Retreat Gastro Pub in the Cortex area of St. Louis 11-18-23

 I'd give this place a 3.5/5

I don't think I've ever eaten in this "Cortex" area before.  It is the home of Wash U Med and IKEA.  It has the new Foundry and the Armory across the highway.  

Retreat Gastro Pub is not new and we've thought about going to it for awhile, so we decided to try it before we went to a show at the Fox, because it is actually quite close to the theater.

This is a small restaurant with about 7 tables and a dozen seats at the bar.  There is a "back room" that has about 6 additional tables.  

I guess the best way I could describe their menu is kind of like a bistro menu.  It has a little of everything (meat, chicken, fish, veg, dessert).  They do brunch on weekends.

My take of the clientele...It was several parents taking their 20-30 year old medical student children out for supper.  

We started with cocktails.  Mike had a gin and tonic and was pleased to try a new gin (Leatherbee...made in California).  I had a "shrug" Moscow mule.  I don't think it fit the true definition of a shrug (that is made with something in vinegar) but it was a Moscow mule with grapefruit juice and ginger beer.  It was good.  

We had an appetizer of risotto balls.  They had braised beef short rib meat in them.  They were in a spicy marinara sauce.  They were OK.  I think they were overcooked and seemed a little hard on the outside.  The sauce was good but there was not enough of it.  They were fine, but I don't think I'd get them again. 

For dinner Mike had a burger and fries (again).  He enjoyed this one way better than he did last weekend.  This one was cooked well and the house ketchup was more like BBQ sauce.  The fries were crisp but not greasy.  

I had a portabella sandwich.  The portabella had been marinated and then tempuraed and fried.  It had a sweet goat cheese spread on top and a bit of pepper jam that had a bit of spice.  Those two tastes were a nice compliment to the tanginess of the vinaigrette the mushroom had been marinated in.  I liked the sandwich.  Instead of fries, I paired it with a cup of potato leek soup.  The soup was topped with what tasted like dehydrated bacon.  It was really dry and hard.  The soup was good, but it had been totally whizzed up.  There was no chewing to it...no potatoes, no leeks, etc.  You could tasted them, but the consistency was like thick mashed potato soup. It was good, but I missed chewing some potatoes. 

We liked our drinks and what we got for supper, but the menu is really small, and I don't know that there is enough stuff to tempt us to come back.  

Planters House in St. Louis 11-11-23

Drinks 4.5/5

Food 3/5

This is a cocktail place we've wanted to try, but it is a darned long drive down to Mississippi and Choteau just for a drink.  It has absolutely no parking...only street parking and you are fighting with all the people who live around this block for a spot. 

It is a small place (maybe 12 tables and only 12 seats at the bar).  They make actual reservations for their seats at the bar.

Since it is a cocktail bar, I made us reservations at the bar.  I had hoped we could chat up the bartender about drinks and fun things to try.  This was not the case.  Behind the bar were two women who were both working their butts off.  One was a tall, very quiet Asian woman who just quickly made drinks, made drinks, made drinks.  She was in charge of the drinks for the entire restaurant (except the bar).  The other gal was in charge of all the food and drink for the 12 people seated at the bar.  We talked to her a bit, but she was just too busy to chat much.

I had read that this place had the best gin martini in St. Louis.  So, that is what Mike started with.  It was good, but a straight up martini is REALLY strong.  I started (and eventually stayed with) a vodka gimlet.  It was super good.  It had been shaken really hard and then poured over a large ice cube.  The lime was literally beginning to freeze in the glass, it was that cold.  

I don't remember what Mike's 2nd drink was...I think it was a tropical rum drink.  It was OK, but we both ended up really liking the gimlets, so Mike's 3rd drink was a gin gimlet.  The lime cordial they make for the gimlet was REALLY good.

We both had supper.  I had a BBQ shrimp sandwich.  It was pretty good.  The bread was crusty and the shrimp weren't over cooked.  

Mike had burger and cacio e pepe fries.  The burger was fine and cooked the correct amount, but it had machego cheese, chorizo jam, and serrano pepper relish on it.  The ketchup they gave was the "house" ketchup and it didn't taste anything like ketchup. They also had a very bland aioli that just tasted like bland mayo. All those differences were just too much and they seemed to fight each other for what one was tasting.  So, Mike was disappointed in the burger and fries.  

One thing I REALLY liked about this very small place was that it was a true cocktail bar.  There was no TV anywhere in the place.  It makes people (even at the bar) have conversations.  I just wished we could have talked to the bartenders more.  

Bayon Bistro in Winghaven 11-10-23

I would give this restaurant a 3.5/5

I had heard from people in my bunco group that they really liked this newer Asian restaurant in the Winghaven/40 strip mall.  So, Mike and I decided to try it on a Friday evening.

The owners are Cambodian.  They took the old China King and cleaned it up a bit and made it more of a sit down restaurant.

It has sushi and there is an actual sushi bar where you can sit and watch them make sushi.  I got a tempura shrimp roll.  It was good.  They have several rolls on sale during happy hour.  The couple next to us got all happy hour shrimp for their supper.  

    

They had Bud products and wine on sale for happy hour (which is until 6 p.m. M-F), so Mike got a beer and I got a glass of Hess Cabernet.  

Mike ordered some pot stickers.  He didn't like them.  I think instead of pork they might have been filled with ground chicken and he said he found the insides to be "mushy."

For dinner Mike got teriyaki beef and broccoli.  (I forgot to take photos of our dinner entrees).  It was nice and the broccoli looked fresh.  

I got green curry with shrimp.  It was in a large soup bowl.  I took home 2/3 of it.  It was quite spicy.  I am still not sold on curries.  I like that they are spicy, but I wish they had a bigger variety of vegetables.  This one had onions, LOTS of bamboo shoots, a few mushrooms, pieces of sweet potato and a few carrots.  I am missing celery, broccoli, pea pods, etc.  I know, I know...what I'm missing are the more American Chinese things and I should just get over it.   

I don't think this will replace our favorite sushi restaurant (Sushi Sen in LSL) or our take out Chinese, but it is nice to know it is close.  I may get happy hour sushi from here sometime when Mike isn't home at supper time.  

Big Sky in Webster Groves 11-4-23

 I would give Big Sky a 4/5 based on the items we tried.

Big Sky is a cool little restaurant that is actually attached to a Senior Citizen apartment complex in Webster Groves.  It is almost across the street from another favorite of ours the Highway 61 Roadhouse (Cajun food).  

We had early reservations and at that time the restaurant seemed to be populated by people who were eating early and then had tickets to the Rep (which is very nearby).  Many of them were our age or older.

The menu is rather small.  There were only a few actual entrees to choose from.  I think this place wanted to be a wine and appetizer place, but most people I saw were actually ordering the entrees. 

I ordered the seafood stew.  In other restaurants this would be called cioppino.  This is one of my favorite dishes. This one was just OK.  It needed a few more spices (especially a dash of heat) and maybe one more kind of fish.    I will give them props for not shoving the bread down in the juice when serving it to me.  The bread was still crunchy and crisp and that was good.  

Mike actually ordered two entrees, as he wanted leftovers.  The only beef entree (Mike's go to) they had was a rosemary and red wine braised pot roast.  Mike also added an entree of cheddar mac and cheese.  He liked both of them and took home the leftovers.  

    

We both got a dessert (which I forgot to take photos of).  Mike got a caramel apple pie dessert and I got a dish that was overflowing with chocolate/chili sorbet.  Mike's was good.  The sorbet's flavors were too strong.  It was good for a few bites and then you needed a bite of something else.  It was dark chocolate and strong chili powder flavors.  

This was a nice restaurant, but the small menu really limits your choices.  I'll have to check back and see if the menu changes with the seasons. 

 

El Mezon in Lake St. Louis 11-3-23

 I would give this restaurant a 3.5 out of 5, but I think I need to try more things on their menu.

I get my hair cut by this restaurant and it seems to always be busy.  It is in a strip mall on the north side of LSL and 70.  

I was surprised by the 20 minute wait.  The actual rooms are much bigger inside than I would have expected from a strip mall restaurant.   It also has some rather cool Mexican/Aztec style decorations...different than the typical El Maguey decorations that are so typical all over St. Charles county.

The chips and salsa are about the same.

Mike got a large margarita.  He said it was good...probably not homemade.  

I had shrimp diavolo.  This is typically shrimp in a spicy sauce.  I then put the shrimp on tortillas with lettuce, etc.  This dish was totally different.  It was a base of rice, then they poured melted white cheese all over the rice.  Then there was lettuce, tomato and avacado on top of the cheese.  The shrimp were cooked in a spicy sauce and poured over the lettuce.  There were many things that did not work.

The cheese over the rice made a hard bottom that stuck to the plate.  The hot shrimp and sauce just wilted all the lettuce/tomato.  Also, the sauce on the shrimp was not very spicy.  The waiter actually asked me if it was too spicy.  I told him no, so he brought me out some spicy salsa.  It was too different of a kind of salsa and it was just heat...no actual flavor. There were no tortillas...it was just eaten with a fork.  

Mike got a trio of items (burrito, enchilada, and taquito)...all with beef in them.  He said they were fine.  The taquito (rolled taco) was quite good as it was homemade and especially fresh.  

This place has a very high ceiling and is very loud.  It has some homemade items and we may come back to try some other things, but I didn't especially love my first impression. 

Yellowbelly in the Central West End 10-14-23

I would give this restaurant 4/5 

We went to Yellowbelly before going to the Fox to see Beetlejuice.  Parking in the Central West End is always a pain in the butt.  We parked about 1/2 block away but got caught in a quick rain storm at the corner waiting for the light to change.  

I had heard about this restaurant years ago.  TV Chef Richard Blais helped open this restaurant in 2019.  Then the pandemic hit.  I'm surprised it survived...as so many young restaurants didn't.  It has a menu "from the coasts" is what our waiter told us.  

From the drink menu I tried something noted as "adventurous."  It was called an Italian Clover Club.  It had: Bombay gin, clairin, raspberry, pineapple, strega, lemon, egg whites.  I had to use Google.  Clairin and strega are both liquors.  It was good...different.  

Mike tried a Jungle Bird.  YB aged rum blend, campari, pineapple, lime

We tried an order of crab fritters.  They were like crab cakes only rolled into balls.  They came with a mustard dipping sauce (I don't do anything mustard).  They were good.  

For supper I had grilled salmon with spicy green thai curry sauce over jasmine rice.  It was super yummy.  I would totally order it again!  The salmon was good, but with the sauce...it was great!  (BTW, the things that look like pineapple or potatoes, are actually parsnips and were kind of potatoy and kind of sweet...who knew!!). 

Mike ordered the filet and fries.  The filet comes with bbq butter and Korean charred onion salsa.  The fries are fried in beef fat.  He liked both of them.  The fries are totally different.  Super crispy on the outside and they have a slightly beefy taste.  

We had a tiramisu type of dessert, but I didn't take a photo.  It was a nice dinner.  The restaurant has all ages of people.  On the night we were there, there were a lot of 20-30 yr olds doing drinks and snacks and 30-70 yr olds eating a sit down dinner. It is not a big place, so you need a reservation, but they are known for fun drinks and snacks.  

Little Fox in Fox Park area of STL 8-26-23

Fox Park is an area that is located where some swanky old homes used to be, but is is a run down somewhat scary area, now.  

Little Fox sits on a corner in a residential area of homes that are trying to change the demographic.  They are taking the old homes and investing in renovation and hoping to change the neighborhood.  

Little Fox started out rather small and then was nominated for a James Beard and everything changed.  People from all over St. Louis were coming to Fox Park.  

The night we visited the clientele was almost 100% white and only eclectic in its sexual orientation.  

The neighborhood is similar.  There are housing projects on the outer areas of Fox Park and that's where there is greater diversity.

Little Fox is a "fancy" restaurant in an old building. You have to plan ahead for Little Fox, as they only take reservations about 3 weeks in advance and it fills up fast.  You can make reservations for inside or outside.  Since you never know about St. Louis weather in August, we made our reservations for inside.  

We began our night with cocktails.  They have a variety of very interesting cocktails.  We started with 2 of them.  

We started with a Prospect Park (left) which has Oaxaca rum, Caribbean rum, aloe liquor, curacao, lime, agave, and egg white. And a Cab Fare (right) which has white rum, aperol, dry vermouth, pineapple, lemon and clarified milk.

I ordered the Cab Fare and Mike ordered the Prospect Park, but it ended up that Mike didn't like his drink.  The Caribbean rum has a distinct mint aftertaste and he didn't like it.  So, we switched cocktails.  

I agree, the Prospect Park was a weird drink with too many flavors and the Cab Fare was light and refreshing and easy to drink

For an appetizer we ordered the 'Nduja Corquetas.  This is made with 'Nduja sausage, rice, prosciutto, fontina cheese, Grenada pepper aioli.  They are very like arancini but with sausage.  

There was too much fatty things in this.  The sausage, the cheese, the prosciutto.  They needed something to balance out all the fat.  Mike liked them, I didn't. 

For dinner Mike ordered the flat iron steak.  It comes with crispy potatoes.  It is a very safe dish and he said it was fine. 

With dinner we had a bottle of red wine.  It was just OK.  It was a red blend from Italy.  

I had mussels.  The mussels are technically on a "small plates" menu.  I knew they wouldn't be a big dinner, but that was OK.  They came with grilled bread with aioli.  The mussels were good.  The broth they were in was fabulous.  The bread was just OK.  I wish they didn't have the aioli.  It was too thick, it gets cold and then it is kind of gross.  It would have been nice to be able to use the bread to sop up the broth.  

After dinner we split a piece of flourless chocolate cake with candied lemon zest.  I really liked that lemon zest on top (Mike didn't).  

Overall this restaurant was fine.  The server was fine.  I definitely wouldn't put it in the "fine dining" category.  The dishes were interesting and good, but nothing to rave about.  

I'm glad we tried Little Fox, but the distance, the neighborhood, and the difficulty getting a reservation, will probably keep us from returning. 

Wentzville Family Diner 8-25-2023

 I had read online about the fact that the Wentzville Family Diner had moved to a new and bigger location.  It was now across from the Wentzville Ice Arena.  So, on a Friday night, we decided to give it a try for supper.

The menu was large.  They serve all their breakfast items all day long.  

We decided to go with supper items.  Fish and chips was a special for the night.  I ordered that and asked if I could have onion rings instead of fries.  Mike ordered chicken fried steak.  Both came with a veg and soup or salad.  I asked for soup and Mike asked for a salad.  

The waitress brought Mike's salad with a bunch of salads for the table next to us.  She said that she accidentally had an extra salad with ranch dressing and gave it to me.  I don't really like salad with onions, and tomatoes and ranch, but I picked at it.  At one point I think a waiter was brining me my soup (chicken  and dumplings) and saw that I had a salad and figured he must have been mistaken and took my soup back to the kitchen.  I never got my soup!

My fish (cod) was good.  They onion rings were find.  

Mike's chicken fried steak was just OK.  He thinks the "steak" was pre-made from a pre-purchases vendor and then fried here.  The "gravy" seemed pre-made too.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. 

Mike said we would come back here and try their breakfast, but their dinner wasn't worth coming back for.  

Chillax in Cottleville 8-19-2023

 We had friends in town from Minneapolis.  We were looking for something to do on a Sat. afternoon and came across a post that said that this was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

It is situated in the end of the Triad strip.  There are a whole bunch of small businesses in the Triad strip mall and then it stops and there is Chillax.  A friend of ours said it used to be a donut shop.

It is very odd when you walk in.  There are 2 separate businesses.  The bar (drinks) is one business and the food is a 2nd business.  So, we found a table and looked at the menus.  Mike went and ordered drinks and I went and ordered food.  We got a shrimp platter.  It had butterflied fried shrimp and fries. We also ordered some toasted ravioli. They have many different beers on tap in small and large glasses.  

Tim and Vicki ordered drinks and then ordered some fried fish and fries.  Everyone (except me) ordered some type of beer on tap. Tim got some kind of blueberry beer that Mike really liked, so Mike then ordered a 2nd glass of that.  

They text you when the food is ready and you go pick it up at the food counter.   The butterfly shrimp was good but would have been better if the shrimp hadn't been butterflied.  Yes, butterflying them made them look bigger, but it dries they out.  The coating on the shrimp was good and flavorful.  I liked it.  The fries were just OK.  The toasted ravioli were fine, nothing exceptional.  

Tim said the fried catfish was really good.  

The place was loud and very casual.  The cement floors and super casual tables didn't lend to an ambiance that made me want to return.  Because there was friend chicken on the menu, there were families here to enjoy the food.  It was a cross between a restaurant and a bar and it was just and OK place to spend a few hours.  

Pit Stop (on the Hill) 2-11-2023

I'd give this restaurant a 3/5

OK, so this restaurant used to be a gas station, so there are several VERY small rooms.  

We were there the weekend before Valentine's Day and they had some specials but we decided to go with items of their regular menu.  

Bummer:  I think I deleted my photos from this night

We started with a drink and then ordered a bottle of Malbec.  It was good (fruity).

I ordered seafood risotto for dinner.  It was good and had a lot of seafood but I didn't really like the cherry tomatoes in it.  They were wet and seemed to water down each bite they were in.

Mike decided not to order an entree and ordered two appetizers.  He got the brisket raviolis and the baby back ribs.  He liked both of them and together they were a nice sized portion for dinner.  

This was a nice place, I know they do a lot of outdoor business when the weather is better.  I felt a little crowded, even though there weren't many people in our tiny room.  The menu was good but not great.  It is a nice change from Italian on the Hill, but if I'm going to the Hill...I might as well go for Italian.  

Asador del Sur in Maplewood 2-25-2023

I'd give this restaurant 3/5

It seems like all the restaurants of note in Maplewood are within a couple blocks of each other all on Manchester.

This night we tried Asador del Sur...South American food.  I will have to say that many of these old buildings have saved the old feel and not done a lot of renovation to the inside of their buildings.  This was NOT the case with Asador del Sur.  The inside is all very renovated and has a sleek modern feel.  

We had reservations and were taken to the upstairs dining area.  There were many different sized tables (for 2, 4, 6, 8!).  It was a nice space.

The menu has a lot of grilled items and many things with chimicurri sauces.

I started with a signature Paloma cocktail.  I don't think it got stirred or shaken correctly because the first few sips (with my straw) were SUPER bitter.  I think the "bitters" were all in one place.  I really thought I didn't like it.  But then after a few more drinks it was much better.  Who knows if that was the alcohol playing with my empty stomach or if it was really bitter at the beginning.  

I got some calimari for an appetizer and Mike got some chorizo and toast.  The calimari was good as there was some cayenne style pepper in the breading.  Mike said he like the chorizo...it had spices in it, but not too much.  

For dinner I chose a grilled octopus with little potatoes.  The ocotopus had been marinated, boiled and then grilled.  It had a oil based garlic and herb chimichurri on top.  It was good, but I found the chimichurri overpowering.  The garlic in it was raw and I had a huge herb/garlic taste in my mouth for the next 24 hours!

Mike chose a grilled skirt steak and grilled corn.  The steak came with an herb/oil chimichurri (on the side) and the corn came with a herb/mayo sauce (on the side).  He said he liked that he had the ability to put how much of each on each bite and not overpower the dish.  

Final thoughts...I know grilling and chimichurri are big in South American countries, but I found the grill taste AND the chimichurri taste to be too big on my octopus.  I think having them on the side would be always a good idea.  This was an OK restaurant and an OK cuisine.  We don't feel the need to return. 

Akar in Clayton 1-28-2023

3/5 stars

 I had read an article about some of the "Best Restaurants in St. Louis."  So, we've been trying to go to some of ones on the list that we've never been to before.  Akar was one of those. 

First, they don't subscribe to any of the online reservation services, so you literally have to go old school and call them in an evening, during business hours to make a future reservation.  

Second, the entire restaurant only holds 12 people.  There are 2 tables of 2 and 2 tables of 4.  Yep, that's it!  So, they have timed seatings.  You either eat at 5pm, 6:45pm, or some later seating time.  We were going to the Fox later, so we chose 5 pm.  The tables are CLOSE and the waiters can barely get around.  When it was time for us to leave, I was afraid we weren't going to be able to get out...we literally didn't put our coats on until we were at the door because of lack of space.   Small is one thing, but this is quite literally too small. 

The menu is way small.  There are about 5-6 appetizers, 5ish entrees and some specialty drinks.  The cuisine is Asian Fusion.  

I read after we had been there that someone had a waiter suggest to them to go heavy on the appetizers and lighter on the entrees.  That is actually a VERY good suggestion.  The appetizers were good.  We got 2 and liked them both.  The other tables around us got others and they looked good too.  

We started with cocktails and there was nothing to note (good or bad there).  Then we ordered appetizers.  We ordered the potstickers and the lobster "Ravioli" rangoon.  The potstickers were small in number (4) but big in flavor.   They sat in a typical potsticker soy/vinegar sauce.  They were good, but not shockingly different than most Chinese restaurants.  

(Sorry, we ate 2 before I took the photo)

The rangoon was just like crab rangoon except that it had small pieces of lobster in the filling.  The side sauce was a mango sauce.  I tried it and it was a little too bright and took away from the flavor of the rangoon.  I liked them better without the sauce.  Again, small in number (3).  

Other appetizers that looked really good were the garlic noodles and the roasted beet/red pepper hummis with endive (it literally comes in a bowl and the whole thing looks like a flower...super cool).  But, alas, Mike doesn't care for hummus.   

For dinner I really didn't know what to choose.  The fish special for the night was a sea bass.  It was "Market Price" which I hate.  As far as I can tell from reviews, this restaurant's fish special has been sea bass since the day it opened.  It should be able to put a price on the menu!  If it is $50...tell me.  But I'm too cheap and don't like not knowing, so I ordered the chicken breast and was disappointed.  

It was a chicken breast...that had been roasted.  Woo.  It was served with charred broccolini.  OK, I need to interject right here that I'm tired of broccolini.  It is like broccoli with way more stalk.  I don't love broccoli stalk.  It is the tops that people like.  Instead of an order of broccoli, you are giving us an order of 3 long stalks.  Broccolini is also more bitter than actual broccoli.  The chicken was served on a bed of what was called "garlic forbidden" rice.  It was dark brown (color of coffee) and it was bitter.  I didn't like it.  So, bland chicken, broccolini and rice.  I should have just ordered more appetizers.  

Mike ordered the braised short ribs.  He said they were good.  They had been brushed with some sort of Asian liquid while slow cooked.  He talked about how tender they were.  They were set upon a bed of mashed peas.  Not especially Asian...a little odd.  They came with roasted carrots and an entire head of roasted garlic (still in the bulb...again, odd).  Mike liked the meat and carrots...didn't eat the peas or garlic (I ate some of each of those).

The entrees were not big (even though they were kind of pricey).  When we were finished we didn't have food to take home, but we still had room for dessert.  We ordered the chocolate lava cake with berry compote.  It was warm and good.  

I think this probably has some more interesting dishes (the eggplant or tofu) but I wasn't impressed enough to go back.  This one was a one and done.  

Casa don Alfonso (Ritz Carlton STL) 1-7-2023

I think I'd give this place a 4/5 just for the experience.  

A little background on this restaurant.  This restaurant started in Sorento, Italy.  It is a Michelan star restaurant there.  The owner/chef collaborated on what dishes they could make in America, and they opened this restaurant in STL.  

OK, the Ritz Carlton Hotel is like a different world.  The people who go in an out of there are the jet-setters of life.  They buy their coats in Switzerland and they come back here to see family and friends.  I had read a bunch of reviews of this place that said you go for the vibe.  You go to feel rich and special.  Actually the young people write that you go to feel "bougie."

Mike and I eat to early (6:00ish) to rub elbows with the really affluent people.  They were all coming in at about 8:00 p.m. (as we were finishing up).  

The interior of this place was stunning.  You could tell it was decorated by a very legit interior designer.  The entire ceiling over the open kitchen area was entirely brass.  It had to be some kind of special brass that doesn't need polishing.  It was metal but you could tell that they didn't have to polish it every day.  It was lovely.  Then they used brass as accents to everything.  The tables were a variety of small tables for 2 that look like they'd be in someone's breakfast nook to bigger tables for 4/6 that looks like 2 small curved couches pushed together with an oval coffee table (but not low) in between them.  It gave a warm, living room feeling.  There were accents of Italian tile and one whole wall was done in the tile of Sorento.  There are fun glass sculptures hanging from the ceiling and funky hanging lights and even though it is one large room (you can look over and watch the fancy chefs in their large white chef hats toiling away on homemade pizza crust or homemade pasta) you and your tablemates feel rather close and intimate.  Super cool!

The china they used I found odd.  It was plates and platters with a wavy edging.  The first thing we saw was when they poured pure Italian olive oil to go with our bread basket.  I thought it looked hilarious...it looked like an fried egg!

I am often disappointed when I order a cocktail that has unfamiliar contents.  But the Amalfitana (named for the Amalfi coast off of Italy) was super good.  It had fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, campari, tequila and fancy San Pellegrino orange soda.  They even bottle it and you can buy bottles of it and take it home (I didn't do that...but it was THAT yummy).  

The menu is probably one of the things Mike and I had the biggest problem with.  It was a small menu.  We are used to an Italian restaurant having a wide range of choices...like 30-40.  This was more like a dozen.  There were no super traditional items like toasted ravioli, arrancini ball for appetizers or spaghetti and meatballs, fettucini alfredo or veal parmesean for entrees.  

Mike had some barley and vegetable soup for an appetizer.  He expected pieces of vegetables.  They had all been pured into the soup and it was a mostly smooth soup.  He said it tasted good, but he would have liked something to chew.  It was also odd because it came in a little brass pot with a ladel (like you were supposed to dip it into a bowl, but no bowl was given).  Mike was given a spoon, so he ate t out of the pot.  I know...that seems wrong to us, too.  You can tell we are out of our element when we don't want to look like we are eating with the wrong utensils.  

I was just going to get the eggplant parmesean appetizer and eat it as an entree.  Our waitress assured me that it was too small for an entree.  So, I ordered an entree, too.  I disagree with her.  It was plenty big enough.  It was good.  It was probably one of the most traditional things on the menu.  

This restaurant, like some others in St. Louis is one of the "Wine Spectator" restaurants that owns the best wines in this city.  They also employ a sommelier.  When I asked for the wine list...they brought me an ipad.  That is always intimidating...there are SOOOO many wines to look through.  They hadn't had the list online.  Also, like so many of these fancy restaurants, there are only a half dozen wines (out of HUNDREDS) that are in our price range.  I chose an Italian one that had good reviews online.  

When we first tasted it, we thought it was OK...pretty good.  It has a slight sour taste...I read online that it has hints of sour cherry.  Well, THAT was a game changer.  It was fine to drink alone, but when you drank it with food...it was not very good at all.  I ended up drinking water with the end of my meal and then drinking the rest of my wine after the food. Super weird. 

For our entrees, Mike got a Sorento, Italy style lasagna.  It had very little read sauce to it and included peas and eggs.  It had liquid (pureed basil) over the top.  He said it was good and he'd eat it again.  

Remember, I was good with my eggplant and I didn't know what to have for my entree, so I just chose some fried seafood (calamari and shrimp).  I had no idea what it would be served with.  It had been lightly dusted with a seasoned flour and flash fried.  The seafood was very good.  It was accompanied with 3 mayonnaises:  garlic, beet, and lemon.  I liked the garlic the best, but actually I liked the seafood without any mayo.  It was served with a bitter field green salad that was dressed with almost straight lemon juice.  It was bitter and sour.  It actually worked to cut through the fried/mayo taste in your mouth.

We each only ate about 1/2 of our entree because we always leave room for dessert and Mike's cappucino.  

So,  just like dinner, the dessert menu was small and vague.  When it listed gelato it said: vanilla, dark chocolate and hazelnut.  I assumed those were the 3 flavors.  So, I ordered one flavor.  No, no...the waitress said, you just order gelato and you get all 3 flavors.  

Mike wanted a cannoli.  Their cannoli were highlighting the Amerena cherries.  They are small bitter, sweet and sour cherries grown in Italy.  It was mostly a small cannoli with cannoli and chocolate cannoli cream on the inside with 2 of these little cherries on the ends.  Mike took off the cherries and gave them to me.  They were not as bad a maraschino cherries, but they weren't good.  The shell of this cannoli was thinker and harder to eat.  Mike couldn't cut it with his fork, he had to pick it up and use his teeth.  It was good, but expensive for the 3 bites he got.

Mike's cappuccino was super cute with a little penguin in a sweater on top:

I agree that this is a place you go for the EXPERIENCE.  The food was fine but nothing was the best thing I've ever have and I want to go back and have it again.  It was fun to go here and if I see they have seasonal changes to their menu, I'd probably come back.  But I have no need to come back now.  

They do have a restaurant bar AND a lobby bar that would be fun to go to and have a snack without all the effort of a full on reservation and dinner.   That might be something to try.  

 

Sportsman's Bar and Grill in Clayton 1-6-2023

 I'd give this a 3/5 but I think Mike would give it a 4/5

On the suggestion of Nina O'Daniels (one of the librarians at our school, who is also a foodie type person) we tried this place.  She said it was so good that she and her husband went two times in one week!  

We had been to Lester's Bar and Grill across the street a couple of times but didn't know about Sportsman's.  Both places are sports themed, but there is a definately more old, established vibe to Sportsman's.  Lester's feels like it could be a chain.  Lester's feels like maybe Albert Pujols could have actually come here and signed the big painting of him.  It has a Ladue/Frontenac feel to it.  

It was full when we arrived at 6 pm.  We were very lucky to get a table (very close to other tables...I could've easily entered their conversations) against the back wall.  I know waiting for a table is a typical thing.

The menu is mostly burgers, sandwiches, and some local style pizza.  It is bar food.  Mike got a cheeseburger and tater tots and I got a fish sandwich.  

Mike was surprised when his cheeseburger came that it had absolutely nothing on it...no lettuce, tomato, pickle, onions, etc.  There were ketchup and mustard on the table.  He doesn't know if it was a mix up or if you have to ask for those things.  But even lacking these items, he said his burger was really good.

BTW, Mike is wearing his new Battlehawks sweatshirt!

My fish sandwich (I asked for it with no tartar sauce) also came with no lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc.).  It was fried and it was a little dry.  It didn't have a great batter, so there really wasn't much taste to it.  It was OK but not great.  

There must be some reason this place is so packed.  I think we may have to go back and I'll have to try something else.  I will say the service is good.  The waitress was "on it" and made her way deftly through tables that are too close together.  

Tiger Soup Dumplings in Fenton 1/1/2023

I'd give this restaurant a 3.5 out of 5. 

I had read that this was one of last year's best places to eat in St. Louis.  So, today, New Year's Day, Jacob and Mollie rode with me down to Fenton to try it out.

It is VERY like the soup dumpling place called Soup Dumpling STL on Olive.  I wonder if maybe they are the same family.  This one seems to be run by a bunch of young people (in their 20s).  

The menu is small (beef, chicken, or pork soup dumplings).  The dumplings can be steamed or fried.  Then there are a few sides.  Mollie got a cucumber salad that she really liked (cucumber in a soy, sesame sauce).   The cup was full when she got it...I just forgot to take a photo until it was half gone!

We ordered chicken steamed, pork steamed, and pork fried dumplings.  This Fenton location also has fancy (rather expensive) smoothies.  Mollie got one that was dragon fruit and mango (it was $10).  Jake got a strawberry one (it was $7).

The dumplings were good.  We liked the pork better than the chicken.  We liked the extra crunch and how the dumpling had a little more structure of the fried.  There are 6 in an order for $10.  An order was enough for 1 person, but we found that we were hungry in a few hours.  

The smoothies were really good but Mollie and Jacob said they were almost too big.  They were trying to give you your money's worth since they were expensive, but you need to somehow split them.  They don't have any other drinks except bubble tea and water.  Even water costs $1 (bottled).

I don't think this is any better or worse that Soup Dumpling STL on Olive.  The smoothies are a nice addition, but not enough to drive to Fenton for.