Mediterranean Grill Review, Chesterfield, MO

Alright, I have a very mixed review. The food is good. Atmosphere is horrible. Beer selection needs a lot of help.

Our appetizers were Moroccan Cigars and the Dips n' Spread Sampler Plate. There was not impressed by the Moroccan Cigars. they tasted like fried Mexican food from Casa Gallardo. They weren't as bad, but I have to admit I was talking to a friend and he thought they were great. The Dips n' Spread Sampler Plate is a must. I didn't care for the carrots but every other spread was awesome. The pita bread was soft and a little sweet. The dips and spreads had very clean simple flavors.

For our entrees we ordered the Moroccan Peas & Meatballs and the Lamb with Apricot and Prunes. The Moroccan Meatballs left a little to be desired. If I hadn't been told these were Moroccan Meatballs I would not have known. Just about anybody will like them. I would consider this a safe dish for the picky eater. I had potatos as my side and they came with a wonderful surprise. Onions softened in chicken broth. I loved them, they were mildly sweet and salty. The softness of the onions hits the taste buds just right. A warning is that visually I couldn't tell them apart from the potato, my first bit was confusing but I knew I liked them right away.

The Lamb was splendid. I was really worried that the sweetness of the fruit would over power the dish. Again, I was delighted by the mildly sweet touch. The fruits are mushy, which can be a turn off to some eaters. Also, there are tendons in the dish. Most people will discard this part of the dish. Don't, it is the best part. Get used to odd textures, you'll often find that is where the best flavors reside.

I have it on the same friend that the Gyros are not to be desired, that is partially due to the fact we lunch at the Gyro House on Delmar. Additionally, if Taziki comes with what you ordered have something around to mop it up, maybe with some of the pita bread from your appetizer.

For dessert, we shared the Creme Bavaria. It was really good even if it was pre-made and strayed from the traditional dessert. It is served in a martini glass. It is a layer of chocolate followed by creme and bottomed out with caramel. I would change the desert by offering more layers, adding brandy and firing the top.

Now on to the atmosphere. The place is a cross between fine dining and a picnic. There is very limited space in the restaurant. They don't have a foyer or hostess stand. A table sits right next to the front door, and I got that table. Lucky me, this would have been annoying if they were busy. They also have the soda bar right near the entrance, some of this stuff needs to be moved to the back to make way for a space to greet customers. The tables appear to be setup very nicely. Black table clothes, candle lighting diverts to silverware wrapped in napkins and plastic chairs.

Finally, the beers are all very similar, Hoegaarden Blanc, Stella Artois, Bud Light, Bud Select and Budweiser. Really, get some New Castle that would really complement the food. The International Tap House is right down the street, go get some suggestions.

The price for entrees range from 14 - 20 bucks. There are cheaper sandwiches and the like. from about 7 - 10 bucks. I'd say that the overall value is very pricey. The portions are a bit small and the atmosphere literally almost kept me away before I even went in the joint. All in all I would go back. I think it is interesting place and there is a lot to be said for being interesting.

Oishi Sushi Chesterfield Valley

Alright, this is some place I frequent. I have been to both locations, the other one is in Creve Coeur. I personally prefer the one in Chesterfield Valley, which also has Hibachi. I've only been to the sushi side though. Now there are two dishes I really like. The first is the Tempura Udon bowl. This dish is a soup with udon noodles, crab, scallions, mushrooms and the broth is crazy good. The second is the tempura fried ice cream. The title does the dish justice. I get all giddy like a girl just thinking about it, damn good.

I typically, get the lunch sushi deal as well. I recommend the Futomaki roll and to be honest I mix it up a bit when it comes to ordering Sushi. All the rolls are good as well as the sushi a la carte.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is contemporary asian in a very relaxing way. The bathrooms are clean, and there is a little foyer leading into them that actually smells good.

The prices are reasonable especially for lunch. Additionally some options on drinks and food are also available as the people who own the restaurant are Thai. Well this place is a routine for me and I welcome anyone to make dining here a routine of their own.

Dunken Donuts Return to St. Louis

There were none now there are three. I personally have been to the one on Manchester Rd and the one in the airport. Who's gonna buy a plane ticket to get to the Dunken Donuts in the Southwest terminal though. Well my wife constantly is trying to drag me down Manchester to get some iced coffee, and trust me it's not even close to my house, but I go, reluctantly.

Now I have to admit that I am not a great fan of Dunken Donuts, but to the people that enjoy them, they are a great joy. For that I am happy to see Dunken's return to St. Louis. Not that I really remember them from when I was younger. On my visit to Dunkens I ordered a caramel iced coffeee and my wife got a frozen vanilla bean mocha.

She thought what she ordered was too sweet but she loved my drink. She ended up drinking mine and I finished half of what she ordered. She is already planning our next trip. Welcome back Dunken.

Carl's Drive Inn in Brentwood

The hamburger explosion is the newest fad in the food industry. We are seeing "Five Guys Burgers and Fries", "Smash Burgers", "Chi Burger Chi Burger" and hoards of other hamburger joints sprout up all over the place. All of these places have one thing in common. They are trying to emulate a past time, but these places will never be authentic enough to capture the nostalgia of a time past. There is a jewel from time past called Carl's Drive Inn and guess what? It is a quick shot down from the Galleria to Manchester Rd. Taking a step in time to enjoy one of the best burgers in America does have some cost. You'll have to pay with cash, but they have an ATM so it's not too bad.

The style of the restaurant is most similar to a horseshoe bar with out the "U'. You can't walk from one side to the other. There are about ten seats on each side so watch the rush hour, because Carl's is popular. The decor has a truth to it that can't be duplicated. When your there you can tell it's from the fifties without a bunch of fake memorabilia attaching from every angle. A lot of the appeal comes from modern magazine articles touting the dining experience at Carl's. They modestly whisper were good, were not going anywhere and we know it. This place is the epitome of a good burger and the American attitude.

To drink you'll most likely have to get a root beer. There is a barrel atop the counter containing IBC, which screams "You can't resist by syrupy goodness". It's evil, because I drink enough to get sick every time. I hope I will learn my lesson one day, but it's not looking good. I am going back this Sunday with my grandmother.

When I went one day and ordered a single because I was going to sushi a little later, they compared their burger to Steak and Shake. Their burgers taste a lot better but they are flat. It is more like their way of saying order more than a single. The cost for a typical meal will set you back about $6 not including tip.

Suntrup Nissan South County Review

I will never buy a car from any Suntrup dealership ever again. The fact that J. Buck promotes this place tells me he is most likely an asshole.

I didn't know it at the time but everything they said was a lie. The sales people were tremendously immature. During the financing process they were dry humping the Heisman trophy that was on tour and being displayed at the dealership.

People have told me that I got a good deal but I feel ripped off. I hate my car and when spending that much money the pride you take in owning something shouldn't be stripped from you. I would have rather spent two thousand more dollars and felt better about my purchase. I honestly think they stuck it to me during financing. They told me the bank required some sort of strange insurance and when I talked to the bank they said that wasn't true.

I can't believe this place is still in business. I just hope it closes. Maybe car manufacturers will read this and stop use them as a retailer. Due to them I will never buy another Nissan. The buying experience was that bad.

Twist Wildwood Review

The short of it is that I would recommend going to Twist.

One of the latest crazes hitting the market are frozen yogurt bars. The biggest are FroYo and Pinkberry but I have only been to FroYo. I will use FroYo as the basis for my comparison. I personally liked the frozen yogurt and toppings (wider variety) more at Twist than FroYo.

The great thing about Twist is the layout of the topping area. There are toppings on the wall and at a two sided topping bar. This relieves the bottleneck that occurs at topping bar. It also, creates a shopping type of experience because you can browse without people stacking up behind you. No rush just the toppings you want. No hesitation about back tracking and upsetting the flow of a line.

The downside to Twist is the decor. It simply isn't up to par with other FroYo bars. It was darker than most and the modern look seemed half-assed. In addition, there was a visible pile of boxes in the back because it is being used as a makeshift storeroom.

B&B Wildwood Movie Theaters Review

I recommend this theater. I say that because I am about to complain about a few things.

Alight, the main thing is the Marquee Suites. To start I went up a number of times and it is hard to catch a movie in the suites. They need to develop a better way to let you know when to come see a show in the suites. I went to this theater five times before I could catch the movie I wanted to see in the suites.

Overall, I liked the Marquee suites. I like drinking, and having a place to set my drink. I don't like that you can't take drinks into movies not in the Marquee area, that sucks. Just give me a plastic cup and let me be on my way, Galaxy in Chesterfield does.

The location is great. The setup of the theater is awkward. I do not like buying my tickets at the concession stand and the automated ticket machines were broken twice. It tells you your card is declined, but really it is the machine. This really pissed me off the first time because I made a phone call to my bank.

After complaining about the improvement they need to make I will say this area is the best date spot. You can either walk to this theater or walk around once you get there because it is in a very scenic area. Table three and the Wildwood hotel (in case you plan on drinking not cheating) are right across the street as well as Indigo Joe's. A little further away are Twist (yogurt bar) and Coldstone creamery. There is also a little sushi joint or hit up Dierbergs for some sushi to eat outside. The only thing to improve this are would be to have a picnic area somewhere.

X Men First Class

Why? The problem I had with this movie is that it is inconsistent with the other movies. I could forgive the run in with Wolverine. I could easily look past that, but when you have inconsistencies like Magneto's helmet surprising Professor X in a later movie I am going to have to pick up on the shit that just fell off the writer's pen.

To some extent the movie was fun. If you are not nerdy like me, you should enjoy this flick. There are a lot of cool scenes. Some of the mutants are not that entertaining as well. I do have to say this movie almost inadvertently gives a great back drop on the Beast. For that alone it is worth seeing.

I recommend seeing this one in the theater but for the hardcore among you, expect a few disappointments.

Hangover 2 Over the Top

This might be a sign that I am getting old but I thought Hangover 2 was over the top. I thought the first movie was tastefully indiscreet. This made the first Hangover funny. The second one slapped trani penis in front of your face and half of the script was a variation of the f-word.

I thought the crack dealing monkey was pretty funny and there were a few scenes that cracked me up but overall it sucked. The reaction to events and the way people responds to the movie was also unrealistic. The story line was horse shit to say the least.

I wish the first one stood alone as a classic. The second Hangover is stinky taint.

Tron Movie Review

Alright this is a tricky one my wife loved and I was a bit bored. I thought it was like a half assed matrix. There was also a character like Mr Mistoffelees in the movie and it pissed me off. To do a little more bitching the founder of Tron was too much of a poofta for me to respect. There were some cool parts and affect but overall it wasn't worth the price of admission. It is worth that my wife now likes to pretend her car is one of those motorcycles. It makes me laugh every time she hits the gas yells "Tron" then weave through traffic. I should video tape her.