Boogaloo

Thanks to a Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/stlouis/), my friends and I hit another tapas restaurant, Boogaloo (http://www.boogaloostl.com/), in downtown Maplewood - but with a Cuban flare. We definitely lived up to the FAC tradition and ordered just about every tapas item on the menu in addition to three desserts.

I actually had been to Boogaloo before but I never turn down the chance to try other things on a menu. One friend ordered what I had last time, the plantain encrusted tilapia, with sweet potato-andouille hash, orange scallion remoulade. The tilapia is so light and the cream sauce that has sweet flavor.

Another friend ordered the muffaletta sandwich, which came with a good amount of meat, but you gotta like olives! Hehe Still, I was there for tapas. While I was a little nervous about all the spicy-sounding items, it actually worked out in my favor because most of the items were not spicy at all. So it might be disappointing to you if that is what you were expecting, but the spices just brought out subtle flavors instead.

The jerk chicken wings just had a hint of spice and came with a coconut sauce but even that was not too strong of a flavor so neither one overpowered the other.

The Louisiana crawfish cakes, again, were not fishy and you mostly tasted the breading. The jalapeno tartar sauce had no kick at all either. More tangy than hot.

The Brazil nut encrusted manchego cheese was definitely my favorite by far but like my friend said, it might as well had been a giant cheese stick. I did enjoy the romesco sauce since it was lighter and sweeter than typical marinara sauce.

My second favorite was the wasabi pea encrusted tuna with mango slaw. The wasabi sauce gave the tuna a little flavor but it was not hot at all like you normally associate with wasabi anything. The tuna was perfectly cooked. I was definitely wishing for more on the plate.

Of course the ONE item that surprised me is the one that didn’t really mention spice, so of course I was totally caught off guard. The andouille sausage had quite a bit of heat to it even though the Worcestershire glaze gave it a sweet flavor at first.

The spinach and artichoke empanadas were like fried baby tacos stuffed with the cream sauce but it had a stronger spinach flavor and not the creamy-dip flavor that we were expecting. At least the fried shell made it easier to eat. Hehe

Saving one of the best for last, the island style pork ribs were very good and the meat just fell off the bone making it very easy to eat. It still had too much fat for my taste but definitely one of the best items on the menu.

For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding, the tres leche cake with caramel sauce, and I got the chocolate brownie after being peer pressured into ordering the chocolate item since that’s normally what I get. But after all those tapas and taking bites off of everyone else’s plates, I was so full!

The brownie was very disappointing because it came out hard inside and out. After taking a Facebook poll, brownies should be somewhat moist or soft in the middle at least. But my friends loved their desserts…the bread pudding was sweet but was way too heavy to eat on top of a large meal while the leche cake looked light and fluffy.

The last couple of times the FAC has gotten together for “FACing” (a new verb that was coined), we were all dying to meet up for some sushi so I have a feeling that is going to be where we end up going next. But I still haven’t forgotten about Quintessential on St. Charles Main Street.

We thought Boogaloo would be too much of a bar atmosphere but it was just casual dining and as long as you don’t sit in the bar, you won’t get any smoke odors.

New Year of Reviews

So the New Year picked right back up where last year left off…lots of restaurants and lots of classes to attend and review!

Thanks to a Groupon (http://www.groupon.com), I got invited to try Jade (http://www.jadestl.com), a sushi restaurant located downtown. The restaurant is beautiful inside and there is a parking garage directly across the street. We had great service and my favorites were the Rainbow and Alaska rolls. I also go to try hot Sake, which I think is much better than when served cold because it seems a lot less potent when served hot. Hehe

The Food Adventure Club was supposed to go to Quintessential on St. Charles Main Street but I got a call the day before from the manager that they were going to close the restaurant for a staff meeting during our Sunday 5pm reservation. That’s our prime time for meeting so who knows if we’ll get to try it. It’s a really snazzy place, more like a lounge, and there is a bar area upstairs from the restaurant.

I was really disappointed about the cancelled reservation but Curt and Amy came to the rescue by picking out HuHot (http://www.huhot.com), which went into the spot vacated by Ruby Tuesday’s in West County. It’s Mongolian BBQ, which we have done before, so I didn’t have high expectations, but I was really pleased. They use much smaller bowls than other places but you are allowed to go back as many times as you want. The selection was MUCH better so there is something for everyone. Although this was a problem for me because I wanted to try everything!

My first bowl, I loaded up with all kinds of meats so that when I went back the second time, I did mostly vegetables. They have sauce suggestions with the amount of “heat” clearly labeled. VERY clean and good service.

A FAC meeting wouldn’t be complete without ordering dessert and I got to try the Khan’s Cake (chocolate) and the Molten Muffin. The muffin had hot fudge coming out of the middle and that was the better of the two. Curt and Amy had the Cheesecake Rangoons and we’re all hoping to go back sometime to try the Sweet Victory S’mores. How much fun would it to make your own at the table! Hehehe

Last but not least, the demise of the Whole Foods Galleria (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/st-louis/storecalendar.php) classes was greatly exaggerated and their first of the year was their famous seafood class! Curt has also become a convert now as well.

We started off with Oysters Rockefeller and yes, if it’s covered in cheese, it’s going to be fantastic! The oysters were followed by Panko-encrusted Sole with White Wine Butter Sauce. The best item of the night was the Ciopino Stew, which used tomato paste from a tube! None of us had seen anything like it before but they sell it at Whole Foods under the brand 360. The stew was amazing because it had so much quality seafood all mixed together: crabmeat, mussels, clams, squid, scallops, and cod. Several people ask for seconds on the stew because it was so good but I knew better and saved room for the last fish.

Chef Matt showed us how he cut the tilapia almost in two separate wings…but left them still attached at the very bottom. With one “wing”, he cut it down the middle, but just in the center. This way it could be folded on top of the other “wing” to form a pocket to hold the stuffing!

Unfortunately, the tilapia was a little fishy for me on a couple of bites but the stuffing really helped wash it down.

And the best thing about seafood class? Almost all the wines are white with one red at the very end.

Unfortunately, the cheese class at the Wine Merchant was cancelled for this month but I still have more classes coming up this month.