Don't Take Your Mistress Here

400 Olive's is described on its website as an "urban grille [that] takes advantage of our location by placing diners in an elevated corner of the hotel’s atmospheric charm. Warm and welcoming." What they should have said is "a typical overpriced, underwhelming hotel restaurant that is strangely located next to the reservations desk."

This was a Groupon we kept putting off, so long so that we had three days left on this one-year valid discount. I didn't know at the purchase time that this restaurant was in the downtown Hilton, otherwise I would have keep looking. We arrived around 6:30 and the hostess sat us quickly in a small table along the wall, which was fine. Our waiter came over and took our wine order and asked if "I was familiar with that wine." What is that supposed to mean? It sucks? We waited and waited for bread service, which every other table had; finally I asked and our waiter exclamed "Oh sorry about that!" Actually, no. He said, "uh yeah." Good thing we asked for it because the spreadable herb butter was the best part of the meal.

Tim and I ordered the same salad, the namesake salad that came in at an astounding $9 each. I thought the salad tasted fine but Tim said his had enough dressing only to cover about 20% of the leaves. He was eating dry salad. Dry nine dollar salad. For the entree, I ordered the beef tenderloin which was good but suffered from a sauce and vegetables that reminded me of many-a wedding reception dinner. Tim ordered a pork chop that at a glance looked medium rare. He said it was really not good at all. Tim had to nearly trip our waiter to get just one water refill. The whole experience was just weird.

400olive.com

She Said A-Trisket A-Brisket

Bogart's Smokehouse is St. Louis' newest BBQ joint in a city that is known for its BBQ but has no BBQ. It is a cleverly re-packaged "Pappy's II" with prime Real Estate across from the Soulard Farmer's Market. Today was a nice but not warm spring day, but we were pleasantly surprised to find parking (keep heading west on Lafayette about 1/2 block) amid the many market goers. This space is small and primed for carry-out; we arrived on time to eat indoors and enjoy the Blues City Deli-esque piped soundtrack. By the time we left the line was almost out the door, but staying true to Pappy's business plan, Bogart's is overstaffed with smiling t-shirt wearing employees, and today, two were handing out riblets to sample for patient patrons(right after we arrived).

Bogart's did a decent job of masking its connection to Pappy's, although the owner, Mike, who is instantly recognizable (although I had to look up his name) was leaving as we were arriving. He is also the face of Pappy's too, as I have seen him there on the floor once or twice. The offerings are standard BBQ joint fare, with the addition of the Sausage Fatty (??) and the subtraction of the Adam Bomb. Tim and I are die-hard brisket fans and both ordered a sandwich instead of the platter, which we split last time at Pappy's. Each sandwich came with two sides: I went with the baked beans, which were spicy and had burnt ends mixed in, and the potato chips, which a local business "Billy Goat Chips" provides. This is a great deal for the price ($7.50), considering the chips alone probably cost around 2 bucks if you purchased them at Schnuck's. Tim had the coleslaw in place of the baked beans, which he described as "nothing spectacular." It's unfortunate that the Broadway Oyster Bar has such awesome coleslaw because no other coleslaw can compare, according to my husband, although he continues to order it again and again and complain.

Bogart's is another good edition of non-healthy food to a overall non-healthy food neighborhood (see July 2010 blog on Soulard Gyro and Deli). Maybe next time we'll bike here to burn off some calories-or I will.

http://bogartssmokehouse.com/about/

Pork-Extravaganza

Today's review is UG road edition, featuring The Vintage Restaurant at Stone Hill Winery. We were on a get-away for our first anniversary, with all major events (eating, sleeping) planned by Tim. Since I plan 90% of our food outings and Tim plans for Red Lobster, I wasn't sure what was in store. He assured me he "did his research" and since I had been to Stone Hill several times but had not patronized this winery restaurant, I was excited to check it out.

Tim booked The Vintage several weeks in advance, which turned out to be necessary, as on a Saturday night IN MARCH, there was a 90 minute wait. Sheesh. We arrived about 30 minutes early to have a free wine tasting to determine which wine to order without hesitation. It was a pleasant surprise to see a minimal (1$?) mark-up of the wine; even though all of the offerings are estate bottled, this is where most dining establishments keep their bottom line in the black. We opted for Hermannsberger, which can only be said we a pathetic German accent, which tastes something in the Pinot range. To start off the meal, the only option Tim saw was a variety of cured sausages, so that's what we had. All three were good, but the Knockwurst was especially outstanding. Tim had a 6 oz. filet that was good-but not the best he's had-and I had pork schnitzel with a sauce recommended by our waitress which was underseasoned and nothing to write home about. The schnitzel was good, however. My "traditional German dish" came with a salad and more "traditional German sides," of which I chose spatzle and potato pancakes. Full.

But of course, we couldn't pass up dessert. Tim had the cheesecake and I had carrot cake, both totally unnecessary after pigging out but might as well keep going in that respect.

The clientele did scream "Missoura" with Tim and I feeling slightly overdressed in a sweater and button down shirt. There was even a Chad Kroger doppelganger sighting.

http://www.stonehillwinery.com/locations/hermann/restaurant/dinnermenu.aspx