On the River, under the Arch!

We aren't spring chickens by any stretch of the imagination (although one of us does still get carded from time to time...) but we were aware quite quickly that we may be the youngest non-children on the boat.  Ultimately, we probably weren't, but not by much.  It's actually irrelevant to how our afternoon worked out, but we noticed...

It's a boat, and decked out very much in the style of the Riverboats of 'olden times' - the paddle on the back is just there for looks and no smoke comes out of the smoke stacks.  A couple of decks inside and plenty of room up on the roof, but if you want to just sit at your table with a cocktail you won't miss out on anything.  The buffet is on the lower level, and we assume that's where the dance floor is for the evening cruises. 

There's a 2 man band playing 'Riverboat Tunes' pretty much the whole time and although it's not unpleasant to have in the background, for me (and I'm not making any assumptions as to anyone else's take on this) I kind of felt like I needed to listen to some really heavy metal for a bit after we left the boat to undo what had been going on for just on 2 hours.

Not that it's relevant to the service we got, but boy did our Server look like one of the cousins.  Just say'n...  For what she had to do she took care of us - got our drinks, didn't lose my credit card security deposit (I think they prefer cash?), came and got us when the buffet opened up and collected our used plates promptly enough.  We did go back for seconds, and one of us would have had thirds had they not brought some cakes up to our level.

The site seeing part of the tour is not really the highlight and had this been our introduction to St Louis, we may have been a little disappointed, but seeing we'd completed our site seeing for the weekend by the time we stepped on the boat (and past the very annoying photo takers!) it wasn't the end of the world.  We expected a commentary of some sort and were a little surprised to only here the Captain chatting when he told us where to find a life vest - we didn't need one.

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• Screwdriver
• Chardonnay
• Brunch Buffet
  • French Toast
  • Blintzes
  • Scrambled Eggs (2 ways)
  • Sausage
  • Prime Rib
  • Shrimp
  • Stuffed Chicken Breast
  • Wild Rice Salad
  • Pasta Shells (2 ways)
  • Salad Salad
  • Fruit Salad
  • Cheese Cake
  • Chocolate Cake

We were relaxed, we got to take some fun tourist photos and we ate maybe one shrimp too many.  A very pleasant afternoon and end to our stay in St Louis.

Stay JOLLY!
D

1059 South Big Bend

When we were looking for a place for our Date Night while in St Louis I was leaning towards a couple of places much closer to our Hotel than Harvest.  I probably would not have been disappointed had we stayed close by, but I'm now very glad I capitulated and accepted the longer journey.  For the record, Harvest was on my short list so I didn't fold too badly... and it wasn't really all that far away.

They've been around for a few years now, opening in '97 we assume based on a 1997 award for Best New Restaurant.  Their philosophy is very much Seasonal product and Local whenever possible.  I really do appreciate and understand the logic of this, but I'm still not convinced it gets a better product on my plate - I accept it probably does, I just don't have that concrete proof, yet...  I'm willing to find and / or listen to arguments to sway me.  Regardless of my undefined feelings on this topic, everything that ended up on my plate this night was wonderful!

It's a fairly nondescript building from the outside, but being exactly where google said it would be made it easy enough to find.  Stepping inside and up to the host stand I was a bit anxious because it was so very dark.  The bar just off to the side was not really any brighter.  Fortunately, once we got behind the wine rack (used as a room divider) the room (split into 3 sections) was the correct amount of bright you would normally expect.  Phew!  I'm not sure what the theme is, but it's earthy colors.  Some parts are a bit abstract in shape, and others are not.  Some tables have candles, some have a light hanging over them from the ceiling.

The music was relatively low so we're not exactly sure what they were playing.  Considering the place was just about full when we arrived the level of ambient talking noise was really quite low - not sure if that was the crowd or the venue or both, but a pleasant occurrence - and if you really really really wanted to be eavesdropping, you could.

We loved our Server!  She was friendly, helpful, polite, sociable, answered non-food questions happily, offered her thoughts on which fish dish we should go with sensibly and could care less that we didn't order in the traditional 3 course style.  She even took a good great photo of us - some would argue that's a hard task given the subject material...

The owner was out and about and after we figured out (our Server helped us) who he was we learned he's very hands on.  He was the chef when they opened, but now he seems to like to be a bit of everything.  We saw him socializing, greeting, bussing tables, serving food, serving wine and he wears his kitchen apron through all this so he can help on the line if need be.  I'm not sure he could be any more involved in the nightly running of the 'show'. I'd like to think that's how I'd run my restaurant - as unlikely a scenario as that is.

The menu is straight forward enough, and you could easily navigate it without the help of your Server.  They have a section called their 'Spa Menu' which is a couple of a Appetizers and Mains designed at the very healthy end of the scale.  Although we weren't specifically looking for 'very' health we did choose one dish from this section - not surprisingly we were no worse for the experience (and arguably better off).

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• Harvest Sidecar
• All for Love
• Rosemary-Onion Flatbread (asparagus, olive, tomato, fontina) - Great crust.  I suspect anything placed on it would be great, even nothing too, but the chef put together a great combination
• Carmel Road Pinot (out of California) - Nothing really memorable about this wine which in this case I'm taking as a good thing as no memories includes those of the bad kind strongly suggesting it played nicely with everything we chose.
• Crispy Crabcake (black bean corn salad, salsa verde) - it was crispy, and yummy.
• Rabbit Confit (porcini gnocchi, prosciutto, sage, arugula) - a great dish, but I may have like the gnocchi a little more than the rabbit.
• Sweet Corn Bisque (lobster ravioli) - smooth and silky and luscious without the ravioli, but a nice treat with.
• Butterfish (fingerling potatoes, champagne sabion) - our 'very' healthy dish and had we not known it was 'special' we would have enjoyed it just as much.
• Cantaloupe Gelato - probably technically not gelato, but very cantaloupey

We were taken care of, fed very well, were allowed to relax and all in very pleasant surrounds.  If we lived closer than a 6 hour drive we'd certainly return, but alas...  Although we'd tell ourselves that next time (whenever that may be) in St Louis we should try out something else, it's highly likely we'd struggle to look past Harvest.

Stay JOLLY!
D

1901 Washington Avenue

We thought it appropriate to eat at at least one venue that says they serve St Louis style ribs while in St Louis.  We weren't (and still aren't) exactly sure what makes a rib a St Louis style rib but we soldiered on gamely trusting the Restaurant to know what needed to be known on this topic.  We ended up at the first one that jumped out at us from our Where magazine.

It's a quite large place on a corner, very light from ceiling height windows on the street sides, has a big open fire place - absolutely not needed this day! and a good size bar.  Kind of 'fancy' for what you might expect of a place that has 'Barbeque' in it's name - not that this is a bad thing - with modern artwork, shiny tables, shiny bar, light shades that aren't just a bulb.  After taking all this in, it was kind of odd to be given plastic cutlery and plates.  Also a fair sized outside area on the street side with a couple of grills out there - not in action.  We can kind of see the place jamming on a Friday or Saturday evening, but for our lunch it was just us and 2 other tables.

The menu is easy enough to navigate but we didn't really take it all in focusing in on anything that said ribs.  We appreciate the variety of combo plates offered.  Our Server was friendly enough, but perhaps a little bored with how quiet the place was.  He certainly kept an eye on our drinks, but didn't say much other than to declare that this was the place to come for BBQ in St Louis.

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• Soda
• Lemonade
• Small Combo Plate
  • ¼ Slab Ribs - tasty dry rub, enjoyable to eat, but I would argue for a longer time in the smoker.
  • ¼ Chicken - same dry rub, cooked just right, juicy.
  • ¼ pound Beef Brisket - same dry rub (well if each thing had a different rub, we couldn't pick it), melt in your mouth good
  • Optional BBQ Sauce - on the side (which I really appreciate!) and I think I prefered everything without it.
  • Potato Salad
  • Green Beans

On another marginally hotter than stink'n hot day, we found a single Small Combo Plate to be the perfect amount of food for us to share.

If a Restaurant chooses to serve their meals to us in (on?) plastic baskets (with matching side 'dishes') and plastic cutlery we're never going to go running out the door.  It is, however, extremely unlikely we'll be back.  Smoking Joe's fits into this category.  If the place is take-out with a couple of tables (usually on the street under a beaten up umbrella) and you choose to sit their with your take-out, then baskets and disposables are quite ok.  I just don't get why it's acceptable in a primarily non-take-out place.  Sorry, just don't get it.

Stay JOLLY!
D

1200 Russell Blvd

The place was jamming!  We arrived a little before noon and there weren't a lot of empty tables from what we could see.  The crowd appeared to be non-tourists (but we didn't conduct a poll, just using their dress as a guide) so we think it's fair to say they have a very loyal local trade - good for them!

They do have an outside section, but seeing it was marginally hotter than stink'n hot we were a little surprised to be offered an outside seat (after contemplating this offer for a complete second and a half, we declined) and even more surprised to see people actually out there.  To each their own, but for us outside was never a consideration this day.  Something you don't get asked anymore here in Chicago (and many many many other places; a list which is growing all the time, right?) is if we'd like smoking or non-smoking, so it took us a bit to ruminate over what we were actually being asked since it has become such a foreign question to us.  Non-smoking is of course the answer, but we didn't notice the smoking section at all.

We could see 3 sections; the bar, our section which was made up of groups of no more than 6 (and was always close to full) and a section we didn't venture into, but based on the traffic seemed to hold the larger groups - but that's just a gut feeling.  Pictures of what we assume to be old time Ireland abound the bar area and our section had lots of stained glass - as windows, as hanging decorations and as light fixtures.  The wood work was dark and the stained glass fit in just fine.

For as busy as the place was, our Server didn't seem harried at all.  She had no specials to tell us about and gave us plenty of time to consider our choices.  She did a great job of keeping our much needed beverages topped up - thanks!

An easy enough menu to navigate and had we not just spent 6 hours in the car and not been as close to the hot and bothered end of the comfort scale we probably would have tried one or even two of the appetizers and maybe a dessert too (Whiskey Bread Pudding anyone?), but as it was, what we chose was the right amount of food on this day.

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• Lemonade
• Soda
• Bangers & Mash - Great gravy.  House made pork and potato sausage, mild in flavor but yummy as a package deal with the Mash and Gravy.
• Oven-Roasted Turkey Sandwich - Was it really a turkey club that wasn't toasted?  Tasty and satisfying.  House made crisps, not fries.

Yes, we had exactly zero beers at an Irish Pub.  In our defense, we were minutes away from doing a tour of the Brewery just up the road and we had tickets for the Cubs game (technically it was a Cardinal's game, I guess, since we were going to their park) straight after the tour.  Sometimes, it's all about priorities.

It's unlikely we'll be back to St Louis any time soon, and should that change we probably won't go back to McGurk's.  Not because anything was wrong or bad with our visit - exactly the opposite, but there are many other places we feel we should also try in this neighborhood given the opportunity.

Stay JOLLY!
D