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.

Bishop's Post in Chesterfield 12-10-12

I'd say we give this one a 2/5 stars.  

In the 35+ years we lived in Missouri, this establishment has been many things...Crazy Fish, Andriana's Steakhouse...we've tried them all.

Now, it is Bishop's Post.  The sign at the front said "Classic Comfort Fare"  To me that is comfort food, like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chicken and noodles, etc.  

There was one meatloaf dish and one friend chicken dish on the menu.  Most of the menu is full of steak and seafood.  It is not a place to go if you are looking for a lot of what I would call "comfort food" dishes.  It is also too pricey for regular comfort food.

I started with a Honey Kissed cosmo.  It was a little odd, as it is made with peach/orange blossom vodka and has a big smell of peach.  

Then I had a small cup of gumbo.  That was really quite good.  It was more filled with meat than seafood.  I'd rather have seafood, but it was seasoned really well and very yummy. 

I had done my homework with the wine list and we ordered a red blend that has a very odd name: Gundlach Bundschu.  It is a 160 yr old family of winemakers in Sonoma Calif.  This red blend is good and not terribly expensive.  

 

 The problem was me when it came to most of the food here.  They have several dishes that many people might like:

Seared sea scallops on angel hair pesto pasta.  I don't love pesto pasta.  

Pan seared halibut on smoked tomato risotto.  I don't like smoked items...sometimes the smoke is too strong and ruins the taste of the entire dish.

The "special" was shrimp, scallops, and lobster linguine with a Dijon cream sauce.  I don't like mustard.  I asked them if they could do any other sauce...they suggested alfredo.  I said no, it would cover the subtle taste of the fish.  

So, I got their Shrimp and Scallop Pasta.  It had sun dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and herbed olive oil over pasta and the seafood.  It was not very good.  The oil was just that...oil.  It had no taste.  The pasta tasted like pasta with olive oil on it.  Butter would have been boring but better.  They need to learn to make a seafood stock and with a little white wine and butter turn the seafood stock into a seafood sauce.  Alas...they didn't.  So, I ended up eating the seafood out of the dish and leaving a lot of the pasta.  

Bonus points for them.  While I was enjoying my dessert, the general manager came over and said, "I notice you didn't eat much of your pasta.  Can I ask why?"  I told him the oil sauce was just too bland...even with sundried tomatoes and Kalamata olives.  He was nice, but I doubt they change it.  I had crème Brule for dessert. 

Mike had a fairly good experience with his dinner.  He ordered the prime rib.  He knew he wanted extra to take home for leftovers, so he ordered the biggest piece they had.  It came with twice baked potato, Yorkshire pudding (which, as you know is not pudding but a starch that should have had some kind of gravy for it) and green beans.  The meat and beans were good.  He said the potato tasted like maybe they made a huge batch of twice baked potatoes a couple of days ago and then kept them in the refrigerator and just heated them up in the microwave for dinner tonight.  

For dessert Mike had some gooey butter cake and ice cream...with a cappuccino (of course).  

The restaurant was fairly nice.  The wait staff was fine.  The wine list was rather small.  I found the overall menu small and lacking variety (they had asparagus in almost every dish...I had to ask for it not to be put in my pasta).  The gumbo was really quite good, but there really was nothing that made me need to return to this restaurant.  

On a side note...they do have a lovely, HUGE outdoor patio that is mostly covered for summer dining.