Vegetarian

Everest Cafe

by Stephanie on May 4, 2012

in American, Dinner, Indian, Lunch, Vegetarian

Good morning! I hope you’re having a wonderful Friday. Can you believe it’s May already? This year is just flying by! I’m in an especially good mood, because tomorrow I leave for a trip to sunny California! I can’t wait to eat lots of delicious food and run in the OC Half Marathon! Smile

Enough about trips. Let’s talk about food!

A few weeks ago I went to Everest Café with some friends for an early dinner.

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This cozy restaurant is located in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. It’s more commonly referred to as The Grove.

I arrived a bit early, so I flipped through the menu and soaked in the atmosphere as I waited for everyone to arrive.

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Soon enough, friends started to arrive!

 

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Time to eat. Smile

Some pappadum arrived first, along with some sort of dipping sauce. I’m assuming it was some sort of chutney.

 

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Honestly? The rest of the table scarfed this stuff down, but I’ve never been a huge fan of pappadum, and this was no different. It’s really tasteless to me. If I’m going to fill my belly with food, it better be full of flavor! I don’t want to waste any precious room in my stomach. Smile

Anyway, for my entrée, I went with the hot and spicy Chili Chicken.

 

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It consisted of boneless chicken sauteed with hot chili peppers, onions, green peppers, and cilantro.

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I was a huge fan of this! The chicken was definitely spicy, but it wasn’t so strong that it overpowered the other flavors. I enjoyed the contrasting textures of this dish as well — the tender chicken, the crunchy green peppers, the soft onions – it all worked wonderfully.

Service at Everest Café was friendly and fast, especially considering the size of our group. At the end of our meal, they brought out complimentary chai tea for everyone.

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Boy do I love chai. It was piping hot, and it was perfectly creamy, rich, and a little spicy. So good!

The owner of Everest Café, Dr. Devi Gurung States, has a strong commitment to healthy, high-quality food. No processed food, butter, or cream are used to prepare any of the meals on the menu. All of the produce used in the dishes are fresh and organic. Dr. States believes that diet is an important factor in preventing disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and it’s evident in the dishes that are on the menu. Yay for healthy eating! Smile

I would definitely recommend Everest Café. I can’t wait to come back again; I hear that their lunch buffet is to die for. Smile

See you next week!

{ 2 comments }

Local Harvest!

by Stephanie on April 16, 2011

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Vegetarian

Hello, friends! How have you been? I’ve been pretty busy with my new job, running half marathons, and training for my next race – just the usual!

Oh, and eating, of course. A girl’s gotta eat!

My latest adventure brought me to this lovely place:

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Local Harvest! Okay, so I really visited in March, while in the middle of the Vegan Challenge. But let’s just pretend for a minute that I’m not a procrastinator lazy chick busy girl for a moment, shall we?

Local Harvest is a cute little shop in the Tower Grove neighborhood of St. Louis. Like the name suggests, they use all local ingredients in their dishes. A lot of their items are organic, as well! And they have a really good selection of vegan items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I rolled with their green plate special: sesame tofu with brown rice, shitake mushrooms, and spinach.

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This was delicious! It was also extremely fresh and light. I loved everything about this dish; the firm, yet flavorful tofu, the light brown rice, the way the mushrooms just seemed to melt in my mouth.

I also ordered a side of vegan chili:

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I didn’t even miss the meat! This had yummy chickpeas in it, along with other spices that gave it that authentic chili flavor. It was a little spicy, too! I loved it.

My friend went with Molly’s Veggie Burger:

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It was a veggie and pinto bean burger served on fresh bread, with hummus, red onion, sprouts, and pickles. It came with a side of chips and balsamic potato salad. Completely vegan and not too bad! I wasn’t a fan of the sprouts on the burger, but it was good otherwise. And the balsamic potato salad was amazing! My friend really enjoyed everything.

Service at Local Harvest was pretty good. Our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, and offered suggestions.

One thing to note: the place is tiny (only about 6 or 7 tables total!), so try to come during off-peak hours so you can snag a seat without waiting! We came around 8pm on a Saturday night, and that seemed to be just right.

Unfortunately, Local Harvest didn’t have any vegan desserts (but plenty of non-vegan desserts!) for us to try. I have a feeling this was due to our late dinner, but it was still a bit disappointing.

Time for scores!

Food: 4 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 3 stars (way too tiny for me!)

Service: 4 stars

Value: 3 stars (a little on the expensive side, but the quality is certainly there, so I understood why it was priced the way it was!)

I would definitely come back to Local Harvest. Now that I’m no longer vegan (thank goodness!) I can try everything on the menu. I can’t wait!

{ 5 comments }

Juice Me!

by Stephanie on March 25, 2011

in American, Dinner, Lunch, Vegetarian

Lame title, I know. By the time you’re reading this I’m crying like a baby celebrating because it’s my last day at my current job! I start a new position at a new company on April 4th. Celebration! Smile

Anyway…you’re here for the food, so it’s my job to deliver.

If you follow my column on Maplewood-Brentwood Patch (or if you follow me on Twitter!), you know that I’m doing a vegan challenge this month. Well, the month is almost to a close (thank GOD!). Oh, it was fun, but I sorely miss meat. Especially bacon.

During this month, I’ve tried to do most of the cooking myself (post coming soon!) instead of going out to eat.

But sometimes, you gotta throw the spatula down, grab the car keys, and head out to let someone else do the dirty work.

So I went to OR Juice and Smoothie.

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It’s a cute little place in Clayton (there’s also a Central West End location) nestled between a grocery store and a bikram yoga studio. Score.

The place itself is adorable. I wanted to take pictures, but then I saw this:

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Apparently, the owners are totally against cell phones — they feel the waves mess with the integrity of the food – so I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be happy with me snapping pictures all over the place. Hey, after getting yelled at once, I’m a lot more careful, okay? Smile

OR Juice and Smoothie has a ton of vegetarian and vegan selections, which made this girl happy.

I ordered the portabella wrap: sauteed portabella, onions, red bell peppers, yellow squash, fresh green leaf lettuce, brown rice, and house hummus.

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It was huge, and it was delicious. It was also messy, which explains why I didn’t get a better shot of the inside. Or I was so hungry that I didn’t want to bother with taking more than one shot. Pick the excuse that suits you best. Smile

I also ordered a yummy vegan smoothie:

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This flavor was Pure Tropical: strawberry, banana, and guava. It was delicious! Andy’s Sunny Monkey (in the background) was also tasty, and contained orange juice and banana. So refreshing!

My friend ordered this:

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The Vegan House Veggie Burger. I’m not exactly sure what was in it, but it was amazing. It was served with yummy gourmet chips. We both loved it.

Service at OR was interesting. The woman working the counter wasn’t the friendliest woman. She was very short with us when taking our orders. But you know what? I can overlook that, because the food was that good. And while it was pricey (I think the total for everything came to about $35?), the quality of the food was there. So I guess I’ll overlook that as well. Hey, it’s my blog – I’ll do what I want! Smile

Score time!

Food: 5 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 3 stars

Service: 2 stars

Value: 2 stars

 

Even after this vegan month is over, I can see myself coming back to OR Juice and Smoothie again and again. Good, clean, healthy food. Who wouldn’t love that?

{ 4 comments }

Fancy Schmancy

by Stephanie on October 11, 2010

in American, Dinner, Vegetarian

I went to  Terrene recently. It’s a nice restaurant in the Central West End in St. Louis, Missouri. They pride themselves on using lots of fresh, local ingredients supplied by local and regional farmers. I love restaurants that make conscious choices to help our planet. Plus, local food just tastes better!

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The ambiance of Terrence was very romantic and dark. Lots of muted colors and low lighting. Oooh la la!

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I scoured the menu before I arrived, which was probably a mistake – their menu changes as ingredients fall into and out of season! So there were a few surprises on the actual menu that I didn’t see online. No worries! I’m flexible, and I love trying new food.

I was super hungry, so I started with some small plates. First up: calamari!

IMG_3121This was spectacular! Flash fried calamari, mozzarella stuffed pickled peppers, and a caper + anchovy green sauce. The calamari was so tender, and the green sauce was delicious! Very light and refreshing.

Next up? Pork belly! I was hoping to try sweetbreads, but that was no longer offered, so pork belly was a delicious second choice!

IMG_3119Sorry about the flash. It was dark in there, and flash was definitely needed! The pork belly was glazed with some sort of sweet smoky barbecue sauce, and came with pureed sweet potato topped with pepitas.

This. Was. Heavenly. I’ve never had pork belly before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was so juicy and moist, and it literally melted in my mouth! It was a little fatty (hello, it’s pork belly!), but it was so amazing.

For the final small plate we decided to try the frites: Hand cut fries topped with black pepper salt, and served with pickled onion mayonnaise and spicy horseradish ketchup for dipping.

IMG_3123Small plate, eh? Pssssh! This mound of fries was huge! They were seasoned so perfectly, and they were piping hot and crispy. The dipping sauces were both delectable, but the pickled onion mayo stole my heart!

Somehow, after ordering three appetizers, we were still hungry for dinner! My friend ordered the special of the day: pork tenderloin. It came with grits and collard greens. It was all covered in a delicious balsamic reduction.

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I stole a bite, and it was fantastic! The pork was so tender and juicy. The grits (or was it polenta?) were creamy and sweet, and the collard greens were fantastic as well. Look at that bright green color! The balsamic reduction was sweet, yet rich. I haven’t met a balsamic reduction that I haven’t liked!

I ordered the seared diver scallops. It was accompanied with potato gnocchi, beets, greens, and some sort of creamy white sauce.

IMG_3145 Do I even have to say how good this was? It was good! The scallops were fork tender and tasted so fresh (which is a feat, since we live in the land-locked state of Missouri!). The potato gnocchi were soft and succulent. The beets were sweet and tender. Everything was so good!

Our service was impeccable. They messed up my order initially, and brought out mussels instead of my scallops. I informed our server of the mistake, and he apologized profusely and allowed me to pick a soup or salad of my choosing to nibble on as I waited for them to bring out the correct order. Yay for free food! I chose the soup of the day, which was a roasted sweet potato soup:

IMG_3142It was drizzled with a balsamic reduction. The soup was pretty good, but I was hoping for some chunks of sweet potato or something. It was a little too baby-food like for my taste. It was very rich, though – the sweet potato flavor was definitely there.

By the time dessert rolled around, we were both too stuffed to partake. Besides, they didn’t offer bread pudding, so why waste my time? ;)

Time for scores!

Food: 5 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 5 stars

Service: 5 stars

Value: 3 stars (It was expensive! Glad I wasn’t paying ;) )

Overall, Terrene was a wonderful, magical culinary experience.  The food was great, and I’m still daydreaming about my scallops.

{ 12 comments }

Yummy food and…yelling?

by Stephanie on September 7, 2010

in Dinner, Lunch, Mediterranean, Vegetarian

What do you do when you go to a restaurant and the food is GREAT, but the service is sub-par? I guess you blog about it! I’ll talk about the food first, of course. The sub-par service I’ll get to a little later…

Andy and I met some friends at The Vine: Mediterranean Market and Cafe a few days ago. It’s a cute little restaurant with a grocery store attached. It’s located on South Grand in South St. Louis. I LOVE South Grand – it’s a long street with tons of ethnic restaurants, grocery stores, and shops. So much good food crammed into one area – who wouldn’t love that?

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I love love LOVE the atmosphere of this place. It’s very cozy and is decorated very well. The amount of detail put into the place is obvious.

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Yes, those are SOFAS! Nice, soft, and comfy seating for the win!

Okay, on to the food.

We started with the Hummus appetizer. A blend of chick peas, tahini sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. It was served with warm soft pita bread for dipping.

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I snapped a quick picture of the hummus before we stirred it all up and dove right in. It was creamy and delicious, and had a sharp tang from the lemon juice that I LOVED. The pita bread was soft, warm, and fresh! We had too much hummus and not enough pita, but the waitress quickly brought out more of the bread. Yum.

I also wanted to try the stuffed grape leaves. Grape leaves stuffed with rice, veggies, and spices? Yes! Count me in. I’m always up for a new adventure.

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These were GOOD. The leaves tasted exactly like collard greens. The filling was delicious and very well seasoned.

On to the real deal! I’m a huge fan of falafel, so I went with their falafel sandwich: a blend of chick peas, garlic and spices, with tahini sauce, tomatoes, parsley, onion, pickles, and pickled turnip. Wow!

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It was delicious, even though the falafel was a little too dry and crumbly for my tastes.

Andy ordered a side of fries for the table to share.

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These were SO good! I’m pretty sure I ate most of these. They were seasoned perfectly, and were hot and crispy! I’m a sucker for hot and crispy fries. :) I didn’t even need barbecue sauce for these babies! They were eaten plain. Yum!

After our meal, we decided to explore the shop that was connected to the restaurant. I thought this would be a good opportunity to snap a few pictures.

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Aren’t those hookahs beautiful?

Well, I was only able to take one picture, because shortly after I took that one, a worker came over and yelled at me, telling me to stop taking pictures! I explained my food blog to her, but I don’t think she understood. I was super embarrassed! That’s never happened to me before. What would you have done? It definitely put a damper on the night, and we left shortly afterwards.

Other than that one little snafu, the night was a success. You can’t beat good cheap food!

Score time…

Food: 4 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 5 stars

Service: 2 stars (I can’t get over the yelling situation!)

Value: 5 stars

Overall, this place was good. Super cheap and delicious food in an inviting atmosphere. Just don’t take pictures of the shop next door!

{ 3 comments }

How sweet it is…

August 29, 2010

Have you ever visited a place that makes you so excited that part of you wants to tell everyone about it, yet at the same time, you want it remain your own little secret? Well, that’s how I feel about Sweet Art. It’s a cute little bakeshop & art studio in the Shaw neighborhood of [...]

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