Sunday 1.29
I was working this morning and stopped to get something for dinner on my way home. minutes. I decided to head over to Formaggio Kitchen and get some cheese. I ended up getting a lam roast for tomorrow night too. And I was hungry so I picked up a rueben and some potato chips. I have to tell you this reuben blew my mind. I don’t even know what made it so good. Normally, I use a lot of Russian dressing and this barely had any. It was so juicy, the beef was fatty and flavorful. The bread was crispy and delicious. I think this is the best reuben I ever had.
For dinner, I got two pieces of cheese, pork rillettes, some spicy peanuts, cornichons, fig jam, and a baguette. The first cheese was Le Chalotet and the second was Verano, an amazing sheep milk cheese from Vermont. We enjoyed a bottle of 2019 Ridge Gonsalves Mataro with it. And I saved enough cheese to have some for lunch tomorrow.
Monday 1.30
For lunch I brought the leftover cheese to work. With that I had some cornichons, mini toasts, and ham from my Saturday morning hash.
For dinner I made the lab sirloin roast I bought at Formaggio Kitchen. It was a 1.3 lb roast for only $20. Given the quality, it was an excellent deal. I seared it on all sides and then roasted it at 350° until it hit 125°. I served it over rosemary polenta enriched with beef stock and butter. I also made a side of herbed carrots and we had a bottle of Cote de Rhone. Amazing dinner! I needed some dessert after that so I ran out quickly and grabbed a piece of coconut cake from Concord Market. I wasn’t crazy about the texture, but I loved the icing.
Over the weekend we painted the liquor closet. Tonight we assembled the wine rack and put a few bottles back in. It think it looks really cool. Now I just need to get more shelving. Check it out!
Tuesday 1.31
For lunch at work I had DeNo’s. I didn’t have DeNo’s at all last week so I’m sure they were missing me! I got the chicken parm which I always like and a bag of chips.
For dinner we went over to our friends’ house. We were supposed to go to Nosh in Concord, but it turns out it is closed on Tuesdays so they were kind enough to host us last minute. We ordered from Slap Noodle. I had never tried it before but I recommend it. I had a slap bun which is a delicious pork bun. I also tried the gyoza and some spicy yellowtail sushi. My wife and I split some spicy Ramen. I’m not sure which one it was but it had pork, an egg, nori, scallions, and fried onion. Very, very good.
We brought dessert from Concord Market. It was better than the coconut cake. My wife talked to our friend who woks there and she gave her good advice on a flowerless chocolate cake brownie and a lemon bar.
Wednesday 2.1
We got to talking about Brother’s Roast Beef at work yesterday, so today my coworker suggested we get some. Yes, I just had it, last week, but that wasn’t about to stop me. I had a junior three ways and a bag of chips. Similar to their small sub, their junior beef is huge.
For dinner it was a “scrounge” night. We do that every so often and just find something to eat around the house. I went with cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. For the third night in a row, I had dessert from Concord Market. This time M&M cookies. Not great. From now on I’m sticking with the brownie.
Thursday 2.2
I traveled back to St. Louis today for my grandmother’s funeral. I had hoped to get breakfast in the airport, but ended up with a cup of clam chowder instead. Legal Sea Foods still makes the best chowder. Even in the airport it is delicious. The only bad thing is it came with oyster crackers instead of a dinner roll.
After a couple of hours at the wake, I was getting pretty hungry on just a cup of clam chowder. My godfather suggested we head over to Henke’s Tavern. He even had a gift card. Henke is a family name, but we can’t figure out if we were related to the original owners. Still I liked eating there, especially today. I ordered toasted ravioli which I shared with my dad and brother. I also got the fish sandwich with cheese and tartar sauce. That was actually a lot of food, but when my dad didn’t finish his Henke’s Special, I took down some of that too. Dad and I also toasted my grandmother with a Southern Comfort and 7up. That was her drink.
Friday 2.3
Today was my grandmother’s funeral. After the funeral we all got together at Cugino’s. I got to pass out the candy cigarettes I mentioned last week to all my cousins. Being in St. Louis, the buffet included toasted ravioli. I had some along with salad, two chicken nuggets, a few meatballs, and then more toasted ravioli, and then more toasted ravioli and then more. It’s a cheat day.
I took a nap and then got up and my brother and his family came over. We ordered Imo’s pizza and stopped at Schnuck’s on the way to pick it up. I got chocolate gooey butter cookies for everyone (I ended up eating two.) and Vess Cream Soda. It exploded all over my favorite shirt when I opened it, but it was worth it. We got two pizzas, sausage & pepperoni and sausage & bacon. We also got a house salad with house dressing. It’s definitely a cheat day.
Saturday 2.4
Last night when we were trying to decide what to do for dinner my mom suggested Circle 7 Ranch in Des Peres. The wait however, was almost two hours. That is why you see pizza up above. Today thought there was just a fifteen minute wait so my mom, my nephew, and I went there for lunch. Steak n’ Shake, the beloved St. Louis burger chain is dying off, so lots of restaurants are picking up the slack. Circle 7 features a Firsco Melt. Two patties, American and Swiss cheese, and 1000 island dressing on grilled sourdough. The Frisco was my favorite burger at Steak n’ Shake and this is a great recreation of it. I also had fries that were not as good as Steak n’ Shake.
On the way back from lunch we stopped at Nathaniel Reid Bakery. On the way to lunch I noticed it because the line was out the door. On the way back the line was more manageable and we got a maple pull apart, a whit chocolate, cheese, and raspberry danish, and a plain croissant. I’m going to need to go back here next time I’m in town.
For dinner, I went to Brasserie by Niche in the old Chez Lyon space. I had been eating so much that I tried to eat light. I shared the cheese plate with my family, had one gourgere, and ate my dinner roll with butter. I tried to go light with dinner and get the steak tartare and a side of brussels sprouts. I skipped dessert, but did try a new gin and a Missouri apricot brandy called Edelbrand.
Roundup
I didn’t expect to be in St. Louis this week, but I’m really glad I was. I ate some amazing things before I left including that reuben, the Verano cheese, and my first Slap Noodle experience. I didn’t cook much, but that lamb sirloin was amazing. St. Louis is always full of food and the Henke’s Special and those pastries were highlights. I’m also glad I got to have a Vess Cream Soda since I didn’t have one two weeks ago when I was in town. Now I just need to not look at the scale for a while.
Links:
Verano
quick bite: DeNo’s Pizza & Subs
quick bite: Brother’s Roast Beef
St. Louis: Henke’s Tavern
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Concord Culinary Lyceum 