Mulligan's 11-22-19

Mike and I were out on a Friday afternoon running errands.  We decided to look for a good Happy Hour.  After reading a bunch of reviews on Yelp we decided to try Mulligan's in Ellisville.  It is on the corner of Clarkson and Manchester in a strip mall.

When you walk in you see the large bar area.  It was PACKED.  I see why it is known for its happy hour (that lasts until 6 on weekdays).  They have LARGE glasses of wine and cheap beer.  We put our name in for supper and then stood around the bar for about 15 minutes looking for a place to sit.  There are probably 20 seats at the bar and another 25-35 at tables around the bar.  Nobody was budging.  They were drinking and eating cheap Happy Hour appetizers.  In the entire time we waited for our table (about 20 minutes, only one couple moved).  People weren't waiting for tables ahead of us.  They were just there for the bar.

So, when we got into the dining room (not as big as the bar area) we were still able to order a cheap drink (I had the house Cabernet, and Mike had a draft beer) and some cheap wings.  We got 18 small wings for something like $10.50.  The wings were good.  They were hot (fresh from the fryer) and the Buffalo sauce was fine (I'd have liked it a little hotter, but that's a personal preference).  

The dinner menu is all written in golfing jargon.  They have a wide variety of sandwiches and wraps.  I ended up ordering the 2 piece fish and chips.  I said I didn't want the cole slaw that comes with it.  The waitress (who was very good) offered me several other options.  I chose steamed broccoli because Mike loves that and would eat it.  Mike ordered a Reuben sandwich with a side salad.  The waitress told us that the side salad was an up-charge.  We said OK because we were probably going to share it.  Well, she went ahead and made it in two totally separate bowls and brought us each salad dressing.  I thought that was nice of her.

Mike's Reuben was really good.  It had a lot of meat and it was put together well.  Mike fish and french fries were blah.  The french fries were perfectly fine.  The fish was 2 pieces of frozen pre-packaged blah.  They had no taste and were overly breaded.  I should have just eaten the rest of the wings (that we put in a to-go box and decided to take home) and not ordered an actual entree.  

Our Happy Hour food and drinks was better than the meal.  I see why people go here for Happy Hour.  If you are ever in Ellisville and looking for a place where you get a lot of wine for your money...to go Mulligan's.  

J. Devoti Trattoria (on the Hill) 11-16-19

We had read good reviews of J. Devoti.  They used to be Five Bistro and then the chef (Devoti) took over/bought them out and changed the name and changed the focus of the menu.  They are now mostly Italian based and very much farm-to-table.

We ordered cocktails first.  I'll have to say that this is the very first place to give me my vodka collins with a metal straw.  I appreciate the gesture and I know my daughter (Anna) is passionate about not littering the planet with plastic straws, but I don't know how I feel about metal straws in a restaurant.  I don't know how easy it is to wash out the inside of metal straws and I don't know who used this before me...what if he/she had a cold?

I know farm-to-table is difficult, especially in the cold months.  So, the menu is small.  We started with the charcuterie board.  For $25 we found it lacking.  It had one meat and only 2 cheeses on it.  There was a cheddar and a soft goat cheese.  The meat was a white ham.  The cheddar had an exterior that had been rubbed in espresso and lavender.  When you ate that part, you could taste coffee but not lavender and it didn't seem to transfer through the rest of the cheese.   The goat cheese was soft and tart, but noting special.  Other things that rounded out the cheese/charcuterie board were: olives (unpitted) pickled vegetables (made in house), apple jam, whole grain mustard, chicken pate, local honey (very sweet, but good)., a chicken rillette (almost like a smooth French chicken salad...the chicken has been turned into a smooth spread), and 6 large pieces of bread (a sourdough, a focacia, and rye.  The breads were all large and very salty.  I would have liked some smaller crackers to try the pate or rillette.

I do have to give J. Devoli credit on their wine list.  1. It was posted online and that list was the SAME as they had in the restaurant.  2. They had a nice array of old world and new world wines.  We were able to find a real bargain.  We got a bottle of Jorche Primitivo di Manduria  from Puglia, Italy for $31.  Vivino (my go to wine app) lists this as a 4.1/5 wine.  Usually that means around $100.  It was not very complex but it was good with multiple dishes, and we enjoyed it.  The wine list had a nice variety of wines at several different price points.  When we arrived (6 pm) it wasn't super busy and our waiter knew enough to ask if we'd like our wine decanted (to give it a chance to breath) while we had our cocktails.  That was super nice.  As we watched for the next 90 minutes, I don't know if anyone else was asked or they didn't care, as no one else we saw had their wine decanted.

After our charcuterie board we were presented with an amus bouche.  This is a little taste of some food from the chef.  Ours was literally two spoons.  The spoons had goat cheese, a grain (that tasted a little like a cross between a quinoa and a barley), some vinaigrette, and a pickled red onion.  The initial taste was very good, but they as you had to keep chewing, you had all grain and it seemed a little dry and bland.

It was time for the main entree.  Mike ordered a spaghetti bolognese.  I ordered a fettuccine with mushrooms.  Both pastas were made in house.    Mike said his pasta was good.  You could tell the pasta was homemade, but the sauce was good but not great.  It wasn't as good as Cunnetto's.  My fettuccine was good.  The mushrooms were flavorful and the pasta was definitely homemade, but it was a little undercooked.  It was almost like they were trying to prove it was homemade so they made it super al dente.  It needed to be cooked about 2 more minutes.

Now, you need to know that Mike is suffering from a bad cold, so he was not in the mood to linger or get dessert.  I had even said we could walk across the piazza and get gelato (his favorite) and he turned me down.  He did end his meal with his traditional cappuccino.  One nice gesture...when they bring the bill they bring 2 choc. chip cookies made with very decadent dark chocolate.  It was just the little sweetness I needed.

On a bummer note...the two pastas that we ordered were listed as $18 each on the menu but listed as $20 on our bill.  We didn't quibble about the bill, but still it was disappointing.  

J Devoli is a nice addition to The Hill.  It is very small and won't make much of a notable difference in the overall feel of The Hill.  I appreciate the farm-to-table attitude, but they still have a few bugs to work out.  I'd say we should give them another try in 6-8 months.  

Firehouse Subs 11-15-19

We went for a quick dinner at Firehouse subs in O'Fallon, MO.

Mike has always liked Firehouse because they put more meat on their sandwiches.  I have always liked Firehouse because one of their big goals is giving back to the first responders in the community. 

Mike had a New York Steamer with corned beef and brisket.  I had an Italian with pepperoni, ham and salami.  One thing I like about Firehouse is that their subs are warm.  I know, you can get Subway subs "toasted" and I appreciate that, but these are better subs.  I don't like places like Jimmy Johns with their cold subs. 

They do have a variety of nice kids subs but they are lacking on their variety of vegetarian options...one veggie sub and a salad.  Not much.  In this day and age of "plant based meats" they could do better. 

Annie Gunn's 11-9-19

First...a little background information...

Annie Gunn's is one of our favorite places to go and spend an evening.  We go 3-4 times a year.  It is expensive and you should make an event of it.  You should do the WHOLE meal, cocktails, cheese or chacuterie board, wine, meal and dessert. 

Annie Gunn's is known for their wine.  They have an EXTENSIVE wine list.  It is 39 pages long!  So, I begin looking at it and researching over a week before we go for dinner.  They also employ a full time sommelier.  John Cain, whom we've met before, was on duty last Saturday night.  We ordered our wine from him.  We chose a California Cabernet called Buck Shack.  We chose one that had been aged in a Bourbon Barrel.  It was noted to be interesting.  It was good, but I don't know that I found the Bourbon Barrel to change the flavor much.  It still just tasted like a nice California Cab to me.

We ordered the cheese board and enjoyed it as always.  Annie Gunn's is part restaurant and part store.  The Market next door is filled with wonderful things to eat (meats, cheeses, wines, crackers, breads, spread, etc.).  So, the chef makes the cheese board from an array (usually 4, from hard to soft) of cheeses from the Market.  Then the rest of the board is filled with fun items like fruits, nuts, jam, olives, a little piece of a fig bread, and crostini.  This all comes with a basket of warm rolls.  It is the best $20 you can spend because it is different each time and it is fun.  You nibble on a variety of things with your first glass of wine and you enjoy each other.

The food at Annie Gunn's is rather eclectic.  They have a true chef, but they also have a lot of unstuffy food.  You can just get a nice French dip sandwich  or a burger with fries.  But there is also a wide variety of expensive steaks, chops, and fish. 

I decided to make an appetizer my meal.  The waitress talked me into making it an entree portion and I should have just stuck to my guns and said I only wanted the appetizer.  I ordered the lump crab and andouille sausage cake with chipotle chile aioli.  The appetizer was 2 cakes with some black bean salad...for $15.  The waitress told me I could get 4 cakes with some whipped potatoes and a vegetable for the entree.  Well, I wanted to try the black bean salad, so I got that and the potatoes.  The potatoes were fine (whipped garlic mashed potatoes...nothing bad...fine).  I was kind of disappointed in the black bean salad.  It was tiny black beans (that I found slightly undercooked...which I guess is better than over cooked).  They were room temperature mixed with some finely diced onions and maybe a little jalepeno.  They really didn't have much flavor and I found them to be a little dry (which is weird because they were in a bit of juice...but think underdone beans...dry).  The reason I was bummer later was because I couldn't eat all my meal and I had paid $38 instead of $15 to add 2 more crab cakes (that I was taking home) and some potatoes!  That was a dumb move on my part.  I really did like the crab cakes.  The crab was big and the aioli didn't overpower the taste.  I don't know that I really tasted the sausage at all...I know andouille adds spice, but that's what the aioli was doing, so the sausage was not necessary.

Mike had steak frites.  His steak was very nicely prepared and it had a really nice caramelized onion sauce on the top.  I know it was good because he dunked his fries in it. 

For dessert we had some warm apple "pie" with vanilla bean ice cream.  Mike always gets cappuccino with dessert.  It was a nice size to share and it was perfect to top off our meal. 

Annie Gunn's is difficult to get in to.  We usually pick a date about 3 months in advance and make a reservation...just for the heck of it.  It is a nice thing to do once an awhile. 

  

 Crab cakes, garlic mashed potatoes and black bean salad.  (Obviously I've eaten half of this already...sorry).  

Sugar Fire in Wentzville 11-4-19

Yes, the Sugar Fire people opened another restaurant.  This time it is in Wentzville.  The restaurant is definitely bigger than the O'Fallon location, but I still find it difficult to navigate through.  When you arrive there are two doors.  If you don't stop and read (which I watch a lot of people do) you go in the wrong door and then can't get out of the dining area without going back outside and going in the correct door.  Now, I will say the doors are clearly marked, but it is still odd and confusing. 

I was meeting a bunch of ladies here and there is really nowhere to wait.  As you walk inside (the correct door) you are in a an immediate food line.  People kept arriving while I was standing there and I had to step aside to let them pass.

When we all arrived, we got in the food line.  First you come to a drinks counter.  It is the only place you can buy beer.  That is OK, but they offer soda there, too.  There is a fountain where you can fill your own cup.  This is odd because the server behind the counter is quick to tell you that you may not want to take a cup now, so you don't have to carry the soda with your food, as there is another fountain (exactly the same) in the main dining room.

The menu is the same as other Sugar Fire locations.  I am not a huge BBQ fan, so I always look for things like chicken (they have none) or burgers (which is what I got). 

I like their variety of sauces.  One gal in our party was really enjoying the "white BBQ sauce."  I know it has horseradish in it (which I love).  So, maybe I'll try it next time. 

We happened to snag a table, but there are a few of the "community" tables like I have seen at other Sugar Fire locations.  I love this idea.  I don't know that my husband would ever pick a community table, but when we are given one by the hostess at Hobo's in St. Peters, he is always super genial to the other diners.  I heard two strangers discussing all the BBQ places they'd tried in the area.  I love that it brings people together.

As for my food...the hamburger is a nice size but it is always a little over cooked.  I mean...I know, I'm in a BBQ place and I should be eating something like pulled pork or brisket.  The fries are OK. 

It you like Sugar Fire, you'll be happy there is another location.

Donatelli's 11-9-19

I really WANT to like this place because it is so close to home.

Mike is really on a search to find a place that can be our Friday night go to place that isn't 45 minutes to get to.

We walked in at 6:00ish and were told there was a 20 minute wait.  We didn't have a reservation, so this was totally fine.  We said we'd go have a drink in the bar.  The bar was crowded with a lot of locals eating entire meals at the actual bar.  There were tables around the bar (way too close together) that were empty, but we were told those were only if you were going to eat in the bar.  One nice waitress did tell us that the table way over by the entrance to the kitchen was not for food customers and we could sit there.  We did and proceeded to each order a cocktail.  They came quickly and were pretty good and then immediately we were called because our table was ready (it had been something like 5 minutes).

That leads me to speak about the front desk.  The girls at the front desk (and there were 4 of them) were the "hostesses."  The problem is...they really only needed one or two.  They were high school/college girls and they were in a little "pack."  All they did was stand at the hostess stand (most of the time with some of their backs to the door/customers coming in and chat.  While we were eating dinner, Mike was facing the hostess stand and he said he watched them "do each other's hair" and look stuff up on their phones!  This doesn't help a restaurant that is trying to be a "nice" restaurant.

When we arrived at our seat we noticed quite a few empty tables/booths...so I don't know what the wait was for anyway (even if it was only 5 minutes).  The waitress saw that we had drinks and she said she would let us read the menu while she got us water.  We ordered and our salads came.  I saw that everyone around us had bread with a oil/vinegar dipping sauce.  I had to ask for ours.  It was unintentional, but still a slight bummer.

Mike ordered the cordon bleu chicken special.  It was in a mushroom garlic sauce with chives.  He asked for no mushrooms and no chives.  The waitress said the sauce was already prepared (not good) and that the mushrooms were already in it.  She said she could probably stop the chives.  So, Mike picked out the mushrooms (and I ate them).  The sauce on his chicken was pretty yummy, but they don't tell you the price of the "specials."  Mike's chicken breast with a side of pasta was something like $40.  He said it was good, but it wasn't $40 good.

I got linguine in marinara sauce.  It was something like $13 (which is actually high for something that cheap).  The marinara wasn't very flavorful and the pasta to sauce ratio was WAY off.  I had enough pasta for 3 people and enough sauce for 1.  If we go again, I'll need to get something in a white sauce, as I didn't like the red sauce.

We ordered a bottle of Hess "Shirt tail" Cabernet.  It was $48.  I noticed (because we are going there tonight) that Annie Gunn's (which is a way nicer restaurant) sells the exact same wine for $40.  It was pretty good but had a little "alcoholly" taste at the beginning that I found a little off putting.

This is still the closest "nice" place to home, but we are going to see if we can find something we like that is more in the medium price range.

Dominic's 11-2-19

Dominic's is a restaurant you need to give plenty of time.  It is not a quick bite.

First it is a dress up restaurant.  It reminds me a lot of Giovanni's on The Hill.  Giovanni's was our old go-to for special date nights (anniversary, etc.).

I picked it this week because it continues to be listed as one of the places in St. Louis with a superb wine cellar.

The problem is...we had tickets to the Fox to see Dear Evan Hansen.  Since Dominic's opens at 5, that really only gave us a little over 90 minutes to have our meal, and that's really not enough.  That was my fault.  I didn't remember being there before (Mike said we'd dined there several years ago).

When we arrived to The Hill at 5, the parking was horrid!  We drove around two blocks and finally parked about a block away.  Dominic's has valet parking, but I don't think they have their act together at 5 (it's just too early).  So, the valet parking sign (and the parking dude) were not out there when we drove by at 5 p.m.

They have a very limited menu and Mike and I had both looked at it online.  We knew what we were going to order...pretty much.

We started with a cocktail, each.  Which leads me to a side note.  My cocktail of choice is a vodka collins (just like a tom collins, only with vodka).  It is not a difficult drink to make, but in the last couple of months, you would not believe the nice restaurants we've been to (Giovanni's Kitchen, Il Bel Lago) who don't know how to make it.  I find that crazy.  Back in the day, all bar tenders had a recipe book of all the basic drinks, now they have their phones....Look it up!!  But, no, they fake it and send out some crazy thing that is not a vodka collins.  I've had to send it back over and over.  Dominic's knew how to make a vodka collins.  It was very good.

Now, about the wine menu.  Because there are tens of thousands of wines out there in the world, I don't really know how people get good and knowing all of them.  Every restaurant you go to has different wines.  I'm not about to "wing it" with something that is $40-60ish.  So, if the wine list is publish online...I do research.  Dominic's list was extensive, 14 pages.  I did a lot of research and I had it narrowed down to 2 wines that were in our price range, in the palate we prefer, and received good reviews from others.  When we got to Dominic's and opened the wine list...neither of those wines was even on the list any longer.  So, that's my bone to pick with them...if you are going to print out new pages for the sleeves in the wine list books you hand to customers, publish those updated lists to your website.

We ended up choosing a wine from Tuscany called Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona (Indicazione Geografica Tipica).  It had a fairly high rating on Vivino (one of my go-to sites) and was in our price range.  It was a decent wine.  It was good but not terribly interesting.

Now, enough complaining...on to the food...

I started with the eggplant involtini.  It was wonderful.  Think eggplant, sliced thinly and fried.  Then a mixture of ricotta and Parmesan cheese is rolled inside.  They are laid in a baking dish and covered in a marinara and mozzarella cheese and baked.  The eggplant has just enough acidity to cut through the creaminess of the cheese.  The tomato sauce plays off of both of them well, and they are delicious with red wine!!  Loved it.

Mike started with the house salad.  Good, but nothing to write home about.

For dinner I had linguine with clams. I am a person who likes the simple dishes at Italian restaurants (spaghetti and meatballs is my all time favorite).  This was simple and done VERY well. The pasta was almost undercooked, but not quite (which is sooooo much better than being overcooked).  The clams were plump and juicy (which doesn't happen often).  The sauce/broth was flavorful and not oily.

Mike had one of his all time favorites: veal saltimbocca.  It was supposed to come with a side of steamed mixed vegetables  (boring!), so Mike asked if he could pay and up-charge and order a portion of their famous papperdelle alla Bolognese.  They said, "yes."  Saltimbocca is veal pan fried and then made with prosciutto ham, sage and maybe a little cheese in a white wine sauce.  The ham, sage and wine sauce make the dish!  Mike said it was good.  He enjoyed it.

The papperdelle is thick homemade noodles in a bolognese sauce.  The homemade noodles were good.  The sauce was fine.  A true bolognese is a meat sauce.  When you look at it tossed with the noodles you see meat...not sauce or tomatoes.  When I looked at Mike's dish, I saw tomatoes in sauce on noodles.  Mike said it was "fine."  Not the best he's ever had...but fine.

After a meal like this (in which we both take about 1/2 of the food home), it is lovely to end with something sweet (they had chocolate torte and creme brule among others) and cappuccino/coffee or a glass or port.  You linger...

As we were going to the Fox, as soon as our food was boxed up, we were dashing out the door.  This was not the restaurant's fault at all.  This is just not a restaurant you should go to unless you have the time to enjoy it. 

Hobo's 11-1-19

Mike was hungry for fried chicken.  Why would you ever fry chicken at home (such a mess) when there is a place like Hobo's.

Mike had his usual 3 piece chicken dinner.  He always orders 3 big chicken breasts.  It is the most chicken for the same price.  He gets potatoes and macaroni salad.  He always brings some chicken home as left overs.

I don't have the same longing for fried chicken as most people, so I try other things on Hobo's menu each time we go there.

Tonight I tried their hot wings.  I thought...they are great at chicken, and hot wings is just more chicken...right?   Well, I was surprised.  You can get them breaded, but I don't like breading on hot wings, so I ordered them "naked" and "sauced."  They were about $11 for a dozen, so that's cheaper than places like BWW, and the wings are bigger here.  But when they arrived I could tell they had been tossed with very little sauce.  They almost looked dry.  I asked for more sauce to be brought.  The chicken was OK.  The drummies (the ones that look like little chicken legs) were fine, but the other pieces (the flat) is actually my favorite, but they were definitely under cooked.  They skin was not crispy and it just felt "flabby."

I've tried a lot of things here.  I like their shrimp dinner.  I think their fried fish is fine, but it doesn't have much flavor.  The shrimp wrap is too wet and falls apart.  The buffalo chicken salad is good.  Their burgers are good. 

So, I will keep making my way through their menu.