Mango Peruvian on Washington Ave. in St. Louis 2-22-2020

OK, first thing to know...parking.  We parked in a safe, well-lit lot behind this restaurant.  It was $20!  I thought that was kind of crazy!!  I know Washington Ave. is kind of a hip spot for restaurants, but they've got to do something about the parking.  Maybe everyone uses Ubers, but we were going from the restaurant to the Fox, so we needed our car. 

We had a great waiter who, once he found out we'd never dined here before, explained everything well.  We were served fried plantains with a chimichurri sauce.  It was good.  Kind of like a weird chips and salsa.  On the recommendation of our waiter, we ordered the national drink of Peru, the Pisco Sour.  I swear...it was VERY like the Mexican margaritas we had a Lily's Mexican restaurant in south St. Louis city a few weeks ago.  I even told our waiter about it and he lives down by the Bevo neighborhood, so he was going to check it out.  There is a frothy top made by putting egg whites in the blender when making the drink.  It is still tart with lime juice, but sweeter than a typical margarita.  They were good.

Of course, I'd researched the wine list.  When we ordered our appetizers I asked the waiter to open a bottle of the red we'd chosen.  He came back and told us they were out of that (bummer), so he brought us a different one to try...we didn't like it at all.  Thank goodness I research a whole bunch of wines on their list and keep a photo of the list and my notes in my phone.  I asked for our 2nd choice.  It was called Tonel 46.  We REALLY enjoyed it.  It was from Argentina and went with this food well.  It wasn't expensive.  We'd order it again in a heartbeat.  Yay, the research paid off, again!

We each got an appetizer and ate 1/2 and brought 1/2 of it home.  I got their special (the ceviche).  Because it got it with all the kinds of seafood, this appetizer was more than a typical entree at many restaurants.  It was good.  It had all the usual parts (shrimp, calamari, mussels, octopus, lime juice, garlic, red onion), but it also had a few odd things (hominy and what I would call "corn nuts").  The only thing I found odd...usually when I've had ceviche at a hispanic or seafood restaurant, it is served with chips or crackers to accompany it.  This wasn't. 

Mike ordered "Antichuchos" (grilled marinated meat on skewers).  They came with a citrus dipping sauce, fried chunks of plantains and hominy.  That hominy, corn nuts, or actual corn popped up in many places.  He really liked both the beef and the chicken.  He said they had been seasoned well.  The dipping sauce was like and oil with lemon and lime juice in it.  He didn't care for it and like the meat fine without it. 

For dinner I ordered the Pescado a la Macho ("Roasted fish of the day with mussels, calamari, octopus & shrimp in a ají rocoto sauce with white rice & potatoes"). The fish was fine.  The sauce was just not that flavorful.  It was a roasted red pepper sauce and that's it.  The rice was served in a separate dish and the rice had corn running through it.  I'd give this dish a 7/10.  It wasn't bad, by any means, it just wasn't special

Mike got the Lomo Saltado.  Our waiter told us that we'd see the word "saltado" all over the menu and that kind of means "stir fried together."  Mike's was: "Beef tenderloin stir-fried with sweet onions, tomatoes, garlic & Peruvian spices tossed with steak fries and served with rice."  When it came it was rather odd, as the fries are thrown on the top at the end.  The sauce was a super good demi-glace.  I had one bite of Mike's and even though I prefer seafood, Mike dish was better than mine. 

We were pretty full, but we split the "dessert of Peru" and Mike had some coffee at the end of our meal.  We had a warm piece of Piono Manjarblanco Roll.  It was sponge cake with warm caramel and little pieces of mango on the side.  It was the perfect 3-4 bites each. 

This was a fun place to try.  It was kind of expensive and I don't know that we need to come back any time soon, but I'm glad we came. 

Blues City Deli in South St. Louis City 2-17-2020

It is kind of a bummer that some of St. Louis' best sandwich shops are only open for lunch.  I think of Blues City Deli and Gioia's.  So, it takes a holiday that isn't super busy for Mike and I to make the 49 minute drive in to the city just for lunch.  I know that sounds crazy...but at this point in our lives...what the hell!!

I have been here before, but this was Mike's first time.  There are only about 6-7 tables in the entire joint.  A couple of them are big and used as community tables.  There is almost ALWAYS a line out the door. 

We arrived at 11:40ish.  We were lucky, the line was only about 6 people out the door.  It was cold and raining (we wore raincoats).  I will say we got there at a good time.  Around 12:15-12:30, when we were getting ready to leave, the line was much bigger and the crowd was from business people (suits, fancy coats, wearing lanyards from work).  They all stood outside, too.  There were people eating in their cars all over.

I ordered a 7th street Sicilian.  It has salami, cappicola, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, onion, oil/vinegar.  I asked for it with their spicy giardiniera.  It was spicy and yummy.  My only thing that i wish is...I wish it could be heated up.  I love warm sandwiches.  Gioia's Hot Salami with spicy giardiniera is a warm sandwich and this is every bit as good (maybe better) I just wish it was warm.  There's something about melted cheese and THEN put on the lettuce, onion, giardinera...just my preference.

Mike got the Black and Bleu (without the Bleu...I know, weird).  So, in essence, he had a warm roast beef sandwich with caramelized onions and provolone cheese.  He also asked for spicy giardiniera. 

I think Blues City Deli's giardiniera is spicier than Gioia's.  It actually makes my nose run when I eat it (like a good spicy salsa).  I appreciate that. 

The sandwich was big enough to save 1/2 for lunch the next day and it only cost me $6.50.  That's a good deal....even if we did have to drive 49 minutes to get it!

Chile's in St. Peters 2-14-2020

We came here for their "Valentine's Day Special" and came to find out it was just their normal 2 for $25 special.  Which is kind of nice because we thought it was a pretty good deal and it is nice to know we can come back and get it any time.  We haven't been to Chile's in a pretty long time. 

The place was busy as it was 6 p.m. on Valentine's Day.  We were told we'd have a 30 minute wait.  We went to the bar.  They have a different $5 margarita special every month.  This month was "Heart's on Fire" margarita.  I didn't know if I'd like it, as it is made with Fireball and would have a cinnamon taste.  But I'm cheap, so for $5, I tried it.  It was good.  It still had that sour margarita taste with the added cinnamon taste.  Definitely worth $5. 

So, for this 2 for $25 deal you get your choice of an appetizer to split or 2 salads.  We decided on chips and salsa.  Then I got a Mango Chile Chicken dinner and Mike got a sirloin with broccoli and fries.  For a couple bucks extra he decided to "load" his fries.  This makes the fries much bigger and they are covered in cheese, bacon and jalepenos. 

First let me say that we miss the chips and salsa at Chevy's.  We like those thin chips with a spicy salsa.  Chile's has them.  We enjoyed the chips and salsa.

My chicken was REALLY good.  The mango salsa was spicy and refreshing all at the same time and the chicken was not dry at all, which is surprising.  I think chicken is one of the most bland proteins (like tofu) and you really need to do something good with it.  This was good. 

Mike's sirloin was just a little overcooked.  He asked for it medium rare and by the time it got to us, it was probably medium well.  When the server came back to check, he told her and she totally would have gone and gotten him a whole other steak.  He said no...he didn't want to be THAT guy, but it was nice to see how accommodating they were.  His loaded fries were so big that it ended up he couldn't finish them! 

Our deal also came with a dessert.  The menu said our choices were warm chocolate chip cookie in a pan or cheesecake. But our server told us we could share ANY dessert...even the molten lava chocolate cake with ice cream.  This is what we got.  I only ate about 4 bites because it was REALLY sweet.  Mike was able to finish it! 

The server was super nice and attentive.  Like I said, it has been a long time since I'd been to a Chile's but the fact that we almost got too much food and spent under $46 with our bar tab and tax and tip...that's a pretty good deal. 

Mongolian BBQ and Buffet in Chesterfield 2-8-2020

What's there to say.  This is like any other typical Mongolian BBQ.  This is right by Schnucks on 141 and Olive.  I also discovered there is a Seoul Taco right there.  Didn't know that!  We thought about going to HuHot, but decided to add the buffet element.  The price is about the same.

One thing that was nice was that they did have crab legs on their buffet and had just filled it up when we arrived.  I nearly cleaned them out.  They weren't very fast about filling that back up, so I'm glad I got them when I did.

The buffet food was just OK.  Some of it had been sitting there too long.  The selection was OK.  The beef and broccoli was good (probably because a lot of people were eating it and it was made fresh regularly).  The egg rolls were bad...tasted like they'd been sitting there all day.  They were really dried out.

The price must have been about $19 a person, but we had a Groupon that we paid something like $7 for $15 of credit, so that brought the price down. 

The service was just OK...we had to wait a long time to get water refills.  It seemed to just be 2-3 young people running the whole place. 

For an Asian buffet...it was pretty standard. 

Noto Pizza - St. Peters- 2-7-2020

Noto Pizza is a fairly new restaurant.  I think it has been open only a little over a month.  I didn't know this, but some of the women with me did...it used to be a bakery with awesome cinnamon rolls.  They discontinued all their baked goods and invested in a huge wood burning pizza oven.  Our waitress told me that tons of people still ask if they can get some of their specialty baked goods, but alas, no, they don't have the ovens any longer. This space is still the same building as the bakery.  They had started making pizzas in a food truck and decided to make the bakery into a pizza place.  It is not very big and they don't do take out.  The tables are tight and you need a reservation.

There were 4 of us.  So, we decided to get a bunch of different things and try them all.  We started with the meatball appetizer (4 meatballs in sauce) that comes with focaccia bread.  The meatballs were good.  They weren't heavy.  I'd say maybe they were made out of beef and veal with just enough bread crumbs to make them tender.  The sauce was good.  One meatball was a nice start.  A couple people got the simple Noto salad.  It is only $5, if you are ordering it with a pizza.  It has nice greens, peppers, artichokes, and kalamata olives and cheese in an Italian dressing.  It looked good and was a nice size.  I got the  Pomodoro soup.  The waitress said something about it having ricotta dumplings in it.  I didn't find any dumplings in mine.  It was a nice tomato soup with a little dolop of pesto in the middle.  There were a couple of pieces of what tasted like Parmesan cheese in it...but no dumplings.  It was good, but nothing great.  Not worth the $9 price. 


I had looked up the wine list off of people's photos on Yelp, as they don't give their full menu or wine menu on their website.  They just have a list of their pizzas.  I ended up getting a glass of Tenuta Santa Maria Rosso Pragal from Veneto, Italy.  It was very good...but when I asked for a 2nd glass...I think I accidentally was  given a different wine.  It wasn't as good.  Oh, well, I drank it anyway.  They were busy and it wasn't worth complaining. 

The pizzas...first let me say that the dough/crust was good.  Some people think they have this wonderful crust and it is just OK.  I'd say this crust was good.  Neapolitan pizza is all about the char and I'm not a big char fan.  Americans typically don't like that burnt taste.  They do a good job of only getting that char on some of the crust bubbles on the top of the pizza.  The bottom is done but not charred.  I appreciate that.

The 4 of us tried: 


The Palla (typical meatball pizza),









The Patata (prosciutto and salted potatoes),












The Sophia (figs, onion jam, Gorgonzola, prosciutto with arrugula with a balsamic glaze),










The Italiana (calebrese sausage, basil, and Parmesan cheese with fresh mozzarella). 







They were all good in their own way.  The potato one had the least flavor. 

They also have pastas on the menu, but based on the reviews I read, they aren't as good as the pizza. 

We liked our pizzas, but we said we aren't dying to come back.  It is a  fun place to try.  The pizza is good and different, but a little expensive. 

Lily's Mexican Restaurant 2-1-2020

OK, I've found my new, favorite Mexican restaurant.  The only problem is that is an hour drive from my house!  I read about Lily's on Yelp and the reviewers were correct.  It is a family-owned and family-run restaurant.  Lily and her husband have been at this location on south Kingshighway in St. Louis for 17 years.  The place is pretty much a little dive.  They have maybe 10 tables because the rest of the place is filled with junk.  They seriously need Robert Irvine from Restaurant Impossible to come in and clean out their restaurant.  But the food is worth the trip.

Let me start with how weird this place works (I'm glad I read ahead).  There is a counter (that looks like where you would check out), but it has 2 menus.  You can take the menus to your table while you look them over.  Then you bring them back up to the counter to order.  When you order they will give you water/soda glasses and homemade chips and little cups to put salsa in.  You fill your own water/soda.  There is a salsa bar with 5-6 different kind of salsas.  The medium one (it was right in the middle) was my favorite.  It was spicy but had flavor.  I did try the spiciest one called something like Hot Chile de arbol.  It was hot and the heat was just straight up head, I don't think it added to the flavor.  There were also medium and hot "smokey" salsas and some pickled jalapenos. 

They have signs apologizing for the time it takes them to prepare your food/drinks because they do everything from scratch.  This kind of angered me that they felt they had too apologize for cooking food the correct way.  We had read their margaritas
were different and good.  They were.  Salvador (the owner/Lily's husband) makes them using malt/milkshake machines.  They are very blended and then I swear they have whipped cream on the top.  The sweetness gets down in the drink and mixes with the sour of the lime and is good. 

Lily is the master in the kitchen. 
From our little table we could see her cooking.  She does things old school (cast iron skillets, etc.).  Mike got a combo place with a tamale, a taco, and 2 rolled tacos (what we always called taquitos).  This food is old school Mexican food.  There is no ground beef (it's shredded) and no cheddar cheese (only the white crumbly cotija cheese).  Everything is made to order.

I ordered the Camarones a la diabla (shrimp cooked with poblanos and onions in a spicy red sauce). I also ordered a tamale and I cut it up and ate it in the sauce with my shrimp. 
 Both our orders were served with rice and beans.  Mine was delicious.  The shrimp were fat and not overcooked.  The sauce was spicy but not crazy.  It had great flavor. 

I wish they were MUCH closer to home.

St. Louis Zoo 1-30-2020

Just a shout out to the STL Zoo on a cold, dreary day.  It was about 35 degrees outside.  There were probably about 20 other patrons in the zoo besides Anna and I.  But several of the big animals were out and easy to see. 

Anna always has loved the reptile house, so we spend 30-45 minutes there when we first arrive.  I always get so warm that I shed my coat and sweatshirt before we go back outside.  Then we headed to Big Cat country.  The lion and lioness were up close and personal.  The tiger was up and out, as was the jaguar.  We also saw the snow leopard.  We did go into Red Rocks area just a bit to see the zebras and camels. 

Then, as we were cold we went into the Bird house.  The horn billed toucan was honking and putting on a show. 

We went to the bear pits and were disappointed that the grizzly enclosure is not finished and the polar bear didn't seem to be out. 

We stopped at the sea lion area as it was feeding time and they were all excited.  We were outside for part of the time and then went in and under the tank where you could really see them feeding.

I know that a lot of the zoo closes down in the winter (no train rides, not concessions, no zookeepers around) but there are also no crowds.  We did this totally free by parking on the street. 

I will say that I if I still had small kids I would support the zoo and buy a family membership.  The parking, train rides, children's zoo admission, etc. always paid for itself every year AND you support your zoo. 

Anna and I were talking about how many times we think she's been to the zoo in her 21 years and she thinks she may be pushing 100 times.  That's a lot of zoo for not a lot of money. 

Seoul Taco on Delmar 1-30-2020

It was Anna's final day in America before she flew back to Taiwan.  We spent the day running errands and going to the zoo.  Before we went to the zoo we ate lunch in the Loop.  One of her favorite places since it first opened (in a different location farther east on the loop) is Seoul Taco.

I had never been there.  She goes with her friend all the time. 

We both had Gogi Bowls. Even though we were dining in, they had run out of bowls and gave us our "bowls" in to-go containers.  Mine was with fried tofu and Anna's was with fried steak.  So a gogi bowl is white rice with the seasoned protein on top of that.  Then there are VERY lightly dressed field greens and julienned carrots on top of that with a sunny side up egg on top of the whole thing.  In the corner of your bowl is a little blob of spicy chili paste. 

Anna doesn't like the chili paste and she removes it into a napkin.  I mixed mine in and stirred up the entire thing.  I cut the egg so the yolk mixed in with everything as well.  It was OK.  I think if there had been some more dressing/acid in the vinaigrette that is supposed to be on the greens, that would have helped.  The spicy sauce had some heat but nothing big, the tofu had some seasoning on it, but nothing big and the egg yolk was just the umami of fat coating your mouth.  There needed to be a counter balance of acid.  I needed a sauce...either soy based and salty...or vinegar based and twangy (sweet and sour).  But that's just me, I like a sauce on everything!

We got some chips and queso to go with our bowls.  I am usually not a fan of white queso, but this was really quite good. 

Maybe I should have tried something more adventurous, I saw Kimchi stew on the menu.  That would have been interesting...and spicy...

Oh, well...this day was all for Anna and this is where she wanted to go...

Herbie's in Clayton 1-25-2020

Mike and I went to Herbie's on our way to the Fox Theater.  I thought we hadn't ever been here before, but I was wrong.  We dined here probably a couple of years ago.

We made an early (5:00) reservation so we would have plenty of time.  There are some downfalls to doing that...

1. The valet parking doesn't start until 5:30.  Luckily we were able to find a spot on the street not too far.  As Herbie's shares the same Clayton block with Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, parking spots out front are at a premium and often difficult to find.

2. The restaurant is sparsely populated.  There were people at the bar and in the bar area, but when we went into the dining room area, there was only one other couple.  By the time we left (a little before 7) the room was fairly full, but is always a little odd to be one of the few people eating in a big room.

Herbie's has an odd dining room situation.  There is (as I mentioned before) the bar area, but they also have, off the main dining area, several smaller "private" dining rooms.  The two times we've been there those rooms have been all set up and lit for diners, but I've never seen anyone in them.

Now...about our dinner...

I had looked at the wine list before we arrived and had totally picked out a good deal.  Of course, when we ask the waiter (a very nice young man from the Wentzville/Warrenton area) to get it, he returns and says they are all out of that.  So, I did have a back up.  We went with a Justin Cabernet from Napa Valley.  It was fine, not exceptional. 

For dinner...we had seen online that they would still honor their specials for Clayton Restaurant Week, even though the actual Restaurant Week was over.  So, we both decided to try that.  It was a soup/salad, entree, and dessert for something like $30 each. 

We both started with the French onion soup (it is a French restaurant).  It was fine, but definitely not the best I've ever had.  The bowl was not very big. 

Mike got a filet with a red wine reduction and potatoes and green beans.  He said it was good.  It was supposed to come with grilled green and yellow zucchini instead of green beans, but Mike isn't much of a zucchini guy.  So, he substituted.  The filet wa
s pretty small but the flavor was good.  The potatoes and green beans were pretty standard.

I got a pasta with veal bolognese.  It was OK.  It was a little too rich (the veal and the cream mixed in with the tomato sauce) for me and I could tell if I ate the whole thing I would have indigestion later (one of the downfalls of getting old), so I took 1/2 of it home.  It's flavor was fine but nothing worth coming back for.  The portion size was pretty standard at a high end restaurant.

For dessert Mike got the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce.  The piece was about 3 bites total.  It was good but extremely small. 

I got bread pudding.  It had been warmed under a broiler and got a little too done on the top and wa
s actually crunchy.  The taste was good, but like Mike's, it was pretty small.

I understand that we were getting a "deal" but the dessert sizes were kind of a joke.  When you do a deal, you are trying to show off your restaurant and get people to come back.  This didn't do that. 

Now that I know we've been there twice, I'll try to remember and not make reservations there a 3rd time!