Crêpes: etc.

The sudden close of Crepes in the City left me scrambling to find another establishment to get my crepe fix from. Luckily for me I didn't have to go too far to find it. Crêpes: etc. specializes not only in crepes but all things sweet and yummy.

Located next to sister restaurant Scape (also a must try), Crêpes:etc. blends the look of French cafe and market with a touch of American diner creating a warm cozy atmosphere for diners to enjoy the many delicious delights offered on the menu. Just inside the front door is a small market area that carries wine, fresh local produce, cookbooks, baking mixes and spices among other things. However, you may actually miss all of this due to the distraction of the bakery case filled with all sorts of goodies made both at the restaurant and from other local vendors. My personal suggestion from the case would be the banana cream pie tart. It has the most amazing tasting graham cracker crust I have ever had. The crust is super thick almost like a cookie so it doesn't completely disintegrate as soon as you stick a fork in it, thus allowing you taste the buttery crunchy crust along with the creamy sweet cream and caramel. I'm telling you it's heaven. The fun continues with more baked goodness located next to the cash register. There you can pick up some of their chocolate chip cookies that are said to be the best in town (I have yet to try them but they are on my list). If you are feeling a little nostalgia for the carefree days of being a kid you can bite into one of their huge Captain Crunch Crunch Berries treats, Crêpes: etc.'s take on the Rice Krispie treat that is overloaded with gooey marshmallow. If you are having a bad day this is sure to perk you up.

As for the main event they serve both sweet and savory crepes and all are delicious. My personal favorites are strawberries and cream for sweet and the Skinny Californian for savory which is roasted chicken, avocado, bacon, Swiss and tomato with mornay sauce, mmmmmm. Crêpes: etc. also offers other breakfast and lunch options in addition to their namesake and are open until midnight on Friday and Saturday to satisfy your late night cravings. Bon appetit!

Pi

Pi's Kirkwood Location

Prosciutto Bites

Sausage Pizza

On Friday a friend and I felt like pizza, and since a co-worker and I had recently been talking about Pi I decided that should be the place to get it.

This was my second time eating at Pi. The first trip was to their U City location a while back. We sat on the patio had lemon drop martinis and shared prosciutto bites and a pizza with pesto and artichokes. The martinis and prosciutto bites were heavenly and the pizza was good, not amazing because the artichokes kind of overwhelmed the actual taste of the pizza, but it was still quite good.

On this second trip to Pi's Kirkwood location, I tried the seasonal white wine sangria instead of the lemon drop. The sangria was just ok and it didn't have fruit in it, which to me is the best part of sangria. We revisited the the prosciutto bites which this go 'round were ok, not the heavenly taste I remembered from before. The pizza we had was delicious though. Instead of the crazy toppings we got a plain sausage pizza and this time you could actually taste the full flavor of the pizza and its cornbread crust as opposed to the just toppings. We sat inside the restaurant, as it was too hot for outside, and the inside had a great atmosphere. We went sort of late so there weren't a ton of people there and we missed the family dinner rush which was nice. On top of that our waitress was super nice and service was speedy. The only regret I really had from the evening was not getting some of pastry chef Matthew Rice's gooey butter cookies to go :). So if you are looking for something different then your usual pizza from a delivery check out Pi and don't forget the cookies!

Lola

Saturday night before the Lady Gaga concert my mom and I grabbed dinner at Lola. I had been here once before for a friends birthday and had the Josephine sandwich, which was good but I wanted to make a second trip to try out some of the other menu options. The restaurant was a little packed so they let us know ahead of time that in order to make the concert on time we would need to order off the tapas side of the menu, which was fine by us and I thought it was a nice gesture that they let us know before hand. For drinks I started with what I think was called the Lafayette, it was champagne with Chambord. It was ok, a little heavy on the Chambord which gave it a bit of a cough syrup taste. The drink I had with dinner was much better. The Parisstyle was Lola's version of my favorite martini, the French martini. Lola's version includes raspberry vodka instead of regular vodka added to the usual pineapple juice and chambord. It was delicious.

For dinner we decided on the Lola's fish and frittes, Lola duet (two towered sliders one with mushrooms and onions the, the other with bleu cheese and bacon) and a side of mac and cheese. The fish and frittes were nothing short of amazing. They were little fried fish nuggets served on top of fries and served in a wire cone basket. Since the fish was served on top, the fries in the bottom of the cone were a little soggy. I like soggy fries so I was fine with that, but those opposed to softer fries may want to ask for them to be served on a plate. Either way I highly recommend the dish. The Lola duet burgers were good. My mom had the mushroom burger which she thought was awesome. I had the bleu cheese burger which was good but I had to take some of the bleu cheese off since there was literally a patty of bleu cheese the size of the burger patties between each burger. While I like bleu cheese it was a bit much. The mac and cheese was delicious as well, and the portion is quite hefty so you should plan on splitting it. My mom and I could have easily split just the mac and cheese and fish and frittes and been perfectly content.

The restaurant itself has an urban modern loungey feel which makes it great for dinner with the girls or date night. The tapas section provides a lot of options for sharing so it's also a perfect place for groups. They also have a nice bar area with extensive drink menu and live music most nights, so if it's just a quick drink or happy hour your looking for you won't be disappointed.

Wild Flower

So good I had to post the picture twice :) Just in case you missed it the first time.

As you can see from the post below about my weekend, I had brunch at Wild Flower and it was a-mah-zing! I had been there a few times before but not since they revamped their menus and never for breakfast/brunch (which is by far my favorite meal). Clearly I have been missing out.

Upon first glancing at the menu I narrowed down what I wanted to two things: the monte cristo or the breakfast wrap. Then our waitress came out and told us the specials and now I was up to six things to narrow down from: the previous two and then the chocolate chip raspberry pancakes, banana caramel waffle, baguette french toast topped with fresh berries, or the quiche. I decided that a tough decision like that was going to require a cocktail which was a no brainer since I cannot pass up a mimosa and their version includes Grand Marnier, so even better. If you like mojitos you might have a dilemma as there was a whole list of fruity options to choose from. My friend and I decided we both couldn't make a decision so together we picked one savory option and one sweet and split them. We ended up with the breakfast wrap and the french toast both of which did not disappoint. The breakfast wrap was the best one I have had in a long time, if I wanted to put myself in a day long food coma I probably could have eaten a whole one plus my portion of the french toast, since that too could not have been passed up. I have had french toast on a lot of different breads but oddly enough never on a baguette, yet Wild Flower's was so good I want to try my own at home. The french toast seemed to already have syrup baked into it and that along with the sweetness of the berries and the berry sauce that was drizzled over it made it edible without really needing syrup, although I still used a bit. With my maple syrup obsession (evidenced here) I usually drown everything in it, so the fact that I only used a little says a lot about how good this french toast was.

After I was done with my mimosa I tried the bellini. The bellini was ok it would have been better if I was just having it as an afternoon cocktail on the patio outside but it was a bit much with breakfast since it is the consistency of a slushy.

Overall everything there was amazing including the atmoshere the staff who were all super friendly. The inside (where we sat) is like sitting in a cozy little bistro, while there is also a bar area along with a private banquet area that I hear is quite nice as well. Weather permitting the patio is a fabulous place to enjoy great food and people watching as it is perfectly situated on the corner of Euclid and Laclede. So the next time you are thinking of trying someplace new for any meal I highly suggest you check out Wild Flower. And if you've already been there feel free to list your favorite must try dishes in the comments below. Bon appetite!