Hydes Slydes 9-11-26

 We wanted some kind of sandwich for supper, so we went to Hyde's Slydes on 168th and Q for supper.  Mollie and Fraz went with us.  

They are known for burgers and smothered fries.  They also have a few dirty sodas.

I got a classic burger and fries.  The burger was a double patty smashburger in the style of Steak n Shake or Freddy's.  I like those burgers.  I like the crisp edges and the lack of tons of juice (that gives me indigestion).  The burger was good, but the pickles on it were weird.  They tasted maybe like bread and butter pickles.  If they were dill pickles, they weren't dilly enough.  

I also ordered their OG dirty soda.  It was Pepsi with coconut syrup, creamer and with lime juice.  It was good.  You could taste all the components together and separately.  

Mike got some smothered fries.  He got the cheeseburger fries.  They had hamburger, cheese, mustard and ketchup on them.  He said they were good.  He brought 1/2 of them home. 

Mollie got a wrap that was called a PAC wrap.  It was buffalo chicken strips with lettuce, cheese and ranch.  Pretty classic.  

Fraz decided he wanted mac and cheese.  I could have gotten it as a side to one of our sandwiches (which, looking back, is what I should have done because we ended up with too many french fries) but I didn't know, so I ordered it as a separate side dish.  It was way too big.  Fraz liked it.  

This place was just fine.  The menu wasn't very big, but if you want a burger or smothered fries, this is a decent place.  

I'd give this place a 4/5 .  

Tracks Lounge Bar and Grill 9-9-26

 We went here with Cathy and Ray for a quick supper.  They are supposed to be known for their chicken...chicken dinners, chicken wings, chicken wraps.  

We arrived before happy hour was over so cheap beers were purchased.

I ordered traditional wings. They are supposedly charred and then dipped.  I don't know if I love the "char" part.  Their sauces were just not as good as BWW.  

Mike ordered a 4 piece chicken dinner with tater tots.  It was a leg, thigh, wing, and breast.  He gave me the leg.  We agreed that it was fried well as the inside was juicy, but the batter/skin didn't have much taste.  

Cathy got boneless wings and some sweet potato waffle fries.  She liked them. The boneless wings kind of looked like fried chicken meatballs.

Ray got a chicken wrap and coleslaw.  The slaw was a vinegar based slaw.  

It was a decent place. It was a standard sportsbar with a ton of TVs.  They have a nice patio if it would be nice enough weather to sit outside. 

The prices are normal.  The menu is small with not much variety.  Food was fine, not great. 

I would give this place a 3.75/5.  

Circo 9-4-26

 This place is pronounced CHEER-co.  It is 5 minutes from our house.  It is festive looking because they have a bunch of booths and tables with orange umbrellas outside.

We didn't sit outside because it was nearly 100 degrees!

It was Mike, and I, Mollie and Fraz and Jacob.  

This place is Italian and must have just changed their menu to their fall menu because it was different than what Mollie and I had seen online. 

They make all their own pasta.  So, each of us got a different thing and we tasted each others.

Jacob got the sweet potato tortellini in brown butter sauce with sage.  It was great tortellini but the brown butter sauce was rather boring, it just tasted like oil.  The dish needed a light cream sauce.

Mollie got buccatini Arabiata and it was the spiciest Arabiata sauces I've ever tasted.  Usually they perk up this sauce with olives and capers.  Not this, it was all spices.  It almost had the taste of siracha.  

Fraz was with us and they didn't have a kids menu.  So, they make pasta O's for one dish.  The waitress told us that is what most kids get.  You can have any sauce put on the O's.  So, a dish of O's with some marinara and some chicken meatballs on top.  He ate some and took the rest home for Sean.  

I got taglietella del mar.  It was in a chili cream sauce.  It was scallops and shrimp in a creamy red sauce that had a slight spice to it.  It was good.  

Mike got papardelle bolognese.  It was thick papardelle noodles in a house meat sauce.  The house meat sauce was just OK.  It wasn't spicey, it wasn't sweet.  It was just fine.  

I think this place is more of a place we need to go to for a happy hour when they have specials for small plates of pasta and pizza and cheap drinks.  

I'd give this place a 3.5/5

The Drover Steakhouse 9-5-26

 We went as a family to The Drover for Mike's birthday.  It is a typical Nebraska steakhouse.  It is kind of dark in there and the decor seems straight out of the 1970s.  The menu is mostly limited to steaks, potatoes and a few vegetables.  There was a small salad bar.

We each had a cocktail or glass of wine before dinner.  We had some bacon wrapped shrimp and some onion rings for appetizers.  They were all fine. 

The Drover is supposedly famous for their whiskey marinate/sauce they cook their steaks with.  Mollie, Jon and Jacob all got steaks with it on them and they said they liked it.  It didn't taste like whiskey at all, it was just a nice steak sauce.

Jon and Mike were the only two to get salad bar instead of soup and they said it was very basic.  

The soups were OK, I had something called chicen poblano soup and it was like a cream of chicken soup with maybe a slight green chile spice.  Mollie and Jacob got lobster bisque and they said it was good.

Ian got sea bass.  He said it was good but there was nothing special about it.

I got fried shrimp.  They were butterflied and very large.  I think there were 6 of them.  I also got a baked potato.  It was good. 

Mike got his favorite, prime rib.  He got the biggest cut they had.  He brought over 1/2 of it home and will probably get 2 lunches from it!

They have no kids menu, so Fraz just had a grilled chicken breast and some french fries.  Rather boring but he was OK with it. 

This place is good without being oustanding.  But it is pricey.   Hamburgers are like $22.  With appetizers and drinks it came out go almost $100 per person.  

I would give this place 3.5/5.  

Dynamite Woodfire Grill 8-29-26

 I knew nothing about this place other than the reviews I read online.  It is in downtown Omaha in the Old Market area.  You have to find a parking lot.  It cost us about $12 to park for the evening.  

We had reservations at 6.  The restaurant is attached to The Farnum, a newly remodeled hotel.  Our waiter told us that the owners are 2 Creighton University alums (one was even some big basketball star).  The chef is from the Ritz Carlton in St. Louis.  So, we have probably eaten his food before!

The vibe of the restaurant was nice.  I liked their use of unique lighting.  The only thing I didn't like is that because everything is cooked on a "wood fire" the entire restaurant smelled like a campfire.  It was fine for awhile, but eventually, by the end of the night, it gave me a headache.  I would hate to work there, you would go home with your clothes smelling like campfire every night.

We started with cocktails and told the waiter (Armond) that we were here for a liesurely dinner.  He was good to not rush anything.  

We were given a small bread course of cornbread in the shape of corn on the cob.  It was cute and tastey.  I liked it more than Mike did.  He didn't think it tasted enough like cornmeal.  

We ordered and had opened a bottle of Cline cabernet.  It was good.  We enjoyed it and it didn't break the bank. 

I ordered the scallops for dinner.  They were served on a small bed of risotto.  They were delicious.  The unique thing about the dish was the little "salad" served with them.  It was asparagas that had been shaved with a peeler mixed with pepperoncini.  I LOVE pepperoncini and to have something that acidic next to something like risotto what a great play off of one another.  The asparagus was just meh. 

Mike had a filet and decided to have their fancy mac and cheese as a side.  He also was talked into a steak sauce.  He is usually not much of a steak sauce kind of guy.  This sauce had turmeric in it and was just enough different that he thought it was worth a try.  He used it sparingly and liked it.  He felt his steak was well prepared.  

This place is expensive and probably more of a special occasion type of place.  We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.  I'd probably give it 4/5 stars. 

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.  

Wright's Tavern 11-15-25

 I would give this place a 4/5 stars.

This was the long awaited night at Wright's Tavern.  It is so difficult to get reservations here that you have to be up at midnight when a new month opens and you need to be ON IT to get a reservation in a regular dinner time.

So, on Sept. 1st I was up at 11:59 pm and secured us a table for 2 at 6:15 p.m.

The place is very small.  There are only 12 tables.  There were places for 4 people at the bar, but I don't know if those are reservations or walk ins.  I'm thinking reservations, because I sat facing the door and I watched the hostess turn A LOT of people away.

After standing for about 15 minutes (so tiny there is literally no place to wait) for people before us to vacate the table, we were seated at a small table for 2 in the middle of the room.  Not Mike's preference.  The tables were close to each other no matter where you sat in this place.  It is that small!

They are white table clothes with big roll white paper over the top.  So on each table is a glass with pencils in it...so you can draw on the paper...I guess.  I found that odd for a restaurant of this caliber. 

The menu is small. Their wine list is not available online.  That always bugs me. 

We each started with a cocktail...and I'll have to say they were REALLY good.  I had what was called a Pink Lady.  It had vodka, raspberry something, lime and egg white froth.  It was refreshing and tart.  Mike had a gin martini.  It had a "side car" which just means more martini in a cruet on the side in ice.  

Oh, by the way...it is DIM in this place...so all the photos look dim.  

Another thing that was not super fun about this place was that it was loud.  The walls are old brick and the old tin type ceiling make all the sound just bounce around.  It was difficult to talk and enjoy a quiet moment. 

The food here is expensive.  The bread is made by Union Loafers in south St. Louis and it is a yummy warm sourdough loaf.  The butter is a whipped dolop with olive oil and herbs in an indentation in the center.  I have always had a problem with people who think the bread is a course.  I don't want them to take away my bread when my salad and entree arrive.  I want to not eat the bread before, so I can eat it with my salad and entree.  But, when you have a table this small, it becomes and issue of space.  We literally didn't have enough room for all the plates on this small table. 

I decided to get a Caesar salad and have the crab cake appetizer as my entree.  The salad was too big for one person...unless it was there whole meal.  I'm sure they were trying to justify the price, but no one needs salads to be platter sized.  It was good.  

The crab cake was a nice size...much bigger than I usually see, but it was in a spicy remoulade.  I wish this had been on the side or in fancy dots around the plate.  Crab is such a delicate flavor that I don't like some spicy sauce with every bite.  The crab cake was good with lots of big lump crab meat.  I could have done without the sauce.

There wine list was heavy on French and Italian red wines.  We got a bottle of Laely cabernet for just under $100 and that was one of the cheaper wines on the menu.  They went up to almost $2,000! Our waiter said we got the last bottle of Laely and my thought was...you need to get some more affordable bottles of cabernet on your wine list!

Of course the reason we came to this place is because it is known for steak.  Mike got a filet.  It came with pomme frites (homemade french fries).  The filet comes in an au poivre sauce.  Which is a cognac and black peppercorn sauce.  Mike wished it wasn't on the plate.  He probably should have asked for it on the side, but you hate to dis a chef on their signature dish.  He likes a little sauce here and there, but most of the time he want a steak with just salt and pepper on it and no sauce. The french fries were hot and crispy and good. 

Dessert was something I had heard all about on line.  They have this amazing hot fudge sundae.  So, of cource we ordered it.  It has a big dolop of homemade whipped cream on the top and they pour the hot fudge on tableside.  Then, it has 12 different toppings you can put on yourself. Cookies, Gummy Bears, regular M&M's, peanut butter M&M's. little Heath bars, maraschino cherries, hazelnuts, Rolos, and more...Twelve!!  It was every bit as good as it looks.  

I mean...steak and ice cream...this is Mike's kind of place.  

The bill was crazy huge.  I think this is one of the top three highest bills we've ever had for the 2 of us.  Was it worth it?  Will we go back?  I don't know.  It is hard to get a reservation.  It is small and kind of cramped.  It isn't quiet and intimate.  The food is good but not over the top great.  I'm glad we went once.  

Buzzetta's in Chesterfield 11-14-25

 This place is still about a 4/5 stars.

We were on our way to the Fox and needed a place we knew well and knew how to get into and out of in about 90 minutes.  We chose Buzzetta's Italian Cafe in Chesterfield.  There food is pretty good.

We had a reservation at 5.  They must open at 4 as there were several tables already eating when we arrived.

When we arrived they tried to seat us at a hightop tables.  I don't like hightop tables...they make my legs hurt.  Mike asked if we could sit at a regular table (which were set for 4 people).  The seating hostess said she'd have to check.  This didn't sit to well with Mike...either let us make reservations and ask us if we want a high top, or allow some parties of 2 sit at regular tables.  We did get a regular table in the end. 

We started with a cocktail.  Recently I have been on a quest to find places that have a cosmo as good as Cafe Napoli.  This one was NOT as good.  It was strong on the vodka and thus not perfect

Mike got his typical gin and tonic. 

For dinner I asked for the eggplant parm appetizer with a side of cappelini pasta with red sauce.  I got the appetizer, but I got penne pasta...not horrible, but not what I asked for.  Since we were going to the Fox, Mike didn't want to split a whole bottle of wine, so I got a glass of Sebastiani.  It was good

Mike asked for the chicken parm (he would have preferred veal) with a side of cappelini with red sauce (he was supposed to get green beans, but he wanted to substitute pasta).  He too got the penne.  

Overall the food is good.  The ambiance is nice.  The waiter was good.  It is a nice place without having to go all the way into St. Louis.  

The Gin Room 10-18-2025

 I would give this place a 4.5/5 just because the food menu is so sparse.

Mike is a gin lover.  He likes old style gin...the kind that tastes and smells like a Christmas tree.  It is actually the smell of juniper berries off those trees that is used in the making of gin.

I like gin...it is OK.  I like drinks that have gin in them but would rather not taste the gin.

I had read this article about Natasha Bahrami and The Gin Room and knew it was a place Mike and I needed to see.  She is a fountain of knowledge on all things gin.  

So, when I made our reservations I made sure to make them "at the bar."  We were lucky enough to have her be there when we were there and she did the explaining on Mike's "gin flight."  

They had a variety of 5 gins laid out before we began, but as she found out more about Mike and the fact that he doesn't like "botanicals" in his gin, and the fact that he can't drink grapefruit juice...even in gin because he is a transplant recipient...she kept changing her choices.  The variety of their gins is massive.  

She explained all the different varieties.  Mike discovered that he liked the "London Dry" variety but we LOVED the story behind the "Old Tom" variety.  Apparently during prohibition people in the gin making world (Scotland, mostly) would put out a sign with a black can on it.  There was a pipe that came out of the building somewhere...an unassuming lead pipe that could look like an old drain pipe.  If you walked up to it and said something like "puss" or "mew mew" there was a response back like "mew mew" and then a shot of gin would come out.  That tom cat is how they developed the "Old Tom" variety!  She also talked about "bathtub" gin like Miss Hannigan had in the musical "Annie."  Those were so toxic and made with such bad ingredients that they flavored them with annis (licorice) and other flavors and that is when flavored gin began.  

While Mike was tasting all these different gins, I was having some amazing gin drinks.  The first one was called the Icelandic Pear.  It had moroccan mint tea, brandy poached pear, cardamom, lemon and gin in it.  It was super yummy.  

Then I tried a classic gin gimlet made with fresh lime juice.  It was nice and sour and great.  

So, we looked and looked at the menu.  There was no beef dishes.  There was one pork chop dish, one fish dish, and a morrocan meatball appetizer but nothing that really sounded like something Mike would like.  So, we ordered the meat and cheese platter.  It was good...2 different meats, 3 cheeses, some crostini bread, jam, very vinegary whole grain mustard and some green tomatoes.  

Natasha made Mike a lovely "gin tonic" as she called it...not a gin and tonic.  And I finished with something called a "Cinnamon."  It had cardamom tea cordial, lemon, atomiced spiced rum, smoked cinnamon, gin and St. George spiced pear liquor.  It was like a dessert and just the right finish.  

If you are looking for a fun place to go and try a drink or two or three.  I would totally recommend Natasha and her big brain!  Sit at the bar and try some great drinks.