Sage...a little green?

So a couple weeks ago I finally got around to paying a visit to Sage in the Soulard/Benton Park area.  It's right by the AB Brewery, in case you are unfamiliar with the area.  I had been hearing some really great things about Sage so I had been meaning to give it a shot. 

I brought along a good friend (Hi Erin!) and made a reservation for 8:15 on a Friday night.  (Reservations are prefered at Sage.)  We arrived just a bit early and decided to get a glass of wine at the bar...which took forever.  A worker, who I presumed was a bartender since she was behind the bar, came close enough for me to get her attention so I asked for a couple glasses of wine.  Her response, "I don't bartend."  And she finished what she was doing and walked away.  No nudge to the other two bartenders or anything to acknowledge us.  Kinda weird.  So our table was ready right around 8:15 so that was great.  It's a pretty small place with about 20 (or less) tables in the main dining area...no wonder reservations are preferred!  There are a couple tables in the bar that are open seating but don't count on getting one unless you are getting there early. 

By the time our server came over we had already decided what we wanted to eat so we placed our orders right away.  An hour and 15 minutes later (9:30) we got our food.  In the meantime, our server had come by to apologize several times saying they had a very large party upstairs (aha...must be a private room).  We were given some bread to hold us over (a good thing with how late it was) and Erin was given a "complimentary" glass of wine (we were definitely charged for it on the bill).  Interesting.  Dinner came and was decent but nothing that wowed me.  I have a feeling the very long wait for the food played a part in that though.  I had the Boursin Sun-dried Tomato and Proscuitto Stuffed Chicken Breast and Erin had the Pecan Encrusted Boneless Pork Chop.

When we were finished, our server (who really was very polite and apologetic about the whole ordeal...I do have to give him credit for that) came with the bill and gave us 50% off for being so nice about the tardiness of our meal.  I think that was more than generous so it pretty much made up for the wait!  He also commented that we would have to come back on a less busy night to get the full effect.  I'm not sure how to determine what night that would be since the place is so small but I plan to give it another go.  Maybe this time around I will bring the hubster with me. :) 

Have you been to Sage?  What was your experience?

Factory Weekend

Tonight...we hit up the Cheesecake Factory. 

I haven't eaten that much in a long time.  Ugh.  I think I'll be full straight through tomorrow.  We started with the fried calamari, which was pretty standard as far as calamari goes (read: delicious).  Next we moved on to share a Four Seasons pizza...ah-mazing.  It's basically four pizzas in one:  artichoke and roasted tomato, prosciutto, wild mushroom, and fresh mozzerella and tomato.  When you can't decide...it's the best of both, and then both again, worlds.  :)  Top it all off with a slice of white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake (I'm gonna have to break out the sham-wow to mop up the drool puddle) and you have one heck of a dinner. 

Tomorrow...bring on the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Portabella (in review)

Last night gave me a rare opportunity to see a couple of my friends from graduate school...luckily all of these get togethers involve good food. This time around we were off to Portabella in downtown Clayton. None of us had ever been here to eat, but ever since I tried their "kick-ass fries" at the St. Louis Art Fair a few years ago, I hunt their booth down annually at this event and more recently at the Taste of St. Louis to have some. They call these fries "garlic-asiago fries" on the online menu but on their menu at the restaurant and their food booth at events call them "kick-ass fries." Kick-ass is definitely an appropriate description...these bad boys are phenomenal! I suppose they could call them "phenomenal fries" but it wouldn't have quite the impact as the current name.

We had reservations but it seems we didn't need them...only a few other tables in the restaurant were taken on this particular Wednesday night. Wine list by the bottle was nice but by the glass was a little skimpy, I have to admit. Only one cab? Oh well. The food and the service absolutely made up for it!

First of all, our waiter, whose name is escaping me right now, was wonderful. Sure he forgot to put in our order for kick-ass fries until I asked him about them a little later on but this was possibly the best service I have ever had, anywhere, ever. He wass absolutely dedicated to making sure that everything was exactly the way we liked it. He talked to us about customizing our dishes and changing things any way we wanted to make sure we got exactly what was best for us. For example, I ordered the Chicken Milanese but I'm (surprisingly) not a huge fan of marinara, which is on the side of pasta. Our waiter explained that the chicked comes on top of the side of pasta with the pasta tossed in marinara and marinara over the chicken. Oh, well marinara on the chicken actually sounded good but I'm still more of a cream sauce person (imagine that). So cream sauce went on my pasta and marinara stayed on the chicken...ended up being a really nice contrast. The pasta was just tossed in cream sauce, not drowned in it, and it wasn't too heavy or anything. And the portion sizes were huge! I barely made it through half of mine before having to box it up. I was one satisfied girl. :)

So here's how I rate Portabella in full:

Setting: 3.5--Downtown Clayton is a really neat area. However, parking was terrible (even on a Wednesday night) and with 40 still partially closed it was tricky for some members of our party to get there.
Ambiance: 4--A little too dark for my liking but it didn't feel too stuffy like some places can when the lights are that low. I think it would have been even better if it had been a little bit more crowded...seems strange to say but I think I would have gotten a little better feel for it that way.
Service: 5--I was really impressed with the service if you couldn't tell already. I wish I could remember our waiter's name...I would tell you all to sit in his section.
Food: 5--Everything I had was awesome and it sounded like everyone else was really enjoying theirs as well. Even Audrey, whose pasta was too spicy, loved it once our waiter brought her a small dish of marinara to mix in with her "spicy marinara" to tone it down....again with the awesome service. And while there were options above $20 most entrees were in the teens.
Drink: 3--Like I said, I was disappointed with the lack of variety on the "by the glass" part of the wine menu. They were a bit overpriced, too, in my opinion. I would love to see more selection, especially some more reasonable choices.

Overall...I'd give Portabella a 4. I would absolutely go back...just might sneak a bottle of wine in with me. ;) Just kidding! (maybe)

I'm baaaaack!

Hi everyone! Sorry to leave you hanging but last week was NUTS! Now that things are getting back on track, I'm ready to blog so I hope you're ready to read along and cook!!

But before you fire up your grill, oven, stove, or microwave (slow cooker? panini maker??) consider this lovely option for your dinner tonight! All across the country today Chili's restaurants are donating 100% of their profits to St. Jude's hospital. St. Jude's is one of the premier children's cancer research hospitals so it's only appropriate that Chili's chose them to support as September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month...were you aware? You are now!

So if you're still asking yourself, "Self, what's for dinner?" I'm not sure why cause I just answered it for you! Go to Chili's! You can even call in your order ahead of time and pick it up at the curb. Easy as 1-2-3!

For me, this is also serving as a way for me to procrastinate and not make this week's meal plan quite yet. Maybe I'll think about it while I enjoy some quesadillas, fajitas, or one of those delicious western style burgers with the onion straws and bacon and bbq sauce at Chili's tonight...oh buddy. So come back later and see what I'll be cooking up the rest of this week...fall weather is in the air...I sense a pot of chili coming on!