Parigi for Dinner

I had been wanting to go to Parigi for a long time, mostly because it is a Ben Poremba restaurant, and because it's Italian food. I even drive by it since it's in the Clayton area! My parents have even been there! Luckily, they were nice enough to "let me" take my Dad there for his birthday.

Patience and I got to the restaurant early so we could have a little happy hour on our own...

Cocktails!

...with some Arancini (risotto balls) to start off. They're filled with Teleggio and Peperonata!)

Arancini

We also started with fresh made bread with olive oil while we waited for our meal...this came in handy for sopping up the sauce later!

Fresh made bread

We had a VERY hard time making a selection...there were Sea Scallops and Striped Bass on the menu! But we all went with Italian dishes.

I was in a "risotto mood" and got the special of the night.

Risotto Special

Patience went with one of her favorites: Lasagne Bolognese! Look at all those layers!

Lasagna Bolognese

Linda had the Brodetto, an assorted shellfish and fish stew, which reminded me a lot of Chiappino.

Brodetto

As for my Dad... well, he cleans his plate pretty fast...so all I know is that there several beef and lamb dishes on the menu so there is something for everyone.

And we can't have a birthday without something to stick a candle in. Patience and I had to do most of the work on this Pistachio ice cream and Bread Pudding!

Pistachio ice cream on top of bread pudding

A great place for a special occasion!

Of course we needed a to go box! Did you see the size of that Lasagne!

Resources:

Parigi = https://www.parigistl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Nixta

Luckily, my foodie friends, Shannon and Jamie, like to hit new restaurants RIGHT when they first open. So they were kind enough to be our personal tour guides when we decided to check out Nixta as well.

I am a little sad that Ben Poremba already had flipped the concept of the restaurant, but I do admit that I'm over the fried chicken fad. I was curious how something completely different in the same spot would do.

I really appreciated our server's patience, since this is nothing like Casa Gallardo! I had trouble just deciding on a cocktail, even before I got to the regular menu.

I had one all picked out and then decided to try a margarita instead at the last minute since that seemed to be the thing to do at a Mexican restaurant.

Margarita

Unfortunately, the margarita was a little too boozy for me, so Patience was kind enough to switch drinks. The Quatro was the right amount of sweet for me and included aged rum, lime, blood orange, and cinnamon.

Quatro

We started off the night with an odrer of Pepita Guacamole to share!

Pepita Guacamole

I'm not the most familiar with authentic Mexican cuisine, but I know I love tacos! So lamb tacos is what I ordered!

Lamb Tacos

The plates at the top of the menu are smaller and make for good starters, so Patience and I also shared the Ceviche. We just can't say no to scallops!

Ceviche

Shannon's dishes were a lot more interesting and colorful as she ordered the Flautas and a Crab Tostada.

Flautas

Crab Tostadas

Patience was very bold and ordered the Pulpo, or crispy octopus, which turned out to be quite tasty!

Pulpo - Crispy Octopus

And we have to try dessert! We all shared a piece of flan... almost too pretty to eat?

Flan

Looking for something unique and different? I think this concept might be around longer.

Resources:

Nixta = https://www.nixtastl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

PW Pizza Deschutes Pizza Dinner 2017

This was my second time attending a Deschutes PW Pizza Beer dinner and the first one was back in February 2014. http://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2014/02/pw-pizza-deschutes-brewery-beer-dinner.html

While two of them were repeats, there were two new ones to me, and one beer was just released: "Pacific Wonderland", the first beer of the night. Very easy to drink and pairs well with lighter entrees. This was paired with Jalpeno Cornbread.

Jalapeno Cornbread

The next beer, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, was only slightly hoppy, but also easy to drink. It still stood up to the big flavors in the BBQ Chicken Pizza, made with the Honey Wheat Crust.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

The Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale had slightly more hops and cut through the goat cheese on the pizza, in addition to all the other flavors going on!

Shrimp Scampi Pizza

I see I enjoyed the dessert course best in the past as well as this night. Well...the first time paired a chocolate mousse and that wins hands down. The Butterscotch Pudding was definitely a good match with the Black Butte Porter, but not enough chocolate for me! hehe

Butterscotch Pudding

Menu

Resources:

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Deschutes Brewery = https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Midtown Sushi and Ramen

Our friend Chris had never tried ramen before and there happened to be a location we haven't tried yet: Midtown Sushi & Ramen!

Patience loves ramen and she went with the original pork version.... porkbelly, ramen noodles, egg, bamboo, mushrooms, corn and beans.

Hakata Ramen

With only four ramen styles on the menu, Chris played it safe by starting off with Plain Ramen, which comes with Ramen noodles and an egg, and adding his own ingredients!

Make your own ramen

I believe there is some pork, kimchi and bean sprouts in this one...

I had heard great things about their sushi so I went with my favorite rolls to try it out, but I was blown away by the flavor of the broth after tasting the Ramen. This just may be our new favorite!

Rainbow, Caterpiller, and salmon & avocado sushi rolls

Parking is just east of the building on Fores Park Parkway, so just a heads up as you're approaching the building.

Resources:

Midtown Sushi & Ramen = http://midtown-sushi.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Valette

Even though this is not a St. Louis restaurant, I still want to share the beautiful pictures from Valette. I finally made it there after two years of its opening and it's the place I recommend the most in Healdsburg, CA in Sonoma County.

We started off with a lot of bubbles and charcuterie.

Rose, Bubbles, and Riesling

Charcuterie

I had never seen anything like these Scallops en Croute!

Day Boat Scallops en Croute

 The scallops were huge!

Scallop close up

The Crispy Skin Striped Bass...so pretty.

Crispy Skin Striped Bass

ItsNotA 'Snickers Bar' was so delicious!

ItsNotA 'Snickers Bar'

And I enjoyed dipping the Warm Frangipane Tart in the cocoa on the Snickers Bar plate. hehe

Warm Frangipane Tart

Resources:

Valette = http://www.valettehealdsburg.com/