central west end

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!

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Bread Pudding Challenge, Week 9: Herbie’s!

by Stephanie on March 7, 2012

in American, Bread Pudding, Dessert, Dinner

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. Smile

Moving on. This week is Week 9 of the Bread Pudding Challenge! I can’t believe this challenge is coming to an end. Next week is the final week! Next week, I’ll explain more about how Jess and I will pick the winner. But for now, let’s talk BP!

Herbie’s is a nice restaurant located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis. It was dimly lit, a little romantic, and definitely had a bit of a French flair.

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Love it!

I had dinner at Herbie’s as well, but I’ll review that at a later date. For now, let’s talk about dessert!

I had high hopes for this bread pudding. According to the menu, it contained Bailey’s, chocolate chips, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. Sounds delicious, right?

 

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It looked pretty tasty as well. I quickly dug in.

The first thing I noticed about this bread pudding was the texture. It was definitely not custard-y, which was a plus in my book. However, it was dry; almost too dry. In fact, it was so dry that the texture seemed tough and chewy. I wasn’t a fan of that at all. Was this bread pudding made with a croissant? It sure tasted like it. 

Taste-wise, the bread pudding was spot on. The vanilla ice cream had a lot to do with it; it was creamy, rich, and amazing! The BP itself had a bit of a chocolatey flavor due to the chocolate chips. I couldn’t taste any hint of Bailey’s, however.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of this bread pudding. The flavor was decent, but it wasn’t mindblowing. And the texture was just too tough for me to fully enjoy this dessert. This bread pudding was better than Cyrano’s and Café Eau’s, but just barely.

Let’s take a look at my new runnings:

1. McCormick & Schmick’s

2. Remy’s

3. Annie Gunn’s

4. Eleven Eleven Mississippi

5. Bridge Tap House

6. Harvest

7. Herbie’s

8. Cyrano’s

9. Café Eau

Just one more week of bread pudding left. Where will our last stop be? You’ll have to wait until next week to find out! Maybe Jess will drop a hint on her Facebook page. Or maybe I’ll drop a hint on mine! Keep checking in. See you in a few days! Winking smile

{ 6 comments }

Café No…

by Stephanie on March 2, 2012

in American, Dinner

Good morning! So remember a few weeks ago when I went to Café Eau for Week 2 of the Bread Pudding Challenge? I know it’s been a while, so I’ll refresh your memory:

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Bread pudding. Looks decent. Tasted awful.

Anyway, I had a lot more than just bread pudding at Café Eau, so it’s only right that I give them a proper review.

Café Eau is located in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, which is in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis. It’s a pretty fancy schmancy place.

I visited on a weekday night, so it wasn’t super crowded like I imagine it must be on the weekends. I was seated right away by the polite (yet aloof) waitress.

I was hungry, so I started with an appetizer of House Made Toasted Ravioli. You can’t go wrong with a St. Louis classic, right?

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These were stuffed with beef and italian sausage, and were served on top of sauce pomodoro. They were topped with basil pesto and parmesan cheese.

I loved these. The beef and sausage were juicy and super flavorful, and the combination of flavors from the sauce, pesto, and cheese worked together wonderfully. I had no problem finishing these on my own!

Next up? I decided to keep it simple with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It was served with pepperjack, brimstone, and tomato garlic cheddar cheese, and topped with applewood smoked bacon. It was served alongside a fire roasted tomato dipping sauce and french fries.

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Let’s talk about the fries first.

 

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They look tasty enough, right? Too bad they were pretty bad. They tasted like they came straight out of the freezer. Call me a french fry snob, but if I’m eating out and I order french fries, I expect them to be house-made.

On to the grilled cheese sandwich. This honestly wasn’t much better. There was something about it that was just…off. The bread tasted stale, the cheese wasn’t gooey and melty like I was expecting, and the flavors just fell flat. Even bacon couldn’t save this!

So it’s clear that I wasn’t a fan of the food. But what about the service? Like the food, it was disappointing. I don’t know if the waitress was having an off night or what, but she was dismissive, short, and almost rude to me at times! It was odd. I certainly didn’t feel welcome at Café Eau. I definitely understand that people have bad days, but a little friendliness goes a long way.

Oh, and the prices were on the expensive side. My toasted ravioli? $12. My grilled cheese? $11. The bread pudding? $10. For those prices, I expect amazing food and amazing service. Too bad I didn’t receive either.

Sorry, Café Eau…You’re a Café NO in my book. I can’t recommend this place at all.

See you next week Winking smile

{ 21 comments }

Brasserie

by Stephanie on January 20, 2012

in American, Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Good morning! I don’t have much to say this morning, so let’s just hop right into the review! That’s what you’re here for, right?

I went to Brasserie a few weeks ago for a delicious brunch. Brasserie is owned by the same people behind Niche and Taste Bar. While I haven’t visited Niche (yet), it gets rave reviews, and Taste Bar is one of my favorite restaurants ever. I promise I’ll review it soon.

But today – Brasserie! It’s located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis.

While I looked over the menu, I ordered a St. Germaine cocktail. I don’t remember exactly what was in it, but it tasted very grapefruit-y.

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I loved it.

Now it’s time for food! I was super hungry, so I started with eggs benedict.

 

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Can you believe I’ve never had eggs benedict before? Poached eggs were topped with dijon hollandaise and served on top of toasted brioche. It came with a side of breakfast potatoes.

This. Was. AMAZING. I loved the creaminess of the hollandaise, and since the bread was toasted, it didn’t get soggy. The eggs were cooked to perfection. The flavors were fantastic. The breakfast potatoes were also delicious – they were crispy on the outside, but had a hot, almost creamy middle. Fantastic.

I also ordered a grapefruit brulee and a side of bacon. I said I was hungry, right?

 

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The grapefruit brulee was delicious. The crispy caramelized sugar topping was amazing. And holy bacon – that “side of bacon” could have been a meal in and of itself? You better believe I dominated that pile. Smile

Service at Brasserie was attentive and speedy. And prices were reasonable. For my drink, meal, and sides, I paid less than $20. That’s a winner in my book!

I highly recommend Brasserie for brunch. I will definitely be back soon; I hear they serve dinner as well. My stomach is growling just thinking about it!

See you next week!

{ 6 comments }

Bread Pudding Challenge, Week 2: Café Eau!

by Stephanie on January 18, 2012

in American, Bread Pudding, Dessert, Dinner

Happy Wednesday! How are you doing on this lovely (and freezing) morning? I’m doing really well, and a lot of it has to do with this:

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I’m one of the Riverfront Times’ nominees for Best Food Blog! I found out the news yesterday; the winners will be announced on January 24th. Am I excited? You better believe it! I’m also nervous/scared/intimidated/etc. The competition is stiff! My fingers (and toes) are crossed.

On to bread pudding! As you know, Jess and I are doing a challenge; we’re setting out to find the best bread pudding in St. Louis! Two girls on a dessert-eating mission. Who wouldn’t love that? Winking smile

This week’s adventure brought me to Café Eau. This cozy café is nestled in the Chase Park Plaza in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis. I had dinner here as well (I’ll review that another day, I promise!), but the focus of today’s review is their bread pudding.

Café Eau has gooey butter bread pudding on their menu. I was really excited to try it, since I’m a huge fan of gooey butter cake.

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It looks pretty gorgeous, right? It was served with a generous scoop of french vanilla ice cream, and rested in a pool of chocolate syrup, a bit of caramel, and a side of strawberries. Picture perfect.

Too bad it was pretty awful. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of this bread pudding at all. While it was piping hot (a plus), it was totally wrong, texture-wise. The outside was crispy, and the inside was, well…gooey. It was almost custard-like. Bread pudding this was not.

Aside from the horrendous texture, the flavor of this bread pudding was almost bitter. I almost had to pair each bite of the bread pudding with sweet ice cream and chocolate sauce to mask the bitter flavor of the dessert. It was bad. I could only manage to down a few bites before I decided I had had enough.

I’ll address the other aspects of Café Eau (my entrée, the service, the prices, etc.) during another review. However, based on bread pudding alone, Café Eau will now be named Café No in my book. No bueno.

Can’t win em all, right? Hopefully the next bread pudding spot will be better!

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Bacon + Bread Pudding = ?

October 14, 2011

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your week has zoomed by! Who’s ready for the weekend? I recently went to SubZero Vodka Bar with a few friends. It’s a cute little bar in the Central West End. It was a beautiful day, so we sat out on the patio. I wasn’t terribly hungry, so [...]

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Time for Brunch!

October 7, 2011

It’s obvious that I love to eat. Why else would I have a food blog? But what you probably don’t know is that my favorite meal is brunch. I love having the choice between sweeter breakfast food or savory lunch food – or a little bit of both! Needless to say, I was very excited [...]

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Salt + Wine + Food = ?

July 1, 2011

No, not that kind of salt! This Salt!   (source)   About a month ago, I sent this tweet out: Kinda pathetic, right? Pathetic but true. Anyway, one of my twitter friends sent this tweet back to me in response: Oh April…how awesome are you?!? Seriously. The next thing I knew, this happened: Angela (@STLWinegirl) [...]

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Fancy Schmancy

October 11, 2010

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! The ambiance of Terrence [...]

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It’s been a long time…

July 31, 2010

…I shouldn’t have left you! Sorry to all three of you everyone who reads this blog and has been wondering where the HECK I’ve been. I’m still here! *waves* I’m just on a semi-healthy eating kick, and eating out 4 times a week just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Anywoo, I’m jumping right back in with [...]

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