Thursday, December 15, 2016

Garden on Grand

Unfortunately, Garden on Grand has closed.

Our foodie friends, Jamie and Shannon, wanted to try Garden on Grand and we were intrigured to try someplace new. I was hoping it wasn't just all salads, but I would describe it more like Asian fusion.

The unique craft cocktails definitely stood out here. Manhazerac (love the name!) for Patience and a Brexit 75 for me.
Manhazerac

Brexit 75
Since we were the first ones to arrived, we picked out the appetizers. (You could probably make a meal out of them really.)

Pan Seared Duck Dumplings (pot stickers) and the risotto (a special for that night) were also winners.

Risotto
But wait, there's more!

There are only a few entree selections, but there is something for everyone in addition to the specials of the night.

Patience went with her go-to, Fried Rice, but their version came with coconut oil with shrimp.

Shannon dared to try the Roasted Salmon, which has gotten great reviews and was probably the best entree of all.

Roasted Salmon
Here is Jamie's burger. -record scratch-  At least they used a 6-year cheddar cheese to melt all over it.

The Burger and Fries
And here is my entree...wonder what's inside?

Covered dish...
I ordered the special of the night, Baramundi, a white fish, which came with cherry tomatoes and white beans in a broth.  It was good, but the salmon was really the way to go.



Of course dessert happened. Shannon and Jamie got their favorite, bread pudding, which went quick, so I'm thinking it was a good choice.

Bread Pudding
Patience ordered the Panna Cotta all to herself since I was way too full and there wasn't any chocolate besides the chocolate stick.

Panna Cotta
Be sure to make a reservation for a weekend night, or else you might want to wait until spring. Since we didn't have a reservation and had to sit by the door, it was quite chilly whenever the door opened.

Resources:

Garden on Grand = https://www.thegardenongrand.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Pie 5

My coworkers and I decided to venture out from Clayton to try someplace new for our weekly team lunch. I think this is the fastest pizza I have ever ordered.

Pie 5 is located right off of Hanley near the new Manard's so it was very easy to get in and out of and there is plenty of parking in the strip mall.

As you can see, there is plenty of seating and the wall of windows makes it very bright and airy.

Large, airy dining room
I would recommend studying the menu first so you don't hold up the ordering line. There are quite a few choices that you need to make concerning the crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings.

You can build your own pie or order a suggested combo. You know I had to make my ultimate pizza of black olives and mushrooms (along with a few other veggies since there is no limit).

I chose the traditional Italian crust since it was my first time, but the classic pan is the way to go so that the dough will hold up all your toppings.

A lot of choices on the menu!
So...many...toppings!! I just kept piling it on... sauce AND sliced tomatoes!

Lots of toppings to choose from.
And they have one of those cool soda machines where you can select from several choices. Although there is only one so I felt bad when I took forever to look at all the options.

Perfect place for a lunch! They even have a "bundle" price if you want a drink and side salad to go with it, although the pizza was plenty by itself.

Resources:

Pie 5 = https://www.piefivepizza.com/

Dark Room Dinner

Since the Dark Room is in between the Fox Theater and Powell Hall, we normally stop by for an after-show drink. Every single time, Chef Samantha comes out and asks if we wanted something to eat and we just weren't hungry so late at night.

So we promised to make a date to go there JUST for dinner and to try her handmade, gnocchi of the week. Luckily there were a few other goodies on the menu as well!

We were greeted by a cute, little sign at the bar and Kelli was right there to start pouring for us!

Our reservation waiting for us...
The Dark Room is known for their wine list so we each picked out a favorite in addition to trying the Featured Wine from the special dinner menu for the night. The wine list is quite lengthy so I actually recommended just telling the sommliers your preferences and have them narrow it down for you.

Wine selection
Of course we had to have some cheese to pair with all that wine! We usually order the cheese plate as a late night snack, but ordered it as a starter this time.

Cheese plate
To make things simple after that, we just ordered one of everything off of the featured menu. The first course was the Chef's Soup Bowl, vegetable beef that came with fresh bread.

Vegetable Beef with bread
Of course the main course was the weekly gnocchi...they're huge! These are Zucchini Gnocchi with roasted brussel sprouts, crimini mushrooms in a creamy gorgonzola dolce sauce. I wish I had room for a second order....

Zucchini Gnocchi
Dessert was no joke either...we each got our own S'mores Pie a la Mode! Serendipity's Tahitan Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was served on top of a cake with marshmellow "stuff" on top. So filling!

S'mores Pie a la Mode
The featured menu changes weekly, but they do have a few staples on the menu such as hummus and a couple of flatbread pizzas that are great as last night snacks. While there is a weekly gnocchi, the flavors change frequently.

Featured Menu
In case you haven't heard, the Dark Room will be moving inside the Grandel Theater at the beginning of February, and the menu will be expanded even more!

Hopefully, a future blog post from the new location will happen in 2017!

Resources:

Dark Room = http://www.thedarkroomstl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Parigi Jewish Deli Breakfast Popup

Unfortunately, this restaurant has closed.

I was SO stoked when I saw that Ben Poremba was putting on a Jewish deli pop up for brunch! Not only are these all my favorite foods, but I was happy to finally check out his new restaurant Parigi. It is high on my list for dinner as well.

The paper menu was placed in front of us as we sat down and I thought that was nice to share a thank you note. Unfortunately, it took the server's help to explain that we had to flip it over to see the actual menu! hehehe

Thank you note
AH! Much better! One of everything please!

Menu
Ok, we really didn't order one of everything, but we sure tried! We started off with a Breakfast Cocktail (think baking spices) and a Mimosa (it's huge).

Patience ordered coffee and a Breakfast Cocktail

My mimosa
You know we had to have a bagel and lox (Smoked Salmon Plate) and I believe there was homemade schmeer! All the "fish appetizers" came with cucumber, capers, red onion to top the bagel. Plenty of lox to heavily cover each side of my bagel...but that was just warm up!

Smoked Salmon Plate with cucumbers, capers, and red onion
Here is a beautiful completed bagel...so pretty I could cry!

Bagel with smoked salmon, cucumber, capers, and schmeer
Adorable blintzes... with jam on top. One for each of us so no fighting!

Blintzes
Patience loves egg salad so that was an easy pick. I didn't realize it was also available at Olio!

Olio's Famous Egg Salad

Then we saved another favorite for last, matzah ball soup! We each got two small "sinkers"!!!


Matzah Ball Soup

I know there is a second one coming up THIS Sunday, December 18th, and I hope he'll do more throughout the year. There weer so many things we didn't get to try like latkes, chopped liver, Beef Tongue, and white fish all were calling to me.

And you better come hungry if you dare to order one of the sandwiches!

I could eat this food everyday for breakfast!!

Resources:

Parigi = http://www.parigistl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Thursday, December 8, 2016

PW Pizza Civil Life Beer Dinner

We finally made it to the last PW Pizza beer dinner of 2016 at the end of November, his time featuring a local favorite, Civil Life Brewery. I did notice they moved this dinner into a larger dining space since they are so popular.

This one was an all-round winner since I loved all the courses...and the beer wasn't too bad either. hehe

We started off with a Roasted Butternut Squash Soup...perfect for the fall. This was paired with their Kolsch (one of my favorite styles), so this was my top pairing.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
The Cuban pizza was topped high with goodies...the dill pickle was interesting! This was paired with their Alt Bier that was pretty hoppy.

Cuban Pizza
The Shepherd's pizza is exactly what you think it is... lamb, roasted carrots, corn, English peas, mashed potato, and brown gravy! I actually really enjoyed it and the fact that it was on the pizza made it easy to eat this dish. (Almost forgot to stop long enough for a picture!) This was paired with the heavier Premium Bitter.

Shepherd's Pizza
Finally a chocolate dessert! Boston Creme Pie Cupcake had the creamy goo in the middle and I got to enjoy a couple of these thanks to my tablemates! It made sense to pair this with a milk stout that was actually fairly light.

Boston Creme Pie Cupcake

Menu
Check out the different logos...one for each year...one of them is actually based off of a real person!

Anyway, I am getting smart this year and I signed up for all ten beer dinners in advance since I had to miss a few due to them selling out early. You can call 314-621-1996 for reservations.

2017 PW Pizza Beer Dinners
Resources:

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Civil Life = http://www.thecivillife.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon