Katie's Pizza and Pasta Ballpark Village

I cannot tell you how many times I have written about Katie's Pizza and Pasta since I used to regularly attend their "passport dinner series". Before that I found my first post from the original Clayton location in 2011 and my first time at the Rock Hill location in 2013. Ah, the good ole days!

And those that know me are well aware that it's one of my most favorite restaurants in the STL, so of course I had to go "opening day" last month. The weather was perfect for patio seating too!

Most exciting about the Ballpark Village location (other than the view...)

The view from Katie's Ballpark Village Patio

...is that there are a few new "special items" on THIS menu, which I had to try:

My appetizer...Beef Tartare... a treat I don't order too often...

Beef Tartare

Then for my main course...

Chicken Parm

Katie's version of "Chicken Parm" with fresh greens and tomatoes piled high on top. (It took me three nights to eat this!)

I also hope to go back as they have a salmon dish and a couple of steaks as well.

When you're downtown for a game, just take a walk though the restaurant as it is GORGEOUS.

Life goal: to sit at the corner booth.

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = https://katiespizzaandpasta.com/

Where we are quaran-dining in November 2020

Looks like we'll be doing this take out thing for some time...

November 6th = I finally let Pai pick for real this week and she was feeling "Greeky". She knows that I always want the Moussaka when she orders from Olympia.

Moussaka

November 13th = I think it's turned chilly for good now so a hot "Hebrew Hammer" ramen from Nudo was a good pick this week.

Hebrew Hammer from Nudo

November 20 =  My turn to pick again and I had INDO on my list for a while since I keep hearing it in the news winning so many awards! They are offering their full menu online so definitely wait for a special occasion night since it is pricy. I miss eating in the actual restaurant for the ambiance and a curated experience, but luckily, most dishes were properly labeled.

From top to bottom: Goyza, Japenese Eggplant, Chili Garlic Noodles, Palm Sugar Ribs

Nigiri, Poke, Crab and Fried Rice,and Benitoro

November 24th = Thanks to Thanksgiving leftovers, we skipped over "Take out Friday" this week and instead, we ordered Katie's Pizza and Pasta for "Give Back Tuesday". Katie's now delivers too!!

Margherita Pizza

Where we are quaran-dining

Yesterday I was asked where we are ordering from as I have been promoting a once a week "order out" to everyone.

I feel like A LOT of restaurants now have their curb side or delivery services set up so there are quite a few choices out there. But my strong recommendation is to order your favorites so that your favorites will still be there after this is over. Also, order local or hyper local in your area of town.

We have mostly chosen places that we can order through Postmates, but there are also a handful of delivery services so that you do not have to leave your house!

You can find a restaurant on the St. Louist Post-Dispatch's page:
https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/restaurants-where-you-can-get-takeout-and-delivery-in-the/html_fc41d5c6-d9ec-5031-858b-0236b6deb60b.html

Both of the STLfoodie magazines have lists on their websites as well.

Anyway, here is our list thus far:

Week 1 - March 18th: Our beer dinner was cancelled so we ordered PW Pizza. Looks like it's going to be cancelled agains this month as well.

Week 2 - March 27th: Pai was craving Mexican, so we ordered from Mission Taco Joint, which then lead us to purchasing avacados and queso each week.

Week 3 - April 3rd: When Pai isn't craving guac, she craves ramen. Nudo House was the easy choice there.

Nudo House Ramen

Week 3 1/2 - April 7th: We ordered various sundries from the Tower Grove Farmer's Market, which they deliver on Saturday mornings. Boxes of produce, meat, etc, go live on Tuesdays at Noon! We finally got our hands on some Larder & Cupboard jams and Baetje Farms goat cheese.

Larder & Cupboard Jam

Week 4 - April 10th: A this point, I had been getting inaundated with Pasta House emails. (They have some really good deals and they deliver!)

Week 5 - April 17th: Pai saw a Facebook post that Felix's Pizza would be selling all their pizzas in 18 inches! We also got the trashed wings too.

Week 5 1/2 - April 21st: I had ordered from Katie's Pizza and Pasta as they have switched to selling frozen pizza and pasta bakes. Since their delivery takes 3-5 business days to order, it made for an easy meal during the week. It's easy to order from their website, and it makes a great gift to someone (just make sure it's in their delivery range).

Katie's Pizza and Pasta - Pasta Bake

Week 6 - April 24th: Pai had ANOTHER crazing for Mai Lee. You can't go too long without it! Nothing really needs to be said here... you know how good they are.

Week 7 - May 1st: Since this question was originally asked by our friends in Webster Groves, they said they had ordered from Guerilla Street Food repeatedly, so I felt as though we needed to take our turn. We hadn't had it in forever and we had really missed it.

Guerilla Street Food Chicken Adobo

Week 7 1/2 - May 5th:We celebrated a friend's 40th birthday in her front yard spaced apart with Olympia Kebob House. It was a little messy to eat, but it made for a fun picnic.

Olympia House Baklava 

Week 8 - May 8th: Since the birthday dinner fell on Cinco de Mayo, we celebrated Ocho de Mayo instead with El Paisano, which is our neighborhood Mexican restaurant and I walk by it just about every day on my walk.

El Paisano 

Week 9 - May 12th: Pai wanted Nudo House again...she has to have it at least once a month! At least I mixed it up by ordering Yo Lo Mein with chicken this time around.

Yo Lo Mein with chicken

Week 10 - May 19th: SOMEONE wanted a margarito and we knew that we could get some to go from La Catrina, which is our friend's favorite place. I always get soft tacos and the usual rice and beans come with it. To prevent a fight, we each got our own bag of chips, guac, salsa, and queso! hehe We did have some leftovers, but definitely on purpose.

Tacos, chips, salsa, guac, queso, and margaritas!

Week 11 - May 26th: I've been focused on dining at restaurants in my neighborhood and luckily I have A LOT of options. I'm biased when it comes to Aya Sofia since the owners are good friends. I really should go more often and I really should order something different. But I get the same thing EVERY TIME! Musakka!!

Turkish Salad

Musakka

This was plenty for two meals!! And don't forget about dessert! Baklava!

Baklava

To see where we ate in June for Quaran-dining, go here: https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2020/06/where-we-are-quaran-dining-in-june.html

Katie's Pizza and Pasta Passport Dinner: Sicily

June's version of Katie's Pizza and Pasta Passport Dinner focused on Sicily, which is a big island and meant seafood!

Menu

The first course was Arancini, better known as risotto balls! I am thinking this would make a great addition to the appetizer menu!

Arancini

Arancini - The Inside

I was secretly thrilled to see eggplant on the menu and turned into a cute small plate called Panelle + Eggplant Caponata. Panelle is a Sicilian "fritter" and is a common street food. I think the eggplant on top gives it some class.

Panelle + Eggplant Caponata

Getting into the heavier courses, the pasta course was Handmade Busiati Pasta + Pesto Trapanese. You can't go wrong with any of Katie's handmade pastas! Check out the cheese on top too...

Handmade Busiati Pasta + Pesto Trapanese

The home run dish was the seafood course, like I had been expecting. This was a total money shot right here and you can see the prawn up front, two mussels, fried calamari in the middle, seabass in the back, all on a bed of couscous.

Trapani Cuscusu

Let's just say this dish even tops Eggplant Parmigiana and absolutely must be on the menu!!!!!! Write-in campaign time!!

Unfortunately, in all of our excitement over the last dish, we do not have any pictures of the dessert, Cassatelle Alla Trapanese. I can assure you we were way too full at this point to even give much attention, other than the hint of chocolate that it provided.

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = http://www.katiespizzaandpasta.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Katie's Pizza and Pasta Passport Dinner: Piedmont

After taking a month off, Katie's Pizza and Pasta resumed their Passport Dinner series with Piedmont. Luckily, I stopped by the week before for "Dining Out For Life" and got a chance to order the Eggplant Parmigiana, which was first featured at the dinner back in March!

Menu

We started off the evening with a fried squash blossom and a wine similar to a Chardonnay. Both this wine, and the Gavi up next, with its crispness, made for my favorite wines of the night.

Riori Di Zucca Ripieni

I was relieved that the first two dishes were smaller and very light, but thrilled there was so much cheese involved!

Artichoke Alla Bagna Cauda

The courses got a lot heavier very quickly as the pasta of the night was served in a cream sauce with mushrooms. Katie's pastas are just so amazing and I wish I could have had a heaping plate, but instead, I stopped myself halfway because I knew more was coming. The first red, a Barbera, was paired with this course.

Tajarin All'albese

Sure enough, Katie outdid herself again with the short ribs over a bed of polenta with carrots. Of course this was paired with a Barolo, another popular wine from Piedmont. All the big red wine drinkers loved this one. Again, I knew to only eat half of this dish and save it for later.

Brasato Al Barolo

After waiting months, finally a chocolate mousse-like dessert was served! Let's just say I informed my rather-full tablemates that I would be happy to help them out on this course and I ended up with four servings. Yes, it was incredible! I think if I ever visit Italy, I need to visit this northern area that's close to Switzerland!

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = http://www.katiespizzaandpasta.com/

Katie's Pizza and Pasta Passport Dinner: Campania

I probably should just sign up for the 6-month ticket for Katie's Passport Dinner series because I can't stop going. Each month, I'm so curious to see what is going to be on the menu and the only way to find out is to go!

We had a wonderful surprise waiting for us as a container of Katie's fresh homemade pasta greeted us at the table. Now she just needs to sell her own sauce!

Menu and fresh pasta

We started out the evening with a home run as one of my favorite dishes, Eggplant Parmigiana, was served as an appetizer. I have to admit that this was not appetizer size and could have easily been one of the entree courses. Since it was the best dish of the night, it probably should have gotten star billing if you ask me. Now THIS is a dish that should be on the regular menu!! (Please start the write in campaigns now.)

Eggplant Parmigiana

The mozzarella and parmesan cheeses really made this dish amazing, and it was paired with a Lacrima Christi Bianco, which tasted like an oaky Chardonney to me. With all the cheese, the pairing went well together, although I think a light red would have done just as well.

The second course was a lot lighter, and I might have called it a "seafood salad" with so many greens and lemon flavor on top. The prawn is center stage in this dish, surrounded by squid rings and a couple hunks of potato.

Squid, Prawns, Potato, Chive, Fennel, Frisee, Lemon

This was perfectly paired with the Falanghina from Villa Matilde, which had more of a crisp finish to go with the seafood course.

I was thrilled to see one of Katie's pizzas on the menu this time, since I don't usually order it from the regular menu. I'm just too in love with the unique salads and pastas. (Really you should bring friends so you can split a pizza, a pasta, and a salad among all of you!) Again, I'm pretty sure I am biased about the gobs of Bufala Mozzarella cheese, but there is a reason Katie's pizza is always a winner. You know you need a red wine for this, and the Aguanico, also from Villa Matilde was a good choice.

Neapolitan Margherita Pizza, San Marzano Tomatoes, Bufala Mozzarella, Basil

Speaking of pasta, the Spaghetti with Botarga and lemon zest was the fourth course. Bortarga is a cured fish roe and helped to decorate the edges of the plate. This was served with a big red, a Lacrima Christ Rosso. By the way....placing the eggplant on top of this bed of spaghetti would have been an amazing meal!!

Spaghetti with Botarga & Lemon Zest

Last but not least, the dinner was rounded out with gelato adorned with three blackberries. The pastry next to it is Sfogliattelle Ricce. Katie did not even attempt to pronounce it herself, so let's just say that this pastry topped with powdered sugar used to be prepared only for the Italian aristocracy during the Reenaissance.

Dessert was served with a homemade Limoncello that was sweet enough to make you pucker!

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = http://www.katiespizzaandpasta.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Katie's Pizza and Pasta Passport Dinner: Veneto

February's Passport Dinner from Katie's Pizza and Pasta focused on Veneto, which is a northeast region in Italy, and it's largest city is Venice, prominently featured on the front of the menu card. Here is Veneto's menu...

Menu

Since I was so overwhelmed by the enlarged courses last month, I made a better effort to take notes on the wines from this month's region. While Tuscany is known for the Sangiovese grape (a Super Tuscan and a Chianti were both served), Veneto is known for Soave and Valpolicella.

A Soave was served with the first dish, a Scallop Crudo that just melted in my mouth. I would have loved a few more of these. The wine is not as crisp as a Pinot Grigio so again, the softer flavor allowed the scallop to stand out.

Scallop Crudo, Pamegranate, Fennel Fronds, Sea Salt

I was a little nervous about the next course because I had no clue what Cassunzisi Rossi is, so I was thrilled to discover it's "the pasta dish". (I was wondering when the pasta would come!) Cassunzisi is just the name for "filled fresh pasta consisting of a filling sealed between the two layers of thin pasta dough, folded in a typical half-moon shape". (Wikipedia) Rossi means "red" in Italian, and for this dish, red is for beets! Definitely one of the few instances in which you can slip a beet into my mouth.

To compete against the rich beet flavor, a more fruity wine was called for and the Scaia Bianco tasted similar to a Chardonnay.

Cassunzisi Rossi (Beet Pasta)

Chef and owner, Katie Lee, was too busy to introduce the previous course due to being in mid-stir for the Risotto Nero. I was certainly excited and nervous since she was mixing her bold squid ink in with the risotto and topping it with octopus! My first time! I guessed it would taste like calimari...a chewy texture, but it was actually more like a salty chicken to me. The squid ink risotto made for an entirely intense experience even without the octopus. While it may have been too adventuresome for my neighbors, I was thrilled for the opportunity.

You know a red would be needed for such a flavorful dish, and the Scaia Corvina tasted similar to a Pinot Noir to me. I think a bigger red could have been used, but I'm always for letting the dish take the spotlight.

Risotto Nero, Charred Octopus

The "big red" came next as a Valpolicella was paired during the following course, a braised duck in polenta and radicchio. The duck was a hard to eat off the bone and radicchio is too bitter for my taste. I was full after the first three courses, and this dish definitely could be a main course all unto it's own for duck lovers. The wine was definitely a favorite at my table.

Braised Duck, Plenta, Radiccio

Torta Sabbiosa means "sandy cake" and that is definitely a good way to explain the texture. You know me, it would have been perfect drenched in chocolate sauce, but the gelato and raspberries are probably more traditional. Paired with a very light Prosecco, this was perfect for the end of a filling dinner.

Torta Sabbiosa

Next up in March (also on Wednesday the 11th), the region of Campania is featured, and you can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/katies-pizza-pasta-passport-dinners-campania-tickets-15572284121

The first two dinners sold out VERY quickly so you must hurry!

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = http://www.katiespizzaandpasta.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Katie's Passport Dinner: Tuscany

Two of my favorite things, STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann, and Katie's Pizza and Pasta got together to create a "Passport Dinner" series featuring different areas of Italy. Each dinner consists of five courses paired with Italian wine, of course.

Even though I am a long-time lover of all things Italian, I had no idea there the were so many different areas of Italy with unique dishes. Katie has really challenged herself with this dinner series, and it has to be one of the best meals I have ever had in St. Louis.

Since this was the first in the series, I didn't know what to expect. Here is a short video of what the evening was like: http://vimeo.com/116987663

Unfortunately, my Katie's film debut didn't quite happen, so we'll go with how things looked from my point of view. And my view was pretty much nothing but large amounts of food and wine!

We were all spread across three separate tables, which made it easier to converse with your new friends for the evening. Each setting had a "passport" and a course listing on paper from the Tuscany region. On the other side (not shown) is a "postcard" picture - so beautiful. Even some of the ingredients had to be shipped over from Italy. Talk about going all out and paying attention to detail. I was really blown away.

Each course was introduced by Katie herself and the wines were explained by the STLwinegirl, Angela. My table mates were shocked at the level of service at a casual restaurant located in a strip mall. It was like fine dining...but at your friend's house.

Passport and Menu

While we waited for everyone at our table to arrive, we were served an appetizer of three crostinis, Now when I think crostini, I think small...like the size of a silver dollar. These crostinis were the size of my hand and there were three of them.

Crostini Trio - Liver, Bean & Sage, Pecorino Toscano & Pear

My favorite was the chicken liver in the middle because it was not that far off from my step-grandmother's chopped liver. I could have just eaten a bowl full of the liver and ended my night there.

Yet, another favorite was the Pecorino cheese paired with the sweet pear. This Pecorino came from Italy and was much softer than any version I had ever tasted. I actually pulled out the cheese just so I could taste it by itself. OK...chicken liver and a plate of the cheese and that would have been enough.

The second course, Cacciucco, was another huge favorite and another huge portion. This reminded me a lot of a cioppino, a fish stew, but in a creamier broth. It came piled with mussels, clams, and shrimp and I ate every single one of them!

Cacciucco

At this point in the evening, I was feeling full and would have loved a nap, but the party was just getting started.

I'm sure you're wondering where the pasta is, right? Well, instead we had hand-rolled farro pici covered in a wild boar ragu. Katie turned the farro into long, thick noodles to hold up against the heavy sauce. It will be hard to go back to regular spaghetti after this. And do you see the cheese shaved on top? I learned from Katie that they don't sprinkle Parmesan on top like us Americans.

Hand Rolled Farro Pici, Juniper Berry Wild Boar Ragu

At this point, I probably should have hoisted a white flag because the next dish was a very heavy Bistecca Florentine, but the beef was perfectly cooked and covered with shaved Pecorino and I couldn't stop.

Bistecca Florentine, Shaved Pecorino, Lemon

You can't have a Tuscan wine dinner without a Chianti and it was perfectly paired with this beef dish.

The last course, dessert, was a Castagnaccio or a chestnut cake. The cake was dense and crunchy and reminded me a lot like holiday fruitcake. Since it was a little dry, I enjoyed spilling the dessert wine, a Vin Santo, all over the gelato and cake and eating them together in one bite. Not that I could have that many at this point.

Castagnaccio (Chestnut Cake) with Gelato

Forgive me for not going into more detail about the wine as they were all wonderfully paired with each course and let the food shine. Of course, I preferred the white wines and shared most of my reds with my new friends at the table.

In addition to losing out on my fifteen seconds of fame, I also failed to write this in time for you to register for the next dinner in February featuring the Veneto region. If nothing else, you will be prepared for the announcement for March, and according to the "passport" I received, there are still many more regions to eat your way through.

Resources:

Katie's Pizza & Pasta = http://katiespizzaandpasta.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Katie's Pizza and Pasta and Brunch

Even though I've been to Katie's several times now, I figure I should get to post about it again since Katie started up a new and separate brunch menu. Since the Rock Hill location is RIGHT up the street from my Sunday wine school, I figured this was a perfect excuse to check it out.

I appreciated that Katie's opened up at 10AM so that I wouldn't have to rush although I did have such a good time catching up with my cousins, that I still managed to be late to class. But it was worth it...

Since I had wine school, I did not partake in the bloody mary bar or bellini bar (you can choose your fruit!), but there are a lot of options. (I guess I'll have to go back?)

Speaking of a lot of options, even though it was brunch, we still managed to get a little carried away ordering appetizers for brunch. Who does that? Let's just say my goal is to try just about everything on the menu and expanding it to brunch has made it that much more challenging, which you know I'm up for!

My cousin recently moved back to St. Louis and his girlfriend has never been so I wanted to make sure they were introduced to the best of the "new" St. Louis. Yes, the one that is now a foodie capital!

We started off with a mushroom burrata, which was quickly followed up by fried artichokes. Both were delicious and could easily make the perfect breakfast or lunch with just appetizers. (Not like that would stop me!)

Mushroom Barrata

I played it safe and ordered the 3 Wood Oven Eggs (I didn't know you could cook eggs in a pizza oven!) that came with (homemade, I assume) fiama sausage, calabrese peppers, and fingerling potatoes. (My fork guard was already up apparently.)

3 Wood Oven Eggs

Patience ordered the Asparagus & Artichoke Frittata, which was my second choice. Both dishes were large and filling, especially with the potatoes.

Asparagus & Artichoke Frittata

My cousin ordered a mushroom crepe...it was adorable!

Mushroom Crepe

Again, we'll have to go back because pretty much everything looked delicious...and that is if you can ignore the pizza and pasta that are also available!

Can't wait to go back...yes, again. For this...

Squid Ink Spaghetti with seafood

Resources:

Katie's Pizza and Pasta = http://katiespizzaandpasta.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon