Peno-Southern Italian Soul Food in Clayton 10-4-25

 I would give this place a 4/5

This little area at the corner South Hanley and Wydown is the home to several very good restaurants (Akar, Wright's Tavern, Bistro La Floraison).   The problem is...there is NO parking for any of them.  Just around the corner on Westwood Drive is Peno.  It is in a little strip mall and doesn't look like much, but it is a nice, well-managed place.

Peppe is the owner/chef and he's hands on.  We saw him several times talking to regulars at other tables.  People come in and don't look at the menu, they just talk to Peppe.  

It was a lovely evening and we chose to sit outside.  There were probably a dozen tables outside under an awning.  Since we were on an off street the outside noise was low.  It was nice.  

We sat by a couple who had been coming here for 8 years.  They love Peppe and his food. 

The patrons seem to be a mix of local people from the Clayton area and others from farther away, like us. 

We started with cocktails.  Mike got his typical gin and tonic.  I tried the pepperoncini-martini from the menu.  I had had one at Napoli Sea a year and a half ago and it was really zingy.  This one wasn't near as good.  It didn't have the twang of the pepperoncini and there seemed to be something that was oily floating on the top layer of the drink.  I wouldn't recommend it. 

We ordered some toasted smoked mozz bites.  What came were some fried cheese squares.  There was a slight smokey taste to them.  They were fine but nothing awesome. 

We always struggle when a restaurant only has "Old World" wines, since we prefer California cabernets.  We did an ok job with this Nobile de Montepulciano.  It was good and went well with our food.  

I heard Peppe telling someone at another table that their octopus and eggplant were 2 of their specials.  I would like either, so I went with the eggplant.  It had been shaved thin on a mandolin and then almost layered like lasagna.  It was good and it had plenty of sauce.  It had a side of pasta with mushrooms on the side. 

Mike got pasta with sausage and meatball.  He said he liked the homemade sausage, it was good.  But he said we've had better meatballs at other places.  I really like the meatballs on Mamma's on the Hill.  

The food was good but not great.  I said that if I wanted eggplant, I would go to Napoli every time.  If we want meatballs, we'll got to Mamma's on the Hill.  

It was a lovely evening and nice sitting outside, but the food was not outstanding enough to make us return.  

Esca in the Delmar Makers District 9-13-25

 I'd give this small restaurant a 4/5

OK, full disclosure, I'd never heard of the Delmar Maker's District.  It is just an area on Delmar east of the Pageant.  Right now it is VERY close to all the demolished homes from the May 16, 2025 tornado.  

So, Ben Poremba is the chef/owner of 3 restaurants on Delmar: Esca, Nixta and Florentin.  Each is a different style of restaurant.

Esca is geared toward Mediterranian food.  The restaurant is very small.  The inside only holds 12 tables.  There is a nice patio with another 8-10 tables, but on the night we visited, it was 95 degrees outside, so most people were inside. 

Mike and I both commented that the menu may be Mediterranian, but there really is nothing inside that distinguishes the space as any specific type of food.  It is just a typical city restaurant in a fixed up old building...wood floors, exposed brick.  The semi-open kitchen is nice.  Mike enjoyed watching the dessert station.  

We started with cocktails and an order of their signature bread and butter (which you have to order and pay for, by the way).  Then Mike ordered a salad.  We ended up splitting this as it was actually too big for one person.

They have a sommalier who we think was also in charge of some other aspect in the kitchen most of the time.  He did come out and present our wine.  Speaking of the wine...their wine list is all French and Italian.  We ordered an Italian whose region we were familiar.  It was fine.  It just would have been nice to have a regular old Californian cabernet. 

For dinner Mike ordered the special, which was lasagna.  It was a very pasta forward lasagna.  There were about a dozen layers of pasta!  There was meat (beef and sausage) in there and there was ricotta cheese, but there was almost no sauce.  Maybe it had all been absorbed by all that pasta.  Mike said it was good.  I would have needed a lot more sauce.  

I got the grilled octopus entree.  It is served with chickpeas, celery, oregano and chili spices.  It had an celery/olive oil drizzel on the plate.  The octopus was very good.  It had been grilled well and wasn't chewey at all.  The rest of the dish didn't have a lot of flavor and there wasn't much to it.  I liked the dish but yearned for a more substantial side dish. 

After dinner we each decided to get dessert.  Because the restaurant is small we had been very near to a singular girl who dined alone and then had 2 desserts at the end because she couldn't decide which one she wanted.  Both of her desserts looked good, so we decided to each get something and not split one. 

I got an olive oil cake with strawberries that had been masurated in balsamic vinegar. There was a quenelle of a sweet almost frosting like substance on top. It was also topped with fresh cracked black pepper. It was really yummy.  The cake was a little dry but the strawberries really helped with that. 

Mike had an ice cream sundae with cocoa nibs and chocolate sauce. 

 

Overall this was a nice dinner.  The food was interesting but not amazing enough to make us feel like we need to come back.  The menu is very small and doesn't seem to change that often.  

Also, on a side note, they add 16% to the bill for an automatic tip and then ask you to please add more.  Just a little pushy.  

Sam's Steakhouse on Gravois in St. Louis 9-5-25

 I would give this place a 4 out of 5.  

We went to Sam's for Mike's birthday.  He wanted steak.  We were seated in the "Piano Bar" section of the restaurant.  Since the full title of the restaurant is Sam's Steakhouse and Piano Bar I guess they believe most people want to be in the piano bar part of the room.  Mike said he wished we would have just been in the regular dining room.  I'll have to remember and ask for that the next time.  

At about 6:30 (we arrived at 6:15) a guy began singing (not overly loudly) in a corner to music coming from a computer...so I don't even think that really qualifies as "piano bar."  LOL  It is louder in this part of the restaurant because there are quite a few people crowded around the bar. 

There were 2 bartenders who also were the wait staff for this section of the restaurant.  Ava, our waitress was nice, but also had to constantly rush back to the bar and do her bartender duties.  

We had cocktails and Mike ordered the sampler appetizer.  I ate the crab cake (it was very good and full of crab) and Mike ate the rest (cajun shrimp and toasted ravioli.  

When we order wine we used to order more worldly wines...French, Italian, Australian, South African.  But in the past 10-15 years or so, we've really honed in on only American/Californian cabernets.  Years ago we were fascinated by a wine called Chateauneuf du Pape and the whole story behind it.  It was when the Pope's residence moved years ago (for a short time) to the Rhone Valley in France.  That is why they can call it that name.  Fifteen or more years ago we couldn't afford this wine, so we always passed for something cheaper.  Well, tonight we saw it on the wine list and it was about the same price as the cabernet we would have ordered.  So, we ordered it. 

It was fine, but it wasn't as good as the cabernets we've been drinking recently.  It has a nice taste, but it has no complexity and absolutely no finish.  It was nice with dinner, but not worth the price.  Oh, well, now we can say we've had this wine and go back to our cabernets.

We each had a salad.  They were nothing exciting.  The croutons were house made and a little greasy.  They also didn't have a very wide variety of salad dressings.  Mike wanted honey mustard and ended up with plain old Ranch. 

For dinner Mike had the filet with a baked potato.  He said the filet was nicely cooked but it was awfully small for the price we paid. 

I had the sea bass.  It must have been lightly floured and then seared as there was a crust on it.  I was afraid that it would be dry because you have to cook it for a few minutes to get that crust, but it wasn't. It came on a bed of tasteless spinach.  I, too, had baked potato.  

Obviously we like this place as we have returned 6 or 7 times over the years.  It is not perfect and the food is a little overpriced, but it is a nice steakhouse if that's what you are looking for. 

Jalea in St. Charles 8-23-25

I would give this restaurant a 4/5.  They are family owned and run and want to show you their food.  

This is on north Main Street in St. Charles.  It is small inside but it has been very nicely updated.  It feels clean and new even though they have the exposed brick side walls. 

Jalea served Peruvian food. 

I read all about the drinks before we arrived.  I had had a pisco sour at a different Peruvian restaurant.  Jalea has pisco sours and something called chicha sour that is made with lime (like a pisco sour) but has the addition of blue/purple corn syrup for a sweeter taste and a much more purple color.  I tried it and it was really good.

Mike played it safe and just had a couple rum and Cokes.  

For an appetizer we ordered some plantain chips with a cilantro and jalepeno dipping sauce.  It came in a tiny container, but that was good, because it was spicy and you only needed a little.  Mike didn't think he'd like plantain chips, but they were good.  They were crisp and salty and every so slightly sweeter than potato chips. 

I ordered the seafood paella.  It contained a couple scallops, several clams and mostly shrimp.  There were some vegetables (carrots and hominy) added in the rice that were a nice addition.  The dish had a slight spice to it.  

I ordered a glass of the only cabernet they had on the menu to drink with my paella.  The wine was not very good.

Mike ordered their 16 hour marinated half of a chicken.  It came with a salad and french fries.  He said the chicken was really seasoned well on the outside.  He wished he could have just ordered white or dark meat.  He ended up taking 1/2 of it home.  

Mangia Bella at Elijah McLeans in Washington, MO 8-16-25

We would give this restaurant a 3/5.  There was nothing wrong, but there was nothing great or remarkable, either. 

I had forgotten that there really isn't an easy way to get to Washington.  I think in my mind I always confuse Washington with the Eureka area and I think that there are interstates if we really want them...but there aren't...just small 2 lane roads...sometimes that narrow down to one lane over small bridges.  

I had read about Mangia Bella on the Post Dispatch's top 100 Restaurants to try.  

It is set in the historic home of Elijah McLean overlooking the Missouri River.  The ceiling must be 20ft high in the restaurant.  There are impressively huge chandeliers.  They have side rooms that look like they could hold parties for about 100!  

But the restaurant was touted as "Italian" and that was not an accurate description.  It had mostly American food.  Chicken Parmesean was on the menu, but that doesn't make it an Italian restaurant.  

They were training several new waitstaff on the evening we were there.  Our 2 waitresses were super nice and efficient.  

We started with drinks.  Then I ordered the French Onion Soup and Mike ordered a salad.  Both were just fine...nothing exceptional

 

For my entree I ordered the mushroom rissoto and Mike ordered a filet.  

     

Mike's steak was small and the few potatoes he got were cut from a larger pan.  They were good, just small.  My risotto was actually too big.  I know that it doesn't have a specific protein in it, but it would have been nice ot have a smaller bit of risotto with a side of vegetable.  Risotto gets so cloying in your mouth at times.  

The wine list was small and not very good.  I had one glass of a cabernet with my risotto.  It was OK and not worth mentioning.

This restaurant was just OK.  I don't think we'll need to make the trip back down to Washington in the future. 

Cafe Napoli 7-11-2025

 We'd give this restaurant 5/5.

We hadn't been to Cafe Napoli since our anniversary in December and we ended up sitting at the exact same table.  I think this little area of 2 top tables is for people who are having birthdays or anniversaries, because everyone around us gets the "complimentary" celebration dessert.  

We had a cocktail before dinner and I have to say that I had probably one of the BEST cosmos that I've ever had.  They use plenty of lime and not too much cranberry and it was really good. 

Mike wanted a salad, so, since it was my birthday I splurged and go the cold seafood salad.  It was like a ceviche but it wasn't a ceviche.  They actually saute the seafood and then they chill it and serve it in a lemon sauce.  Around the outside of the dish is a lemon sauce and a balsamic glaze.  The seafood is shrimp, scallops, squid and octopus.  It was really good...not perfect, but really good. 

We picked a nice bottle of Cabernet.  It went well with the red sauce dishes we both had.  It was called Farmstead by Long Meadow Ranch in Napa.  We liked it. 

After coming to Cafe Napoli and Napoli 2 in Town and Country (which has the same menu) I now know exactly what I want to order.  I order the eggplant parm as an entree with a side of angle hair pasta in a red sauce.  It is always good. 

Mike's order is very similar.  He gets veal parm and the same angel hair pasta.  

As I said before, they gave us a complimentary dessert because it was my birthday.  It is a frozen chocolate ice cream with a hard chocolate shell on the outside with a cherry in the center.  It is a nice little sweet to end the meal.  

Obviously, we really like this place.  That is why it is our special occasion restaurant. 

Mamma's on the Hill 7-5-2025

 I would give this place a 4/5

Laurie and Beth had told us that this was one of their new favorites.  Often they like places that we don't.  They just like different foods than we do.  So, we have different tastes.  So, we were sceptical.  

We made reservations for 6 pm.  That is nice.  There aren't a lot of places on the hill that let you make reservations.  Places are getting better, some places now have "waiting lists" online.

This place is small and super casual.  I don't need fancy, but I like it when people don't wear tshirts and shorts.  You can wear those here. 

It is also pretty small.  There isn't a lot of seating space.  We were given a table by the windon and that was good because the big window sill gave us extra room to put the breat basket, plates, etc.

Mike and I are pretty traditionalist when it comes to trying new Italian restaurants.  We try basic red sauce things.  

We started with a cocktail and an order of toasted ravioli.  Mike also got a salad.  The toasted ravs were good but not as good as Cunnetto's.  The salad was good but different, it had a balsamic vinegrette.  Mike liked it.  

For dinner I got spaghetti and meatballs.  They asked if I wanted 1 or 2 meatballs.  I only got 1.  I don't know if that changed the price of my dinner or not.  I had read online that they were known for their meatballs.  I AGREE.  That was probably the best meatball I've ever tasted.  It was seasoned well and was SUPER tender.  The red sauce was good...not perfect, but good.  I would totally eat this dish again because of the meatball.

Mike got their baked lasagna.  It was huge.  It is a mixture of red and white sauces in the layers.  Mike doesn't love the white sauce, but since lasagna is all pre-made, he usually doesn't have a choice.  He at a lot and still had a lot left over.  

Their wine list wasn't great and we ordered a wine that was just MEH.  Their wine list isn't available online, so I'm going to put it on here, so I have it for a later date.

Mike got tiramisu and I got a strawberry gelato dessert that was the evening special.  They were both good.  My gelato must have been frozen into that shape and then plated because it was HARD and needed a few minutes to soften up before I could really eat it.  

Overall we liked the food here and said we'd probably come back.  The dining room is casual (no table clothes, casual clothes, etc.) and it is small and somewhat loud, but the food is good enough to warrant a return trip.