Triumph Grill

I really hadn't heard anything about the Triumph Grill (http://www.triumphgrill.com) but as soon as I was led to the table, I immediately recognized it as the “motorcycle museum”, which is right next door to the Moto Museum as well.

Triumph is worth trying out just for the décor alone...a very creative use of motorcycle parts and very modern design. At one end of the restaurant is the museum that can also be used for banquets, and at the other end is a Ducati store.

I really was sent to Triumph because my friends wanted me to know about another good restaurant near the Fox (because I always going to Vito's). I hadn't heard anything about the food prior to going in so I was open to anything. It was actually hard to choose an entree since there is something for everyone. I was lucky in that I went with a large group and got to try several dishes and everything I tasted was very good.

I started with the Clos du Bois Riesling, which is a dryer version, but I would have liked to have seen a beer list since there were so many burgers on the menu.

There was a unique list of appetizers, which was nice to see, but there wasn't a crab cake for me to try. I ended up skipping the appetizers since most sounded a little greasy and I ended getting the soup platter instead.

I got excited when I heard the soup of the day was a broccoli cheddar, but even happier that I could try the crab bisque and the mushroom and leak bisque as well! The soup platter gives you 3 out of the 4 choices, the fourth being a chili.

It was better to order the platter since there was one scoop of each and it wasn't too overwhelming, but I did start to feel a little full afterwards.

My friends ordered the San Marino Wedge salad, which came with an amazing homemade green goddess dressing. My friends also split the wedge since it was so large and you could have split any of the other salads or pastas for sure.

I decided on the Apple Cider Steamed Sea Bass because I knew I couldn’t go wrong although I was surprised that it was one of the more expensive meals. While I didn’t taste any apple cider, the dried cherries gave the fish a sweet flavor.

I also got to taste the Valentino’s Wild Mushroom Pasta (thick noodles, strong mushroom flavor!) as well as the Crispy Barbecue Chicken Ranch Salad. The BBQ flavor had a spicy finish that caught me off guard but still was very good flavor. I'm not sure I could eat a whole meal with the BBQ and the pulled pork was also mixed in this BBQ sauce so be careful.

The best taste I got was from one of the burgers...I would highly recommend one of the three burgers to choose from, although one of the burgers cost $10,000 since it comes with a free motorcycle. Hehe And beware of the homemade chips that were as hard as flat rocks.

Of course I can't go out with my friends without trying dessert and all four looked delicious. We got the “Blondie”, which is vanilla ice cream on top of a chocolate cookie brownie, as well as my pick (the best one), a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Super rich!

My friends and I went at 6pm on a Saturday night and it really didn't get too crowded until another hour or so later, so it just might be the perfect secret to getting a good pre-show meal in the area.

Provisions Irish Spring 2011

This month’s Provisions food and wine pairing theme was “Irish Spring” although there was a little bit of Mardi Gras Cajun sprinkled in as well so there was a nice variety of meals.

We started with a chilled spring pea soup and it had a very strong pea or vegetable flavor, much like asparagus. To combat the overpowering flavor, it was paired with a Sparkling Gruner Veltliner. There weren’t many bubbles to it like a traditional sparkler, but the acidity helped to cut through the creamy flavor. I also noticed that Chef Scott snuck in some bacon bits on the very top of it, so I had to wash it all down with a lot of wine.

After struggling with the first course, the second course was worse. Either the bottle was corked or something wrong with my glass, but I actually had a “barnyard” tasting Sauvignon Blanc. Normally Blancs taste cool, crisp, and minerally to me. So this flavor came out of nowhere and I don’t think it was the correct taste. Luckily, the pasta was quite good on its own.

Fortunately, the third pairing saved me and I have to give Angela Ortmann (aka STLwinegirl) the proper credit for using a special request that I had made. (http://www.stlwinegirl.com) Chef Scott is known for his love of Cajun food and he made a dirty rice with crawfish. It wasn’t spicy at all so it was perfect for me! This was paired with a 2009 Efeste “Evergreen” Riesling out of Washington State. I had read about it in the Wednesday Food section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and it got very high marks from Wine Spectator, as well as finishing in Jon Bonne’s Top 100 wines of 2009. You can find more reviews here: http://www.wine.com/V6/Efeste-Evergreen-Riesling-2009/wine/107959/detail.aspx

Since the food was not spicy, the drier Riesling was a very balanced pairing. If there had been any spice, then a sweeter Riesling would have definitely been required. But it was perfect. While I love sweet wines, drier Rieslings are actually easier to drink because they are so smooth without the typical tart finish that can be overwhelming at times.

In addition to the wine, Angela paired a beer with this course and it was the exact same LaChouffe Golden Blonde Ale I had JUST picked out on Saturday night at Cicero’s! (http://www.ciceros-stl.com) Coicedence or no? I’ll let you decide. Either way, this pairing was a complete success.

The next pairing was actually just as strong even though I was biased by my favorites. We had the typical Corned Beef and Cabbage, but it came with a delicious creamy sauce that was not overpowering. This really paired well with the 2009 Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais since it is so full of fruity flavor. Another beer, the Schlafly Irish Ale, had just as much flavor as the wine and both drinks could stand up to the sauce. Again, a well-balanced pairing.

Last but not least, the dessert course was Bananas Foster paired with a chocolate stout. This definitely made sense to me as a pairing but I would have liked to have traded in the stout for a bottle of chocolate sauce to smother the bananas in. I was surprised that the stout was smooth and not as bitter like I expected, but I still prefer a lighter beer.

The next Provisions food and wine pairing will take place on Tuesday, April 5th and the theme still has yet to be determined. You can post suggestions on STLwinegirl’s wall at http://www.facebook.com/STLwinegirl or tweet her on Twitter @STLwinegirl.

Here is the pairing list:
Chilled Spring Pea Soup
Punkt Genau Sparkling Gruner Veltliner
Austria

Spring Vegetable Pesto Primavera
2008 StarLane Sauvignon Blanc
Central Coast, California

Dirty Rice with Crawfish
2009 Efeste “Evergreen” Riesling
Washington State
LaChouffe Golden Blonde Ale
Belgium

Corned Beef and Cabbage
2009 Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais
France
Schlafly Irish Ale
Missouri

Bananas Foster
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
New York

1111 Mississippi

I finally made it over to 1111 Mississippi which is a popular, trendy restaurant in St. Louis City. It had been on my list ever since I went to Vin de Set, which I believe is owned by the same management. I couldn’t help but take a sneak peak of their menu here (http://www.1111-m.com/menus.html) before I went.

I was tempted to start with a cheese course and since it is a Tuscan-themed restaurant they had Italian cheeses: fontina, gorgonzola, tallegio, and pecorino.

Instead I went with the sautéed crab cakes as a starter, which is one of my personal favorite foods, and it was mixed with a thyme remoulade and mango chutney. The fish and sweet flavor combination was excellent. Just wish they could have been a little bigger.

Then instead of salad, I tried the butternut squash soup, again one of my favorites. So smooth and creamy – great for wintertime. I was almost full by the time the main course arrived so I knew I would need to box up half for another time.

Since it was a special occasion, I went with the grilled beef tenderloin medallions with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and sangiovese demi glace. The glace tasted like a heavy plum sauce and overwhelmed the meat and broccoli. I probably would have been happy without it. I also got to taste the trout and I thought it was a little bland.

I think the next time I go, I’ll just order several appetizers a la tapas style since there were a few others I wanted to try. That would leave more room for dessert! The gooey butter cake was delicious!

And for tradition's sake, I went with a glass of their house Riesling…luckily a German Riesling.

Wine and Cheese Place pairings

I am so happy to report that wine and cheese classes are back! Thanks to STLwinegirl, Angie Ortmann, The Wine and Cheese Place (http://www.wineandcheeseplace.com) has agreed to host a class for this month, as well as August and September. You can see all of Angie’s summer classes here: http://www.stlwinegirl.com/UpcomingEvents.html
I just got back in town and I didn’t have football practice so I totally lucked out that I could go!
In addition to focusing on cheese, all the wines served were white so it really was a good class for me to go to. I feel like I have lost some cheese knowledge since I hadn’t gone to any classes in awhile so I really enjoyed the refresher course.
Three out of five of the cheeses were soft and creamy, so I could have used a fork and knife to eat the cheese instead of using two crackers as utensils. hehe
Of course we started out with the lightest wine, a sparkling wine, and worked our way to the fullest body wine, a Chilean Chardonnay. It’s funny how white wines can have such range and even wines like Rieslings can have a wide range of flavors.
I would say the class was a big hit because all of the pairings were great at contrasting each other, which I feel is what improves the taste of wine. In combination, the pairings should improve each other but I am biased in that the cheese improves the wine. Hehe
Angie says that sparkling wine goes well with just about everything, but I definitely think it is best paired with a light cheese, such as a triple crème. The creamy cheeses really help cut through acidic wines well.
The second pairing featured the local Baetje Farms, http://baetjefarms.com, and their goat cheese. We just had the regular flavor but they also come in a variety of flavors as well. It has such a sweet finish! It was paired with a Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
I was super excited to see a German Riesling on the list, but it was paired with a blue cheese. Ugh. At least it had a mild flavor but Angie swears by pairing the super sweet wine with the pungent blue cheeses. I guess the two extremes help both calm the flavors…
Another treat in the next pairing was the Taleggio paired with a white blend, mostly Pinot Gris. The Taleggio is rich and creamy, but has more of a strong aroma and flavor. A full-bodied wine is definitely needed.
And the last pairing was very full-flavored as well as a Spanish Mahon was paired with the Chilean Chardonnay. Let’s just say I helped to finish of what was left of the Mahon at the very end of class! Hehe
In addition to discussing the pairings, I always enjoy listening to Angie’s stories of her time in San Francisco, where she learned everything she knows first-hand and on the job! It certainly makes learning a lot easy for the rest of us who don’t have the time to eat and drink our way through a city. Hehe
Here are my takeaways:
· Cheese is always freshest when cut from the wheel as opposed to wedges that have already been cut and wrapped. Although, cheese stores go through their cheese pretty quickly so it’s not like it really sits all that long anyway.
· Store cheese in the bottom of the fridge, not in the deli tray, and wrap it in plastic.
· Never freeze cheese…it will quickly break down if you do! And that’s cheese abuse!
Somehow we got on the topic of pricing and restaurants usually charge three times the price of a bottle of wine but then you also have to deal with corkage fees if you bring your own.
And the most expensive meal I’ve ever had? With Angie. Hehe
The next cheese class is August 5th!

Gluten-Free class

Last week, Angie held a special “Gluten Free” class and I thought the menu might be interesting to see how she creatively came up with some tasty alternatives.

This class, the topic of aging wines came up and as usual I learned something new. For red wines, the higher the tannins, the better it will age. For white wines, the higher the acid, the better it will age.

Course 1:
Vegetable Stir Fry
2009 Kung Fu girl Riesling $16.99
Washington State

I definitely found a new favorite Riesling with Kung Fu Girl which is made by Charles Smith. This was paired with a vegetable stir fry so both food and wine balanced each other nicely but neither stood out. But it’s all about what you prefer.

Course 2:
Black Bean & Shrimp Tostada
2008 La Cana Albarino $14.99
Rias Baixas, Spain

Moving to a little more kick, the black bean and shrimp tostada was spicy enough to chill out the white wine that was paired with it. The wine had a mineral taste and was too dry for me. I think the wine would have gone well with a cream sauce too.

Course 3:
Parmesan Chicken & Quinoa
2008 G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba $16.99
Piedmont, Italy

The best meal of the night was the Parmesan Chicken and Quinoa...and definitely in the top 5 of meals I've had by Chef Scott. The chicken had such a creamy, cheesy sauce…WOW. It was so good that Chef Scott has won awards for this gluten-free number using a cheese coating instead of bread crumbs. The wine that was paired with it was low in tannins but still too dry for me.

Course 4:
Open Face Chili-Cheeseburger Polenta Cake "Bun"
2007 Rombauer Zinfandel $26.99
California

I was quite happy to see that for the third course in a row, cheese was a factor in the dish! And there was NO bacon OR ham throughout the whole meal! What a treat! The chili went great with the cheese on top and polenta underneath, almost like cornbread. The sharp cheese and spices held up great with a dry red!

Course 5:
French Vanilla Creme Brulee
2005 Le Tertre du Lys D'Or Sauternes $18.99
France
Dessert was also tasty and sweet (even though it wasn’t chocolate) but unfortunately the Crème Brulee was a little runny. Something creamy was definitely required to go with the dessert wine!

Angie is already planning her summer course schedule…BBQ is next, then burgers, and beer vs wine!