Jilly's Hot Chocolate, Twisted Pink Velvet, and Bee Sting Cupcakes

My monthly Jilly's post. The last one for awhile since I won't be in St. Louis for awhile :( My sister got into the college of her choice, the day I was coming home from St. Louis so to celebrate my mom and I bought home some Jilly's! We got one of the monthlies Hot Chocolate (top left), which had chocolate cake, marshmallow fluff filling, and chocolate buttercream topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. It was just as yummy as hot chocolate and a lot richer. We got the Twisted Pink, of course, seeing as it's my family's favorite (top right > see my first Jilly's post for a more detailed description). Finally, we tried the Bee Sting. A vanilla cupcake with lemon cream filling, which was out consensus favorite this time around. We loved how refreshing this one was, and the good news is it's one of their regulars! My love for Jilly's remains undiminished, and I'm so happy that we know the best way to try the most is to share.

Pistachio Ravioli at Pastaria

My Mom came down to Saint Louis to help me move out (she's a packing genius, everything I owned in the apartment was packing and ready to go in like 3 hours), and she was kind enough to take my boyfriend and I out to dinner. I got to pick the place so I decided on Pastaria. Pastaria opened last year in downtown Clayton and got rave reviews for its homemade pasta and unique dishes. But its notorious for not taking reservations and being really expensive. So I thought on a Tuesday night this would be the perfect place to go. We weren't disappointed! When we got there they told us it would be a 20 minute wait, but a table opened up and we were seated in 5. The menu had a lot of extremely interesting pastas of all different shapes and flavors, as well as a large pizza selection. We decided to order risotto balls to start because every review of the place raved about them (below). We were not disappointed! They were so creamy and absolutely amazing. They came with two excellent dipping sauces, a garlic one and a marinara (which was so good it made me wish I'd ordered something with marinara in it for my main course). I mixed them together to make an even better sauce.

For my main meal I ended up with the pistachio ravioli (above), the only vegetarian pasta on the menu. It. Was. Amazing. The pistachio, ricotta, lemon flavors melding solo well. The sweetness of the cheese and nuts were balanced by the sour lemon in a combination that I loved. That plate was spotless by the time I was finished, every stray nut snapped up. For dessert we decided to try the homemade gelato, though we were so eager to eat it I forgot to take photos. My boyfriend and I each got a small with two flavors in it. I got the pumpkin cheesecake and my boyfriend got basil and cardimon (It's been awhile since we were there so I forgot the other flavor that I each got :P ). I have to say it's the best gelato I've had in years, and definitely one of the top two I've had in the U.S. The lady who was working at the counter was incredibly nice. She let us sample whatever we wanted, and gave us helpful advice and suggestions about flavors. A wonderful dessert to top off a wonderful evening.

Thoughts on this Restaurant:

• Our food came out incredibly quickly, we tried to stretch the evening out with the appetizer and dessert. And we succeeded and we were the last patrons in the restaurant. We thought this was most likely because the place is usually super busy and they are used to moving things along. This is a good thing if we ever decide to go on a weekend.
• As expected it was a bit pricey, but not as outrageous as I thought. And I'd definitely go just to get gelato!
• The gelato was not just amazing it was fun too. The way it works is you go up to counter and taste and pick flavors at an ice cream shop. Then they bring it out to you in fancy bowls to your table. So fun.

It was a wonderful night and a great place. I thought it lived up to the hype. And the fact that we didn't have to wait probably helped out with that ;)

Bobo's Takeout

I already did a post about Bobo's Noodle House (the noodle restaurant a couple of blocks from me). so I'll briefly post about my second experience there. Besides a nice storefront and seating area, they also have a delivery service. So I decided to try it out. I got sesame noodles, cucumber salad, and cashew chicken (from left to right above). All were yummy, but the Cashew Chicken was especially tasty. The chicken was fresh and flavorful, and there were pineapples and many veggies in the dish. I will definitely be getting it again. I ended up mixing the chicken with the noodles and that made it even better. This time around I didn't have a cold and could fully taste the food, so I can say with assurance that this place has very yummy dishes. Also the delivery service was great. They said it would take 40 minutes but it only took about 25, and came nice and hot. There were also really yummy red bean mochi included with the meal :) I will definitely be ordering their take out again when its late and I have no food.

Wash U Wok's Sesame Chicken and Eco-to-Go

Wash U Wok (the asian food station in the DUC) has daily stir fry selections. And none of them comes close to Monday's Sesame Chicken! On Mondays the line is always incredibly long. I don't know why this dish is so yummy, it just is. However, its not very healthy, hence I try not to get it very often. In fact, this year I didm't get it at all. So the last Monday of the semester I decided to indulge and get it. The stir frys here always come with rice and an egg roll or wanton, so I got the wanton. They are really good here, and yummy dipped in Mai Poi sauce. This was a really yummy meal and my last meal on campus this semester.

Another thing you might notice in the picture above is that the meal is in a plastic box. It's an Eco-to-Go Box! These boxes are an amazing waste saving program that Net Impact (one of the other sustainable clubs on campus) and a bunch of my friends helped start up last year. It's a reusable to go box program. You buy a keychain for 5 dollars and then ask for eco to go when you get your food. You then had them the keychain she you pay and the cashier takes 10 cents off of your meal! You can return the empty box at any eatery on campus, so you don't have to wash it, and they'll return your keychain. The program is wonderful. It's easy and sustainable. Also it ends up saving money. For people who buy every meal on campus it pays for itself in a week or 2 and then ends up saving a bunch of money. Also each box has compartments for food, so if you get a meal like the one pictured above its better than a cardboard box or a plate. I'm so glad that we have this on campus now and super happy to support it!

Red Velvet Coffee

I used the rest of my wonderful Red Velvet hot chocolate mix to make Red Velvet Coffee. The package suggested adding it to coffee, and because that sounded AMAZING I totally took the advice. It was sooooo good. I brewed my morning coffee and then instead of adding a bit of skim milk like I usually do, I just added a spoonful of the red velvet powder. It tasted like the hot chocolate did with just a hint of coffee. It was perfect it was like drinking cake with my coffee. I need to get more of this mix since it's been amazing in everything and a refreshing way to have real tasting red velvet drinks.

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Marshmallow Taffy

I made yet another kind of my marshmallow taffy to use up the rest of the marshmallows. This time I used butterscotch chips, Reese peanut butter chips, peanut butter and marshmallows. I nuked it for about 10 more seconds to melt the chips, and it was amazing. I could have used a bit less peanut butter because the melted chips made up for that in consistency, so I'll remember that next time!

Overall another really yummy taffy twist. Once again I wonder if there's a good way to make this presentable for guests and friends so that I can share this and make it look good for people. Any ideas?

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

I love Red Velvet. I know it got really popular a couple of years ago, but I think it's for good reason. Red velvet is perfect because it's subtle chocolate. Also it's a pretty color (which I always appreciate in my food). So when I saw this Red Velvet Hot Chocolate Mix for $2 at World Market, I had to try it. I made some tonight, using milk and 2 spoonfuls of the mix. I heated the milk for about 2.5 minutes, then added the powder, stirred well and nuked it for another 30 seconds. It was so good!! Not only did it actually taste and smell like red velvet, but it had a subtle pink color to it. Very happy with this mix, even though its not a healthy drink, it is a relaxing one. And in the middle of finals, a little relaxing can go a long way.

Thoughts on this Drink:

• It can also be made with water. Since there was powdered milk in the ingredients I think that it would also taste really good that way. But I had milk, so I thought might as well.
• I was actually extremely impressed by how this drink maintained an authenticity to red velvet. It really tasted like the cake! Some red velvet things struggle with this, but this one was not one of them.

A really good 2 dollar purchase :)

Black Bean Burger and Sautéed Veggies

I've previously raved about black bean burgers on this blog, so you should know by now that I love them. But I've never eaten them this way before. This way, is on a bed of sautéed and seasoned veggies. I sautéed spinach, red onion, sweet peppers, sundried tomatoes together (see below). I also added a bit of garlic and oregano. This made for an extremely flavorful mix. I grilled a black bean burger on Hello Kitty, and added a slice of smoked gouda on the sop. It was a wonderful dinner. Low on carbs and nicely seasoned. A weird but good combination of italian (garlic/sundried tomatoes/oregano) and southwestern (corn/beans) flavor profiles.

Thoughts on this dish:

• Spinach cooks down!!! I tend to forget that and don't add the huge amount of spinach that I should.
• Also spinach wilts if its sautéed too long, so I'll add it after the other veggies next time.
• The olive oil that the sundried tomatoes were it was perfect for this, it gave the veggies a little oil so they cooked faster, but they weren't swimming.
• I cooked them with a glass top in the pan, stirring occasionally.
• I've finally figured out a way to prop the grill open and put the cheese on the burger on the grill so the cheese melts, but doesn't get stuck on the grill.
• As I mentioned, a nice veggie heavy, low carb meal.

Was pleased with this one, a good way to use veggies and also very tasty.

BBQ Chicken Rolls and BBQ Bean Flatbread

These appetizers were made especially for a party that I had this friday night. It was an Ugly Sweater party and we were asked to bring food. I my inspiration for the barbecue rolls came from two places. I wanted to make spinach rolls, but didn't have ingredients, and I wanted to use my frozen BBQ chicken and tortillas. So this was the result. I used an entire pack of Trader Joe's Pulled BBQ Chicken, Masterpiece BBQ, Ranch Dressing, a bit of garlic, and this mexican cheese that my roommate has. I heated the chicken in the microwave and then added the other ingredients. Then I kept nuking it until it was melted. The cheese I was using actually took awhile to melt so it took longer than expected. I then spread the mix on the tortillas and rolled them up like spinach rolls (see below). I then put them in the fridge for half an hour before cutting them. When we got to the party we baked them at 350 for 5 minutes just to heat them up. They were amazing!!!!! This turned out so well and they were all gone fairly quickly.

I also wanted to make a vegetarian version of this to bring, but we ran out of tortillas. So I used my frozen naans instead to make flatbreads. I mixed the black beans with ranch and bbq to make a sauce base for the naans. Then I spread it on, and added cubed mexican cheese on top (see below). Once again the cheese took a long time to melt. They were in the oven for 10 minutes at 400. This ended up being a good thing because then the flatbreads were crispy. They were yummy (but not quite as good as the roll ups).

Thoughts on these apps:

• I think I would use another cheese next time. Ideas include: cheddar, smoked gouda, and mozzarella. 
• I would be more likely to make the roll ups again instead of the flatbreads, but I would want to try out bean ones next time.
• I really liked the arrangement of the two dishes on the platter (see top pic). It was suggested by my boyfriend and roommate.

The party was really fun. And this ended up being the only food besides cookies and chips, so I was really glad I brought them!

Taro Cloud Cake

 This might be my crowning achievement of the semester. Definitely the best thing I've ever baked. With a dream of baking with taro, a bit of baking advice from my roommate, and a good amount of hard work I created a wonderful and unique cake recipe. As I've mentioned (see the taro milk tea post) I love taro and it is really special. If you want to know more about that go read the other post, but basically all you really need to know for this cake, is that taro has a nutty/vanilla flavor and a wonderful purple color. Both of these make it an ideal ingredient for baking. So I decided to try it out. I used a vanilla cake mix, a vanilla pudding, and about 7/12 a cup of taro powder to the cake. The key to this recipe though, is whipping the egg whites (which my roommate suggested)(see below). Mainly, I decided to do this because the mix called for 3 eggs, but we only had 2. What the result ended up being, was the fluffiest cake ever!!!!! So fluffy that I dubbed it Cloud Cake. I used vanilla cake mix instead of yellow, because I thought it would compliment the flavor of the taro better and I was right (see below). We have an electric mixer now so that was incredibly helpful in making this recipe a success!

The cake batter was extremely yummy, we cleaned the bowl before it actually got washed, if you know what I mean ;). I had enough batter to make a cake (see below) and 24 mini cupcakes (see below). Both of which turned out wonderfully purple because of the taro. I baked them both at 375. The cupcakes for exactly 10 minutes and the cake for 35 minutes. The center of the cake sagged a bit, I'm not sure what to try next time to prevent that from happening. I greased the pans with baker's joy, which works wonders. I let the cakes and cupcakes cool before I removed them from the pans and frosted them. 

For the frosting I used whipped white frosting. Which was perfect because it added to the fluffiness of the dessert and also complimented the taro well. I decided to get fancy and use the electric mixer to mix the taro in. I used a bit over 1/3 cup of taro power for the entire container of frosting (see below), and you can certainly taste the taro. Then, if that wasn't fancy enough, my roommate helped me cut a plastic bag to frost them in style. She showed me how to cut the bag so that the frosting comes out with a pretty design. I spooned the frosting into the bag (see below) and it was a really efficient way to frost the cakes! I did the larger cake the traditional way with the remaining frosting. The frosting was as flavorful and fluffy as the cake itself and the cupcakes are so so so so yummy. This was a wonderful cake!

Thoughts on this Recipe:

• Next time I make this I will try to do everything the same since it turned out so well this time.
• I'm happy that I can add whipping egg whites to my list of baking skills
• My roommate also showed me this wonderful trick to separate egg whites. You use a water bottle to suck out the yolks.
• I also really liked using the bag to frost the cupcakes, so much easier!
• I want to learn some more cake decorating techniques, they would be an awesome way to compliment this wonderful cake.
• On that note, I wonder what other flavors go well with taro? I'll have to ask my sister, she's a cupcake artist, and has awesome baking skills.

Best recipe ever!!! These were so amazing, and affirmed by belief that I'm getting better at baking as well as cooking :)

Barbecue Ranch Couscous

i experimented with quinoa the other day, so this time I decided to do so with couscous. I really like couscous because it takes 2 minutes to make. However, it needs a lot of sauce, or hummus, or something to moisten it or its incredibly dry. The upside of this is that it absorbs flavors really well. This time a decided to try a barbecue flavor profile. I added black beans, red onion, and sweet peppers, all ingredients that fit the flavor well. Then I added some black bean hummus to add dimension to the couscous. Lastly I added ranch and barbecue sauce. I ended up adding more than I thought because of the amazing absorptive abilities of couscous. It turned out really well! It was flavorful and yummy. This would be a wonderful side dish with barbecue chicken or really nice on top of a salad.

Thoughts on this Dish:

• More of a summer side dish, but its still nice in the winter as well.
• The combination of the hummus, sauce, add ins, and grains gives this dish a really unique and textured feel. I liked that part of it more than I was expecting.
• It's interesting because this is a grain that seems really distant from barbecue so this is a cool flavor to try for this dish. 

Once again another successful creation!

Apple Chardonnay Chicken Sausages and Apple Quinoa

I have lots of applely things. I think its left from all of the seasonal apple food and treats that come out in the fall. In the process of cleaning out the fridge I decided to make a very apple meal. I finished off the rest of the apple chicken sausages I had in the freezer. I grilled them on Hello Kitty (see below), which is a great way to quickly make these guys. I have to turn them frequently to make sure they get fully cooked but the mini grill does a really great job. I still had a ton of Apple Quinoa from the other day. I decided to heat it up and and add the sliced sausages to the dish (see above). Apparently, the quinoa is as amazing warm as it was cold. It complemented the sausages really well, I think this is my favorite way that I've eaten them so far. This meal was hugely filling, and super protein rich. 

On top of the apple sausages and the apple quinioa,  I also had left over Trader Joe's apple cider, so I heated up a glass and had it with the food. I ate it during a study break, and burned the last of my fall scented candles (see below). It was a really nice way to finish off the feeling of fall and welcome in winter!

Thoughts on this Dish:

• This was mostly just a combination of other things that I've made before. 
• This portion was huge, but it did keep me full for the rest of the night.
• I noticed that the apples actually haven't really browned in the quinoa dish! I think the balsamic and red wine vinegar are acidic enough to keep them fresh. This is really nice to know because then I don't have to use lemon juice next time (which can change the flavor a bit)!

Really happy with this meal. It was nice and festive, and incredibly relaxing in the midst of finals. 

Also you may have noticed out Gingerbread House in the last picture. My roommate and I put it together from a kit earlier this week. The we put an electric candle in it! It's a nice holiday addition to the apartment. It was also funny to watch two college students struggle through building a craft meant for kids :) We had a ton of fun doing it!

Fruit and Honey Trail Mix

I wanted a study snack yesterday so this is what I made. It's a trail mix with banana chips, dark chocolate covered  acai and blueberries, and honey roasted almonds. It was wonderfully yummy. The almonds added crunch and the sweetness of the banana and berries melded with the honey really well. For some reason it reminded me of a little kid breakfast. Bananas and boobalaries (which is apparently what I called them when I was little), so yummy. It was a nice comforting treat, and helped me keep my energy up during a long day of finals studying.

 If you're curious about more of my trail mixes I did a post last month with more details.

Vanilla Chai Scones

I love American scones. They're fluffy and moist, awesome with coffee, and a perfect morning treat. I like getting them at coffee shops, but they are also really easy to make… with the right mix. World Market (another of my favorite places) has a really great selection of scone mixes (see below), I've tried a bunch of them but my favorite by far is the vanilla chai, its cinnamony and comforting, much like a vanilla chai latte. And these scones actually taste like vanilla chai lattes. I have a tendency to make these right before finals week starts and then eat scones for a week while studying, so I did the predictable thing and made them the Sunday before reading week started. Not only is the mix cheap (5 bucks for a bag that makes 12 scones), it is incredibly easy to use. Add 3/4 cup of water and mix until gooey (see below). Then spoon the scones on a pan (see below) and bake for 12 minutes exactly. Done. They might not look pretty, but they taste like bliss.

Thoughts on this Recipe:

• The other flavors I've tried are the blueberry, raspberry, and chocolate chip. All were good.
• I have considered making some type of glaze for these, but they are so moist that they don't really need it.
• Make sure to store them in a closed container after they cool or they get crusty.
• I greased the pan to make sure they didn't stick, I mistakenly used pan, I should have used Baker's Joy :P
• Each scone is only about 100-120 calories so seriously these guys are not to bad for you as pastries go.

Wonderful scones, I'm so happy that I have them to cheer me up as a go into major finals mode...

Mediterranean Frittata

This was a spur of the moment attempt to get rid of some ingredients. The idea was great, and the flavors were wonderful, this dish itself ended up lacking a bit. I made this on a complete whim and didn't use the internet for inspiration or instructions. I used an arbitrary baking time and temperature… and well, that might have been a bit ambitious. I cooked the frittata at 350 for 20 minutes. In the future I think I would cook it at 375 for 30 minutes because the top was still soggy, but the sides had a good consistency. As for ingredients, I mixed egg beaters, pre made pesto, garlic powder, and a bit of greek dressing together. I then added red peppers, sundried tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella and feta. I mixed them all together and put it in a baking pan. It was at this point I realized that I probably needed more egg beaters, so I whipped and added two eggs. The flavors of the pesto and veggies came out really well making it wonderfully seasoned and really yummy. Ultimately, a really great idea but I would make lots of alterations next time. This was truly a great cooking learning experience.

Thoughts on this Dish:

• As mentioned try baking at 375 for 30 minutes next time.
• Also one thing that worked really well was spraying the pan, the entire frittata popped out in one piece.
• More cheese next time! I wanted to add goat cheese as well but we didn't have any.
• I think I would add some milk to try and make the eggs fluffier and add volume to the dish,
• This is best shared between 2 or 3 people, I saved some and microwaved it the next day and that worked fairly well too.

A lot of promise and a lot of good lessons learned!

Quinoa and Apple Salad

This recipe was inspired by a Myrecipemagazine recipe I found on Pinterest, but I majorly tweaked the marinade. I've been wanting to do something creative to get ride of the quinoa and couscous that I have left before I leave next week, and I decided this definitely counted as creative. Basically, this recipe is done by soaking quinoa in a beautiful sweet and tart marinade of my own creation, and then adding apples, onion, and carrots to the mix. Since this is an actual original recipe I'm going to record it and the measurements here, for myself and anyone else who wants to recreate it. So my super special apple marinade is as follows (see below): 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/8 cup of red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup of Trader Joe's Spiced Apple Cider (this is the best cider ever, its spiced to perfection!) 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and 1/3 teaspoon of crushed garlic. All of that gets mixed together and then combined with the quinoa until the quinoa is cool. Then add chopped apples (I used 2 and mine were really tiny), carrots and red onion. Mix it together and chill. and done! A wonderful fall tasting apple salad. I was really pleased with how well this turned out!

Thoughts on this Recipe:

• I like using quinoa because it has a lot of protein. This makes a nice light meal or a great side dish. 
• I love honey crisp apples because of their sweetness, I think they went best with the cider in this case
• I apples were starting to brown a bit after being in the fridge for a couple of hours. I making this before a meal or event I suggest springing them with lemon juice to prevent browning

Really happy with how this one went! I'll have to make it again.

Honey Crisp Apples with Banana Smoosh

Obviously the name "Banana Smoosh" doesn't sound (or look) very appetizing, but I assure you its quite yummy. Banana smoosh is the name I gave something that I started making this summer. It's basically a banana smushed with a spoonful of peanut butter. It's actually a really yummy way to eat a banana (especially if its overripe). It's a good high protein snack, good for studying or before exercising. I sometimes add raisins to the smoosh, but we don't currently have any in the apartment so instead I ate it with a honey crisp apple. It was really yummy! A perfect healthy snack to keep my energy up while I was in the midst of finals studying yesterday. It's a no cook recipe, and despite its ugliness it's actually yummy and sweet.

Pesto Mac at Cheeseology

I finally get to blog about my favorite restaurant in St. Louis!!! Cheeseology, oh how I love thee. This small restaurant only serves macaroni and cheese. And not just any mac and cheese, they serve a large selection of diverse macs with gourmet ingredients. Gourmet comfort food is my favorite so its not surprise that Cheeseology won my heart. It is also located on the loop so I've been going here since I first started at Wash U and I have not yet found a restaurant that I like as much in St. Louis. There are several reasons for this. The entire concept of Cheeseology is insanely creative and they pull it off incredibly well. The macaroni is always fantastic and the menu offers a wide variety of options. My favorite is the Pesto Mac (pesto, provolone, and mozzarella)(see above), but their Classic Mac (american and cheddar), Southwestern Mac (provolone, black beans, chicken, corn, and southwest spice),  Mediterranean (artichokes, olives, goat cheese, and sundried tomatoes) are also amazing. 7 of their 15 macs are vegetarian (and one is vegan) so they definitely make the list as a veggie contienous restaurant! Besides the menu itself the decor and theme of the restaurant is fun and creative. The furniture is metal and the walls are metal and white paint. Which sounds boring, until you realize that its supposed to be a chemistry lab! The walls are covered in minimalist posters about famous scientists and a periodic table of cheeses hangs on the wall. "Cheeseology" is literally a place where the study of macaroni and cheese happens!! As a science student, I love it. But there's more! Cheeseology delivers (see below). That's right, if you can't make it to the loop they will bring you fresh hot macaroni straight to your door. It's just as fun as actually going to the restaurant. No delivery charge and you can even order online! Gets better and better. 

If you can't already tell that I love this place I actually have a bunch of wonderful stories associated with this restaurant. I'll share two that are special to me :)

Story #1: When I first discovered this restaurant I knew that I had to take my family when they came to visit me parent's weekend my freshman year. My Dad was very hesitant to go. He was unenthused by a macaroni restaurant, he thought it would be bad. We basically dragged him there. Well, he quickly changed his tune when he got the Bacon Bacon Mac (he's a bacon lover), he loved it and ate the entire thing. Now he insists we go there every time he visits (we went in October when my family was here but I forgot to take pictures so that's why it hasn't been up until now). He also preceded to rave about the place to everyone he knew. Major reversal of opinion there. I've also taken my grandparents when they've visited me and they loved it as well. This is a place that is fun and yummy, no matter how old you are.

Story #2: I have a tradition of breaking fast on Yom Kippur at Cheeseology. None of my family is here in STL so I created my own break fast tradition my freshman year, and continued it the next two years. My roommate has been happy to keep this tradition with me (even though she isn't Jewish). She puts up with my major grumpiness on the way to dinner and we both have a wonderful meal and a reason to indulge in Cheeseology (obviously this is NOT a healthy restaurant). The first year we went we didn't really know each other that well yet, but we spent hours there after our meal talking. We agreed this year when we were reminiscing about it during our 3rd annual break fast, it was definitely a time we became closer when we were first becoming friends. Last year we ordered it in, which was still really fun. And this year we were back at the restaurant. I ended up ordering a large (which I only do on break fast) because I'm so hungry and have no concept of portion size. This year when I did so the guy at the register looked at me and said there was no way I could eat it all. We ended up joking back with him. Then, the waiters kept checking up on us throughout the meal and teasing me! I didn't end up finishing it all, but it was a wonderful and memorable evening. Like I said before this place is very special to me!

Thoughts on the Restaurant:

• They sometimes have monthly specials, my favorite in the past was the breakfast mac, which had eggs in it! 
• I really want to try the chicken scampi mac, I always want to but then can't resist my favorites. Next time I will for sure though.
• At the restaurant they serve the macs in cast iron pans and will top with breadcrumbs upon request. There is noting better then scrapping the last pieces of cheese off of the pan. So so so good!
• It's not the cheapest for mac and cheese, but given the heaping portions and good quality ingredients I don't think it's overpriced

Basically I'll leave you with this. If you try one STL restaurant on this blogs recommendation this should be the one. I love everything about this place! I'm happy to be support this small, creative, and wonderful business. 

Birthday Dinner at Ginger Bistro

Ginger Bistro is an asian restaurant on the loop. It's not my favorite but one of my friends really likes it, and a couple of us went out for her birthday, so she got to pick. The reasons I hasn't really liked this place before was because the service was terrible and I hadn't had anything I loved off the menu. This time around though our server was amazing and I had a couple of dishes that I really liked so I'm revising my initial opinion. We also think that the place has recently come under new management. They've added a lot to their menu, including bubble tea :) We made a bit of an evening out of our meal, so we ordered items one at a time. I first got the taro milk tea (blogging about taro recently has made me crave it), which was not the best I've had but still really yummy. I then got a Tomago Roll. This was one of many vegetation rolls that they offer (always a plus), it had egg, scallions, and cucumbers in it and I really liked it a lot. My friend loves their Romance Rolls, which have sweet potato and avocado in them. Finally for dinner I got the vegetarian deluxe meal. It was a vegetarian dish with tofu and assorted veggies in their house sauce. I actually really enjoyed it, which was nice. I've been trying to find things on their menu that I like and I definitely succeeded this time around. And we had a wonderful birthday evening!

Thoughts on this Restaurant:

• Like I said I'd previously had really bad service experiences here. The original server was rude and slow. But we had a different server this time and he was wonderful, attentive, and funny. Unfortunately, I noticed that the other guy still works there so be warned, potentially iffy service if you go.
• I want to point out that they offer almost all of the classic americanized-asian dish preparations (ex. kung pao, general tso, mongolian, etc) but with a vegetarian preparation using tofu! This is really nice because it adds a lot of options to their vegetarian menu
• Also lots of unique veggie sushi rolls!
• And the new bubble tea menu is a nice addition, even though St. Louis Bubble Tea (still my favorite) is two doors down from them…

Overall I liked this place a lot better this time! It's still not my favorite, but a solid Asian restaurant with a large menu.