitchen, and it's full of authentic rubs and spices direct from Louisiana and made with recipes that any New Orleans native would be proud of! If you close your eyes after taking a bite, you just might think you're actually in the French Quarter instead of mid-Missouri.
The majority of our menu is filled with creative Creole cuisine. Some of our most popular dishes that keep bringing people back year after year include our Crab Cake Pasta, Smothered Catfish, Creole Quesadillas, great big Po Boy Sandwiches, and our New Orleans Medley which offers a taste of not just one but four of our famous menu items.
...and There's MORE!
Even though we're most well-known for our fantastic Cajun cooking, our diverse menu has quite a few non-Cajun dishes to offer too, so there's truly something for everyone! You'll find savory steaks as well as many signature sandwiches. We've also got a great selection of juicy burgers, succulent seafood, salads, wraps, tacos, and a lot more. Whether it's lunchtime, dinnertime, or snack time, you're sure to find something you'll love!
Creative Cocktails
You don't want to go into the off-season without getting at least one more glass of your favorite Shorty Pants Lounge cocktail. A few of the legendary drinks we're popular for include freshly muddled Mojitos, Cajun Bloody Marys, fantastic frozen drinks, and a long list of New Orleans style Hurricanes. The bar also carries an impressive wine list and the coldest beer in town. Plenty of choices to whet your whistle!
That Fantastic Lake View
As long as the sun is out, it's still wonderfully pleasant to sit outside and enjoy our gorgeous lake view most days. When the chill of autumn is more than you're willing to bear, our smoke-free indoor dining room is warm, cozy, and filled with the sights and scents of our terrific Cajun creations.
Speaking of warm and cozy, don't forget about our awesome outdoor fireplace. The area is covered and there is a TV out there so you can keep an eye on whatever game happens to be playing while you're here.
Stay With Us This Winter
While the restaurant, bar, and marina take a break for the winter, our two amazing Lake of the Ozarks vacation rental houses are available for you to enjoy all year long. There are plenty of incredible things going on in the lake area during the off-season, and we've got the perfect place for you to stay while you're in town.
The Glass House can easily host up to 8 guests, and the Red House offers enough room for up to 16 people. Both offer all the comforts of home, a fantastic lake view, and are centrally located to many of the best attractions and events at the Lake of the Ozarks. You can check availability online and book your stay through our website.
The season's not over for our Lake of the Ozarks Cajun restaurant quite yet, but the end will be sneaking up on us before you know it. Please stop by and visit us at least one more time before Shorty Pants Lounge & Marina's last day for this season, Saturday, November 17, 2018. Let's end this year together because it's always more fun when you're here!
