a tale of two birthday pies

There is no better excuse for me to make others pay for me to try new restaurants than my birthday.  This year, my birthday weekend took me to two pizza places: Onesto and PW Pizza.

Since it was such a beautiful day, I took Friday off of work and searched for a eatery where my mom and I could eat outside.  The search took us to a place I've been wanting to try for quite some time, Onesto's Pizza on Macklind in South City.   I never really ventured into the actual restaurant, but the outside set-up was simply gorgeous (the '75 and sunny' weather maaaaaay have helped boost its gorgeous-ness, but very cute and cozy, nonetheless).

We settled in and each ordered a "quartino" of red wine (don't judge. drinking at 11 a.m. is normal, right?), a lunch pizzette (a 10-in. pie) and a small house salad.  The salad was simple - a very light vinagrette, mozzarella, tomatoes and red onion on a bed of mixed greens. The lettuce was the fancy kind that has the type with those little tentacle bunches (that's the technical term, correct?), which I could have done without, but all-in-all very good.

The BEST part about the pre-pizza portion of our meal, however, was one of my ol' NYC favorites: garlic knots.  Pizza dough tied in a knot, brushed with butter/oil, garlic and other seasonings and baked to perfection.  I mean, really, can you get better that that? In NYC, garlic knots were essential whenever I grabbed a slice. And Onesto's lived up to the hype.  So light and airly, but buttery and delicious.  Yum, yum, yum.

My mushroom and roma tomato pizza was equally as delicious.  The crust was the perfect crisp/soft, thin/think blend, while the sauce and seasonings were simply spot on.  (WARNING: the 10-in lunch "pizzette" is huge.  My mom and I would have been perfectly fine splitting one and still have had a slice or two to take home.)

Overall, it was a beautiful day and a great experience at Onesto - there is something to be said about simple, elegant, good food.


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Saturday led us to an equally as amazing, though somewhat different pizza place: PW Pizza on Choteau underneath Vin de Set.

What I liked about PW so much was the variety of sauces, cheeses and toppings that allowed you to get as creative (or as boring, ahem hubs) as you would like.  From chimichurri sauce and tuna to gruyere and roasted eggplant, the combinations can take you to places pizza has only dreamed of.

Since we had already stopped in on the patio upstairs for a drink and an appetizer (yum, frog legs), we jumped right into 'Build-Your-Own-Pie" mode.  For my birthday dish I went with some of my favs: marinara sauce and goat cheese topped with artichokes and sweet pickled peppers.

Ok, ok. so I may have went a little overboard on the tangy items.  But that's the beauty of it.  You can make it anything you want.

The base of the pizza was excellent, however.  Again, an in-between type crust, though PW was a bit more on the chewy and airier side of things. 

Regardless, I cannot wait to go back and see what other combos I can come up with... aaaaand to try an appetizer or calzone or two.  Everything at PW Pizza is handmade (thanks for the info, STLPD), including the oh-so-delicious fennel sausage that made its way to the hubs pizza, so I am imagining good things.




bottom line: both awesome, in different ways.  both intriguing enough for a return trip.

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.