Commonwealth on Grand 2-22-25

 This is in the Arts Hotel just one block up the street from the Fox Theater.  The restaurant has changed hands several times and had some famous chefs go through there.  

I do have to say that this night we went, I was not feeling well.  I was in the throws of a cold/the flu.  So, I was just trying to make it through the night and enjoy the show.  

Bonnie and Charles we with us, so that was nice.  I just wished I felt better.

I ordered the scallops.  They were prepared well and came with a side salad.  They were on a bit of sweet potato puree, but I thought the lack of any real side vegtable was odd.  The scallops saved well, but the salad died and I had to throw it out.  

Mike ordered a steak.  It had mushrooms on it, which he gave to me.  He said the steak was good. 

I didn't even think to take pictures of what Bonnie and Charles got.  I remember Bonnie got some kind of chicken.  I think they liked it.  As you can see, I was rather out of it. 

I think we may have to try this place some other time when I am feeling better.  

Bartolino'sTwin Oaks 3-8-25

 I had heard that Bartolino's had opened a new restaurant at the corner of 141 and Big Bend.  The area is called Twin Oaks.  It is kind of a new development.  There is a big apartment complex and shopping center there and the Bartolino's is the bottom floor of the aprartment complex.  

Mike had tried to get us a reservation on Resy and they didn't have any times until later in the evening, so he called them on Friday night and the lady who answered said "Yes, they had an opening at 6."  Well, we didn't get any kind of a confirmation text (we didn't know we were supposed to get a confirmation text).  So, when we got there, they didn't have us in the system at all and it was kind of a mess.  So, it ended up we went to the bar and had a drink.  I had some kind of a berry sour margarita and it was quite good.  Mike had a gin and tonic, of course.  We got a table in about 25 minutes.  

The tables all seem to be around the center bar area and that tends to make the entire place rather loud.  When we mentioned that to our server, he said we actually were there on a quiet night, because they often have live music in the bar area and it is loud in the whole restaurant.  

We started with the arencini appetizer.  They were really good.  The rice was super smooth and almost seemed like mashed potatoes rather than rice.  I wonder if it was mashed rice??  The sauce was a pink sauce, not my favorite, but it was good.  

We ordered a bottle of Decoy, which we knew we liked.  It was funny, there were two couple dining right next to us who ordered a bottle of Decoy almost at the exact same time as us.

I ordered eggplant parm with angel hair pasta.  It was really very good.  The egg plant was cut very thin and fried.  I could have done without all the basil on top, but that's ok.

Mike had veal parm with a side of rigatoni.  He wished he could have had spaghetti instead of rigatoni, but that's ok.

We finished with a trio of canolli.  They were crisp and good.  Mike had coffee.  

This is closer than the Bartolino's that is on Hampton on the way to the Hill.  It is nice to be able to make a reservation.  I'd go back.  

Peppe's Apt. #2 in Kirkwood 3-1-25

 It has been a few years since we have been to Peppe's Apt. #2.  It is quite a unique place.  It is in an old house off of Geyer in Kirkwood.  It has a small parking lot in the back and there is some street parking.  We were going to the Fox, so we had very early (5 pm) reservations, so we parked in the lot in the back.  It probably only has a dozen or so tables on the main floor.  There is a 2nd floor that has some bigger tables and I think it might have a meeting room.  It's a class place with nice china, chandeliers on the ceiling, experienced wait staff.  

I read online that this restaurant was started by a guy named Peppe and he is still the guy that greets you at the door.  The food is mostly old world Italian.  

Mike and started with a cocktail and then ordered the shrimp scampi appetizer.  It is something we got the first time we came and it is really good and we have ordered it every time since then.  

We ordered a bottle of Italian Valpolicella.  It was good, but not as good as a California cabernet.  

I ordered the linguini putanesca.  It had black olives and capers.  It was good, but the twangy sauce was just OK.  I'd hoped for more spice and less twang.  

Mike had chicken parm.  It was good.  

For dessert we split a piece of some kind of chocolate torte.  It was a nice bite of sweet at the end of the meal.  Mike had coffee.  

This place is never the BEST food in the world, but it is consistently good and it is a nice place to eat in quiet elegance.  

Cobalt Smoke and Sea in Creve Coeur 9-28-24

This place is a solid 3.5-4 stars.  

We have been to this place several times before, so I almost didn't write one of these.  We came here before the Fox.  They always have interesting drinks and pretty good food. 

I started with some kind of fizzy, numb your mouth drink.  I find that sooo weird. It is made with the buzz button plant that literally is like novocain for the inside of your mouth.  

We started with an appetizer that was the special.  It was proscuitto with oranges and thick cut candied bacon.  It was interesting

Mike had fettuccine bolognese.  You could tell the pasta had been hand made.  He liked it. 

I had some steamed halibut on baby bok choy with other vegetables with a vegetable soy broth.  It was good...not great.  

Mad Dog and Cats 10-25-24

 On a random Friday night we decided to try this place.  It always seems to have decent reviews.  It is over on Hwy 94 and Wolfrum, so it isn't far. 

The inside is just a bar with a few tables and booths.  We were lucky to get a booth.  

Mike started with the French Onion soup.  It supposedly one of their specialties.  Mike said it was OK.

Then Mike had their reuben sandwich.  He said it was good, but nothing spectacular.

I got the fried cod sandwich.  It was fine.  The cod was like Fish Fry cod and it really didn't fit on the bun well, but it tasted fine.  

This place was fine.  We didn't find anything that will make us come running back. 

Truffles in Clayton 2-13-25

 We were driving to Nebraska on Valentine's Day, so we went out for Valentine's Day supper one day early.  

We got a bottle of Iconoclast cabernet.  It was big and bold.  I knew Mike would like it.  

We also decided we were going to have several appetizers.  Their special was fried pecarino romano cheese with pistachios, herbs and hot honey over the top.  They were super yummy.

Then I decided to have the ceviche.  I love ceviche.  This one was just weird.  The presentation was a crazy fail.  The fish was in a sauce on the right side of the rectangular plate.  The sauce waned to run over the right side and get under the bowl.  The bowl was weird.  It held a huge scoop of crushed ice and then had a lettuce leaf, 2 pieces of cucumber (cut super thick) and 2 halves of some kind of radish.  I didn't know what to do with any of that.  The fish and sauce were super yummy.  The sauce was made with lime and orange.  The orange was a nice twist.  They also placed tamarind chips on top of the fish.  That was a fun thing.  The chips would have been too strong to eat alone, but with the fish they added a nice salt and crunch.  I enjoyed the fish.  The presentation was just weird. 

Mike got a bowl of their French Onion Soup.  It is always good.  

For dinner Mike got a petit filet.  It was the smallest steak I've ever seen in my life!!  I think it was still something like $40.  That is crazy.  It was cooked perfectly, but super small and the 1/2 of a twice baked potato was super small, too.  The broccoli rob was what filled up the plate.  

One of their specials that night was an Asian dish with shrimp and rice noodles.  I got that.  It was good but too big for me to even come close to finishing.  I did take it for left overs to school and the rice noodles really didn't last very well, they were super mushy

We split a piece of chocolate torte for dessert.  Again it was much smaller than I expected.  I got a glass of tawny port to go with it, which has almost a raisin taste.  They were very good together.

This place is high end and expensive, but I am surprised how small some of the dishes were.  I kind of feel ripped off after paying over $300 for supper and tip.  The food is always good and the ambiance is also something you are paying for, and I know prices have really gone up on some things, but we definitely can't make this a regular place.  

Sushi Boat in St. Charles 12-31-24

I would give this place 4.5 stars.  

Jake and I tried this sushi place for lunch on New Year's Eve day.  It was small and crowded but we were lucky enough to get a booth without waiting.  

They menu is huge.  The sushi rolls are huge.  We ordered way too much food and had to take a bunch home.  

First we ordered green tea...it was the real stuff.  It came in a little pot with the green tea leaves steeping in the hot water.  You put it on top of your cup and it flows down into your cup.  Super yummy.  They come back and fill it with more hot water.

We ordered 5 rolls.  They were all good and I'd order them again. The rolls tend to come out one at a time.  Probably 30 minutes between the first and last one.  So, we ate one at a time.  Which was a bummer, as we were super full by the time the last one came out.

We started with the Cardinal Roll topped with rib eye.  Jake liked this one.  I didn't need the steak. 

Then we had the St. Charles roll.  It was OK.  The stuff piled on top was kind of too soft and made the bites too big. 

Next was the Gold Coast Roll.  The salmon on top was really good.  

Then we tried the Yummy Roll with 3 sauces.  It was good. 

Lastly, we tried the St. Louis roll.  It had sweet potato.  It was good and had crunchy stuff on top, which was (of course) not crunchy the next day...bummer.  

The rolls are more expensive because they are so big, but it is nice to have another sushi place to go to.