bread pudding

Eleven Eleven Mississippi

by Stephanie on May 25, 2012

in American, Dinner

Remember when I visited Eleven Eleven Mississippi for Week 7 of the Bread Pudding Challenge? I’ll refresh your memory:IMG_11832

Dear white chocolate and pecan bread pudding, will you marry me? Thanks.

Anyway, while I was at Eleven Eleven for the bread pudding challenge, I realized that I was at one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis, and I had yet to write a proper review of their food for my blog!

This had to change. And soon.

I’m pretty sure my friends are mind readers, because when it came time to choose the next restaurant for girl’s night, guess what restaurant was chosen?

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I love my friends.

 

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Hi Dae and Chung! Smile

It was a nice evening, so we opted to sit outside for dinner. Look at this gorgeous space!

 

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Okay, let’s talk about food. I started with a lovely shrimp & corn bisque.

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Oh man. This was good. I devoured every last drop. It was creamy, rich, and the kernels of corn that were spread throughout the soup were so crunchy and fresh. I loved this soup.

For my entrée, I went with one of the specials of the night: salmon with roasted potatoes.

 

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There was also sauteed spinach (or was it chard?), and a lovely tomato-esque sauce. It was so good. The salmon was perfectly cooked, and was flavorful and incredibly juicy. Every component of this dish was amazing, and the portion size was huge! I ended up taking half of it home; it made a lovely breakfast the next morning Smile

Service at Eleven Eleven was attentive and friendly. I have absolutely no complaints.

I was way too stuffed for dessert (and the only one I would have considered was the bread pudding, which I’ve already tried!), so I skipped it. I know – who AM I? Winking smile

Anyway, Eleven Eleven gets two huge thumbs up from me. I can’t wait to visit again!

See you next week!

{ 4 comments }

And the next challenge is…

by Stephanie on April 18, 2012

in challenge

Ten weeks.

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Ten local restaurants.

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Lots of dirty fingers.

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Even more dirty napkins.

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One winner.

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Vegetarians, cover your eyes.

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The Chicken Wing Challenge. Coming your way this May.

 

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{ 7 comments }

Herbie’s!

by Stephanie on April 13, 2012

in American, Dinner, french

Good morning! Remember when I visited Herbie’s for Week 9 of the Bread Pudding Challenge? Let me refresh your memory:

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If you remember my review, you’ll recall that I wasn’t a huge fan of this bread pudding.

Thankfully, I had a few other things at Herbie’s that made up for the subpar BP. A friend joined me that night for a delicious dinner!

Herbie’s is a cute bistro in the Central West End neighborhood in St. Louis. I loved the French theme of this restaurant. I’ve never been to France, but I almost felt like I was there!

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Ooooh la la!

Enough of the scenery. Let’s get down to business! I took a quick look at the drink menu to see if anything popped out.

 

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The Sage N’ Stormy immediately caught my eye; dark rum, apple spice ginger liquor, simple syrup, lime, and sage? Sign me up!

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This was deliciously refreshing, and not too strong at all. I loved the apple spice ginger liquor; anything with ginger in it is guaranteed to be a winner with me!

On to the food. The menu was full of interesting dishes (The Jerk Chicken sounded delicious!), but in the end, I settled with Lobster Mac & Cheese.

 

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This was chock full of lobster tail meat, corn, four cheese mornay, truffle oil, and asiago gratin. It was super rich; I could only eat a few bites! But each bite was absolutely amazing; it was so flavorful!

My friend went with the Peppercorn & Coriander Encrusted Yellowfin Tuna:

 

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This was served with an edamame and shiitake mushroom risotto, tempura bok choy, and a wasabi soy sauce. I tried a bite and it was fantastic!

Finally, it was time for dessert. Of course, I ordered the bread pudding, and you already know how I feel about that, so I won’t revisit it. Winking smile

But our lovely waiter brought out something else for us to try!

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Any guesses? Winking smile

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What about now?

It was a Chocolate Fritter! Dark chocolate dipped in Bailey’s Irish Crème batter. This was amazing; the rich chocolate paired perfectly with the crisp outer shell of the fritter.

Overall, I’d recommend Herbie’s. The price was a little steep (so this would be a special occasion type place), but the food was fantastic. Two thumbs up!

{ 0 comments }

Annie Gunn’s

by Stephanie on April 6, 2012

in American, Burgers, Dinner, Steakhouse

Howdy! Remember when I visited Annie Gunn’s for the Bread Pudding Challenge? Let me refresh your memory:

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Banana Bread Pudding, drowning in caramel sauce. Yum.

Well, while I visited Annie Gunn’s, I also had some savory food. As much as I’d love to eat a huge hunk of bread pudding for lunch, I knew that I needed to get some ‘real’ food into my system first.

I pored over the menu. While Annie Gunn’s is best known for their steaks, I wasn’t in the mood for something quite that heavy. I went with the next best thing – a hamburger!

Annie Gunn’s offers a number of different burgers (and even a mini burger for mini appetites!). I went with Annie Gunn’s Hamburger Special Blend. Freshly ground prime striploin, ribeye, angus tenderloin and brisket made up this unique burger. I ordered it topped with pepperjack cheese and bacon, of course Winking smile

 

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Looks pretty amazing, right? It was served with a side of fantastic french fries. Seriously…those babies were amazing!

But back to the burger.

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I ordered it cooked medium, as usual.

 

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They actually did a pretty decent job! I prefer my burger a tiny bit pinker, though. Maybe I should start ordering my burgers medium rare?

In any event, my burger was delicious. It was juicy and flavorful. The cheese and bacon added a wonderful touch. And you know I had to top it was BBQ sauce too, right? Smile Uh. May. Zing.

Service at Annie Gunn’s was a little less than stellar, to be completely honest. I was surprised – I expected a restaurant of this caliber to have flawless service.

First strike? My waitress didn’t acknowledge me until 10 minutes after I was seated! Unacceptable.

Strike two: when she finally did acknowledge me, she asked me if I would like a menu. Say what? This question would make sense if I was seated at the bar, but I wasn’t – I was at a table in the dining room. Why wouldn’t I want to see a menu? Weird question, and it was a little off-putting.

Another slight annoyance: no bread was brought to my table. I realized that every other table around me had bread, while I was left breadless. By the time my waitress came around, she had my burger in hand, so I didn’t mention the absence of bread. Not a big deal, but I was disappointed that the attention to detail wasn’t completely there.

These comments are not to bash Annie Gunn’s or try to dissuade anyone from visiting the restaurant. It’s a pretty good restaurant, and I would probably go back. But the service is something that left a bad taste in my mouth, and I feel that it’s only fair that I mention it.

Again, aside from the spotty service, Annie Gunn’s did a pretty decent job. And the food was near perfect, which is all that this food blogger can ask for. Winking smile

See you next week!

{ 3 comments }

The best bread pudding in St. Louis is…

by Stephanie on April 4, 2012

in Bread Pudding

The votes are in! You voted on my Facebook page. You voted on Jess’s Facebook page. And we’ve tallied up the votes:

Remy’s: 2

McCormick & Schmick’s: 3

Annie Gunn’s: 12

Herbie’s: 12

That’s right – it’s a tie! Congrats to Annie Gunn’s & Herbie’s!

Now that the announcement is out of the way, we can move on to my thoughts (this is my blog after all, right?).

I’ve kept this bottled up inside for the past week, because I didn’t want to influence anyone’s vote. But I wanted Remy’s to win. Don’t get me wrong – each of the finalists had good bread pudding. But there was just something about the golden raisin bread pudding at Remy’s that stole my heart upon first bite. And nothing has been able to compare, in my opinion.

And look – Remy’s placed last! I guess it just goes to show that everyone’s tastes are different.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Congrats again to Annie Gunn’s and Herbie’s!

I’m already thinking about my next food challenge…any ideas? I have a few up my sleeve…Winking smile

{ 9 comments }

Bread Pudding Challenge: Jess’s Top 3!

March 28, 2012

Hey friends! Stephanie here. So you read my overview of the Bread Pudding Challenge this morning, right? Now it’s time for my buddy Jess (and her blogging partner in crime) at Show Me The Sugar to share her thoughts! Thanks again, Jess, for doing this challenge with me — it’s been so much fun to [...]

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Bread Pudding Challenge: My top 3!

March 28, 2012

Good morning and happy Wednesday! How are you doing? Ready to chat about food? So ever since I finished up Week 10 of the Bread Pudding Challenge, there’s been one question that folks have been asking me: When are you going to announce the winner? It makes me smile that people are so excited about [...]

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Doughnut Bread Pudding!

March 21, 2012

Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday! It’s officially Spring now (okay, well, yesterday was the first day!), but it really feels like Summer! Did we skip Winter and Spring this year? It’s also my dad’s birthday today! Happy Birthday, Dad! Anyway, after 10 weeks of bread pudding you’d think I’d be sick of the stuff, [...]

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Bread Pudding Challenge, Week 10: Frazer’s!

March 14, 2012

Hello, friends and bread pudding lovers! If you aren’t a bread pudding lover (or at least a ‘like-r’) after 10 weeks of seeing this heavenly dessert, I don’t know what to tell you. So we’ve hit week 10 – the final week of me and Jess’s Bread Pudding Challenge. It’s been a crazy ride, and [...]

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Bread Pudding Challenge, Week 9: Herbie’s!

March 7, 2012

Happy Wednesday! Happy March! I hate to be one of those folks that comments on the weather constantly, but I’m going to do it anyway: this weather is amazing! Yesterday’s high was in the low 70’s, and today should be the same. I could definitely get used to this. Moving on. This week is Week [...]

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