Westchester in Chesterfield 3-2-24

I would give this restaurant a 4.5/5

It had been a while, so we decided to go back to the Westchester in Chesterfield.  We had been there a couple times, but they have turned into a legit fine dining restaurant.  Now, they have wine dinners that are WAY out of our price range.  

They must have a happy hour deal from about 3-5/6, because when we entered at 5, the bar was packed and not one table had anyone at it...we were the first.  We started with a cocktail.  I had looked at the wine list online and thank goodness it was exactly the same in the restaurant.  This is a place that has many bottles of wine over $100.  That's not us.  We started with soup.  Mike got the French Onion and I tried their soup of the day, which was almost like a beef stew turned into a soup with a Thai chili flavoring.  It was called Thai beef soup.  It was delicious!

For our wine we actually chose the cheapest cabernet on the menu and it was perfectly fine with out meal.  It was called Cultivar.  We both liked it fine with our food.  

Mike had a filet, green beans, roasted carrots, mashed potatoes and some shredded brussel sprouts (that he didn't like, because he doesn't really like brussel sprouts).  The rest he ate ALL of.

I had the "Seafood Stew."  I know, it looks like a ciopino, but it is an Asian take on that famous Italian stew.  Pretty much the same ingredients but instead of just tomatoes and garlic in the broth, this one gets green curry and it is served with jasmine rice.  It was ever so slightly spicy and it was super yummy!

For dessert we split a very fancy creme brule that came with two lovely macrons.  It was easily enought for two.  

Taqueria Bronco on Cherokee Street in St. Louis 2-22-24

I had wanted to see the Orchid Festival at the Botanical Gardens and Mike read that it was margarita day, so we decided to go see the orchids and then go to a really authentic Mexican restaurant down on Cherokee Street in St. Louis.  The people and the food were very authentic, but I don't think the margaritas were any more authentic than the kind that come out of a bottle at our local Mexican restaurants.

Taqueria Bronco is run by a hispanic family that have not learned much English, yet.  It was difficult for the waitress to convey to us that the tacos only have onions and cilantro on them (not the American style of lettuce and cheese).  

We started with margaritas, chips and salsa/guac and some nachos.  There guac is very chunky and fresh.  Mike doesn't like guac and this was too much for just me, but I enjoyed it.

Mike had the carnitas tacos and I had shrimp tacos.  They were good.  They weren't huge, but we were plenty filled up with the chips and nachos.  The menu was difficult to follow, and I think this is such a legit Mexican restaurant that you could probably tell them what you want and they'd make it. 

B.C.'s Kitchen 2-3-24

We had tried to go to a different restaurant in Lake St. Louis but they don't seem to take reservations and the wait was WAY LONG, so we came over to an old standard, B.C.'s kitchen.

We ended up waiting here for almost an hour, too.  So, the wait was bad everywhere.

We had a cocktail and then ordered a bottle of Bonanza Cabernet.  We have had it before and liked it.  It was good.

Mike had the lasagna special for supper and I had my standard: bowl of gumbo.  Mike really thought the lasagna was good tonight.  My gumbo was good as usual.  

B.C.'s Kitchen is a nicer place to eat that is 5 minutes from home.  

Frazer's Restaurant 1-27-24

I'd give this place a solid 4/5.

This restaurant is right next to the Anheiser Busch Brewery.  You'd think with a name like Frazer's we'd have tried it before.  It is a nice place.  We sat on the main floor (there is an upstairs) by a window with a great view of the brewery.

They have a rather eclectic menu with a little bit of everything.  We started with a cocktail and charcuterie board.  Mike had a gin and tonic and I tried one of their James and the Spicey Peach.  It has serrano pepper infused mescal, peach liquour, and fresh lemon juice.  It was yummy.  

     

The charcuterie board wasn't anything too exciting, but I liked the funky drink.

They didn't really have much of a wine selection (and I couldn't find it online ahead of time, so I ended up picking a glass of a  Cab/Syrah blend called Odd Lot.  It was just OK.

 

 Mike ended up having a local beer, since he was going to have German food for dinner.  He went with the waiter's recommendation of Urban Chestnut's Schnickelfritz.  He liked it.  

For dinner Mike had their famous pork schnitzel and I had seafood chiopino.  Mike REALY liked the schnitzel and said it was some of the best he'd had.  The chiopino was good, but the mussels hadn't been cleaned well and there were a few bites with either sand or broken bits of shell.  That is always a bummer

   

For dessert we split a creme brule.  It was big with a thick layer of crunch on the top.  

All in all, I really liked this place and would definitely come back.  

Cafe Provencal in Kirkwood 1-20-24

 I would give this restaurant a 4/5

We have been to Cafe Provencal in Kirkwood several times.  We seem to always enjoy ourselves here.  

The wine list isn't available online and they are heavy in French wines...so it always is difficult for me to pick a wine on the fly.  This time we did OK.  We found a french wine that was in our budget and our Vivino stars range.  

Mike wanted French onion soup as an appetizer, I was going to have the soup as my entree.  So, I ordered a salmon "pizza."  It had goat cheese, red onions and capers.  The salmon had been heavily smoked and it was so smokey it almost tasted like ham to me.  It was just too smokey and I didn't really enjoy it.  

The onion soup was good, but wasn't super hot.  Mike would have liked it hotter when it came out.  I'm sure they have dozens of these premade and in the frig.  Getting them hot without overly melting the cheese when reheating them is a trick, I'm sure.  The soup is always good.  

Mike had steak frites for dinner.  Good as usual and we split a creme brule for dessert.  

This place pulls off the whole "bistro" vibe.  It is not too big.  It is not super busy at 5 pm, but gets really busy by 6 or 6:30.  It is a solid French restaurant in STL. 

Rack House Kitchen Wine and Whiskey 1-13-24

On this night I'd give this place a 2.5/5 

On a cold Saturday night in the middle of a snow storm, Mike and I had reservations at Rack House.  We have probably been here half a dozen times before.  It was definitely not very crowded (probably because of the weather).  

We were originally placed at a table that was right by the entrance to the cigar room.  Each time one of the cigar smoker people came in or out, we got a drift of cigar smoke.  Mike asked if we could be moved.  That is a problem and should be noted for anyone who is asked to sit there. 

I had studied their wine list before we came and was glad to see that they had the same one, but when I started ordering wines for my "wine flight" (because I wanted to try 3 different wines before I decided to try a bottle) I kept running into wines that they "didn't have right now."  So, that is a problem.  There wine list isn't up to date with their current inventory.

I ended up trying Dashe Cellars Delta Red (good), OVR Lot 73 Red Blend (no real taste), 75 Wine Company Cabernet (yuck...bitter taste).  Mike tried a glass of Elemental Substance Cabernet (which wasn't even on their wine list) but was actually OK.  

For dinner I had 2 crab cakes and some fries.  The crab cakes were dissappointing.  They were very small and looked like an appetizer.  They had very little to no lump crab in them.  

Mike had steak and broccoli.  He said it was good, but nothing special.  

This used to be a kind of nice place we liked to go.  I think it will be awhile before we come back.  

Ostoria Forto -O'Fallon, MO 1-6-24

On this night, I'd probably give them a 3.75/5 

This is a new, nicer, Italian restaurant that opened up on Highway K in O'Fallon.  We were hoping it would be really nice...but that's just not O'Fallon.  O'Fallon people don't dress up to go out to eat.  Their idea of a nice restaurant is one you can wear jeans and a nice shirt/sweater to.  That was the attire of most of the people in this place.

It was nicer than most O'Fallon restaurants, but I wouldn't call it a super "nice" restaurant.  It had no tablecloths and one whole side was made up of traditional booths (which usually aren't in super nice restaurants).  

We had reservations for 6 pm.  We arrived right on time and then stood waiting at the front entrance for over 10 minutes.  We did have a nice chat with one of the owners (Liz).  Our table was ready and we shouldn't have had to wait. 

The service was fine.  Our waitress was nice and just OK.  She was kind of surprised that we were going to order a cocktail AND ask her to open a bottle of wine (for dinner).  

I don't know if it is because they are brand new or what, but I do have to give them props for having their entire drink/wine list online so I could do my wine research ahead of time. We chose a cab called Textbook and it was pretty good. 

I ordered one of their signature cocktails and really didn't like it.  It had too many "bitters" in it.  Mike got a standard gin and tonic.  For an appetizer I ordered the eggplant parm.  It was really good.  I liked the sauce and the slightly browned cheese.  

Mike got a house salad with the house dressing.  He didn't like it.  It had a bunch of heart of palm and artichoke hearts in it (which were OK, but the heart of palm weren't pickled, so they just tasted like water and didn't add anything to the dish).  The house dressing was a thick blue cheese type of dressing and there was too much of it.  The salad was over dressed.

For supper Mike had the tagliatele bolognese.  This should be a meat sauce with a brown or brown/red sauce (gravy).  It didn't have much sauce at all and Mike said overall it didn't have any taste.  It was not something he'd order again.

I had the linguini Mare e Monti.  It was very good.  It had clams and shrimp in a seafood broth.  I really liked it.  

For dessert we ordered panne cotta.  It was a cold custard with some cold cinnamon apples over it.  It was rather bland and I would never order it again.  Mike got a cappuccino with his dessert.  

They had been open one month when we visited.  They were still having trouble with their computers sending drink orders to the bar and food orders to the kitchen.  That problem I understand.  Mike's dinner not having any taste...that needs fixed!  The panna cotta being rather tasteless...that needs fixed, pick a different dessert to offer.  

We will probably give it another chance.  We wonder if you can mix up the menu a bit.  I liked the eggplant parm.  Could I get that over some linguini with extra red sauce??  If they do things like The Hill, they'd do this.  We'll see.