Although narrowing the choices down by letters seemed like a great idea, it is still a difficult decision when you consider how many great restaurants there are in St. Louis. We value your suggestions!!!
C Week
This week, we were in the Central West End (even the location began with a C). We ventured into Central Table - www.centraltablestl.com, where there are several options at lunch for types of food, including and not limited to Deli and Hearth and a central dining hall to eat - and then there is a dinner menu. Since I have not won the lottery and work during the day and Wendy, when in her right mind, sleeps during the day to accommodate her night job, our option is for an early evening dinner. Again, this week, our normal night didn't work out and we had our pre-teen foodie along with us as we entered the dining hall (a modern mixture of concrete, wood and stainless steel).
At some point, it was suggested we begin with dessert at The Cup, but we went the traditional route and started with Central Table. Because of our early arrival, only a few tables were occupied and our server had more than enough time and patience to answer all of our questions and any one who knows me will tell you that I can ask a lot of questions (a trait I inherited from my mother). We learned about the difference between lunch and dinner, were told how the cauliflower steak was prepared and while watching one of the chefs use a melon baller on a large white vegetable, we discovered that he was preparing turnip balls for a root vegetable dish (I don't even have the patience to make melon balls and can't imagine the effort it was taking to get that scoop into a raw turnip).
The dinner menu is extremely varied from small plates of oysters, to entrees of short rib and lamb shank. Again, decision making required a lot of thought and by this time of day, my brain is at far less than peak. Wendy and I agreed to share appetizers and entrees. Pre-teen diner was not given a choice but to share his selection - a situation that gave him something worthwhile to grumble about.
While trying to decide, our server brought out a sampling of bruschetta that was made with what tasted like the best ripe tomatoes ever. There were four or five small pieces and they were good.
Wendy and I enjoyed the Warm Marinated Olives (they were said to be marinated in olive oil, orange zest and roasted garlic). The kalamata olives were the best as the green olives had also spent some time in some really strong vinegar! Olives by themselves do not really appeal to me. I need a little bread or cheese - something to help the olives and when I got to the vinegar bite, I needed water!
Our second choice to start with were the Pork Meatballs. The were perfectly seasoned and served in spicy tomato gravy and according to the menu a ricotta salad. I saw two or three small pieces of lettuce and the ricotta was floating in the "gravy". While tasting good, I thought the ricotta was a little off putting as I tend to gravitate away from "floaters". The meatballs on the other hand were the highlight of the meal.
The bread I wanted earlier and even though it was one small piece, it was large enough for Wendy and me to share. I have described the Corsica Loaf from Door County (Wisconsin) Bakery enough for Wendy to ask me if this bread was similar. It was good, but couldn't hold a candle to the Corsica Loaf (I foresee a road trip).
For entrees, Wendy chose the Cauliflower Steak. It was a large slice of cauliflower grilled and topped with a spicy pomegranate sauce. Both of us enjoyed the flavor of the cauliflower and the sauce, however, it was served with garbanzo beans that lacked flavor and a hummus that tasted like dirt (okay, I'll admit I don't recall ever really tasting dirt, and Wendy disagreed, but it felt like dirt in my mouth). The bite I had, and one was enough, had a dry, gritty feel with again, a flavor that I can only describe as dirt. When the floor manager asked about our experience, he made a big production out of my comment about the hummus and told me it had not been prepared correctly!
I ordered the Pappardelle - hard to mess up noodles which were wide and obviously made fresh. My Aunt Ida Marie used to make homemade noodles and since I have been old enough to remember, I love noodles!!! These did not disappoint and the sauce, though not in abundance, was spicy (too spicy for Wendy who usually loves all things hot) and contained a beef and pork Bolognese. I brought most home and had it for lunch the next day even though I ordered a cup of their Butternut Squash Soup with caramelized apples and spiced pecans for that very reason. I had the soup for dinner and although good, would not be something I would order again.
Pre-teen was in a funk, didn't want much to eat so he only ordered one California roll from the maki portion of the menu. I had to look up the difference between maki and sushi and found that maki is a type of sushi that usually wrapped in dried seaweed and rolled using a bamboo mat. The California roll at Central Table was great. It was filled with sweet, shredded crab, a piece of cucumber and avocado. Wendy forced our friend to order two and I was glad that he did so that I didn't feel bad eating a second bite. The sauce it was served with was also great.
Now, onto the real treasure of the evening: The Cup (www.cravethecup.com) with four locations and a sister store is a St. Louis treasure. We tried, between the three of us and Wendy's parents, several different cupcakes. The peach cobbler cupcake was so good that when Wendy called and said that she was going back to a little shop we had stopped in to have the watch she purchased replaces with one that wasn't broken, I asked her to pick up a couple more! It had a crumb topping, complete with pecans underneath the buttercream icing and slices of peaches in the cupcake itself. Just sitting here thinking about it makes me want another!!! Jerry wasn't thrilled with the chocolate cupcake I brought home for him, but his taste runs more to the cheap, chocolate (really I think it is black wax) iced donuts that you can buy in a box at the gas station - you know, the ones with a three month out expiration date.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading about our experiences so far and will continue to read and recommend new places for us to try in and around St. Louis.
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