Ruth's Chris-Chesterfield 4-13-2024

 We have been to the Ruth's Chris is Clayton years ago, but this new Ruth's Chris in Chesterfield is huge!  The waiter told us it is the largest Ruth's Chris in the country.  They have 3 floors.  The top is a huge outdoor patio.  

It is a typical Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  The menu is not very large and heavy on steak.

We each started with a cocktail and then had a bottle of wine opened.  They have a huge wine list, it comes on an ipad.  I had read the wine list online ahead of time.  Most of the wines were out of our price range.  I ordered a Decero Malbec from Argentina.  I figured Argentina people know red meat and should be able to pair wine with red meat.  It was good not great.  

For dinner I had the fish special of the night, which was a salmon in a terriyaki preparation with green onion and red peppers.  It was good.  

They tell you that their plates come at 500 degrees and not to touch them.  I don't actually think this is such a good idea.  It literally is continuing to cook your food from the bottom.  It also sometimes overcooks the stuff on the plate and makes it not look so nice.  

Mike ordered a filet.  It was expensive, but it was done correctly.  See how it kind of looks like a cooking pan on the bottom of the plate??

So, the weird thing about Ruth's Chris (and it is an expensive thing, too) is that none of their entrees come with a side.  You have to order your sides a la carte.  The side are huge, so you need to find something you both like to share.  We ordered hashbrown potatoes.  They look like an entire skillet of hashbrowns was prepared in oil and butter.  Mike asked for them to have cheese and sour cream on them.  They were good, the outside was crispy and the inside was soft, but boy did they have a lot of butter.  I had indigestion later in the evening because of them.

We decided to split a dessert.  Mike got his usual cappucino and we split a creme brule.  It was good, but typical of a steakhouse.  

This is a fancy, expensive place that rich people like to frequent.  The parking sucks.  They have valet and VIP parking out front (which was filled with Lambroginis and Ferraris!).  Super rich people who frequent this place have lockers in the front of the restaurant where they can keep their bottles of wine/alcohol and cigars.  I'm sure it is where people like Cardinal baseball and executives of big companies go.  It is not a place we will frequent, but now we know what it is like and I won't be wondering about it every time I go by.  

Madrina in Webster Groves 3-9-24

I would give this place a 3/5

I had read about a new Italian restaurant opening up in Webster Groves.  I had read the reviews in the St. Louis newspaper.  Everyone seemed to love Madrina.  I just can't decide what kind of Italian restaurant it is.  I don't know if it is because it is only a few minutes away from all the Italian restaurants on the hill, so it has to carve out its own identity, or what, but other than having Italian names on the courses, having a bunch of Italian wines and serving 3 (that's right, only 3) pasta dishes, it didn't seem very Italian.

I will have to say that I really thought they'd done a nice job on the interior of this space.  It isn't very big, but it didn't feel cramped.  We had reservations for 6 p.m. but we arrived at 5:45 and used the valet parking, so we were inside early.  We got a drink at the bar.  When our table was ready it was actually only a few steps from the bar.  Usually you'd think this would be a louder area...not so.  It was just fine.  

The menu is rather sparse.  They have fish and steak specials but don't have traditional Italian pasta dishes.  We started with the Misto Fritto, which is fried calamari, shrimp, artichokes and some fried fennel.  This dish was very good, the items were lightly dusted with a seasoned flower and flash fried.  I'd never had fried fennel before and it was yummy.  It was served with a buttermilk ranch dressing.  Meh. 

Mike ordered a salad that was called House on the Hill.  It was mostly iceberg lettuce with way too much rope provel cheese.  It has some artichoke hearts and tomatoes off to the side.  The dressing was supposed to be a vinagrette but it didn't have much taste and it seemed to separate as there was a pool of watery leftovers under his lettuce when he finished. The artichoke hearts weren't pickled in a vinegar.  They must have been pickled in something with water??  I ate one and it just tasted blah. 

They had a big wine list with both domestic and Italian reds.  I also give them kudos because I think they may have had a sommalier  on staff, as I saw a lady helping a couple tables with their wine selections.  Good for them.  We chose a California cabernet called In Sheeps Clothing.  It was kind of blah.  It was not fruit forward.  I thought it was a little smoky when I first tasted it, but those tastes seem to die when you tried it with food.  Not bad, but not one of our favorites.  

For dinner you order an entree and everything (like sides, etc.) is a la carte.  Which I've always thought is kind of a pain.  So, Mike ordered the special of the evening which was a beef spedini and then he ordered some fried fingerling potatoes.  He liked the beef, but it is difficult not to overcook little cubes of meat on a stick.  It wasn't overcooked, but it wasn't medium any longer, either.  It had a sort of chimichurri made out of basil and garlic that Mike scraped off and he said it overpowered the flavor of the meat.  The sauce was brown soy based sauce.  

I had a simple bowl of linguini and clams.  There just weren't that many pasta choices and I had heard their scallops were great, but we were at an Italian restaurant and I wanted to try their pasta.  It was fine.  There just isn't much to linguini clams.  The pasta tasted homemade, so that's good.  The clams were fine.  There really wasn't much sauce/broth.  There really just isn't much to this dish: linguini, clams, garlic, clam juice and a little olive oil and parsley.  It's simple and not very complex.  I wonder why they chose this as one of the 3 pasta dishes.  

They only offered 2 desserts: tiramisu and cannoli.  That's it.  They literally bring over a dessert menu with 2 things on it!  Mike chose tiramisu.  It was actually quite good.  It wasn't a coffee tiramisu and it wasn't an amaretto tiramisu.  It was just custard, whipped cream and lady fingers.  I don't know what they used to soften the lady fingers but it was a nice simple custard dish.  

Because they have such a small menu, I just don't know that we feel the need to come back here.  There are better places for steak and fish, and there are definitely better Italian restaurants.  

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.