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We tried Mike Randolph's latin-inspired restaurant in the Loop.  Ever since the James Beard nomination came out, reservations are hard to get.  We could either go at 5:30 or 9:30.  Luckily a spot opened up at 6:15 and we took it.

They have a fun drink list but the champagne cocktail I ordered was overkill with the Campari and I could only take two sips before I cast it aside.

The plates are small, so they recommend ordering a bunch of dishes.  There were three of us and most things came in twos, so we had to get creative with the splitting.

We tried the sweetbreads (it's animal pancreas...not bread that is sweet), the Guacamole Arepas (leaven corn pancakes with guacamole, queso and salsa), three of the tacos (fish, carnitas and barbacoa), and the pork ribs (cooked over an open flame).

All of the tacos were blah - didn't come close to Mission Taco.  The pork ribs were decent.  But the real scene stealer was the guacamole.  Luckily we were told ahead of time to order two for the table, because I could've eaten the entire dish myself.  

I would go back to sit at the bar, get a (different) drink, and order the guacamole as a light meal.

Parigi

We tried Parigi on Friday night and it was extremely disappointing.  The service was extremely slow - the meal lasted 3 hours- and Ryan had to keep getting up to remind the waitress to bring us things. Worst of all, the food was ridiculously overpriced.  My "first course" sized pasta was $21.  Ryan asked to make his tortellini an entree size and they marked it up to $32!!!  Not worth it.  Add the fact that the location is awful and is where restaurants go to die, I don't see this place lasting more than 2-3 years.

Between the group at our table, we've pretty much tried all the pastas.  I ordered the best - Pappardelle al Ragu (classic veal ragu bolognese).  Ryan's tortellini with cream sauce was ok; but I thought it had a funky taste.

I won't be going back here unless someone begs me to.

Porano

Jessie and I tried Gerard Craft's Porano on Sunday.  We were super excited!  There were quite a few options, but we decided to go traditional: pasta, red sauce, meatballs and cheese.

It was a bit overpriced, but the portions were large.  We also got a side of Arancini balls, which were solid.  The noodles were a little undercooked and a bit harder than al dente.  I hate the Downtown location, but I'll be back to try something more adventurous and the salted caramel gelato pops.

P.S. Jessie was able to stalk Gerard Craft while we were there.

Three Flags Tavern - Brunch

Jessie, Joe and I tried Three Flags Tavern for Brunch the other day.  It is located at the entrance to the Hill.  Jessie and Joe had been there for dinner a couple times, but never for brunch.  They are known for their brisket burger, which is on both their dinner and brunch menu.  Jessie and Joe couldn't decide between the crab eggs benedict or the burger, so they ordered both and split.  I am very decisive and chose the crab eggs benedict - great pick!

Eggs Benedict with crab meat and tomatoes

Brisket Burger and Fries

The eggs benedict were one of the best eggs benedict I've every had.  Perfect amount of crab meat and the yolk from the poached eggs seemed to run on and on forever.  Everything was delicious and we cleaned our plates. 

 

We also ordered lobster beignets and breakfast cinnamon buns as starters, which were good, but nothing to write about.  Also, the bloody mary's and mimosas weren't that good, so I wouldn't go there for the drinks.

 

I'd go back for the eggs benedict!!

Lona's Lil Eats

We were super excited to try Lona's Lil Eats in Tower Grove.  Voted best new restaurant in St. Louis and home of the Original Giant Rice Paper Wrap!  It definitely lived up to the hype.  The line was to the door, but it went fast.  There were some cute picnic tables outside to eat on, so it would be a great place to grab lunch in the summertime.  You get up to the counter and order, and then they bring everything to your table.  I would recommend tipping when you place your order, because they did have workers walking around and filling up your water and delivering your food and cleaning up after you.

Let's start with the Appetizers.  They only have two:  Spring Rolls and Dumplings.  Both were good.  The Grilled Chicken Spring Rolls were really fresh and showcased their famous rice paper wrap.  However, if I had to choose a winner between the two, I'd choose the Steak and Mushroom Dumplings.  They were wonderful.

Grilled Chicken Spring Rolls

Steak and Mushroom Dumplings

Now for the wrap:  You can choose the wrap (Rice paper - DUH!), the protein (chicken, shrimp, beef, tofu, turkey), the staple (rice or noodles), and the sauce (all looked good).  I think part of the fun was standing in line and discussing with each other which options to choose.  I chose rice paper, chicken, with the stir-fried glass noodles and spicy sesame sauce.  It was a home run.  I am in love with the stir-fried glass noodles (which Jessie even thought were a bit spicy).  Definitely get the noodles over rice.  Someone else in our group got Shrimp as their protein and they loved it.  Next time I'll be trying the shrimp.

Josie's Wrap - Rice Paper, Chicken, Stir-Fried Glass Noodles, Spicy Sesame Sauce

I think Jessie described it best, it's like Chipotle for Asian food.  Except everything in a Lona's wrap was so much fresher and lighter.  Plus it didn't make my stomach want to hurt me an hour later.  It was amazing and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Note:  there were also a bunch of side options to go along with the wrap, but I really don't feel like going into too much depth with them.  There are pretty much a bunch of veggie sides you can try.  Nothing too special.

Fork and Sticks

Jessie, Joe, Ben, Mike, Ada and I were in the mood for Thai food so we decided to go to Fork and Sticks in the Loop.  Jessie and Ben had been before and were eager to go back.  We decided to try pretty much every appetizer on the list: Crispy Spring Rolls (Glass noodles, cabbage, carrot, wrapped in egg roll wrapper and deep fried. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce), Thai Stix (Cream cheese & Crab mixed wrapped in egg roll wrapper and deep fried. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce), Muu Ping (Grilled pork skewers marinated with palm sugar, pepper garlic paste, coriander seeds, glazed with coconut milk reduction. Served with sticky rice), and Sai Oua (Grilled Chiang Mai pork sausage with Thai herbs. Served with sticky rice).  Everything was really good, but if we had to pick, our favorite was the Muu Ping, hands down!

Muu Ping - Our favorite!

Crispy Spring Rolls

As an entrée, we got their specialty - Khao Soi (Northern Thai curry noodle soup with curry paste, coconut milk. Served with shallot, pickled mustard greens, crispy yellow noodles and roasted chili paste) with chicken.  It was amazing!  Even when we got full, we couldn't stop eating it.  It did have a pretty strong coconut flavor though, so if you aren't a huge fan of coconut milk, you may want to try something else. 

Khao Soi

 Joe tried the Hung Lay Curry (Northern Thai sweet pork belly and pork loin curry with palm sugar, turmeric, tamarind, peanuts, and fresh ginger served with Jasmine rice) which was phenomenal.  When I go back, I'm definitely going to try that dish.  And yes, I'll definitely go back, however, I may try to sit outside next time, because the smoke from the kitchen kept lingering into the dining area and upsetting our eyes.  Maybe in the summer they'll open the back door or have outside seating to avoid the smoke attack.

Vincent Van Doughnut

The other morning, Jessie and I stopped by the new Vincent Van Doughnut shop in Clayton.  When we walked in, they had all the donuts that hadn't sold out that day on display.  They all looked really good, but we settled on a classic chocolate glazed donut and the chocolate chip cookie donut.  We also got an order of the vanilla donut holes to try.  We ended up eating them standing at the counter up in the front window.

Chocolate Glazed Donut

The Chocolate Glazed Donut was pretty good, but really sugary and too rich to finish the whole thing.  Notice that the donuts are square shaped and not circular.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Donut

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Donut had cheesecake glaze with chocolate chips, streusel, and Ganache.  It was delicious!!!  I especially liked the cheesecake glaze.

And of course the donut holes were really good...simple, light and fluffy.  We ate them all too fast to take a picture.

Go check it out!

Farmhaus - Breakfast For Dinner

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?!  Well, last time I went to Farmhaus, I tried their "Breakfast" item on the dinner menu.  It consists of High and low roasted Berkshire pork belly, house maple link, corn flour blinis, whipped maple pig butter, clarified butter-poached local egg .

It was the perfect mix of sweet and salty that I love.  Plus, it was entertaining to eat because each item looked like it was run through a shrink ray - I felt like a giant!  It was fun to try and I definitely enjoyed eating it.

Sauce on the Side

I tried Clayton's new calzone place today and I was pleasantly surprised.  I had heard good things, but I was skeptical.  The restaurant is in a pretty ugly building next to Quiznos, but the interior was actually pretty sharp (and clean!). 

Like the name suggests, their menu is full of different calzone options, and instead of filling the calzones with sauce that runs all over the place as you try to eat it, they give you the sauce in a cup on the side for you to pour/dip at your leisure.  Delicious and neat!

 I had planned to get the "Meat me in St. Louis" calzone (you can guess the main ingredients of that one) but I quickly changed my mind when I read the monthly special - The "Cock A Doodle Noodle"... Mozzarella, Provel, chicken, green onions, pancetta and Macaroni and cheese, with a side sauce of buffalo butter sauce.

It was amazing!  I ate the whole thing!  And if you are curious, the buffalo butter sauce was just a creamier/buttery version of buffalo sauce (it reminded me of the buffalo sauce at CBW, but a little thicker).

Hurry to Sauce on the Side to try the special before September ends!  Trust me...there is always next month to try the regular menu items.

Ted Drewes #forthewin

Always fun to see Ted Drewes make a national list for best ice cream in the US, well technically "custard", we'll take the win!  I've sadly only been to two places on the list, Ted Drewes and Amy's down in Austin.  I think I need to book some trips for the sole purpose of ice cream tasting!  Here is the link to the top 20: http://www.brit.co/ice-cream-shops/

Have you been to any others on the list?!

A friendly reminder that Ted Drewes is already serving their famous PUMPKIN CONCRETE!  Joe brought me one on Friday and it was delicious!  I will be returning soon!

Pic from a recent Ted Drewes visit, yum!