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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!

Pastaria - Brunch

Jessie, Joe and I decided to try brunch at our favorite lunch/dinner spot in Clayton, Pastaria.  We went at around 11:00 am and walked right in. 

The brunch menu looked pretty good, they had a nice range of food.  I heard their donuts were good, so I had to try one.  When I ordered a donut, they actually have 4 different flavors that day.  I chose the classic glazed donut, and it was really good.  Nice and flakey.

Donut

Since I had never gotten pizza at Pastaria (how can I when there is pasta?!), I decided to try their breakfast pizza.  It comes with tomato, bacon, fontina cheese, egg, garlic, chili flakes and parsley.  It was delicious.  They put on the perfect amount of tomato sauce, and the runny egg on top was amazing.  My only complaint is that there was only one cracked egg on top, because the egg only touched 2 of the 4 pieces.  I liked dipping my leftover crust in the egg yolk, so I could've used more egg.  The bacon was actually thick chunks of pancetta and were a nice touch

Breakfast Pizza

Joe got the Huevos Rancheros.  It was good, but just a warning, it came out looking more like Eggs Benedict, not the typical Huevos Rancheros you are used to.  The poached eggs on top looked delicious though.  Joe said it was not what he was expecting, but that it was good.

Huevos Rancheros

NOTE: Jessie and Joe went back to Pastaria for brunch recently and Jessie ordered something the waiter said contained procuitto - it came out and was basically slices of ham.  I think she's over Pastaria's brunch, but will gladly join you for lunch or dinner there - Cacio de Pepe!!!

5 Star Burgers

I went to 5 Star Burgers the other day for lunch in Clayton.  I've been missing a good burger place ever since Fatted Calf left and 5 Star does not disappoint.  Their burger selections are unique and it's hard to find a burger that's been done before, besides their original burger.  I decided to try their green chile burger and it was great.  It had great texture and great chile flavor and had just enough kick without being overly spicy.

As a side my coworker suggested their cheese curds.  What are those?!?! They are kind of like mini mozzarella sticks but instead of being breaded, they have a flakey shell of fried batter around them.  AMAZING!  I'd probably get a large order for the table next time and would skip the fries.

For dessert they have the perfectly sized ice cream shooters.  We all got the salted caramel and it was a great end to a great meal!

Southwest Diner

Jessie, Joe and I decided to try Southwest Diner a few months ago for a Sunday brunch.  It is located in Ellendale, which is a teeny tiny municipality around the Dogtown/Maplewood area.  We were excited to try it out because we heard it had authentic New Mexican cuisine.  The restaurant itself is very small with diner style tables and chairs crammed in every possible space.  They don't take reservations, so once we got there, we had to awkwardly stand in the doorway with a crowd of people and fight to give our name to a somewhat absentee host.  We then had to wait out on the sidewalk for about 40 minutes until we finally got a table (during our wait time we were able have a lengthy discussion/debate over the great city of "Ellendale").

Bloody Mary Time!

So what exactly is New Mexican cuisine like?  SPOILER ALERT - It is spicy as hell!  Jessie and I got the New Mexican Breakfast Burrito.  We got a choice of what type of chile sauce we wanted with it, and we chose the green chile sauce over the red, thinking it was less spicy.  Big mistake!  Apparently color codes are backwards in New Mexico, because green means HOT HOT HOT!  I love spicy, so I absolutely loved it, but there is a certain limit to spiciness.  It got to the point where my mouth was too numb to taste the actual food.  Maybe less is more for this burrito.

Spicy Breakfast Burrito

Joe got Carne Adovado - red chile braised local pork shoulder, 2 eggs, home fries and tortillas.  Sounds good, right?  Well, another aspect to the New Mexican spiciness (besides the heat) is the unique spices they use.  Joe let us try some of the pork shoulder and I almost spit it out.  It was heavily seasoned with some sort of earthy (i.e. tasted like dirt) spices that completely threw me off guard.  It was almost inedible to me.  I was shocked.

Carne Adovado

The saving graces of this brunch were the Bloody Marys and the Sopapillas.  They were awesome!  The person at the table behind us even tapped me on the shoulder when the waiter brought out the Sopapillas and asked what they were so he could order them.  I would go back just for a plateful of them.

Sopapillas - Amazing!

Quincy Street Bistro - Three Strikes and You're Out

Saturday night Joe and I went to Quincy Street Bistro with two friends, Ben & Megan.  The head chef, Rick Lewis, was labeled 2013 Chef of the Year by the St. Louis Post Dispatch so we were really looking forward to trying the restaurant.  We pulled up a little before 6:30pm and had a difficult time finding parking.  The restaurant is located directly off of Gravois Road at the Quincy Street (hence the name) cross street.  We again got excited that we were about to have a great experience due to how difficult it was to park.

Source

Once we got inside we put our name in for a table of 4 and were told that we would have about a 20 minute wait.  No problem since we all wanted a drink.  Joe bellied up to the bar with a $20 bill in his hand and waited at least 10-15 minutes to place his order for two beers (Strike One).  Ben then waited his turn to order two cocktails and had a similar wait.  They did have a few local beers on draft like Perennial, Civil Life, Urban Chestnut, AB (ha!), and an out of towner with an Abita on draft that Joe tried and liked.

After waiting nearly 30 minutes we were seated in the upstairs dining room.  There is a downstairs dining room that includes the bar and then an upstairs dining room.  We were sat next to a window that was letting in quite the draft on a cold January night....close to a strike two but it was an old building so I cut it some slack.

The menu is mainly filled with comfort food that all sounded very appetizing.  We all ordered a main dish and no appetizers or desserts.

Jessie - Buttonwood Farms Roasted Chicken Leg Quarter with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, I choose a side of Mac and Cheese to accompany the dish.  I WISH I would have taken a photo of the dish when it came it. It had to be the smallest chicken leg quarter I had ever seen.  I think I only got about six bites of chicken from my serving.  To top it off the mac n cheese lacked any flavor and definitely lacked salt.  Whereas the mashed potatoes were overly salty due to the salt infused gravy.  (Strike Two)

Joe - Stuffed Pork Loin with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, he choose Apple Sauce as his side.  Joe was the winner of the evening as his dish was a huge portion and actually tasted delicious. Lucky Joe.

Megan - Glazed Meatloaf with Chips and Mac and Cheese.  Megan is a bit of a meatloaf connoisseur and she seemed rather disappointed in her meatloaf that evening.  She also was very unhappy with the mac n cheese and even said "I don't even taste the cheese"....not a good sign.

Ben - Buttonwood Farms Fried Chicken with mashed Potatoes and Gravy and  Mac and Cheese.  Ben's dish looked substantial but he was not overly pleased with the taste of any of the components of his dish.

Dinner service was overall average with the bar service being very poor.  The bathrooms were clean but were also freezing, not fun.  

To top everything off, one member of our dining party became ill during the middle of the night and thinks the cause was the dinner (Strike Three).  Needless to say we will not be returning to Quincy Street Bistro and we hope this post will save you from experiencing this place as well.  

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.

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!

Pastaria - Pumpkin Bacon Gelato

Happy Fall!  For all of you who haven't gotten enough pumpkin this Fall, I highly recommend stopping by Pastaria in Clayton to try their pumpkin gelato with bacon crumbles.  It has a strong pumpkin flavor with the added saltiness and nice crunchy texture of the bacon mixed in it.  There is honestly no bacon flavor at all, yet I think the gelato would almost lack something if there wasn't bacon in it.  Trust me on this...it's not weird... it's delicious!!!

 



Pumpkin Gelato with Bacon Crumbles



Groom's Cake - Sarah's Cake Shop

Here's a wedding throwback in honor of Ryan's 30th birthday today!

 

I wanted to surprise Ryan at our Rehearsal Dinner with a customized Grooms Cake.  Maybe I watch too much Cake Boss on TLC, but I wanted to go all out with fondant figurines depicting Ryan playing beer pong (his favorite sport) with the KU Jayhawk (his favorite team) with our two dogs (our babies) as the spectators.  I sketched out my idea and then sought out someone to execute it.  Sarah's Cake Shop had created my sister's wedding cake the year before and, granted, her cake was a traditional three tiered cake...nothing out of the ordinary, I have been obsessed with their cakes and cupcakes every since.  I met with the cake designer there and showed her my sketches and she said, "No problem!"  The day of they delivered to the restaurant ahead of time and it was there waiting for us after rehearsal at the church.  Easy as that!  Check out how it turned out below (It's red velvet, by the way).

 

Ryan's Groom's Cake

I was also lucky enough to have my sister/Maid of Honor order specialized mini red velvet cupcakes and red, white and pink funfetti cake truffles from Sarah's Cake Shop for my bridal shower a few months before.  Let's just say Jessie over estimated the head count and ordered a bit too many... leftover cake truffles for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  YAY!

Funfetti Cake Truffle and Mini Red Velvet Cupcake

Make sure you check out Sarah's daily cupcake menu here!  Their blueberry pancake cupcake available on Tuesdays was yummy!  My next proposed conquest...salted caramel available on Fridays!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Brussel Sprouts I Actually Want To Eat

I always thought I didn't care for brussel sprouts until I finally tried making them.  I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit that sounded intriguing so I decided to try it (with some tweaking of course).  The brussel sprouts turned out amazing and they have now become a side dish staple at our house.  Our dad even requests them at summer BBQs (odd but we are happy to oblige since it is such a tasty dish).

Side note: the pre-chopped Volpi pancetta is one of my favorite products.  You can find it in the cheese/prepared foods area of both Schnucks and Dierbergs.  The nice thing is that it comes with two individually wrapped packages of pre-chopped pancetta so you can use it for another meal as well.  We enjoy the pancetta (after being cooked) mixed in with our scrambled eggs!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. EVOO (divided)
• 1/2 pkg. of Volpi Chopped Pancetta (found in prepared foods area of Dierbergs and Schnucks)
• 1 pound Brussel Sprouts (look for firm sprouts that feel heavy for their size)
• Cut off the root end.
• Peel off one outer layer of leaves
• Rinse
• Chop (just make a mess, they taste better in smaller pieces we think)
• Kosher Salt (to taste)
• Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
• Granulated Garlic (to taste)

Heat 1 tsp. EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the pancetta and cook until  the fat has rendered.  Drain the pancetta on a paper towel lined plate.  Add 1 tsp. EVOO to the same large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the brussel sprouts and stir to coat.  Stir occasionally for the next 10 minutes.  Season to taste with kosher salt, ground black pepper and granulated garlic.  Stir to combine and re-add the pancetta.  Cook an additional 5 minutes then serve warm.

Macaroni Monday @ Square One

Happy Macaroni Monday!

 

What?!  Not an official holiday where you are from?  Well it is at Square One Brewery in Lafayette Square!

That's right, every Monday from 5pm to 9pm, you can build your own Mac N' Cheese!  You start with a bowl of elbow macaroni with one of six sauces (i.e. Buffalo, Cajun, Alfredo, BBQ, etc.) for just $2.25. Then you choose up to 7 different cheeses (including cheddar, smoked cheddar, Swiss and Gorgonzola) and add a variety of veggies and meats for an additional cost.  I think half the fun is choosing the options; however, if you aren't feeling super creative, there are a handful of chef's special combinations already created for you to choose from, for example, the Smokehouse – Smoked pork/bacon/red onion/BBQ Sauce and Cheddar cheese.

 

I decided to go all out and make a Monster Mac meal for myself - Alfredo Sauce, Cheddar Cheese and Smoked Cheddar Cheese (why not?!), Spinach, smoked tomatoes, bacon, and an Egg Over Easy on top.  It was insane!  Super cheesy, yet still plenty of liquid from the sauce (how I like it!)  I highly recommend the egg on top because once you slice it open the yolk runs through rest of the dish and mixes really well with the cheese sauces.  And of course you can't go wrong with bacon in anything!

 

Josie's Monster Mac Creation

The portion was plenty large too!  I probably shouldn't have finished mine, but I did (of course!)  And if you don't entirely get your creative fix, they also have Build a Burger Tuesdays!  Also, it doesn't hurt being at a local brewery to wash down the grub with some craft beer!  My choice... anything hoppy!