Monday, May 30, 2022

Little Fox

I forgot to ask what the "Little Fox" says, so I guess I'll have to go back!

Seriously, I finally found a friend willing to celebrate their birthday with me, giving me an excuse to get to try out this well-hyped restaurant. My coworker rehabbed a home in the Fox Park area during COVID and constantly raved about this place to me. It was at the top of my list for my birthday back in January, but I think this worked out better to wait, as dining on the patio area made the experience top-notch.

I was really torn about the menu...normally I prefer to try as many small plates as possible, but they seem to be more "side dishes" to go with the entrees. Regardless, we picked something from each section of the menu.

I let the birthday girl pick a "snack", the 'Nduja Croquettas.

'Nduja Croquettas

I immediately knew I wanted the Green Tomatoes from the Small Plates section, while Patience just had to get the Short Ribs. These two together would have made a nice meal together.

Green Tomatoes

Short Ribs

Patience couldn't get enough beef apparently and ordered the Flatiron Steak entree.

Flatiron Steak

The birthday girl chose the Pork Chop.

Pork chop

I picked the Pan Roasted Cod, which covered three out of four entrees!

Pan Roasted Cod

Desserts were quite pretty as well...

Strawberry layered dessert

Interesting cocktail list with something for everyone. Here is my Little Fox Martini.

Little Fox Martini

My favorite, Love Shack, was fun and fruity and I could down these easily.

Love Shack

Pai's Corner Office and Pink Negroni definitely had a lot going on!

Corner Office

Pink Negroni

Be sure to plan in advance and make a reservation if you want to get in here!

Cocktails and more...

All the dishes...

Resources:

Little Fox = https://www.littlefoxstl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Monday, May 23, 2022

Bowood by Niche

My normal photographer was not available and I dropped the ball on taking pictures BEFORE taking a bite, so you'll mostly have to go by my say so. (And my photographer is not afraid to take a quick snap of friends and family members dishes too.)

How can you not be a fan of Craft's restaurants, and this was the perfect spot for a Mother's Day dinner. I have no doubt that brunch there is quite busy, so this was a much better pace and a prix fixe meal made the choices simple.

The creamy asparagus soup was everyone's choice as the small plate or starting dish. The clumps of goat cheese were pretty tasty too. I really wanted to lick the bowl.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

The trout was the popular pick for the main course, although my father predictably chose the short ribs. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, he really enjoyed his meal.

Trout with braised greens

Dessert was an easy winner with the chocolate hazelnut tort, although my parents picked the strawberry shortcake. Each course was plenty filling too. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Tort

Definitely a lovely restaurant for upscale family dining with lots of natural light and green plants for a cheery atmosphere. 

Hopefully this makes up for the fact that I never made it to Cafe Osage. 

Resources:

Bowood by Niche = https://bowoodbyniche.com/

Saturday, May 7, 2022

PW Pizza Left Hand Brewing Beer Dinner 2022

Left Hand Brewing is one of the more popular small batch breweries and they have appeared in this series before in 2016 and 2019, as well as an online version last year. I'm also kicking myself because we drove through Longmont, CO while touring the state last year. (And I was pissed that New Belgium was closed the day we were there.)

Left Hand Brewing Can Lineup

Anyway, we started off the night with something new, Bacon Cheeseburger Pinwheels. Also new, starting off the night with an IPA. I guess to cut through all the meat and cheese? 

Bacon Cheeseburger Pinwheels

The first pizza of the night, The Luau, definitely had a Hawaiian theme with the pineapple and ham, but the BBQ sauce made it not too piggy. Strangely enough, this was paired with their famous Milk Stout in the Nitro can. Ours didn't have much PSSST, so I am wondering if it was a little flat. It's definitely a smooth drinking stout though. 

My favorite pairing of the night was the Chicken Caprese, which was totally covered in cheese. The small container in the picture below held the balsamic drizzle that went on top. The St. Vrain Tripel Ale rang in at a whopping 9.3% ABV, but was the easiest to drink of the night.

The Luau Pizza on the left, and Chicken Caprese on the right

Since Patience was missing this evening, we saved the Peanut Butter Milk Stout (nitro of course) for her and drank the other beers with a Gooey Butter Cake. You know I added chocolate sauce to it!

Gooey Butter Cake

I am pleased to report that we've had almost all completely different beers each time, other than their famous Milk Stout, which has made several appearance. Here are the links to the previous versions.

2016 PW Pizza Left Hand Beer dinner = https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2016/02/pw-pizza-left-hand-beer-dinner.html

2019 PW Pizza Left Hand Beer dinner = https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2019/02/pw-pizza-left-hand-brewing-beer-dinner.html

2020 PW Pizza Left Hand virtual beer dinner = https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2020/09/pw-pizza-left-hand-brewing-virtual-beer.html


Left Hand Brewing Menu

Resources:

PW Pizza = https://pwpizza.com/

Left Hand Brewing = https://lefthandbrewing.com/

PW Pizza Wiseacre Beer Dinner 2022

Wiseacre is one of the breweries we stopped at while doing a tour of Memphis in 2016! Patience was super into beer at that time, so we visited several that trip. We have fond memories...

Wiseacre Brewing Can lineup

The first course was my favorite this month because I'm such a big fan of wings. The wings were roasted dry-rubbed, and was paired with the lightest beer, Tiny Bomb, a Pale Lager.

Chicken Wings paired with Tiny Bomb

I wasn't too thrilled there were TWO piggy pizzas on this night's menu but I have to admit the combinations were really good. The first pizza, Carbonara, had a ton of cheese on it. That's my kind of pizza! This was paired with a Bow Echo Hazy IPA... I guess to cut through all the cheese?

Pulled Piggy Pizza on the left, Carbonara Pizza on the right

The second pizza, a Pulled Piggy, was smothered in BBQ sauce, gruyere, and onions with the option to top the pizza with coleslaw. Damn good idea! Again, another IPA called Ananda was paired in order to cut through the BBQ sauce and cheese.

And I couldn't forget a beer name like this: Gotta Get Up to Get Down Stout...definitely one of Pai's favorites. This was well paired with dessert, although it wasn't chocolate. The Tiramisu was pretty tasty with the coffee flavors standing out and going well with the stout.

Tiramisu

So when you road trip to see Elvis, make sure to stop by...

Wiseacre Brewing

Resources:

PW Pizza = https://pwpizza.com/

Wiseacre Brewing = https://wiseacrebrew.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon