Old St Louis Chop Suey - St Charles - St Louis Missouri

You can find Old St Louis Chop Suey at 12454 Saint Charles Rock Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044 near the Lambert International Airport and right of the St Charles Rock Rd exit from I270. The restaurant is in the middle of a shopping center and is fairly distinctive - park in the lot out front.

This is an old-school "swag" Chinese restaurant - your basic Americanized Chinese cuisine. We stopped on the way to my flight out of St Louis with the promise that this place was super fast and indeed the time between ordering and food-on-the-table was just a few minutes. I believe the owner or at least the guy being the small ordering window, was Vietnamese and like so many before him, he's got a restaurant featuring food outside of his own culture. The restaurant's interior isn't much to write home about - very simple with rows of tables and just a few Chinese accents.

Menu items include all the usual Chinese you find in similar restaurants all across the US. Prices were super, super reasonable with most "Combo Playyers" ranging between $5.45 and $6.15 and the chef specials between $8.95 and 12.95 (Seafood Delight). My only complaint is that there weren't any Vietnamese dishes included as that cuisine is one of my favorites.

I ordered the Hunan Chicken - it came on a platter with an inverted bowl of fried rice and an egg roll. The ingredients were quite fresh, if a little lacking in heat/spice. The food was quite palatable and it worked well with the hour-long upcoming flight.

Service was done by the same guy behind the counter - not surprising and typical of these mom-and-pop type restaurants - the guy was quite pleasant, answering all our questions and delivering our food quickly - in all, quite good.

-- John

(also Posted to Yelp)

Carmine's Steakhouse - St Louis Missouri

You can find Carmine's Steakhouse in downtown St Louis at 20 S 4th St, St Louis, MO 63102, this is about a block away from the famous Gateway Arch and convenient to the Old Courthouse and Busch Stadium, as well as the junction of I64 and I44.

Carmine's is an old-school steakhouse featuring aged cuts of beef and an ambiance that would work well in New York or Chicago. There's an expansive bar, plenty of seating and also a patio for those wanting to people watch during lunch. 

We came to Carmine's from Scottrade watching the Blues loose to the Flyers - great action at an exceptional venue. Carmine's was recommended to us by the cab driver and a fine recommendation it was.

Our server was prompt and handed us a couple of menus - the alcohol menu was fairly extensive with four pages covering the various wines, house drinks and beers - I selected a quite good Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout and my dining companion went for a glass of red.

The food menu featured some interesting appetizers, Salads, Chicken, Steaks/Chops and Seafood. What intrigued me was the local favorite fried ravioli and we decided to split the appetizer (note that I had been warned that this local treat was "disgusting" - not my words). After trying it, I'm sorry but I simply can't recommend it here (and I'm betting that it's very well done at Carmine's). For me, the issue with the fried ravioli is that it contains beef - I think that if it were chicken or something a bit less fatty it would be fine. As it is, when you cut into the ravioli you're greeted by a greasy meatball surrounded by a lightly breaded ravioli pasta. The marinara did little to cut the grease and after eating one I couldn't stomach a second. Oh well, I was warned!

For dinner I selected the 10 oz Filet Mignon, inquiring about getting it black-and-blue (cold, rare guts with a bit of char on the outside). For a side I chose the broccoli sans the cheese sauce. The steak, while it could have had a bit more char it was indeed perfectly cooked temperature-wise. The broccoli wasn't anything special (maybe the cheese would have improved the dish? I almost asked for it on the side). I was passed a plate of mushroom risotto which was much better - I was just trying to save some of the calories and have something green.

Overall, I thought the steak was just about perfect, the sides mediocre and the appetizer yucky. However, based on the excellent beer and the steak, I still think this restaurant is worth visiting and giving a try, especially if you happen to be downtown. Also, the service was excellent - I don't remember the server's name but she was quick, answered our questions and was very patient with a couple of visitors to this fair city.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)
 

Lee's Tofu House - Buford Hwy - Doraville Georgia

You can find Lee's Tofu House at 5295 Buford Hwy NE, Doraville, GA 30340 in a small shopping center also home to Mozart Bakery. This was formerly Korea Garden and prior to that Kowloon Seafood Restaurant. The previous owner of Korea Garden began hanging signs for Lee's Tofu while the main "Korea Garden" sign was still on the building so there was some type of transition - the food for the most part is the same as it was, the exception being the focus of tofu and tofu combinations.

I've eaten at Lee's a few times being a fan of the previous Korea Garden, experiencing the menu changes during the transition and the new Tofu focus with Lee's. The food here is solid, especially if you focus on the Korean tofu (soondubu style) soups. I think some of the other menu items were a bit flavorless - not bad but the food could become more distinctive to differentiate it from So Kong Dong across the street and Cho Dang outside the perimeter.

The interior is much the same as it was while Korea Garden but the last time I visited they had ripped up the floor so it's mostly exposed concrete. They finally took down the long Chinese dragon along the left wall (a bit too Chinese actually) - I hope they sold it and got some good money for it. Otherwise you have booths that chop up the space (very Korean style) for a bit of privacy - it's actually a fairly quiet place with a couple of TVs along one wall for the local news/soaps in Korean. 

The reason you would want to come to Lee's has to do with value - they feature combinations where you can select a tofu soup and add a meat combination for $8.99 - this is a great deal for Korean food. However, you do get what you pay for - the first time I ordered this combo I got the Galbi + Kimchi Tofu combo and while the soup was good, the Galbi needed a bit more sear to improve the flavor. We also ordered the chicken combo and it was the same - flavors were very mild. I think this would be a good "starter" restaurants for Americans wanted to try Korean but needing to ease into the intense flavors - of course sometimes this has the opposite effect.

As with other Korean restaurants, the panchan were plentiful but nothing special here - I think some advice to any new Korean shops, be as unique as possible as there is way too much competition to offer up a bland product. Just as in an American steakhouse where the steak can be perfectly cooked, the first thing a customer does is set up the baked potato - if it isn't right, it doesn't matter about the steak, it sets the stage with the diner for the rest of the meal. To me the panchan is the same - it really needs to be exceptional in some way or the rest of the meal is diminished. This sour/sharp/texture and/or unusual here.

Service was very good with what seemed to be owners or family members taking care of the tables. We always ask some questions and the servers are good about coming up with answers or recommendations. I think Lee's has the potential of being a very good restaurant, especially with the pricing, but they need to step it up a notch to lure customers away from the other nearby restaurants.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Sugarfire Smoke House - St Charles - St Louis Missouri

You can find Sugarfire Smoke House at 150 Elm Point Industrial Dr, St Charles, MO 63301 on the corner of Elm St and Elm Point Ind Dr, not too far from highway 370 (exit off Elm). This is an interesting Mid-Century Modern building with an up-swept roof- I'm not sure what it was originally built for, perhaps a diner or filling station? In any case, the building does the BBQ justice by providing a unique setting and an interesting ceiling for an airbrushed mural.

You get in line and order at the counter (funny how this is now called "fast casual" when most BBQ restaurants have been serving this way since the beginning), first with your choice of meat(s) - many of the items are portioned out as you work through the line so by the time you get to the end everything is on a tray - literally. They forego the normal plates and serve the meats on brown butcher paper with the sides in small paper-fry baskets. There are several veggie options that don't seem to be mentioned on the menu boards - look it over and grab what grabs you! You can pick up from a few different pickles and there's plenty of sauces to try on the tables, along with rolls of paper towels, which you will need.

Once you find a spot, pick up anything that you missed (a toothpick would be a good idea) and head to the drink station - I wasn't familiar with anything on the fountain and was told that they were all local brands from nearby Wisconsin - seems it all had sugar too so I choose the unsweet tea mixed with a splash of sweet tea - it tasted fresh-brewed and quite good to this Georgia boy.

This is a classic Southern style BBQ joint with lots of rind and smoky flavor throughout the great variety of meats. I didn't get to sample everything, only having a short time for lunch, but I did manage to order a combination that included some delicious pork ribs (St Louis style, appropriately) and some super moist beef brisket. My order included 4 bones, about 4-5 ounces of brisket, a side of coleslaw and a side of succotash (fresh saute of green beans, yellow and zucchini squashes).

The service was quite good with the people behind the counter quite accommodating - seems they're used to visitors that might not know what to order. They were also quite proficient in getting the meats on the paper so you can move to the sides - some of the sides take a bit longer, also some items may need to be cooked up so you might want to ask if you're in a hurry. Next time I'll try some of the other items but for today, what I had was quite filling. The sandwich portions appeared to be ginormous.

Overall, this rates as some of the better BBQ I've had and if you know me, you'll know I've had more than my fair share. The brisket rivals some of the best I've had in Texas and the ribs were quite good. I was told that this was one of the better local BBQ and I believe it lives up to that claim. I'll be back.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Seven Hens - Sandy Springs - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Seven Hens at 6615 Roswell Rd # 24a, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 in the Abernathy Square Publix Shopping Center right at the intersection of Abernathy Rd and Roswell Rd, North of the perimeter. This is a above average-sized shopping center with several food options including: Bawarchi Biryani Pointe, Ippolito's Italian, Mirage Persian, and the Publix anchor store. Parking is particularly busy at all hours so you may have to walk a bit from your parking space. Exit from the lot can be a bit difficult depending on your direction of travel so be careful, especially when pulling into traffic.

Seven Hens is fast-casual restaurant specializing in schnitzel - your basic pounded-flat chicken breast that is breaded and fried to perfection. At Seven Hens you can select from seven menu options to flavor the chicken in various ways - from ethnic, worldly cuisines to your basic Southern-fried chicken, served with sides, atop a salad or in a sandwich or wrap. The options are on the wall on boards or you can read from a short menu. Ordering is at the counter with these choices: American, Chinese, French, German, Indian, Italian, Mexican plus a seasonal style that rotates several times a year.

Both times I've eaten at Seven Hens I've had the curry with cucumber salad and sweet potato fries - this is quite the meal and very satisfying. There's a variety of seasonings available at the drink station where you can intensify the flavors or if you're not sure about what's prepared by the cooks, you can get the American and add various flavors to figure out what you like best. Personally I'd like to have a very hot/spicy version of the chicken, something like the Mexican only more Szechuan-style. Even the Indian to me could use a hint of ghost pepper to be over-the-top, but you guys know how I like the spice.

I've had occasion to meet one of the owners and I like his ideas behind the Seven Hens concept. I'll be sure to be back again-and-again.

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)

Il Bel Lago - Creve Coeur - St Louis Missouri

You can find Il Bel Lago at 11631 Olive Blvd, St Louis, MO 63141 in a suburb called Creve Coeur almost due West of St Louis as the crow flies. The restaurant is in a protruding part of a shopping center almost hidden by lit trees (not sure if it's due to the holidays or if they're always lit). Entrance is to the right as you go around the corner and parking is in the lot out front. The interior is upscale with an elegance usually reserved for fine dining, but the atmosphere had a younger, frenetic feel that I found quite refreshing. Apparently the restaurant's original name was Bellagio but there was some dispute with the owner's of the hotel that ended in a name change - lucky for me the food retained it's very good quality.

The menu has many very classically inspired Italian dishes to tantalize the diner - I saw many items I would like to try and hope to at some point.

This is perhaps the best meal I've had throughout several visits to St Louis on business the last few years. Sue T (a friend and coworker) and  her husband Carl graciously took me to Il Bel Lago and introduced me to the chef, Frank Giovanni. Afterwards we were sent a nice "combo" style appetizer that featured a delicious lobster ravioli and a  veal tortellini with shitake mushrooms and peas. The flavors were both unusual and offered great contrast to each other.

As I always do, I tried some of the local craft brews rather than going with wine - in this case the Schlafly's Pale Ale won the lottery as my initial try - honestly I didn't care for it much, preferring the hoppy bitterness of an IPA - this was a bit too lagerish to me with a bit of an oily mouth-feel that didn't work for me. I also ordered a Caesar salad that had an anchovy nicely sandwiched in parmesan crustini. For my second brew I switched to a standby Ranger IPA.

For dinner I ordered the Spaghetti Gamberi, Cozze & Vongole - homemade spaghetti (almost an angel hair) with gulf shrimp, fresh mussels and clams in a white wine light san marzano sauce. This was quite delicious with a good amount of fresh garlic that provided little bursts of flavors as you eat the pasta and sauce. Also, the shrimp were quite large and filling - absolutely love this dish.

We forwent the dessert but ended up with these little chocolate and creme (with some type of booze) parfaits that were quite good. Not on the menu, I think they called them chocolate cows or something similar?

Service at Il Bel Lago is quite exceptional - our server was knowledgeable, courteous and quick to deliver. We couldn't have asked for or expected better. Thank you Sue and Carl for introducing me to this place - I hope to be back!

-- John

(also posted to Yelp)