Everest Cafe, and an Apology.

Everest Website
RFT Restaurant Description

Dear Longtime readers/fans/friends/people who slightly care. I need to apologize for my actions. I wasn't true to myself and I forgot about this Cute lil' blog for a while. Its not something I'm proud of, but it happened, I hope we can all move forward. 

ANYWAYS!

Today I want to go ethnic. Maybe you'd also like to go ethnic? Well, if that's the case, look no further than Everest Cafe and Bar, located on Manchester in the city's Grove neighborhood. Everest has become a pretty important asset to the city's ethnic food selections, at least to me. Why, you may ask? Buffet. 

But this is a buffet done right. 

Forget all those notions you have of  red or green or blue mystery sauce. I will admit to having eaten at a buffet before, and while nutritionally over-satisfying, I don't think I've ever actually enjoyed going to a buffet. The food is always a tad on the flavorless side, potentially cold, inevitably a poor decision later. Everest, like the mountain, towers over the competition (see what i did there? That's a simile, folks!)

If you're a newbie to ethnic cuisines, specifically Nepalese, Korean, or Indian, the lunch buffet is probably the best bang for your buck citywide. There is a pretty wide array of foods to try there, some vegetarian, some vegan, some neither of those. I made it my goal to try a little bit of everything, and it was fantastic. The naan is great. Most of the chicken dishes were excellent, but i found myself craving everything they had beans in in the buffet. 

Everest even changed my taste for greens. Being an American male, I never exactly had a penchant for vegetables, but as I've grown older, I've been giving them more of a shot. Except greens. Soggy salad lettuce never really appeared to me (or so i thought). I've always hated spinach, at least when cooked, and that's what greens always reminded me of. But then I tried the lovely Mustard Greens at Everest and fell in love. They didn't taste like I was expecting at all. They were good! I actually had a second helping! 

That, ladies and gentlemen, is reason enough to give this place a try.

Everest is also committed to cooking with healthy, fresh ingredients (a lot of them locally sourced), so if you feel like having a wholesome meal that doesn't leaving you yearning for a stretcher afterwards, this is the place to go. We went on a Sunday for a late brunch, and there were quite a few people already there. The restaurant is pretty tiny, so be prepared for some tight spaces, but the service is excellent, and the food speaks for itself. Try a little bit of everything and try to forget you're in America for once. 

Side note: If you're eating off the menu there, I believe it can get pretty pricey. In contrast, the buffet runs about 12 bucks.  

Schlafly Tap Room

Schlafly Website
Rft restaurant description

Let me start out this post by saying that the meal Chris "Chris is it" Eilers and I shared at the Schlafly Tap Room this past monday was one of the most insane I've ever had. I also learned what makes a chicken Amish, as well as many other life lessons. 

I'm going to get the bad about this restaurant out of the way from the get go. The service when we first arrived was a little insane. We later learned that the restaurant was short staffed that night, but I don't ask for much, but I'd at least like to be able to recognize my hostess as someone who works there. The girl behind the front desk was wearing an Indiana University sweatshirt and short shorts. I still half think it was some girl belonging to some family who was eating there playing the mother of all practical jokes. Anyways, that said, it was a Monday. It says loads about a place when there's a 25 minute wait on a monday evening. Either the food is good or the service is terrible. Beyond our little hostess snafu (and the fact that they don't have restaurant pagers and they asked for Chris is it's phone number) the food was stellar. 

The menu wasn't terribly expansive. But at the same time, it was pretty unique. I think it was a menu designed as a "something for everyone" sort of thing. There was the standard selection of burgers, but then once you read through the sandwiches (pretty normal, but the prime rib sandwich was a close second choice to what i got) and get to the "Bigger Things" section, you'll get a little hungrier. Everything from Steak and Fries to vegetable Vindaloo is available for you to choose. 

Naturally, being american men, Chris and I both opted for the 'Plate of Swine'. This has been the best life decision I've made since that fateful night. This wonderful, wonderful dish comes with One grilled pork chop, One beer bratwurst, and one slice of BEER BATTERED DEEP FRIED BACON. 

I feel the need to reiterate. BEER BATTERED DEEP FRIED B.A.C.O.N. 

There was also a smattering of mashed potatoes in there, somewhere (under all the meat, I think) as well as grilled veggies. The dish comes standard with sauerkraut instead of the veggies, but basically, fuck sauerkraut. It is one of my least favorite things about the world, honestly. Chris and I both subbed it out with no real problem from our waitress (thankfully, she was wearing a Schlafly shirt, so I knew I could trust her). 

The brat was great. Juicy, and I could sense the stout it was boiled in. The pork chop was also pretty good. The quality of their meat was excellent, and I'm left wondering where they source from. My only complaint about the pork chop was a bit of an overwhelming taste of char from the grilling. The chop wasn't dry by any means, but as lovely as the char marks look, they don't taste as great. 

And last but not least, the BEER BATTERED DEEP FRIED BACON. This shit was delicious in every way you can imagine. Being a Schlafly Restaurant, the beer tends to get mixed in the food pretty frequently, and this was no exception. The beer flavor was there, and appreciated. There is no fair way to describe how wonderful and amazing going in for the first bite on this was. Please go there and order this dish. It sounded like it should be at a carnival, but tasted much classier than that. 

So besides the minor downfall in the beginning service department and the extra char, all in all a great experience. The bacon was worth the price of admission by itself. The place stays busy, especially on the weekends (I believe they even have an upstairs that they open on more demanding nights), but is definitely worth a trip. Come for the Beer, stay for the food. 

Benton Park Cafe

Benton Park Cafe
RFT Restaurant Info

image stolen from the Benton Park Cafe website. 

First of all, I feel the need to say that for a moment there, I thought I was totally going to slack so hard on this silly little blog. But then I remembered that I should update it, and what better night than this overly humid stormy evening to get the writing juices flowing.

Also, before I get sidetracked, my friend, Drawz, has a cool blog of his own with some personal cooking and restaurant reviews. He's also going to post a Bogart's review soon, a place i hope to get out to as fast as possible!  http://pitbeef.wordpress.com

As I sit here, spitting out bbq sunflower seeds (new favorite snack), I can't help but ponder back to the many instances I've randomly wound up at Benton Park Cafe. Located in the city's Benton Park/Soulard Neighborhood(s) (its down the street from Soulard, but I guess still technically in Benton Park..), this is a lovely little breakfast spot.

At least on the outside. What this small (but bigger than you'd think) cafe hides is a pretty awesome selection of lunchy-brunchy-dinnertime foods as well. Just pop over to the website and check out the menu.

The first thing I'm sure most of you food blog reading dweebs are thinking is "DAAAAAAMN, that dinner shit is 'spensive!" and that's totally true, but the trick to this joke is that breakfast is served all the time! Get biscuits and gravy (best in the city, by far) at 8 pm! Get an omelet at 3 in the afternoon! Crazy idea, right? I've always been a huge proponent of restaurants serving breakfast whenever I want it. That probably explains my love of diner style eateries.

But probably the best part about BPC is how wonderful and tasteful the whole place is. The food is excellent, the waitstaff are all people i would want to hang out with, and they have a bar. Even the water they give you right as you sit down is garnished with a cucumber slice to add to the swanky factor (who does that?).

As far as food choices go, I've sampled a pretty decent selection of the menu (because its so close to my apartment). My absolute favorite thing to get there is one of the (many) Breakfast Burritos. They're huge, they're probably terribly unhealthy, they're filling, and they pack in a lot of flavor. The salsa that comes on the side of the South of the Border Omelet/Burrito is nothing to write home about, but the Fiesta sour cream really adds a new level of creaminess and taste to the dish. If I decide to go with a lunch/dinner dish, I almost always get the cucumber tomato mozzarella salad as my side. If they let me order a big bowl of this stuff as a main dish, i'd be there all the time.

The one thing that rubs me the wrong way about this joint is something i seem to consistently run into if i end up there after 7 pm. The dreaded open mic/acoustic act is always there playing. Through a PA. It makes it really difficult to carry on a conversation with all that going on, so I've learned to try and hit the place up for breakfast, brunch, lunch, late lunch, but never dinner anymore.

All in all, a very solid, slightly fancy if you feel like it neighborhood cafe. They even have a huge coffee drink chalkboard if you're into that!


And so concludes yet another positive review. I promise that next time I'll review somewhere I absolutely hate, its just so hard to choose when all the small independent restaurants in St. Louis are so good!

La Vallesana

Location
RFT Restaurant Info

Well, that was a longer break from this than i anticipated. Sometimes, i guess life just happens, and things like amateur food blogs need to be set to the side for a few days. Anyways, I'm back, and i'm bringing some ethnic to the mix. I had a couple people throw out the idea that all I've reviewed so far in my (very short) blogging career are two extra American joints, so its time to switch it up.

Cherokee Street in South St. Louis is truly one of the city's (becoming less) hidden gems. Let me phrase it like this. I've been to Mexico. I've eaten delicious authentic food in Mexico. This food is on par with, and greatly surpasses the authentic food I had in Mexico. This is as real as it gets. I'm not an idiot, though. I realize that Cherokee is home to half a dozen, if not more, real deal Mexican restaurants. But that doesn't stop the food at La Vallesana from being superb.

The tacos are EXCELLENT. My personal meal at the tiny taqueria is 3 tacos Al Pastor. But that's not to say that any of the other meat choices are any less awesome. The Carnitas are seasoned and cooked to perfection every time. I think i even accidentally got Carne Asada once, but didn't even care because they were so awesome. Season these bad boy's with a little fresh lime juice and some hot sauce (the green is where its at), and you're on your way to an amazing taste experience. But La Vallesana doesn't stop there. The burritos are ridiculously great, the Quesadillas are fantastic, and though I've never had a torta, i'm sure its on a level none of us thought a sandwich could go to. And they still don't even stop there.

This place has popsicles (Paletas) in every fruit flavor you could imagine. And Jarritos!

Now, I don't think its possible to step into the wrong Mexican place on this street, but when you need a break from being hip while you're on Cherokee at Cranky Yellow or Apop or something, keep 6 bucks handy and go get some tacos.

edit: also, the Guacamole! ITS SO GREAT. Best hidden gem on the menu.

Pappy's

http://www.pappyssmokehouse.com
Rft Restaurant Description

Again, not my image. Borrowed from the Pappy's Webpage.

Well, so far, so good on the interest level of the blog. Some really awesome friends have said some really cool things, and provided some really good feedback, so thanks, homies!

Onward to the review....erm....revue?

I'll go ahead and get this out of the way. Pappy's is my all time favorite place to eat in St. Louis. This is weird for 2 reasons.

1 - I attach no nostalgia to this restaurant at all. The times I've been here have been for either myself, or for non-events where hunger is the driving force.

2- Well, there isn't a second reason, but it sounded way better than having only one reason. My bad.

Back on track now, Pappy's is great. I've had a number of items from the menu (Ribs, Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, sweet potato fries, fried corn on the cob, green beans, baked beans, potato salad...the list goes on). There is not a single bad choice you can make when ordering from this restaurant.

That said, there's one problem I have with Pappy's. The d-bag from Man vs. Food went there. I hate that guy, but I have to admit, he has awesome taste (he also went to crown candy kitchen and puked, but that's for a different review).

Pappy's does BBQ how BBQ is meant to be done. An awesome rub, perfect cooking time, good quality meats from the start, great service, great atmosphere, basically everything i could want in a restaurant, they've done really well. They also preach (well, sort of) the idea that the sauce isn't what makes the bbq great. I've been to other joints around the metro area, and their focal point always seems to be the sauces. When I go to a BBQ place, i don't want my table to bombard me with 6 different sauces. BBQ is about bringing out the flavor of the meat, and accenting it with wonderful spices. This is exactly what Pappy's does.

I've eaten at Pappy's as recently as this past Monday (one of my two diet allowance days per week). I often find that I plan on going to Pappy's a day in advance, so it usually ends up being my only meal the following day.

The downside to Pappy's has also finally bubbled to the surface. The place is a zoo around lunch time, or dinner time. They sell so much delicious BBQ that they literally RUN OUT OF FOOD. If that doesn't speak to the level of food that Pappy's is creating, i don't know what does. I've gone at lunch time on a whim before and waited upwards of 30 minutes to place my order. Fortunately, once you place your order, it zooms out the door to you in about 2 minutes.

But honestly, take this advice. Beat all the traffic there by going at their dead times. As close to 11 am as possible, or around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. They usually start selling out of different main dish meats around 5, as well as the line picking back up.

If there's one thing I can convince you to do from reading this blog, PLEASE, go to Pappy's before you die.