Catching up is fun to do

While wanting to write about everything I see and taste, sometimes there isn't enough to write a whole article about.  So, I like to come up with these little bits where I have a few things in one.  First off, a few weeks ago my wife and family and I got a chance to try out a newer restaurant in Kirkwood called Crushed Red Pepper.  The place took up the spot where the San Sai restaurant used to be.  The restaurant lets you go inside and order your own personal pizza, and then you customize it and they make it and deliver it to your table.  Well, they did make some good pizzas.  I think it will work well as a nice restaurant but there was only one problem: the woman, taking my order, behind the computer, entered things in that never made it to my plate.  For example, my pizza originally on the menu had Gorgonzola cheese on it: which I do not like. So, I asked her if I could replace that cheese with another.  It was all approved by her and when she read it back to us, everything sounded correct.  But it was not delivered correctly.  There is no communication between the person taking the orders and the people filling them out.  My wife could have told the cashier that she didn't want anything to eat and then told the two guys making the salads that she ordered something and they would have made it.  So, food was good but the service was just okay.  I'd give this food and the restaurant a 3 out of 5.

Next, last Thursday we had gone to a Crazy Bowls and Wraps restaurant on Tesson Ferry, near the hospital. I had ordered a big bowl of items and chicken, my wife ordered a bowl and my kids both wanted some plain noodles.  I noticed that on the menu, on the wall, it mentioned that you could get noodles as one of your starch options.  So, we thought, that we could get chicken and noodles and everyone would be happy. That was not the case.  The man at the cash register/computer told us that the option of just noodles and chicken was not possible.  The manager came over and said "oh yeah, we can do that."  Then he stepped away and the cashier told us again, "we don't do that."  How lovely.  So, we get our food after a bit and we all try it.  I have to say, that I have never, ever tasted anything so plain and bland.  My food, as well as my wife's and my kids, was so bland, it was as if they just took fresh or steamed vegetables and threw them in a bowl with some plain rice.  I mean, it was bad.  It was actually so bad, that we all thought of and talked of leaving and going a block away to St. Louis Bread Co., and eating our fill.  My kids didn't like it, I was having an open mind and I didn't like, it was just so bland.  I'd have to give the food and service a 1 out of 5.

Now, something that was really good, was my bacon and egg which I had at a store in the Ozarks.

What I had purchased, from this candy store, was a milk chocolate covered bacon strip with a white chocolate 'egg'.  The white chocolate egg was hard as it was about a half of an inch thick of solid white chocolate.  The chocolate covered bacon is always a quick favorite.  With every bite, you taste the smoke, the salt, the pork fat and then you taste the sugar and chocolate.  It is a match made in heaven like rosemary and bread or peanut butter and bananas.  It was awesome and was like a 4 out of 5 stars.

Welcome to the White Knight

Back in the early 1950's, a family opened a small diner downtown.  They called their small diner: The White Knight Diner.  The small diner, held about 16-18 people and was situated at a busy intersection of what is now near 18th and Olive.  From what you can see now, driving about, this was perhaps the only restaurant for many years downtown.  Unlike other restaurants that come and go downtown, this diner has been open, since the 1950's.  It wasn't closed down for a bit through the years, it wasn't closed down to remodel it and it doesn't even close down when the weather is bad.  The diner is there and looks just like it did, 60 something years ago.

What you have inside, is a large American Flag, lots of pictures and other memorabilia, white metal sheets on the walls and ceiling and a small cook's line behind a counter.  It looks like any other diner would. But while it may look like it has been stuck in a time warp for the past half century, the food is great and it has very reasonable prices.  They serve lunch and breakfast all day and even have a Facebook and Foursquare page, which is always a plus.

So, what did I order?  Well, it was 10:20 on a Wednesday morning.  My wife was at the dentist downtown and I had time to spare.  Whenever we are downtown, for one reason or another, we see this diner but have never gone in, much less I never knew that it was even there or had been there this long!  Basically, I walked in to look around, I was still full from my breakfast at 9:00 am and decided to try to order a burger and see how it was.  I mean, the burger was 1/4 pound and was only $2.59!  So, I ordered it and when I got it, it tasted great.  It was a simple but perfect burger, like the kind you would get at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.  It was just a simple burger and cooked right and with all of the other things on the bun, it was just perfect for a mid morning snack, or second breakfast as my wife would put it.  

So, what did I think?  I would give the burger a simple 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.  Was it high tech? No.  Was it something new that I had never had? No.  Was it good and would I order it again?  Yes.  Would I suggest it and this place to others?  Yes.  It was actually so good, that even though I was still full and not very hungry, I wasn't expecting to eat the whole thing and I did anyway.  It was very good.  

If you are downtown, and looking for a good burger, don't go to TGI Fridays and don't go to Hooters: Go to White Knight Diner.  

https://www.facebook.com/Whiteknightdiner?fref=ts

My awesome Valentine's present...

It did arrive a bit late, but my wife knows me all too well.

Yup, you see it right.  She got me some dried black truffles, which when hydrated can make 1 and 1/2 cups of black truffles.  Then that white truffle honey, is the most rich and bold flavorful thing I have ever tasted.  It tastes like the best and most fragrant wild flower honey with white truffle.  It is amazing.  Now, the real question: what do I do with these?  White truffle honey ice cream, perhaps?