El Torito – When Did I Cross the Border?

Date Dined: March 23, 2014
Rating: 4 Stars

Located inside little Mexico, this charming little restaurant is attached to a killer supermarket. You won’t find your usual listing of quesadillas, Mexican food combos, or chimichangas. What you will find is some truly killer food.

On a Sunday night, we were the only non-Hispanic people in there which I took as a good sign. The restaurant is tiny, probably fifteen tables, and the décor is no frills. But that wasn’t what we were there for.

Chips and salsa came out right now. I chips were crispy, not soaked in too much grease, and warm. The salsa tasted as if fresh tomatoes might have been used and had a nice spice of them. A second salsa followed with a smoky, smoldering taste to it. I noticed that every other table was being given only that salsa, and after having a few chipfuls, I was happy they gave us the “white person” salsa.

I went straight for the tacos. At $1.89 a piece they were a steal. The options were: Barbacoa, carnitas, carne asada, el pastor, chicken, and tripe. I opted for the first four. They came out steaming hot on what appeared to be in-house made corn tortillas. Adding an order of rice and crema, my meal was complete. The rice was nothing special, but it wasn’t mushy and added a nice filler to the taco.

Jess had the enchiladas which she seemed to enjoy. Upon tasting them, I didn’t really care for them. I found them a little bland, and the sauce didn’t really do it for me. It was just a more salty taste than anything. One of our companions had the fajitas and they did not skimp on the food. A heaping skillet of chicken, peppers, and onions came out with all the fixings, and he dominated it like a champ.

I did notice that almost every table had an order of their molcajete which looked like it consisted of a large bowl of roasted veggies and meat piled high. I will definitely have to order this the next time I come in.

With two pitchers of margaritas, our total bill came out to about $70.00 or about $18.00 a person. Not bad for full bellies and a pleasant buzz. I saw some complaints about the service in other reviews. It certainly wasn’t like we were wined and dined, but the food came out pretty fast, and the server came over when she noticed our margarita pitcher was empty. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out and grab some tacos!

Iron Fork – Move Aside Taste of Chesterfield

Event Attended: March 20, 2014

Rating: 5 Stars!!!

In principal the Taste of Saint Louis, or more appropriately the Taste of Chesterfield from now on, is a grand idea. Free entry and a sampling of Saint Louis’s finest restaurants in one space. In execution it’s kind of a mess. The event leaves the streets smelling of pungent grease for weeks, the food portions are too large and expensive, and it takes half an hour to get to the more popular stands. You leave feeling overly full and much, much poorer.

The Iron Fork, sponsored by the Riverfront Times, does everything almost completely right. First, there’s a $40.00 flat admission fee, no need to carry around a lot of extra cash. I believe there’s a VIP pass too which gets you early admission, and access to a sit down area, but for your average goer, For $40, you get regular access, three free drink tickets, and lots of yummy food.

When we arrived, right at 6:30 pm, the first thought I had was literally “holy hell that is a lot of people.” To their credit, they knew what they were doing and managed to get us in within 15 minutes. Very impressive.

We immediately wasted no time in tackling the first food stands, deciding that having food in our stomachs would be beneficial before drinking anything. Our first mistake was getting individuals portions for each of us, which were sizeable and plentiful. Unless you’re eating a tiny piece of sashimi, you can easily split the dishes and always go back for seconds.

The layout of the food stands was simple. Spaced about 5 to 7 feet apart, you lined up in front and, in most cases, were promptly handled a serving of food. Unfortunately there were a few stands that didn’t seem to expect the swarm of people and they had extremely labor intensive dishes (like Iron Barley), but typically the wait was anywhere from instantaneous to five minutes at the most.

Not every stand was a gem, but there were some fairly impressive standouts. Spare No Rib was handing out gigantic servings of their Korean bbq ribs. I found the sauce on these delicious, but the meat was a little tough. Still, not going to complain about samples of ribs.

Melt stood at the ready with their signature Elvis Presley Waffle, a bacon waffle with nutella, whip cream, and a banana slice. What was most impressive is that despite making the waffles fresh, they kept the line moving at a brisk pace. The combination of all these ingredients was of course, delicious. Kakao had their own stand not too far down, serving paper spoons adorned with dollops of chocolate topped with some creme fraiche (can't hear that without laughing since South Park).

Dressel’s had cute little pork tenderloin samples with a mango chutney, and polenta. Not to be outdone, Cucina Pazzo was handing out gigantic veal meatballs, like you might find in a tiny little Italian woman’s kitchen. They were flavorful, moist, and fresh with just a hint of cilantro and Italian herbs. As a bonus, they were also handing $10.00 off coupons.

On the seafood end you had Cleveland Heath handing out square inch pieces of Hawaiin Marlin sashimi, freshly sliced from one of the most gigantic fish I’d ever seen. Believe it or not, more than one person passed on these. We were happy to take thirds just to make sure they didn’t go home with full trays. Central Table decided to pull out all the stops by serving seared diver scallops large enough to be an appetizer on their own paired with a whipped and chilled artichoke soup.

Aside from the food and drink tickets, there were plenty of establishments hawking their libations. I tried a few local whiskeys as well as a tequila or two. I also was able to sample both sangria and a variety of red and white wines from local Missouri wineries. I mean they were Missouri wineries so everything was sickly sweet, but nice of them to offer.

The event itself was incredibly gratifying, not that there weren’t a few snags. First, the lack of trash cans. Instead of placing a large trash can between every few stands they had people wheeling carts around. It was cute, but far too often my hands were full and it was difficult to juggle drinks and food.

Also, this was not a great event for vegetarians. I can count probably 5 stands that a vegetarian could visit and three of them were pastry stands. Not that I was complaining, but I’d hate to see any herbivores waste their money.

In addition, the “Saint Louis Chef” competition wasn’t well organized. I was actually really interested in seeing a live cooking competition, but the stage was placed in the middle of the room, and the announcer was using a megaphone which was impossible to hear. Also, with the elevated nature of the stage it was difficult to see what was happening.

On par, the bartending competition was badly publicized. In fact, I stood in a line for about 10 minutes before I realized that the bartender in front was making drinks for the judges. As a side note, after the judges left, I asked the bartender (pictured in the pink dress) if I could try any of the drinks, and she told me in a haughty voice “I really need to focus right now. I’ll hand out samples after the competition.” I understand being nervous about a competition, just direct me to someone else. Luckily, one of the other people at the stand was nice enough to let me sample. (The guy in the green).

Still, these were minor difficulties. All in all, the event was amazing and I eagerly await next year’s. Hopefully, we can convince another couple to go with us. As an event, easily five stars.

Crispy Green Cantaloupe - You Must Have Been Trying to Suck

Rating: 1 star


I am a big fan of dehydrated stuff. Dehydrated ice cream, apples, green beans, and really everything. I also like cantaloupe so when I saw dehydrated cantaloupe, I thought, how can you go wrong. This is how...

Upon first bite, it's quite nice, crispy, sweet, and cantaloupy. Then things go horrible wrong! The sweetness gives way to a slightly bleachy, rotten taste like they dehydrated some slightly rotten cantaloupe and then brushed it with detergeant.

I mean what? Come on guys, you could have had gulliable, old me sucking these down at $1.50 a pack forever, you just had to be decently good, and you weren't... For shame Crispy Green. For shame.

CPKs new flatbreads - Very Meh Indeed

Date Dined: March 8, 2014

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Jess and I had been shopping for custom made suits for our wedding and after being quoted a ridiculous price by Sam Cavato we needed a break, so on our way to Nordstroms we decided to stop off at the CPK at the Galleria.

I wasn’t starving and the server decided to give me her usual new item spiel. The flatbreads were only $5.99 and tiny so I said “why not?” There were three choices: bianco flatbread which was truffle cheese and fresh sage, spicy fennel sausage and poblanos, and shaved musroom and spinach, none sounded especially appetizing. I mean, would it kill you to make one of these carnivore friendly? Maybe you’ll only make a 250% markup profit, but the guests come first.

Not being a poblano fan and not really in the mood for mushrooms I settled on the bianco. Jess had a salmon Caesar which I’ll also review. The flatbread was just sort of… meh. The pizza dough was the normal CPK pizza dough, there was a tiny layer of truffle cheese, and one small piece of sage on each slice.

Now when I picture a flatbread I picture a thin, crispy piece of dough, lightly sprinkled with toppings and delivering a flavorful satisfying miniature meal. Even by CPK standards this was not it…

It was fairly greasy for so little cheese and also I think the truffle cheese was a dubious choice considering its unique taste. The pizza dough was surprisingly tough as if it had been overcooked. The sage added almost nothing except a texture difference when you bit into it. All in all, it was eh, stick with the normal pizza.

Jess’s salad however, was pretty decent. I’d give it a 3.5. It was served on a foot long plate and it was full of nice dark romaine. The chunks of salmon were nicely browned and even though their were undoubtedly taken out of a frozen pre-packaged container, they were tasty. My only complaints were that there wasn’t nearly enough (only about 4 bite sized pieces) and that the Caesar had a strange overly-tangy taste to it.

If you are planning on going to CPK, I’d say stick with their classic menu unless you really really want to pay for a slightly overcooked, greasy flatbread.

Gamlin Whiskey House – Just Shy of Wonderful

Date Dined: February 27, 2014

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I had a business lunch to get to so we settled on the fairly new Gamlin Whiskey House. I don’t venture into the Central West End, very often anymore, but a Whiskey House is one reason for me to. With over 300 varities, it sounds like a wonderful den of inebriation.

Unfortunately, it being lunch and me having to meet clients that afternoon I didn’t get to enjoy any of the libations, but I’ll be sure to return. This review will be about my general feel of the place and the lunch special.

I really liked the décor, lots of dark wood playing counterpoint to the large windows. Upon entering a large bar stocked full of whiskey greets you. We were immediately greeted and sat at our choice of tables. Strangely enough, it was almost completely empty inside at noon (there were about 3 other tables of people.

Behind us, there were rows of pickled fruits and vegetables. Whether they were there for decoration or being aged for drinks I don’t know, but it was nice in a kitschy way. Their lunch menu is a decent size with about 20 different items on it. In order to sample as much as I could I picked the lunch trio for $12.99 including soup or salad, half a sandwich, and a side.

I began my meal with the grilled Caesar salad which is always my barometer for a restaurant. I haven’t had an amazing Caesar salad since I went to Chanteclair’s in Indianapolis and I’ve been forever searching for another one. Three leafs of romaine greeted me, dressing swirled across the plate, with croutons on the side, essentially a deconstructed salad. The grilling was barely perceptible, there was a little bit of char on the lettuce. The dressing itself was standard, but good. The crowning achievement of the dish were the baked polenta croutons. Upon biting into them, I was greeted with a soft, flavorful cornmealy center. It’s a shame that it only came with 3. My biggest disappointment was the lettuce used. The romaine was a pale green color, like the kind you find in lower end restaurants.

The Black & Blue Flatiron followed with a side of fries and I was happy to see that they don’t skimp on the fries. The flatiron looked delicious with three or four quality pieces of ribeye cooked perfectly medium rare, sandwhiched between a slice of red onion and spinach. A grouping of blue cheese finished the dish lumped on one side of the bun.

Unfortunately, a perfect sandwich was just out of my reach. The meat was soft, but not tender. That is to say, when I went to take a bite I couldn’t tear it with my teeth. I had to pick apart the sandwich and cut some of it before continuing. This leads me to believe that the quality of the meat was superb, but that it wasn’t sliced well.

Still the flavoring was nice, with a salty, smoky taste to the char. The fries were an enjoyable counterpart, not too salty and nicely crispy. I only wish there was some specialty ketchup to accompany them.

For $12.99 plus tip and tax it was quite a nice meal, but it fell just short of 4 stars for me. Definitely a place I would recommend that others try out, but definitely, to use a culinary phrase “nummy”. Perhaps the dinner meals and drink menu might elevate it, but that will have to be left for another day.

Adriana’s – Not Bad, Not Great, but Not Bad

Date Dined: February 26, 2014

Rating: 3 stars

People seem to really love Adriana’s. At least that was the impression that I got from trying to find street parking. Rushing in from the cold I’m greeted by a clean, but simple looking restaurant. White walls, blue checkered tablecloths, and throwaway silverware are a staple of this place.

Adriana’s is only open from 10:30 to 3 pm, so if you go during prime lunch hours be prepared for a lengthy line to place your order but it moves pretty quickly. A pleasant lady sits behind the counter, writes out an order number, and hand you the torn off receipt. Some of the baked goods looked tasty, but you pay before you even walk past them which I found to be an awkward configuration. (There’s also a window after the baked goods, they could have just set up the cashier there).

The sandwiches are a little on the expensive end (about 8.50 plus tax), so I had some high expectations. After looking at the gigantic menu I finally settled on the “Nana’s Favorite” a sandwich served on hot roast beef, salsicca, red sauce and provel.  I like provel, but for those of you who are no Saint Louis inclined they can also go gorgonzola and provolone.

After about a five minute wait we went to the counter to pick up our order. You do have to keep an ear open as they shout out the orders and during lunch it can be noisy.

Sitting down at our table, I was greeted by something that looked fairly delicious: lightly toasted bread dribbling with red sauce and bits of meat poking out. Before taking any photos I sunk my teeth into this thing and was… disappointed.

The first thing I noticed was that my sandwich was lukewarm. It wasn’t cold by any means, but it definitely wasn’t piping hot which would have contributed my overall rating. I mean nothing is more delicious on a cold winter day then biting into a warm, steaming, sandwhich. The bread was delightfully soft and the edges were nicely toasted which might have been my favorite part of the entire meal. The sauce was thin, but tasty with just a hint of oregano and the natural sweetness you get from tomatoes. The cheese was melted on the inside and while not being anything specials helped bring the entire sandwhich together. Which left us with the meat.

Each sandwich had a 8 inch slice of salsicca sausage sliced down the middle and placed facedown on the bottom bun. The salsicca was nothing special, about the same I could buy from Schnucks. I doubt it was made in house, and it was a little bland, like they boiled it instead of steaming or grilling it.

The “roast beef” turned out to be a small slice of some meat that looked like it has been partially shredded around the edges. It was a little dry and tasteless. I’m not saying that they had to layer the thing with roast beef, but I could have bought better quality meat from the deli section at a Sam’s club.

I know people will think I’m picking on this beloved establishment, but I’m not. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great, especially for the price. If the sandwiches were 3 dollars less or the meat or sauce were of a little better quality, or the sandwich hot then it might have nudged another half star out of me.

If you’re on the hill and really craving a sandwich with red sauce then by all means check this place out, but if you’re looking for something to satisfy a “really good sandwich craving” this place is just off the mark.