Javi's Cantina/El Milagro 8/28/26

 It was kind of crazy...we looked up how to get to El Milagro restaurant and when we arrived the sign on the building said Javi's Cantina. I knew we were in the correct place because we had actually been here once before with all our kids once, when we were visiting over the holidays.  Javi's Tacos is a well known restaurant chain in Omaha.  I think they own El Milagro and want to change their name to tie it all in with the Javi name of the family.  The menus and water glasses still had the El Milagro logo on them.

This place is different because it doesn't have the standard 100 things that a typical Mexican restaurant has.  No make your own plate decisions.

We liked their margaritas.  They taste homemade and not just out of a pre-mixed bottle.

I don't like their chips.  They are homemade and are too thick and a few were greasy.  Their chips come with salsa and refried beans (which is nice). 

I was going to have the camerones diavolo (spicy shrimp) which is what I ALWAYS get back at El Maguey in O'Fallon, MO.  But since I got that at the last Omaha Mexican restaurant that I went to and it wasn't great, I shyed away from that.

I ordered chicken enchiladas with mole sauce.  I think my enchiladas must have been ready immediately and they began making Mike's food, as it must have sat on the plate on a very hot surface.  My place was smoking hot and some of my food had literally cooked onto the plate!  They chicken inside the enchiladas was dry and the mole sauce was just a little too cloying to be great.  

On a side note, they had chicken enchiladas with mole, verde, and red enchilada sauces.  3 difference entrees.  Each entree was 3 enchiladas.  I asked if I could get one entree with one of each sauces.  No, that was not something they could do.  I don't understand how hard that could be.  I'm sure the chicken was totally made, I'm sure all 3 sauces were totally made, they would have to roll 3 enchiladas for any of the orders...just put a little of each sauce on one enchilada.  But they said no. 

Mike got birra tacos.  They had a Mexican au jus.  It was like regular au jus with Mexican seasoning.  He really liked them.  

There are a lot more Mexican restaurants to try.  If we come back to this one, I'll have to try something else. 

El Muchacho Alegre 8-11-26

My good friend Vicki Bohling was in town visiting and we decided to try a new Mexican restaurant.  We went to El Muchacho Alegre.  (The fast friend/guy??)

This was a very suburban Mexican restaurant attached to a strip mall in a residential area.  It was pretty big and it was busy.  I know Taco Tuesday is a thing, but this place was packed on a Tuesday night.  I took that as a good sign.  

Mike and Vicki started with drinks (marg and beer).  I had a bit of an upset tummy, so I had water.

Vicki and I both ordered el diablo camarones (spicy shrimp).  It is what I ALWAYS get at El Maguey in O'Fallon.  This version was different, not as spicy and I didn't love it.  

Mike got a couple beef enchiladas and a taco.  He said they were fine.  

This was an OK place.  Nothing great, nothing horrible except that they played background music that was the same maracas over and over and over.  My hearing is bad enough that I didn't really notice, but it was driving Vicki insane!!

Sorry, I forgot to take photos.  

Johnny's Cafe-Omaha

 We live in a new city, so the blog moved with us.

I was looking for "old classic" steakhouses and this one totally fit the bill.  It opened by the Omaha stockyards in 1922.  It is now in an older part of town and the builiding could definitely use some updates.  Some of the reviews mention the old "basementy" smell when you walk in.  I agree, the lobby needs a redo, but once you enter the actual dining area it smells like food.

The menu is classic steakhouse.  They had prime rib, which is Mike's favorite.  Because you aren't paying for ambiance, the prices are lower than a lot of steakhouses we've been in.  The dress code is business casual.  We saw a few people who were too casual, but mostly it was people who were 50+ and they wore collared shirts and slacks.  

We started with a drink.  Mike had a typical gin and tonic and I had a glass of wine.  Their wine list is up to date and not overly priced.  We've seen many of the same bottles of wine $10-20 more at other restaurants.  

                                            

We started with the French onion soup.  It was OK.  The broth didn't have much taste to it.

I ordered Johnny's fish and Mike had prime rib.  I had a side of hash browns.  Mike had baked potato.  My fish was breaded and fried very nicely, but the actual fish was very nondiscript and kind of mushy.  The outside was crispy but the inside was too soft.  The fish didn't hold together well.

Mike said his prime rib was good.  Not the best he's ever had, but it was good.

For dessert we split some warm apple cobbler with ice cream.  

Dishes came out quickly, so you don't really linger and spend the whole evening there.  I think we were in and out in under 90 minutes.  

Kind of old, decent prices, decent food.  

Charcoal House in Rock Hill area of St. Louis

 I'd give this place a 4/5 for old, classic steakhouses.

A guy from Mike's work recommended this place.  When I looked online the ratings were very up and down.

We actually really like them a lot.  It is old, classic steakhouse.

I don't know why, but I forgot to take any photos.

We started with cocktails and I could tell this place was old-fashioned enough that they'd know how to make a vodka collins...and they did.  You would not believe how many people don't know how to make it and don't look it up!  It is unbearable in this age of having a phone in your pocket that can look anything up!

They had this little bowl of toasts on the table that I really enjoyed with my drink.  

We each ordered salads.  My salad was good and the greek dressing I had was very vinegary...just the way I like a vinegrette.  

I ordered fried sole with steak fries.  Mike got a filet with 3 fried shrimp and a baked potato.  The food was good.  Mike's steak was prepared well.  

We did order a bottle of wine to go with dinner.  It was a Cabernet from California.  It was called Steele.  It was fine...not great.  

We had chocolate cake for dessert...it was either that, carrot cake, or cheesecake. 

The clientel was older, but as we sat there awhile, there were some people in their 30s and 40s who also dined here.  

The waitstaff was all in their 70s and 80s!  But they were all super nice. 

The only bummers were...the wine list was kind of small and the overall menu was small.  I don't need a HUGE menu, but I like when I have 4 or 5 choices of things I'd like.  I didn't feel that here. 

Michael's Bar and Grill on the edge of Maplewood 2-21-26

 I'd give this place a 3.5 out of 5.   The food is worth the trip.

I'd read about Michael's on several lists online as a place to go.  I'd also read about how they are often severely overcrowded, have no reservation or beeper system and the waiting people flood into and around the diners.  

So, last Saturday before we went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox, we headed to Maplewood much earlier than normal for dinner.  We arrived at 4:50 and the place was packed and we had about a 10 minute wait!  I guess you need to arrive around 4:00 for no wait!  But, boy, am I glad we got there early.  The reviews online were correct.  The wait gets long and on a cold, windy night like last Saturday, the people try not to wait outside in line.  They crowd everywhere they can inside...to the detriment of the servers and diners.  

Mike was planning on getting prime rib, as that is always his favorite.  But when we sat down he didn't see one person eating that.  There weren't even any people eating steak, even though there were several steaks on the menu.  

So, we both started with their famous French onion soup.  It is really good.  It is a pretty big bown and it could practically be an entree.  I had read online that people say it takes an extra 15 minutes to wait for it to be done.  Our waitress didn't say that and I didn't notice any longer than normal wait.  

For dinner I just ordered their hot wings.  They were good.  I liked their hot sauce.  It was hot but flavorful.  The wings were kind of small and their were only 8 of them.  

Mike decided to go with their burger.  Instead of cheese it comes with a cheese spread.  I don't know if that is something Greek, since this place is actually a Greek restaurant.  I asked Mike if he liked it as much as traditional cheese and he said no.  The burger was big and thick and perfectly prepared.  Mike said it was a really good burger.  The fries were good (I ate 1/2 of them!).  

For dessert we split a piece of their tiramisu.  It was good, but the liquid their pour over to soften the lady fingers was strong and there was too much of it, so the bottom layer was just soggy and strong.  

This place had good food but it was cramped and loud.  

We left at about 6:00 and the waiting people were CRAZY.  They were all over in the restaurant and all over sitting at the outdoor patio furniture (in the freezing cold).  

I would say...if you can go sometime (like for lunch or a weekday) when this place isn't loud and crazy...I'd go for the food.  

Twisted Tree Steakhouse in South County 12-6-25

I'd give this place a 3 on decor but a 4.5 on food and wine.  

It has been several years since we've been to Twisted Tree, but they just keep getting good reviews, so we decided to try it again.

We had tickets to the Fox, so we had a 5 o'clock reservation.

This restaurant is attached to a Holiday Inn.  The parking is HORRIBLE.  I even remember that from several years ago.  All the hotel people take up the spots and we luckily found a spot WAY around back.  It was cold and we had to walk and walk from our car.  We came in a side door and walked all the way through the convention center part of the hotel, out the front door and then around the front side to the entrance to the restaurant.  What a pain!

As I mentioned...the decor in this place needs some help.  I KNOW...it is a hotel restaurant.  That means they are going to accept all kinds of people in all kinds of clothes at all times of day.  But it has "nice" food and it just doesn't have to look so "yee haw."  Wagon wheel style circular light fixtures...photos of cattle on the walls...wooden paneling.  It has fine dining style food and the decor of an old Bonanza buffet restaurant.  

The clientel is quite varied.  There were a wide range of ages and ethnicities of people there.  That was nice...but it was heavy on the white, over 50 crowd.

The waitress was nice.  We ordered a drink and told her to leave the wine menu.  She politely informed us that they had a sommelier who was not stuffy at all and very easy to talk to.  I agree that sommeliers are somewhat intimidating to me, even.  So, that was nice of her to try and put our minds at east.  For a cocktail I ordereda drink called the Smoked Orchard.  It was made with mezcal, cider, lime and ginger beer.  I like all those things.  It was OK.  There was no "smoked" aroma or flavor to it at all, and the mezcal was overpowering.  It had a salted and cinnamon rim...I found that odd.  The cider and ginger beer were nice.  

Mike had a gin and tonic.  It is one of the places that brings you a small unopened bottle of tonic water, so you know it is fresh.  That is nice, but a little wasteful, as he doesn't need a whole bottle of tonic for one cocktail.

I do have one complaint...their salads.  They are WAY too big for one person.  They come in a large serving bowl and then you serve yourself onto a plate.  Mike got a traditional field greens salad and I got a caesar salad.  They come with homemade croutons, shaved parm, homemade salad dressings.  We each ate 1/2 of the salad.  If I had eaten the whole salad...I would not have been able to eat ANY of my dinner.  

For dinner I ordered the special which were 4 large scallops on a bed of creamy sweet potato risotto.  It was very good and I would order it again in a second.  The scallops were very well prepared.  The risotto had the slightest bit of sweetness from the sweet potatoes.  YUM!

Mike had his favorite...prime rib.  He got the largest piece so he would have plenty of left overs.  He also got a LARGE baked potato with butter and sour cream.  

We tried a new wine with dinner.  Honig Cabernet.  We just ordered it from our waitress.  I had looked it up on my Vivino app.  It was delivered by the sommelier.  He was very nice.  He told us all about this winery and how there was a bee on the front of the bottle because they also grow olives and honey on this vineyard.  He explained how it was a small family owned winery and the main guy still travels and promotes his wines.  Our waitress was right...the sommelier was nice and not too pretentious.  

They had some yummy looking desserts, but we were full and didn't really have the time to linger over dessert and coffee.  

The food/wine were better than I remembered...I just need to get over myself about the yee haw decor.  

Yes, we'd go here again. 

Gio Modern Italian 12-5-25

 I'd give this place a 4/5 for a casual but nice place to eat

I went here with Laurie/Beth/Vickie after going to the movie in Chesterfield.  We had a reservation at 6:45 and we arrived about 6:40 but we ended up standing for a good 10-15 minutes.  That's a bit of a pain, they have no lobby area and nowhere to sit while waiting, so we stood in the cold doorway.

I ordered a glass of wine, Joel Gott Cabernet.  It was nice.  I would order it again.

We all looked at the pastas and the appetizers.  They seemed all over-priced.  So, it ended up we all ordered pizzas.  They were all under $20 and we wanted leftovers.  Laurie got a mushroom pizza, Vickie got a gluten-free crust with a grilled chicken topping, Beth got some veggie pizza and I ordered the supreme with extra sauce and no green peppers.  It was really quite good and we had a nice time.  We sat and talked for quite awhile.  Because it was after 7, there was no one waiting for tables and the waitstaff didn't mind us keeping the table.