Some better late than never Restaurant reviews

[fullygoldy]

In June, DH and I went to St. Louis for a “long weekend” that was actually Tuesday through Thursday.  We left the kids at home with a car and a debit card, and a promise from our neighbors to keep an eye on them.  We made the kids promise that if they were going to burn the house down, they’d put the valuables out in the driveway first.  The house and the debit card survived the experience intact, but Ruby ended up with a scraped and dented rear passenger door, thanks to an overly high curb at the gas station.  Mavis was really upset about it, but hey, it’s pretty much the least that could happen, right? (And we’ve all done similar).

 

On Wednesday night of our trip, DH and I rode the light rail into downtown St. Louis and walked three blocks to our destination – “The Top of the Riverfront” restaurant.  It’s situated right next to the famous arch, which has a fancy name that doesn’t include the word “arch”, at the top of a round hotel (Hilton? Hyatt?), 30+ storeys above the Missouri.  DH made reservations for 7:30 hoping that we’d be treated to a view of the sunset while eating.  The timing was perfect, as was the entire evening. 

 

First, during our brief walk, we toured two sides of the St. Louis Cardinals’ stadium.  There is a neat statue park on the corner we passed, lots of bronzes of famous players.  Then we arrived at the hotel, found the elevator, and rode to the top floor.  The outer ring of the restaurant rotates full circle every 90 minutes.  We waited a few minutes in the lobby with another couple before being shown to our table.  Since it was the middle of the week, we got to sit at one of the window-side tables.  We decided beforehand that we were going to order course by course, to prevent being rushed.  We’ve been to too many “nice” places that start bringing out courses as soon as they’re ready, whether you’ve finished with the previous course or not.  Our waiter, who could have been quite snooty (he had that air), was perfectly fine with our taking control of the pacing, and even helped us extend the evening by not coming around for the next order until a few minutes after the previous course had been cleared.  Since this was exactly what we wanted, we were thrilled.  He also very graciously took pictures with our camera, and I saw him doing the same for his other tables.  I’m sure it’s a very common request.  In addition to the bird’s eye view of the arch, we got to see the river and city from 270 degrees, including a cool look straight down into the stadium.  The sun set over the stadium while we were passing by – lovely!

 

First course:  River Cakes.  This is a combo of lump crabmeat and crawfish done in the style of Baltimore crab cakes.  It was served on a bed of spring greens dressed with a balsamic reduction.  The cakes themselves were iced with a drizzle of chipotle mayo.  I suppose it’s possible that chipotle is being done to death by now, but I like it, so I hope it doesn’t fall out of favor too quickly.  These were scrumptious! 

 

Second course:  French onion soup made with three onions and topped with Gruyere.  I could definitely taste at least two different onions in this.  It was excellent.  I don’t usually go for this soup, but it’s considered their specialty and came highly recommended, with good cause.  Halfway through, we switched plates.  DH had started with the house Caesar salad with house-made dressing.  It was thick, grainy, and delicious.  The garlic and anchovy content were just right.

 

Entrée:  DH ordered a giant steak.  It was probably 2” thick!  It was also cooked perfectly – exactly as he had requested.  I had a chop that was nearly as thick, and also cooked perfectly.  We had red wine with this course, but I don’t remember what it was.  The steaks were served with mashed potatoes (just the right amount, not a mountain) and fresh vegetables.  The veggies were perfectly crisp-tender.

 

About this time, we saw the couple we had sat with in the lobby leaving.  They were carrying a large (tasteful) doggie bag.  They had obviously ordered everything at once, and where overwhelmed with the quantity of food.  There is much to be gained from ordering a course at a time.

 

Finally, we shared dessert, but it's been so long that neither of us can remember what it was!

 

Afterwards, we walked back the way we came, and tried to take a few pictures at the statues.  Unfortunately, it was too dark to have much success.  We rode the train back up to our car, and felt very metro and eco-conscious the whole time.

 

 

Bzdchris and busman1994 asked us to join them for breakfast one Saturday in late June after we toured the farmer’s market.  None of us had been before, so it sounded like a good experiment.  Around 9:00 am, we walked up and were seated at one of the outdoor tables.  The breakfast menu fills one side of a tall, narrow card.  The “entrees” range from $4.99 for two eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast to $10.00 for Blue Crab Benedict or Crab Enchiladas.  Three varieties of sparkling wine are available for $3 or $4/glass, plus coffee and juice.  There are also ala carte items – fruit, pastries, sausage, etc.  The service was good, and the setting and food were excellent.  The portions may be a tad small on some items, but I think that’s just because we’ve all been trained to expect mountains of food from restaurants.  The omelets are certainly big enough – for two even!  Barley52 had the chorizo omelet and potatoes ($7-8) and took home half.  A couple of weeks later, DH and I returned, and the server was less attentive than our first one, but passable.  I had the gorgonzola-shitake omelet and DH had the cinnamon swirl French toast.  I took home half my plate as well.  DH thought the French toast plate was a little light for the price, but it was tasty.  We stuck with juice this time.  All in all, it’s an excellent deal, and much less crowded than Marigold on the opposite side of the block.

 

 

I’m always posting about going up to the Dane, but I don’t talk about the food much.  It’s a pub, with some traditional pub grub, and a few really stellar items.  There was a space of time last year when the food went downhill a bit, but they’re recovering nicely from that.  We think there was a staffing change in the kitchen.  Anyway, the “Catch” Salad has long been a favorite of mine.  They use a smaller portion of their catch-of-the-day fish for the salad.  The first time I ordered it, it was topped with a piece of house-smoked trout.  Now I don’t normally like smoked fish (or smoked beer), but I love fresh trout, so I took the plunge.  This was truly excellent – lightly smoked and still very moist and tender instead of dried out.  The salad base is modeled after a Niçoise salad, with red potatoes, green beans, olives and capers.  The suggested dressing the first time was the citrus vinaigrette, and I now order that every time.  It’s a beautiful, light, tangy dressing.  I haven’t actually seen the trout again, but I’ve often ordered the salad with grilled shrimp, or salmon or scallops.  They have several really good salads on the menu, but the Catch has become a family favorite.

 

Now the Dane has a new appetizer on their menu – It’s a smoked salmon and fresh fruit platter served with crackers and a chipotle cream cheese spread.  We all know how I feel about chipotle!  Plus, they smoke the salmon in-house, and it’s usually just as moist and tender as that first piece of trout.  One time recently, it was a little dried out and I was disappointed, but I’ve had more good experiences with the house-smoked fish than bad.  The fruit is cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and grapes.  They could probably bring a few more crackers, but it makes an excellent light meal on a hot summer night.  I recommend ordering it when dining on the patio for a complete experience. 

 

Other delights from the Dane:  The Friday Fish Fry until recently featured three large portions of pilsner-battered walleye, house-made tartar, ‘kohl’ slaw and fries for $12.95.  I don’t even like fried fish, or much fried food at all, but this was delicious.  Currently though, there’s a shortage of walleye and they’re substituting perch.  It’s not as good, unless you like having smaller pieces and therefore more crispy batter.  I say, hold out till the walleye returns.  The slaw is really good though, so if you’re dithering between slaw and fries to go with your sandwiches, try the slaw once.  You’ll like it.  We also like their fried calamari.  It’s often been the best in town, and it’s nearly returned to that status in the past few weeks.  They have several vegetarian options as well.  Rupert is regularly digging the grilled 3-cheese with organic beefsteak tomato sandwich on sourdough.  You can add bacon for a fee.  They’ve got a stuffed Portobello sandwich and a smothered veggie burger too.  And then some fancier veggie items – I’ve enjoyed the spring vegetable torte in the past.  The tomato-mushroom bisque is also quite good.  Surprisingly, all their tex-mex stuff is quite tasty.  I don’t care for the pizzas (too mushy, and overloaded with cheese), or any of the other fried fish options.  I tried the ahi tuna melt last time, and it was tasty, but the tuna salad was a bit too wet.  It would be great comfort food in the winter though, with a cup of soup.  DH loves the chicken pot pie.  Another friend loves the meatloaf and mashed potatoes (but I order it minus the barbecue sauce).  Mavis always gets a salad or a burger.  Rupert favored the traditional hot wings before going veg.  They had good heat, and weren’t too vinegary either.

 

The staff at the Dane is probably overworked, but they’re friendly, cheerful and competent.  They’re why we keep going back J even when the food takes a downturn or a favored beer isn’t quite the way we remember it.  Most of them are knowledgeable about what they’re serving, and if they’re not, they learn quickly or leave.  We’ve met several really nice regulars there, and we all make a point of introducing our new friends to our old friends.  I like having a “home” place this comfortable and consistent so close to the actual home.