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!