What Bri's Cooking

My nephew turned 3! This post is SO late, but I wanted to share...

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:27:55 -0400

RAH's hockey cake

Birthday boy!

The most crazy bunch of noncomplying kids!

RAH's supposed to be jumping, lol!

Uncle Will forcing his nephew to play

My nephew turned 3! This post is SO late, but I wanted to share his awesome Hockey cake my Mom made! He wasn’t impressed with blowing out candles, he was busy trying to pick up the hockey guys and play on the cake

That’s my bad news bear :-)

Mio’s Pizza food review. Went here a couple weeks ago in...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:36:59 -0400

Mio’s Pizza food review.

Went here a couple weeks ago in search of a lil comfort food, it had been a long weekend of searching for apartments in St Louis. I’d had pizza there before & I drive past this place all the time, finally decided to stop in and find pasta. The lady at the front was nice enough to talk me through their selections and recommend the alfredo pasta. So I ordered the chicken alfredo pasta with a side salad. It was piping hot once I got home and I was surprised at how creamy and delish this was. I had a moment of regret that I’m about to move just as I’d found a place with cheap delicious chicken alfredo. Perfect portion for a meal & leftovers, too! It came with garlic bread which I delight in. I’m looking forward to getting this again before we leave the nati!

I give the service an A & the food an A!

Honey food review. So the girls and I went to honey the other...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:06:13 -0400

Honey food review.

So the girls and I went to honey the other week for dinner and I thought I’d been here before, but I got this place mixed up with another fine dining restaurant in Oakley. It was quiet inside, even though it was Friday night, which I loved. We had a large table by the bar and our waiter gave us plenty of breathing room throughout dinner.

I ordered the salmon with slaw and lemongrass broth. I really enjoyed the food. The presentation was beautiful and it tasted simply amazing. All the flavors played so well together. I paired it with a glass of sparkling Riesling which I didn’t regret. My dinner companions also enjoyed their meals and we talked through most of dinner, catching up.

Overall, this is the sort of restaurant you go to when you’re feeling daring, since the menu changes all the time and most of the food descriptions involve items most wouldn’t readily recognize. As a foodie, I was in love! I give the service an A & the food an A+! I can’t wait to go back…

Smashed buttered potatoes, roasted asparagus & butter crumb...

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:50:33 -0400

Smashed buttered potatoes, roasted asparagus & butter crumb tilapia. NOM.

Cheeseburger Pie recipe. This was pretty tasty, next time...

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:48:29 -0400

Cheeseburger Pie recipe. This was pretty tasty, next time I’ll add more cheese!

Not so Sloppy joe pockets. Crescents are the answer to every...

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:52:33 -0400

Not so Sloppy joe pockets.
Crescents are the answer to every meal. Saw a commercial for something similar with biscuits, but I didn’t have any. Boom. This’ll work. And it did! Not so sloppy joes :-)

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill. I was pretty excited to try this...

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:50:04 -0400

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill.

I was pretty excited to try this place. In an awesome marketing effort they sent me a coupon for a free taco, which did in fact lure me in. I came for lunch, the parking lot was packed, but there weren’t many people inside. I ordered the fish taco, the steak n’ cheese and the I wanna tijuanna taco. They came with chips and my choice of salsa from their salsa bar, which I thought was an amazing idea.

I headed back to work and popped open my box. I had snuck a few chips in the car and really enjoyed those. First bite of the I wanna tijuanna and I was intrigued. I wasn’t quite sure if I liked it, or I was hungry. Next up, a bite of the fish taco. It was surprisingly gross. The fish wasn’t fresh, and the sauce just didn’t go well on the taco. Save yourself the trouble, avoid that one. Last was the steak n cheese, it was all wrong and I’d ordered it on a corn tortilla, which was cold and the cheese sauce seemed to come from a can. For me, I was three bites in and I wanted my money back. This place is missing the mark. Its scary that they’re just opening and the food isn’t good, most restaurants open at their very best!

I give the service a B, and the food a D. I won’t be back.

Thanks to my Girlies, Kiea & Kelly for the awesome...

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:35:58 -0400

Thanks to my Girlies, Kiea & Kelly for the awesome Cincinnati gift basket!!! Now I can take all the Nati favs to St Louis with me!

Tilapia with Buttery Crumb topping recipe. This turned out so...

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:23:24 -0400

Tilapia with Buttery Crumb topping recipe. This turned out so much better than I expected. I’ve been trying to eat more fish, less red meat. This recipe was really simple and delicious.

Is it ratchet that I choose my hotels based on their having a...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:37:07 -0400

Is it ratchet that I choose my hotels based on their having a waffle maker at breakfast? If loving waffles is wrong, I don’t want to be right….

Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen food review. Will & I showed...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:41:05 -0400

gumbo!

shrimp po boy

trying to get a shot of him eating his BBQ sandwich

green beans

Purple Haze Abita on Tap!

Not sure what this was all about: waffle fries, bacon & cheese gravy? No bueno!

Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen food review.

Will & I showed up at this place hungry and over our apartment search. I found this place on urban spoon and saw it as a compromise to His insistence on eating only BBQ for every meal & my desire for any & I mean any other type of food. I love all things New Orleans, so this was right up my alley.

The shrimp po boy was delish as was the gumbo. The Mr got the Pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and loved it! We got the loaded waffle fries as an appetizer and weren’t sold on the gravy they put on top. It just didn’t work. Other than that, they had purple Haze Abita beer on tap! so I’ll certainly be back once we move to the Lou!

Cracker Barrel Food review. Normally I wouldn’t review a...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:22:12 -0400

Cracker Barrel Food review.
Normally I wouldn’t review a chain like this, but on our way to St Louis, we stopped at this Cracker Barrel in Effingham, IL because the Mr drives too fast & we were going to get in town earlier than our appointment. THIS FOOD WAS EVERYTHING. Sorry for yelling, just thought you should know.

I got the egg in a basket, which I’ve never ordered in a restaurant, but was everything I’d hoped it could be. The bacon was so thick & great. In true gluttony style, I ordered a pancake to go with. The waitress was awesome enough to add another one in hopes of saving me money. I didn’t even eat half of one, but I’d rather pay less for more food any day! The pancakes were thick and crispy and perfect. This food tasted like it was made in somebody’s Granny’s kitchen. Looking forward to stopping in Effingham on trips to the Lou!

Chez Nora Food review. Had our Lady Architects dinner last...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:26 -0400

Chez Nora Food review.

Had our Lady Architects dinner last Thursday, the same day as the Mr’s draft party. I was ecstatic, I get to avoid testosterone overload and hang out with the cool kids. They had an appetizer buffet out, which we were thrilled about. It was primarily fried foods which I have been trying (and failing) to avoid. I can’t pass up free food. That’s just crazy. It was pretty good stuff. The pulled pork was so tender with the perfect sauce.
For dinner, having already had a mini plate full of delectable and a cookie, I opted to keep it light. Chez Nora’s to die for crab cakes and a side salad. As usual, they’re crab cakes are such a great blend of seasoning, crab and deliciousness. Awesome food, fun & company!

Rich Charles food review. I’m quickly becoming a regular...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:31:00 -0400

Food!

cheesecake factory....nom

my dinner companion. no wait, he got bbq. Again.

gorgeous stained glass window

so random how they put this bread right in the bag!

Rich Charles food review.

I’m quickly becoming a regular St Lou blogger, seeing as every meal I’ve eaten there as been at a restaurant. My boyfriend insisted on having BBQ again, so I decided to get what I wanted and I wanted Italian. I ordered with my eyes, ordering the Fettuccine al Carbonara with chicken, a side salad and a piece of cheesecake. All of the portions were supersized, and I didn’t put a dent in any of them.

I thought the way they just put a loaf of bread in a bag was the most ridiculous thing ever, but the bread was pretty good. The pasta was crazy rich, so I ate far more bread then I intended to, trying to balance my meal. I liked the pasta, but I wanted it to be a bit less overwhelming to eat. Had I not been at my hotel room, I would have had to be rolled home. The side salad was really great, I loved having artichokes right in there with the lettuce, it provided an interesting compliment to the salad. My favorite part of the meal by far was the cheesecake, which actually came from Cheesecake factory. I wish they had added a little strawberry drizzle or something, but it was still REALLY great just by itself.

This place had good food, I’ll be back to try something different next go around.

Here’s my boyfriend eating BBQ from Smoke and Barrel, YET...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:18:27 -0400

Here’s my boyfriend eating BBQ from Smoke and Barrel, YET again. 3rd time in 2 weekends :-(

Fuddruckers Food review. Went here for dinner while in St...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:15:08 -0400

Fuddruckers Food review.

Went here for dinner while in St Louis. It was close to our hotel, and I haven’t been to a Fuddruckers in years, since the last one in Cincinnati closed. We ended up taking a road trip 2 miles north on accident, but once we got back, I ordered an original with cheddar & grilled mushrooms & Will ordered the hangover. We split a large fry.

We got it to go and it was piping hot once we got back to the hotel. I didn’t remember these amazing steak fries, but I loved them. So well seasoned and crispy with soft fluffy centers. The burger was also amazing. I love how fresh the bun is and how I can add copious amounts of toppings (aka pickles) w/o any judgment. I’m glad we went there, it was really great food!

So this tripped me out, in St Louis, Panera’s don’t...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:04:05 -0400

So this tripped me out, in St Louis, Panera’s don’t exist. They’re called St Louis Bread Co, but they’re exactly like paneras inside. I believe they started in the Lou & became Panera everywhere else.

Please judge me for falling asleep on the couch, then waking up...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:01:02 -0400

Please judge me for falling asleep on the couch, then waking up & making chocolate chip cookie bars before laying down for bed. It don’t make no sense how delicious these are!!!!

Put together a lasagna at lunch for the men eat while watching...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:50:41 -0400

Put together a lasagna at lunch for the men eat while watching the draft. Never have I been happier to have dinner plans w/ the ladies from work, so I get to avoid all that testosterone & foozeball!

Smoking Barrels BBQ Still floating from the St Louis BBQ...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:16:23 -0400

Smoking Barrels BBQ

Still floating from the St Louis BBQ we’d had the night before, in between two apt viewings, we searched for a place to grab food. We smelled smoking barrels before we found it. It had awesome outdoor seating so we opted to get our food to go & eat outside then dash to our appointment.
I ordered the rib & chicken combo with a baked potato & buttered corn. I literally worry that I won’t be able to describe this well enough to encourage you to go eat there asap, but I’m going to try. The meat was so tender & Smokey and delicious. I started digging into the ribs first, forgetting sauce all together. To me, great bbq doesn’t even need sauce and this food was just that! My chicken was just as tender, falling off the bone. The garlic bread was an awesome compliment, the potato was perfectly fluffy & the corn was so buttery. In essence the meal worked so well together. Not a taste out of place! My boyfriend got the combo pulled beef & pork and he beasted it so fast, we had to go back so that he could actually taste it this go around, lol!
So we saw an apartment around the corner, and of course he wants it simply because he can walk to Smoking Barrels. I have a feeling we’re going to gain a LOT of weight in St Louis if all the food is just like this! I give the food & the service an A+

LOVED!