A secret food truck feast

There was a food truck feast this past Saturday, but you would never have known it.  First off, it was announced in a small ad in the RFT magazine.  Secondly, it could have been a better arranged event.  Here is the thing: it was held partially be the Four Hands Brewery, which was on 8th street downtown.  The brewery has parking places in back of the building; about 8.  So, this event, was to have about 10 food trucks, live music and food and beer and all sorts of goodies, as well as the first fashion truck.  This is a good idea, but could have been a billion times better, had there been parking.  The closest parking, was on 8th street, but after those two blocks of parking filled up, the only answer left was more street parking.  Parking was done on the streets as far West as near St. Raymond's church.  Parking doesn't seem like an issue at first, but there was something gnawing at me: the vacant "event parking" lots nearby.  There was three, large empty lots within a shotput's throw of the event.

This meant that just a quick forethought on the event organizers, could have had those spots not only available, but for rent for just a few bucks.  Even if they charged a single $1, per car, they would have cleaned up with their 50-60 spots, versus not having them open at all.  Now, besides the parking and the tables setup for 50 people when there was over 200 people there at any one time, I'd say everything else was good.

My family and I tried as much as we could.  It was also important to see that some of the foods we ordered, were not only child friendly, but were inhaled by those same children.  We ordered a grilled cheese sandwich from Sarah's Meltdown: https://www.facebook.com/sarahsmeltdown .  We had ordered a grilled cheese in which my boys inhaled.  I think my wife was able to get a single bite of it before each boy grabbed half of it, and ate all they could.  It was definitely cheesy and I'd say as far as child friendly things, that was an easy 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Next, my son ordered a dish from the Completely Sauced truck.  They say that they serve Creole Cuisine.  So, my son orders their nachos, which I wasn't happy about because I was expecting chips and cheese which sound great to a 6 year old, but isn't really note-worthy from a food truck.  These nachos were not nachos. They were $7.50 and it was this huge paper basket of sweet potato chips with what seemed like beef, green onions, and this amazing sauce.  So, I sat there, after having a sample and watched my 6 year old, take a fork and eat and eat and eat.  My skinny little 6 year old, ate the whole thing, which was probably 2 pounds of food!  The flavor of the sauce, reminded me a lot of the flavor of a sauce that Guerrilla Street food had on one of their dishes.  It was fantastic at an easy 4 out of 5 stars.

There was a Greek truck there called "My Big Fat Greek Food Truck" and I had to ask and order from them.  First off, I found out that they do everything there and even the woman, whom I spoke with, makes the yogurt fresh and then the woman makes the Tzatziki sauce from scratch, using that home-made yogurt.  They cook the meats, they spice and make the herb mix for pita bread.  I ordered the gyro and some baklava.  The baklava was made from scratch and made extra sweet with what tasted like honey.  It was so good and so moist and the woman said that everything, but the phyllo dough, was done by them. The baklava was a 4 out of 5 as in, you have to order it.  The gyro was huge and was great with the raw onions and tomatoes.  The sauce was great and the beef/lamb was delicious.  The woman there actually told me that at one time, they offered a pork gyro, but  no one liked it.  Weird.  So, the gyro was huge and was enough that I had to save it a few hours later and eat it again for dinner.  The meat was perfectly spiced and the first half of the sandwich was perfect and making me happy.  I think it wasn't until I got to the second half that I thought that the meat was getting salty and spicy.  I think there was actually a chili rub or spicy paprika or something that lent some heat, on the pita bread.  All in all, it was very good and I'd give both of these items a 4 out of 5 as you have to order them.

There was a truck that was called "The Sweet Divine".  The side of the truck mentioned that they had won Cupcake Wars.

What they specialized in, was cupcakes and they had this clever stand out front with what each cupcake looked like along with a description.  They had some interesting flavors and out of the 6 available, we had chosen 4.  Our four flavors were a Salted Caramel, which had an overly salty cake and a smooth and rich caramel sauce.  The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough one had a very rich chocolate cake with a small spot in the bottom with some cake that tasted like cookie dough.  There was a simple icing on top and some small chocolate chips also.  The Neapolitan had flavors of chocolate and vanilla and strawberry that tasted just like a scoop of the ice cream.  It was right every-way. The best they had was one called "The Drunken Pig".  It was a beer flavored cake with a simple vanilla icing and pieces of crumbled cooked bacon on top.  The thing was awesome.  The cake part tasted like a really, really yeast-y, like a good beer and then the bacon on top worked with everything.  Now, there were four cupcakes, but every one was worth getting.  It was an easy 4 out of 5 and each was awesome.

Now we also picked up a Nutella crepe' from Rooster:

It was as good as a Nutella crepe' can get at a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

We also got a large sushi burrito wrapped type thing that my wife got and thought was delicious.  It was from Chop Shop and I forget which one it was, but it was huge and perfectly done.  It also came with some Wasabi spiced popcorn.  I'd say that it was a 4 out of 5.

There you have it.  This was a quick run through of about 6 food places and what I thought of them.  If you see any of these driving around, I suggest that you flag them down and give them your money,.

Austin catch-up

Alright, when I normally go out of town, I take pictures of everything.  I want people to experience everything and I want to write about everything.  But, after I get back and relax, the pictures just get pushed back further on my camera and I gradually forget what I was supposed to do.  Things are slow and as I look and see that I haven't written anything in a while, I need to catch things up and get rolling.

Austin is a great city for food.  It is starting to get to the level that St. Louis is at.  Every city has their fancy places and every city has their small places.  Every city has their farm-to-table and every city has their food trucks.  What makes certain places stand out though, is how they do it.

On 6th street, downtown, is a place for pub crawlers to get a complete hard-on.  The whole street has pubs and bars located side by side, for about 3 blocks or more, down the street, on both sides.  If you had started at 9am and went to each bar, had a bite to eat and a drink and listened to some music and then moved to the next bar, it would probably take you most of the day to finish every bar.  However, I didn't go into any bars: I had my two kids with me.  So, what do you do in an area which caters to the over 21 crowd and you have a 5 and a 7 year old?

We followed our noses and found ourselves near a pizza joint.  This place with a hole in the wall.  It had room for a doorway and a very small window and inside was a guy making and selling pizzas.  It was decorated with New York memorabilia and all sorts and had a very pizza theme to everything.  While the decoration was pizza, behind the glass, WAS pizza. You could see the yummy, steamy goodness of real tasty pizza.  Not some stupid paper thin crust, it was full, bready, yeasty happiness and with a tangy sauce and good ratio of cheese to meat, it was a great meal.

While this picture, shows the pizza a bit disheveled  this was after a long walk while carrying the pizza and holding the hands of said 5 and 7 year old.  So, even though it was a bit beat up, it tasted awesome.  I'd give it a 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

 As we were wondering around one day, we found a food truck.  We had learned that food trucks are starting to hit Austin and they have a few spots around the city where they stay.  While driving around, we found one: Lulu B's.  Lulu B's makes Vietnamese sandwiches, which means that they take the awesome flavors and stick them in perfectly crusty and yummy French bread rolls.

Nothing was too expensive with the average cost around $6-$10 each.  There were salads, rolls and sandwiches and there was actually nothing that tasted bad.  Every herb was fresh from the mint leaves to the lemongrass.  Everything tasted so good that the leftovers went into the refrigerator and became lunch for the next day.

My suggestion is, if you are in the downtown Austin area, hunt down this truck and eat there.  Everything is good, I'd give it a 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

For dinner one night, we wanted something fun and close, since this location was across the street from our hotel.  We ate at a restaurant called Pirana Killer Sushi, and the lit up sign could be seen perfectly in the dark.

Pirana Killer Sushi is listed as an upscale sushi restaurant and it was inside.  I saw every guy wearing at least a collared shirt with slacks and about every woman in a nice dress and heels.  It isn't really a place to bring kids, but sure enough, they were great serving us.  They were very friendly and makes you think twice that perhaps nice sushi places are okay to bring kids.

We ordered some Japanese noodles with chicken for the boys along with some gyoza and they tasted delicious.

I ordered a Korean Beef Tenderloin and expected something more Asian in presentation and got this:

But the flavor was there, the asparagus as cooked perfectly and seasoned and the beef was tender and juicy: a 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

My wife ordered some sushi and sashimi:

Now, it is a bit more expensive than the golden arches, for your kids, but my kids liked to be in this "grown up" atmosphere and I'm sure that if your kids are good and not so loud, they will like it and fit in here just fine.

The last place we stopped at was called Wholly Cow.

Wholly Cow is a burger joint, situated about a block from the Capital building, and all of their beef comes from grass fed cows.  So, no hormones, no added anything but just regular naturally raised cows.  I know this may sound cliche', but the burgers tasted like burgers.  Albeit, the burger I ordered, tasted like a very good and delicious hamburger, and I know that it tasted better than most other burgers I have had.  I'd give my burger a 4 out of 5.

The place was busy and with more people standing in line than sitting with food I knew there would be a wait, but worth it.

My wife, who is on weight watchers, wanted a burger without the bun.  They have something for that.  I think they called it a "Paleo-burger".  So, this burger was a regular burger except, instead of a bun, they did a smart move and placed the burger and fixings in between two grilled portabella mushrooms.

So, I know I mentioned a bad place to go in Austin and I hope these good places make up for it.

Why haven't you been here yet???

Ok, from a completely objective point of view, you have to go to Tokyo Sushi, on Lindbergh, in St. Louis.  My wife and I have been there many, many times and we have NEVER had anything bad.  They are super friendly, will fix any issue without hesitation and will help you out.  I know we have been going there for many years: from my kids both in high chairs and car seats to using their own chairs and working on chop sticks.  This place is always a winner and if you haven't been there yet, then what are you waiting for?

We normally sit at the bar, because I enjoy watching the chefs prepare the sushi.  (It really is an art form.)  So, we go and watch and almost always have the same server; Hugo, I believe his name is, or at least that is what I think he signed our bill as.

I normally always order the chicken or steak teryaki and this time did something different by selecting the yaki soba noodles with chicken.  Seems like a good idea and this is the giant plate that came out.

This is a large plate of food.  It was enough food for me to eat half of it, take it home, and then give the second half to my kids for their dinner.  It is a good amount for food for a really good price.  Not to mention that it was delicious.  I would give them stars on my scale but since we have been there so many times and they are perfect every time, they don't get counted, just 5/5 every time.

My wife picked up a sashimi sampler and this is what it looked like:

So, go here now: http://tokyosushistl.com/
I can't say enough good things about this.

A request had been made...sorta

Here is the thing, around the end of November, my wife wanted to go out and celebrate her birthday.  So, I started to look for places to go.  I was looking for some night clubs but since there appears to not be a single decent nightclub in St. Louis, one without fights, shootings, thugs, or with at least somewhat dance-able music, we skipped the dancing.  I was thinking of places to go when I noticed that a restaurant had "Liked" my facebook page about Tasty-Magazine. I wondered if that was because the restaurant liked to read the blog in general or if it wanted to be reviewed.  Either way, I thought it should work.  My wife could order the Sushi and Sashimi choices and I could order everything else.

So, we arrived at Miso, on Meremac, on a cold and rainy Saturday evening.  We came in the upstairs area and upon seeing it packed, it was suggested that we move downstairs and then go and enjoy the full service in the Lounge area.  We walked down the stairs to a dimly lit area with some nice music and we were led to a smooth couch with some glass tables, lit with candles.  The are was pretty romantic, except for the big screen showing some college football.


I wanted to try many things and have a good time.  So, like other famous reviewers, I made a wide selection of foods as my wife stayed along things she enjoyed.  I ordered many items on the "Share Plates" selection as these were meant to go with many people but I ordered many, thinking that the serving sizes would be small, since the way the restaurant seemed.  I was wrong.  The overall severing size was quite large as you would need what I would guess to be 4 people to eat one Share Plate.

I first received the "Sesame Dragon Wings" with a creamy cilantro dressing.  I like the hot wings, which were good hot wings, a 3 out of 5, but there was nothing special about them.  Someone had sprinkled black and white sesame seeds on the hot wings and they were not overly spicy either.  The sauce wasn't that good, as it was described as being a creamy cilantro dressing but was really blue cheese dressing with a sprinkling of dried cilantro.  They were good and I think people should order them, but I have a thing for hot wings.

I then ordered a plate of "Kobe Sliders", which were described as coming with "carmelized onion, Yuzu truffled aioli and “Tokyo” style fries".  What I received was a plate of sliders, which is the term now for small hamburgers.  I forgot if there were four or three of them on the plate.  They had butter grilled buns, a large heaping of grilled onions and Kobe beef in the middle with just a dollop of sauce.  The burgers were cooked right for being Kobe beef, which meant that they were seared on the outside and pink on the inside.  The meat, by itself was very flavorful and moist.  The "Tokyo fries" was not what I had expected.  The fries were also an item on the "Share Menu" and a small discussion with my wife had resulted with a thought that the fries, which were said to be "nori-furikake style fries", should have been fries with the rice seasoning of seaweed and spices.  All that could be tasted was regular French style fries with salt on them.  I know what the nori-furikake seasoning tastes like as my wife has several cans at home for her use and they all have a stronger flavor than what was on the fries here.  Don't get me wrong, the burgers made up for the fries, so it wasn't a failure. Just don't expect some outrageous fries with your outrageous burger.  The burger was a 4 out of 5 and the fries were a 2 out of 5.

We then had the "Steamed Pork Pot stickers with pork, shrimp, soy vinegar sauce".  I'm not a huge fan of seafood and while I thought that the pot stickers wee very tasty, a 3 out of 5, the sauce was very fishy and I avoided it.  The pot stickers were light, crunchy and flavorful as the sauce was heavy and fishy.

I also ordered some sushi rolls for my wife, who loves sushi.  She said that overall the quality of the fish was very good, extremely good.  She loved the meal but had some misses in her hits.  The idea was that the classic sushi rolls were excellent.  Although, when there was a signature roll made by Miso, the flavors seemed to not work together and either fall flat or be to complicated to get a good harmony of flavors out of it.  One of the rolls which my wife ordered said it had Kimchi in it and was supposed to be Korean inspired.  However, my wife loves Kimchi, proper Kimchi, the kind which had been fermenting for up to a year, like REAL Kimchi.  The Kimchi that was placed within this roll, however was not real Kimchi.  The Kimchi tasted like lightly picked cabbage, not even pickled enough to taste like sauerkraut, but just like someone took some cabbage and poured some white vinegar on top.  My wife couldn't finish that roll and was quite displeased.  I think she would have given her overall sushi experience a 3 out of 5 though.

So, overall, it would appear that Miso is a good place to go.  It ranks right up there with some of the nicer places in St. Louis.  I would say that if you are looking for a nicer place for a Sushi date, then you need to go to Sushi.

Ahhhh, Wasabi.

After being an assistant to a sexy photographer for a photoshoot this past Saturday with Gravity Plays Favorites, we went for a nice meal at Wasabi, where we had the company of having both Michelle and Katrina dine with us. I may not be the best person to judge about sushi, since I am not really into fish, but do try whatever comes on my plate. I ordered some spicy chicken and my wife ordered the sushi meal for one.
We enjoyed our meals as we sat outside on Washington Avenue, in the 70 degree weather on the clear sky day. As the conversation started to get interesting, our food arrived. Mine was a spicy chicken dish, with some fried vegetables and fried rice. The rice was okay and not the best fried rice, maybe a 2 out of 5 stars. The veggies had a thick sauce on them that ruled out any taste of their true form, which I gave a 1 out of stars. The chicken was the best part. I had a Buffalo hot sauce/ Asian spicy hybrid on the chicken and it tasted so good.
I fixed the rice be adding some soy sauce as you can see that it looked like it had none, originally. Overall though, the chicken pulled the dish from okay to good, getting a 3 stars out of 5 from me. Now my wife, who has eaten sushi all over the world, commented on how her dish, was so good that she was recommending it to anyone who would listen. At other sushi places, they would have just served her food on a plate, but here, they gave her a small boat.
She gave it a 3 &1/2 out of 5 and we were very happy with the service as well, as the waitress was always right next to us when we needed us, even no matter how strange the table's requests were. Whether you like sushi or not and are in the downtown area, I recommend going to Wasabi and enjoying yourself.