Acero

I was super excited about this month’s FEAST tasting (hosted by STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann) because I had been to Acero a couple of years ago and loved it then, so I was definitely in need of a return visit. The best part of the tasting is that it featured some of the best dishes so I knew what to order for dinner afterwards. Also, all the wines on their list are strictly Italian with quite a few from the Tuscany region.

We started with bubbles and fish, an evenly matched pairing: Smoked Steelhead Trout Crudo with Cavit Prosecco Lunetta. The thinly sliced trout actually tasted like salmon to me and the tartness of the Prosecco helped to cut through the fishy flavor – a good balance.

Next was the Gnocco Fritto (meaning fried), which they call a “meat donut”. I really thought the meat would be inside the “donut” part because it looked like a fried ravioli, but instead the prosciutto was laid on top. I guess you don’t really want the “meat” to get fried too. With all that greasy flavor, it was a good thing that the wine had a crisp flavor to help cut through it. The Le Rote Vernaccia di San Gimignano is not oaky like a Chardonney but perhaps closer to a Chenin Blanc for me in taste.

My favorite course of the night was the Gnudi, a dumpling that tasted exactly like Gnocchi to me! The inside was creamy and dipped in a marinara sauce. This dish ended up being my starter for dinner. The wine paired with it was Zonin Chianti, a slightly dry red that helped to cut through the rich flavors of the gundi. I definitely would not drink Chianti by itself.

Another suggested pairing is the Chianti with the Tagliantelle, which is Acero’s homemade pasta: a fetticini noodle, mixed with wild mushrooms, in a very light cream sauce. Luckily, my friend Beth let me try a couple of bites and it was heavenly. The cream sauce did not overwhelm the dish and the fresh pasta and mushroom flavors really stood out. I definitely would go back just to order that. It’s quite filling so you wouldn’t need much of an appetizer.

The last pairing was a Polenta Bolognese with La Mozza I Perazzi Morellino di Scansano, a very dry red wine. I never would have thought to put polenta with a red, meat sauce, and it was a soupy combination. The meat sauce was a bit too strong for the polenta and the wine overpowered both of them. I am thinking the wine would go better with the rack of lamb, another recommended pairing, and I had my eye on my friend Tony’s order across the table. Just might have to order one of everything next time?

Upon recommendation, I knew I was going to order the Egg Raviolo as my main course for dinner that night. Just like it says, this dish is a giant ravioli with a raw egg on the inside so when you cut it open, the egg yolk runs everywhere. So rich and creamy, I really think it could be paired with either a dry white or red wine.

I had a request for dessert back at the office and so I picked out a couple to try. I thought I would bring in some tiramisu, but there wasn’t one listed on the menu. Instead, I picked out the Ricotta Cheesecake and the Panna Cotta, which is a eggless custard. Again, more thick, rich, creamy flavors that fill you up after just one bite! I was a little bit disappointed about the size of the dessert at first, but I really don’t think you could eat too much of either one of them because they are so filling.

Resources:

Acero = http://www.fialafood.com/acero/

FEAST magazine =http://www.feaststl.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Demun Oyster Bar

Unfortunately, this restaurant has closed.

I finally got to go to the Demun Oyster Bar for the first time thanks to a STLwinegirl Traveling Table event there after passing by it a few times on my way to Sasha’s Wine Bar. Even though the place is small, with an equally small kitchen, I was very impressed with the large, half circle bar surrounding the tray of oysters on ice.

The main thing that surprises me about oysters is that there are so many kinds! I guess I am naïve from living in the Midwest? The chalkboard on one wall lists the different types available along with their prices. On that night we started with a Mirada Oyster, which was paired with a Brut sparkling wine. Since oysters have such a slimy texture, it’s good to have the proper seasoning or drink to help wash them down.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the kitchen was able to handle serving a large party because the next course took a while to come out and one lonely oyster wasn’t quite enough as a starter, but I do admit that the Scallop, Lobster, and Asparagus Gratin was amazing. It came out in a small dish like a stew and the bread crumbs covered the huge chunks of seafood. The only problem is that it was so hot, I almost burned my mouth and I had to cut the chunks of lobster to get them to bite size pieces.

This is definitely something that should be on the menu, although at the appropriate size and temperature. I almost forgot about the wine since the seafood took away all the attention, but I was just happy to have a crisp Chenin Blanc from Vouvray, France to help cool me down. The flavors were very subtle to allow the fish to stand out.

I actually enjoyed the Snapper en Papiollote even more although I had never seen a dish come out in parchment before! It was much like unwrapping a present since the package contained another stew-like collection of seafood: a filet of snapper, clams, and mussels along with saffron and confit potatoes. This was paired with a Rose of Syrah from Chile, which had a little too much bite to it since the snapper was so light, but at the same time it did help cut the grease of the potatoes and the buttery flavor of the clams and mussels.

Unfortunately, I had to miss out on the dessert course but the pairing sounded wonderful: Grand Marnier Cheesecake Napolean with a Sauternes from Bordeaux, France.

Resources:

Demun Oyster Bar = http://www.facebook.com/demunoysterbar

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Urban Chestnut Beer Dinner

Instead of going to the big Wine & Cheese Festival over the weekend, I decided to try the Brewmaster’s Beer Dinner hosted by Florian Kuplent of Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. I had sampled a couple of Urban Chestnut’s beers during Craft Beer Week at a Beer and Cheese pairing class, so I was curious about some of their other beers.

I remembered the first two beers right away because they are both so light: The Zwickel and the Schnickelfritz. I was surprised that a heavy roasted garlic and bread soup was served with the Zwickel, but it was a good match of opposites. The soup was actually a bit too strong…perhaps a rye flavor…so the sweetness of the Zwickel was needed to calm down the soup.

The mixed green salad was a much better pairing because the Schnickelfritz was mixed into the dressing. Both the dressing and the beer had a tangy finish, and the spiced pecans were the secret treat in this dish.

Getting to the meatier courses, quite a few people thought the pan seared halibut with the Chinook India Pale Ale was the best pairing, even though you wouldn’t think so by just looking at the description. The hops used for the Chinook IPA were so mild that it had a smooth finish instead of a bitter one. I was shocked! The halibut was served with a grapefruit beurre blanc over Israeli couscous and the tartness really helped to balance out the beer even more.

Packing even more flavor was the Harwood Myth, and my friends who quickly dismissed the Zwickel and Schnickelfritz for being too light, would totally love this beer. A thick, coffee stout (or was that a hint of chocolate?) was full of flavor and not too bad of a bitter finish. This beer matched up well with the porter braised short ribs placed on top of parsnip puree, which looked just liked mashed potatoes but tasted so much better.

Of course we finished on a light note for dessert. The Apotheosis was almost a palate cleanser since it was so light and crisp. This beer is really meant for summer, but it helped tone down the richness of the white chocolate and raspberry bread pudding. The saison ice cream was actually a sharp, lemon flavor to add sweetness on top of sweet. It was safer to let the bread pudding soak up the ice cream and raspberry flavors.

I was really impressed by Executive Chef Tony Cole. There were several other parties going on at the same time and our courses were amazing and well paired.

I think I made the right choice after all and definitely would do the Brewmaster’s Beer Dinner again next year.

Resource:

Urban Chestnut = http://urbanchestnut.com

Root

Unfortunately, Root has closed.

Even though I wasn’t able to make it opening night, I still got to be among the first to kick off the new restaurant, Root, located in Richmond Heights at Big Bend and 40. The official opening was held the week before and the theme of the restaurant is Old World American foods, including such dishes as rabbit and squab, so I knew this would not be a typical meal.

Starting with the appetizers, Beth and I, along with my parents, decided to be adventurous and try the creamed lobster on fried bread. The lobster came in such a rich sauce that you really needed the bread underneath to pick it up and help soak it all up. Delicious!

As a special treat, the chef sent over three types of caviar for the next course! I had never seen eggs so large before and the ones I tried had a salty tuna or salmon flavor. We also each ordered a small salad with greens sprinkled with goat cheese so I didn’t have to go completely without cheese on this night.

The highlight of the meal by far was definitely the whole, red snapper, which was more than enough for the four of us. Luckily, Linda had NO fear and quickly went to work cutting into the fish despite a lack of proper utensils. The meat underneath the skin easily flaked off and tasted so light and fresh. Once we cut all the meat from one side, Linda then pulled up the tail and the bottom half almost fell right off the rest of the bone!

For our sides that came a la carte, we ordered a few vegetable dishes that were appropriately sized. The Roasted Mushrooms were lightly seasoned and easily everyone’s favorite as opposed to the creamed kale, whose sauce drenched and overpowered the leaves. The cheesy grits actually tasted more like potatoes and definitely were a guilty pleasure although it was hard to get off the spoon because they were so thick. hehe

We all desperately wanted to try a dessert as well but no one had room since we still had quite a bit of fish leftover.

Instead of my usual glass of wine, I wanted to test out Bartender Matt Sorrell’s “Mr. Collin’s Mule”, which tasted similar to a ginger beer. Very refreshing without the heavy, boozy flavor. I do hope to try more of his specialty cocktails in the very near future!

Resources:

Root = http://rootstl.com

Mad Tomato

Unfortunately, Mad Tomato has closed.

Since my foodie friend, Beth, offered to take me out for my birthday, it meant I got to try Mad Tomato, which had been at the top of my list after hearing so many good things about it. Better yet, Beth promised that I could order cheese!

Mad Tomato had nine different cheeses to select from so it was hard to pick between my local favorites such as Baetje Farms or to go with something Italian to keep with the theme of the evening. Luckily, I was allowed to pick a few so I went with the Alpine from Marcoot Jersey Creamery, the Widmer 6 year aged Cheddar from Wisconsin, and then a firm goat cheese from Italy.

Next course was the appetizers and you could definitely make a meal from them because there are so many to choose from. We selected the Calabrese Olives and the Abruzzese Prosciutto di Parma Salumi, which provided a salty break in between bites of cheese.

I was about to order Grandma’s Eggplant, but it was explained to me that this was not the eggplant parmagian that I am used to so instead I went with another all-time favorite: Ricotta Gnocchi. Super rich, cheesy and creamy.

My friends ordered the Fettuccine-Gulf Shrimp and it’s strange to taste fettuccine in a tomato sauce instead of the traditional alfredo, but this was a much lighter pasta and I really enjoyed the huge chunks of shrimp in every bite.

The other item I highly recommend is the pizza as they have their own brick oven on site. I had a couple of pieces of the Funghi pizza which came with mozzarella and arugula as well as the mushrooms. I probably should have requested black olives on it to make it perfect, but instead, I tried it with a fried egg on top for the first time and it’s a great combination!

My friends weren’t as lucky as their pizza came out burnt and had to be replaced. Since the pizza is thin crust, it really didn’t go so well as leftovers either.

As the person with the birthday, I had the added pressure of picking out the wines for the table but I immediately knew that I wanted a Barbera, which is sometimes called the “Italian Pinot”. This way everyone could have red that was not too dry and the 2008 RioFava Barbera from Piedmont had a strong, fruity finish. The first bottle went quick and I wasn’t quite ready to order a second one so luckily I had some help picking a red that would be a little stronger for the main course. I still really wanted an Italian wine as well so we settled on the 2008 Argianno Super Tuscan. I don’t think you can go wrong with a wine that has “Super” in the name!

I really appreciated our waiter because I asked him a lot of questions about the cheese and the wine and it can’t be easy to be an expert in everything, but I was very happy with all of his recommendations. And since it was my birthday he was kind enough to bring us Tiramisu for dessert along with a strawberry mojito in a cute, little aperitif glass!

Resources:

Mad Tomato = http://www.madtomatostl.com/