Andre Mack at Madrina

When Andre Mack, sommelier and winemaker, and now YouTube star, comes to town, everything else must wait.

Madrina, one of my favorite restaurants, got to host the first wine dinner. Andre is such a cool dude with such great stories, but at the end of the night, his Maison Noir wines are killer and just go so well with food. 

We started the evening with an Aperol spritz along with grilled oysters out on the patio! Lovely...

Grilled Oysters

Moving inside, the first official course was Tuna Carpaccio, which I'd never had before. It melted in my mouth. I got to try a new wine to me, the New Noir, which is an orange wine. 

Tuna Carpaccio

I was most looking forward to the Lobster Roll, although this was in a chilled style. The seafood was smartly paired with the OPP Pinot Gris.

Lobster Roll

Next up was a Fire Roasted Corn Risotto, an interesting combination in the rice dish but it worked!  The acide of the "Oregogne" Chardonnay cut through the creaminess of the risotto!

Fire Roasted Corn Risotto

I was also looking forward to the Ricotta Gnudi with roasted shiitake mushrooms since it's one of my favorite Italian dishes after Agnolotti. Theses were huge! And stuffed with cheese! We got a double taste of the "Oregogne" Pinot Noir and the In Sheep's Clothing Pinot Noir to compare and contrast. This was my favorite pairing of the night!

Ricotta Gnudi

And the last dish gave a backyard BBQ feel with a Grilled Short Rib on top of roasted squash and polenta. This was well paired with Maison Noir biggest red wine, the Horseshoes & Handgrenades Red Blend.

Grilled Short Rib with Roasted Squash and Polenta

Definitely a once in a life time wine dinner!

Andre Mack telling wine stories

Maison Noir Wines - Madrina Menu

Maison Noir wine lineup

Resources:

Andre Mack = https://www.andrehmack.com/

Maison Noir Wines = https://maisonnoirwines.com/

Madrina Italian Restaurant = https://www.madrinastl.com/

Stews Food & Liquor

I KNOW! I KNOW! I'm late talking about this place, but only because I was holding out for the time in which I could actually eat there.

I have been there for drinks, and I still don't know how this tiny, little place with a tiny, little bar, can have some of the best cocktails in town.

I chose a Gin drink of course, Second to Last Word. Love the play on words.

Second to Last Word

My friend chose this ginormous drink, a Stewie Wallbanger! Good thing she is a professional.

Stewie Wallbanger

This place also stands out for it's Asian dishes. It caught me off guard, but I'm impressed since it has to be a tiny, little kitchen. I ordered the Cucumber Salad and Orange Sesame Chicken, as well as a side of rice. All the dishes seemed to be huge portions so you either need to split them or take half home.

Cucumber salad and Orange Sesame Chicken with white rice on the side

My friend had the cold noodles with shrimp.

Cold noodles with shrimp

We arrived right as the  doors opened in the middle of the week since this place is so small. Any other time, you'll have to find a spot on the patio. 

It's definitely worth the field trip to Soulard!

Cocktail Menu

P.S. Props to the Keyser Soze reference on the cocktail list as I'm old enough to have seen that movie in the theater.

Resources:

Stews Food & Liquor = https://www.stewsstl.com/

Songbird

I don't normally go to brunch, but when the birthday girl is available all day, you have to take advantage!

I'm a fan of Chris Meyer, as she used to have Kitchen Kulture in Lindenwood Park. I used to wave at her through the window during COVID while on my walks.

We pretty much just shared everything, and there is still so much more to try!!

My pick was healthy... the Sprouted Grain English Muffin that came with a chicken sausage patty, omelette, topped with pickled red onions and micro greens!

Sprouted Grain English Muffin

Yet, the better sandwich was the "The Combo" since it contained three slices of aged white cheddar on toasted sourdough along with an egg. There may have been bacon but I'm ignoring that. This was so cheesy good.

The "Combo" sandwich

The Huevos Rancheros was a bit too spicy for me, so I just mopped up the runny egg part. This dish was very heavy, so beware!

Huevos Rancheros

BE SURE TO MAKE A RESERVATION! The wait time was around 30 minutes and the line was out the door.

Resources:

Songbird = https://songbirdstl.com/

Aperi

I had no idea Aperi was a Spanish-style tapas restaurant because I did NOT do my proper homework. So let me do it for you and tell you that it was an amazing experience. 

Aperi

You should bring as many friends as you can because you'll want to try as many things on the menu as possible!

As someone who loves to order as much as I can, Patience and I took it up a level and chose the Chef's Tasting, which included several of the dishes on the menu as well as some elevated items. Then we didn't have to make any other choices the rest of the night.

Our "anniversary friends" Matt and Alisha, ended up just ordering off of the menu directly, so we really got to try SO many things! 

Anniversary Dinner Friends, Matt and Alisha

The four-course Chef's Tasting often came with multiple items, so there was plenty of food without being overwhelming. I was stoked when we started off with oysters, since that's what I wanted most off the regular menu. Of course I wanted ten more, but it's just as well we didn't have too many since there was so much more dishes to try!

Oysters (East Coast)

My friends started with the House-Made Ricotta, which came large toasted bread to mop it up with.

House-Made Ricotta

Next up for Patience and I was beef carpaccio topped with watermelon radishes and cheese! These homemade chips were perfect for picking up the slices of beef since they were so sturdy. I hope they offer the chips for other dishes because they are amazing. One of my favorite dishes of the night.

Beef Carpaccio

Chips

Both sides of the table ordered the Fried Brussel Sprouts since it's Patience's favorite vegetable and the server said it was their most popular dish. They were served in a black sesame foam so I thought they were actually not bad. Frying them to a crisp is probably the way to go, and I could see why they are so popular.

Fried Brussel Sprouts

A perfect spring or summer dish, this citrus salad with beautifully cut oranges and grapefruit, with pistachios, olives and feta cheese on top. This was definitely a winner for me with so many of my favorite flavors together on one plate!

Citrus Salad

Next up, we started to get into the "meat" of our dinner with the Galician Octopus and Agnolotti. Agnolotti is one of my favorite pastas ever, and they were just adorable! (It's the main reason I agreed to the Chef's Tasting.) The octopus was so delicious with the greens and sweet potatoes, and I didn't feel they were chewy at all. Tasted more like well cooked fish instead.

Galician Octopus

Agnolotti

My tablemates also made excellent choices this round with the Croquetas de Bacalo, filled with fish and a remoulade sauce on top. Yet, the big winner was the Braised Pork Cheek served in a tomato brodo with basil butter on top! Almost too pretty to eat and my friend and I just kept spooning up the tomato from the bottom of the bowl.

Croquetas de Bacalao

Braised Pork Cheek

Last, but not least, was the dessert course, and we got two at once! The Creme Brulee with peaches stood out as the Amaro Sundae was too bitter for me. 

Creme Brulee

Amaro Sundae

My friends and I shared the Basque Carrot flavored Cheesecake. It was a unique take on the combination of concepts, but you really have to like carrot cake with the texture of cheesecake. 

Basque Carrot Cheesecake

If you had to ask me what I'd recommend from the menu, I'd have to pick the Fried Brussel Sprouts and the Octopus, which even surprises me. If you can, the Chef's Tasting is the best way to order if you don't mind a food adventure.

Menu

Resources:

Aperi = https://www.aperistl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Goddesses of the Glass at The Fountain on Locust

The Goddesses of the Glass event was my second event in a row celebrating women in food and beverage! This one was held at The Fountain on Locust, who paired their regular menu items with the selected wine, sake, and cocktail that was the focus of the evening. 

Darryl Vennard was our host as he explained their connection to exceptional women!

Wines and Sake

Honestly, I was also interested in trying some of the Fountain dishes that I normally would never order. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the pickle soup, and it lived up to the hype! The Fukucho sake was an interesting pairing, but it did cut through the thickness of the soup.

Pickle Soup

The Spinach Artichoke Dip was shared at the table, and this totally could be a full meal. It's very addictive to eat and it stood out because there weren't huge chucks of artichokes to get in the way. Every bite was super creamy. This made the Heron Sauvignon Blanc a good pairing, although normally something more crisp would be required. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

The Prosperity Panini was actually a vegetarian sandwich of spicy hummus, tomato, onion, red pepper, and zucchini. With all those rich flavors, the Graffito Malbec was able to stand up to it. Unfortunately, I was so stuffed from the previous courses, I had to skip the bread. I would definitely recommend this to a vegetarian friend, although you could add turkey or ham to this sandwich when ordering it off the menu.

Prosperity Panini

One last Fountain classic was the World's Smallest Ice Cream Sundae and you better believe I somehow found room for this dessert! The Epilogue Cocktail made up of Kamora an Fernett Branca was a bit too bitter and heavy for me.

World's Smallest Ice Cream Sundae

Hopefully there will be more themed dinners on Monday nights while they are closed!

Menu

Resources:

The Fountain on Locust = https://www.fountainonlocust.com/