We don’t usually venture out on Valentine’s day weekend, but circumstances require us to be out of town this year.  After waiting until the last minute, we (unsurprisingly) had trouble snagging a dinner reservation.  If you’re in the same boat, don’t panic – opentable.com still shows availability for a party of two at quite a few of my favorite midwestern restaurants.

Act fast, as these reservations won’t be available for long!  Keep in mind that some of these places may feature a “special” (i.e., limited and extra expensive) menu, so be sure to call ahead to avoid disappointment.

1.  Scholar’s Inn -  Indianapolis, IN – February 13th and 14th, availability from 8:00 p.m. onward.

2.  La Scala – Lafayette, IN – February 14th only, scattered availability between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

3.  Kil@Wat – Milwaukee, WI – February 13th, availability from 9:30 p.m. onward; February 14th, scattered availability all evening.

4.  1913 Room – Grand Rapids, MI – February 14th only, availability at 6:00 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. onward.

5.  Cielo Restaurant – St. Louis, MO – February 13th, availability at 5:30 p.m. and from 9:15 p.m. onward; February availability from 8:30 p.m. onward.

6.  Rhapsody – Chicago, IL – February 13th, availability at 6:00 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. onward, February 14th availability through 7:45 p.m.

In the alternative to venturing out for dinner, you can always do what we usually do and curl up on the couch with a pizza and some movie theater-sized boxes of candy!  One year we even went to McDonald’s, and it was a blast.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I mentioned in a recent post that I was a little tired of tapas-style dining.  Well, our subpar July dinner at Mosaic in downtown St. Louis may have been the meal that did it.   

I was really hyped to try Mosaic.  It was within walking distance of our hotel – the Omni – and had a great website and online menu.  The restaurant is visually appealing, with an upscale but funky vibe and lots of tables for two.  We were seated right away, despite being fifteen minutes early for our reservation.  Upon being greeted by our server, we promptly ordered a wide array of small plates to be served in whatever order the chef desired.

 We figured we would start off our meal with hummus and pita, our lone cold appetizer, but it never materialized.  (I mean, never, it was completely forgotten.)  Instead, we got these potstickers ($8.50) first.  I often complain about potstickers being too soggy but these were just the right combination of soft and crunch.  The pork was well-seasoned. 

Second we had truffled frites ($6.00), which I neglected to snap a picture of.  They were really just fries, nothing to write home about.

The next dish we received was this petite beef tenderloin ($12.50), served with blue cheese butter and bok choy.  Actually, this is our second beef tenderloin.  We had ordered our steak medium rare, and the first one we got was beyond well-done.  It was so tough the hubby actually sent the steak back.  Lest you think he is a complainer, I’ve probably only seen him do this one or two times since we started dating seven years ago. 

When we got the second steak (about a half hour later), it wasn’t overcooked but still was surprisingly tough.  In other words, just not a great chunk of meat to begin with.  I did like the blue cheese butter quite a lot, to the point that I may try to replicate it at home.

In between the first and second steaks, we (thankfully) received these flash-fried artichoke hearts ($8.00) as a consolation dish.  This was the most right thing Mosaic did all night.  The artichokes were amazing and they kept us from rioting with hunger after receiving only a couple little potstickers.  This dish and a glass of Sangria would be my only reason for going back to Mosaic. 

After the three dishes listed above, we sat for quite a while before our server finally dropped by with the check.  At that point we informed her that we’d never received our herb gnocchi ($8.00).  (We had abandoned the hummus by this point).  This is the problem at Mosaic – the servers literally have no idea whatsoever what dishes diners have and have not received at any given point.  Fifteen minutes later, we had our gnocchi.  Unfortunately, it was gross.  There was something I just hated about the herb sauce, and the dumplings were way too thick and heavy.  Plus, does this look like an $8.00 portion to you?

$80.00 later, after a lot of waiting around, we left Mosaic with semi-full tummies.  I wouldn’t return.  The food was hit and miss, and the service totally disjointed.  If you’re in St. Louis, I recommend skipping the tapas in favor of some ribs.

I love a good brunch on occasion, and I’m pleased to announce that Rooster provides a truly excellent one within walking distance of many downtown St. Louis hotels and attractions.  This charming cafe specializes in crepes and mimosas served in a no-frills, brightly-colored dining room.

Here’s a view of the room we ate in.  There was no one there when we arrived at 8:30 a.m. but the place rapidly filled up!  Another seating space has a giant rooster painted on the wall, hence the name. 

I picked a S’mores crepe with a side of bacon.  It was AMAAAAZING – a perfect blend of chocolatey, marshmallowy goodness with the crepe itself substituting for the graham crackers.  The bacon was perfectly cooked. 

  The hubby opted for a savory crepe – bacon with baby arugula & carmelized onions.  The flavor combination was interesting but I think he was jealous of my sinful dessert crepe as he said he would opt for sweet instead of salty on a future visit.  Other sweet options included Nutella, roasted apple, and peanut butter cup (yum!). 

We were in and out of Rooster in about 30 minutes, which was important because we had a full day of sightseeing.  Our total bill with sodas was under $20.00 for two.  Overall, this St. Louis eatery is highly recommended!

We heard tons of positive feedback about this free, family-oriented zoo before our trip to St. Louis and bumped it to the top of our must-do list as a result.  The weather was perfect, and it was overall a nice day at the zoo.  A couple of tips for your visit:

1.  Arrive early, arrive early, arrive early!  Whether due to the price (free) or the day (Fourth of July holiday weekend), the zoo became a madhouse by around 11:00 a.m.  Seriously, this was one of the most crazy busy zoos I have ever visited.

2.  Strategically plan your visit.  While arriving early is necessary, some of the animals aren’t let out into their enclosures until an hour after zoo opening!  Start with the inside exhibits that are clearly open to avoid back-tracking like we did.

3.  Don’t miss the penguins!  The indoor open-air penguin exhibit is definitely the coolest of its type I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of penguins!

4.  Food and gift store service is slow, slow, slow.  It took us about fifteen minutes just to get a drink, and don’t even get me started on the debacle I encountered while trying to buy a magnet!  Plan to eat lunch early, late, or elsewhere.

Cielo is an upscale restaurant at the Four Seasons offering indoor/outdoor dining.  We were originally scheduled to spend three nights at the Four Seasons and attend the restaurant’s Fourth of July buffet.  We ended up staying at the Omni instead but keeping our dinner reservations and were extremely glad we did.  Despite a few service issues, this event was well worth the $55.00 per person set price tag.

If the weather is at all nice when you dine at Cielo, be sure to ask about dining on the terrace for lovely views of the city and its famous arch.  As an added bonus of our holiday meal, we were able to see several different sets of fireworks throughout our meal.

Cielo normally uses a menu but offers special buffets for Sunday brunch and assorted special occasions throughout the year.  Our Fourth of July buffet offered a fabulous array of American favorites done gourmet-style.  As you can see, we tried a lot of different things!

Particular standouts included the macaroni and cheese, hot potato casserole, homemade biscuits, shrimp, and hot dogs.  Items that were just okay included cold potato salad, ribs (not enough seasoning), and corn on the cob.  Nothing was bad.  In addition to what is pictured above, the cold portion of the buffet offered quite a lot of salad items but we opted out of most of those considering them to be “filler.”

   Finally, we finished our main course and moved on to the smaller dessert buffet.  While nothing was exactly worth writing home about, all of the items were better than those offered at a typical buffet including most Las Vegas affairs.  The little apple pies and raspberry tarts were the best, thanks to their delicious home-made crusts.  The brownies were pretty good too, and the red, white, and blue jelly beans were a nice touch.

Overall, our Fourth of July experience at Cielo was pleasant and memorable.  I’m not usually a buffet person and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of most of the food offered here.  The balcony is quite comfortable and there are fabulous views to be had.  Service was a little slow, due in part to the fact that it began to rain at the very end of the meal and everyone needed their checks at once.  Still, this was a minor inconvenience during an otherwise very enjoyable meal.  I would definitely recommend Cielo for anyone looking for a good meal or a pleasant way to spend Fourth of July 2010!

Instead of taking the freebie brewery tour offered at fifteen minute intervals throughout the day, we booked ahead and opted for the $25.00 per person “Beermaster Tour.”  Our group was not full so we probably could have snuck in at the last minute, but they keep this tour kind of quiet so you will want to at least email ahead to make sure it is offered the day of your visit.  The address is stlouisbrewerytour@budweisertours.com. 

No one under 13 is allowed on the Beermaster Tour.  You have to wear closed-toed shoes, a hat, and safety goggles, and sign a waiver.  Now that’s my kind of tour!

Here’s the outside/inside of Anheuser-Busch’s main tourist building.  The factory complex is massive but the parking lot and entrance are clearly marked.  While we waited for our tour, we passed the time by looking at some exhibits on old and new brands, the Clydesdales, and Anheuser-Busch during the Prohibition Era. 

At promptly 4:00 p.m., our friendly tour guide met our group of ten to begin the tour.  He told us that “of course” we could take pictures anywhere we wanted, which was a pleasant surprise.  This was only the first example of Anheuser-Busch being amazingly laid-back for a big corporation.

We learned quickly that there are seven steps in the Budweiser brewing process, as detailed on this sign.  These are 1) Milling; 2) Mashing; 3) Straining; 4) Brew kettle; 5) Primary fermentation; 6) Beechwood lagering; and 7) Finishing.  We got to taste some of the malt and found it surprisingly addictive.

Here’s the brew kettle stage.  It looks like a big washing machine through the round windows.  It is EXTREMELY hot in this room, but there’s a lot of great architectural detail as shown to the right.

This big screen regulates the addition of hops to the brew kettle.  The guys in our group all tasted the hops which are apparently disgusting.

The highlight of our tour was definitely the bottling/packaging facility.  With all the automation, it felt like we were on an episode of “Unwrapped.”  I can not BELIEVE how close to stuff they let us get.  These are two of many fun shots of the bottling portion.  Note the party foul to the right!

Here we are in the packaging area.  The boxes look a little out of focus because they were really whizzing by!

Part of our tour took place outside.  This historic clock tower has been onsite since 1891.  Many of the buildings had dates on them so we could see how the brewery has evolved over time.

We got to see, and pet, this guy, who is one of the famous Aneuser-Busch Clydesdales.

These guys were hanging out in the barn.  Notice the dalmatian the lower left corner – so sweet!    

After working our way down the hill, we got a ride back up on our own private trolley.  We noticed that each of the complimentary tour groups was large enough to fill three of these coaches. 

Finally, we ended our tour by getting a chance to taste beer right out of the finishing tank.  They were making Bud Light our day, but you might get something different.  The beer was so fresh and fabulous we didn’t even mind the 35 degree temperatures!  After drinking at least a glass each, we headed to a private hospitality suite where we each got two bottle-sized “samples” of Budweiser products.  I found that I really like Budweiser’s American Ale, although I doubt it will be as fresh anywhere else.

Our tour lasted a whopping 2.5 hours but the time flew by.  Our group was fun, the guide knowledgeable, and the sights incredibly interesting.  This was by far the best brewery tour I’ve ever enjoyed and I absolutely recommend the Beermaster Tour to anyone traveling to the St. Louis area.