What a delight it was to sleep in this morning.........all the way to 7:30am!! After the usual morning rituals, I thoroughly enjoyed my French Roast coffee without having to worry about keeping a schedule this morning......as last night I thought I would have one. I was supposed to meet the 1st Lady in STL to do some shopping, but then she changed her mind and decided to remain with her mother in the hospital until around noon today before leaving for the city.
Soooo, that gave me the morning off from any detailed activities at the last moment. I should have called Goldsmith to come on over for coffee, but I didn't know how long I was going to just lazy around and so I didn't......sorry Mike!
At 3pm.....Dave and Sue Hanner picked me up to go to STL for dinner. The 1st Lady and I owed them a nice dinner and so we met her at World Market for a bit of shopping before our 7pm reservation time.
We did get there a bit early, but they had seating at that early time, so we were lucky. The restaurant recommends making reservations at least 6 weeks ahead of when you need them.....and I had only made them about 10 days early. The restaurant is on a corner of a residential area.......a bit south of The Hill in the city......and upon entering we were quite impressed!
There is a small bar for waiting purposes....and some very up-to-date decor in the main eating areas. The lighting is low, but no so much so that you have to guess what you have on your fork. The service.....wonderful!!!! It is a wide and varied menu with a wonderful wine list to accompany any dinner they serve. Everything sounded sooooo good that we did have some difficulty deciding our on selections for each course.
For appetizers(antipasto), we ordered fried calamari on fried spinach, with smoked salmon bacon. OMG......this was the very best calamari I have ever eaten......so delicately fried with such thin batter and the calamari was sooooo tender....not chewy as most often is the case. The fried spinach......WELL, what a treat! It had been flash fried and was crisp and shiny and just delicious as the lemon used on the calamari drizzled on down over this spinach......just one of the best appetizers I have ever, ever enjoyed!!!! However,........we also ordered some home-made toasted ravioli filled with seasoned beef and accompanied by some tomato dipping sauce....with spices in the sauce, but not enough to "kill" the flavor of the ravioli. Excellent!!!!
Completing the appetizers, with which we had ordered a bottle of Pino Grigio.....Ruffini brand from Venezia, Italy......and it was a really crisp, but not an overly tart or dry white wine that really paired well with our appetizers! We then ordered a spinach salad which was wonderful.....a wonderful dressing that was light. The salad was a family size bowl, which was enough for the four of us.
During these two courses, we did have some home-made HOT ciabatta bread.....OMG, was it ever, every wonderful!!!
Following the salad course, we then consulted the menu, the server, and the young lady who gathered the used plates......and they both recommended several of the wonderful dinners from the menu. The 1st Lady and David both had the Balsamic Marinated Hanger Steak which was served with oven roasted oregano and garlic potatoes and grilled asparagus. It must have been a great choice because they both seemed to be really enjoying it, and it was gone before very long after being served. Sue ordered the Lamb Loin Chops with Eggplant Risotto scented with tomato and fresh basil. And I ordered the Rigatoni with large gulf shrimp with roasted cauliflower, sun dried tomotoes and pine nuts, all lightly covered with a garlic tomato cream sauce! And the serving was HUGE......much more than I could eat and still some room for dessert. The shrimp were plump and not overly cooked, and the pasta was al dente....just the way I really do like my pasta. We also ordered another bottle of the Pino Grigio for the entree course.
And then dessert!!! We ordered two of the items from the menu: Chocolate Creme Brulee and a wonderful Tiramisu. Both were ......OMG, they were just incredible!!!! Accompanying these were coffee and espresso.....both very dark, very rich, and such an amazing flavor!!!!
It was a dinner that we haven't had for many months.......and was it ever great!!!! The entire meal was close to three hours long.......and we certainly didn't feel rushed, not did we even realize that the time had slipped by soooo quickly. And......we all agreed that we will return in the spring when we are back in the state after wintering in the RGV in Texas!!!
A wonderful relaxed day......and an amazing dinner in St Louis. If you are in STL...now, or in the future, put this restaurant on you "to do" list while in the city!!!!! You will NOT be disappointed!! And so.....another day in my disappearing Life.....and, without a doubt........
LIFE IS INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!!
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