Weekend = Delightful

I went to visit my sister in Atlanta this weekend. I love visiting her and Atlanta is a great town, but I would never want to live there.  It is just too sprawling.  Regardless, I had a delightful time.  Love you sis!

Some of the highlights:

1.  We had pedicures at this AMAZING place where you sat in a big puffy leather chair that reclined (no awful kneading chair).  You kind of lay there suspended.  I almost dozed off.  To increase the pleasure of the experience, my sis had a coupon, so the pedicure was a mere $23.  SCORE

2.  We went to possibly my favorite Italian restaurant on earth.  It is wonderful.  I rarely find a restaurant that never disappoints me (I have high standards).  I have been there three times now and it is delightful every time.  Its name is La Tavola http://www.latavolatrattoria.com/ and is in the Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta.  The Highlands would translate to the CWE in St. Louis terms.  We were able to get a reservation at 9:30 PM (the place is always packed).  We sat outside on their amazing deck, surrounded by fresh, growing basil in the planters.  Normally when here, I order the specials.  They are fresh and fabulous.  My sis loves the bruschetta, so we opted for the appetizer special of fresh burrata with cucumbers, basil and chili oil, and the bruschetta.  The burrata appetizer was amazing although the chili oil was a little overwhelming.  This was literally a dish of cheese, cucumber, basil and oil.  Easy to replicate at home.  If I were going to make it at home, I would include all of the ingredients except the chili oil and instead I would either take a little cayenne, mix it with olive oil and dress the plate with that (so you can control the heat) or take some sliced calabrese peppers and place those on the plate and drizzle the plate in olive oil, that way if you want heat, you can eat the pepper, if you don't, you don't :)  You can get fresh burrata at DiGregorio's market, the Wine & Cheese place and the Wine Merchant.  Not sure about Whole Foods, but I imagine it is worth a try. I typed up the recipe for this salad at the bottom of the blog, in case you want to replicate.

The bruschetta was amazing Italian bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil, grilled and topped with a spread of salt and peppered ricotta and dressed with arugula and cherry tomatoes.  Very fresh and great.  For dinner I ordered the special of pasta with a veal ragu.  It was amazing.  So simple.  The veal was fresh and tender.  I could advise on how to mimic the dish, but I need to do a little recon.  Stay tuned.  My sister had a half order of the risotto which she devoured and loved.  I didn't finish my pasta, so I took it home, to be consumed later in the weekend.

3.  We went shopping.  I love shopping in Atlanta and with the sister.  They have a lot of great boutiques and an amazing high end thrift store.  We only shopped one day, so by the time we hit all of the stores, I looked at my sister and just said, "Uncle.".  Unfortunately, the shopping kind of sucked this time and I only ended up with two shirts and some perfume.  I did find a delightful necklace with a bird on it that I expect to receive for my birthday.  :)

Menu at "The Nook" in Atlanta

4.  They know how to fry things in Atlanta and be obnoxiously unhealthy.  Take for example, this cute little bar my sister and I went to for a drink (it was after the 'Uncle' comment.  I needed beer and a chair).  The place is called the Nook ( www.thenookatlanta.com/) and is a very short walk from my sister's apartment.  We arrived and I wasn't hungry, but they had tater tots covered in BBQ Pork and Cheese sauce.  How could one possibly pass that up?  So I ordered them.  They weren't quite as good as they sound, mostly because the tots were frozen and when you slather them in cheese sauce and bbq they become soggy. I kept perusing the menu for other oddities.  They were voted best burger in ATL last year.  I wondered what delightful, grass fed, cow heaven they might have, only to find that the best burger was best because it was stuffed with fried bacon mac & cheese.  Huh?  They also had a burger stuffed with shrimp and grits.  This sounded nauseating to me, but was definitely worth filing in the archives.

There were many other enjoyable parts of the trip and I found out my sister is now drinking dirty martinis, which pleased me immensely.  I look forward to going back. 

Simple Burrata Salad

8 oz Fresh Burrata

Kosher Salt

3-4 medium to large fresh basil leaves

Good Olive Oil-4 tablespoons

1/4 of a Large Cucumber peeled

Small pinch of Cayenne Pepper or 1 Calabrese pepper in olive oil

On a plate, place the fresh burrata broken into small chunks (a little bigger than bite size)

Take the cucumber, cut it in half length wise and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon discarding the seeds

Then cut each half into 1/2 half moons.  Place cucumber in a one to one ratio with the cheese chunks.

Salt the cheese and cucumber to taste with the kosher salt

If using the Cayenne, take the olive oil and place it in a small bowl add the small pinch of Cayenne (by small pinch I mean barely a dusting) and wisk together using a fork.  Drizzle this mixture over the cheese and Cucumber.

If using the pepper, slice the pepper into 1/8 thick disks and place with the cucumber and cheese. Drizzle the non-cayenne'd olive oil over the cucumber, cheese and pepper.

After the olive oil take the basil leaves and tear them into 2-3 pieces per leaf.  Drop on top of the cheese and cucumber.  

Serve immediately.

Random thoughts

I wanted to just write some random things down, that I wanted to share, but didn't on their own merit a full blog.

1.  I went to the farmers market (Tower Grove again) on Saturday and encountered a delightful popsicle stand.  They have a number of odd flavors (Avocado for example).  I settled on a peach and jalapeno popsicle.  It was delightful.  It was fresh peach puree with no flavor really of jalapeno, just the heat.  I imagine they put a halved jalapeno in with the peach puree while it was being cooked to instill the flavor and then strained them out.

2.  I went to Riverbend (www.riverbendbar.com/) with my friend Lindsay for dinner last night.  If you have never been to Riverbend, it is this AMAZING creole restaurant in this odd little area on the south side of the brewery.  We shared three things since she had never been there.  The Doc Sewall Oysters-think oysters covered in garlic breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese baked in the oven, the Red Beans and Rice with smoked sausage (which they only have on Mon) and their Roast Beef Po-Boy, Dressed (this means with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles-but we got it sans the pickle) and swiss cheese.

The oysters were super yummy.  Not exactly a light appetizer and it is pretty decent portion, so if you aren't super hungry and want to eat a sandwich or entree, I would skip them.  The Red Beans and Rice never disappoint.  I do think they toned down the spice a bit as of late, which is sad, because they were yummy.  The Roast Beef Po-Boy, I could rub all over my body (if you don't know me very well, this means I love it).  It is super drippy, you need about 10 napkins, the bread is crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle, the beef is tender and the sauce is AMAZING.  Enough said.

3.  It is Tuesday-mission bratwurst accomplished.  I realize this photo makes the brat look somewhat phallic.  I am comfortable with that.  It is mighty tasty.

Saturday = Debauchery

Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year.  Sassy and Tony's Fourth of July party.  Yes, the Fourth has passed, but what is wrong with celebrating our independence a few days late?  I am comfortable with it.  I had a lot of cooking to do in preparation for this celebration, so I got up early (8 am on a Saturday).  I had two tasks, one is to make enough mac and cheese for ALOT of children and two to make guacamole.  I love both of these foods, so I sincerely enjoy making them.  I started by cooking the bacon for the guac (yes, I put bacon in the guac).

My favorite way to make bacon is to cook it in the oven.  If you have never done this, you should because it takes all of the dirty work out of cooking bacon, plus the bacon cooks super evenly.  Simply lay your bacon out on a cookie sheet (I place a sheet of aluminum foil on the cookie sheet prior to adding the bacon for easy clean-up).  Set the oven to 375 degrees and once the oven has reached temperature, place your bacon in, set the alarm for 17 mins approx (check it around 15 depending on how crispy you like your bacon).  Simple and easy.  Make sure to remove the bacon from the sheet after you get it out of the oven and place the bacon on a paper towel.  If you forget this step, the bacon will stick to the cookie sheet/aluminum foil and you will be bitter and angry.

I then started the water for the Mac and Cheese.  My recipe for Mac & Cheese isn't healthy, but it is pretty darn good and pretty easy.

Liz's Mac & Cheese:

Ingredients
1 Box of Macaroni
2 8oz bags of finely shredded cheese-1 Sharp Cheddar and 1 Colby & Jack Mixed
1 small box of Velvetta-1/2 of the box cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 stick of salted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground if available)
Salt to taste
5 tablespoons flour
4 cups of milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Take a large pot and fill with water.  Bring the water to a boil.  Once boiling add the 2 teaspoons of salt and add the box of macaroni.  Cook about 9 mins (look at the instructions on the box and cook to the lowest range-if it says 9-11 mins, cook until 9).  Drain the pasta.  Now, using the same pan as you used for your macaroni, put on low/medium (the butter shouldn't sizzle, it should melt nicely).  Once the butter is melted, using a whisk, add the flour.  This will look odd.  It will clump up.  This is fine.  Cook the clumpy mix for 1-2 mins.  You are cooking out the flour taste as an fyi.  Then, slowly whisk in the milk.  If the mixture is thick after adding all of the milk, then add more milk.  Your goal is a mixture that is thin. Then add the mustard, garlic powder and cayenne.   Cook this for about 2 mins.  Then add the Velveeta, stirring constantly until the Velveeta is melted.  Then add, slowly, 3/4s of the bag of sharp cheddar, the entire back of the colby jack and the Parmesan.  Taste the mixture at this point and decided if you want to add salt or not.  Also add the ground pepper at this point.  Then stir in the cooked macaroni.  You can eat it at this point.  (ie if you have a screaming kid who wants to eat).  You can then turn off the oven. If you are making this for yourself , take a large glass pan and pour in the macaroni mixture.  Top with the remaining cheddar cheese.
 ( If you like crispy toppings, you can also take a half stick of butter, melt it.  Add 1/4 of Parmesan and 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs or 1 cup of crushed lays plain potato chips. Mix together and place on top with the cheddar.)
Place the pan in the oven for 15 mins, then turn on the broiler and broil until the top is a nice golden brown.  Pull out of the oven, let it cool and enjoy.  This will hold in the refrigerator for about a week. 

Now, on to the guac. I feel I have put enough recipes and advice in this blog, so I will keep the recipe for another time, but just know, it is avocados, white onion, chipotle peppers, lime juice and bacon.  Use your imagination for now.

My injured fingers

Once this one was done, I headed over to  T& S's at 1.  There were a lot of people there and a ton of food.  It was also 105 degrees outside, so sitting in their pool was all I did, with short breaks for eating and getting myself another cocktail.

I hung out with great friends, got into some dunking contests with some of my favorite kids on the planet and proceeded to stay in the pool way too long.   I ended up staying in so long, and becoming so water logged that I scratched the surface of my fingers off by holding onto the side of the pool deck.  Top notch.  FYI, hurt fingertips are not cool.  Pretty much everything you do causes pain.

Fingers aside, the evening was absolutely fabulous and T & S threw another amazing get together.

Friday = Gluttony

The Panino Fresco minus olive salad at Blue's City Deli

I worked out today.  I will start with that.  I am starting with that, because the rest of my day hasn't been, nor will be quite as healthy.  It is 9000 degrees still in St. Louis.  It is so hot you immediately sweat when walking outside.  I don't really mind this, but it doesn't allow me to spend as much time outdoors as I like.

Regardless, I started the morning with a work out.  I then proceeded to start my working day, which consists of creating and disseminating any number of mindless excel spreadsheets.  Around 10:30 AM, I started to feel like I was starving.  As such, I started to think about what fabulous food creation or deli/restaurant I could partake of for lunch.  I set my sights on Blue's City Deli (http://www.bluescitydeli.com/).

I love Blue's City, not just because I can walk there in about 2 mins from my house, but because they have FABULOUS fresh sandwiches, it is pretty inexpensive (think under $6 for most sandwiches) and the owner, Vinny, couldn't be a nicer guy.  The sandwich I was craving is called the Panino Fresco which they describe as:
"Fresh Mozzarella, Provolone, our Homemade Olive Salad.(may contain small olive pits)
Dressed with Tomato, Onion and Italian Vinegar Oil, on a toasted muffelata"
I get my sans the olive salad, because, despite my love for olives, I find it to be a bit much.  The photo above  is the sandwich.  Note the MOUND of mozzarella.  I usually find my self tearing out about 3/4s of the mozzarella on the sandwich to get my perfect provolone to tomato to mozzarella ratio.  Pair that with an iced tea and some Zapp's Voodoo potato chips and it was a mighty nice lunch. 

After lunch I resume the work day.  I am excited for the workday to end because I am going with some friends to one of my favorite haunts, Fast Eddie's (http://www.fasteddiesbonair.com/fr_home.cfm)  I don't go here very often, because Alton, IL is kind of a trek from St. Louis, however; I look forward to every trip I take there.  Fast Eddie's is a low key, often crowded place with a lively atmosphere (think your favorite local bar with live music on a MUCH larger scale).  The thing I love most about it, is of course, THE FOOD.
First, they have all you can eat popcorn.  I know this is a ploy to get patrons to drink more beer.  I am fine with this.
Second, they have AMAZING peel and eat shrimp with a spicy (horseradish) and fresh cocktail sauce.  Third, they have meat on a stick.  Enough said. 


We left later than planned due to a 'work crisis' which means a last minute spreadsheet needs to be created or the world will end.  We arrived there around 6:30 PM.  It was of course crazy busy, but we were lucky to immediately find a four top.  We proceeded to gorge ourselves on popcorn.  Our friends have never been there as they are new to the LOU, so we promptly bought some shrimp.  I was pleased to see that they enjoyed the shrimp as much as I do, which of course validates my position as goddess of food.  We then ate pork kabobs, the Big Elwood (steak and green peppers), chicken wings and fries.  Just a light healthy meal.  It was seriously yummy.  I now have my Fast Eddie's fix for the next few months.  We then decided to do a nightcap at the Grizzly Bear  (www.greatgrizzlybearsoulard.com.  The GB is a great place.  It looks like a hole from the outside, and kind of also once you are inside, but they have an amazing patio outback where they show Cards games from a projector onto a big screen.  Plus the outside is secluded and pretty quiet.  You almost don't feel like you are in the city.  It was hotter than Hades outside, we hung out inside.

After a couple beers, I felt like punishing the group by taking them to sing karaoke.  Our karaoke locale of choice is The Filling Station in Benton Park (1924 Pestalozzi Street  St. Louis, MO 63118)   It is for two main reasons, one, the people watching is AMAZING and two, we can walk home.  The only downside to the place is you can still smoke inside.  That wouldn't be so bad, except the majority of the people there do smoke and smoke A LOT.  Regardless, we endure.  After embarrassing myself considerably, we left and Iwent home for the evening.  It was a fabulous evening.

Tuesday = Bratwurst Tuesday

My Tuesdays have been renamed Bratwurst Tuesdays.  They are Bratwurst Tuesdays, because I am usually already irritated with my work week by Tuesday and the Bratwurst at Gus's Pretzels' (www.guspretzels.com) makes me happy.  If you are not familiar, for $2.75 (they only take cash as an FYI) you can get a yummy bratwurst wrapped in a fresh made pretzel.  Slather this with yellow French's mustard and I think I might have found my perfect food. Tuesday it was 9000 degrees outside again.  I decided the bratwurst was worth the walk and walked over to Gus's, only to find it closed for the holiday.  BOO!!!  Fine, I will walk back home empty handed.

The back-up plan kicked in and I decided to have another delightful meal of sliced tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese.  I sliced the tomatoes in to 3/4 inch slices, salt them with kosher salt, pepper them with fresh ground pepper, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and then crumble Gorgonzola over top.  Super light and easy.  If I am super hungry I kick up the cheese to tomato ratio.  You can also slice red onion into thin slices and pair that with the cheese and tomato for an equally yummy snack.  If you don't like blue cheese, you can also substitute goat cheese. 

After working the day away, my friend Scott and I decided to do a small pub crawl.  I specifically wanted to go to 4 Hands (http://4handsbrewery.com/our-beers.html).  They had a new beer I wanted to try, but they don't open until 4 PM (which has since changed to 3 PM as an FYI) so we decided to head to Urban Chestnut (http://www.urbanchestnut.com/our-beers) to checkout their new Beer Garden and have a beer to pass the time.  I love Urban Chestnut.  I was in the mood for a wheat beer with a little flavor so I settled on the Maximillian which they classify as:
"Our Weizendbock is comparable to the barley-based regular Bockbier, but is actually a stronger version of an unfiltered Weissbier. We use approximately 55% wheat malt (German law requires that a Weizenbier, regardless of strength, be made from at least 50% wheat). The other 45% of malts are a combination of Munich, Pils and Caramel. All of which when combined give our "Maifest Special" a full-bodied mouthfeel and a rich, malty finish. Point of fact: while regular Bockbiers are lagers, Weizenbocks are ales. ABV 7.0%, IBU's-23, OG- 16.0 Plato"

It really hit the spot.  I like most German wheat beers and this one was dark in color and full of flavor.  A little maltier than I expected, but overall it was delightful. We checked out the beer garden, which we couldn't sit in because it is still 9000 degrees outside at this point.  Then we headed to 4Hands.

4Hands seems to be pumping out beers left and right and therefore there were four new beers on draft for me to try, including the one I had come for.  Scott and I both got the sample of all four new ones.  There was a Saison, an IPA, a brown (I think) and the wheat beer I had come for.  My favorite out of the four, was the Saison.  It was crisp, flavorful, well balanced and light.  I think people who like a wheat beer like Boulevard or 312 would love this beer although it has a higher alcohol content, so one would need to keep the beers to a minimum.   The brown and IPA were a close 2nd behind the Saison.  The disappointment was the wheat I had come for.  I'll be honest, it kind of tastes like your mouth tastes after you throw-up.  Scott didn't quite agree with that description, but he didn't like it either.  We ended up cheersing and taking the sample like a shot.  To the right is a photo of Scott enjoying our beers.

We then headed to the International Tap House (http://www.internationaltaphouse.com/soulard/bottle_menu.php) in Soulard for our final stop on the baby crawl.  Scott had to drive home so we attempted to find beer with a low alcohol content.  I spotted another Hefeweizen that I wanted to try called:   Hitachino Weizen.  This is brewed by the Kodawari brewering in Japan.  (You can read more here:  http://www.kodawari.cc/?en_home/about/history.html).  I first tried their beers because I like the logo, which is a cute little owl.  I have since come to really enjoy their White, so I was excited about the Weizen.  Scott saw a beer called "Petrus Aged Ale" brewed by the Brouwerij Bavik brewery in Belgium
(check out reviews http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/718/2184) that he has wanted to try.The alcohol content was pretty high, so we agreed to get both and share.  The Weizen, to me, was kind of a throw away.  It was good and drinkable, but for a beer that usually is about $8/bottle, totally not worth it.  It was just your normal Hefeweizen.  The Petrus on the other hand was really great and really different.  I can't really compare it to any other beer I have had.  It was sour, but in a good way.  Think tart like a lemonade.  I thought it might actually make a really great salad dressing mixed with a little olive oil.  Really refreshing, not too heavy, not a lot of body, just really, really different.

Overall a great afternoon.  
 

Saturday = Perfection

I had a great Saturday.  As previously mentioned, I also had a great weekend.  Saturday started off, with my waking up at a decent hour (8:30 AM).  I made myself some coffee and proceeded to watch some trash TV for approx a 1/2 hr.  I was very relaxed.  I then became hungry and decided to walk to the local Panera to get a breakfast sandwich.

If you haven't been to Panera for breakfast, you should.  It is really great.  You can get a fresh made sandwich (they seriously have a machine that cooks your eggs -real eggs- fresh and they go right on your sandwich) for generally less than 500 calories. Of course they have bagels and other sweets as well.  There are only a handful of chain restaurants I will EVER recommend.  This is one of those handful.  I should mention, it is 9000 degrees in STL right now.  Seriously, 9000.  I walked there and back, which was about 2-2.5 miles.  My hand was sweating so profusely on the way back, the bag became wet and broke.  It was kind of sad.

After showering I went to run errands.  My first stop was the Tower Grove farmers market (www.tgmarket.org/).  I like this market a lot, however; it tends to be pretty overpriced.  I go here when I want to get in and out and not deal with crowds, otherwise, I recommend the Soulard Market (www.soulardmarket.com/).  You can get the same items for a lot cheaper.  The one exception is beef.  If you are looking for grass fed anything, go to Tower Grove.  I make it a habit of doing a complete loop to check out all of the vendors before buying anything.  I look a bit like I am casing the place.  I then tend to buy one thing from each vendor the first time I go, because you never know who stores things in which way and how long veggies/fruits will last when you get home because of that.  I bought some beautiful tomatoes, a cucumber, some leaks and some peaches.  The peaches, because they are in season, are AMAZING.  I make it a habit of buying ripe peaches when ever I can.  Straubs had peaches last year that were $10/pound. www.straubs.com/  I bought them, because they were the sweetest, ripest, stand-over the sink to eat them while juice runs down your arms, peaches EVER.  The ones I got at the market this Saturday were just as good.  Smaller, but just as amazing.

I then went to one of my favorite destinations in STL, DiGregorio's market www.digregoriofoods.com/.  This is an Italian grocery of sorts.  There isn't any fresh produce, but you can get fresh baked local bread, amazing cheese, deli meats (not just Italian), frozen pastas and all other Italian goodies for CHEAP.  This place is freakishly inexpensive and the quality is amazing.  I strongly recommend the fresh mozzarella, blue cheese, any canned tomatoes and the Sicilian olive oil.  I like to shop here, get fresh bread and deli meats and go home to make a great sandwich.  I did this when I went home.  I sliced the fresh Italian bread, added Hot Coppa (my new love-think prosciutto texture with a little spice), Chipotle Chicken breast, domestic provolone, fresh sliced tomatoes from the farmers market and a piece of lettuce from my father's garden.  I then, instead of mustard or mayo, whip together about a teaspoon of olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and pour that over the meat/veggies.  It adds a fresh, not heavy, brightness to a sandwich.  Yummmm.

That evening, all I wanted was a burger.  My favorite city place to have a burger is always the Royale (www.theroyale.com/).  Upon arriving I scooted up to the bar and proceeded to peruse the cocktail menu.  I love the drinks here. They make great cocktails in a not stuffy atmosphere.  Tonight, I felt like a martini.  I don't like sweet, fruity martinis.  I ended up having a drink called 'The New Deal'.  It is described as:
"A wet Martini in pre-Prohibition style. Plymouth gin, Dolin dry vermouth, orange bitters and a lemon twist. Try one and taste why the Martini became popular in the first place."  It was wonderful.  My typical martini order is a Kettle One Martini with Blue Cheese olives.  This was a nice deviation.  I then ordered the grass fed burger, with cheddar and grilled onions, with sweet potato chips as my side.  I didn't notice the awesome seasonal items they have for sides:  Peaches, Corn on the cob with Chipotle butter and grilled squash and zucchini, otherwise I would have tried one of those.  I love a burger with grilled onions on it.  To me it is like eating onion rings with your burger, without the fried nonsense.  Eventually my burger came and it was just right.  I should note, this isn't a huge overwhelming burger.  I ate the whole thing and I am not a big girl, so if you are hungry, get an appetizer.

 Following my fantastic meal, I drove to Plush and watched an amazing artist, Scrub (www.reverbnation.com/scrub).   It was a very successful performance. I think everyone had a blast.  I know I did.  I also got a chance to enjoy my new favorite summer beverage, which is Pearl Cucumber vodka and water. REFRESHING!  and your hydrating while drinking :)  What a great day!   

My Friday = Fabulous

I had a great weekend.  A great weekend for me consists of the following:
1.  Getting to work out
2.  Getting to hangout with good friends
3.  Eating my face off
4.  Having at least one good cocktail/glass of wine

Mission accomplished.  Working out is #1 due to items 3 & 4 which are usually exacerbated by item 2.  

Friday, I didn't have plans and wanted to have plans.  Normally I do not have to seek out events, but Friday was different.  I realized that night that almost ALL of my friends are married and/or have kids at this point.  I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but it was apparent after trying to make some last minute plans.  So, after exhausting my friends options, I proceeded about my evening alone.  First stop, the Galleria.  I typically am not a mall person.  I need to go there to make my monthly trek to Sephora for some sort of overpriced face product that I simply can not live with out.  After that I continue to Nordstrom, where I had a very pleasant interaction with a sales person in the accessories department who learned of my belt neurosis.  She overcame my affliction and I ended up purchasing a darling belt.  Done.

After my shopping excursion, I was exhausted.  I have been wanting to try and I mean really try (eat my face off) at Taste since it abandoned our delightful Benton Park neighborhood for the CWE (note the bitterness).  I decided Friday was the night.  I pulled on to Laclede and promptly found a metered space less than a block away (the stars aligned).  I walked into Taste (http://tastebarstl.com/) and immediately was greeted by Ted Kilgore, mixologist extraordinaire.  This made me very happy, because part of my love for the original Taste, was having access to him and his extensive knowledge of all things alcohol.  I looked over the drink menu which I'll be honest, is a bit overwhelming.  I fancy myself very knowledgeable about food and drink, but I was at a loss.  There are two drink menus, one that is normal and I did understand, but why go to Taste and get something normal?  Anyway, I ended up saying to Ted, "My favorite drink is a Negroni.  Could you make me something that is along those lines?"  He didn't even hesitate and made me a cocktail which he stated was his favorite creation of late and it would be on the menu sometime shortly.  It was delightful!  Bitter, aromatic, slight orange essence.  Really great.

 I proceeded to order the toasted radish bruschetta.  How often do you see toasted radishes?  I was intrigued.  The one medium sized piece of bruschetta came out in a cute little cast iron dish.  My first bite was just of radish and it was SUPER salty. Then I realized, you really need to each the radish with the bread and the ricotta.  Seriously delightful.  More of an earthy dish, suitable for the fall, but radishes are in season, so I get where they were going.  Following that, I ordered the pate, which if I remember correctly was pork with cherries and a side of heavily dressed arugula.  This was served with toasted, bruschetta crunchy slices of baguette.  This was good also, although really not as flavorful as it should have been.  If you don't really usually like pate because it can taste irony (liver) then I would suggest this.  If you like irony or offal type things, this was kind of a throw away.

Beyond the food, the company at the bar was really great.  Those who know me, know I am not outgoing with strangers, but sitting alone at the bar, I met some really great people who loved food and/or drinks as much as I did.   It was a fantastic low key evening.  I should mention, it wasn't cheap-think $10 cocktails and $9 small plates.  Well worth it, for a once-in-a-while excursion.