Greek Wine dinner at Parker's Table

I admit I don't know too much about Greek wine, but I definitely love all the Mediterranean food, so it was a no brainer for me to sign up for Parker's Table monthly wine dinner.

I also knew I was in good hands when I saw my wine distributer friend, Matt!

Matt, the wine guy

The first course was called Poseidon's Salad since there were a few fish friends - octopus, calamari, and mussels included. The white wine paired with this was very light and crisp.

Poseidon's Salad

The second course was yogurt marinated chicken with olives and feta in a sumac sauce. For this course, it was paired with both a red and a white. The white had a little more body than the red! 

Chicken Souvlaki

The third course was Beef & Pork Meatballs on top of cous cous, which was paired with a bigger red Greek wine that was able to stand up to a meat dish! I was impressed! I usually think that Greek red wines are light like Pinot Noir, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Beef & Pork Meatballs

Yet, the dessert course was my favorite because the Vanilla Yogurt Panna Cotta with pistachio crumble and apricot jam just melted in my mouth. I didn't even miss that there wasn't any chocolate on top! This was paired with a Pistachio Cream Liqueur, so delicious!

Vanilla Yogurt Panna Cotta

Be sure to go to the Parker's Table website to get on their mailing list. That will let you know when the next wine dinner is coming up!

Menu

Resources:

Parker's Table = https://parkerstable.square.site/

Savage

It's BethFest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it just so happened that one of Beth's favorite restaurants was offering a ten course dinner since, sadly, the restaurant was planning to close.

Beth is a huge fan of Logan Ely and everything that was Savage. I'm so glad we were able to send it off with an amazing dinner.

Beth and Logan

Ten courses does seem like a lot, but you will see that everything was appropriately portioned. The first three courses were an amuse bouche too. On the ends are wakame bread, feta, and radish. In the middle are mushroom arancini with sorrel, surrounded by melon over camembert.

Amuse Bouche

Every dish is almost too pretty to eat. The other cool thing they did was not tell us what the courses were until the end because they wanted it to be a surprise.

Course 4 - Hamachi, Summer Greens, Fermented White Asparagus

Hamachi, Summer Greens, Fermented White Asparagus

Course 5 - Local Wheat, Eggplant, Parmesan

Local Wheat, Eggplant, Parmesan

Course 6 - Crawfish & Carrot Custard, Smoked Trout Roe, Seagrass

Crawfish & Carrot Custard, Smoked Trout Roe, Seagrass

Course 7 - Potato Dumplings, Broccoli, Maitake

Potato Dumplings, Broccoli, Maitake

Course 8 - Halibut, Sungold Tomato

Halibut, Sungold Tomato

And now for TWO dessert courses!

Course 9 - Salted Lemon Granita with Peach

Salted Lemon Granita with Peach

Course 10 - 

Raw Sugar Cake, Berries, Oatmilk, Corn

Please don't ask me to pick a favorite. Everything was amazing. All I can say is that the sauces for each were exquisite!

I admit it's hard to share food adventures to restaurants that are closing, but it's fun to have these amazing meals on record.

Resources:

Logan Ely = https://www.instagram.com/logan_ely 

Pared wine dinner July

Since the first one was so epic, I decided to go back to another Pared wine dinner! This one was focused on rosé wine pairings as the event was named "War of the Rosés" to make it extra special. 

With the rosés being from all over the world, I was blown away by the extension research that went into these pairings.

You can go back and read my post from a couple of months ago here, as I went into more depth about Chef Liz and Sommelier Shannon there: https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2025/07/pared-wine-dinner-may.html

Names of the dishes are based on which country the rosé is from!

The first course with a Spanish theme was like a fluffy potato pancake with a small potato chip on top, that held a dollop of salted cream and caviar! Inside the "flowers" were gooseberries!

Tortilla De Patatas Y Caviar

The second course with an Italian theme was an Arancini ball filled with a creamy rice mixture and a small slice of Branzino on top. The charcoal around the plate was a nod to volcano Mount Etna!

Arancini E Branzino

The third course with a French theme was a lamb cassoulet on top of white beans and a baby endive on the side, fig on top. Definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Cassoulet d'Agneau Avec Salades de Figures

The fourth course with a California theme was a pork loin mignon. I'm not a huge fan of piggy, but I could not get enough of the couscous! This was paired with one of my favorite rosés of the night - a Turley White Zinfandel!

Pork Loin Mignon

The fifth course, again with a Spanish theme, was simply a two-year Manchego cheese and charcuterie with compressed watermelon, which was quite the explosion of flavor on its own!

Queso Y Salchicha

Menu for War of the Roses

Rose lineup

Resources:

Work & Leisure = https://workandleisurestl.com/

1111 Mississippi Festivals of Italy wine dinner

I love being on everyone's email list so I know when special events come along, such as the Festivals of Italy at 1111 Mississippi. I missed the wine dinner last month, but was actually free this week to be able to try one out! This one focused on the Umbria region.

For a prix fixe, you get two wines and three courses, which was just the right amount for me! This also introduced me to wines I probably wouldn't pick for myself otherwise. This wine theme reminded me of wine dinners at Katie's Pizza and Pasta where she would feature a different region each time.

(This also made me miss the monthly PW Pizza Beer dinners that we attended for years since the hostess at 1111 Mississippi is still there.) 

The first two courses were a little heavy for summertime, but everything was delicious nonetheless.

Since there was no official pairing for the first course, a cup of Braised Lentil & Italian Sausage Soup, Patience ordered a glass of bubbles to start.

Braised Lentil & Italian Sausage Soup

The Palazzone "Terre Vineate" 2023 was light and crisp, which helped to cut through the thick, creamy sauce of the Housemade Tagliatelle covered in Pecorino & Black Truffles.

Housemade Tagliatelle with Pecorino & Black Truffle Cream

The Antinori "Bramito Della Sala" (Chardonnay) 2023, Umbria IGT, had too much oak for us, and didn't pair all that well with the Herb-Crusted Trout. The first glass paired better with this, or perhaps we just prefer a lighter-bodied white.

Herb-Crusted Trout with Cherry Tomato, Olive Relish, Farro & Spinach

No room for dessert at all!

And I'm curious to see what will be next month!

Umbria Region Menu

Resources:

1111 Mississippi = https://1111-m.com/

Pared wine dinner May

Thanks to my friend Beth, I was able to attend the first Pared wine dinner with Chef Liz and Shannon Behnen at Work & Lesiure.

Sommelier Shannon Behnen and Chef Liz

I am a big fan of the both of them as I used to regularly attend Chef Liz's "Tenacious Eats" dinners where she pairs a multi-course dinner with a movie! Then I also have been attending many of Shannon's wine classes at Vom Fass in Maplewood and occasionally at Randall's on the Hill as well.

Since this was the first, Chef Liz went all out and had SIX courses with wine and cocktails! OMG did we get our money's worth! Also, the theme for the evening was female winemakers (with one distillery) and I look forward to drinking more of their wines and gin!

Wine lineup with one gin

The first course was very sweet with cane sugar and macerated strawberries, which I'm allergic to, so I mostly devoured the Cremoso cheese on the side. Paired with a Tapiz Malbec Rose.

Cane Sugar and Macerated Strawberries with a whipped cheese on top

The second course was a cured yellowtail with romaine lettuce, white Shiro miso cream, and toasted pine nuts. Loved the yellowtail!! Paired with a Thistle & Weed Chenin Blanc.

Cured Yellowtail with Romaine Lettuce

The third course was a rabbit schnitzel with a quail egg on top, and spaetzle on the side. Paired with a Furd Pinot Gris. This was a huge course so I knew I needed to save the second piece of schnitzel for another day.

Rabbit Schnitzel with Quail Egg and Spaetzle

Around this time, a huge bread platter arrived and they were all heavenly soft. I tried to stay away since there was already so much food, but this came in handy to clean up sauces.

Bread platter

The fourth course was a Golden pomodoro with toasted fennel, fresh basil, penne noodles, and a crisped guanciale and parmesan on top. Paired with a Tregole Chianti.

I was already so full at this point, but two more courses to go!

Golden Penne Arrabiata

The fifth course was a smoked beef filet with citrus creamed spinach and pickled cherry tomatoes. What a sauce! Definitely wanted to lick the plate! Paired with a Turley Zinfandel.

Smoked Beef Filet

The sixth and final course, for dessert, was a sweet Ube angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Paired with a Koval Gin cocktail, that could have been a dessert course all to itself. One of the best cocktails I have ever had. I wish I knew the name of it...it was just beautiful.

Ube Angel Food Cake

Let me know if you need help signing up for the next one!!

Resources:

Work & Leisure = https://workandleisurestl.com/

Brook & Bull Wine Dinner at Parker's Table

When I saw the Parker's Table email about a female winemaker and wine dinner, I instantly remembered the name, Brook & Bull, from a wine club meetup we had last year!

I learned that Brook & Bull's name come from two types of trout, since the winemaker's name is Ashley Trout. She was incredibly sweet!

Ashley Trout

And I also remembered the gorgeous labels on her bottles...

Brook & Bull lineup

This wine dinner was unique in that it was a vegetarian meal, so I was curious how the courses would be paired with the wines. Everything was delicious and well paired together after all, so I hope to do more wine dinners at Parker's Table in the future.

We started the evening off with a glass of the Rose, not too sweet and not too dry, just right!

The first course paired a Chardonnay with egg salad on a crostini (I got to have 2!) and a grilled endive salad. The Chardonnay has just a touch of oak so it had enough body to stand up to the creamy egg salad without overpowering it.

Egg salad and Grilled Endive

The second course was a cheese course!! Fior di Alpi, a Swiss cheese, Drunken Goat, and a blue cheese. (More wine dinners should probably have these, although I admit, I tend to overdue it.) This was paired with a Cabernet Franc, which I was surprised that she did not use to mix into a blend, but instead, let  it shine on its own.

Cheese course!

The main course was a huge arancini patty with vegetables, which is one of my favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant! This was paired with a "GSM" blend, although there were a couple of other grapes, Syrah and Counoise, included. Since this red blend is a little bigger than the Cab Franc, it definitely needs to be paired with food.

Arancini and vegetables

For dessert there was chocolate!! A pots de creme! It was so creamy and delicious, and rich, so the Cabernet Sauvignon was a good choice, although definitely a bigger red. Not as big as Napa Valley, but still big, so it should definitely be paired with something that can stand up to it.

Pots de creme

Menu

I hope to find more reasons to drink Brook & Bull wines!

Resources:

Parker's Table = https://www.parkerstable.com/

Brook & Bull = https://www.brookandbull.com/

Expat

I could not wait to try the new BBQ place from Niche Food Group since whatever they do is always amazing. I was not disappointed and thought it lived up to the hype, mostly from Amy Burdge.

The restaurant has an industrial feel to it and our private room had concrete walls. Since the restaurant is on multiple floors, I hear there is a "Meat Rollercoaster" where the food is delivered inside a cooler along a track. Not to mention, it's patio season and it looks rather large! The "expatio"!

When we first sat down, we were given complimentary chips and salsa! Caught me off guard for a BBQ place, but I'm not going to say no.

Chips and Salsa

I have a weakness for Deviled Eggs and luckily two orders covered our whole table. Delicious, with a crunchy potato chip on top.

Deviled Eggs

Another popular starter was the Brazilian Cheese Popovers, and I wouldn't blame anyone if they just made this their meal.

Brazilian Cheese Popovers

The Kimchi Hush Puppies couldn't compete against the other starters, since the kimchi flavor was mild.

Kimchi Hush Puppies

Luckily, I had my dining partner with me, so I was able to split the turkey plate with my friend Beth, although I ended up taking a lot of it home, including her mac and cheese side. I managed to avoid the jalapenos in it! I definitely recommend the potato salad as a side as well. Huge chunks of potatoes!

Turkey plate with cornbread, and sides of potato salad and mac and cheese

Pai ordered the spare ribs with collard greens. I got to try a rib and the meat was so tender! The greens were not as stellar as my sides.

Spare BBQ Rib plate with side of Collard Greens - Photo by Patience Scanlon

We were lucky enough to have a birthday girl at the table and got to try ALL of the desserts. Let's just say, if you can save room, it's worth it. The shaved ice desserts were really interesting and light, but the pineapple crisp and spiced chocolate brownie are the best!

Tiger's Blood Shaved Ice

Hurry up and go already!

Menu

Resources:

Expat = https://expatstl.com/