Monday, November 18, 2013

Circle 7 Ranch

Last month, the family and I tried Circle 7 Ranch Bar and Grill out in Ballwin.  Circle 7 is unique because at some of the tables, they have 3 beer taps sitting in the wall that you can pour yourself.  I was really excited to check them out!
 
First, I must warn you, parking is limited and they do not take reservations.  Also, when you arrive and put your name in for a table, you MUST specify that you want a booth with the beer taps, otherwise you might be stuck with a normal table, which would be very disappointing.
 
At our table, we had a Bud Light tap, a Shocktop tap, and a Goose Island Matilda tap.  Each tap is tracked by a "scoreboard" above it, showing you how many ounces your table has poured.  They then stick you with the astronomical bill at the end of the meal.  The concept was cool, but our keg of Goose Island Matilda was empty so we had to wait for them to refill it, and then we had to pay for the 4 cups of foam that we ended up having to pour in order to warm up the keg and get actual drinkable beer.  Not the most cost friendly.
 

Beer taps at our table
 
The thing to eat when you go to Circle 7 is definitely the burgers!  They are thin patties (kind of like Steak N' Shake) and each burger comes with 2 patties.  The menu is full of fun burger combinations and it was hard to just pick one style of burger I wanted!  I went with a burger with a bacon and fried egg on top and it was amazing!  Even for thin burgers (which are usually drier than I like), they were juicy and had lots of flavor.  The runny egg yolk and tomato also added to the overall mess of the burger (the messier, the better...AMIRIGHT?!).  I apologize for forgetting to take a picture of the burger... I ate it way too fast.
 
I also have a big thing for trying mac n cheese.  On the menu, there is even a section for jacked-up mac n cheese, where you can add different meats and other toppings to it, such as buffalo chicken and pulled pork.  What really caught my eye, is that all of their mac n cheese dishes come with Cheetos on top of it.  Ryan and I decided to split a side order of the regular mac n cheese so we could try it out.  I must say, it was probably the worst mac n cheese I've ever had.  It wasn't gross or ill tasting or anything, it was just really really bland.  They must have considered the Cheetos as the "cheese" part of mac n cheese, because it was basically a little mason jar of buttered noodles with Cheetos on top.  I will not be ordering that again!
 


Mac N Cheese (aka, noodles topped with Cheetos)
 
Overall, I would go back for the burgers and perhaps to watch a Cardinals game in my own personal bar tap booth.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Katie's Pizzeria Cafe

Earlier this summer, some coworkers and I went to lunch nearby at Katie's Pizzeria Cafe (aka Katie's Pizza).  I had been there for dinner a couple times before and really enjoyed each time, so I wanted to see what it was like for lunch.  Also, I heard how the business itself was up for sale, so I wanted to go eat there before ownership changed.
 
 
 
They had a nice lunch special where you could have a salad and a personal pizza for $14.  It even includes specialty salad (I got the Caprese Salad) and specialty pizzas (I got the Tre Amici - with Genoa Salami, Italian Sausage, Pancetta and Fontina - which is normally a $21 pizza!)


Caprese Salad
Service was pretty bad (waitress had to come back to re ask our order and she was quite slow with bringing us our food and our check), but the food was good!  Overall, I like Katie's Pizza because it is unique.  The pizza combinations on the menu are very creative, and you can tell she uses fresh ingredients.  The pizzas are also made with a true Italian style, where entire toppings are laid out on top of the pizza, as opposed to being chopped up and spread around.  If you go for dinner, I also would recommend sharing the eggplant appetizer (fried eggplant rolled and stuffed with four Italian cheeses and herbs with marinara sauces for dipping) which won me over.
 
 
Tre Amici Pizza
 
Note that Katie Lee, the namesake of Katie's Pizzeria, is starting up a new restaurant in Rock Hill called Katie's Pizza and Pasta.  It is set to open November 2013 and I can't wait to try it!