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.

Fitz's

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

admittedly, not my image. belongs to Crystal Clyburn

single word summary: Institution.

Let's start out with the first Saint Louis restaurant I ever remember going to.

There was one point in my life where I went to church. In hindsight, I can't believe I let my father talk me into something like that, given my stance on organized religion today.

This is all besides the point, but without that sunday at church, I would have never wound up at Fitz's

For those unfamiliar, Fitz's is a local brand of root beer, brewed and bottled in the Loop, a popular area(Delmar Blvd.) in University City, St. Louis' college neighborhood.

I remember being about 13 or 14 when we first went to the restaurant. This is neither here nor there, but at that point, I was sort of blown away that we were eating at a restaurant in the city. At that point I never even imagined living somewhere besides the Illinois suburbs I had lived in my whole life, let alone a decent apartment in the big city.

Anyways, onward to the food.

Well, maybe not. Seeing as this was so long ago, I don't actually remember what I had. I don't remember if I even liked it, actually. But I can fill in the gaps with more recent experiences with the restaurant.

Fitz's is a place that you take your family and friends who are from out of town. In that way, its sort of a welcome wagon to things i want them to know about St. Louis. I never really broke it down like this, but St. Louis is a city of icons. We have the Arch, we have the Budweiser brewery, Imo's pizza, the list goes on.

What makes Fitz's iconic, of course, is the Root Beer. Cold Root Beer on tap may be one of life's greatest joys, next to cold Beer on tap (a lesson learned only a few years ago). The soda just tastes better that way, creamier, colder, sweeter, but only just enough. The bottomless mug is one thing a person must order as soon as a member of the wait staff approaches your table. There should be no thought to this at all. While Fitz's does brew a number of other flavored sodas, i feel its inappropriate to delve into anything else but the sudsy Root Beer. My experience at Fitz's is only complete once I'm bursting at the seams with delicious, sugary soda.

But that's not to say the food is horrible, because its far from it. Fitz's offers a medley of typical american fare, ranging from burgers to wraps and pizzas. This is the ultimate kids restaurant, but some of the takes on the burgers lend themselves to a more adult palette. My go to is usually the Patty Melt burger, a typical burger, dressed up with sourdough and grilled onions. Cooked medium, this has never not satisfied me. Its nearly become a comfort food, seeing as its just about all I order when i go there. I'm fairly certain one couldn't go wrong with any burger on the menu, depending on their mood.

The desserts, of course, are another main feature of the menu. My experience is still limited, but I'd be an idiot if I didn't get a root beer float. The ice cream is cold, super creamy, and pairs well with the just brewed root beer. Big enough to share amongst 2, even 3 people, its another main event for this restaurant.

All in all, Fitz's isn't anything special, but at the same time, its wonderful. Its comforting, yet typical. Plain, but satisfying. Take your parents here, take a date here, meet up with some old friends here, and you're sure to have something you like, or adventure and try something different.

But don't miss the Root Beer.

The Beginning.

This blog has been an idea I've had in my head for a few months now, and I'm stoked I finally got around to creating it. I don't know who's going to end up reading this, or if I'll even keep up with the posts, but a start is a start....

Let me start with some intentions. Goals are good to have for things you want to do...right?

-Describe my experiences at different restaurants in and around St. Louis, Missouri.
        I've only recently become a city resident, and I'm a huge fan of local, independently run restaurants and eateries. I'd like to share some of my feelings and encounters at these businesses, and hopefully open up chances for my friends and people I know to explore a city they feel unfamiliar with, as well.

-Eat at as many different Restaurants as I can afford
        This blog will be nothing without new content on my end. At first I intend to make up for lost time and review some of the places i have been to. After that, I aim for at least one new restaurant visit per week, more or less depending on when the rent is due.

-Be Honest
       This shouldn't be a huge problem, but I'd like to force honesty from myself. I sometimes find I'll try to defend the local or independent badge on a place because its something I believe in, but sometimes, things from those places flat out suck.

-Illustrate the blog with different media elements
       If I intend to become the photographer  hope to someday be, I'd like to have visual references to the food I'm eating. This means taking a camera with me to some of the places and photographing the food. A picture can frequently say more about something that I can ever hope to put into words.


While these intentions are a little vague, I hope they're going to guide me in keeping this on track. I've had a blog or two before that ended up being personal diaries (xanga, livejournal...we all had them), but I'd like to keep this one on track, explicitly. I also plan to cook up some dishes of my own and report to the (small) audience the outcome of those experiments.


And feel relived. That was a terribly wordy first post, but I intend to be less long winded in the actual posts. I'm really not a long winded person in real life, but somehow I manage to be with written (or typed) words. I'm going to go ahead and blame all the english teachers I've ever had for telling me to be descriptive.

Also, a little about me. So far in life, I'm a perpetual college student, working a day job, music snob, food lover. I'm a kid at heart, I don't come across as a particularly serious person, but I aim to enjoy life in as many ways as possible. I'm by no means a professional blogger/anything, but for some reason, writing essays about something silly like restaurants I've eaten at sounded appealing.



And so it begins.