Pan Pa'ti

After a couple of friends were inducted into Les Dames d'Escoffier International, I noticed that they offered a few fundraising events open to the public. I usually jump at all the opportunities to learn about small businesses who are bringing new food and drink concepts to the St. Louis area.

I did not know anything about Venezuelan bread, but quickly learned from a young couple who created a company called Pan Pa'ti. 

They make sweet treats...

Bread with fruit filling and coconut on the outside

And savory breads...

Small, hand pocket - almost too pretty to eat

Savory ham and cheese inside!

But they are best known for their cachitos! Look how beautiful this is! Hand rolled with smoked ham or turkey, cheese, raisins, and olives. 

Cachito

For now, you can find them every Saturday morning (from April through October) at the Lake St. Louis Farmer's market and you better get there early before they sell out.

Resources:

Pan pa'ti = https://www.facebook.com/panpatiusa/

Lake St. Louis Farmer's Market = https://www.lakestlouisfarmersandartistsmarket.com/

Les Dames d'Escoffier International = https://ldei.org/

Sado

My friends had raved about Nippon Tei for years, but since the restaurant was out of our typical driving zone, we just never had the desire to make it there. 

Then when I heard that the restaurant was moving to the city, I had hoped that I'd get my chance, but strangely, it didn't last long. 

So when everyone started raving about this NEW restaurant, Sado, I knew I had better not snooze for a third time. 

For my pick for "date night", I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Normally, this would be a special occasion kind of place, and looking at the final bill would agree with me, but I'm glad we didn't wait and miss out either.

From what I had read online, it appears that Sado is the place to order nigiri, but the "Cold Starters" list was lengthy and I didn't want to miss out on those either. There were several items I wanted to choose, but I knew I had to save room for the nigiri. 

I ordered the Seaweed Salad, since it's one of my favorite Japanese dishes, and Patience picked out the Pork Belly Steam Bun, which was also delicious. I wouldn't have minded one of my own honestly.

Seaweed Salad

Pork Belly Steam Bun

To add to the difficultly of ordering, there were daily specials tucked into the front of the menu. I figured we should order some of those as they were limited in availability.

Daily Specials hidden in the front pocket of the menu

The list of nigiri and sashimi on the specials menu was also lengthy as they were on the main menu, so I thought we could pick one from there. (These were a bit pricier than what was listed on the regular menu.) We ended up ordering two servings of the Hamachi Tataki, seared yellowtail belly, since it was so good.

Hamachi Tataki

From the regular menu, Patience picked the best nigiri by far, Daiba Hotate, which is dayboat hokkaido scallops. Again, we ordered a second set of these.

Daiba Hotate

My selection was a salmon nigiri since that's one of my favorite fish and it melted in my mouth.

Salmon nigiri

We did ball out once as Patience wanted to try one of the "high end" nigiri called "Ito" from the Specials Menu, which is Wagyu beef. Again ,melted like butter!

Wagyu nigiri

I figured we should at least order one roll each to cover the last area of the menu, and the Shibo Maki had to be one of the best rolls I have ever had.

Shibo Maki

Patience's Old Yokai Maki was just as beautiful.

Old Yokai Maki

We still ordered a couple more nigiri since we had a little bit more room. Although I lost tracked of which nigiri was which at this point. They're all so beautiful, but boy did our bill get out of hand quickly! LOL

Wild Caught Yellowtail Nigiri

Hirame Nigiri

The staff is highly attentive and it was nice that any of them could deliver an order as soon as it was ready so we could keep the stream of courses coming.

We also opted for the cocktails, since we relied on the restaurant to create drinks that would pair with the courses. I picked a winner, as my drink was very smooth. The cocktail list was more manageable when compared to the rest of the menus and I still tried something new! This is the Seoulful, a soju-based cocktail. 

Seoulful

Definitely put this restaurant on your special night out list!

Resources:

Sado = https://www.sado-stl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Deli Devine

I went opening day to the new Jewish deli because I couldn't wait. I was that excited. Ever since Pumpernickel's closed, the addition of a new Jewish deli became even more critical to my world.

Now, I was not expecting to actually order food that day, but I at least wanted to see where it was and how it worked. That first day was quite chaotic, so even though I feel like I am one of the last to actually try it out, things were a lot more calm the second time around. This time, on a Wednesday afternoon several months later.

Deli Devine is actually a small restaurant inside the larger Delmar Devine building, tucked on the side. There is not much parking in front of the deli, so I just immediately drive past the building and park on Belt Ave down the street. I do feel for those homes who now will probably have cars constantly parked out front. (I'm still not sure why people put up buildings without considering the parking since this IS St. Louis.)

Anyway, just head to the doors under the beautiful neon lit sign...

Shalom! (Photo by Amy Burdge)

Even though it's an "order from the register", the service was incredible from a one-man-band host that was working the floor. As soon as I walked in, he gave me the tour of the menus (there are two...one for sandwiches and one for bagels) as well as where to order. While I sat and studied the menus, he promptly arrived with a cold glass of ice water, perfect on a overly hot day. 

It was a very tough pick, but since I was there for lunch, I was going sandwich with sides! There are cold and hot sandwiches, and I always prefer hot. Turkey Reuben on Rye AND pickle spear.

Turkey Reuben on Rye

I HAD to order a knish since you don't come across them too often. This one is potato. Ditto for noodle kugel...although it'll never be as good as Mom used to make.

Noodle Kugel (top) and Potato Knish (with gravy at bottom)

But if you want a bagel or bagel sandwich, you do like Amy, and order from the register on the left as opposed to the main register in front (right).

Even the Matzah Ball soup was the proper density! (SINKER ALL THE WAY!)

Matzah Ball Soup and more pickle spears

Then the wonderful floor host collected our trash from the table.

The highlight of our visit was seeing Maxine Clark eating her lunch in the corner that day and visiting with other guests. She pointed out the pictures of her family that help decorate the walls, and you could see how much it meant to her. 

If you want to hear more about Maxine Clark's genius idea, you can listen to her story here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-1-maxine-clark/id1686215240?i=1000611626241

I hope this is the start of more good things to come for the city of St. Louis.

Sandwich Menu

Bagel Menu

Resources:

Deli Devine = https://bengelina.com/deli-divine

Annie Gunn's Lunch

I have not been to Annie Gunn's since May of 2014, to celebrate a friend's birthday. I had never been for lunch either, so it was awesome to just go on your average Saturday for a ladies get together!

Needless to say, we won't be needing dinner and I had already skipped breakfast...

Patience and I started with oysters, which were a bit on the small side, but tasty nonetheless.

Oysters

Babsy is more of a regular and she wisely encouraged me to check out the cheese sampler board and the smoked fish sampler board, instead of looking at the entrees. We got one of each and shared!

Cheese Sampler Board

Smoked Fish Sampler Board

In addition, we split an heirloom tomato and goat cheese dish. The tomatoes weren't super ripe, but they were the perfect vehicle for the large amount of goat cheese slathered all over the place.

Heirloom Tomatoes with goat cheese, onions, and balsamic

Patience was told with NO hesitation that the French Dip was where it was at and she devoured it.

French Dip and fries

Julia ordered the highly recommended burger, and I'm a little sad I didn't get a bite.

Cheeseburger and fries

Even though she was totally stuffed, Patience somehow made room for Creme Bruelee. 

Creme Brulee

This place is always busy, but always a special treat. Worth going for a special occasion or just a Saturday!

Resources:

Annie Gunn's = https://www.anniegunns.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Katie's Pizza and Pasta Ballpark Village

I cannot tell you how many times I have written about Katie's Pizza and Pasta since I used to regularly attend their "passport dinner series". Before that I found my first post from the original Clayton location in 2011 and my first time at the Rock Hill location in 2013. Ah, the good ole days!

And those that know me are well aware that it's one of my most favorite restaurants in the STL, so of course I had to go "opening day" last month. The weather was perfect for patio seating too!

Most exciting about the Ballpark Village location (other than the view...)

The view from Katie's Ballpark Village Patio

...is that there are a few new "special items" on THIS menu, which I had to try:

My appetizer...Beef Tartare... a treat I don't order too often...

Beef Tartare

Then for my main course...

Chicken Parm

Katie's version of "Chicken Parm" with fresh greens and tomatoes piled high on top. (It took me three nights to eat this!)

I also hope to go back as they have a salmon dish and a couple of steaks as well.

When you're downtown for a game, just take a walk though the restaurant as it is GORGEOUS.

Life goal: to sit at the corner booth.

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = https://katiespizzaandpasta.com/