Robin

Earlier in the day, I read that Chef Alec Schingel of Robin had received a James Beard semifinalist nomination. Just to set the stage...

This place is worthy of a special occasion and their four course prix fixe menu is simply, a work of art.

I am so fortunate that this restaurant is in my back yard on the strip in Maplewood!!

Luckily Patience was with me so we could order two out of three dishes for each course, ignoring the "vegetarian" option. On more than one occasion, she scored the best dish.

While I will be sharing our dishes, please note that the menu changes seasonally! But I promise that you'll be blown away, no matter when you go.

First, I need to talk about our drinks for the night. The server said they are known for "Our Martini" made with a Giardiniera Washed Gin and Vermouth Up. The washed gin gave the cocktail such a full mouthfeel! I don't usually order something like that and it ended up being a good palate cleanser between bites.

Our Martini

Patience ordered the Prairie Schooner, which was sweeter and less boozy than mine. It came with a beautiful ice cube with an "R" in the middle. Later, she ordered a "small carafe" of Pinot Noir (Climat Frais SLO Coast), which is very adorable and holds two glasses. Instead of "wine by the glass", Robin offers the eight ounce carafes or a full bottle. A cost efficient method I assume?

Prairie Schooner

For a Prix Fixe dinner, I was surprised to see additional snacks and bread service at the top of the menu, so of course we had to try them!

The snacks were fairly small so as not to make us too full, although I think they should have used a smaller plate so it didn't seem as sparse. I also would have preferred two of the smaller items to prevent any fighting among us. Although, I will note that we were well behaved and tried to take half bites to share.

The snacks included summer sausage, cranberry goat cheese tart, liver corn cookie, and giardiniera. Please don't ask me to pick my favorite.

Snacks

It turned out that even though we loved the cultured butter than came with the bread, we mostly used the bread to mop up all the sauces and ended up ordering two more servings!

The first course, I chose Smoked Whitefish Soup, which was perfect on a cold day. Lots of celery and fennel with every bite, and the fish at the bottom.

Smoked Whitefish Soup

Patience chose the Venison Tartare, which was artfully decorated with black radish, deviled egg yolk, and benne, which is like a sesame seed.

Venison Tartare

I was really jealous of Patience's second course dish, the Fresh Cheese Dumplings, since they were cheesy and full of fall squash, brown butter, and sage. It just melts in your mouth.

Fresh Cheese Dumplings

My Pan Seared Trout with braised greens, was still delicious, but it was no cheesy goodness. This is when I was just so thankful there were two of us so I could taste several different dishes. The fish and greens were resting in a broth that I ended up spooning up completely until it was gone.

Pan Seared Trout

The third course also made me super jealous of Patience's pick of the Braised Short Rib, and I knew she was going to order that no matter what. It was laid on top of mashed cauliflower with horseradish and shallots. So incredibly tender.

Braised Short Rib

My Roast Chicken was impressively cut into a rectangle next to a porridge of toasted oat, parsnip, and pickled black walnut.

Roast Chicken

Last but not least, the dessert course was a winner for me since there was a cheese dish just for me. Well, I'd like to think it was for me since I had no hesitation and knew I was ordering it. 

Piper's Pyramide displayed at the top, is a goat cheese with a line of smoked paprika in the middle., and the Kentucky Rose, a soft farmhouse-pressed cow's milk cheese on the left side, were both amazing and came with honey and apple butter on the side as well.

Cheese Plate

Patience enjoyed her Ginger Cake with brown butter ice cream, pecans, and rum caramel. It's very much her thing, but I'll take the cheese any day.

Ginger Cake

AND THEN Chef Alec came by with an extra dessert, which made for a lovely final touch on his part. It's his take on a gooey butter cake!!

Gooey Butter Cake

This place is perfect for a birthday or special dinner. Save up and bring someone who is good at sharing. This chef and this restaurant, is definitely worthy of a James Beard award.

Menu

Beverage List

Resources:

Robin = https://www.robinrestaurant.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Louie

I KNOW we went to Louie before because I remember how loud it was, and then we could never get a reservation ever again. Since it was our 13th anniversary, I wanted to do something special. So a 5:30pm reservation at the bar at Louie it is! 

I figure there must be a good reason it's impossible to get in and we should try again. (I was also inspired by a friend's pictures from their 9:30pm reservation the week before.)

The sound was much better this time, and we had NO problem eavesdropping on the ladies sitting next to us at the bar, not to mention making it easy for us to spy on their meals. 

We started with a complimentary glass of Prosecco and I ended up with a second one. Wild night!

I appreciate a fairly small menu, although the specials ended up capturing our attention.

I started with the Italian Salad, which had a much lighter dressing than the usual Italian restaurants around the Lou. I probably should have shared this...

Italian Salad

Patience was a little wild as well, ordering the Prosciutto di Parma, as her starter, which certainly could have been a meal by itself. I think she had already been planning on taking home her main course so she could have it as a second meal. She was able to make little prosciutto sandwiches in the pita bread.

Prosciutto di Parma

While I normally would have gone with the Roman Gnocco, the Cod special sounded interesting. The fish was fresh and light, and I ended up finishing the whole thing when I should have saved half. I should have known we would want dessert there as well.

Cod special with earthy grains

Patience chose the pasta special, a cavatelli with fresh vegetables. 

Cavatelli pasta special

Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong there.

We each got our own dessert, and you know I chose the chocolate ice cream bar. I did end up taking half of it home. 

Ice cream bar

Patience was way smarter and had the room to devour her blackberry crumble.

Blackberry Crumble with nuts

I'm not sure when I'll make it back, but our meal was amazing, and this place may never slow down.

Menu

Resources:

Louie = https://www.louiedemun.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Kokuu Ramen

I wouldn't normally post about a sushi or  ramen place unless it was something special like Menya Rui, but this place gave us both what we wanted...sushi AND ramen!

This place was slammed on a Saturday night and I don't think they allow you to call ahead to get on the waiting list. We waited in the car to keep warm until they called us, but luckily we only had to wait about twenty minutes. 

Patience always wants ramen and she enjoyed their Tonkotsu - ramen with pork.

Tonkotsu - photo by Patience Scanlon

I knew I was getting sushi, and Patience often pressures me to try new things. Big mistake! I didn't realize the one in front was a spicy tuna! My mouth was on fire! Pink lady in the back is more my speed.

Sushi money shot by Dan Elavsky

We all split the Gyoza (is that upside down on the plate?) and Crab Rangoon, which were generous portions!

Gyoza

Crab Rangoon

Not a large menu, but maybe the best Asian in Kirkwood?

Resources:

Kokuu Ramen = https://kokuuramen.com/