Josephine wrote:I'd like to second Rene G's thumbs up for the ice cream sandwich at Ted Drewes, and to add that I was impressed with Ted Drewes combination of the day: lemon ice cream and graham crackers. The audible crunch and the note of salt from the freshly crumbled crackers against the creamy, tart lemon ice cream left me feeling that I had tasted an improvement on key lime pie - quite a feat, I'd say.

Personally, Ted Drewes custard is alright. However, the combination of very tart cherries on a rich hot fudge is absolutely incredible.

Never saw the ice cream sandwich in 50+ visits.

jlawrence01 wrote:Personally, Ted Drewes custard is alright. However, the combination of very tart cherries on a rich hot fudge is absolutely incredible.

Never saw the ice cream sandwich in 50+ visits.

Ted Drewes really shines with their sundaes and concretes (and of course with the cookie sandwich!). I had the Cardinal Sin (hot fudge and tart cherries) a couple times and understand why it's so popular. I don't recall what exactly that nut sundae was but you can see how generous they are with the toppings.



The cookie sandwich has been on the menu (center bottom) for 12 years now.

Ted Drewes Menu, August 2012

Hi,

My first visit to Ted Drewes was long before I knew anyone here. I had an ice cream sundae combination with a snappy name. I returned a few years later asking for the same by name, I got a blank look in response. It appears names can be fleeting there. Fortunately I remembered the combination of raspberries with hot fudge et al.

I do agree, sour cherries and hot fudge is a worthy combination.

Regards,

The Cardinal Sin is my go to order at Ted Drewes. I can't rest the charm of cherries and chocolate coupled with Ted's rich frozen custard.

Rene G wrote:


There may well be better St Pauls but I have to think this carefully-prepared example is near the top. I found the more straightforward ham St Paul (foreground) to be clearly superior to the too-complicated Special with chicken, beef and shrimp. We got an order of egg foo young gravy to supplement the mayo-pickle-tomato-lettuce dressings but found it actually detracted rather than improved. Don't mess with a classic.

If you are an egg foo young lover as I am, the ham St. Paul is a must. It sounds like a whole bunch of wrong but somehow or another, this concoction, being perfectly constructed was shockingly a real treat and one of the better cheap eats I've enjoyed in a quite a long time. It's simplicity is crucial to its greatness. You my be tempted to get a side of the egg foo young gravy because it's only 95 cents but that is completely unnecessary and only distracts from the beauty of the intrinsic sandwich.

If they had one of these things in Chicago, I'm pretty sure I'd make it a regular breakfast item.

A couple of days ago, I caught Lidia Bastianich making sandwiches on PBS. She put together a sandwich of scrambled eggs, scallions, and prosciutto on crusty bread. I'd happily eat that sandwich for breakfast. Still, what separates Lidia's sandwich from the St. Paul? Soft white bread, lettuce, tomato and the ingredient that makes the St. Paul an object of scorn - MAYO!

Sadly, cafeterias are almost extinct in Chicago, a city that over a century ago pioneered this most democratic style of eating. Some excellent cafeterias still thrive in Indiana, but I'm unable to think of others within a few hours' drive of Chicago.* As far as I can tell, only a single classic cafeteria remains in St Louis (I'm excluding newer places like Sweetie Pie's that serve a more limited menu and office building cafeterias only open during the week). Though Miss Sheri's is relatively new at 40 years—younger than most of her customers—they carry on the longstanding Midwestern cafeteria traditions of wholesome heartland scratch cooking.



I was a bit surprised to hear, "Salisbury steak, please," come from my lips but it turned out well. Miss Sheri's makes an exemplary version—beef chopped in house, well seasoned gravy (thyme is prominent), garnished with mushrooms. Creamed spinach and hashed brown potatoes make worthy accompaniments. Like any proper cafeteria, Miss Sheri's takes baking seriously, so of course the dinner rolls are freshly made.



Beef stew was solid, slaw very good and only that sodden potato pancake was a complete miss.



We weren't in the mood for dessert but I suspect some gems can be found in the pie department. Miss Sheri's, while not among the cafeteria elite (see Bryce's Cafeteria, The Pride of Texarkana), continues to put in the effort.

* What am I missing? I'm aware the MCL chain has a branch in Springfield, but can't think of others in Illinois, or in Wisconsin for that matter. Surely there must be some classic cafeterias remaining between Indiana and Missouri.

Miss Sheri's Cafeteria
9967 Manchester Rd
St Louis MO
314-968-9995
http://www.misssheriswarsonwoods.com/
Mon-Fri 11-8, Sat-Sun 8-8

Thanks, Rene G, for posting on Miss Sheri's. I'll second your assessment of the beef stew- solid. I'd only add that one of their highly earnest staff members told us that the fried chicken is a popular special. I don't see it on the specials menu, but I'd make a point to visit on a fried chicken day. And perhaps take a trip down memory lane with one of their jello salads.

For those who like their nostalgia and their chicken served up in chic surroundings, I'd recommend a trip to Winslow's Home for the chicken pot pie.

Rene G wrote:We had a sandwich for dessert—a cookie sandwich at Ted Drewes.

It's funny, NPR's Sandwich Monday recently covered Ted Drewes, focusing on the Concrete, and completely ignored the Cookie Sandwich.



"Is it a sandwich? Of course it is."

This is hilarious--sorry in advance to our St. Louis friends but it made me laugh

http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/the-st-louis-cuisine-wikipedia-page-is-goddamned-hil-1690071082

boudreaulicious wrote:This is hilarious--sorry in advance to our St. Louis friends but it made me laugh

http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/the-st-louis-cuisine-wikipedia-page-is-goddamned-hil-1690071082

Thanks for the apology, boudreaulicious, but I didn't find the thing that funny. Not because I am offended - I just didn't get it. Is the idea that St. Louisan's always seem to think St. Louis is the best in everything? I have heard that people who live here identify themselves to new acquaintances - and rank new acquaintances - in terms of the high schools they attended. That seems a bit insular to me, but perhaps no more insular than those who identify primarily with the colleges they attended. The whole Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals seems a bit pathetic to me, (why kick a team when they are down - perennially?) but again, I just don't get it. I did run across this bit of Cardinals chauvinism at a local hot dog spot:



I teased the grill man about the sign and asked him if he was really going to charge me extra, which led to a friendly discussion in the way that most casual conversations here in St. Louis seem to go. That is something I noticed immediately on moving here from Chicago. People just are not in a hurry here. They take time to chat, perhaps because they are not planning ahead for their long commutes. Any commute here is 20 minutes and street parking downtown is available at 25 cents an hour. There was a bit of a flap here last year when Curtis Sittenfeld wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times about all the neat things about St. Louis, but did not mention our museums and other institutions. She was writing about all the things that make St. Louis livable. The fact is, that it is easy to make a splash here - easy to find others who will support you in that pet project and affordable to make your dream come true. Just ask the poetry cooperative that does sidewalk poetry at festivals and has a brick and mortar home in the Benton Park Neighborhood. But I digress.

The cliche about glass houses comes to mind when I recall this frank, billed as a "St. Louis Dog." A bland, snap-less standard-issue dog the taste of which was completely obscured by the marinara sauce, and the soft texture of which was made gummy by the melting Provel. Oddly, the whole thing was somewhat improved by the stale and somewhat crunchy bun.



I agree that Provel is the Devil. But I feel duty bound, as an adopted daughter of the Gateway City to point out - lest you think the verdict is in on St. Louis' food inventions - that T-Ravs are a distinct improvement on the Jeno's Pizza Rolls my teenage brothers used to down by the dozen. They can be made to be good, like any dumpling, and I have had a wonderful version on The Hill as stevez can attest. No less a luminary than Rene G has pronounced IMO's pizza "not bad." PIGMON, for that matter, told me that he would happily order a St. Paul sandwich again, as it makes a nice breakfast. I'm not sure I am ready to get on the St. Paul bandwagon, but the Pork Steak is a thing of beauty! Smoki O's BBQ makes a stellar example. Their pork steak made me wonder what is the big deal about ribs.



And here is a bit of history on the pork steak. Schnuck's, a local grocery chain, claims to have originated the cut in the 1950's while searching for something that was within the budget of every family. No complaints there. We need more grocers who think that way. BTW - even the local Whole Foods stocks pork steaks.



You will not have any argument from me about the problems of injustice and oppression in St. Louis. They are real and people need to open their eyes now and make sweeping changes. But where food is concerned, St. Louis can be proud.

The post was in no way endorsed by me--while I've spent a lot of time in STL when I worked for my former employer, I haven't had the majority of the foods (or witnessed the attitudes) they were skewering (I rarely left Creve Coeur where our office was located). I just thought the rant was funny--you could probably sub just about any city in the country and find similar idiosyncratic, silly, homerish things to write about. But good thing they didn't come across that hotdog--I can only imagine what they would've said about that

I haven't updated this thread recently, but I continue to insist on Sugarfire every time I'm there to visit family. The pulled pork, smoked turkey and baked beans are excellent. I've found the special sides to be a bit hit or miss.

The Bagel Factory continues to crank out fantastic bagels. (The best bagels outside NYC, IMHO.)

A recent discovery was Sauce on the Side -- a recommendation that came via my dog trainer. They have a fantastic assortment of not-your-run-of-the-mill calzones, plus a great looking beer selection. (Sadly, we were ordering takeout, so no beer for me.) I had the Figgy Piggy (Applewood Smoked Bacon, Figs, Balsamic Onions, Boursin, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Garlic Honey Oil, Red Sauce), which I loved. Two locations in St. Louis and Clayton.

Josephine wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:This is hilarious--sorry in advance to our St. Louis friends but it made me laugh

http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/the-st-louis-cuisine-wikipedia-page-is-goddamned-hil-1690071082

Thanks for the apology, boudreaulicious, but I didn't find the thing that funny. Not because I am offended - I just didn't get it. Is the idea that St. Louisan's always seem to think St. Louis is the best in everything? I have heard that people who live here identify themselves to new acquaintances - and rank new acquaintances - in terms of the high schools they attended. That seems a bit insular to me, but perhaps no more insular than those who identify primarily with the colleges they attended. The whole Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals seems a bit pathetic to me, (why kick a team when they are down - perennially?) but again, I just don't get it. I did run across this bit of Cardinals chauvinism at a local hot dog spot:

You will find the same reaction in Milwaukee and Cincinnati. I believe that part of it stems from the way that SOME Chicago Cubs act when they come into town for a baseball game. They come into the stadium, get far too rowdy and have no respect for the other fans around them. The year I had season tickets to the Milwaukee Brewers, there were more fights and other problems during 10 Cubs games than the other 70 games combined.

Baseball weekends in St. Louis are big money and generally sell out many of the hotels in the metropolitan area.

jlawrence01 wrote:

Josephine wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:This is hilarious--sorry in advance to our St. Louis friends but it made me laugh

http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/the-st-louis-cuisine-wikipedia-page-is-goddamned-hil-1690071082

Thanks for the apology, boudreaulicious, but I didn't find the thing that funny. Not because I am offended - I just didn't get it. Is the idea that St. Louisan's always seem to think St. Louis is the best in everything? I have heard that people who live here identify themselves to new acquaintances - and rank new acquaintances - in terms of the high schools they attended. That seems a bit insular to me, but perhaps no more insular than those who identify primarily with the colleges they attended. The whole Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals seems a bit pathetic to me, (why kick a team when they are down - perennially?) but again, I just don't get it. I did run across this bit of Cardinals chauvinism at a local hot dog spot:

You will find the same reaction in Milwaukee and Cincinnati. I believe that part of it stems from the way that SOME Chicago Cubs act when they come into town for a baseball game. They come into the stadium, get far too rowdy and have no respect for the other fans around them. The year I had season tickets to the Milwaukee Brewers, there were more fights and other problems during 10 Cubs games than the other 70 games combined.

Baseball weekends in St. Louis are big money and generally sell out many of the hotels in the metropolitan area.

Thanks for the laugh. You think the fact the fights double may have something to do with the fact attendance doubles? I do. How do you sell out a sporting event in Milwaukee? Make sure a Chicago team is playing in it. There's fights at all sporting events where theres a rabid fanbase. Speaking of fanbases, there's none worse than the Cardinals so enough with the justification. Those that have been to a Cubs-Cards game at Wrigley (or Busch) can attest. But you don't have to go to know. Just check out @baseballsbestfans (NSFW). Deadspin also does a good job taking out the trash. They're always on top of it. Since this is a food site here's a pic of a bacon wrapped hot dog topped with alot of crap from Busch Stadium last summer. Not bad if you're hammered off 15 Budweiser's, just keep your eyes down and away from all the "I am Darren Wilson" shirts being worn with pride. But hey it's the Cardinals way aka getting blackout drunk and driving your car into a wall. Though some do prefer passing out at a red light and waking up from it. Yeehaw.


Trashy Hot Dog for Trashy fans

My problem with the Jezebel article is that it's not funny, as true as some of the worn premises are, and I think the author was going for funny. Zingers like "Provel Sux" and "Racist rednecks" snickered by those charicatured in Portlandia doesn't work for me.

However, 20 years as a Wrigley area property owner confirms this: the problem is Cards fans. The proportion of Bud swilling louts pissing and puking in my yard over the years is way skewed towards those wearing Pujols jerseys. Since no one lives around the Cards' faux Wrigley stadium (old Busch's Jetsons elegance was the best thing about the Cards- it went with the arch and airport for chrissakes), Cubs fans can't truly reciprocate.

chgoeditor wrote:I haven't updated this thread recently, but I continue to insist on Sugarfire every time I'm there to visit family. The pulled pork, smoked turkey and baked beans are excellent. I've found the special sides to be a bit hit or miss.

I quite agree, chgoeditor, Sugarfire BBQ is consistent --and near me! The sides are good, but not the draw, though they do have more sides than most. Their burger is outstanding, IMHO. But what I'd like to draw folks' attention to is the newish Sugarfire Pie shop nextdoor. I opted for the pecan, which was quite good, but sometime I'd like to try the Stack Pie or the Pecan Pie Cake. These are things pies that I have only read about in old cookbooks.

Pecan Pie Cake @ Sugarfire Pie

Stack Pie @ Sugarfire

I have been to St Louis many times in the past and never got out of the airport, with STL approx. 3.5 hours from my house not sure why I hadnt rolled down for a roadtrip before this last week for a short Spring Break(i know glamerous destination for Spring Break, but im saving my duckets for Denver in June).

If one is rolling down to STL cant see why a stop at Cahokia Mounds wouldnt be in the cards (unless you hate history):



Mound 72, look it up, interesting how many bodies were sacrificed and buried here(272):


a worthwhile link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mound_72

Walked across the Grand Plaza towards Monks Mound:



2nd set of stairs are an ass kicker:



View from the top - STL in the distance:



Time for a drink - I dropped the girls at a mall in the area and I hit Fast Eddies Bon Air - cmon, folks who know me know I cant pass a spot like this up.

old school - the only school:



Cheap drinks, lots of food options as mentioned above, but I steered clear and just enjoyed the 70 degree day on the patio.

Fast Eddies Bon Air
1530 E. 4th Street
Alton, IL.

http://www.fasteddiesbonair.com/

Needed a quick lunch so some fried chicken was in order - a spot open since 1937 should do the trick. - Castelli's been around since 1937 - There special Talk-n-Chic fried chicken -

solid:



small, but tasty bird.

Castellis Restaurant at 255
3400 Fosterberg Road
Alton, IL.

http://www.castellis255.com/

Rolled over to STL in time to check in at the hotel - and head out for dinner. First nights choice was Broadway Oyster Bar -



cajun/seafood place with a large patio.

p & e shrimps(dug the gin in the cocktail sauce - boozy), NOLA style chargrilled oysters and crawfish bisque:



All were devoured. Entrees were unmemorable - Vangie went with a cajun combo - all bad(jambalaya, rice and beans and etoufee) - I did snow crab.

Even with the hits and misses I liked this place:

Broadway Oyster Bar
736 S. Broadway
STL

http://www.broadwayoysterbar.com/

I like donuts, more often at night.. - so a cruise across town was in order to Donut Drive In.





Place was hopping with customers and folks in back whipping up donuts. Grabbed some jellies(personal favorite), some apple fritters(sweet), and some cake donuts with sprinkles). Good shit all.

Donut Drive In
6525 Chippewa St.
STL

Thursday AM we hot over to Soulard Farmers Market around 9am, still quite a few vendors but no pork rinds Doh!, knew we would be coming back.



Alright, I was hungry at this point and had been following a few foodtrucks on Twitter, Guerilla Streetfood was the choice today:


Filipino style foods, I went with the flying pig(roasted pork asado, chilis, calamansi, sriracha, rice, 1 hour egg.





money dish.

Also did Chicken Adobo(chicken thighs braised in soy sauce, there was ton of garlic and even some crispy chunks atop the rice underneath - (vangie makes a bad ass version being filipina, but I like this one alot:



doesnt look like much visually but the vinegar was popping. Loved it. craving it now, prolly should have added the 1 hour egg to this dish as well.

Guerilla Streetfood (food Truck)
http://www.guerrillastreetfood.com/about/

That was just a snack for the 3 of us, so we popped over to Bogarts for some BBq:



Line of about 6 or 7 when we got there, line out the door when we left. Seated only after you order, well run machine.



went for a snack of a 1/2 slab of bb ribs and a 1/4 lb of burnt ends(deviled egg potato salad and pork skins as sides).



ribs were meaty & spot on. Burnt ends, not as fatty as some versions I have gotten, but more like smoked chucky to me - different strokes I imagine - not saying it wasnt good. Pork skins were great.

Bogarts Smokehouse
1627 A. 9th
STL

http://bogartssmokehouse.com/

After the girls hit the American Girl Store in on of the burbs for a tea party we hooked up for dinner at Peacemaker Lobster & Crab for supper:

i like shrimps, these P & E worked:



also did a lobster frito pie app, mainly to see what it was.



chunks of lobster, chili, fritos, etc. it was alright.

mains - fresh blue crabs - steamed:



hellz yes. called until they had them in, 2 females popping with roe, all fresh and faboo.

the special that night - crawfish boil - yes please:



nice spice level to the bugs, loved the deep fried brussel sprout petals mixed in with the halved boiled ones.

Overall a great visit, top notch staff, cheap buffalo trace pours, ectc.

Peacemaker Lobster & Crab
1831 Sidney St
STL

http://peacemakerstl.com/

Friday morning woke up craving corned beef - Saw a spot that opened early and didnt mind slinging sandwiches around 9am.
Protzel's Deli - around town since 1954. - Corned beef made in house.



went with a Ronny's Special(corned beef, Russian Dressing, slaw on rye - crave these frickin flavors:



nice folks running the spot, and a nice breakfast sandwich.

Protzel's Deli
7608 Wydown
Clayton, MO.

http://www.protzelsdeli.com/

After hitting the zoo for the first time this visit we were near where another food truck I was following was set up for lunch. Taste-D-Burger



smash burgers and shoestring fries is their specialty - I did a double cheesw with pickle, onion and ketchup only. IMHO fries are filler so I didnt bother.

Double cheese:





some lacy edges - overall a burger I would eat a couple times a week.

Taste-D-Burger (food truck)
http://tastedburger.com/

When I told Shay I had a dumpling place on my short list she insisted we roll that way asap. Lonas Little Eats - they have a stall at the Soulard Market, but this is their brick and mortar spot:



place was packed on friday for lunch, we got an order of the beef and mushroom dumplings to go:



I know my photos can suck, but these were great., loved the filling, with a curry kick.

Lona's Little Eats
2199 California
STL

http://lonaslileats.com/

After those bites it was time for some photos I had wanted to get.

Bevo Mill - Built by August Bush, a windmill halfway between the brewery and his home(Grants Farm) - Finished in 1916 - Opened as a restaurant in 1917 - now a banquet hall





Bevo Mill
4749 Gravois Ave
STL

http://thebevomill.com/

Across the street was this cool old bar and sign:



Sat am was a fine morning in STL:



Got back to the zoo for a second time as well as to the Soulard Market for those pork rinds:



Also got some tomatoes, bacon, mini donuts, etc. Really wish we had a market like this around here.

Being a short 3.5 hours home we had a couple things on the slate for Sat. A Crawfish boil in the afternoon downtown STl gave us enough time to roll over to a fish restaurant in Swansea, IL. & the Swansea Fish Stand for lunch.







got the tip on this place from DaBeef- appreciated. Small building next to a VFW type hall doing fish and other items friday and sat only. Sat menu expands to fried chix , DF tacos, and pork chops.

Went with some of the deep fried pork chops as well as a few of the DF tacos:



tacos were good, a little heavy on the shell to meat/cheese ratio, but id eat these again. Chops(didnt get a good pic) were good stuff, maybe a little heavy on the salt in the breading.

Swansea Fish Stand
301 Service Road
Swansea, IL.

http://www.swanseafishstand.com/

last stop was a trip back across the river to STL. Urban Chestnut was having a crawfish boil, figured why not.



large outdoor biergarten was great for the event. Crawifsh were just ok. Fresh as heck, they got 600# live in, needed some kick and flavors. Either way it was fun to sit outside and eat some mudbugs in the sun.



Urban Chestnut
3229 Washington
STL

http://urbanchestnut.com/home/

Overall we/I enjoyed STL. Like most places I visit when outside of Chicago and its suburbs, the folks who lived in STL I met were friendly & the food we had overall was good. The city is pretty easy to get around other than their poorly timed stoplights and the construction going on down near the Casino hotels. the STL zoo is free and great, you can park on the street by the north entrance for free.

Dug into the list I had pretty well, but ran out of time and pretty much hit a food wall on Thursday which cost me some spots. All good, I can do that 3.5 hour drive in my sleep. Ill be back.

Jim-

Great trip recap. Thanks for posting. I think the dumplings look good, so nice photos.

Jim,

Nice post. I had no idea that STL was such a hotbed of Cajun cooking.

stevez wrote:Jim,

Nice post. I had no idea that STL was such a hotbed of Cajun cooking.

thanks

neither did I, spots just keep coming up when I was searching, I think the crawfish being avail is that are just that they are in season so a couple spots had them.

Soulard Market has a cajun spot there now as well. Nortons Cajun Corner - owner had a cajun spot(nortons cafe) in town back in the day and just reopened at the market in the last few months. looked good.

I forgot to post the t the last spot we went for dinner(didnt snap any pics as the room was dark) - Friday night we headed over to Riverbend Restaurant and Bar. Main reason was to try their seafood gumbo - a friday only thing. A bowl comes with a gumbo crab - A fantastic bowl of gumbo with shrimp, crab, catfish and oysters.

Other foods were pretty good., cant go wrong with some fried shrimp platters, thats what me and shay did, vangie went with soft shells.

Riverbend Restaurant & Bar
1059 S. Big Bend
STL

http://www.riverbendbar.com/

Jim, terrific post! I have family in St. Louis and get down there with some frequency so Its great to learn about some new places, thanks for the intel.

mbh wrote:Jim, terrific post! I have family in St. Louis and get down there with some frequency so Its great to learn about some new places, thanks for the intel.

thanks MB, one of my nieces is starting college in STL in the Fall so I can see some more frequent trips down.

A couple other notes:

Ted Drewes,



cool neon, nostalgic place and all, custard was just ok.

Jack-in-the-Frickin'-Box they got them here, everywhere. Enjoyed more than my share of their fried tacos as my last meal of the night.

Crown Candy Kitchen another really cool spot, had to swing by 3 times to find a time to slide in when there wasnt a line 30 people deep out onto the sidewalk. Would have loved to try one of those BLT's, but timing wasnt right. Chocolates, licorice and ice cream were spot on.

Flamingo Bowl


was just gonna swing by for a drink and the neon sign, but ended up rolling a couple games with Shay(like $4 a game). Fun spot.

Flamingo Bowl
1117 Washington
STL

http://www.flamingobowl.com/

I hit about 2/3 of the places my list, biggest miss for me looking back is not getting to Fort Taco(des moines style puffy tacos). I also have a few chicken, bbq and other spots left for the next visit. Doubt we will stay downtown next time, the burbs will work just as well I believe.

Great post, jimswside! I especially appreciate your thoughts on Cahokia. From what I hear on local radio, they are an Illinois budget crisis victim. The state will no longer fund their brochures and they are looking for private donations. Seems like a UNESCO World Heritage site deserves a bit more respect.

I agree that Protzels is a terrific place - such an institution. While the corned beef is excellent, I was even more impressed with their Matzoh Ball Soup. I asked the owner if they use schmaltz, which I could have sworn I tasted. He said they did not, out of health concerns, but I still wonder how they got the effect.

stevez wrote:Jim,

Nice post. I had no idea that STL was such a hotbed of Cajun cooking.

Actually, stevez, I have learned that the connections to Louisiana are deep here. St. Louis hosts the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the US, mostly in Soulard. Molly's is the place there that I associate with gumbo, but there are others. Our top - really only freestanding - fish market is Bob's Seafood (at 170 and Olive) which began in the 70's with Bob Mepham, a local guy, driving weekly to the Louisiana coast for fresh seafood.

Within the St. Louis culinary community the NOLA influence is strong, though I am not certain about the Cajun connection specifically. Sauce magazine did a piece on local chefs with Louisiana roots a couple of years ago, featuring, among others, Chef Josh Galliano (The Libertine) and Pastry Chef Simone Faure. Simone Faure came here after a post-Katrina stint in FL and landed at the Ritz Carlton until she and Beard Nominee Ben Poremba teamed up on Patisserie Choquette in Botanical Heights. She is totally a kick as a chef-presenter - my vote for best new TV chef personality. I took a class from her last winter and she is truly charismatic, as well as talented, (though when I reflected my wish to see her on TV she protested.) I would put her pastries up against any I have had - NY, Chicago, Paris, Vienna - all amazing. Here is a pic of her in action, and the lemon tart she demonstrated:

https://flic.kr/p/mU2a3j
https://flic.kr/p/mTYNUi

Thanks again, jimswside, you are inspiring me to get out there and eat!

Josephine wrote:

Thanks again, jimswside, you are inspiring me to get out there and eat!

you do a pretty good job of getting around the STL from the 2 threads on STL that I have seen.

Curious if you know anything about this spot - Mesnica Penlan/Cafe Bolero


bad pic - but from what I gather its a Bosnian butcher shop, perhaps restaurant. Its right down the street from the Bevo Mill - 4716 Gravois

Sign above the door mentions roasted goat daily if I remember correct.

jimswside wrote:Curious if you know anything about this spot - Mesnica Penlan/Cafe Bolero


bad pic - but from what I gather its a Bosnian butcher shop, perhaps restaurant. Its right down the street from the Bevo Mill - 4716 Gravois
ou
Sign above the door mentions roasted goat daily if I remember correct.

Regrettfully, jimswside, I have done only the barest exploration of Bosnian spots in St. Louis. I am waiting for an LTH presence to help me delve deeper into the scene. I have been to Iriskic Brothers, an eat-off-the-floor pristine Bosnian butcher shop-cum-grocery manned by a precision drill team of white lab-coated butchers, though it was not the one in your picture. They had unbelievable prices on veal and terrific cevaps. I can't recall the name of the place, though I will post on it if I get there sometime this summer. The neighborhood has a number of cafes that recall those in the Lawrence and Western area in Chicago. There is also a pizzeria called Mr. X pizzeria that has, I believe, a basturma-type pepperoni stand-in as a topping option.

St. Louis Bosnian, the website, hosts a lot of info on the Bosnian community in St. Louis. Bosnian immigration has been seen as a boon to the south side of St. Louis, with an influx of businesses there and into the south suburbs. In the area around Bevo Mill there is also a number of Vietnamese groceries and restaurants. Fertile ground for LTH exploration.

Here is a link to a community page of St. Louis Bosnian and and their re-posting of article on Bosnian restaurants from the STL Post Dispatch that is actually informative. (If only they could do as well with the real news from STL.)

And apparently Guy Fieri is on the hunt in south St. Louis. Here is a link to an interview with the siblings who run Grbic, the best-known Bosnian restaurant in St. Louis about their experience on Guy's Grocery Games -some kind of game show.

Iriskic Brothers Butcher Shop and Grocery
5411 Gravois Ave
Saint Louis, MO 63116
(314) 752-3463

Mr. X Pizza
Home of the 30" Pizza
5924 Morganford Rd
St Louis, MO 63116
Bevo Mill
r (314) 353-7060
mrxpizza.com/en/mrxpizza/home

Just found this profile of Grbic chef Senada Grbic, a culinary school graduate from Cordon Bleu in Chicago.

Nice job Jim, I really enjoyed it

Seriously, Crown Candy Kitchen would be a contender for GNR if it was in Cook County!

My sister used to live here. She was a Chiro student at Logan in the days before SM. Each Sunday she would have a Crown Sundae for dinner.

I am at a lawyers' conference just north and after a long day decided how could I be 20 miles away and not go. I came to feel a connection to my sister. I ordered a Crown Sundae with a scoop of black cherry and a scoop of vanilla. It comes with caramel and hot fudge sauces and that cherry. A surcharge of 79 cents for a sweet and cloud-like in it's fluffiness whipped cream. It is served in a goblet. It was delicious!



Crown Candy Kitchen
1401 St. Louis Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63106
313-621-9650
http://www.crowncandykitchen.com

Was back down in Da Lou and also did some eating in the metro proper, though a large chunk of stops this trip were made out in the burbs and along the river. I had some not so nice things to say about the people of STL upthread but the truth is there's also many good people that live there. They just don't happen to be fanatics for the local baseball team or wear badges. I keed, halfway anyway. But back to the point there's good stuff going on in St. Louis and to not go there because of a select few would be unfair to those meaning well.


Falstaff, the Original Sam Adams

Upon getting into town and enjoying a few brews on a golf cart ride thru the neighborhood, yes this is a thing in Soulard, we headed over to 'Food Truck Friday's' at Tower Grove Park. On the second Friday of each month more than 20 trucks park around the circular park and the locals flood it for food and drink. So much so that literally every truck, despite there being at least 25, had a line no less than 20 deep. I wanted to watch the Bulls game so we had to take a pass but I will get back to try the Jambalaya Truck that was calling my name, mine and 50 others.


Food Truck Friday's

Quick snack before going over to my buddies watering hole for some basketball. Spare No Rib is taking the three most trendy things in food over the last five years and putting them all under one roof.


Benton Park Neighborhood

This place is pushing BBQ, Beer, and Tacos. My friend had yet to stop in but he heard good things and we both smelled good things outside so a quick pour and a bite to eat were to be had. I forget what I drank but St. Louis has a helluva craft beer scene going on right now. Not sure how Budweiser feels about this but I imagine they'll just buy them all up at some time. Corn fritters to start were on point. Fluffy balls with lots of corn and onion mixed in these were fritters that can make a man a fiend.


Corn Fritters

The owner is from some Latin American country escaping me right now so the food has some flair in that regard. You can expect to find items like smoked chicken sopes and rib tacos on offer. Both of which we snacked on. The actual sope was a little too chewy but the smoked chicken meat was liked. The Rib Taco was worthy of another round. It just consisted of rib meat chopped down into pieces that came with a very nice smoke flavor to it. Topped with onion and cilantro it's hard to go wrong putting good BBQ in a tortilla.


Smoked Chicken Sope / The Rib Taco

stevez wrote:I had no idea that STL was such a hotbed of Cajun cooking.

jimswside wrote:neither did I, spots just keep coming up when I was searching, I think the crawfish being avail is that are just that they are in season so a couple spots had them.

I forgot to post the the last spot we went for dinner(didnt snap any pics as the room was dark) - Friday night we headed over to Riverbend Restaurant and Bar. Main reason was to try their seafood gumbo - a friday only thing. A bowl comes with a gumbo crab - A fantastic bowl of gumbo with shrimp, crab, catfish and oysters.

Richmond Heights Neighborhood

I touched on this a little bit in the Great River Road thread and in short summary St. Louis was founded by two guys from New Orleans and to this day the cities consider each other cousins. So much so that as mentioned by Josephine St. Louis has the second largest Mardi Gras Party in the country. Neither city is shy about their drinking habits. Riverbend is one of my friends favorite stops. They used to be in a small hidden spot in the Soulard neighborhood but moved to larger digs early this year. I'm just realizing now that it was indeed a Friday when we were there but it was close to closing so I just told my friend to do the ordering so I forgot about the gumbo.


Crab Meat Stuffed Shrimp

If you saw my guy you'd know he knows the drill. Crabmeat stuffed shrimp brought me to New Orleans and thats what the owners expect, they're from there originally. Then there's the namesake Po Boy where they take their Roast Beef which is more debris than sliced and mix it with some hot ham, Swiss Cheese, and gravy from the beef. It gets dressed with the traditional po boy toppings and if not for the bread would have also took me straight to New Orleans. Not to knock it, this was an awesome sandwich is was just missing that sesame seeded crunch my favorite spots in NOLA have.


Riverbend Po Boy - Hot Ham, Roast Beef, Gravy, Swiss Cheese

As has been touched on donuts were trendy in St. Louis before trendy was a thing. The donut culture here goes deep. I don't eat donuts in the morning but I will scarf some down as a craving for my late night sweets need. So even better is the fact that most of the city's donut shops are open all day or in some cases they don't even open until the evening. Donut Drive-In has an all time classic as far as neon signs go and they also make tasty donuts that will cost you less than a buck. I wanna slap myself every time I stop into Stan's after payment. Go for the cake donuts.


Found in Lindenwood Park along Route 66

Then there's the place I posted about upthread. John's Donut Co. has become very popular since my last stop in. They've been around since the early 80's and have won awards before but have recently become a major hit with the drinking crowd which comes as young people move into the area.


Kosciusko Neighborhood

The reason it's so popular with the after hours crowd are the actual hours. They don't open until 11p so if you get there around Midnight you're getting fresh baked donuts still hot from the fryer. All that said you don't need to be sky high or shitfaced wasted to enjoy these. They're the real deal and the best donuts I've had in a city serious about them. I'm all about the blueberry cake kind found all over town and John's hits a home run with their rendition.


The Evenings Bounty

jimswside wrote:I hit about 2/3 of the places my list, biggest miss for me looking back is not getting to Fort Taco (des moines style puffy tacos).

I got you covered.


In the suburb of Brentwood

I just couldn't resist. Upon arrival these looked more like the odd offering at Obie's in Maquoketa than Tasty Tacos in Des Moines. Though Fort Taco was probably the best of the bunch. First because of the crunch and second because they offered your choice of hot (Salsa Verde) or Mild (Red Sauce) and the verde packed a little punch. It's just a drive thru in an old Rally's space and the line was pretty long by the time I was pulling out so I wouldn't be surprised to see them expand in the area. Just don't expect a real deal San Antonio style Puffy Taco going in. As Jim said these are Des Moines style puffy tacos, a kind all their own.


Des Moines Style Puffy Taco

A spot I like to go to in town is Lion's Choice. They're a local chain specializing in fresh baked roast beef sandwiches and they always hit the spot for a quick cheap snack. I don't seek them out but we were driving by and again, I just couldn't resist.


Locations found around town

What makes this place popular is the fact it's what Arby's used to be. It's not mystery meat and you can have as much au jus as you seem fit. Have a cup in place of some coffee if you want.


Au Jus for all

There's nothing special about these sandwiches like those found at Charlie's in Buffalo, but they're so much better than anything from any of the other fast food joints. This sandwich with some rare thinly sliced roast beef and cheese mixed with banana peppers and au jus was worth the pricetag. I'm sure they used to be better but they're still much better than their competition.


Roast Beef and Cheddar

Last couple of spots the night before I left, I was pretty much in a food coma at this point, trying to avoid those but STL sucked me in. My buddies female friend wanted to go to this popular Vietnamese Bistro called Little Saigon and with him flipping the bills I can oblige. I wasn't hungry anyway but ended up eating a good portion of that which was ordered. The lightly battered egg rolls were enjoyed as was a plate of Bò Lúc Lac. The latter being a tender cubed beef stir fried with onion and peppers with typical Vietnamese flavor profiles. Not bad at all.


Central West End


Viet Appetizers


Bò Lúc Lac

After dinner we hopped across the street to a place called Hot Box Cookies thats specializing in after hours hot cookies. I think he said they're from Columbia, MO. Fresh made hot cookies late at night will pretty much always be good by me as will St. Louis . . . as long as I'm not wearing a Cubs hat.


Central West End


See ya next time
________________________________________________________________________________

Spare No Rib
2200 Gravois Ave #101
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 202-8244

Riverbend Restaurant and Bar
1059 S Big Bend Blvd
St Louis, MO 63117
(314) 664-8443

Donut Drive-In
6525 Chippewa St
St. Louis, MO 63109
(314) 645-7714

John's Donut Co
1618 S Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 241-3360

Fort Taco
8106 Manchester Rd
Saint Louis, MO 63144
(314) 647-2391

Lion's Choice

Little Saigon
10 N Euclid Ave
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 361-8881

Hot Box Cookies
3 N Euclid Ave
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 899-0909