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.

Whole Foods Italian Cheese Class

The Italian-themed cheese class at Whole Foods (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com) started off right with its first cheese, and my first love, Parmigiano-Reggiano. To me, it should have been the big finish since it has such a strong flavor when eaten whole and goes best with a dry, red wine.

The order of the cheeses was actually a little bit out of order if you ask me. The next cheese was very similar, San Pietro, but still milder so it was paired with a Pinot instead.

After that, we tried two kinds of Gorganzola…I had no idea there was more than one! The Dolce version was a little more sweeter and creamier than the Naturale. Gorganzola is the traditional blue cheese of Italy, named after the town with the same name. These strong cheeses were paired with Chianti, which was equally strong enough to stand up to these blues.

We went from one extreme to the next as we tasted my second favorite of the night, Taleggio. It’s soft and creamy, like a brie, so it was paired with an acidic, sharp Greek wine called Elios to help cut the buttery flavor.

The last cheese was a fancy truffled semi-soft cheese called Sottocenere, which was paired with a dry sparkling wine. The pairing was quite rich altogether!

Special thanks to Ellen, who not only brought a starter wine for the entire class as usual, but she also provided an olive tray as well as biscotti for dessert!

I also learned that the next seafood class is Tuesday, June 7th!

Cielo at the Four Seasons Hotel

Mother’s Day turned out to be quite the treat for all of us as we got to try the restaurant Cielo, (http://www.fourseasons.com/stlouis/menu_2828) located inside the Four Seasons hotel, which is attached to the Lumiere complex downtown. I am a big fan of the casino and love the Burger Bar, but unfortunately, SLeeK, another upscale restaurant created by Hubert Keller, has been replaced by Stadium, a large sports bar and grill.

Cielo was even nicer than SLeeK though, due to the amazing view you get if you are able to eat outside. We all walked out onto the patio area (overlooking the pool too!) and were all blown away. Let’s just say I scored some major brownie points. Hehe Fortunately, our dinners were also able to stand up to the great scenery.

Since Cielo is quite pricy, I decided to go with just one appetizer to try – the Cielo Bruschetta – mostly because it came with a hunk of goat cheese on each of the three slices. So smooth and creamy!

I also chose well with my salad since I picked the Tuna Carpaccio instead of traditional greens. The tuna came out flat, like a sheet of lox, but it was served with a crab dip on top that I spread around so it could cover every bite. It would have made a perfect light lunch all by itself. The tuna was so fresh!

For entrees, Cielo lists a good variety of dishes without being overwhelming, and has something for everyone. I would have loved to try the Veal and Truffle Ravioli or the Gnocchi from the pasta section, or the Roasted Lobster in the fish section. They even serve five different homemade pizzas! But if I am in a nice restaurant, I always go for the Filet Mignon. The waitress left me a steak knife but I was easily able to use my butter knife. My filet was perfect.

My filet also came with scalloped potatoes (with gorgonzola cheese on top!!) and mixed vegetables but I was actually plenty full with just the filet.

My Stepmom went with the fish special, a grouper, which turned out to be an excellent choice since the fish was very meaty and filling, served with a light tomato basil sauce.

My Dad went with the Seared Ahi Tuna…looked almost like sushi…but I was not able to steal a bite off of his plate.

While I am not sure that I’ll ever make it back to Cielo, I definitely would recommend this for any special occasion.

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.

Bici Cafe

Unfortunately, Bici Cafe has closed.

As good as the last restaurant was, Bici Café in University City was a total disappointment. My friends had gone there several times and they drive pretty far just to go to the restaurant. Now, I KNOW I have been to the restaurant a couple of times before, located on the corner of Pershing and Jackson, but I cannot remember what it used to be.

I knew we might be in trouble when my friend asked about some of his favorites that were not on the menu. Turns out their favorite items were not currently being served and were only on a “summer menu”. Regardless, we found plenty to order as it is our tradition to try as many small plates as possible.

We all tried the Spanikopita and the Lobster Ravioli(?), while ordering a Tuna Nicoise and the Ultimate Grilled Cheese. I thought they were all excellent choices and was really looking forward to my meal so I just ignored the waitress’ rush in taking our order.

Looking back, I’m not quite sure why she was in such a hurry since we had a long wait for our food. There was such a long wait that our small plates (as well as my salad) came out at the same time as our meals.

The biggest disappointment came when we finally got to eat…the Spanikopita had too strong of a spinach taste the ravioli had a strong fishy taste. My tuna nicoise was just mediocre. All the items in the salad came artfully separated on a long dish, which at this point, I just wanted them mixed already.

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese was very good…but probably nothing that I would make a special trip for. I could taste the basil, tomato, and extra gouda cheese very well which was a nice treat. I did enjoy the sweet potato fries that came with the sandwich, but my friends complained there were very few fries on the plate.

At least Bici’s got one thing right: dessert! I think it MIGHT be worth stopping by once for their Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding and just skip all the other courses. Hopefully, if you only ordered dessert, you might actually get to eat it within a reasonable wait time.

As a family friend once said, “Take a picture!” and I immediately gave up my future coupon to my friends.