Saffron

We've been to this location before when it was Peacock, and now we're going again as it is a new restaurant called Saffron. It's Indian cuisine and even though it is not the fantastic, best-ever House of India it has somehow gotten good reviews. Maybe they're bribing people and will bribe us too!

Saffron
2137 Barrett Station Road
Saint Louis, MO 63131
(314)965-3822

Fletcher's Kitchen & Tap

This place brings to Crestwood "the same warm neighborhood atmosphere that made our first location in Belleville such a hit!" Has anyone been to the location in Belleville? I haven't, even though it's a huge hit. I don't get over to that side of the river too often. Anyway, let's assume that this one is also a fantastic place and meet up on Monday.

Fletcher's Kitchen & Tap
384 Crestwood Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63126
(314)961-2337
http://www.fletcherskitchen.com/

Flaco's Cocina

Flaco's Tacos was a St. Louis restaurant that had great fish burritos. However, Flaco's closed down a number of years ago. It clearly inspired somebody -- and they have now opened up a tribute restaurant that we'll be going to on Monday. This is our first tribute restaurant, which is very exciting if you want it to be! Who knows what a tribute restaurant even is?

Flaco's Cocina
8400 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63124

Land Of Smile

NOTE: Since the time change is on Sunday, we're back to our fall/winter schedule of 7:00 rather than 7:30.

Wear your grins as we go to this is a very new Thai restaurant on the STL food scene and they're excellent. I've been twice and sampled several different dishes, all of them excellent. They use white pepper prodigiously, which works perfectly in their dishes. This may be one of the most authentic Thai restaurants in St. Louis and you should order your dishes appropriately spicy.

Land of Smile
9641 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314)989-9878

Now it's time for a spicy food fact! What's the difference between black pepper and white pepper?

Both are made from berries - or peppercorns - of the pepper plant (piper nigrum). Black pepper is made from berries picked when they are still green; they are cooked in water to break down cell walls and then dried in until they turn black. White pepper is made from berries that ripen fully on the vine before they are picked; they are soaked and scrubbed to remove the flesh of the fruit before being dried. The taste of white pepper is more subtle and smooth - it's just the seed and is missing flavor compounds contained in the outer fruit layer left on black peppercorns.

La Tropicana Market & Cafe

La Tropicana, known for 30 years as a wonderful little market with some tables indoors, has recently made the switch to full table service. Thanks to Adam, we have space reserved for us on Monday where we can together enjoy their delicious selections of Pan-American food. Join us!

La Tropicana Market & Cafe
5001 Lindenwood
St. Louis, MO 63109
(314)353-7328

Rich & Charlie's

Rich & Charlie's is a classic St. Louis Italian restaurant (they're actually a local chain and have a number of locations), and Stef likes it so they must not use a lot of provel. Come join us on Monday as we check out their Crestwood location. We could even order cheese garlic bread and see what cheese they prefer!

Rich & Charlie's
9942 Watson Road
Crestwood, MO 63126
(314)822-4909
http://www.richandcharlies.com/4randc.zkb

Lester's Sports Bar and Grill

Lester's is a heavily sports-themed restaurant located in charming Ladue. You won't find a rowdy crowd or a smoky atmosphere, but instead a very open, bright, and fresh experience with a ton of HD television sets broadcasting all manner of sporting events. One reviewer wrote, "it looks more or less exactly like what you'd expect a sports bar in Ladue to look like." So there you have it, and we're going on Monday.

Lester's Sports Bar and Grill
9906 Clayton Rd.
Ladue, MO 63124
(314)994-0055

Grand Mediterranean Kabob Café

Because of Labor Day, we're going to be going out on Tuesday rather than Monday. The review looks good, and none of us have ever been there. It's closed on Mondays, so this seems like an ideal opportunity to check it out. Join us!

Grand Mediterranean Kabob Café
4101 S. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314)752-5539
http://www.grandmediterraneankabobcafe.com/ http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2007-05-09/dining/grand-adventures/2

Ruchi Indian Cuisine

Ruchi is fairly new to the St. Louis food scene and their lunch buffet is very extensive and fairly good. Its proximity to my office makes it a very tempting lunch option! Regardless, come and join us - and take a look at this RFT ad for instructions on how to receive a special DISCOUNT!

Ruchi Indian Cuisine
12513 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314)576-7272

Anthony's Bar

Downtown Restaurant Week is Aug. 13 through Aug. 18. Twenty-five restaurants are participating, each with a prix fixe $25 menu. This exciting event only happens once a year, and we went to Top of the Riverfront last year. This year, we're going to Anthony's Bar.

Anthony's Bar
10 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)231-7007
Special DRW Menu

Anthony's serves food from the Tony's kitchen! A bit about Tony's, if I may:

• It is one of 34 restaurants in North America to get the "coveted AAA five-diamond award" and is known as the best restaurant in St. Louis.
  
• In Tony's old space, servers walked up stairs backwards so as not to turn their backs on patrons.
  
• Sauces are prepared tableside by one of your many servers.
• Coat and tie are still required there - are there any other places where that's enforced?

We're not going to Tony's though, so what does this mean for diners at Anthony's? It means that this meal should be outstanding, a great value at $25 for three courses, and casual by comparison to the restaurant from whence the food comes. You'll need to dress to impress, but not so much that you could walk into a wedding or funeral; coat and tie are not required here. Also, I hear that you can use the Tony's complementary valet parking for Anthony's but you may want to check that out.

We have already made a reservation for 20 at 7:30pm. Two of those spots are claimed, leaving 18 seats free. To claim your spot, reply to this message ASAP and let us know how many people will be in your microparty. We have no ability to squeeze people in, so when the remaining 18 spots fill up, sorry, you're out of luck.

Corwin's Bar & Grill

Corwin's serves traditional bar and grill food - expect burgers, sandwiches, some fried favorites, and probably some salad options too. Corwin's used to be across Brentwood from REI, but it recently moved to its new digs in Olivette.

Corwin's Bar & Grill
9200 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314)991-0008
http://tinyurl.com/2uhvg6

Zen

The reviews of this place look good, and the person who answered the phone seemed friendly. They appear to serve Thai and Japanese/sushi that's "among the best in town" according to the Post-Dispatch. It's somewhat hard to find, so the hint I'll pass on is that it's across from Crestwood Plaza in a strip mall. If you get leftovers, be sure to take note of their supposedly stiffer-than-normal plastic foam containers!

Zen
9250 Watson Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63126
(314)832-0407
Sauce Magazine
STL Today

El Scorcho

This place is a new venture by Mark Lucas, co-owner of Boogaloo and Roxane, and it occupies the former space of the Maplewood Cafe. What can we expect? Rumor has it that we'll feel transported to the south of Texas where the land is full of Tex-Mex, BBQ, cowboy hats, bull whips, and servers wearing hot pants. Pick whichever of those excites you the most and make it a reason to join us on the 9th at El Scorcho!

El Scorcho
7356 Manchester Rd.
Maplewood, MO 63143
(314)644-5566

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant

The last time we went to an Ethiopian restaurant, everyone went crazy! Not only did we have a huge turnout, but people devoured their entrees and their napkins, too (that's because the napkins were the injeera, which is a spongy bread). So, we're doing Ethiopian again - this time on S. Grand at a fairly new place that's really excited that we're showing up.

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant
3210 S. Grand
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314)772-4442
http://tinyurl.com/22xt89

Apollonia Restaurant

This place was just reviewed in the Post-Dispatch and sounded fantastic. They've been cooking their "homestyle cooking" for 2,500 years! By now, they should have it perfected and ready for our palates. You'll have to put on your flame-retardant suits when the Saganaki rolls out.

Apollonia Restaurant
6836 Gravois Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63113
(314)353-1488
http://www.apolloniarestaurant.com/

Natural Fact Deli

The Natural Fact Deli used to be in a much smaller space but has moved to new digs in Webster. Stef considers it to be among her favorite restaurants in town, and they make fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads, and pastas.

Natural Fact Deli
20 Allen Ave. Suite 130
Webster Groves, MO 63119
(314)961-2442

Ryce Oriental Buffet

Despite the rather archaic name, Ryce Oriental Buffet has gotten great reviews for their $10 buffet that includes Mongolian BBQ, Sushi, and all of the Americanized Chinese food you could possibly eat. They also have a real menu if you'd rather not sample food from over THREE (3) countries -- that's China, Japan, and Mongolia -- but how could you really resist?! The buffet calls to you...

Ryce Oriental Buffet
12710 Dorsett Rd.
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
(314)878-8288
http://www.rycebuffet.com/

Zia's Restaurant

This is a special edition not only because it's on a bonus Monday but also because it's time to bid an annual farewell to Bryan Puskar as he heads off to the wilderness for three months of intensive survival skills instruction. He wanted Italian and even suggested Zia's. Bryan, this dinner's for you!

Zia's Restaurant
5256 Wilson Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314)776-0020
http://www.zias.com/

Los Catrachos

Stef and I went to Los Catrachos in February and the food caused flavor explosions in our mouths! We had a sampling of their dishes - chicken, plantain, stews, pupusas, and other Honduran favorites. Make sure you come on time as the space isn't large and they close at 9 pm.

Los Catrachos
2744 Cherokee St.
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314)773-5151
http://tinyurl.com/33rgt6

Tumo's Ristorante

You've all heard the expression, "Spring forward, Fall back." We're living the dream! We're now back on summer time and meeting at 7:30 rather than 7:00.

To celebrate this amazing change in our schedules and disruption to our lives, let's get some Italian food. Located a mere 4.9 miles from our house, Tumo's promises to make you happy with their selection of pastas and other Italian dishes. Will they use Provel? Will they have St. Louis style pizza? Will they have really sweet tomato sauces? Will they read the entire menu over the phone when you ask about the price range? Let's all find out the answers to these compelling questions together on Monday!

Tumo's Ristorante
6417 Hampton
St. Louis, MO 63109
(314)351-4400

Nel's

We're going back to the basics - traditional St. Louis South City food that includes such crowd-pleasing favorites like the slinger and liver and onions. Other, less interesting food is of course available. Join us as we have a good time with the purple hippo at Nel's.

Nel's
3748 Delor Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63116
(314)481-6357
http://www.nelspub.com/

Pho Long

It's been cold outside and there's not much better than warm soups to do the job of heating us all up. Actually, we had considered pasta but the place can't handle our large group, so pho it is.

If you've never had pho before, now's your chance. It's a really rich Vietnamese broth served with noodles, onions, basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, hot sauces, and more. Join us and have some! (Note that I don't know what else is on the menu but hopefully they have some other options for those who don't do beef broth.)

Pho Long
8613 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314)997-1218
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2006-11-29/dining/pho-real/

Anthonino's Taverna

This place has gotten some nice reviews and looks to be a Greek/Italian bar and grill with a family-run atmosphere.

Anthonino's Taverna on the Hill
2225 Macklind
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314)773-4455
http://www.anthoninostaverna.com/

Alandale Brewing Company

I read a review of this place and it has starters, pastas, entrees, and most importantly dutch apple bread pudding. This microbrewery/pub makes eight varieties of beer on-site, including a lager, wheat ale, and stout. Sounds good to me!

Alandale Brewing Company
105 E. Jefferson
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(314)966-2739
http://www.alandalebrewing.com/

Queen of Sheba

The astute among you will recall that we've been to this space before; some of you may remember it as Caribbean Sun (see the blog entry) but it's now an East African restaurant. I guess that means spices from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa (not to mention Reunion, Mayotte, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros)? Regardless, it sounds interesting and they're happy to have us. Let's do our part in filling up their space.

Queen of Sheba
6665 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130
(314)727-7057
http://tinyurl.com/yl6nnq