Well, I am now 30. I don't exactly mind being 30, but I can't really figure out how I got here. Where did the years go?
Despite a very busy week at work with our national conference here in St. Louis, I was able to take the day off and enjoy it. That evening, Tony and I along with Jean and Jim tried out Eleven Eleven Mississippi. Tony and I have been wanting to visit 1111 since we moved here. We've made reservations before, but the plans always end up falling through for one reason or another. Anyway, I have now found another amazing St. Louis restaurant. It's a close call between it and Cravings for the top spot, but I think that Cravings gets the nod for its better dessert selection.
This is the view that greets you as you enter the courtyard area. They do have a little outdoor patio and dining area. Isn't it adorable? I've informed Tony that he needs to get down to the basement and start working on one of these for me. I want it for our outdoor patio. It can't be that difficult to make!
It's a very nondescript building on the outside, but the inside is absolutely gorgeous. I was surprised to learn that the restaurant only opened in December 2003. From the way that people around here talk about it, I assumed that it was a long-time St. Louis staple.
The building itself is part of what was once the International Shoe Factory in the heart of Lafayette Square. The restaurant portion is actually where the heels were made for women's shoes. Yes, it's a restaurant after my own heart! When the couple that owns it first purchased it, many people told them that they would never be able to renovate the space to be a first class restaurant. It simply required too much work. The renovations may have been extensive, but they definitely proved their detractors wrong.
The bar area when you first walk into the restaurant.
We dined upstairs in this loft area along one of the windows. The food was superb. I had the pan seared chicken breast with roasted new potatoes, julienne vegetables, and topped with a lemon-sage-white wine butter. I can't say enough about how delicious it was! Tony had the shellfish fettuccine which included mussels, scallops, shrimp, clams, tomatoes, and eggplant. The main thing is that all of the dishes had flavor! So many of the entrees that you find here are a bit bland.
The kitchen area is open to the main dining area. The chefs offer a wide-range of options and the menu changes with the seasons. Thankfully, they did not sing me happy birthday, but I did get a free gooey butter cake. No one could even think about dessert, so Tony and I took it home to enjoy later.
Tony sent me flowers! You have to understand, Tony never sends me flowers. He'll bring me flowers, but he rarely just orders them from the florist and has them delivered. Despite all of the drama surrounding them, I loved my flowers! Tony was less than pleased and plans to return to his regular method of picking out the flowers and arranging the bouquet himself. For me, flowers equal a smile and that's about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment