Andre Mack at Madrina

When Andre Mack, sommelier and winemaker, and now YouTube star, comes to town, everything else must wait.

Madrina, one of my favorite restaurants, got to host the first wine dinner. Andre is such a cool dude with such great stories, but at the end of the night, his Maison Noir wines are killer and just go so well with food. 

We started the evening with an Aperol spritz along with grilled oysters out on the patio! Lovely...

Grilled Oysters

Moving inside, the first official course was Tuna Carpaccio, which I'd never had before. It melted in my mouth. I got to try a new wine to me, the New Noir, which is an orange wine. 

Tuna Carpaccio

I was most looking forward to the Lobster Roll, although this was in a chilled style. The seafood was smartly paired with the OPP Pinot Gris.

Lobster Roll

Next up was a Fire Roasted Corn Risotto, an interesting combination in the rice dish but it worked!  The acide of the "Oregogne" Chardonnay cut through the creaminess of the risotto!

Fire Roasted Corn Risotto

I was also looking forward to the Ricotta Gnudi with roasted shiitake mushrooms since it's one of my favorite Italian dishes after Agnolotti. Theses were huge! And stuffed with cheese! We got a double taste of the "Oregogne" Pinot Noir and the In Sheep's Clothing Pinot Noir to compare and contrast. This was my favorite pairing of the night!

Ricotta Gnudi

And the last dish gave a backyard BBQ feel with a Grilled Short Rib on top of roasted squash and polenta. This was well paired with Maison Noir biggest red wine, the Horseshoes & Handgrenades Red Blend.

Grilled Short Rib with Roasted Squash and Polenta

Definitely a once in a life time wine dinner!

Andre Mack telling wine stories

Maison Noir Wines - Madrina Menu

Maison Noir wine lineup

Resources:

Andre Mack = https://www.andrehmack.com/

Maison Noir Wines = https://maisonnoirwines.com/

Madrina Italian Restaurant = https://www.madrinastl.com/

Stews Food & Liquor

I KNOW! I KNOW! I'm late talking about this place, but only because I was holding out for the time in which I could actually eat there.

I have been there for drinks, and I still don't know how this tiny, little place with a tiny, little bar, can have some of the best cocktails in town.

I chose a Gin drink of course, Second to Last Word. Love the play on words.

Second to Last Word

My friend chose this ginormous drink, a Stewie Wallbanger! Good thing she is a professional.

Stewie Wallbanger

This place also stands out for it's Asian dishes. It caught me off guard, but I'm impressed since it has to be a tiny, little kitchen. I ordered the Cucumber Salad and Orange Sesame Chicken, as well as a side of rice. All the dishes seemed to be huge portions so you either need to split them or take half home.

Cucumber salad and Orange Sesame Chicken with white rice on the side

My friend had the cold noodles with shrimp.

Cold noodles with shrimp

We arrived right as the  doors opened in the middle of the week since this place is so small. Any other time, you'll have to find a spot on the patio. 

It's definitely worth the field trip to Soulard!

Cocktail Menu

P.S. Props to the Keyser Soze reference on the cocktail list as I'm old enough to have seen that movie in the theater.

Resources:

Stews Food & Liquor = https://www.stewsstl.com/