Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Boathouse at Forest Park

I had to look back through my posts to see when the last time I went to The Boathouse. I know I stopped by for a beer and burger with friends since then, but the last official event there was back in 2010 for a shrimp boil.

So it's been a minute...

And thanks to the new ownership by the Sugarfire crew, I had a really good reason to return. (Plus, Patience really wants to ride in the paddleboats for some reason. It seems like a lot of work to me.)

Since it was a beautiful Friday and the happy hour time frame, I got the expected "40 minute wait" response from the hostess, but luckily our friends had already gotten there early. So just a heads up...if you want to go and sit outside...get there early or just accept there will be a wait!

Because it's worth it...

We started out with the Smoked Crispy Chicken Wings...not too hot, just right amount of spice and everyone got two. No fighting!

Smoked Crispy Chicken Wings
I started with "The Hill" salad, which wasn't all that close to the Pasta House original version, but I still enjoyed their take on a "St. Louis salad" with all my favorite ingredients. For my main course, I chose another appetizer: the Smoked Brisket & Provel Toasted Ravioli. Keeping it local, but loved the twist and the "meaty" insides. This dish even came with BBQ sauce instead of marinara.

The Hill

Smoked Briske & Provel Toasted Ravioli
Patience got one of her favorite dishes: shrimp pasta. But since it's Sugarfire, it's formal title is actually Smoked Chicken & Shrimp Penne Saute. (And there's andouille sausage too!)

Smoked chicken & Shrimp Penne Saute
Our friends ordered a pull pork sandwich (good job ordering BBQ) and a Volpi Meats flatbread pizza. Again, all the entrees were the perfect size. (I swear the pulled pork is under that side salad!)

Sugarfire Barbeque Pulled Pork

Flatbread pizza
Gotta love patio season! The menu is just as big of a hit as the view.

Resources:

The Boathouse at Forest Park = http://boathousestl.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

PW Pizza Civil Life Beer Dinner 2019

Patience and I had been looking forward to the Civil Life beer dinner the most for this year as her go to beer, the American Brown Ale, was one of the star's of this month's dinner.

We kicked off the dinner with my favorite beer of the night, the light German Wheat, and for the first time I had a Bierbrot! Much like a pretzel, but heavier and it came with a tangy dipping sauce called Obatzda, which is a Bavarian cheese delicacy. I had to research it, but it is made with two thirds aged soft cheese like Camembert and one third butter, along with a small amount of beer. It was heaven!

Bierbrot and Obatzda
The first pizza was a completely new flavor: Carolina BBQ Pizza. I have to admit, I don't think I've tasted too many Carolina BBQ sauces, but I really enjoyed the sweet and tangy flavor on this pizza. Believe it or not, but the pork and BBQ sauce were amazing, although the collard greens slaw was kind of in the way. I prefer my veggies to be more baked into the pizza than just sitting on top.

Civil life is one of the few local breweries that brews an Irish Red, and I almsot finished this beer as well!

Carolina BBQ Pizza
The new chefs are very much into the spicier flavors as for the second month in a row, we got a pizza that I didn't make it past the first slice.

The Rhone Bar Pizza, celebrating their sister restaurant down the street, included jerk chicken, mango, red onion, roasted jalpeno, monterey jack, roasted garlic oil,  mint-pepper puree, and cilantro. That's a lot going on! Appropriately, paired with the hoppier Pale Ale.

Rhone Bar Pizza
I was STOKED to see another chocolate dessert this month, and it made up for the spicy pizza course. Since I didn't fill up on pizza too much, I had room for almost two desserts. I would have loved some more! The American Brown Ale was definitely the perfect, as well as my favorite pairing of the night.

Frangipane Chocolate Ganache Cake
Looking forward to Civil Life's expansion!

Menu

Resources:

PW Pizza = https://pwpizza.com/

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

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Elmwood

There is another new restaurant on the corner of Manchester and Sutton and I really hope this one sticks! The space looks completely different...no more stage... and the kitchen is behind glass walls like fishbowl.

We went relatively early and there probably could have been some early bird specials for those who had already started dining before 6pm. It was definitely much quieter when we started than when we finished thanks to the high cielings, but the noise factor was not an issue.

The lighting, however, kept getting darker and darker the later it got, and with the storm outside, it was almost too dark. Great for a date night perhaps? Definitely not so good for our pictures here.

Other than the dark, hipster feel, the food spoke for itself much more brightly...

You must get the Wagyu Beef Jerky Skewers... they're quite addictive! We ended up ordering seconds...while some had thirds!

Wagyu Beef Jerky Skewers
And our other starter...baked and raw oysters... this is definitely the best cooked oyster I have ever had! Another must order!

Baked and raw oysters
I chose the Gnochetti Sardi for my main course. I figured it had to be some kind of pasta and I ordered a side of broccoli (I'm so healthy!) that I cut up and mixed in with the pasta. The broccoli came in it's own cheesy sauce, but I enjoyed the pasta the best.

Gnocchetti Sardi

Grilled Broccoli
Patience was torn between the lamb chop and the mussels. The mussels allowed her to have more beef skewers! hehe

Bangs Island Mussels
And of course we had to get dessert..Elmwood's take on a S'more, but there was a surprising spicy kick to the marshmellow part so I just dug under for the chocolatey goodness using the graham crackers!

S'Mores
I definitely will be making a second trip soon, and I hope this one lasts a while. Just be sure to bring your own flashlight!

Elmwood Menu
Resources:

Elmwood = https://www.elmwoodstl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon