HP Sauce

I just got some HP Sauce from World Market.

Oh joy!

Now I need to make meat pies or something deliciously yummy and English.

Chris and Dennis vetoed canned spotted dick.

We tried Mel's Famous BBQ for dinner tonight. Their sauce is very sweet and very thick, and everything is very slathered in it. The smoke flavor / aroma is almost too much.



The menu is limited, and the owner apparently made a point about pulled pork not being a regular menu option.

Dinner w/ 2 sides:
Baby back ribs $9.50
Pork steaks $8.50
Pork tips $8.50
Chicken wings $7.50

Sandwiches:
Brat $4.50
Hamburger $4.50
Hotlink $4.00

Dennis and I both had pork tip dinners. I don't eat pork steaks, so my dinner options are more limited. Some of my tips were too dry. There was an abundance of sauce over it, but that won't ever put the moisture back in the meat. Dennis didn't think his tips were dry. Chris devoured his ribs, but only after he scraped off most of the sauce with a fork.



Consensus here is that we won't drive past Lil' Mickey's to get to Mel's.

The Frozen Tundra

We used our Cracker Barrel gift certificates for lunch today. This is still not a place I'd choose in my own town with my own money, but it wasn't a terrible experience either. I always equate Cracker Barrel with Denny's for some reason. It is road trip food to me.

After we ate too much, we went back to the lease to hunt the last day of youth season. It is really too cold to sit for hours, so we did some quick paced still hunting today. Basically we told Chris to take the .30-30 and lead us down the paths around the farm. I think the deer were bedded down in the warmest spots they could find, but you never know when you might kick one up out of bed.

We didn't see anything again, but Chris kept at it until the sun went down. We got a good walking tour of the property with all of the foilage down, and we did see pleanty of sign that proves there have been deer out and about since the last big rain storm. The ground is frozen solid now, so there weren't any real fresh signs to point out.

Merry Hunting / Chinese Buffet Day

I am still under the weather, but we got up and went hunting this morning anyway. I took an adult dose of Tylenol cold medicine (ew, the orange stuff) right before we went out the door.

Dennis saw a deer as we were walking down the old farm road. I was fully bundled and carrying my seat and bibs at the time, so I didn't think I could shoot. He got the muzzleloader. He walked parallel to the path he'd seen the deer on, and I continued down the road. Of course, that's when I saw deer. If I'd put my stuff down and gotten the rifle ready instead of handing it off, we'd have venison tonight. Oh well, that's hunting!

We sat for a while, but I was too wired from my adult dose of Tylenol cold medicine to sit still for very long. We made it about two hours in total. I realized as I was walking back up the hill that I really did not feel good at all, and questioned coming out into the cold to begin with.

After a nap, we went to Ryce Oriental Buffet for dinner. Their special holiday buffet seemed pretty nice. I had a fever by this time, so I didn't try much in the way of Westernized Chinese food, nor did I venture too far into the more exotic side of the buffet. I mostly ate dim sum dishes from the steam table. They had some jade dumplings that were super tasty. Dennis had some spicy tendon.

Fifth-life Crisis

My sister is turning twenty tomorrow. Apparently she is experiencing some kind of fifth-life crisis over it. I'd like to try twenty over some time. I don't remember having much fun - I just remember a lot of hard times and hard work.

At any rate, the family came down to St. Charles to celebrate Beth's birthday. We walked past a few places, and finally settled on dinner at Little Hills Winery. It was a fine place to eat. I think there was a little sticker shock over the bill, but in all reality we ate for about $15 per person, which seems reasonable to me.

We got Beth some insulated riding gloves.

Memphis Too

We went to the gates of Graceland this morning.


We saw the Peabody Ducks.


Beale Street is a sad place on a Sunday morning.

We ate lunch at Gus's Fried Chicken.

Memphis

We're using our long weekend to take Chris to Memphis.

On the way down today, we saw big bales of cotton. The bootheal of Missouri and Northeastern Arkansas is boring except for that.

We ate lunch at Willie Mae's Rib Haus in West Memphis, Arkansas. The beans were phenomenal! The rest of the meal was pretty great too. Ahhh, sweet tea!


We walked around the riverfront with Lacey.




We are staying at the Drury Inn NE. They allow pets.


Then we ate dinner at
The Kooky Canuck on Second Street.

BBQ Egg Rolls & Poutine


Four cheese burger


Fried Green Tomato BLT

Hunting Lease & BBQ

Dennis and I drove to the Ste. Genevieve / Jefferson County line to look at 90 acres for lease with Koby. Lacey had a great time walking all over the bottoms and woods. She did get a bramble thorn stuck in her paw though.

On our way out, we saw two or three deer crossing the path. This seems like a good sign. We saw as many deer in one afternoon on this plot as we did all three years we hunted the old place in Vulcan, MO.

Then we went to Farmington to look for hunting boots. Everybody carries riding boots, and everybody carries insulated hunting boots, but nobody carries insulated riding boots.

We ate a good dinner at Warehouse BBQ in Farmington. The meat is ok, but we both thought this place really shine with their sides. I would be OK eating the buffet - all sides and no meat at all :-D

Calhoun County

We went up the Great River Road to Calhoun County Illinois.

My Grandma Lee grew up in Calhoun somewhere in the hills above Hardin. I try to pass along the oral history that I remember from her and stories from my own experiences, as my family has traveled in the region just about every year since I can remember.

I know everybody must be sick of hearing the same old stories, but I sincerely hope that some day Chris will be repeating them to my grandchildren.

Grandma always told a story that sometime in the 1930s a bread truck went off of the Joe Page bridge in Hardin while the center span was up. She said the bread floated up all over the river.

I always tell about the awesome cider press that used to be at the Apple Shed. I believe the Ringhausen's owned it, and it was lost after the flood of 93.

We went west from Hardin this year, so even though I don't know where the homestead was, I still told Chris to imagine his Great-Grandma running around in those woods barefoot, swinging on grapevines as we were passing through.

I also remember riding with my Grandparents from the other side of the family. Grandma Linda couldn't see much, but she could see when the fall leaves were in full color. She loved eating at the Fin Inn in Grafton too.

We ate at the Whitmond Hotel in Brussels this time.

One Last... Donut King

I brought my last two dozen doughnuts in to work today.

Donut King in St. Charles is where I discovered what a cake doughnut should be.

I hope they appreciated it, cause it won't happen again!

One last... China Moon

China Moon on the Rock Road has $5 lunch specials and the best crab rangoon I've ever had. Sure, it is nothing like the Chinese food we get at dim sum, but I do still like it.

So today I'm enjoying my "last" meal at China Moon.

*sniffle*

My fortune cookie says "Modify your thinking to handle new situations."

One last... Indian Food

Dennis assures me that this isn't really my last meal from Gokul Snacks & Sweets, but it is hard not to feel like it.

I'm already mourning the dearth of good food options in Earth City.

For today, I'm just going to chow down on this beautiful spread I've ordered for myself and not sweat it.

Taste of Hubert Keller

Dennis, Chris and I went to Taste of St. Louis today. There was a Cardinals game and a Blues game, so we decided to take Metrolink in.

We had some great food, including a portabello sandwich from Triumph Grill and a great butternut squash soup from L'Ecole Culinaire. Chris ate some Blue Sky Ice Cream.

We watched a competition between Chef Josh Galliano from Monarch and Chef Peter Beberman from Jim Edmond's 15 Steakhouse.

Then Hubert Keller took the stage! He was as charming and funny in real life as he is on his PBS show. He made the baekeoffe recipe from Top Chef Masters. Then he gave the whole audience samples. It was really quite tasty. I met him a little while later, and he is very personable.

I think I'm in love. As a Frenchman and a West Coast resident, he has every opportunity to come to the midwest and act like a jackass. But he just isn't. Cool!

Dim Sum & Ansel Adams

Dennis and I went out for dim sum at Mandarin House on Page. We had sticky rice, bbq pork rice noodles, some tofu in a wonderful savory broth, shrimp dumplings (har gow), almond jelly (which I absolutely love), taro shrimp fritters, mung bean cake (which Dennis couldn't get a taste for), and this yummy sticky rice flour ball that I think is called haam sui gok. It is sweet with a savory filling.



Then we went to the St. Louis Art Museum to see a gallery of Ansel Adams photographs. I can't remember ever being on the thrid floor of the art museum, which I find weird, but we were up there today.

Sushi

We went to Crazy Sushi in St. Peters for dinner tonight.

I had cabbage salad, miso soup, green tea and SUSHI!

I had a California Roll and I was just gleeful about the roe on top of it. I think it was flying fish roe, and it pops in your mouth. Fun!

Then there were five pieces of nigiri. The pieces were just too big for me to eat all at once, so I had to be rude and take them in two bites.

It was chef's choice, so I am not 100% sure what two of the fishes were.

The tuna barely had any flavor at all; much less than seared tuna steaks I've had in the past.

The shrimp was my least favorite, because I found it was cooked just a touch too much and was too chewy.

The salmon tasted like salmon - not my favorite fish my any means, but I found I actually like it better raw.

I don't know for sure what my favorite of the night was, but I suspect that it was sea bass. (I had it and another piece that I may have gotten mixed up.) The flavor and texture were just perfect, and this piece of fish helped me understand what sushi is all about.

All of the flavors are subtle, and then the wasabi (I did not add any, just went with the chef's vision) cleared out the palate. It is a very clean sensation.

Pantera's Pizza

Mmmmm.

Dennis and I went out to Pantera's Pizza last night.

Going there is like entering a time warp. The decor, menu and taste remind me of when I was a kid.

I'm having leftovers with Pepsi for lunch today.

Allin's Diner

We've been meaning to stop at Allin's Diner in St. Charles for ever.

We finally did Thursday, and then again today. It is much better than I expected, and the menu is more upscale and interesting than I was expecting.

The chili is awesome!



We must go back so that I can get some grits for breakfast.

And the wedding cake had a turbo on it!

Friends were married this evening at Villa Antonio Winery.

Dennis and I had a good time and caught up with some people on the way back machine.

People from the Neon club.

Now I must sleep.

Thai Kitchen

We went to Thai Kitchen last night.

I had a veggie yellow curry. It was good, but I didn't eat the onions. Too hard on my stomach.

Dennis got wonton with bbq pork soup. The portion was very generous. This is a good place to experiment and share.

Chris didn't order anything at all. He used to beg us to go to Thai Kitchen when we lived over that way, but he seems to have developed a fear of ethnic food lately. I think the menu may have gotten to him. It is pretty long, but the descriptions seem easy to understand. I don't know what is up, but he ordered chicken fingers at a taqueria recently too.

Taqueria

We went to Taqueria la Pasadita. We got a very nice old Taco Bell window view of a pretty GOOD thunderstorm while we were there. My family went all gringo on me - Dennis got a BBQ chimichanga and Chris got chicken fingers and fries. I had a torta de carnitas and most of Dennis's discarded horchata.

Taqueria la Pasadita is good. My torta was good. The carnitas were moist and flavorful. They also have chicharon on the menu. It is worth a second look, but it will not replace Taqueria Los Tarascos right up the street as my favorite Mexican restaurant.



I want to get a horchata and put coconut rum in it.