It apparently means 2017, which is the address of this cozy bistro in Lafayette Square. Vin de Set is situated on the top floor of an old warehouse, which allows it to offer a great outdoor patio (enclosed in the winter) with cool views of downtown. We had reservations (I would say a must on a Saturday night), but opted to go early to enjoy a drink in the covered patio. We had that bar to ourselves; most folks were at the indoor and fancier bar. We were seated a few minutes early, at possibly the best table in the house. We were in a room with a fire place in the corner, with the ability to people watch without being conspicuous.
Vin de Set has a nice wine list which is easy to navigate. It is separated by types, and the list includes bottles from all over the world (except Missouri). We started with a cheese platter, with accompaniments of stone ground mustard (Tim's favorite), fig, and apricot spread, as well as olives and pickled brussel sprouts that were surprisingly good. Our major mistake we made was ordering a second starter of "tarte flambe" which sounded like a tart that was set on fire. It actually was a flatbread covered with cheese and bacon and way too humungous. We finished about 1/3 of it.
Not to be outdone by other gluttons, we then set out for main courses, which by this time we didn't need at all but thought we should order anyway. Tim had steak au poivre, which he practice pronouncing 5 times and then looked to me for my French languange pronunciation approval, which I thought was good considering it initially came out as "oh- poive." I ordered the duck confit. The duck was not dry as it can be, but unfortunately it was REALLY salty and I had to take a swig of water after each bite. It was accompanied by "rocket with apples, onions and citrus viniagrette" Say what? Rocket is apparently just your average arugula which was very very good in the viniagrette. We were disgusingly full by this point; we couldn't even finish our bottle of wine, nor did we make it to our planned final destination of the Chocolate Bar. Boo on us.
We want to go back in the summertime to check out the unencumbered views of downtown when the patio is open.
www.vindeset.com
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Easier Than Getting on a Plane or Reading Joyce's Classic
The Dubliner is a basic Irish pub on Washington street, an unassuming business in a sea of Sushi and Tapas restaurants. We were there with a small group of friends on a Thursday night for a happy hour.
First of all, the Guinness is outstanding. Go to McGurk's for the patio; go to The Dubliner for the pints. The food is higher-end pub fare- "Gastropub" if you will. We decided to start with the Charcuterie platter, which had three or so artisan cheeses and pate as well as a very odd tasting duck (I think) liver. It was not foie gras. Besides the mystery liver, everything else on the plate was very good. For our entrees, Tim kept it simple with a pub burger, but I ventured a little further with the Green Peppercorn Burger, which I can only describe as interesting. I liked it, it just tasted different. Our friends had an array of food as well, ranging from pasties, which I think were described as good, to fish and chips that smelled like the Mississippi River in July. This was the only misstep of the evening.
The service we had was also good. It was a Thursday night, so there weren't many patrons, but we had 10 or so people and no one went without a pint if they wanted more.
The Dubliner is a good option for dinner that isn't trendy or stuffy and a great option for a Guinness.
www.dublinerstl.com
First of all, the Guinness is outstanding. Go to McGurk's for the patio; go to The Dubliner for the pints. The food is higher-end pub fare- "Gastropub" if you will. We decided to start with the Charcuterie platter, which had three or so artisan cheeses and pate as well as a very odd tasting duck (I think) liver. It was not foie gras. Besides the mystery liver, everything else on the plate was very good. For our entrees, Tim kept it simple with a pub burger, but I ventured a little further with the Green Peppercorn Burger, which I can only describe as interesting. I liked it, it just tasted different. Our friends had an array of food as well, ranging from pasties, which I think were described as good, to fish and chips that smelled like the Mississippi River in July. This was the only misstep of the evening.
The service we had was also good. It was a Thursday night, so there weren't many patrons, but we had 10 or so people and no one went without a pint if they wanted more.
The Dubliner is a good option for dinner that isn't trendy or stuffy and a great option for a Guinness.
www.dublinerstl.com
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Franco, Cie Vous Plait
Franco is a cute little restaurant tucked into the corner of the sprawling Soulard Market Lofts. I've driven by this corner many times going to the market and yet didn't notice this place, which is only denoted by a black metallic sign on a brick facade.
We made reservations, which at a French restaurant are NOT necessary at 6 PM but since I get dining points through OpenTable.com, why not? There were a few diners present at that time and a few more in the bar area. This place is quite small, but it added to a nice atmosphere and since this was in a loft building, the brick was exposed as well as having vaulted ceilings. There was a private party being seated as we were leaving in a separate room with this giant painting that just said LIQUOR all over it. I was a fan.
I didn't even open the wine menu as I was nursing the results of an open bar the afternoon before, but the wine "Cellar" is in the dining room and it looked as though there was a decent selection. We started with the odd appetizer combo of raw oysters and pate*. The pate came as a duo, with the traditional chicken and also lamb. The lamb was decent but the chicken was still the star. Unfortunately, after our vacation in the Northeast, we've been spoiled on our oysters; these were fine but not outstanding.
We each ordered fish for our entree, Tim a freshwater trout, and me the saltwater baramundi. Tim's was-I'm guessing here-a lemon/wine reduction and mine (I actually READ the menu) had a pumpkin seed/cream reduction over a polenta-type cake stuffed with arugula. Both were very tasty.
This was definitely one of the better restaurants we've been to lately. The atmosphere was good and the food even better. I think we'll be back.
* How do you add accents and all those other French marks on an English keyboard??
www.eatatfranco.com
We made reservations, which at a French restaurant are NOT necessary at 6 PM but since I get dining points through OpenTable.com, why not? There were a few diners present at that time and a few more in the bar area. This place is quite small, but it added to a nice atmosphere and since this was in a loft building, the brick was exposed as well as having vaulted ceilings. There was a private party being seated as we were leaving in a separate room with this giant painting that just said LIQUOR all over it. I was a fan.
I didn't even open the wine menu as I was nursing the results of an open bar the afternoon before, but the wine "Cellar" is in the dining room and it looked as though there was a decent selection. We started with the odd appetizer combo of raw oysters and pate*. The pate came as a duo, with the traditional chicken and also lamb. The lamb was decent but the chicken was still the star. Unfortunately, after our vacation in the Northeast, we've been spoiled on our oysters; these were fine but not outstanding.
We each ordered fish for our entree, Tim a freshwater trout, and me the saltwater baramundi. Tim's was-I'm guessing here-a lemon/wine reduction and mine (I actually READ the menu) had a pumpkin seed/cream reduction over a polenta-type cake stuffed with arugula. Both were very tasty.
This was definitely one of the better restaurants we've been to lately. The atmosphere was good and the food even better. I think we'll be back.
* How do you add accents and all those other French marks on an English keyboard??
www.eatatfranco.com
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Plush Doesn't Necessarily Mean Fancy
Plush Pig is recently relocated establishment, moving from the more "plush" Clayton to the "lesser plush" Rock Hill. Interestingly, it was moved right across the street from the local chain, Bandana's BBQ. Plush Pig serves...BBQ. It takes balls and a lot of faith in the chain-loving St. Louis population to think folks will make their way across Manchester Avenue to try something different.
I knew this place was here for quite some time, considering its across the street for my gym and less than two miles form work. But Friday night was the first opportunity I had to test it out. A long list of errands found me still out and about at 5:30 PM so I called the number I had looked up days before (easy to remember-the same prefix as my work and then 8888-like I ate ate ate ate too much BBQ). Oddly, I ordered brisket, no plush piggy in that but my favorite 'que meat nonetheless, as a sandwich, that came with the sauce on the side. The sandwich was pretty good. As a side, I ordered creamy slaw, which they also offer in a sweet-n-sour preparation. Also, I threw in some onion straws, which just sounded bad for you and a necessity. Super-salty and a good grease counterpart to the slaw.
The atmosphere of the Plush Pig is somewhat like a Mexican Cantina: neon beer signs in the window and hangy shit on the ceilings with a bar/carry-out counter at the end. I think carryout was the best idea for this place as it was lacking the real hole-in-the-wall feel of Arthur Bryant's (KC) or the fake hole-in-the-wall feel of Pappy's.
Sitting at the stop light at Manchester and McKnight is a real treat. Overkill of slow-roasted meats and I love every minute of it.
http://www.plushpigbbq.com/
I knew this place was here for quite some time, considering its across the street for my gym and less than two miles form work. But Friday night was the first opportunity I had to test it out. A long list of errands found me still out and about at 5:30 PM so I called the number I had looked up days before (easy to remember-the same prefix as my work and then 8888-like I ate ate ate ate too much BBQ). Oddly, I ordered brisket, no plush piggy in that but my favorite 'que meat nonetheless, as a sandwich, that came with the sauce on the side. The sandwich was pretty good. As a side, I ordered creamy slaw, which they also offer in a sweet-n-sour preparation. Also, I threw in some onion straws, which just sounded bad for you and a necessity. Super-salty and a good grease counterpart to the slaw.
The atmosphere of the Plush Pig is somewhat like a Mexican Cantina: neon beer signs in the window and hangy shit on the ceilings with a bar/carry-out counter at the end. I think carryout was the best idea for this place as it was lacking the real hole-in-the-wall feel of Arthur Bryant's (KC) or the fake hole-in-the-wall feel of Pappy's.
Sitting at the stop light at Manchester and McKnight is a real treat. Overkill of slow-roasted meats and I love every minute of it.
http://www.plushpigbbq.com/
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Boo-geddy-Boogaloo
Quick: what is a Boogaloo? Not a nonsense word, but a genre of Latin music and an accompanying dance. What is Boogaloo in Maplewood? An overcrowded yuppie bar serving what this amateur food critic will call Pan Caribbean. In the stack of purchased Groupons, this restaurant's discount was perched on top and yet every weekend it was received with a scrunched up face from That Other Person Who Would Be Eating With Me.
Before an anticipated "Evening With Harry Shearer" (we're weird), Boogaloo was really the best choice since it was #1 Not too expensive and #2 less than 10 minutes from the theatre. TOPWWBEWM gave a scrunched up face, acquiesced, and we departed for downtown Maplewood. Tim had been to this place before, but only for drinks, and thinking that bar service was its main attraction, it didn't occur to me that we would need reservations for a Friday night. We were told that it was a 45 minute wait-unless-we wanted to eat outside. Ok? It was 70 degrees. It was hard to believe that 45 minutes worth of people didn't want to eat on the deck. Our hostess was taking us to our table, did an about face, and took off. To seat someone else. We were standing next to the service area of the bar, right in everyone's way. We looked at each other and shrugged and were about to give up when she returned to seat us.
Out on the deck there were several empty tables, which led me to believe that something fishy was going on at the hostess station. Didn't matter since we had our seats. Three waiters passed us before one stopped and asked if another had helped us yet. We were not in a hurry, so I let this slide. Opening the menu, I saw that ubiquitous annoucement of "TAPAS." The TAPAS, which 10 years ago were known as "APPETIZERS" or even "STARTERS," included about 7-8 Pan-Caribbean offerings, including Jerk Wings and crawfish cakes, which we ordered. The crawfish cakes were pretty good with a basic accompaniment of remoulade, and they gave us a generous offering of 10 jerk wings, and although not spicy enough to be considered jerk, included an interesting cooling sauce of coconut somethingorother. We each ordered the Cubano sandwich, which was just mediocre-go to Luvy Duvy's (see review) or Tropicana (no review) for a much better one.
Boogaloo has an interesting martini and frozen drink list but I was already struggling to stay awake for Montgomery Burns, et al., that I decided that I needed to skip those. The scrunched up face will be happy to get a reprieve-we will not be returning-until the next non-bar Groupon purchased.
http://www.boogaloostl.com/
Before an anticipated "Evening With Harry Shearer" (we're weird), Boogaloo was really the best choice since it was #1 Not too expensive and #2 less than 10 minutes from the theatre. TOPWWBEWM gave a scrunched up face, acquiesced, and we departed for downtown Maplewood. Tim had been to this place before, but only for drinks, and thinking that bar service was its main attraction, it didn't occur to me that we would need reservations for a Friday night. We were told that it was a 45 minute wait-unless-we wanted to eat outside. Ok? It was 70 degrees. It was hard to believe that 45 minutes worth of people didn't want to eat on the deck. Our hostess was taking us to our table, did an about face, and took off. To seat someone else. We were standing next to the service area of the bar, right in everyone's way. We looked at each other and shrugged and were about to give up when she returned to seat us.
Out on the deck there were several empty tables, which led me to believe that something fishy was going on at the hostess station. Didn't matter since we had our seats. Three waiters passed us before one stopped and asked if another had helped us yet. We were not in a hurry, so I let this slide. Opening the menu, I saw that ubiquitous annoucement of "TAPAS." The TAPAS, which 10 years ago were known as "APPETIZERS" or even "STARTERS," included about 7-8 Pan-Caribbean offerings, including Jerk Wings and crawfish cakes, which we ordered. The crawfish cakes were pretty good with a basic accompaniment of remoulade, and they gave us a generous offering of 10 jerk wings, and although not spicy enough to be considered jerk, included an interesting cooling sauce of coconut somethingorother. We each ordered the Cubano sandwich, which was just mediocre-go to Luvy Duvy's (see review) or Tropicana (no review) for a much better one.
Boogaloo has an interesting martini and frozen drink list but I was already struggling to stay awake for Montgomery Burns, et al., that I decided that I needed to skip those. The scrunched up face will be happy to get a reprieve-we will not be returning-until the next non-bar Groupon purchased.
http://www.boogaloostl.com/
Sunday, November 7, 2010
House of Basement Hotel Dining
Sorry about the delay in posts, fan(s)! Delicious food was consumed in Providence and Newport, RI and Boston and after that major blow to our credit card, we've been eating in!
But
It was time to venture out again. After a fun (to me) and very boring and long (to Tim) fondue dinner at home on Friday night, Saturday, I made reservations at Lumiere Place's House of Savoy, thanks to a Groupon purchased a few months ago. Lumiere Place is a newish casino with a really sweet looking Four Seasons attached. The actual Lumiere Place HOTEL is not part of this new complex but a 30 year old converted Embassy Suites that connects to the casino complex via skywalk. We entered the casino and looked through all of the restaurants (see Burger Bar review, June), and finally found a sign pointing us all the way to the basement of the hotel. Surprisingly, this place was almost full at our arrival, and by the time we left, there was a wait to be seated. House of Savoy almost certainly is a former Family Table-esque establishment, complete with mirrored support beams and strange light fixtures. They tried to mask this by using the mirrors as a place to display the wine list but that only: 1) drew attention to the mirror and 2)confirmed the cheap feel of a basement restaurant.
We started out with an antipasti platter which after being announced by our waiter with a "Woo-hoo Antipasti!" had a good selection of meats and a poor selection of cheeses. The cheeses all tasted EXACTLY the same-somewhere in the swiss consistency-and no hard, aged, or molded cheese for variety. They offered us bread service, which we accepted, and then after waiting about 10 minutes for, asked for again. The bread came with tapenade and bruschetta, which unfortunately, were probably the best parts of this meal, given that it was complimentary. We split a salad with goat cheese and pine nuts, also pretty good.
I decided to stick to pasta since Family Table doesn't scream "Steak House" and the steaks were ringing in in the 40 dollar range. I ordered carbonara, which is hard to screw up and Tim had lasagna. The carbonara wasn't screwed up, tasted exactly as it should, not innovative but consistent. Tim's "lasagna" came out as papperdelle noodles in a bolognese sauce, which prompted me to ask for a menu to make sure he was given the correct dish. He had been-the Lasagna Matta was described as "baked crazy lasagna in bolognese sauce"-to which I explained that apparently, papperdelle, which you can find in any grocery store, is "crazy" (matta is Italian for madman.) Tim just wanted some regular old lasagna.
The bonus on this Groupon was that it included a 10 dollar bonus to the upstairs bar AND we were given a 10 dollar bonus to blow at the casino afterward*. We went upstairs to find that bar, which is right smack in the middle of the atrium. Tim felt as though he was on a work trip, drinking free booze in a hotel lobby. We skywalked it back over to the casino, dropped the 10 dollars in 10 minutes in a 25 cent slot machine and home we went. There were enough "mattas" patronizing the House of Savoy, they won't need us coming back. Which is good.
*Great entertainment, watching Missourians at a casino. Wow.
http://www.lumiereplace.com/house-of-savoy.aspx
But
It was time to venture out again. After a fun (to me) and very boring and long (to Tim) fondue dinner at home on Friday night, Saturday, I made reservations at Lumiere Place's House of Savoy, thanks to a Groupon purchased a few months ago. Lumiere Place is a newish casino with a really sweet looking Four Seasons attached. The actual Lumiere Place HOTEL is not part of this new complex but a 30 year old converted Embassy Suites that connects to the casino complex via skywalk. We entered the casino and looked through all of the restaurants (see Burger Bar review, June), and finally found a sign pointing us all the way to the basement of the hotel. Surprisingly, this place was almost full at our arrival, and by the time we left, there was a wait to be seated. House of Savoy almost certainly is a former Family Table-esque establishment, complete with mirrored support beams and strange light fixtures. They tried to mask this by using the mirrors as a place to display the wine list but that only: 1) drew attention to the mirror and 2)confirmed the cheap feel of a basement restaurant.
We started out with an antipasti platter which after being announced by our waiter with a "Woo-hoo Antipasti!" had a good selection of meats and a poor selection of cheeses. The cheeses all tasted EXACTLY the same-somewhere in the swiss consistency-and no hard, aged, or molded cheese for variety. They offered us bread service, which we accepted, and then after waiting about 10 minutes for, asked for again. The bread came with tapenade and bruschetta, which unfortunately, were probably the best parts of this meal, given that it was complimentary. We split a salad with goat cheese and pine nuts, also pretty good.
I decided to stick to pasta since Family Table doesn't scream "Steak House" and the steaks were ringing in in the 40 dollar range. I ordered carbonara, which is hard to screw up and Tim had lasagna. The carbonara wasn't screwed up, tasted exactly as it should, not innovative but consistent. Tim's "lasagna" came out as papperdelle noodles in a bolognese sauce, which prompted me to ask for a menu to make sure he was given the correct dish. He had been-the Lasagna Matta was described as "baked crazy lasagna in bolognese sauce"-to which I explained that apparently, papperdelle, which you can find in any grocery store, is "crazy" (matta is Italian for madman.) Tim just wanted some regular old lasagna.
The bonus on this Groupon was that it included a 10 dollar bonus to the upstairs bar AND we were given a 10 dollar bonus to blow at the casino afterward*. We went upstairs to find that bar, which is right smack in the middle of the atrium. Tim felt as though he was on a work trip, drinking free booze in a hotel lobby. We skywalked it back over to the casino, dropped the 10 dollars in 10 minutes in a 25 cent slot machine and home we went. There were enough "mattas" patronizing the House of Savoy, they won't need us coming back. Which is good.
*Great entertainment, watching Missourians at a casino. Wow.
http://www.lumiereplace.com/house-of-savoy.aspx
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Does it Sound Chemical or Earthy?
Terrene is a little restaurant nestled between Midtown and the Central West End, just a stone's throw from the Scottish Arms. With an expiration date on the Groupon looming, it was our choice for a casual dinner on Friday evening.
Once again, we apparently have odd dining hour choices; arriving just after 6 found us in the company of one other couple and a completely bored wait staff. Completely bored and completely strange wait staff. A table runner brought us each glasses of water and about 20 seconds later our waitress, toting identical glasses of water, arrives at our table (for two only) sees the glasses of water and sets down the new glasses anyway. There wasn't an abundance of room, so I push the glass off to the side. Thanks to a boredom, the original glass never got below 2/3 full. The wine list and menus were at our table when we were seated. The waitress introduces herself, says "Can I get you something from the bar? Oh, by the way, we have a beer and cocktail menu too." Well, go get that shit! The seasonal cocktail/beer/soda menu was printed on something that resembled a golf scorecard, making this 30-year-old yearn for some reading glasses. They offered 5-6 original cocktails, two of which called for the same ingredient that the waitress proclaimed, "Oops we may be out, hold on" then returned and said, "Nope full stock I thought this was Tuesday!" Ok. Got that figured out.
We ordered pate for an appetizer, one of my top fav app dishes. It was pretty good. I glanced over at a newly seated couple who was enjoying their breadservice and although I was a little miffed that we were without, I didn't need the carbs anyway and went on with the pate, of which I finished 3/4ths. I ordered the special which was salmon and Tim ordered the burger. I was asked how I would like my salmon cooked (?) and Tim wasn't given the choice for his beef (??) I deferred to the chef on that one, and my salmon arrived in a manner I would call undercooked but it tasted fine so I gladly finished it. What my dish did suffer from was an odd combination of flavors. It had: spinach (good), quinoa(good), some white sauce (good) and balsamic reduction (no business being here). There was way too much going on here that the balsamic reduction just overpowered everything. Tim's burger was good; it was cooked medium-rare, which is a little rarer than either of us like burgers, but tasted good just the same.
Terrene also has a patio, which we probably would have checked out if we were only having drinks, but it is getting dark way too fast now so we stuck to the dining room. By the time we left (around 7) more folks had shown up waking the waitstaff up for a potentially busy night. The owner knew the couple seated next to us and never quite learned what an "inside voice" was so I caught bits and pieces of his "restaurant philosophy" which was just a bunch of bullshit that was ostensibly supposed to be impressive. All I caught was "rich kid whose parents gave him this space to open a restaurant." Jealous.
The website hasn't been updated recently, still featuring summer cocktails. You also can't see the whole menu because the webmaster didn't put a scroll feature in!
www.terrene-stlouis.com
Once again, we apparently have odd dining hour choices; arriving just after 6 found us in the company of one other couple and a completely bored wait staff. Completely bored and completely strange wait staff. A table runner brought us each glasses of water and about 20 seconds later our waitress, toting identical glasses of water, arrives at our table (for two only) sees the glasses of water and sets down the new glasses anyway. There wasn't an abundance of room, so I push the glass off to the side. Thanks to a boredom, the original glass never got below 2/3 full. The wine list and menus were at our table when we were seated. The waitress introduces herself, says "Can I get you something from the bar? Oh, by the way, we have a beer and cocktail menu too." Well, go get that shit! The seasonal cocktail/beer/soda menu was printed on something that resembled a golf scorecard, making this 30-year-old yearn for some reading glasses. They offered 5-6 original cocktails, two of which called for the same ingredient that the waitress proclaimed, "Oops we may be out, hold on" then returned and said, "Nope full stock I thought this was Tuesday!" Ok. Got that figured out.
We ordered pate for an appetizer, one of my top fav app dishes. It was pretty good. I glanced over at a newly seated couple who was enjoying their breadservice and although I was a little miffed that we were without, I didn't need the carbs anyway and went on with the pate, of which I finished 3/4ths. I ordered the special which was salmon and Tim ordered the burger. I was asked how I would like my salmon cooked (?) and Tim wasn't given the choice for his beef (??) I deferred to the chef on that one, and my salmon arrived in a manner I would call undercooked but it tasted fine so I gladly finished it. What my dish did suffer from was an odd combination of flavors. It had: spinach (good), quinoa(good), some white sauce (good) and balsamic reduction (no business being here). There was way too much going on here that the balsamic reduction just overpowered everything. Tim's burger was good; it was cooked medium-rare, which is a little rarer than either of us like burgers, but tasted good just the same.
Terrene also has a patio, which we probably would have checked out if we were only having drinks, but it is getting dark way too fast now so we stuck to the dining room. By the time we left (around 7) more folks had shown up waking the waitstaff up for a potentially busy night. The owner knew the couple seated next to us and never quite learned what an "inside voice" was so I caught bits and pieces of his "restaurant philosophy" which was just a bunch of bullshit that was ostensibly supposed to be impressive. All I caught was "rich kid whose parents gave him this space to open a restaurant." Jealous.
The website hasn't been updated recently, still featuring summer cocktails. You also can't see the whole menu because the webmaster didn't put a scroll feature in!
www.terrene-stlouis.com
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Wanna Taste?
The Taste of St. Louis was yesterday. Being a big fan of Chicago's taste and never having missed one when living there, I wanted to check out what St. Louis could do. I read somewhere that somebody (maybe Midwest Living Mag) rated this event the #1 Taste of event, ranking the huge Chicago event third.
First of all, this is not Chicago's taste, not even in the same class, maybe they paid off the magazine, who knows. I think it was a smart move to have this event in October, when the average temp is 75 and not 105, and having it downtown instead of Forest Park was also smart (and more convenient for us). Also, NO TICKETS! Cash was king.
There was a restaurant row of about 30 choices, which unfortunately leaned heavy on Italian dishes. I can only have so many toasted raviolis. I would have liked to have seen more ethnic places; we have a sizeable Vietnamese and Bosnian population here, yet no restaurant representation at the taste. Interestingly, there were several chain restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen. Pass. The wind had picked up real fall-like by the time we got there, killing any kind of hunger just to stay warm. What we ended up getting: crab rangoons, black bean empanadas, a smoked turkey leg, and a turtle funnel cake. Nothing too earth shattering there; at the Chicago taste, I get African goat rice and crap like that. No restaurant really offered a "taste" portion, so we filled up quite quickly.
There were two stages of music, which were ok. I guess Sister Hazel was headlining Saturday night-if they were any good-It's Hard to Say. There was the obligatory collection of small booths selling crap that makes you wonder, "who the hell buys this shit?"
The oddest part about the whole taste was their go green initiative EGS. They wanted you to place the compostable containers in one place, recycling in another. The organizes did make it easy by having all of the containers and service utensils compostable. I have no problem with all that. What was odd: THEY ONLY HAD CANS AT THE STREET CORNERS. Which made three total. I had to hunt and hunt for one of these cans and even asked someone who was serving food and even they had no idea where they were. I would be very very curious to know how many of those cardboard containers and forks ended up on the ground yesterday.
Will I be back? Not sure. We were entertained a few hours on a Saturday afternoon but the wallet was lightened quite a bit.
First of all, this is not Chicago's taste, not even in the same class, maybe they paid off the magazine, who knows. I think it was a smart move to have this event in October, when the average temp is 75 and not 105, and having it downtown instead of Forest Park was also smart (and more convenient for us). Also, NO TICKETS! Cash was king.
There was a restaurant row of about 30 choices, which unfortunately leaned heavy on Italian dishes. I can only have so many toasted raviolis. I would have liked to have seen more ethnic places; we have a sizeable Vietnamese and Bosnian population here, yet no restaurant representation at the taste. Interestingly, there were several chain restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen. Pass. The wind had picked up real fall-like by the time we got there, killing any kind of hunger just to stay warm. What we ended up getting: crab rangoons, black bean empanadas, a smoked turkey leg, and a turtle funnel cake. Nothing too earth shattering there; at the Chicago taste, I get African goat rice and crap like that. No restaurant really offered a "taste" portion, so we filled up quite quickly.
There were two stages of music, which were ok. I guess Sister Hazel was headlining Saturday night-if they were any good-It's Hard to Say. There was the obligatory collection of small booths selling crap that makes you wonder, "who the hell buys this shit?"
The oddest part about the whole taste was their go green initiative EGS. They wanted you to place the compostable containers in one place, recycling in another. The organizes did make it easy by having all of the containers and service utensils compostable. I have no problem with all that. What was odd: THEY ONLY HAD CANS AT THE STREET CORNERS. Which made three total. I had to hunt and hunt for one of these cans and even asked someone who was serving food and even they had no idea where they were. I would be very very curious to know how many of those cardboard containers and forks ended up on the ground yesterday.
Will I be back? Not sure. We were entertained a few hours on a Saturday afternoon but the wallet was lightened quite a bit.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors
What do you call a brand new sandwich that may cause your blood pressure to spike, to get a splitting headache, and let's face it, have a heart attack, but looks so good? How about a Double Down? Just like splitting those aces, KFC is betting big time the that war on childhood obesity will be lost to fast food giants dubbing their menu items as catchy little slogans such as "Monster Thickburger" or "BK Quad Stacker" What would you rather have a "Grilled Chicken Breast" (8 grams fat, 210 calories) or a FREAKIN' "DOUBLE DOWN" (32 grams fat, 540 calories). Duh! Fearing the war on childhood obersity may be won soon (ha), lest Dr. Slider K. Shaftacular have no fat kids to treat to make him rich, I made KFC stock increase just a little last Friday night because dammit, I wanted a Double Down.
Truthfully, I had been eyeing this advertising slad-dunk for awhile now. I don't really eat fast food other than when we're traveling. The issue was that Tim refused to eat something like that when we "didn't have home court advantage." So looking at my "plans" for last Friday night, I saw nothing but a DVRed Jersey Shore and an all-new Ghost Adventures. The scene was set.
What the Double Down got right: superb marketing scheme, bacon, and a cute little box to put it all in. The DD was smaller than I anticipated, about 1/2-3/4 as big as it shows in the commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXaZjyAKTI&feature=related
Where it failed me: somewhere between 1987 and now, Col. Sanders decided that 27 herbs and spices were cutting into his bottom line and one mineral (salt) would do just fine. Holy shit. I had a headache until I went to bed and I had already consumed about 30 oz. of water. The fat created a nice slide in my intenstines. I'll leave it at that.
KFC: you were like a case of Natty Lite; you made that Double Down look so so good, but the next day, I realized that I won't be calling on you again.
Truthfully, I had been eyeing this advertising slad-dunk for awhile now. I don't really eat fast food other than when we're traveling. The issue was that Tim refused to eat something like that when we "didn't have home court advantage." So looking at my "plans" for last Friday night, I saw nothing but a DVRed Jersey Shore and an all-new Ghost Adventures. The scene was set.
What the Double Down got right: superb marketing scheme, bacon, and a cute little box to put it all in. The DD was smaller than I anticipated, about 1/2-3/4 as big as it shows in the commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXaZjyAKTI&feature=related
Where it failed me: somewhere between 1987 and now, Col. Sanders decided that 27 herbs and spices were cutting into his bottom line and one mineral (salt) would do just fine. Holy shit. I had a headache until I went to bed and I had already consumed about 30 oz. of water. The fat created a nice slide in my intenstines. I'll leave it at that.
KFC: you were like a case of Natty Lite; you made that Double Down look so so good, but the next day, I realized that I won't be calling on you again.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Pumping Iron
The Iron Barley is not really like any other restaurant in St. Louis. It's in a neighborhood that is devoid of any kind of eating establishment, let alone one that's received numerous accolades. It has a menu that is all over the place and as many specials as established items, and yet it works. The proprieter and the restaurant itself has been featured on both Man v. Food and "Triple D", and yet I heard someone ask about their celebrity status and the Cubs t-shirt clad hostess said "Yeah, I don't know."
This is the second time Tim and I have made the seven-minute drive to Dutchtown to see what kind of chow the Iron Barley was serving up. You can pick up the computer-generated menu, but why? Just wait for the specials. We decided to split a bunch of stuff because we #1: wanted many things and #2 couldn't decide and #3 wanted the same entree. We first split a wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing, complete with a little Jim Bean thrown in for good measure. We then had two appetizers-wait for it-crab cakes with remoulade and potato pancakes with apples. The potato pancakes were a prelude to our cured and smoked (!) pork chops, and oh, so glad we split this as it came with two bone-in chops over home-made saurkraut. The curing is a one-week process and then the chops are smoked for twelve hours or something like that, and the result is a pork chop that needs no accompaniment of a sauce (although the kraut was awesome).
The Iron Barley offers a modest tap beer selection that has a good focus on locally brewed beer that isn't traded publically. This was the first place I had ever had a cask beer (served room temp-good!) and last night I had a porter (oops can't remember the brewery, but I think it was Six Row) and it was first-rate. The beer selection does rotate, and it is one that the owner, with his passion for good beer, takes pride in.
Iron Barley: tasty American chow and who cares if it doesn't go together. I just don't want to know how many calories I consumed.
http://www.ironbarley.com/default.asp
This is the second time Tim and I have made the seven-minute drive to Dutchtown to see what kind of chow the Iron Barley was serving up. You can pick up the computer-generated menu, but why? Just wait for the specials. We decided to split a bunch of stuff because we #1: wanted many things and #2 couldn't decide and #3 wanted the same entree. We first split a wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing, complete with a little Jim Bean thrown in for good measure. We then had two appetizers-wait for it-crab cakes with remoulade and potato pancakes with apples. The potato pancakes were a prelude to our cured and smoked (!) pork chops, and oh, so glad we split this as it came with two bone-in chops over home-made saurkraut. The curing is a one-week process and then the chops are smoked for twelve hours or something like that, and the result is a pork chop that needs no accompaniment of a sauce (although the kraut was awesome).
The Iron Barley offers a modest tap beer selection that has a good focus on locally brewed beer that isn't traded publically. This was the first place I had ever had a cask beer (served room temp-good!) and last night I had a porter (oops can't remember the brewery, but I think it was Six Row) and it was first-rate. The beer selection does rotate, and it is one that the owner, with his passion for good beer, takes pride in.
Iron Barley: tasty American chow and who cares if it doesn't go together. I just don't want to know how many calories I consumed.
http://www.ironbarley.com/default.asp
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Fries are Not Infused with Chocolate Truffles
An overall slow weekend allowed for us to have a leisurely dining experience Saturday night. Again, running out of time on some of my Sauce Magazine Groupons, I chose to try Truffles, a Ladue mainstay on Clayton Avenue. We arrived a bit before our reservations, thinking we could get a drink in the bar, but because of a slow evening there (Yom Kipur, perhaps?) we were able to be seated right away.
We were seated right in front of the dining room prep station, which ranged from smelling of fish to nearly flambe-ing my hair during a generous dump of Patron on the bananas foster. We settled in with a couple of drinks; they offer an extensive (and expensive) wine list with about 15 varietals poured by the glass. Since Tim was living it up Irish-style with the Jameson, I went with a glass of Malbec, which was good.
First, Tim informed me that he "wasn't that hungry," then proceeded to ask me if we could get the BBQ shrimp appetizer. Puzzled, but happy to oblige, we ordered, and this app turned out to be pretty good. The BBQ sauce was quite smoky with a deep almost brown color. We also split a salad, which they served already pre-split, which was nice. Nothing fancy, but I needed some greens.
We both ordered a steak for our entree: Tim the filet and I the Wagyu Steak Frites. What I did know: Wagyu is Kobe beef but not Kobe beef since that only comes from Japan. What I didn't know: The "g" is silent. I would have felt more embarrassed if I pronounced frites wrong. Tim's medium filet came out practically mooing and my steak was all over the map, suffering from an uneven cut causing it to have portions that were rare and portions that were well-done. The two steaks tasted great, it just would have been more enjoyable if they were cooked properly. The fries were infused with truffle oil, and I was taken aback when the waitress wanted to know if I would like ketchup. Maybe my FUBAR of saying WAG-YU was screeming [Redneck accent] "I need some Ketchup!"
Truffles is very proud of their logo:
They put it on their butcher paper and on the little towelets in the restroom. I had to explain to Tim what it meant-he thought it was a turtle as a play on chocolate truffles. I explained to him the strange coincidence that mushrooms and chocolates carry the same name and all about the truffle pigs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle_hog
I guess he learned something last evening too.
www.trufflesinladue.com
We were seated right in front of the dining room prep station, which ranged from smelling of fish to nearly flambe-ing my hair during a generous dump of Patron on the bananas foster. We settled in with a couple of drinks; they offer an extensive (and expensive) wine list with about 15 varietals poured by the glass. Since Tim was living it up Irish-style with the Jameson, I went with a glass of Malbec, which was good.
First, Tim informed me that he "wasn't that hungry," then proceeded to ask me if we could get the BBQ shrimp appetizer. Puzzled, but happy to oblige, we ordered, and this app turned out to be pretty good. The BBQ sauce was quite smoky with a deep almost brown color. We also split a salad, which they served already pre-split, which was nice. Nothing fancy, but I needed some greens.
We both ordered a steak for our entree: Tim the filet and I the Wagyu Steak Frites. What I did know: Wagyu is Kobe beef but not Kobe beef since that only comes from Japan. What I didn't know: The "g" is silent. I would have felt more embarrassed if I pronounced frites wrong. Tim's medium filet came out practically mooing and my steak was all over the map, suffering from an uneven cut causing it to have portions that were rare and portions that were well-done. The two steaks tasted great, it just would have been more enjoyable if they were cooked properly. The fries were infused with truffle oil, and I was taken aback when the waitress wanted to know if I would like ketchup. Maybe my FUBAR of saying WAG-YU was screeming [Redneck accent] "I need some Ketchup!"
Truffles is very proud of their logo:
They put it on their butcher paper and on the little towelets in the restroom. I had to explain to Tim what it meant-he thought it was a turtle as a play on chocolate truffles. I explained to him the strange coincidence that mushrooms and chocolates carry the same name and all about the truffle pigs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle_hog
I guess he learned something last evening too.
www.trufflesinladue.com
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Take It To the Bridge
We were invited to a happy hour(s) on Friday night to a newish bar, Bridge. Bridge is owned by David Bailey, of Chocolate Bar fame, and being a big fan of the Chocolate Bar, I was looking forward to checking it out.
Bridge is located on Locust Ave, next to some strange Bridal shop and a branch of Left Bank Books, in a revitilized area of downtown. Bailey probably was banking on attracting some of the Left Bank patrons- doubtful the bridal shop patrons, but who knows-by making an up-scale lounge, with 60-some beers on tap and at least twice as many bottled. The bar has a shot-gun style set-up with a long bar on one side and really nothing in the rest of the downstairs except a long hallway leading to the restrooms. Most of the seating is upstairs, and we were lucky enough to land a small lounge area with love seats and little tables made out of tree trunks.
Bridge has a limited menu, mostly finger good and meat and cheese plates. The finger food, however, is "kicked up a notch" with four or five kinds of nuts sprinkled with various chiles and savory spices. Although we didn't try any, they also have popcorn with about five different spice combos, including chai. I thought that sounded interesting. We ordered two different cheeses a la carte, one of which was quite odd, and the jalepeno summer sausage, not exciting but good. The cheese boards all include foccacia and dried fruit. Another meat option is smoked duck, which I got to sample from a friend's plate.
This is definitely an intimate place; most of the seating is for two or four and we were kind of the beaten path in the lounge area, which seemed to be only one of two places that held more than four patrons. The service is above average and Tim commented on the background soundtrack, which he enjoyed. This was a nice place to chill on a Friday night.
http://www.thebridgestl.com/
Bridge is located on Locust Ave, next to some strange Bridal shop and a branch of Left Bank Books, in a revitilized area of downtown. Bailey probably was banking on attracting some of the Left Bank patrons- doubtful the bridal shop patrons, but who knows-by making an up-scale lounge, with 60-some beers on tap and at least twice as many bottled. The bar has a shot-gun style set-up with a long bar on one side and really nothing in the rest of the downstairs except a long hallway leading to the restrooms. Most of the seating is upstairs, and we were lucky enough to land a small lounge area with love seats and little tables made out of tree trunks.
Bridge has a limited menu, mostly finger good and meat and cheese plates. The finger food, however, is "kicked up a notch" with four or five kinds of nuts sprinkled with various chiles and savory spices. Although we didn't try any, they also have popcorn with about five different spice combos, including chai. I thought that sounded interesting. We ordered two different cheeses a la carte, one of which was quite odd, and the jalepeno summer sausage, not exciting but good. The cheese boards all include foccacia and dried fruit. Another meat option is smoked duck, which I got to sample from a friend's plate.
This is definitely an intimate place; most of the seating is for two or four and we were kind of the beaten path in the lounge area, which seemed to be only one of two places that held more than four patrons. The service is above average and Tim commented on the background soundtrack, which he enjoyed. This was a nice place to chill on a Friday night.
http://www.thebridgestl.com/
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Molly's Follies
My cache of Groupons (www.groupon.com) and Groupon-knockoffs SaucyHotDeal coupons(saucyhotdeals.com) was growing and growing without redemption. Friday night, it was time to cash in and try a new restaurant.
I had been to Molly's before (coincidentally, with Tim long before we were dating), back when they were known mainly as a hang-out for twenty-somethings with make-out cabanas and fire pits. A few years back they bought out their neighbor, Norton's, and took on a major expansion of their patio and menu. The menu is NOLA-centric, as are all of the menus in Soulard, with typical sandwiches such as muffaletta, Po'Boy, etc, and entrees like etoufee and jambalaya.
I was eyeing both the app of fried green tomatoes and bbq shrimp, although more South Carolina than Lousiana, and the oyster po'boy. Tim always prefers peel-n-eats, but he acquiesced and we ordered the FGTs. I thought it was quite tasty, but Tim was "eh." FGTs-the food and the movie-are both an acquired taste, I suppose, but I was pleased with the dish and that I got to try the oyster po'boy as my entree. I was plowing along with the flash-fried oysters, crunchy french bread, and remoulade when BOOM! BAD OYSTER! Now if you've ever had a bad oyster, or should I say if you live in the Midwest and you eat oysters at all, this is just the worst. It's like enjoying your grapes and that bad one comes along and you don't buy grapes for a year. But worse. Tons worse. I was only half way through my sandwich and I wanted to stop then and there. But I soldiered on through two more oysters without incident. But oh, the bad oyster.
Tim ordered the creole burger, a regular burger topped with a crawfish concoction that looked somewhat like etouffe minus the rice. He said it was utterly disappointing. I wasn't interested in eating a burger, and after he said it wasn't great, I took his word for it. He said the burger itself had zero seasoning in it (ooo! Tim becomes an unabashed food critic!) and the creole topping was bland as well.
No more Molly's for us. Broadway Oyster Bar, here we come.
http://www.mollysinsoulard.com/index.php
I had been to Molly's before (coincidentally, with Tim long before we were dating), back when they were known mainly as a hang-out for twenty-somethings with make-out cabanas and fire pits. A few years back they bought out their neighbor, Norton's, and took on a major expansion of their patio and menu. The menu is NOLA-centric, as are all of the menus in Soulard, with typical sandwiches such as muffaletta, Po'Boy, etc, and entrees like etoufee and jambalaya.
I was eyeing both the app of fried green tomatoes and bbq shrimp, although more South Carolina than Lousiana, and the oyster po'boy. Tim always prefers peel-n-eats, but he acquiesced and we ordered the FGTs. I thought it was quite tasty, but Tim was "eh." FGTs-the food and the movie-are both an acquired taste, I suppose, but I was pleased with the dish and that I got to try the oyster po'boy as my entree. I was plowing along with the flash-fried oysters, crunchy french bread, and remoulade when BOOM! BAD OYSTER! Now if you've ever had a bad oyster, or should I say if you live in the Midwest and you eat oysters at all, this is just the worst. It's like enjoying your grapes and that bad one comes along and you don't buy grapes for a year. But worse. Tons worse. I was only half way through my sandwich and I wanted to stop then and there. But I soldiered on through two more oysters without incident. But oh, the bad oyster.
Tim ordered the creole burger, a regular burger topped with a crawfish concoction that looked somewhat like etouffe minus the rice. He said it was utterly disappointing. I wasn't interested in eating a burger, and after he said it wasn't great, I took his word for it. He said the burger itself had zero seasoning in it (ooo! Tim becomes an unabashed food critic!) and the creole topping was bland as well.
No more Molly's for us. Broadway Oyster Bar, here we come.
http://www.mollysinsoulard.com/index.php
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Unabashed Glutton's Diatribe About Stupid Restaurant Tag Lines
Saint Louis recently celebrated its Restaurant Week, a week where participating restaurants prepare a prix fixe menu at a set price (this year 25 dollars). The event organizers did a nice job of designing a website that made it easy to explore the various menus as well as reserve a spot via Open Table. In conjunction with Restaurant Week, the charitable organization "Operation Food Search" was running a campaign to add an "extra helping" to your check for a donation to its cause.
I had 28 restaurants to choose among, and I had only been to two or three previously, so the first task was making a selection. After scouring over each and every menu, I decided on Mosiac Modern Fusion (?) Tapas, which was generously offering a five-course menu instead of the customary three-course.
Mosaic has moved sometime in the last four years from where Tim had his first experience ("like a bar") to where it is currently, with an upscale lounge and separate dining room outfitted with high-back booths and tall windows for great Washington Avenue people watching.
The first course-the 'Amuse Bouche'-not really a course at all but a mini-tapa (tapita?) sort of adventure complete with truffle foam (huh?) and greenish something. It was just ok. Tim would have rather had a basket of bacon and I would have rather had something I could have copied to make at home, or better yet, identify. The second and third courses were soup and salad. Tim went traditional (safe) with baked potato soup and I ventured out with the watermelon/sriracha chilled soup. Now, if you know me well, you know I don't touch ANY melon, ever. However, it is not the taste but the texture and all puried up baby food style, this soup was a tasty, spicy concoction. We both had the arugula salad with a soft boiled egg to smoosh all over the place along with "speck" (just say bacon, for Christ's sake).
The main courses did leave a bit to be desired. Tim had 21-day dry aged sliced NY strip (meh) with fried manchego balls, which sound really awesome but tasted like fried dough. I had the king crab over foie gras (ha Chicago) and truffle emulsion, just because it sounded uber-expensive. Just sounded, not tasted.
Although we were ordering from the prix fixe menu and didn't venture into Mosaic's odd and somewhat limited tapas offerings, I have to make a comment here on its cuisine description, of which it is very proud, "modern fusion tapas." What the hell does that mean? The mere fact that you're using a Spanish word should imply Spanish food. Otherwise just say small plates. "Modern?" This allows Mosaic to use weird shit like foam and green stuff. And "Fusion"-I guess this is what allows to usage of the now colloquial "tapas." If we use manchego, we can call anything we want tapas. Hell, I'm calling tortilla chips tapas from now on. As long as they're a small portion and overpriced. Soapbox.
www.mosaictapas.com
I had 28 restaurants to choose among, and I had only been to two or three previously, so the first task was making a selection. After scouring over each and every menu, I decided on Mosiac Modern Fusion (?) Tapas, which was generously offering a five-course menu instead of the customary three-course.
Mosaic has moved sometime in the last four years from where Tim had his first experience ("like a bar") to where it is currently, with an upscale lounge and separate dining room outfitted with high-back booths and tall windows for great Washington Avenue people watching.
The first course-the 'Amuse Bouche'-not really a course at all but a mini-tapa (tapita?) sort of adventure complete with truffle foam (huh?) and greenish something. It was just ok. Tim would have rather had a basket of bacon and I would have rather had something I could have copied to make at home, or better yet, identify. The second and third courses were soup and salad. Tim went traditional (safe) with baked potato soup and I ventured out with the watermelon/sriracha chilled soup. Now, if you know me well, you know I don't touch ANY melon, ever. However, it is not the taste but the texture and all puried up baby food style, this soup was a tasty, spicy concoction. We both had the arugula salad with a soft boiled egg to smoosh all over the place along with "speck" (just say bacon, for Christ's sake).
The main courses did leave a bit to be desired. Tim had 21-day dry aged sliced NY strip (meh) with fried manchego balls, which sound really awesome but tasted like fried dough. I had the king crab over foie gras (ha Chicago) and truffle emulsion, just because it sounded uber-expensive. Just sounded, not tasted.
Although we were ordering from the prix fixe menu and didn't venture into Mosaic's odd and somewhat limited tapas offerings, I have to make a comment here on its cuisine description, of which it is very proud, "modern fusion tapas." What the hell does that mean? The mere fact that you're using a Spanish word should imply Spanish food. Otherwise just say small plates. "Modern?" This allows Mosaic to use weird shit like foam and green stuff. And "Fusion"-I guess this is what allows to usage of the now colloquial "tapas." If we use manchego, we can call anything we want tapas. Hell, I'm calling tortilla chips tapas from now on. As long as they're a small portion and overpriced. Soapbox.
www.mosaictapas.com
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Unabashed Gluttony-Road Edition II
Oops a little late with getting this one posted. After our fateful run-in with Hurricane Columbia, we were off for the remaining 126 miles to Kansas City*. If you're at all familiar with your grocery store's condiment section, you are privy to "KC Masterpiece" BBQ sauce. Kansas City or "Kay-Cay" as Tim calls it, it the Midwestern capital of BBQ, a style that prides itself with meat, namely ribs, slathered in sweet, sticky sauce. I received several opinions of which joint boasts the best 'Q; I went with my former protege, as she lived there for two years and I assumed she knew what she was talking about.
Jack Stack, not owned by anyone named Jack or Stack, is a local chain. The downtown location was large, sprawling, touristy, and not what I had in mind (hello, big dude slatherin' ribs out back, ala Fried Green Tomatoes, minus the cannabalism). Since we were there for lunch, the "Sampler Platter," although exactly what I wanted, just didn't fit into the game plan, if I wanted to make it through the scheduled day of WWI Museum and Kauffman Stadium. So I ventured over to the sandwich section, and chose the "Burnt Ends" sandwhich, which is basically the crunchy part of the brisket and pork shoulder all chopped up and put on a bun with some 'slaw. I was also able to exchange the fries with bbq baked beans and some crazy creation that paired the cheese from mac 'n' cheese with sweet corn. Interestingly, this sandwhich came with NO BBQ SAUCE. I had to ask for it. I really enjoy places you can go and choose which your sauce because they're just sitting on the table (Pappy's, Shaved Duck). I punted and went with the "spicy" sauce, which was nothing to write home about.
The big disappointment was the pulled pork sandwhich that Tim ordered. The sauce and the pork were pre-mixed, a big no-no in my book, and it resembeled the $6.99 bucket you find in the frozen section. Only about half of the sandwich was consumed.
We're making another trip back to Kay-Cay in September; perhaps we'll try one of the many other recommendations I received for gettin' some 'Q in the city.
*Cool city! Very impressed.
http://www.jackstackbbq.com/info.asp?ii=2&sid=&eid=&tid=
Jack Stack, not owned by anyone named Jack or Stack, is a local chain. The downtown location was large, sprawling, touristy, and not what I had in mind (hello, big dude slatherin' ribs out back, ala Fried Green Tomatoes, minus the cannabalism). Since we were there for lunch, the "Sampler Platter," although exactly what I wanted, just didn't fit into the game plan, if I wanted to make it through the scheduled day of WWI Museum and Kauffman Stadium. So I ventured over to the sandwich section, and chose the "Burnt Ends" sandwhich, which is basically the crunchy part of the brisket and pork shoulder all chopped up and put on a bun with some 'slaw. I was also able to exchange the fries with bbq baked beans and some crazy creation that paired the cheese from mac 'n' cheese with sweet corn. Interestingly, this sandwhich came with NO BBQ SAUCE. I had to ask for it. I really enjoy places you can go and choose which your sauce because they're just sitting on the table (Pappy's, Shaved Duck). I punted and went with the "spicy" sauce, which was nothing to write home about.
The big disappointment was the pulled pork sandwhich that Tim ordered. The sauce and the pork were pre-mixed, a big no-no in my book, and it resembeled the $6.99 bucket you find in the frozen section. Only about half of the sandwich was consumed.
We're making another trip back to Kay-Cay in September; perhaps we'll try one of the many other recommendations I received for gettin' some 'Q in the city.
*Cool city! Very impressed.
http://www.jackstackbbq.com/info.asp?ii=2&sid=&eid=&tid=
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Unabashed Gluttony-Road Edition I
Off to Kansas City this past weekend-I had never been past St. Peters, MO on Int 70 so this was my first trip across MO and I waited with baited breath. Driving across Missouri on 70 is like driving from my parents' house to Des Moines including a poor emulation of Iowa-80 truck stop known as the Oak Grove 70.
Night #1 brought us to Columbia, MO, home of Mizzou, UM, UMC, whatever it's trying to be called. I was interested in seeing the campus and the college town that goes along with having a University. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to compare every college town to Madison, which is not really fair. Columbia is a step up from Champaign, but not by much. After rolling into town after experiencing what seemed like a landlocked hurricane, we set off amid crazy street flooding to find something to eat. We received two recommendations to try the Flat Branch Pub and Brewery and after having shitty directions from Google Maps-again- we found the place. We step inside to find the rest of Columbia inside. Seemingly, no one left during the Monsoon we were having and therefore, no new people could get a seat. Thankfully, the storm was clearing (temporarily) and we sat after about 15 minutes.
Tim had some sandwich that was recommended: it was kind of bland and not too exciting. I had a burger topped with artichoke dip (Tim knows CPR I think) and we split some pretzels. The burger was a great idea; I was only able to eat half, but the pretzels were no Gus's or Sage's spin on Gus's with some beer cheese.
Flat Branch had 10 beers on tap ranging from a pilsner to a stout. We each started with an ale, which I thought were decent and then I switched to the porter and Tim to the stout, which were mistakes. Not only does it not make sense to drink these beers in August, they simply weren't good. My porter, and I like my porter's smoky, tasted like making out with a frat boy who had chain smoked all night. The stout didn't have the head on it that we've grown accustomed to seeing on a Guinness.
It was good to experience a new town and a locally owned place, but unless we have a kid many years down the road going to Mizzou, we will not be back.
http://www.flatbranch.com/home.asp
Night #1 brought us to Columbia, MO, home of Mizzou, UM, UMC, whatever it's trying to be called. I was interested in seeing the campus and the college town that goes along with having a University. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to compare every college town to Madison, which is not really fair. Columbia is a step up from Champaign, but not by much. After rolling into town after experiencing what seemed like a landlocked hurricane, we set off amid crazy street flooding to find something to eat. We received two recommendations to try the Flat Branch Pub and Brewery and after having shitty directions from Google Maps-again- we found the place. We step inside to find the rest of Columbia inside. Seemingly, no one left during the Monsoon we were having and therefore, no new people could get a seat. Thankfully, the storm was clearing (temporarily) and we sat after about 15 minutes.
Tim had some sandwich that was recommended: it was kind of bland and not too exciting. I had a burger topped with artichoke dip (Tim knows CPR I think) and we split some pretzels. The burger was a great idea; I was only able to eat half, but the pretzels were no Gus's or Sage's spin on Gus's with some beer cheese.
Flat Branch had 10 beers on tap ranging from a pilsner to a stout. We each started with an ale, which I thought were decent and then I switched to the porter and Tim to the stout, which were mistakes. Not only does it not make sense to drink these beers in August, they simply weren't good. My porter, and I like my porter's smoky, tasted like making out with a frat boy who had chain smoked all night. The stout didn't have the head on it that we've grown accustomed to seeing on a Guinness.
It was good to experience a new town and a locally owned place, but unless we have a kid many years down the road going to Mizzou, we will not be back.
http://www.flatbranch.com/home.asp
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Just in Case You Needed to Smoke a Bowl While You Eat...
I have yet to find a restaurant to reproduce the atmosphere at The Venice [Cafe is optional]. One never knows what a stop at the Venice may bring: on one occasion, I fed a boa contrictor a live mouse.* I've been there a dozen or so times and each time I see something new I never quite noticed before; bowls aside, there are a plethora of "paraphernalia" put into a mosaic in this bar. Monday, I visited the Venice with the sole purpose to try the food for the first time.
The menu has a dozen or so cajun-inspired items, and I decided to go for the jerk chicken, which came with a side of plantains and sort-of hushpuppies, but sweeter. Very tasty, and enough for a second meal. I did see the kabobs come out, I think I would recommend them just by looks alone. The menu may change unexpectedly; two different (out of 12) items were not available. At a place like the Venice, there's no room for a Type A personality that would ensure that the kitchen was well stocked. This bar/restaurant is also cash only with no table service; order one place for your food, another for your booze.
The Venice Cafe: go for the atmosphere and while you're at it, pick up some food (if it's available).
*Strangely, it appears it is a health code violation to have live animals where you sell food. No more snake.
http://www.thevenicecafe.com/
The menu has a dozen or so cajun-inspired items, and I decided to go for the jerk chicken, which came with a side of plantains and sort-of hushpuppies, but sweeter. Very tasty, and enough for a second meal. I did see the kabobs come out, I think I would recommend them just by looks alone. The menu may change unexpectedly; two different (out of 12) items were not available. At a place like the Venice, there's no room for a Type A personality that would ensure that the kitchen was well stocked. This bar/restaurant is also cash only with no table service; order one place for your food, another for your booze.
The Venice Cafe: go for the atmosphere and while you're at it, pick up some food (if it's available).
*Strangely, it appears it is a health code violation to have live animals where you sell food. No more snake.
http://www.thevenicecafe.com/
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Bievenido Al Milagro, Can I Bring Your Check?
The quest for Mexican Food continues: Saturday night brought us to El Milagro, a difficult to find spot in Old Webster. Poor signage and a closed road had us walking around trying to find this spot (El Secreto?), we even ran into another couple as confused as we were. After spotting some El Milagro sun shades, we made our way into this Sauce Magazine rated place.
They tout their menu as "Modern Mexican" which I guess allows them to take some liberties with traditional Mexican menu items. It was serendipitous that we arrived at 5:30 PM; El Milagro has daily (yes on Saturday!) happy hour specials which include 1/2 price apps and 3 dollar sangria and margaritas. I can't pass up a ceviche, which unfortunately has come back to haunt. But there I was ordering the mahi-mahi ceviche, which comes with jicama, red onions, etc. It was decent. Unfortunately, all ceviche I eat is now compared with the one I had at Frontera Grill, which is more or less unfair. For my entree I had enchiladas hongo which had wild mushrooms and some sort of mexican truffle se llama "huitlacoche" and since I had no idea what that meant, I had to order it. It was finished with a black bean sauce. Very filling-only ate one out of three and am excited to eat the leftovers for lunch. Tim ordered the mahi mahi fish tacos (lovin' that fish), also decent not outstanding. Each entree comes with choice of fritos: black (underseasoned) and pinto (with bacon). Neither is "Refritoed" - just a blob of beans, but that is fine. The rice is also offered as a choice: traditional Mexican or with cilantro. Both taste about the same.
The strange thing about El Milagro was our waitor's onstensible hurry to get us out of there. We arrived at granny hour (per usual) so it's not like people were waiting for tables. At first he seemed somewhat put-off by my not wanting to order my entree when we ordered the ceviche. Then, as he's serving us our entrees, he offers us dessert. THEN right after we're done eating he brings our check. I wouldn't have minded having another drink, but he seemed in such a rush that we didn't want to patronize this place any longer. Total dining time: 45 minutes.
This is probably the best Mexican food, apart from the taqueria on Cherokee, that I've had in St. Louis. Unfortunately, the strange service will cause my quest to continue...
www.milagromodernmexican.com
They tout their menu as "Modern Mexican" which I guess allows them to take some liberties with traditional Mexican menu items. It was serendipitous that we arrived at 5:30 PM; El Milagro has daily (yes on Saturday!) happy hour specials which include 1/2 price apps and 3 dollar sangria and margaritas. I can't pass up a ceviche, which unfortunately has come back to haunt. But there I was ordering the mahi-mahi ceviche, which comes with jicama, red onions, etc. It was decent. Unfortunately, all ceviche I eat is now compared with the one I had at Frontera Grill, which is more or less unfair. For my entree I had enchiladas hongo which had wild mushrooms and some sort of mexican truffle se llama "huitlacoche" and since I had no idea what that meant, I had to order it. It was finished with a black bean sauce. Very filling-only ate one out of three and am excited to eat the leftovers for lunch. Tim ordered the mahi mahi fish tacos (lovin' that fish), also decent not outstanding. Each entree comes with choice of fritos: black (underseasoned) and pinto (with bacon). Neither is "Refritoed" - just a blob of beans, but that is fine. The rice is also offered as a choice: traditional Mexican or with cilantro. Both taste about the same.
The strange thing about El Milagro was our waitor's onstensible hurry to get us out of there. We arrived at granny hour (per usual) so it's not like people were waiting for tables. At first he seemed somewhat put-off by my not wanting to order my entree when we ordered the ceviche. Then, as he's serving us our entrees, he offers us dessert. THEN right after we're done eating he brings our check. I wouldn't have minded having another drink, but he seemed in such a rush that we didn't want to patronize this place any longer. Total dining time: 45 minutes.
This is probably the best Mexican food, apart from the taqueria on Cherokee, that I've had in St. Louis. Unfortunately, the strange service will cause my quest to continue...
www.milagromodernmexican.com
Monday, July 26, 2010
Gyro-rating
Why in 2010 is this poor sandwich still being mispronounced? I can kind of understand Gear-o, considering this is how our friends from Seinfeld said it. But seriously, Jy-ro?
And yet- it appears to be commonplace as I was trying to explain to a patient that I had a great "year-ro" and he had never heard of it until I explained lamb meat, blah blah and bingo! Jy-ro. I'm not even going to blame this one on "Missour-rah"; I can't even chalk it up to "not getting out much" considering you can get one of these life expectancy decreasers at a small town carnival. I guess the only explanation is that a parent pronounced it wrong then BOOM! down the line it goes.
Now that I have that diatribe out of the way, time for my review. Soulard Gyro and Deli seemed like the perfect pregame junk food stop before loading up on 8 dollar brews at Busch. Not stingy with their gyro meat, SGAD is definitely an inexpensive and tasty way to raise your cholesterol. They offer several permutations on the traditional (ie American) gyro sandwich, with "Steak" (Philly steak) and "Supreme" (with feta) options. There are other sandwiches there but none of my party ventured out-we were here for a reason and that reason was Gyro. The pita is worth mentioning; the loads of meat, tzaziki and other crap did not fall through but were held steadfast by a high-quality piece of bread. Another note-skip the baklava; it's not homemade.
Soulard was not in need of more greasy food, but adding Gyros to the burger-heavy neighborhood was a great idea.
http://soulardgyroanddeli.com/
And yet- it appears to be commonplace as I was trying to explain to a patient that I had a great "year-ro" and he had never heard of it until I explained lamb meat, blah blah and bingo! Jy-ro. I'm not even going to blame this one on "Missour-rah"; I can't even chalk it up to "not getting out much" considering you can get one of these life expectancy decreasers at a small town carnival. I guess the only explanation is that a parent pronounced it wrong then BOOM! down the line it goes.
Now that I have that diatribe out of the way, time for my review. Soulard Gyro and Deli seemed like the perfect pregame junk food stop before loading up on 8 dollar brews at Busch. Not stingy with their gyro meat, SGAD is definitely an inexpensive and tasty way to raise your cholesterol. They offer several permutations on the traditional (ie American) gyro sandwich, with "Steak" (Philly steak) and "Supreme" (with feta) options. There are other sandwiches there but none of my party ventured out-we were here for a reason and that reason was Gyro. The pita is worth mentioning; the loads of meat, tzaziki and other crap did not fall through but were held steadfast by a high-quality piece of bread. Another note-skip the baklava; it's not homemade.
Soulard was not in need of more greasy food, but adding Gyros to the burger-heavy neighborhood was a great idea.
http://soulardgyroanddeli.com/
Monday, July 5, 2010
One Week Late on My Post, and the Place is Closed
On June 23rd we patronized Mattingly Brewery, a neighborhood brewpub, for my first time and Tim's 2nd or 3rd. As I sat down to write this blog, a bit late, I Googled the website, which I like to include at the end of my blog. This is what I found:
http://mattinglybrewing.blogspot.com/
I am sad that I didn't do my part and go to this place beforehand, not that one more person could have saved this man's dream, but at least I could have said I tried. The beer we had was quite good, ringing in at 9.5% ABV and I had to have two. Even Tim, who prefers foreign brews to local microbrews, thought the beer was good. I had a cubano sandwich which was good as well. They had a noontime special costing a mere 2.99, which I may have been a last-ditch effort to keep the place in business by attracting local business folks. But as Tim said (to paraphrase) certain members of a certain race do not like to venture into areas where there are members of other races. Mattingly was on the Western edge of Benton Park and yes, bordering less gentrified neighborhoods. It certainly was safe.
I will mourn just a litte the loss of a little piece of our neighborhood and hope the next person to occupy the space fares better. I will do a better job too.
http://mattinglybrewing.blogspot.com/
I am sad that I didn't do my part and go to this place beforehand, not that one more person could have saved this man's dream, but at least I could have said I tried. The beer we had was quite good, ringing in at 9.5% ABV and I had to have two. Even Tim, who prefers foreign brews to local microbrews, thought the beer was good. I had a cubano sandwich which was good as well. They had a noontime special costing a mere 2.99, which I may have been a last-ditch effort to keep the place in business by attracting local business folks. But as Tim said (to paraphrase) certain members of a certain race do not like to venture into areas where there are members of other races. Mattingly was on the Western edge of Benton Park and yes, bordering less gentrified neighborhoods. It certainly was safe.
I will mourn just a litte the loss of a little piece of our neighborhood and hope the next person to occupy the space fares better. I will do a better job too.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Freezing
Irony: Going to a bar/restaurant called Sub Zero when the heat index is 100 degrees. Somehow we managed to choose the hottest day of the year thus far (as of Monday-Wednesday trumped it) to perform the strange St. Louis summer ritual of packing ourselves in like sardines at a breezeless amphitheater at the Muny (in Forest Park!) We wanted to grab a quick post-work bite before the show. We took a friend/couple along with us and they suggested a place where the girls could get sushi and the boys, burgers.
Subzero has this strange menu combination of raw fish and fattening beef. Both the burgers and sushi were good enough-but the problem when a restaurant features dishes for various palates is that you don't seek the restaurant out for any of them. If I'm craving a burger, I'll go someplace closer to my house, as you can get a burger anywhere. If I'm craving sushi, I'll go back to Wasabi or try another joint, where the sushi shines. What's even more interesting about this place is that the official title is Sub Zero Vodka Bar, which doesn't even sound like they serve food.
Sub Zero is in a busy section of the Central West End, which is probably keeping it's doors open. A place like this in Benton Park, I doubt would survive. But the foot traffic and generally young 20-something population of the CWE is allowing it to thrive.
http://www.subzerovodkabar.com/
Subzero has this strange menu combination of raw fish and fattening beef. Both the burgers and sushi were good enough-but the problem when a restaurant features dishes for various palates is that you don't seek the restaurant out for any of them. If I'm craving a burger, I'll go someplace closer to my house, as you can get a burger anywhere. If I'm craving sushi, I'll go back to Wasabi or try another joint, where the sushi shines. What's even more interesting about this place is that the official title is Sub Zero Vodka Bar, which doesn't even sound like they serve food.
Sub Zero is in a busy section of the Central West End, which is probably keeping it's doors open. A place like this in Benton Park, I doubt would survive. But the foot traffic and generally young 20-something population of the CWE is allowing it to thrive.
http://www.subzerovodkabar.com/
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Emphasis on the BAR
BARcelona Tapas-no really, that's how they spell the name of their restaurant-is a cute little place in the heart of downtown Clayton. After the city, downtown Clayton is arguably your best bet of finding a variety of good food if your definition of good food is not Applebees.
Tim is still warming up to the idea of tapas, but after several visits to Modesto on the Hill, he is liking the concept more and more. Like the Spanish, he loves his pork. I suggested BARcelona for a casual dinner last Friday night because 1. "He didn't have to get dressed up" and 2. I had a Groupon.
When in Barcelona, beba como las Barcelonas.* So, I had the sangria. It was good, not too strong on the alcohol (sad face) but decent. We ordered four tapas: olives, spinach empanadas, baked goat cheese in tomato sauce, and the grilled beef tenderloin with blue cheese. The olives served were of numerous variety, some not palatable, but overall we liked most of them. And I even was ok with the gross ones because at least I was trying something new, perhaps even something traditional to Mediterranean cooking. The empanadas were not bad, just our least favorite, but the goat cheese and the beef were the stars. The goat cheese was mild in the Goat Cheese Pungency Scale (self-appointed expert here) and the beef was a high-quality cut that was very thick, plenty for the two of us.
We liked BARcelona Tapas enough. However, it is a definite second-place finisher to Modesto.
*This is probably not correct Spanish, and since they speak Catalan in Barcelona anyway, who's counting?
www.barcelonatapas.com
Tim is still warming up to the idea of tapas, but after several visits to Modesto on the Hill, he is liking the concept more and more. Like the Spanish, he loves his pork. I suggested BARcelona for a casual dinner last Friday night because 1. "He didn't have to get dressed up" and 2. I had a Groupon.
When in Barcelona, beba como las Barcelonas.* So, I had the sangria. It was good, not too strong on the alcohol (sad face) but decent. We ordered four tapas: olives, spinach empanadas, baked goat cheese in tomato sauce, and the grilled beef tenderloin with blue cheese. The olives served were of numerous variety, some not palatable, but overall we liked most of them. And I even was ok with the gross ones because at least I was trying something new, perhaps even something traditional to Mediterranean cooking. The empanadas were not bad, just our least favorite, but the goat cheese and the beef were the stars. The goat cheese was mild in the Goat Cheese Pungency Scale (self-appointed expert here) and the beef was a high-quality cut that was very thick, plenty for the two of us.
We liked BARcelona Tapas enough. However, it is a definite second-place finisher to Modesto.
*This is probably not correct Spanish, and since they speak Catalan in Barcelona anyway, who's counting?
www.barcelonatapas.com
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Better Second Time Around
In my short tenure in St. Louis in the early 2000s, Hacienda always came up as a place to go grap a bite to eat. Hacienda's has one of the coolest patios in the suburbs, large and sprawling, and that was the only redeming quality of this cantina, with bad salsa and worse food. Of course, we could NEVER sit on the patio because a slew of excuses always followed: too hot, too cold, too rainy, too whatever.
Last week, my boss treated the whole staff to lunch at...Hacienda's. I was not about to complain, as I knew this was going to be a free meal, but remembering my struggles with the "Mexican" food 6ish years ago, I was pondering what exactly I was going to order.
Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered chicken mole, and although it paled compared to Rick Bayless', it was quite tasty. The chips at Hacienda's are homemade and the salsa has improved. The chips are so good, they now sell them at local supermarkets for the outrageous, but worth it, price of $3.50. Several of my coworkers had fajitas, which looked great and the guac was tasty too.
I'm glad I gave Hacienda's a second chance. I'm still on the prowl for my true Mexican food, but the Tex-Mex at Hacienda's is nothing to turn your nose up at.
http://www.hacienda-stl.com/
Last week, my boss treated the whole staff to lunch at...Hacienda's. I was not about to complain, as I knew this was going to be a free meal, but remembering my struggles with the "Mexican" food 6ish years ago, I was pondering what exactly I was going to order.
Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered chicken mole, and although it paled compared to Rick Bayless', it was quite tasty. The chips at Hacienda's are homemade and the salsa has improved. The chips are so good, they now sell them at local supermarkets for the outrageous, but worth it, price of $3.50. Several of my coworkers had fajitas, which looked great and the guac was tasty too.
I'm glad I gave Hacienda's a second chance. I'm still on the prowl for my true Mexican food, but the Tex-Mex at Hacienda's is nothing to turn your nose up at.
http://www.hacienda-stl.com/
Friday, June 18, 2010
Where's the Vowels?
LLywelyn's Pub started off as a intimate Central West End pub and grew into a multi-state chain, taking over mass square footage left by bars with shallower pockets and less name recognition. The Soulard offshoot has been around for a few years, taking over the former Soulard Ale House space (still have a pint glass!). With the exception of the original, Llywelyn's does not have outdoor space, which is always nice to have on a spring evening, although with the temps reaching into the upper 90s lately, this was not something we necessarily were seeking.
The menu is ever-changing and expanding, and on our visit this past Monday, I skipped right past the standbys of burgers and fish and chips and ordered a curried shrimp wrap. Eh. There were way too many carrots for my liking, giving the whole thing a strange texture in my mouth. Tim ordered a reuben, a staple of Irish/English/Scotch, or in this case Welsh, pub grub. Again, just ok. The side of sweet potato waffle fries redeemed the meals and our appetizer of calamari was good, but not anything original.
On Monday nights, we found out by accident, that apps were half price and beers were 3 bucks a pint. They have a pretty sizable draught selection, with few (perhaps none) made by AB.
We, of course, will be back to Llewelyn's which is just some place that's close, inexpensive, and convenient.
http://www.llywelynspub.com/
The menu is ever-changing and expanding, and on our visit this past Monday, I skipped right past the standbys of burgers and fish and chips and ordered a curried shrimp wrap. Eh. There were way too many carrots for my liking, giving the whole thing a strange texture in my mouth. Tim ordered a reuben, a staple of Irish/English/Scotch, or in this case Welsh, pub grub. Again, just ok. The side of sweet potato waffle fries redeemed the meals and our appetizer of calamari was good, but not anything original.
On Monday nights, we found out by accident, that apps were half price and beers were 3 bucks a pint. They have a pretty sizable draught selection, with few (perhaps none) made by AB.
We, of course, will be back to Llewelyn's which is just some place that's close, inexpensive, and convenient.
http://www.llywelynspub.com/
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A 68 Dollar Lunch
Yesterday, I was ultra-bored because it was ultra-hot here in steamy St. Louis. I couldn't talk Tim into walking anywhere for lunch, which was probably a good decision on his part, considering we were outside for like 5 minutes cleaning our cars and dripping with sweat. Wanting something "like a burger" but not quite sure I wanted to trek out to Five Guys, I suggested checking out the Lumiere Casino/Hotel* and the famous Burger Bar inside.
The Burger Bar is copied after its Las Vegas cousin, brainchild of proprietor/head chef, Hubert Keller. Keller has his bio on the back page of the menu and Tim asks me, "Do you know this guy?" [because I know famous chefs personally]. No, I actually had never heard of him, although he does have a show on PBS apparently, but unless your name is Rick, Ming, Bobby, or Tyler, I don't care who you are. And trust me, this guy is no Ming, Bobby, or Tyler (Rick is not that hot, just awesome).
You have the option of starting off with the "cheapest" option, the 9.50 angus burger, and working all the way up to the 16.50 American Kobe. As much as I wanted to try the Kobe, I stuck with what I knew and added on from there. Of course, each add-on is additional dinero, and I chose carmelized onions, avocado, and blue cheese and Tim went with blue cheese and proscuitto (I gave him props for being original). We also split this thing called the fry trio, ringing up at 15 dollars, but oh, so tasty.
Yes, our lunch was 68 dollars plus tip and wow! thats expensive for a burger and some beers. The food however, was excellent, possibly the best burger in St. Louis. It's worth noting that each booth has it's own television and we were there in time to watch the race two races before the Belmont Stakes (who cares) but it was a nice touch as this place seemed to attract a lot of out of town Cards fans.
*That big tall shiny green building you can see from Int. 70 is actually the Four Seasons. The Lumiere is a dinky four-story former Embassy Suites. I had no idea.
http://www.lumiereplace.com/burger_bar.aspx
The Burger Bar is copied after its Las Vegas cousin, brainchild of proprietor/head chef, Hubert Keller. Keller has his bio on the back page of the menu and Tim asks me, "Do you know this guy?" [because I know famous chefs personally]. No, I actually had never heard of him, although he does have a show on PBS apparently, but unless your name is Rick, Ming, Bobby, or Tyler, I don't care who you are. And trust me, this guy is no Ming, Bobby, or Tyler (Rick is not that hot, just awesome).
You have the option of starting off with the "cheapest" option, the 9.50 angus burger, and working all the way up to the 16.50 American Kobe. As much as I wanted to try the Kobe, I stuck with what I knew and added on from there. Of course, each add-on is additional dinero, and I chose carmelized onions, avocado, and blue cheese and Tim went with blue cheese and proscuitto (I gave him props for being original). We also split this thing called the fry trio, ringing up at 15 dollars, but oh, so tasty.
Yes, our lunch was 68 dollars plus tip and wow! thats expensive for a burger and some beers. The food however, was excellent, possibly the best burger in St. Louis. It's worth noting that each booth has it's own television and we were there in time to watch the race two races before the Belmont Stakes (who cares) but it was a nice touch as this place seemed to attract a lot of out of town Cards fans.
*That big tall shiny green building you can see from Int. 70 is actually the Four Seasons. The Lumiere is a dinky four-story former Embassy Suites. I had no idea.
http://www.lumiereplace.com/burger_bar.aspx
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cheap and Easy
Fast Eddie's Bon Air or just Fast Eddies is a nice 30 minute drive from our house to Alton, IL. Sunday was our third trip out here, but our first on a hot weather day. Their schtick is mega-cheap eats: 99 cent burgers and fries, $2.50 draughts and the tasty idea of individually priced peal-n-eats (29 cents). There are only seven items on the menu and you have to order it at the counter and burn 13 more calories to pick up the order when your number is called. Everything is better than what you'd expect for the price.
I definitely recommend the outdoor patio; it's covered so the sun is not a big deal and there are misting fans ala Six Flags to keep you cool. This is a biker mecca, but as long as you're into the small-town atmosphere, yuppies from the city [us] are welcome too. Get there early: we arrived five minutes after opening and were already the 32nd order-they were nearing 100 when we left only one hour later.
According to Alton Brown of Food Network fame, this is a "Roadhouse"-a dying breed of American diners (see YouTube video on website). I'm not sure what that all means-but I'll be back!
http://www.fasteddiesbonair.com/fr_home.cfm
I definitely recommend the outdoor patio; it's covered so the sun is not a big deal and there are misting fans ala Six Flags to keep you cool. This is a biker mecca, but as long as you're into the small-town atmosphere, yuppies from the city [us] are welcome too. Get there early: we arrived five minutes after opening and were already the 32nd order-they were nearing 100 when we left only one hour later.
According to Alton Brown of Food Network fame, this is a "Roadhouse"-a dying breed of American diners (see YouTube video on website). I'm not sure what that all means-but I'll be back!
http://www.fasteddiesbonair.com/fr_home.cfm
Thursday, May 27, 2010
They're Always Named "Tony"
Or Vinny.
Whatever the name, Italian food is loved by most, attempted by many, perfected by few. Tony's is THE place you go if you want to impress or look impressive or perhaps be in over your head with the price.
It was my duh-duh-duh 30th birthday and my dear husband wanted to surprise me with a "special dinner" that didn't include pizza or burgers. He went all out with Tony's and it really hit the mark.
Our dinner took almost 2 1/2 hours, the way most Mediterranean countrymen eat and the time alotted for most Americans to watch TV nightly. I had the pate as an appetizer, which included chicken and duck fat (i.e., foie gras), and I would say we "split" this except I kept 90% of it for myself. For my entre I had the veal trio, which included a new tuber for me: sunchokes. I just wikipedia'd this and apparently its a type of Sunflower. Interesting. The real star of the night, however, was Tim's grouper. It was the special and at a highly-rated restaurant, this is flown in daily. This fish was fresher than what we had in St. Lucia. Outstanding. To top off the 80 grams of fat I had already consumed (fugetta bout it!) I ordered the canolli for dessert complete with two kinds of cheese and what tasted like vanilla bean.
The service here should be mentioned. There were three or four staff in the dining room whose main job is to just pop up when you need them. None of our dishes arrived before our previous course was complete, but as soon as our plates were whisked away, another suit placed the next offering in front of us. Tony's also does this interesting tableside post-prep plating which involves re-warming your food over a chafer and then presenting the dish onto a new plate at your side, served with a sugar tong.
I would love to go back soon. Considering the price, I'm counting down to my 40th birthday.
http://www.saucecafe.com/tonys/
Whatever the name, Italian food is loved by most, attempted by many, perfected by few. Tony's is THE place you go if you want to impress or look impressive or perhaps be in over your head with the price.
It was my duh-duh-duh 30th birthday and my dear husband wanted to surprise me with a "special dinner" that didn't include pizza or burgers. He went all out with Tony's and it really hit the mark.
Our dinner took almost 2 1/2 hours, the way most Mediterranean countrymen eat and the time alotted for most Americans to watch TV nightly. I had the pate as an appetizer, which included chicken and duck fat (i.e., foie gras), and I would say we "split" this except I kept 90% of it for myself. For my entre I had the veal trio, which included a new tuber for me: sunchokes. I just wikipedia'd this and apparently its a type of Sunflower. Interesting. The real star of the night, however, was Tim's grouper. It was the special and at a highly-rated restaurant, this is flown in daily. This fish was fresher than what we had in St. Lucia. Outstanding. To top off the 80 grams of fat I had already consumed (fugetta bout it!) I ordered the canolli for dessert complete with two kinds of cheese and what tasted like vanilla bean.
The service here should be mentioned. There were three or four staff in the dining room whose main job is to just pop up when you need them. None of our dishes arrived before our previous course was complete, but as soon as our plates were whisked away, another suit placed the next offering in front of us. Tony's also does this interesting tableside post-prep plating which involves re-warming your food over a chafer and then presenting the dish onto a new plate at your side, served with a sugar tong.
I would love to go back soon. Considering the price, I'm counting down to my 40th birthday.
http://www.saucecafe.com/tonys/
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Tu Eres The Drunk One
El Borracho is an interesting take on a "taqueria" and a "cantina" with not much of either going on. Don't get me wrong: we were looking for something very basic and cheap, and El Borracho delivered. They have very few items on their menu: tacos (Gringo aka Tim style and Pancho aka my style); burritos, and quesadillas. The salsa and chips are complimentary (pretty good) and the rice and beans are meant to be ordered ala cart. At the grandparent tim we arrived, happy hour was still going on with three dollar sangria (strong) and four dollar margaritas (stronger).
The Pancho "carnitas" taco came in the style of al pastor with lots of cilantro and red onions. The Mexican rice was spicy and the refried beans tasted smoky-or should I say, loaded with bacon fat. Yum. Tim's tacos looked only fair as they were made with flour tortillas-a big no-no in my book- but it did say "Gringo" style and frankly, Tim is probably tired of eating only corn tortillas at home.
Will we go back? Probably not. The quest for the perfect Mexican restaurant continues...
http://www.elborrachostl.com/
The Pancho "carnitas" taco came in the style of al pastor with lots of cilantro and red onions. The Mexican rice was spicy and the refried beans tasted smoky-or should I say, loaded with bacon fat. Yum. Tim's tacos looked only fair as they were made with flour tortillas-a big no-no in my book- but it did say "Gringo" style and frankly, Tim is probably tired of eating only corn tortillas at home.
Will we go back? Probably not. The quest for the perfect Mexican restaurant continues...
http://www.elborrachostl.com/
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ol' Abner Done It Agin!
For Tim's upcoming 30th year mark, I wanted to take him to a place that featured steaks, steaks, and more steaks. Mike Shannon's is the place in St. Louis, according to itself, to see and be seen and not to mention to eat some famous steak. I made reservations (definitely recommended especially since the Cardinals played a day game on Saturday)* and off we went to spend loads of money just to find out if a 40 dollar fillet is that much better than a 18 dollar one.
The truth is, no. Tim had a fillet and I had a dry-aged strip. Tim told me half way through our dish that my meals are better (this makes me feel both good and bad-meaning I didn't necessarily have to spend 150 dollars tonight; he was referencing my New Year's meal where I purchased 2 dollar(!) fillets from Aldi and he loved them). It would have been nice if the steaks had some sort of sauce-asking for A1 seemed a bit unrefined for the price of our beef. They were just boring. They tasted as they were supposed to, just boring. Also, everything here is ala carte, which is French for "we can jack up your meal even farther when you have to pay 8 dollars each for your salad and potato."
I wanted to try a "signature cocktail;" one I had my eye on featured egg whites and various other weird things, but the waiter steered me toward the safer bet of muddled raspberries in a lemonade-flavored spirit.
Tim would like to add that the people here are hideous. At a place that is to see and be seen, our dining room was full of really ugly folks. We were in the Musial room, which is sectioned off from the main dining room, and in the main dining room, you can sit at street level along tall windows. I am kind of thinking perhaps they grouped all of the ugly folks and put them off to the side...
http://www.shannonsteak.com/
*While we were waiting for our table, "some douche who thinks he's somebody" started joking around with the Maitre'D. Apparently, this was the Reds announcer and former pitching star, Jeff Brantley. No, I have no idea who he is.
The truth is, no. Tim had a fillet and I had a dry-aged strip. Tim told me half way through our dish that my meals are better (this makes me feel both good and bad-meaning I didn't necessarily have to spend 150 dollars tonight; he was referencing my New Year's meal where I purchased 2 dollar(!) fillets from Aldi and he loved them). It would have been nice if the steaks had some sort of sauce-asking for A1 seemed a bit unrefined for the price of our beef. They were just boring. They tasted as they were supposed to, just boring. Also, everything here is ala carte, which is French for "we can jack up your meal even farther when you have to pay 8 dollars each for your salad and potato."
I wanted to try a "signature cocktail;" one I had my eye on featured egg whites and various other weird things, but the waiter steered me toward the safer bet of muddled raspberries in a lemonade-flavored spirit.
Tim would like to add that the people here are hideous. At a place that is to see and be seen, our dining room was full of really ugly folks. We were in the Musial room, which is sectioned off from the main dining room, and in the main dining room, you can sit at street level along tall windows. I am kind of thinking perhaps they grouped all of the ugly folks and put them off to the side...
http://www.shannonsteak.com/
*While we were waiting for our table, "some douche who thinks he's somebody" started joking around with the Maitre'D. Apparently, this was the Reds announcer and former pitching star, Jeff Brantley. No, I have no idea who he is.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Translation: My Mother's Place for Spaghetti
Spaghetteria Mamma Mia is a lonesome little place, at the corner of Chouteau and Vandeventer in an unnamed and uninhabited section of Midtown. Wanting to beat the [three-hour late] thunderstorm warning, we arrived at precisely 5:20 PM to have the place to ourselves, save for a 50-something solo diner.
The place is not fancy, and since it sits at the corner of a angled street (Vandeventer) it's kind-of triangular in shape. We had some calamari that were under salted, but we fixed that, and also a side-salad that was pretty decent, despite the usage of Provel, which I seem to be acquiring a taste for.
Tim went for the exciting and earth-shattering "Sausage and Cheese Pizza," but of course, I had the Special, consisting of frutti di mare and a white-wine type broth served over fettucine. Nightly, SMM has three specials: a stuffed pasta, a short pasta and a long pasta.
Our waitress was a bit odd, perhaps someone who should have been working at Ed Debevic's instead of a mid-level Italian restaurant. The real icing on the cake was when she boxed my sloppy dish about two inches from Tim.
The wine list here is not anything special; definitely no sommelier on staff, just someone who probably sees what's cheap enough and puts together a hodge-podge of bottles with only about 1/3 coming from the motherland. I opted for the Sangria, which does not pair with Frutti di mare, but pairs well with my palette. It was tasty.
We went here because of my groupon; I'm not sure if we'll be back, especially since Lorenzo's was quite a bit better and at a similar price point.
http://www.spaghetteriamammamia.com/#/home
The place is not fancy, and since it sits at the corner of a angled street (Vandeventer) it's kind-of triangular in shape. We had some calamari that were under salted, but we fixed that, and also a side-salad that was pretty decent, despite the usage of Provel, which I seem to be acquiring a taste for.
Tim went for the exciting and earth-shattering "Sausage and Cheese Pizza," but of course, I had the Special, consisting of frutti di mare and a white-wine type broth served over fettucine. Nightly, SMM has three specials: a stuffed pasta, a short pasta and a long pasta.
Our waitress was a bit odd, perhaps someone who should have been working at Ed Debevic's instead of a mid-level Italian restaurant. The real icing on the cake was when she boxed my sloppy dish about two inches from Tim.
The wine list here is not anything special; definitely no sommelier on staff, just someone who probably sees what's cheap enough and puts together a hodge-podge of bottles with only about 1/3 coming from the motherland. I opted for the Sangria, which does not pair with Frutti di mare, but pairs well with my palette. It was tasty.
We went here because of my groupon; I'm not sure if we'll be back, especially since Lorenzo's was quite a bit better and at a similar price point.
http://www.spaghetteriamammamia.com/#/home
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Cooking Conversions
Here is a nifty little website I happened upon in WikiAnswers. I needed to convert "one 16 oz. box of confectioner's sugar*" to cups, since I did not have "one 16 oz. box of confectioner's sugar" and liquid ounces are not the same as dry ounces (2 cups vs. 3 3/4 cups.)
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Homepage.aspx
*What, you may ask, needs 16 oz of powered sugar? A recipe calling for two sticks of butter, one package of cream cheese and a cake mix...none other than Gooey Butter Cake.
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Homepage.aspx
*What, you may ask, needs 16 oz of powered sugar? A recipe calling for two sticks of butter, one package of cream cheese and a cake mix...none other than Gooey Butter Cake.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
And the Tallest Mountain Award Goes To...
Everest Cafe started off in 2003 in what was then a non-descript section of Washington Ave between Jefferson and downtown. Now, various lofts and other bars and restaurants have sprung up. But, as the area was attempting gentrification, Everest up and moves to another down-on-it's luck area then known as Forest Park SouthEast. However, this strip of Manchester Ave between Kingshighway and Vandeventer, in the six years I was gone, brought in several bars, restaurants, and the like. They renamed it "The Grove" (as there is still Forest Park SouthEast), put up a few banners, and unofficially dubbed it the gay district of St. Louis.
The Everest probably was onto something with this move. For the lunch buffet on Saturday, there wasn't an empty seat. Since the cafe is named "Everest," they tout their dishes as Nepalese, but somewhere along the line, they added Korean and Indian dishes to the menu. Obviously, Nepal shares a border with India, so the food and flavoring are similar to North-India (although the spice was tame), but Korea? I just Google-Earthed the distance from Kathmandu to Seoul and it's over 2500 miles. And that's the way the crow flies. In addition to the hodge-podge of regional selections, the proprietor/head chef, wrote this letter to "his customers" telling us all about himself (he was adopted from Nepal by an American family) and how he wants everyone to be healthy so his food is such and also, since he is such a magnanimous public servant, he wants everyone to come in on Sundays for a free health screen.
The buffet was just ok. The butter chicken was awesome, but it's always awesome. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's something you can get in the region (think General Tso's chicken) but who cares? After three servings, I wondered how this fit into the "healthy dishes" and I was pondering getting one of those free health screens. The other dishes were hit or miss with the other star being the glass noodles prepared Korean style (tasted like oyster sauce maybe?)
The Everest Cafe has a menu at nighttime and of course the buffet at lunch. One other note-they open at 11:30 (odd) even during the week. They wouldnt let us sit down at 11:25 (I'm not kidding)-the waitress made us go back out to our car and wait until 11:30. Tim also wanted me to mention that the people that look as though they're regulars are quite ugly.
http://www.everestcafeandbar.com/
The Everest probably was onto something with this move. For the lunch buffet on Saturday, there wasn't an empty seat. Since the cafe is named "Everest," they tout their dishes as Nepalese, but somewhere along the line, they added Korean and Indian dishes to the menu. Obviously, Nepal shares a border with India, so the food and flavoring are similar to North-India (although the spice was tame), but Korea? I just Google-Earthed the distance from Kathmandu to Seoul and it's over 2500 miles. And that's the way the crow flies. In addition to the hodge-podge of regional selections, the proprietor/head chef, wrote this letter to "his customers" telling us all about himself (he was adopted from Nepal by an American family) and how he wants everyone to be healthy so his food is such and also, since he is such a magnanimous public servant, he wants everyone to come in on Sundays for a free health screen.
The buffet was just ok. The butter chicken was awesome, but it's always awesome. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's something you can get in the region (think General Tso's chicken) but who cares? After three servings, I wondered how this fit into the "healthy dishes" and I was pondering getting one of those free health screens. The other dishes were hit or miss with the other star being the glass noodles prepared Korean style (tasted like oyster sauce maybe?)
The Everest Cafe has a menu at nighttime and of course the buffet at lunch. One other note-they open at 11:30 (odd) even during the week. They wouldnt let us sit down at 11:25 (I'm not kidding)-the waitress made us go back out to our car and wait until 11:30. Tim also wanted me to mention that the people that look as though they're regulars are quite ugly.
http://www.everestcafeandbar.com/
Friday, April 23, 2010
WaSAAAAAAAbi
Wasabi, recently voted #1 Sushi by RFT readers, is a tiny, bustling joint in the heart of Washington St. I went on a Saturday night (reservations recommended) with a couple of friends. I love sushi but don't get much more than a take-out from Whole Foods or the food court at the Galleria (don't knock it until you try it) since half of my household finds it "unfilling". But since these are take-out options, the selection is basic and not all that exciting.
However, at Wasabi, the rolls are imaginative and tasty. My friends frequent this little restaurant, so I went ahead and let them order, as I will eat just about anything on the menu [of an Americanized sushi restaurant]. One of the rolls used fried tempura batter instead of rice and a crepe-like wrap. Another had both avocado and unagi [bbq eel]. We ordered way more than we could possibly eat (unfilling?) and I can't wait to go back.
http://www.wasabistl.com
However, at Wasabi, the rolls are imaginative and tasty. My friends frequent this little restaurant, so I went ahead and let them order, as I will eat just about anything on the menu [of an Americanized sushi restaurant]. One of the rolls used fried tempura batter instead of rice and a crepe-like wrap. Another had both avocado and unagi [bbq eel]. We ordered way more than we could possibly eat (unfilling?) and I can't wait to go back.
http://www.wasabistl.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
She's Not Fat, Just "Robust"
Robust Wine Bar is a cute little place in Downtown Webster Groves that looked like just the right place to patronize for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon. As the name suggests, they specialize in wine, even offering wine "flights" to give a sampling of their offerings. However, we were not interested in mid-afternoon sloth, so we stuck with the unimaginative water and soda.
For lunch or dinner, they offer cheese and charcuterie plates as well as soups, salads, flatbreads, and for dinner, tasting plates. Our blue cheese plate came with a 2 oz piece of domestic blue (or in laymans terms, about the size of a small person's fist) and was given a supporting cast of dates, apricots, almonds and two different kinds of bread. I choose to have a flatbread, which was enough for me, after the giant cheese, for two meals. It featured smoked duck (!) and gruyere. Tim had an interesting twist on the BLT, including yet more blue cheese in a "schmere."
This bar, I think, draws a good crowd on a weekend evening and getting a table may be difficult. I would like to go back and try a wine flight, preferrably when there's not a list of errands to be run afterward.
http://www.robustwinebar.com/
For lunch or dinner, they offer cheese and charcuterie plates as well as soups, salads, flatbreads, and for dinner, tasting plates. Our blue cheese plate came with a 2 oz piece of domestic blue (or in laymans terms, about the size of a small person's fist) and was given a supporting cast of dates, apricots, almonds and two different kinds of bread. I choose to have a flatbread, which was enough for me, after the giant cheese, for two meals. It featured smoked duck (!) and gruyere. Tim had an interesting twist on the BLT, including yet more blue cheese in a "schmere."
This bar, I think, draws a good crowd on a weekend evening and getting a table may be difficult. I would like to go back and try a wine flight, preferrably when there's not a list of errands to be run afterward.
http://www.robustwinebar.com/
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Gumbo, yo!
Either you feel an atmosphere of peeling paint and employees who can't quite talk normally adds to the dining experience or you run the other direction. Since I have yet to make money off of my dining blog, I relish the opportunity to eat at a dive which tends to be: 1) cheap and 2) not disappointing. The Gumbo Shop, in a corner shack in Rock Hill, meets these criteria.
My coworkers and I decided to get some carry-out for a lunchtime meeting. It took us a phone call and several Google searches to try to find their ellusive online menu (sorry can't find it again...you'll just have to go), again adding to the "this is a total dive" experience. I went for their Thursday daily special Red Beans and Rice, enough for two lunches and complete with a huge-ass chunk of Kielbasa. My coworkers got the usual rundown: jambalaya, gumbo, po' boys, fried catfish. From what I could tell, everyone was satisfied with their fare, good as any New Orleans restaurant (ok, I really don't know) but at least good enough to rival anything in Soulard.
Website: Lost in cyberspace
My coworkers and I decided to get some carry-out for a lunchtime meeting. It took us a phone call and several Google searches to try to find their ellusive online menu (sorry can't find it again...you'll just have to go), again adding to the "this is a total dive" experience. I went for their Thursday daily special Red Beans and Rice, enough for two lunches and complete with a huge-ass chunk of Kielbasa. My coworkers got the usual rundown: jambalaya, gumbo, po' boys, fried catfish. From what I could tell, everyone was satisfied with their fare, good as any New Orleans restaurant (ok, I really don't know) but at least good enough to rival anything in Soulard.
Website: Lost in cyberspace
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Lorenzo's Olive Oil
Old Stand-by/New Adventure? Steal/Moderate? Loud/Intimate? Bar with Food/Restaurant with Bar? These are all factors one weighs when seeking out any restaurant anywhere. When parents roll in town, especially when they're not your own flesh and blood (READ: in-laws), the internal debate is taken to a whole new level. (I'm saying internal here as Tim is like ah, we'll figure it out). What happens if you suggest this place that had a great write-up in the St. Louis Magazine and come to find out the cheapest thing on the menu is 35 dollars? Or what if the daily special is something like liver? Despite our rapid approach upon our third decade of life, Tim's parents still like to pay for food (I wish my parents read this; they like to remind me that "we make less money than you")
Italian food and specifically, The Hill, provide the always-consist and parent-friendly option of Italian food. After an endorsement from my Sicilian coworker, we decided upon Lorenzo's Tratorria.
I looked up the meaning of Tratorria, and after seeing what Wikipedia said, I think the word Tratorria is slapped on the Italian eateries much in the manner "Bistro" has been tagged onto French-style restaurants. It just sounds fancier and more authentic.
Lorenzo's Tratorria is quite good-they have those long skinny breadsticks along with some sort of blue cheese spread for a gratis appetizer, into which some male members of our party had no problems double-dipping. We all ate pasta dishes: the housemade potato gnocchi was awesome and we were told the Bolognese was good as well. The House Salads, which are not included in the price of the entree, were large-I think two people really could have split one. Pistachios added a nice touch to these.
Since we have an unused Groupon thanks to the generocity of Tim's parents, we will return to Lorenzo's in the near future.
http://www.lorenzostrattoria.com/index.html
Italian food and specifically, The Hill, provide the always-consist and parent-friendly option of Italian food. After an endorsement from my Sicilian coworker, we decided upon Lorenzo's Tratorria.
I looked up the meaning of Tratorria, and after seeing what Wikipedia said, I think the word Tratorria is slapped on the Italian eateries much in the manner "Bistro" has been tagged onto French-style restaurants. It just sounds fancier and more authentic.
Lorenzo's Tratorria is quite good-they have those long skinny breadsticks along with some sort of blue cheese spread for a gratis appetizer, into which some male members of our party had no problems double-dipping. We all ate pasta dishes: the housemade potato gnocchi was awesome and we were told the Bolognese was good as well. The House Salads, which are not included in the price of the entree, were large-I think two people really could have split one. Pistachios added a nice touch to these.
Since we have an unused Groupon thanks to the generocity of Tim's parents, we will return to Lorenzo's in the near future.
http://www.lorenzostrattoria.com/index.html
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Lord, She was Luvy-Duvy
Luvy Duvy's is a little corner cafe in my barrio, situated on the otherside of our neighborhood's namesake greenspace. It's run by a friendly lesbian couple with a southern drawl and enough "honeys and darlins" for all of us residing north of Tennessee. The grub here is just to fill a void-basic breakfast fare (available all day on the weekends)and sandwiches that come with good chips and prices that are quite reasonable. The fact that it's within walking distance is super-bonus.
They have a large patio that I envied, but it wasn't quite warm enough to patronize last Saturday. The major issue here is that their hours are just weird-they aren't open past 4 on the weekdays or 3 on Saturday. But, if you're as laid-back as these gals seemed, it's all right, darlin'
http://www.luvyduvys.com/
They have a large patio that I envied, but it wasn't quite warm enough to patronize last Saturday. The major issue here is that their hours are just weird-they aren't open past 4 on the weekdays or 3 on Saturday. But, if you're as laid-back as these gals seemed, it's all right, darlin'
http://www.luvyduvys.com/
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Look! You Got a Great White!
Back from our wedding! It's been exactly 21 days since my last post, but we're back on now!
Last night, looking for something between frozen pizza and Niche, we decided to check out this little South City hang-out known as Syberg's. Syberg's is owned by the same folks who own that West County cash cow, Helen Fitzgerald's. Syberg's on Gravois (they have three locations), is the original, full of overweight chain-smoking folks from South County. We settled in for our healthy meal.
Syberg's is knowns for the intriguing delicacy of none other than shark! We bought into this marketing schtick and ordered "Shark Bites" for an appetizer. Yum! They tasted like meaty fish-think tuna steak or swordfish. Eschewing vegetables and anything else healthy, we stuck the the left-hand side of the menu and took on a bunch of appetizers. They make their own wing sauce, less spicy than traditional Franks-plus-Butter combo you might find at other bars, lending a tangy, almost tomatoey (word?) flavor to traditionally fried wings. The cajun shrimp were swimming in butter (oh well) and the onion rings were huge. Even better, we arrived during happy hour and our wings (about 10) were only 3.50 or so.
Syberg's is not a place you take your parents when they're in town, unless they're chain smokers from Afton. We will be back.
http://www.sybergs.net/
Last night, looking for something between frozen pizza and Niche, we decided to check out this little South City hang-out known as Syberg's. Syberg's is owned by the same folks who own that West County cash cow, Helen Fitzgerald's. Syberg's on Gravois (they have three locations), is the original, full of overweight chain-smoking folks from South County. We settled in for our healthy meal.
Syberg's is knowns for the intriguing delicacy of none other than shark! We bought into this marketing schtick and ordered "Shark Bites" for an appetizer. Yum! They tasted like meaty fish-think tuna steak or swordfish. Eschewing vegetables and anything else healthy, we stuck the the left-hand side of the menu and took on a bunch of appetizers. They make their own wing sauce, less spicy than traditional Franks-plus-Butter combo you might find at other bars, lending a tangy, almost tomatoey (word?) flavor to traditionally fried wings. The cajun shrimp were swimming in butter (oh well) and the onion rings were huge. Even better, we arrived during happy hour and our wings (about 10) were only 3.50 or so.
Syberg's is not a place you take your parents when they're in town, unless they're chain smokers from Afton. We will be back.
http://www.sybergs.net/
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Last Time I Checked, You Can't Actually "Shave" a Duck
Saturday night fell between a minor bout of food poisoning from a self-appointed military officer and forcing Tim to watch a screening of 'The Blind Side' on Delta flight 561 to our wedding. I chose "The Shaved Duck," which we had patronized a few months back on a Tuesday evening. Unlike that Tuesday evening when we seemed to be the only people who could find this place, on Saturday, we snagged the last table in the bar area. The Shaved Duck has a good tap and bottled beer selection, including a heavy leaning on locally brewed beers minus that crap they call "St. Louis' Microbrew" otherwise known and Schlafly.
They're known for their 'que and accompanying sides as well as boasting four kinds of chili on the menu. You're able to sample the chili in a sort-of "flight" and Tim particularly liked one last time and ordered what he thought was his favorite. Unfortunately, it was not what he had remembered-not bad-just not the one he liked the best. I had a brisket sandwich, which is always my favorite BBQ choice. The brisket was more of a pot roast, with the beef kind of shredded instead of sliced against the grain. They make three distinct sauces, none of which are particularly spicy but all savory enough that I chose two out of three to put on my beef.
The sides we ordered were mediocre-the coleslaw was underseasoned and the macaroni paled compared to my own home creation.
The Shaved Duck is no Pappy's-but the atmosphere is nice, it's open for dinner, it has a bar and music, which definitely add to the dining experience.
http://www.theshavedduck.com/home
They're known for their 'que and accompanying sides as well as boasting four kinds of chili on the menu. You're able to sample the chili in a sort-of "flight" and Tim particularly liked one last time and ordered what he thought was his favorite. Unfortunately, it was not what he had remembered-not bad-just not the one he liked the best. I had a brisket sandwich, which is always my favorite BBQ choice. The brisket was more of a pot roast, with the beef kind of shredded instead of sliced against the grain. They make three distinct sauces, none of which are particularly spicy but all savory enough that I chose two out of three to put on my beef.
The sides we ordered were mediocre-the coleslaw was underseasoned and the macaroni paled compared to my own home creation.
The Shaved Duck is no Pappy's-but the atmosphere is nice, it's open for dinner, it has a bar and music, which definitely add to the dining experience.
http://www.theshavedduck.com/home
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Now For a Change of Pace...
My last reviews all seemed to slant toward the negative. So here's a positive review on myself and what I cooked tonight. This is my adaptation from the original recipe from the SF Chronicle, sent to me by my friend who lives there. I ate a the Slanted Door which overlooks the beautiful Bay on a lovely October day in 2008.
Chicken in Caramel Sauce
Serves 4 to 6
The inspiration for this dish that Charles Phan serves at his Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco came from a street cart in Vietnam. It's a good example of the great food that is served from street stands throughout that country.
•1/2 cup brown sugar
•1/4 cup water
•1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (see Note)
•3 tablespoons rice vinegar
•1 teaspoon minced garlic
•1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
•1 teaspoon ginger (I use a microplane)
•1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•2 small Thai chiles (fresh or dried), broken in half
•1tablespoon canola oil
•1/2 yellow onion, minced
•2 chicken breasts, sliced
•Steamed white rice
•Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Instructions: Combine the brown sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, pepper and chiles in a small bowl. Mix well, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onion and saute until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken and saute until it is slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half, about 12 to 20 minutes depending on the pot size. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
Note: Fish sauce is available in Asian markets and upscale supermarkets.
Per serving: 400 calories, 41 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat (4 g saturated), 131 mg cholesterol, 903 mg sodium, 0 fiber
The secrets: The interplay between the fish sauce and brown sugar creates a complex flavor. The combination of white and dark meat gives interesting texture to the dish.
Wine pairing: Try something slightly offdry with pear and honeysuckle aromas and flavors, such as the 2008 Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Columbia Valley Riesling ($12).
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/07/FDQ31BJVKK.DTL#ixzz0gDrSfD6k
Chicken in Caramel Sauce
Serves 4 to 6
The inspiration for this dish that Charles Phan serves at his Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco came from a street cart in Vietnam. It's a good example of the great food that is served from street stands throughout that country.
•1/2 cup brown sugar
•1/4 cup water
•1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (see Note)
•3 tablespoons rice vinegar
•1 teaspoon minced garlic
•1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
•1 teaspoon ginger (I use a microplane)
•1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•2 small Thai chiles (fresh or dried), broken in half
•1tablespoon canola oil
•1/2 yellow onion, minced
•2 chicken breasts, sliced
•Steamed white rice
•Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Instructions: Combine the brown sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, pepper and chiles in a small bowl. Mix well, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onion and saute until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken and saute until it is slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half, about 12 to 20 minutes depending on the pot size. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
Note: Fish sauce is available in Asian markets and upscale supermarkets.
Per serving: 400 calories, 41 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat (4 g saturated), 131 mg cholesterol, 903 mg sodium, 0 fiber
The secrets: The interplay between the fish sauce and brown sugar creates a complex flavor. The combination of white and dark meat gives interesting texture to the dish.
Wine pairing: Try something slightly offdry with pear and honeysuckle aromas and flavors, such as the 2008 Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Columbia Valley Riesling ($12).
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/07/FDQ31BJVKK.DTL#ixzz0gDrSfD6k
Fifteen Minutes of Shame
Last night we had the displeasure of eating at Jim Edmund's number-sake restaurant, Fifteen. We did not choose this place, as we were with three other couples, but the menu looked safe (steak and more steak) and the gentlemen in our party (minus Tim) had actually eaten here before.
I'll start with the positive here: The restaurant in amidst the faltering revitalization of the far-west loft district between Wash Ave. and mid-town. There are many "For Lease" store fronts along Locust Street as we were driving east, and clearly a lot of these lofts were empty. It's good that a few businesses are trying their hand at making a go of it here, and this place was pretty full on a Saturday night as well as hosting a party (wedding reception?) in the upstairs area.
Now the negative: We had reservations for 7 PM, and our table was ready for us early. However, they placed us in an odd orientation, with our table running parallel to the wall and thus precluding the waiter from reaching none but the two top chair positions. We were constantly passing plates, drinks, and even steak knives down the line. We were all seated by 7:10...our bread service arrived at 5 minutes to 8:00. Our water was empty for at least 15 minutes before it was refilled and that was only after one of the lucky two at the top of the table stopped the waiter as he whizzed by. Our appetizer arrived 10 minutes before our steaks, and normally this is fine...except it was 8:10, one full hour after we had arrived. It was shrimp that were served cold (purposely), so they mearly had to pull these shrimp out of the fridge, put some cocktail sauce in a little dish and out of the kitchen it should fly.
All of these annoyances could have been forgiven, if our food was outstanding. Or maybe even just good. Our waiter, Robbie or Raubine, informed us that steaks were "what they were known for." Fine. All eight of us ordered steak, with seven choosing the indulgent filet mignon and the big guy choosing a 16 oz. ribeye, which in my opinion is much easier to mess up than a filet. We ordered ours "Medium" as filets are thick and I was concerned that it could still be mooing if I ordered it Med-rare, as I like my strips or sirloins. Well this cow stopped mooing, rolled over, died, had the vultures come and then it was served to us. Our even less-fortune dining partners had had their filets SPLIT! (ugly as hell) and then served as previously stated. I purchased bacon wrapped filets during a New Year's special Aldi was running for 2 dollars a piece...and they were better than these 30 dollar petrifications.
Everyone kept saying "mmmm the potatoes are good." When does one comment on the potatoes? When everything else sucks. And it all did.
http://www.15stl.com/
I'll start with the positive here: The restaurant in amidst the faltering revitalization of the far-west loft district between Wash Ave. and mid-town. There are many "For Lease" store fronts along Locust Street as we were driving east, and clearly a lot of these lofts were empty. It's good that a few businesses are trying their hand at making a go of it here, and this place was pretty full on a Saturday night as well as hosting a party (wedding reception?) in the upstairs area.
Now the negative: We had reservations for 7 PM, and our table was ready for us early. However, they placed us in an odd orientation, with our table running parallel to the wall and thus precluding the waiter from reaching none but the two top chair positions. We were constantly passing plates, drinks, and even steak knives down the line. We were all seated by 7:10...our bread service arrived at 5 minutes to 8:00. Our water was empty for at least 15 minutes before it was refilled and that was only after one of the lucky two at the top of the table stopped the waiter as he whizzed by. Our appetizer arrived 10 minutes before our steaks, and normally this is fine...except it was 8:10, one full hour after we had arrived. It was shrimp that were served cold (purposely), so they mearly had to pull these shrimp out of the fridge, put some cocktail sauce in a little dish and out of the kitchen it should fly.
All of these annoyances could have been forgiven, if our food was outstanding. Or maybe even just good. Our waiter, Robbie or Raubine, informed us that steaks were "what they were known for." Fine. All eight of us ordered steak, with seven choosing the indulgent filet mignon and the big guy choosing a 16 oz. ribeye, which in my opinion is much easier to mess up than a filet. We ordered ours "Medium" as filets are thick and I was concerned that it could still be mooing if I ordered it Med-rare, as I like my strips or sirloins. Well this cow stopped mooing, rolled over, died, had the vultures come and then it was served to us. Our even less-fortune dining partners had had their filets SPLIT! (ugly as hell) and then served as previously stated. I purchased bacon wrapped filets during a New Year's special Aldi was running for 2 dollars a piece...and they were better than these 30 dollar petrifications.
Everyone kept saying "mmmm the potatoes are good." When does one comment on the potatoes? When everything else sucks. And it all did.
http://www.15stl.com/
Monday, February 8, 2010
Opa?
After viewing an awkward sex scene featuring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal, nothing sounded better to me than a little flaming saganaki and various dishes featuring my favorite red meat, lamb. So off we go to the Olympia Kebab House, just a stone's throw down McCausland from the Hi-Pointe theatre.
This place was beyond crowded, and even at 7 PM was full of young children. And those weird couples that sit on the same side of the booth and you can't help but to stare at them. But I digress.
The saganaki was good as any, but the whole reason you order this flamer is to hear the overzealous "Opa!" as your server puts about 20 of these delights on flambe. Instead we got a Opuuuhhhhhh. Come again? Not a single server in the place said this exclamation with any gusto. Yeah, I get it, this job blows, but the place was full of kids and I know their eyes are following that dish all the way from the kitchen just to hear the flaming cheese battle cry.
I ordered the lamb souvlaki and at 8 bucks, this was a steal. I couldn't even finish half of the lamb in my sandwich. Tim ordered the "appetizer sampler" and at 18 bucks, expected a coupld of grape leaves and maybe some spanikopita, etc. Instead it had three dips: hummus, baba ganoush and taziki; and a few olives. I couldn't believe I got all of this wonderful meat and for 10 MORE DOLLARS HE GOT A FEW DIPS?? Weird.
The most disappointing thing of all was the complete unattentiveness of our waiter. We were both drinking beer and he never came by to ask if we wanted a refill. At five bucks a piece, I would assume this would be a near effortless way to increase the bill and therefore, the tip. Never refilled our water. Never stopped after our meal arrived. We had to nearly trip him for our bill.
It really was a disappointment that the Olympia Kebab House was such a hit and miss place. It's clearly popular and there is a paucity of Greek food here in the Lou that it could really build a great business on this fact. Except it needs to fix a few basic problems.
This place was beyond crowded, and even at 7 PM was full of young children. And those weird couples that sit on the same side of the booth and you can't help but to stare at them. But I digress.
The saganaki was good as any, but the whole reason you order this flamer is to hear the overzealous "Opa!" as your server puts about 20 of these delights on flambe. Instead we got a Opuuuhhhhhh. Come again? Not a single server in the place said this exclamation with any gusto. Yeah, I get it, this job blows, but the place was full of kids and I know their eyes are following that dish all the way from the kitchen just to hear the flaming cheese battle cry.
I ordered the lamb souvlaki and at 8 bucks, this was a steal. I couldn't even finish half of the lamb in my sandwich. Tim ordered the "appetizer sampler" and at 18 bucks, expected a coupld of grape leaves and maybe some spanikopita, etc. Instead it had three dips: hummus, baba ganoush and taziki; and a few olives. I couldn't believe I got all of this wonderful meat and for 10 MORE DOLLARS HE GOT A FEW DIPS?? Weird.
The most disappointing thing of all was the complete unattentiveness of our waiter. We were both drinking beer and he never came by to ask if we wanted a refill. At five bucks a piece, I would assume this would be a near effortless way to increase the bill and therefore, the tip. Never refilled our water. Never stopped after our meal arrived. We had to nearly trip him for our bill.
It really was a disappointment that the Olympia Kebab House was such a hit and miss place. It's clearly popular and there is a paucity of Greek food here in the Lou that it could really build a great business on this fact. Except it needs to fix a few basic problems.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Hot Dierberg's
The Chesterfield Dierberg's has a great little hotdog/popcorn stand that made me a Rose-ammended (no pickle relish) Chicago-style hotdog yesterday. Mmmmm! It's hard to resist those ridiculously eye-catching ads Vienna Beef puts out, just in case you wanted to eat a giant hotdog in the likeness of an "L" train, or in this stand's case, one water-logged by Lake Michigan. When the proprietor found out I was "from" Chicago, I had to eat my hotdog and then come back (!) and give him my report. I said, "nice job on the sport peppers-they crunched right in my mouth." And they did.
Monday, February 1, 2010
We Actually WALKED Somewhere in the Lou
Walking somewhere, ANYWHERE, in St. Louis is just something people don't do. After living in Chicago where it took a small act of God to get from point A to B just to eat dinner, the fact that you can park anywhere in this city has made my Carbon footprint grow terribly.
But.
I do still live in an urban area and there are places to eat and drink within walking distance. On Saturday night, following too many beers Friday night (see Hardshell Cafe review), I just didn't feel like [this is not my quote] "ethnic crap." Benton Park Cafe is a little coffee shop only three blocks from my house but somehow, I have overlooked this cute little place for a bite to eat.* They were only employing one waitress on a Saturday evening, which posed a problem with my water refill, but she was pleasant and was really moving quickly, and since staffing is ostensibly not her responsibility, I didn't care too much.
We were more interested in soup/salad/sandwich fare, but they do carry a few (5-6) hearty dinner-type offerings. The waitress did talk me in to the chicken salad after I told her I have a strange aversion to celery and she was right, the yummy grapes and apples did mask that weird stringy-crunch of that vegetable. Tim really liked the salad as it was not iceburg and they added raw yellow onions and according to him, that makes a good salad.
They have an extensive coffee bar and after-dinner specialties that seemed to focus on espresso vodka, which I've never had the pleasure of trying. To top it all off, we even burned 35 calories walking home.
www.bentonparkcafe.com
*To be fair-I don't go out to breakfast-that could be its on blog, really-and this is their specialty.
But.
I do still live in an urban area and there are places to eat and drink within walking distance. On Saturday night, following too many beers Friday night (see Hardshell Cafe review), I just didn't feel like [this is not my quote] "ethnic crap." Benton Park Cafe is a little coffee shop only three blocks from my house but somehow, I have overlooked this cute little place for a bite to eat.* They were only employing one waitress on a Saturday evening, which posed a problem with my water refill, but she was pleasant and was really moving quickly, and since staffing is ostensibly not her responsibility, I didn't care too much.
We were more interested in soup/salad/sandwich fare, but they do carry a few (5-6) hearty dinner-type offerings. The waitress did talk me in to the chicken salad after I told her I have a strange aversion to celery and she was right, the yummy grapes and apples did mask that weird stringy-crunch of that vegetable. Tim really liked the salad as it was not iceburg and they added raw yellow onions and according to him, that makes a good salad.
They have an extensive coffee bar and after-dinner specialties that seemed to focus on espresso vodka, which I've never had the pleasure of trying. To top it all off, we even burned 35 calories walking home.
www.bentonparkcafe.com
*To be fair-I don't go out to breakfast-that could be its on blog, really-and this is their specialty.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hardshell Cafe
Here in St. Louis we're quite lucky to have a choice of Cajun eateries, where in Chicago there is one (that I can think of). Last night we were in the mood for something not too crazy and a little seafood sounded just right. Just like the Broadway Oyster Bar (see previous post), 1860's Hardshell Cafe has raw oysters, peel-n-eats and a selection of Louisianna fare. The raw oysters were fair; I think it's an eat-at-your-own-risk type of meal to have raw seafood in land-locked Missouri. However, the shrimp was quite good-better than BOB. We also supplemented our appetizers with gumbo and etoufee, both tasty. There was a sweet-like flavor in the gumbo and I had to ask our intoxicated bartender/waitress exactly what it was. "Can't tell it's a secret! Ok, it's anise." Interestingly, I would have never guessed this-I surmised it was sweet sherry. Both the etoufee and the gumbo were made with a great roux, which is something I continue to try to perfect in my home kitchen.
Unfortunately, the tap selection left me wanting more. I wanted a stout, which along with porter, is my beer of choice in the dead of winter. I first tried O'Fallon's Russian (?) Stout, which tasted like soap going down but then actually tasted like stout in the aftertaste. Not impressed with that, I mistakenly ordered Schlafly's Oatmeal Stout. Ikes. DO NOT DRINK THIS. I try to support the local microbrews, but seriously.
Hardshell is in wonderful Soulard and has these 10 foot tall Mardi Gras jesters right in the bar. They're also selling Mardi Gras shirts. Go here before Mardi Gras Saturday and actually enjoy yourself.
http://www.soularddining.com/?D=1+Home
Unfortunately, the tap selection left me wanting more. I wanted a stout, which along with porter, is my beer of choice in the dead of winter. I first tried O'Fallon's Russian (?) Stout, which tasted like soap going down but then actually tasted like stout in the aftertaste. Not impressed with that, I mistakenly ordered Schlafly's Oatmeal Stout. Ikes. DO NOT DRINK THIS. I try to support the local microbrews, but seriously.
Hardshell is in wonderful Soulard and has these 10 foot tall Mardi Gras jesters right in the bar. They're also selling Mardi Gras shirts. Go here before Mardi Gras Saturday and actually enjoy yourself.
http://www.soularddining.com/?D=1+Home
Saturday, January 23, 2010
iTAP
It's so cool to be iSOMETHING. At the International Tap House, the is where the cool factor starts and stops. Before making the ill-fated decision to go to El Maguey, we stopped in the iTAP, from a recommendation from you-know-where. We went here because of the extensive beer list-40 on tap and over 500 in the bottle-and wanted to try a brew that neither of us had tried before. We entered, made a quick circle, and left even quicker.
First, they don't serve any food. All we were looking for was a burger to soak up our new discoveries. I knew something was amiss when I saw a giant take-out pizza box on one of the bar tables. Huh? Second, the "ultra-hip lounge area" doubled as a waiting area for the restrooms. Third, and worst of all, this bar looked like it used to be a Subway. It was an end suite of another non-descript stripmall, and was sort-of triangular shaped, with windows on two edges. It was also about that size. SO WEIRD.
If you're city-fied, like myself, West of 270 might as well be that foreign country you think about visiting but once you get there, it's boring and overpriced.
http://internationaltaphouse.com/content/view/12/27/
First, they don't serve any food. All we were looking for was a burger to soak up our new discoveries. I knew something was amiss when I saw a giant take-out pizza box on one of the bar tables. Huh? Second, the "ultra-hip lounge area" doubled as a waiting area for the restrooms. Third, and worst of all, this bar looked like it used to be a Subway. It was an end suite of another non-descript stripmall, and was sort-of triangular shaped, with windows on two edges. It was also about that size. SO WEIRD.
If you're city-fied, like myself, West of 270 might as well be that foreign country you think about visiting but once you get there, it's boring and overpriced.
http://internationaltaphouse.com/content/view/12/27/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Estoy Buscando a Bueno Mexican Restaurant
Despite my poor attempt at Spanglish, I do know me some good-or even decent-Mexican good. Although there are only about 5 Mexican people live in the greater St. Louis metro area, there is no excuse for piss-poor Mexican food every place I try. After a pointless trek out to the hinterland known as the 636 area code, and passing up a place recommended by a coworker (more on that later), and getting lost among the monotonous strip malls, I spotted a little local chain called "El Maguey" another recommendation of a coworker. Looking past the recurring theme of crappy recommendations from coworkers-these are Tim's coworkers, BTW- we continue down this disasterous road and enter.
After eating the hard shell taco, pining over lack of Mexican tap beers, fumbling through the store-bought chips and just wondering what filler was in the guac, I was left buscando-ing for another good Mexican food joint here in the Lou. In Chicago, you can find a most excellent taco at a totally ridiculously named tacqueria named "El Famous Burrito" in a sea of stripmalls, just like the ones here. And yet, there are differences among American stripmalls. Some just don't deliver the goods.
Donde esta la comida Mexicana buena? Ayudame por favor!
http://elmagueyoflongroad.com/
After eating the hard shell taco, pining over lack of Mexican tap beers, fumbling through the store-bought chips and just wondering what filler was in the guac, I was left buscando-ing for another good Mexican food joint here in the Lou. In Chicago, you can find a most excellent taco at a totally ridiculously named tacqueria named "El Famous Burrito" in a sea of stripmalls, just like the ones here. And yet, there are differences among American stripmalls. Some just don't deliver the goods.
Donde esta la comida Mexicana buena? Ayudame por favor!
http://elmagueyoflongroad.com/
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Ragin' Cajun
Joanie's in Soulard. Get the Cajun pizza. Save some for the next day. Don't stray too far from a bathroom. MMMMMM!
http://www.joanies.com/pizza_page.htm
http://www.joanies.com/pizza_page.htm
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What Are You, A Boa Constrictor?
Tim said that he was going on this so-called "diet" after Christmas. I mean the New Year. I mean the weekend after the New Year. January 12th and he is still having multiple beers at dinner and drifting toward entres called "shrimp and steak in cream sauce." Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I had to say something at dinner tonight. But being the non-critical fiancee that I am, I phrased it something like "Dude, shit, what about the DIET YOU WERE GOING ON?? You choose the most fattening things on the menu and then order beers [without the words Light, Ultra, or Select in it]!!" His rebuttal went something like this: Back when I WAS A BACHELOR, I would eat one huge freakin' meal and then like not eat for two days. Alas, no rebuttal from me.
Tonight we went to a neighborhood gastropup, Sage, where we had had lunch a couple of times this fall. We really like the lunch menu; we decided to try it out for dinner. The apps were good, but we were disappointed with the entre.* And for 19.95 I could have whipped up this little pasta ditty up at home for about 7 dollars. So we decided that we will skip the 20 dollar entres and probably come back for lunch. Possibly after a free Bud tour.
* Yes, entre as in singular. I am always wanting to "split something" because I don't eat all that much (not a snake) and I like to sample many different things. This drives men nuts, apparently. Since I was buying, Tim obliged.
http://www.saucemagazine.com/sage/
Tonight we went to a neighborhood gastropup, Sage, where we had had lunch a couple of times this fall. We really like the lunch menu; we decided to try it out for dinner. The apps were good, but we were disappointed with the entre.* And for 19.95 I could have whipped up this little pasta ditty up at home for about 7 dollars. So we decided that we will skip the 20 dollar entres and probably come back for lunch. Possibly after a free Bud tour.
* Yes, entre as in singular. I am always wanting to "split something" because I don't eat all that much (not a snake) and I like to sample many different things. This drives men nuts, apparently. Since I was buying, Tim obliged.
http://www.saucemagazine.com/sage/
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Pho-ck You
I'm not writing a review on Pho Grand because if you live in St. Louis and you haven't been there, your head is way up your ass.
Three things: 15.03 is the best thing on the menu, those are not replicas of the Shroud of Turin on the wall, and it's pronounced "Fuh" Grand.
http://www.phogrand.com/flash.html
Three things: 15.03 is the best thing on the menu, those are not replicas of the Shroud of Turin on the wall, and it's pronounced "Fuh" Grand.
http://www.phogrand.com/flash.html
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Da Wurst!
I really dispise most reality cooking shows-Top Chef, whatever that wedding cake competition is called, anything with Gordon Ramsey-until this little gem of a cooking show called "Worst Cooks in America" caught my eye. The show is based on the concept that 24 people, who completely fullfil any kind of diversity requirement the Food Network puts forth for its shows, have been nominated by their loved ones, etc. The first show starts off with each of them making a signiture dish, among them triple chocolate pancakes and a can of tomato soup, and presenting it to the host/judges-some dude named Beau (not Bridges) and that Anna chick who looks like the female Guy Fieri. I about fall off my chair laughing. They spit out at least three of the dishes. Amazingly, after the commercial break, they set off to make some sort of prawn and clam soup with saffron among other expensive and ostensibly unknown ingredients. Not enough shit on fire nor tears in the first episode-but wait! the preview to next week's episode has EVERY SINGLE FEMALE CRYING as well as the token gay guy. Yes!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/worst-cooks-in-america/index.html *
*Spoiler alert if you're going to watch the first episode!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/worst-cooks-in-america/index.html *
*Spoiler alert if you're going to watch the first episode!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
B.O.B.
"Don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang!" Thus is the battle cry in Bombs Over Bagdad, Pitchfork's #1 song of the decade, (which I think was released in 1999). A lesser known B.O.B., St. Louis' Broadway Oyster Bar, was the scene of a 15 degree, outdoor dining experience for my first blog of 2010.*
Mom and Dad Unabashed Gluttons (and Drunks) were in town to kick off the New Year. My parents requested to go to the BOB, since their music is consistently good, bluesey (I use this made-up word loosely, because when I was there in November, it was bluegrass), and starts at the Old Country Buffet dining time at 6:00 PM on Saturdays. Yes, we did eat outdoors, as this was where the band was. The last time I was at the BOB before returning to the Lou, was 2003; at this time there were a couple of those tall heat lanterns spaced around a wood fence. Dining outdoors was not for the faint of heart (or at least St. Louis natives). Since that time, they added some type of plastic tarp-thing around the fence and added actual HVAC so it's basically manageable, with the exception of your feet, so wear wool socks.
We had some raw oyster shooters, which were better this time than last. Oysters are, I feel, a dining adventure, as they can be the ultimate hangover cure, when pared with horseradish and cocktail sauce. Or they can extend that hangover bathroom experience when they are just a bit past their prime. I was neither hungover nor experiencing extreme bathroom time, but the raw oysters were spot-on.
They also have fried alligator tail, which has a consistency somewhere between fried chicken and fried clams. My parents and I all had grinders (shrimp and oyster, respectfully), which is uncoated seafood in French bread, which differs from po-boys, where the meat is battered and fried, I believe. The coleslaw is uber-spicy and the chips are sweet potato.
They recently returned Dixie Brewery's Blackened Voodoo beer (bottled) to their menu; this brewery was destroyed in Katrina and is now brewed by the fine folks at Berghoff in Monroe, WI (I should check my facts here-it said "Monroe, WI" and that is the only brewery > that I know of there.)
The decor is shanty-kitsch; also don't be too fat or you won't fit into the bathroom.
www.broadwayoysterbar.com
*Twenty-ten or Two thousand-ten?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
