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!
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