Scape Bistro

A friend of mine wanted to try out Scape Bistro in the Central West End and who am I to argue really. I always love to try someplace new and the restaurant was just beautiful inside.

The first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the raw bar, which is perfect since I was with my “seafood buddy”. I ordered the shrimp cocktail for us to start with (they were giant shrimp – isn’t that an oxymoron?) and then we picked out two east coast and two west coast oysters to try. I’m not sure I could tell the difference but the east coast oyster seemed a bit more flavorful even though I doctored both with cocktail sauce.

The other standard starter I always go with are crab cakes. While these Sauteed Maryland Style Crab Cakes were a good size (I’d say medium), they didn’t come with much sauce and I feel crab cakes should have a fair amount of moisture to balance out the breading on the outside. Again, I definitely could have made dinner out of their entire list of starters since they have so many unique dishes to try.

Since the raw bar and crab cakes were tempting me, in addition to a couple of fish items on the menu, I felt that I could confidently order the Kung Fu Girl Riesling…one of my absolute favorites since it has just the right amount of sweetness to it. But don’t get me wrong, I still would have ordered it if I had gotten the Veal Parmesan. My buddy tried their Hard Strawberry Lemonade specialty cocktail, which also was incredibly sweet and you couldn’t taste any alcohol. I easily could have had two of those.

I usually lean to getting the special since I know it’s fresh and seasonal and I got lucky that the Red Snapper was on that list. In addition to the fish, I ordered the other special as my side: risoto with beets and goat cheese. The little chunks of beets and goat cheese added a little bit of sweetness to the otherwise savory dish. My red snapper was light and flaky, but my buddy’s salmon was far better with a full, buttery flavor to the fish.

Luckily, fish isn’t too filling and we had split all the appetizers so we still had room for dessert! Of course I ordered the most chocolatey item on the menu: chocolate pate and gelato! So you had the richness from the thick pate next to the soft creaminess of the gelato, with only a couple of raspberries in the way. Mixing the two textures together in one bite was heavenly! My buddy’s hot apple pie probably could have used some of my chocolate gelato melted over it too…

Resources:

Scape Bistro = http://www.scapestl.com

Broadway Oyster Bar

After looking at the menu, I knew I was going to have a problem because I really wanted to try one of everything at Broadway Oyster Bar. Luckily, my FAC friends helped out by ordering a lot of food as well. Sunday was definitely the best day to go down there since all the crowds had dissipated from the weekend activity and we had no problem finding a spot on the patio so we could enjoy the weather.

Of course I got to try a few types of oysters and I didn’t realize that you could even order some of them as “cooked”! Between a few of us, we split oysters on the half shelf, chargrilled, and fried. Each order came with six oysters and I didn’t realize how filling they could be!

I am not sure where the raw oysters were originally from, but they were quite large and for the first time, I had them with cocktail sauce. I think I like that even better than hot sauce since it added a sweet flavor.

The fried oysters had a weird texture with the crispy outside and gooey inside. The grease was too much for my stomach but using their homemade tartar sauce helped a little bit.

The best ones were the Chargrilled Oysters and that’s mainly because they came with a layer of parmesan cheese on top of them! These oysters had the most flavors with all the butter and spices in addition to the cheese.

For tradition’s sake, I ordered the crab cakes as a starter and I probably should have stopped at appetizers. The two crab cakes were about the size of my fist and were covered in a rich sauce. With very little fishy flavor, I mostly tasted the sauce. I was ready to trade a crab cake for my friend’s fish taco but he was too stuffed to even dare look at a crab cake, so I got to take it home.

I am also a huge fan of fish tacos, even though it was the typical fried tilapia, the Cajun cole slaw on top really added a kick to the taco. I just had one and by this point I was already quite full. My friend didn’t make it too far through his other fish taco since it came with a side of red beans and rice, and he had started with the Crawfish Bisque that looked fantastic as well.

Even though I was stuffed, I still had a main course to eat but I had no room for it! Even worse, I ordered the sampler so that I could taste some of everything. I only got half way through the Crawfish Etoufee, which was not too spicy but again, very filling.

I did finally get to try the sampler as leftovers a few days later and it came with Gumbo Ya Ya, Jambalaya, and Red Beans and Rice along with the Crawfish Etoufee. At this point, it was all mixed together so I’m not sure which was which.

Just be aware that all the dishes are filling and you might just want to split oysters and appetizers and call it a day. Or perhaps just split a main course along with some oysters.

Resources:

Broadway Oyster Bar = http://www.broadwayoysterbar.com/menu.html

Alaskan Seafood Class Part 3

Last week was the third installment of an Alaskan-themed seafood class and yet again, it did not disappoint. If there are a duplication of courses, I really don't remember nor do I mind one bit!

We started out with a cioppino, or a spicy fish stew which includes several kinds of fish. It traditionally was a stew made up from the catch of the day, originating in Italy. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cioppino

Since the stew had quite a kick from the red pepper, Michael served it with the Greek wine we had in cheese class last month called Elios, which has a crisp finish. Although I really could have used a glass of milk!

I was relieved to have gotten the fire out of the way so I could really enjoy the rest of the courses, especially since crab cakes were next. Chef Matt makes some of the best crab cakes because they are always so big and meaty, which often causes me much disappointment when I order them in a restaurant! It could be a meal all by itself! On the side was a delicious Remoulade sauce that added some sweetness to the crab so the wine needed to be mild. Michael picked out a Chardonney that wasn't oaky for a good balance.

The next course consisted of two, bite-sized pieces of halibut that were wrapped in bacon. Luckily, the poor fish was not tainted by the placement of the bacon and they came off easily. The halibut had a buttery flavor and required a drier, red wine to pair up with it to cut through the creaminess.

Last, and the best course, was a sockeye salmon that was also the best salmon I have ever had. The salmon had just arrived at Whole Foods a day or two before and just melted in my mouth. Outstanding! Since the salmon was so light and full of flavor (much like the creaminess of the halibut), another dry red, a Pinot Noir, paired well.

The next seafood class will take place in the fall and Chef Matt is wanting to go with a heavier theme such a trout or bisques.

Flaco's Cocina - Part Two

Unfortunately, Flaco's Cocina has closed.

Well, it turns out the universe heard me and I got the opportunity to go back a second time and try a whole bunch of new foods at Flaco's Cocina! (http://www.flacoscocina.com/) Since I enjoyed everything I ate, I thought I would go ahead and blog a second time.

I got to start off the night with three appetizers: seared tuna, crab cakes brigantine, and baked goat cheese. The seared tuna was my favorite, probably because I'm such a fan of sushi. The crab cakes were tasty, but breaded on the outside without that thick, creamy sauce that I have become accustomed to. The baked goat cheese came in a romesco sauce that was a little overwhelming with a spicy finish, again catching me off guard. I did love how the goat cheese melted over the toasted bread but I'm not sure the spicy finish was for me.

Since I had some friends to help me with the appetizers, I still went ahead and ordered some fish tacos because my visit would not seem complete otherwise. I was too late on one of the specials, so I ordered a scallop fish taco and a mahi mahi. Both were good, although not as good as the baha or seared tuna I had the week before.

The best meal of the night definitely was the lobster empanadas that my tablemate so kindly shared. There was a full lobster flavor in each bite! It's probably the only thing that could distract me from the fish tacos on a future visit.

I also got to try the sangria, which was very mild. My friends let me try the Ultimate Margarita (too strong for me!) and the Peach Jalapeño Margarita (what a spicy kick!). I think I will be sticking with my fruity drinks, thanks.

P. S. There are still more appetizers I wanna try, o universe!

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.