Restaurant Review: The Block

Last week, we had a Viz dinner at The Block Restaurant and Butcher Shop, Marc Del Pietro's new restaurant in Webster Groves.  The Block opened this past June and we were wanting to try it!  As the name implies, this is the place to get good cuts of meat... so vegetarians beware!  The atmosphere was very unique, with big wood panelling at the Bar near the entrance.  The room then curves around into a large open dining area and the lighting consists of single lightbulbs hanging by a wire from the warehouse style ceiling.  We went on a Wednesday night and with a party of six we got seated right away.

Coincidentally, this picture was taken from the exact seat,
at the exact table, that I sat at in the restaurant

Last week was St. Louis Craft Beer week, so the Block, like many other restaurants, had some local craft beer specials.  They had a special beer menu that paired local beers with the food specials that day.  I am just ecstatic that O'Fallon Brewery is back in business, and I can't pass up my favorite new hoppy beer, Hemp Hop Rye, so of course I ordered a glass.  The menu had a variety of foods, mainly meat of course, but a few fish items and a small section of flatbreads.  However, the waitress told us that they had a "few" specials that night and ended up rattling off like 6 or 7 off-menu items.  We kind of zoned out after the 4th or 5th special and had to have her ask to repeat the last couple.  With the specials, they also announce the butcher's beef cut of the day, which was Grass Fed House Butchered Rib Eye at $24.  Luckily they had a smaller (and cheaper) beef option with a petite filet special.  We started with two appetizers, just for fun.  I really wanted to try the jalapeno corn muffins and they were so good!  There were only two per order so we got 2 orders for the table (at $4 per order).  It came with a topping that almost looked like creamed spinach, but it turned out to be a really tasty butter spread to put on the corn muffins.  It was a nice surprise!  And luckily for Jessie, the jalapeno part of the corn bread was not spicy at all.  Kara really wanted to try one of the more fun items on the appetizer menu, fried green tomatoes.  They were a fun and light appetizer and reminded me of my days down south at law school, where such item is always on restaurant menus.  However, they were a little pricey at $8 for a small portion.

Jalapeno Corn Muffins

Then our group tried a variety of items from the menu (and off the menu), such as the petite filet, flatbread, pork chop, St. Louis staple pork steak, and one of the enticing special menu items: ‎3 Little Piggies Sandwich, which is a Breaded Pork Cutlet, Smoked Bacon & Country Ham, Swiss Cheese, Tomato, Lettuce, Tabasco Mayo on a Hoagie Roll.  It looked really good!!!  I wanted the pork steak, because I knew in St. Louis it would be cooked right, but it came with a sweet honey barbecue sauce that I had a feeling would be too sweet for my liking, Jessie and Josie Hughes got the pork steak and I had a bite and I was right, the sauce was way too sweet for me, however the cut of meat was perfect and it was really tender.  I stuck with a pork chop, which I haven't eaten in a long time.  It was a good cut of meat, but a little tougher than I remember.  I asked them to substitute the apple slaw for some sauteed spinach but they ended up substituting my potatoes for the spinach, leaving me stuck with the slaw.  Bummer!

Pork Chop with Apple Slaw and Sauteed Spinach

Pork Steak with Honey BBQ Sauce

My favorite menu item (coming in close second after those jalapeno corn muffins) was the mac n cheese I ordered extra as a side.  You can order either a small bowl of mac n cheese or a large portion and have it as your meal.  You can also add bacon to it.  I was being "semi-healthy" (ha!) and ordered the small portion without bacon.  The mac n cheese has a really good sauce, that wasn't overly creamy and actually had some juice to it, which I love!  And surprisingly, even without the bacon, it had a lingering smoky flavor that really made it stand out.  Definitely 2 thumbs up for their mac n cheese!

Mac N Cheese

Overall, the Block was a good restaurant, but rather expensive for what we ordered.  I liked the atmosphere, the cuts of meat and the appetizer/sides.  When I go back again, I am definitely going to go to splurge and get whatever the butcher's beef cut is that day, because it looked mouth watering good.  I'd even like to go on a weekend night, when it is more crowded, and have time to sit at the fun looking bar for a drink before being seated.  And I'd definitely get the jalapeno corn muffins and mac n' cheese again!  Yum!!!

Restaurant Review: Sugo's

With all of the new Del Pietro restaurants popping up, Jessie and I decided to try the classic Italian cuisine at Del Pietro's Sugo's Spagehtteria, located in Frontenac.  We are a little turned off by the restaurant's location in a strip mall (with the door shut, you can't even tell the restaurant is open), but when you walk inside you get to experience a rustic setting with hearty wood tables and tiny tealight candles lighting up the large dim room.  Once our eyes adjusted, we ordered a glass of wine while we waited for a table (even on a Tuesday night, the place was packed).  There really isn't a bar, but rather a long wooden table with several bottles of wine sitting on it.  And no bartender, simply the hostess turning around and grabbing a bottle and glasses.  There is a make-shift waiting area off to the side with 3 taller circular tables, right next to the people eating. 

Front door of Sugo's Spaghetteria

Once we finally got seated, we didn't see our waiter for a while.  We were so thirsty Jessie actually got up and grabbled us some water from the side table, because no one would wait on us!  Although our wait was long, once we gave our order, the food came out in less than 5 minutes!  In fact, we didn't even have time to get bread.  Luckily a really smiley guy (who was not our original waiter) noticed we were missing bread but had our food and offered to get us some.  He continued to help us out the rest of the night... we named him "Smiley."  We liked him.

On one wall there is a huge chalkboard with the entire menu and the specials of the day.  The great thing about Sugo's is the simplicity, they really get it right.  The menu only has a handful of different items to choose from for each meal category (salad, antipasti, pasta, pizza), so you'd think it would be really easy to choose, but all of the items sound so good, it is actually hard to eliminate your choices down.  This post is here to help you choose: THE LASAGNA!  Jessie got Lasagna and it was to die for, not to mention the size of my head!  I definitely recommend splitting this item, or be smart like Jessie and eat half and save the other half for lunch the next day.  I think my favorite thing about the lasagna are the tomatoes they use.  They were really tangy and gave the lasagna a really big pick-me-up.  I also loved the big square shreds of fresh parmesan cheese on top.

Jessie's Lasagna

I decided to order the pasta special of the day, Pasta Diavolo, which is angel hair pasta with scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams in a spicy tomato sauce.  It was awesome!  I probably should have saved some to take home but I could not stop eating it.  And luckily Smiley brought us some bread, because the leftover sauce was so yummy to dip my bread in.  Like the Lasagna, there was something rich and tangy about the tomatoes that really added to the dish.



Josie's Pasta Diavolo

 Over all, Sugo's Spaghetteria exudes simplicity.  From the decor and ambiance, to the menu and food.  For people who like good rustic Italian food, I would definitely swing by Sugo's (and get the lasagna!).  And for all of you West County and St. Charles peeps, don't worry about coming out to Frontenac because Del Pietro also has Babbo's Spaghetteria in the Chesterfield Valley which is an identical clone to Sugo's, right down to the wooden tables, chalkboard menu and lasagna!  Note: Wine lovers, also try Del Pietro's contemporary wine bar, Via Vino, next door to Sugo's.

Del Pietro's on Hampton will soon be Mathew's Kitchen

It seems that Del Pietro's on Hampton (where Josie, Joe and I ate not 4 months ago) has closed. But good news is coming in that a new restaurant called Mathew's Kitchen will be opening in its place!

This news was just sent to me by my city alderman:

Mathew and his wife Maggie are long time city residents wanting to start their new business in the city. They will be serving comfort food with a twist along with Napa Valley wine. Their menu looks awesome. They are planning on being open October 1.