The Block Traveling Table

Since I really enjoyed my first visit to The Block, I couldn’t wait to go back for a Traveling Table with STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann. There were only three courses for this traveling table, no dessert, but I think this worked out for the best due to heavy courses and leftovers shared.

This Traveling Table was also special because each course paired a local beer in addition to a glass of wine, so I knew I had to pace myself and just sipped on both pairings.

We started with a “lighter” meat, Pastrami Cured Salmon compressed cucumbers, mixed greens, horseradish emulsion. The horseradish was a non-factor as the sweetness of the cucumber stood out the most. This paired best with the Gruet Brut Sparkling from New Mexico because the dry brut tamed down the sweetness. The Urban Chestnut Zwickel is also a lighter beer, but it has an odd nutty flavor to me.

Next up was the “medium” meat, Braised Pork Belly, crispy poached farm egg, grilled brioche with house-made jam, and better known as “Bacon & Eggs”. I stuck with the poached egg and grape jam while finding a good home for the pork belly. For this course, I preferred the Belgium-style Pale Ale Perennial Hommel since it had a milder finish than the A to Z Pinot Gris from Oregon, which was a little too dry.

My favorite course by far was the Grilled Sirloin, which also came with a large and tender beef rib. Since my friends were so full from their pork belly, I was able to score quite a few leftover sirloin pieces. I would have been happy with this course alone. The sirloin was perfectly pink and juicy.

This course was paired with the wine Elyse C’est Si Bon, meaning “It’s so good”, from Sierra Foothills, CA and the beer was a Charleville Tornado Alley from Ste. Genevieve, MO, a heavier ale. The wine had a much smoother finish to pair well with the sirloin, while the beer was a little too strong.

Resources:

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com/

The Block = http://theblockrestaurant.com/

Urban Chestnut = http://urbanchestnut.com/

Perennial = http://www.perennialbeer.com/

Charleville Vineyard = http://www.charlevillevineyard.com/

Photos by Angela Ortmann

The Block Webster Groves

Thanks to my friends moving to Webster Groves, I finally had a good excuse to be close to The Block to try it out. At the very front of the restaurant, next to the bar, is a small butcher’s case right when you walk in so I guess you could get your dinner “to go” pre-cooked! I already knew that I was going to get the Missouri grass-fed beef just by reviewing the menu. When I go to a “meat” restaurant, that’s what I get. Although, I do admit that the salmon special sounded and looked fantastic.

I did start out with the Green Salad which came with roasted cauliflower in it that was so tasty, and it was a decent sized starter salad too. As an appetizer to try, I chose the Mushroom Fricassee since it came with “local goat cheese”, but there wasn’t very much cheese melted on top of the mushrooms. Instead, it came with too much “juice” and the garlic toast got soggy quickly. I ended up putting the mushrooms on my salad when I ran out of toast, but probably should have saved them for my main course to go on top!

Since the menu item just refers to “beef”, I quickly figured out that the selection is what they have for that day. So the cut of the day was rib eye and it was a large 10 ounces, at least for me. The meat came in the Block’s own steak sauce but it tasted more like a thick, berry sauce instead. It was a little bland and could have used either more sweetness or more vinegar flavor. Or the mushrooms and its sauce, like I mentioned earlier.

I also indulged and ate all of the “garlic herb fries” that came with my steak. I wish I had paid more attention and ordered some vegetables in its place but the fries that got soaked in the steak sauce were the best for sure!

We were all too full to order dessert so no reviews there but between all of us, we had a nice selection of beers on draught to taste. I got to have half of a Moose Drool and finished off a friend’s Urban Chestnut Schnickelfritz since she didn’t like it. It still had that odd after taste but because it is so light, it was still easy for me to drink. The martini I tried was very strong though and if I’m having beef, I think I would stick with a beer.

The bar area is pretty small so I felt bad for the two tables that were near the bar...not really much of a buffer. I understand you should give folks a place to sit while they wait for a table but it was very crowded in such a small area where you have people coming in and walking towards the restrooms. With such a big space and high ceilings, it quickly got noisy in the entire restaurant regardless and we couldn't really talk across the table. But as a highlight, we did run into the one and only STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann, so I knew we were at a "place to be". hehe

Resources:

The Block = http://theblockrestaurant.com/

Moose Drool = http://www.bigskybrew.com/Our_Beers/Moose_Drool

Urban Chestnut = http://urbanchestnut.com