Pi Pizzaria - St. Louis, MO

Dinner 12/30/12

Chips and Dip - Homemade French Onion dip with fresh potato chips Makes this appetizer a nice starter.

House Salad - Artisan lettuce, Walnuts, Gorgonzola, and the house Vinaigrette all make for a Unique and tasty Salad. If you don't like Onions, let them Know when you order, because the onions are very prominent.

South Side Classico Deep Dish - The buttery, cornmeal crust was not too heavy, which allowed for the sauce and toppings to share the spotlight. Each bite contained a tasted of all of the elements, and was a real treat for the taste buds.

Central West End Thin Crust Pizza - This light pizza had a delightful cornmeal crust and bold flavors in the prosciutto and goat cheese. Surprisingly, I liked this one better than the deep dish, although both were delicious!
Schafly Kolsch Beer - nice crisp, clean taste with a surprisingly Smooth finish.

Apple Pi - A decadent apple pie slice made in the same cornmeal crust as the deep dish pizza.  It was topped with a maple ice cream. If you like apple pie, you will absolutely LOVE this Pi!

Double Chocolate brownie - This rich, chocolaty brownie has morsels of chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle alongside vanilla ice cream.

http://www.restaurantpi.com/    

 

 

 

 

 

Culpepper's - St. Louis, MO

Lunch / 12/28/12


Original Wings - The wings were cooked perfectly with a flavorful buffalo style sauce. Very good wings...but a little pricey compared to others of its kind.

Waffle fries - The waffle fries were crispy and seasoned perfectly.  I would even go as far to say that I liked them better than Chick-fil-a's fries.

Mac n cheese - Don't have a blue box, milk, and butter?  Come on in to Culpepper's and get some Kraft style Macaroni & Cheese and pay $3.5 for it.  The kids love it, but for the price, I'd like to see something original.

Overall this place was decent.  I would compare it to a Bennigans or Applebees, but on the local level.

http://www.culpeppers.com/

First Watch - Overland Park, KS

Breakfast 2/17/2012

Chickichanga - Whipped eggs with spicy all-natural white-meat chicken, chorizo sausage, green chilies, Cheddar and Monterey Jack, onions and avocado rolled in a flour tortilla. Topped with Vera Cruz sauce and sour cream. Served with fresh fruit. Delicious!

http://www.firstwatch.com/

Fritz's Meat Market - Leawood, KS

Lunch 11/26/12

This place was recommended from a reader of the blog. I was very impressed with the sausages here, and will be back for more!

Hot Polish Sausage - The lady behind the counter recommended this sausage as a "customer favorite" so naturally I had to have one.  It tasted very good. I could tell it was done right because the skin snapped when I bit into it. Slight heat from the spice and nice smoky flavor. My favorite item here.

Italian Sausage - The Italian link was good, but lacked the flavor that I think a sausage should have. It almost seemed overcooked, as the inside was pretty dry.

BBQ Beef Sandwich - The beef was very tender, but I didn't care for the sauce.  The beef sits in a crock-like pot with the sauce to keep it moist, so there was no getting away from it.

Stuey McBrew's - Lee's Summit, MO

Lunch 11/24/12

Fried Pickles - Nicely seasoned with just the right amount of batter.  Some of the better fried pickles I've had.  A "must have" when eating here!

Nachos - Crispy chips, lots of meat, cheese, tomatoes, fresh jalepenos and sour cream. Nothing mind blowing, but very good nachos.

Honey Buffalo Wings  and Buffalo Wings - I like the traditional Buffalo style wings, so my selection from the 20+ flavors was pretty basic. I thought that I'd prefer the regular wings, but I was pleasantly suprised by the Honey Buffalo.  They weren't overly sweet and still had the heat.  Both style of wings were cooked just right to make the skin crispy and the meat moist.

If you are looking for a local place in Lee's Summit to watch the game, have a beer, and eat some quality food, Stuey McBrew's is the place to be!



Shrimp Daddy's - Sunrise Beach, MO

Dinner 11/17/12

Red beans and rice - Basic ingredients, but full of flavor.  It tasted like this dish had been cooking on the stove all day.

Gumbo - Chicken and New Orleans Andouille sausage. The French bread was crunchy and buttery. The gumbo had a dark a roux it was very flavorful.

French-uletta - Chisesi ham, Genoa Salami. Pastrami. Swiss and provolone cheese. Olive salad on french bread. This had to be the best "Muffeletta" I've ever eaten. Dean, the owner, said that he likes to be able to taste the meat, not just the olive salad. This sandwich was well balanced with meat, cheese, and olives.

Shrimp Po boy - The Shrimp were large and tender and perfectly breaded. The Remoulade sauce was a great compliment to the sandwich. The crisp and flaky French bread took me back to New Orleans. Dean said that he drives down to N.O. every month to get fresh shrimp off the dock.

Gooey Butter Cake - Creamy top with a yellow cake bottom.  Very good!

Lagniappe - "A little something extra" - These pecan muffins are given at the end of each meal, following the New Orleans tradition.

Jessica, our server said she moved from Chicago and this was the only place she'd eat when she got here.  It didn't take long for her to realize that she'd love to work here.  Thanks to the efforts that Dean and his wife put into Shrimp Daddy's, this place would do well even in New Orleans!

The Fig Tree Cafe & Bakery - Lee's Summit, MO

Lunch 11/10/12

A little better than Elvis - Children's sandwich with almond butter, bananas, and chocolate drizzle. It comes with potatoes. The sandwich tastes like chocolate covered bananas, and the potatoes are seasoned perfectly.

The Fig Specialty Cheeseburger - the burger is laced with a Greek seasoning, i think it's allspice. It has grilled mushrooms, onions, and melted Havarti cheese. Unique take on this American classic. The cucumber salad that accompanies it is light and fresh.

When they told me that they've won awards for their bread pudding, I had to try it. The special bread pudding flavor for the day was Pumpkin.


http://www.figtreecafels.com/

 

The Big Biscuit - Independence, MO

Breakfast 11/10/12

Kids Pancake - Large pancake with basic pancake flavor. My kid ate it all!

Big Biscuit & Gravy w/hashbrowns - the biscuits were soft and pillowy, and the sausage gravy had just the right flavor. Best bisquits and gravy I've had in a long time...maybe ever. The hashbrowns were crispy and tender with a balanced flavor.  Despite the 1200 calories for the biscuits and hashbrowns, I'd eat here again!


http://www.bigbiscuitrestaurant.com/

Habanero’s - Lees Summit, MO

Dinner 10/29

Habey dip - classic white cheese dip with spinach and other secret ingredients. Creamy cheese and a little heat from the peppers.

Fajita Chimichanga - this tasted exactly as you would imagine it would from the name. Fajita ingredients rolled up in a large flour tortilla and then deep fried.

Soft tacos and Chile Relleno - The tacos were pretty flavorless. Another anomaly was the addition of parmesan cheese to the taco. Save your $$ and get your tacos from T@(# Bell. The Chile relleno had good flavor, but I couldn’t get over the amount of breading that encased it. It was more like a chili cake.

Next time I visit, it will be for chips, dip, and drinks.

http://eatathabaneros.com

 

Brobeck's BBQ - Leawood, KS

Brobecks BBQ - Leawood, KS
Lunch 10/12/12

Corn Nugggets - whole kernel corn wrapped in cheese and then deep fried. The nugget was crunchy and the corn was creamy. Not too greasy. Perfect southern corn nuggets!

Combo Platter - (3 ribs, 1 sausage, and beef brisket) The brisket and sausage needed no sauce...both had great flavor. The brisket had a mild flavor and needed the compliment of sauce.

Baked beans - mix of beans, dry rub, and bbq meat make these beans super flavorful.

Cheesy Corn - the corn looked great, but the flavor of sour cream masked the sweet corn. Not my favorite cheesy corn recipe.

Quaint little place just north of I435 on Roe Ave. Nothing fancy...environment is like a modern diner. The staff was very friendly!

Overall, Brobeck's serves great BBQ.

www.brobecksbbq.com/

Battle of the Coneys - Detroit, MI

Lafayette Coney Island

Cash only

Hot dog, chili, onions, mustard, cheese. 

Crunchy outside, nice dog taste. Chili is outstanding. The atmosphere is the experience factor for this place. Nobody greets you…just find an empty stool or table, wait for someone to come over, and know what you want.  Here’s the breakdown…they serve hot dogs, burger dogs, fries, and coke.  Still need a menu?  If you get a seat next to the cook, watch this old man slingin’ chili and onions on the dogs.  He loaded up 5 before I could have done one.

American Coney Island

American Special Coney - hot dog with ground beef, chili, mustard, onion.  (*I forgot to take the picture before I bit into it.)

The hotdog was good, but the chili wasn’t the best.  The atmosphere was more of a sit-down restaurant with servers.

http://www.americanconeyisland.com/home.htm

The winner of the “Best Coney” goes to Lafayette Coney Island

 

Mon Jin Lau - Troy, MI

Dinner 9/20/12

MJL Special cocktail - (Meyers, 151, Gold Rums, Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Grapefruit juice, and Lime juice) - Like liquid candy with alcohol. Very good if you like fruity candy. Tastes like a Malibu Bay Breeze on crack.

Sushi:

Spicy Shrimp Tempura Roll - (Shrimp tempura, avocado, roasted red pepper, and wasabi aioli) - fresh shrimp and clean rice with a light wasabi sauce on top. Nice roll

Ebi Roll - (shrimp, avocado, and cucumber) - fresh shrimp and avocado. Basic roll.

Shrimp Fried Rice - the shrimp were large and cooked perfectly. Unfortunately, the fried rice was lacking in flavor. The entire dish was very bland. This place is apparently ranked the best Chinese food in Detroit. I've had way better in other cities.

http://www.monjinlau.com/