Trattoria Marcella 11-16-24

 It has been years since we've been to Trattoria Marcella.  All I remember is that they have lobster risotto.  

We arrived at about 4:55 and there was an entire family of about a dozen people (all in one group) waiting outside to get in in front of us.  You could see the people inside, but they let us all wait for the full 5 or 6 minutes (in the cold) before opening the doors.  That is not a great first impression.

Then, we were put in a way back room.  Mike didn't like that.  We were some of the first people there and we by-passed the main dining room.  I don't know why.  

Our waiter told us that one of the specials for the night was the lobster risotto.  As I get older, stuff with cream sometimes makes me have a stomachache, so I decided against it.  We had a cocktail.  I ordered some Italian kind of orange martini.  It was OK, it was too strong alcohol taste.  

Then we asked for a bottle of Edge cabernet to be opened.  It was good, we liked it...but red wine goes so well with red sauce (and chocolate dessert)!

Mike ordered a salad, and that was fine. Then he got the spaghetti and meatballs.  He said it was OK, but when he went to eat the leftovers 2 days later, he said he had decided that he didn't really like their sauce and we didn't need to go back there.  

I ordered the eggplant parm appetizer as my entree.  I usually love eggplant.  This was their "new" way of preparing it.  It was layered with cheese, like a lasagna.  It was not near as good as it would have been if it had just been fried and put out on the plate.  I also don't understand how this is supposed to be an appetizer.  It was totally unsharable.  I took 1/2 of it home for leftovers and ended up not eating it.  

The most redeeming thing of the night were the desserts.  Mike and I usually split dessert.  He gets one and I eat 2 bites and I'm done.  But he wanted tiramissou and I wanted the chocolate creme brule.  So, we each got dessert.  His was very coffee forward.  He liked that.  Mine tasted just like my mom's chocolate pie (which I love).  So, the food wasn't our favorite, but the desserts we a nice end to the meal.

Brasserie by Niche 11-9-24

 It has been several years since we have been at Brasserie.  It was pouring rain when we arrived and parked on the street.  They do have valet parking, just don't have a 5:00 reseration and expect the valet to be up and running yet.  He gets going by about 5:15.  

We started with a cocktail and then ordered a bottle of red French wine called Volcae.  It was good.  

Our waiter was super great.  He was about our age and he was super knowledgeable.  Mike ordered the braised beef with mashed potatoes and jus.  My photo of it sucks but he loved it.  He said it is just like really well cooked roast with a great jus.  I got the mussels.  They were good as always.  

Then we decided to get dessert.  They have a "black and white" creme brullet.  It has a chocolate ganache on the bottom of the ramiken.  Then the cream mixture is poured on top.  The entire thing is topped with a classic black and white cookie.  It was really yummy!

Sam's Steakhouse 10-26-24

 It had been years since we'd been to Sam's Steakhouse in South St. Louis county.  It was nicer than I remember.  It definitely has a following.  We ended up getting a table that was off of the bar area (we could see into the bar area).  Mike didn't like that, he would have rather been in the main dining area.  We watched the musician guy set up and sing a little.  He was just a guy with a computer and a mic.  He was just OK, but the regulars thought he was amazing.  

Sam's is mostly a "nice" place and people there are 40+ age.  For the most part they were dressed up.  I saw a few people in jeans, but not many.

We had cocktails and bread.  It is such a St. Louis thing to think of the bread as an appetizer.  I wanted to save my bread to eat with my dinner, but the bus boys kept trying to take our bread away before our dinner arrived. 

We ordered a bottle of kind of expensive cabernet call The Counselor.  It was good, but when you get to ratings like 4.2 and 4.3, the extra cost is kind of lost on Mike and me.  We don't have sophisticated enough palates to tell the difference once it gets past 4.0.

For dinner Mike chose the prime rib (of course) and I got crab cakes.  Our food was good and I'd say we would come back here again.  We just need to remember that we like this place.