MariaTheresa's Profile
Schlafly Bottleworks STL
By the way, you'll notice that the desserts are a bit more expensive than you might assume, based on Schlafly's generally reasonable prices. As it turns out, every dessert is gigantic -- the toffee pudding is roughly the size of half a 9 inch cake.
Also, the Bottleworks has a great patio with an outdoor fireplace. It's not only a relief for those who are tired of noise and crowds at most bars, it's also a great spot for hanging out on when the weather is nice.
Schlafly Bottleworks STL
I love their food, so I have a list of things to try. The bison stew is one of my favorites, though I'd go with just a cup of it so as to leave room for other things. The bison burger is also excellent (had one of those about two weeks ago and would love to have another this evening!). Of course, I also love the assortment of cheeses and pate served with their beer biscuits. Frankly, I could live on those beer biscuits and some Schlafly Hefeweizen for a long while.
I've been very pleased by the fact that I can take a variety of people there and everyone finds something good on the menu.
STL...Good Chinese Restaurant near Dogtown?
The best Chinese places are on Olive -- a few miles from Dogtown, but not really very far.
Cheese shops - STL
I have had good luck finding and tasting cheeses at the Wine and Cheese Place. They have a great selection and very knowledgable staff and I've found some wonderful things there (for instance, they have some imported artisanal sausages that you can't find anywhere else here). On note on the Clayton location: they have a private parking lot with an attendant, but parking is still free.
I'm heading over to Clayton this afternoon, and I might also stop by the Wine Merchant. It's about 2 blocks away from the Wine and Cheese place, just south of Forsyth on Clayton and is supposed to have a great cheese selction, as well:
The Wine Merchant
20 South Hanley
Clayton MO 63105
Phone 314 863 628
As for Trader Joe's, I usually by my St André (triple-cream French cheese, similar to brie, but softer and richer) there, because it's much cheaper there than anywhere else. However, in general I'd say that the quality of cheese at TJ's is not consistent. Their manchego cheeses are mediocre, at best, and they don't have any cheeses that I'd call the best of their kind. Whole Foods has a great selection and ridiculously high prices.
St Louis -- Asiana Chinese Garden
It does have a fancy sign -- in comparison to many of the places along the strip of Olive anyway -- but I think it's to the east of Value City.
St Louis -- Asiana Chinese Garden
Tonight the spouse and I went on another exploratory trip down Olive Boulevard. We decided to try Asiana Chinese Garden, which seems to occupy a former fast-food restaurant building. The parking lot seemed full, a good sign, though once we went inside we discovered that it wasn't crowded at all. On the other hand, almost all of the other customers appeared to be Chinese families (many with young children in tow), which we took as another positive indicator.
The menu listed a variety of unusual dishes, and it was divided not only (as is usual) by the headings "Seafood" and "Chicken," etc. but also by regional dishes: "Hong Kong Dishes", "Beijing Specialties" and "Cantonese Specialties."
We started with two vegetable appetizers: a spicy cabbage salad and a three-vegetable combination salad. The spicy cabbage seemed to be slivered chinese cabbage with grated red pepper, all bathed in a moderately spicy dressing. The three vegetables were cucumber, cabbage, and enoki mushrooms in a light but almost smoky-tasting dressing.
I asked about one of the Cantonese entrees, a pork stew, and was told by the waitress: "That's just fat. Fat and skin." Clearly not one of her favorites. On the other hand, when I asked about the Cantonese ribs, she added that she liked those quite a bit, and she turned out to have good taste. The ribs were short ribs, braised until they were falling off the bone, and then doused with a sauce very nearly like oyster sauce, but milder. We also ordered a Beijing-style fish dish, which appeared as little chunks of chopped fish, fried with red pepper, and a nearly equal number of whole garlic cloves (!), along with some chunks of green pepper. The fish was perfectly cooked: tender and moist and coated with a nice gloss of moderately spicy sauce.
All together, this small feast cost us $30. We will definitely be going back.
Asiana
7930 Olive Blvd
University City, MO 63130
