brunch

J Spain’s Waffles & Wings

by Stephanie on August 24, 2012

in American, brunch, Dinner, Late Night, Lunch

I have a secret, y’all.

And no, it’s not that I say “y’all” all of the time. That’s hardly a secret.

No. My secret is that I’m obsessed with waffles.

OBSESSED.

I don’t know what it is about waffles, but they’re easily my favorite breakfast food. Is it the little pockets that hold the perfect amount of syrup and butter? Is it the fact that they come in a billion different flavors (chocolate chip and bacon waffles, anyone?) I don’t know, but all I know is that whenever I see waffles on a breakfast menu, I order them.

So when my mom told me about this new restaurant, I knew that we had to go.

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J Spain’s Waffles & Wings? Waffles and wings?! You already know how I feel about chicken wings, and you also know about my love for chicken and waffles, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I was pumped to visit J Spain’s.

The place itself is nice.

 

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If this looks familiar to you, it’s because it’s housed in the building that Smoking Joes BBQ used to call home. RIP, Smoking Joe’s. You were gone too soon!

Anyway, I ordered a refreshing sweet tea to sip on while I perused the menu.

 

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I was very disappointed that this wasn’t made in-house, but it was still pretty darn tasty.

I took a look at the menu and this caught my eye:

 

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Oh yeah, baby. Oh yeah. I had my mind made up. Chicken and waffles. Mmm!

I knew what I wanted, but my mom and sister weren’t sure yet, so while I waited, I looked through the menu some more. J Spain’s offers more than just breakfast foods; they have a pretty solid brunch/lunch selection as well. I’ll have to come back sometime to try it.

My mom was in the mood to try a little bit of everything, so she ordered a bunch of food for the table.

We started off with sweet potato tots:

 

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Yum! These weren’t as tasty as the Best Tots Ever from Blood & Sand, but they were pretty good. Crispy outside, sweet and creamy potato inside. Nice!

Next up? Macaroni and cheese.

 

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This was pretty good! It would have been better if it came out hot (it was lukewarm), but it was decent. I’d give it 2 out of 5 stars.

The corn muffins at J Spain’s sounded interesting, so we ordered that as well:

 

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Again, if this muffin was piping hot (instead of sad and lukewarm), it would have been amazing. But it was just mediocre.

For my mom’s main course, she ordered the chicken strips and waffle fries.

 

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I had a bite and they were pretty good!

My sister ordered chicken wings:

 

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I’m going to be honest and say that while these looked very good, I didn’t try them. After 10 weeks of the chicken wing challenge, just the thought of eating another chicken wing turns my stomach! At least I’m honest, right?

Finally, my food came out. I started with an over easy egg and bacon.

 

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These were not bad, but they could have been a lot better. The bacon should have been hotter. What’s up with the lukewarm food? No bueno.

So you’re probably expecting to see a picture of waffles now, aren’t you? Aren’t you? That’s what I’ve been building up to this whole time, right? And I’m at J Spain’s Waffles & Wings, right?!

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So…yeah. A girl can change her mind, right? Winking smile

I do love waffles, but french toast with powdered sugar? When I saw that on the menu, my game plan changed immediately. I don’t love french toast more than waffles, but it just sounded like it would hit the spot.

Did it? Well…yes and no.

Again, J Spain’s has some delicious food, but the food temperature issues need to be addressed. My french toast was not hot. Not at all. Not even a little bit. It’s almost like they prepared my food and then just let it sit around for 20 minutes. Lukewarm french toast is not how you make Stephanie happy.

Sigh.

I wanted to like J Spain’s. I really did. So I did the foodie equivalent of the Hail Mary pass (how’s that for a football reference!? And I did it all on my own. Proud?).

I ordered peach cobbler.

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Luke. Warm.

I give up.

Looking back, I could have asked our (amazingly friendly) waitress to take it back and warm it up, but then what? She nukes it in the microwave? I had to weigh my options. I don’t want lukewarm food, but I don’t want microwaved food, either. You know what I do want? Food that comes out hot in the first place.

J Spain’s is a new restaurant, and I know there are still kinks that need to be worked out. I most definitely plan on visiting again and giving them another chance. But if you’ve been reading my blog for any period of time, you know that I’m always honest; sometimes brutally so.

So J Spain’s didn’t ring my bell this time around. At this point in time, I can’t recommend it. But like I said, I do plan on returning very soon and trying it again.

And next time? I’ll order the waffles, darn it!

See you next week. Smile

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Murdoch Perk

by Stephanie on April 22, 2010

in American, Breakfast, brunch, Lunch

Every month I get together with my mom and sister for brunch.We take turns picking places to eat. The only stipulation? It has to be somewhere none of us has visited before.  This time around it was my turn to pick, and I really had to rack my brain for someplace new! As a (self-proclaimed) foodie, I really do get around! There was one place on my radar that I had been wanting to try, though: Murdoch Perk.

It’s a cute little corner cafe in the South Hampton area of St. Louis. Sort of in the same area as Ted Drewes. We arrived at 11am, and it was PACKED. I was surprised that we found a corner table to sit in. I recommend coming around noon or shortly after if you want someplace to sit.
I ordered the bacon egg and cheese croissant: the menu described it as ‘fluffy scrambled eggs topped with crispy bacon and american cheese on a flaky croissant.’ Mmm…I do love bacon! I had to try it.  It came with your choice of fruit or potatoes. As much as the fat kid inside me wanted the potatoes, I went with the fruit (I’m trying really hard to eat a little healthier here!).

The sandwich itself was pretty good. Didn’t blow me out of the water, but it was solid. I could have used a little more bacon and a little less egg, but that’s just the bacon lover in me coming out. The fruit? Don’t let the pretty picture I took fool you! It was a mess, simply put. A few apple chunks, some pineapple chunks, a few grapes, and smushed up mandarin oranges.  I LOVE fruit, but this didn’t look appetizing at all! And it wasn’t in a nice little cup or anything, either; it was all over the plate, where the juice from the fruit had the potential to get on the bread for my sandwich! I know…it sounds silly, but I don’t like my wet foods and dry foods to touch. Maybe I’m a little OCD.

My mom ordered the belgian waffles. She really liked them. I tried a bite and they were fluffy and very light.



The service was slow, but that’s understandable since they were SO busy. I would have appreciated a little more friendliness as well, but once again…they were busy. I guess I can understand.

On to the scores!

Food: 3 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 3 stars

Service: 2 stars

Value: 3 stars

I know the scores are pretty low, but I wasn’t really blown out of the water by this place. I live pretty close, so I’m sure I’ll be back, but I’m not itching for a return visit or anything. Oh well…you win some, you lose some, right?

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Cyrano’s Cafe

by Stephanie on March 28, 2010

in American, Bread Pudding, Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Dinner, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Lunch

I went to a cute little place called Cyrano’s today.

It’s a cafe and wine bar, but it’s most well-known for their extravagant desserts. Think gigantic ice cream sundaes, pies, and bread pudding.

One thing you’ll get to know about me as you read more and more of my blog is that I absolutely adore bread pudding. It’s one of my favorite desserts…next to tiramisu and peach cobbler. I just love it.

So I ordered their caramel brioche bread pudding. At $7.50, it was sort of expensive, but I’m willing to fork out some money for good food!

The bread pudding was very good. The brioche was very light and fluffy, and the caramel sauce was sweet, but not so sweet that it was overpowering. And the whipped cream was airy, light, and creamy. It was perfection.

yummy whipped cream!

Although dessert was fantastic, service at Cyrano’s left a lot to be desired. When I walked in, it took a while before I was greeted and seated. And then it took a while for the waiter to acknowledge us and take our order. It was just surprising, considering how empty the place was. But I guess the fabulous food made up for it.

In summary:

Food: 5 stars (out of 5)

Ambiance: 4 stars

Service: 2 stars

Value: 2 stars

I’ll definitely be back to try some other desserts.

Oh, and lovely readers, do you think you could answer this poll (and elaborate in the comments, if necessary)? I don’t know how often to update this blog. Right now I’m trying to do it every three days, but would every other day be better? Let me know.

[polldaddy poll=2940346]

{ 4 comments }

Bittersweet Bakery

by Stephanie on March 6, 2010

in American, Bread Pudding, Breakfast, brunch, Cake, Cookies, Dessert, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Lunch

Bittersweet Bakery. Ahhh.

It is located in the lovely Benton Park neighborhood in St. Louis, MO, which is a rapidly changing, growing, and soon to be AMAZING neighborhood. Hell, some might say it’s amazing already! It is definitely unique. And filled with little gems like this place.

Before I even get to the food, let’s talk about the space. It’s in a HUGE building. The inside almost looks like a loft, with exposed bricks and ductwork. It’s very very cool. I wish I could have captured that on film.

When I walked in, I noticed something that I’ve never seen in a bakery before. All of the pastries and goodies were out on display. No sneeze guard, nothing to keep you from getting up close and personal with everything on the menu. Of course when you actually order, they give you something fresh that ISN’T sitting out! What a nice way to get a look at everything.

look at all of those treats!

I had to take some close ups of the pastries out on display.

three different types of quiche!

Okay, on to the food. I started with the sauteed wild mushroom and gruyere quiche.

It was topped with a citrus herbed salad (not pictured) that amounted to a few leaves of spinach and a couple of dried cranberries; it was quite forgettable. The quiche itself was creamy, and there were plenty of mushrooms spread throughout. The crust was my favorite. It was rich and buttery. Although tasty, the quiche was honestly too rich for me, and I could only eat half. But it was still pretty to look at.

super close up of the quiche!

this is what it looked like inside. Look at all of those mushrooms...

Next up was the bacon and cheese savory pastry.  It was probably the highlight of my meal. It had a nice flaky crust, and the warm gooey cheese went along nicely with the thick, chewy bacon. It was probably the tastiest thing I had at the bakery. I could have eaten two! Or three! Mmm.

bacon and cheese savory pastry

A view of what's inside...

I saved what I thought would be the best for last. The sticky bun bread pudding. I am a bread pudding FANATIC. I love the stuff. Even when it’s bad, it’s usually pretty good.

Well…this wasn’t BAD, per se…but it wasn’t quite as good as it looked. It was topped with caramel and candied pecans, which were pretty yummy, but it didn’t have that ooomph I’m looking for. Even though the girl working the counter popped it in the microwave, it could have stood to be a little warmer.

sticky bun bread pudding

Even though I was too full to eat the whole thing, I made sure I ate every last one of those candied pecans!

So…would I come back? I’m not itching to come back, but if a friend wanted to go, she wouldn’t have to drag me. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll be back. I can’t resist a good pastry. Hell, I can’t resist a mediocre pastry either! Yeah…I’ll be back.

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