going mad

As another St. Louis-area Restaurant Week rolled around, I knew it could only mean one thing: free dinner with my mom. This year I selected the Mad Tomato at the corner of Carondelet and Meramec in Clayton.  I had been wanting to try the place for quite a while now, particularly since it has the same owners as South City's Onesto.

I arrived around 5:30 (15 minutes earlier than our reservation) and the place was bare.  We of course didn't want to be the only ones eating, so we hunkered on up to the bar.  The bartender (and the nice lady from the Chamber of Commerce who saddled up next to us) made for nice conversation as we sipped our reds.  We, however, experienced a bit of sticker shock as we settled our tab at the bar.  Perhaps it's because we are cheap frugal, but $22 dollars for two glasses of wine was not what we were expecting.

Despite that, we sat down and promptly ordered two more glasses (hey, the 'Restaurant Week' specials were only $7 per glass). We placed our order and were soon  handed house made focaccia.  The bread was excellent - crispy outer edge, with a soft slightly cheesy, slightly saucy inside.  Yum, yum, yum - a perfect start to the meal. 

For my first course, I went with the minestrone.  It was a solid choice - beefy broth, a touch on the thick side and perfectly seasoned.  Nothing to dance around in circles about, but a good first course nonetheless. 

I went with The Other Grandma's Eggplant for my main course.  It was a bit like an eggplant lasagna - a stack of thin sliced eggplant layered with cheese, tomatoes, garlic and basil all broiled in an individual pan.  The basil really shone through the otherwise mild sauce, giving it a great flavor.  The only real downfall was the amount of cheese - it sort of took over the dish and was so thick, there were bites I wasn't sure if it was eggplant or a hunk of cheese.  Perhaps the Original Grandma's eggplant would have less cheese? Either way, still an enjoyable dish. 

And then came the dessert....

Holy cow, the dessert was amazing.  I would have paid $25 alone for it.

Lemon and Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Warm Apple Compote.  The cake itself was airy - and had just a touch of sweetness poking through the tangy flavors. And the apple compote gave it just the right boost of sweetness, along with adding a touch of warmth to a cool plate.  It was simply perfect.  Plus the syrup from the apple compote was done in a swirly pattern - and hey, who doesn't like swirlies?  This was by far the second-best desert I have ever had (shout out to NYC's Lupa and its Lupa Tartufo), and I am really not a dessert person.  DEE. LISH. US.




bottom line: i cannot wait to go back and explore more of the menu.  and eat another five pieces of that cheesecake.

take my order 'cause (filomena's) like a carryout

Thursday night of a long week can only mean one thing: takeout for dinner. I've passed Filomena's Italian Kitchen many times while gallivanting down Manchester, so I figured tonight was as good as any.

After navigating a rather awkward parking lot, I walked in to a very home-y feeling place.  A plethora of well-aged ladies, couples and small families filled up most of the space. Among them, a group was enjoying a bottle of wine - as I do not see wine on the menu, I am assuming it's a BYO type place (Filomena's - 1).

My order was taken right away and came up much faster than I expected (that, or I got lost in the time warp that is my smartphone). Since it was our first trip, we stuck with the basics: red pasta, white pasta, salad and garlic bread.

(Ok. So it was garlic bread with sauce and cheese. Big diff.)

I dug into the Pizza Bread first - an Italian loaf with sesame seeds split into two, then covered with marinara and a "blend" of cheeses and baked until delicious. When I cut into it, the cheese kind of slid off making it a bit if a messy project.  But hey, I'm not that picky.  The bread had been toasted to a nice crisp on the outside, while the amount of sauce perfectly helped to soften up the middle.  The melted cheese was a bit too much for me and was heading in the rubbery direction by the time I got home.  Overall, though, a solid selection.


Our side salads were on the basic side - romaine and iceberg with tomatoes, red onions and a sprinkling of provolone.  Balsamic Vinaigrette was the house dressing and it just didn't do it for me (surprisingly, the hubs loved it though).

I chose one of my favorite dishes like ever for my entree - spaghetti with marinara (that's foodie like... right?).  My ideal spaghetti dish has a mild flavor and lands on the saltier side of the sugary-salty spectrum.  And this hit the nail on the head. Steady flavor, not over powered with garlic, complemented by a sprinkling of cheese and fresh parsley basil something green (I promise, I've been practicing my foodie skills, but the flavor was just so mild, I couldn't pinpoint the herb).  Regardless, just my style.

Per my usual, I stole politely asked the hubs for a bite of his Penne Alfredo with Chicken - purely for research, of course.  His dish was also quite a solid piece.  Garlic definitely hinted through, but it was not overpowering.  The sauce itself had a nice not-too-heavy consistency, but there definitely could have been more.

bottom line: great first takeout experience; left me intrigued enough for another visit sometime soon.

bartalino's (near) the hill

Since I was out of town this mother's day, I decided to use a Groupon to treat my mom to dinner at Bartalino's Osteria hear Hampton and 44.  We've been there before, but both agreed it was repeat worthy.

Before we headed into the main dining room, we wandered over to the bar to grab a glass a wine (as is customary when dining with my mother).  Having just returned two days prior from a trip to the California Wine Country, I had to go for the good stuff - the house red.   Surprisingly, Bartalino's namesake wine was nice (and a bargain). Waaahoooo.

Making our way to the dining room, I never felt like I was in a hotel restaurant.  Elegant and simple.

Based on the waiter's recommendation, I went with the Bartalino's Special Salad with house dressing.  Once he said artichokes and bacon, I had heard enough.  It turned out to be just the type of salad I love: more toppings, less lettuce.  It was packed with salami, bacon, artichokes, green onions and pepporcinis - so much of the good stuff that I even left a small pile of salami (Gasp!).  A very light, creamy Italian tied it all together. Yum, yum, yum.

For my entree, I went with the Filetto di Sogliola alla Ragni (aka fillet of sole topped with crab and parmesan). It was an okay experience - a bit on the salty side, but a nice combination of flavors otherwise.  On the downside, the fish seemed a bit slimy for me (the wannabe foodie in me thought maybe it could have been cooked a bit longer) and I caught a tiny piece of shell in the crab mixture.

On to the appetizer.  Wait, back-up. What?  Yep, somehow our appetizer took so long in preparation that it took as long as our entrees to come up.  I'm not sure if it's foodie etiquette or not, but I hate that.  Oh it will actually be a nice addition to your dinner said the waiter.  No. I want my appetizer first. If I make it through the salad without it, take it off my bill. But instead, I smile nicely and let him set it in-between our dinner plates. 

Regardless of the timing hoopla, the bruschetta was delicious.  Six hand-prepared individual pieces of "grilled crisp on the outside, but still soft and warm on the inside" bread topped with three different combinations:  fresh pesto with large hunks of pinenuts, a bit too salty  olive tapenade and fresh tomato with shaved parmesean.  Loved the idea of it, just wish I hadn't of been so full (ahem, waiter).

bottom line: love the feel of this place and the nice deviation from typical St. Louis Italian. though spotty service this time, definitely a regular place for me.

spaghetteria mama mia!

When a Groupon for Spaghetteria Mama Mia popped in my inbox just a few short weeks after my sis-in-law recommended it, I figured "What the heck?"

After a few awkward turns exiting from 40 eastbound, the parking lot appeared full (though the number of patrons did not seem to match).  We were seated right away, and were greeted by a wait staff that all kind of seemed to act like they hadn't really done this before.  Nevertheless, they were extremely down-to-earth and any day would I prefer that than the wait staff that acts like your several notches too far down the 'foodie' chain. 

Definite points in my book when the bread came out soft and oh-so-warm.  The salad was also a nice change of pace from the St .Louis Italian standby.  Garbanzo beans, a roasted red pepper, a rope-y mozzarella and a not-overpoweringly-sweet dressing made for a refreshing surprise (though the red onions on mine stole the show... in a bad way). 

Our entrees came out on what seemed to be the same platters my Grandma would serve the 20lb Thanksgiving turkey on. They were H-U-G-E. Like fed me for three meals huge. The strong waft of garlic exploded as soon as our dishes were served (though most could be attributed to my guest's butter-garlic-pasta side dish, both plates overall could have used a garlic intervention).  Luckily, I love garlic, so I could stomach my Spaghetti Bolognese with ease.  The flavors of the dish mixed well, and a small kick of heat really upped the dish for me.  My only complaint is that I'm pretty sure bolognese is ground meats stewed in sauce (though I am only a wannabe foodie, so you never know).  The meat in this dish seemed more like that the kitchen ran out of bolognese sauce so the improvised by giving a meatball a few rough chops and throwing it in.  Either way it was good, just not what I expected.

bottom line: nice little italian joint (with a few different kicks than your typical STL italian), if you're in the area