Prasino St. Charles, MO Restaurant Review

Prasino is relatively new to St. Charles and boy do I have a mixed review.  I was lured to Prasino because of my brother's review.  He said he ate some of the best food he'd ever had here.  Well I ordered the Seared Tempeh, which is a Korean dish.  I love Korean food but I had never heard of this dish and decided that's what I'd order.  Unfortunately this was the worst thing I have ever eaten in a restaurant.  Part of the philosophy at Prasino is that they use local fresh foods and run a sustainable green business.  Well this is a broth based dish and they made it with apple.  The apple just gave everything a very odd flavor and it completely dominated the dish in a bad way.

For those not in the know Tempeh is a tofu dish.  I will say the tofu was very unique.  It contained whole soy beans and had a unique texture.  If this is the one positive I pulled from this dish.  Maybe if this dish were modified slightly I would have enjoyed it more.

My wife's dish was much better.  She got a pork chop with a BBQ sauce made from Fitz's root beer.  We also had a sushi roll.  The roll was over priced but the quality was better than average but also smaller than average.

The other positives are that I loved the atmosphere and this seems like it would be a great place to grab a glass of wine.  I don't drink wine or coffee.  That being said I paid enough attention that I noticed that there were some people in there at least pretending to very knowledgeable and they were really enjoying themselves.

Hendel's Market Cafe in Florissant MO Restaurant Review

Super cozy atmosphere but still elegant.  Is that called quaint.  Quaint seems like an underwhelming word and Hendel's is in no way underwhelming.  I ordered the Salmon BLT and it was incredible.  Unfortunately, I went here during lunch.  I am really excited to try the dinner menu.  My company ordered a Portobello Burger and Southwest Salad.  I didn't ask to try either dish but both looked good.   The only suggestion I'd have is to get the dressing on the side if you order a salad.  The salad looked like it was smothered in dressing.   Everything else about it looked great.

If you are from the St. Louis area you know Florissant is in North St. Louis County, which doesn't have a great reputation.  I can honestly say Hendel's is located in a great neighborhood and there are a lot of hidden gems in North St. Louis County.  I can't say that all of them are in a great neighborhood but I can say I've never felt threatened going to any place in North St. Louis including the city.  Well with the exception of Wendy's but that's fast food.  The police came into the Wendy's I was in looking for a suspect, that incident was a bit scary.Other than that though...

The Grand Hall at Union Station - Restaurant Review

The Grand Hall at Union Station has been renovated and now serves small plates in addition to drinks.  I feel like I ordered everything on the menu.  Other features of the Grand Hall now include a 3D light show.  The light shows occur every hour on the hour.  The two I saw lasted about ten minutes.  Once was abstract and the other was a lot like a TV show on the history channel.   I liked them both.  I am pretty sure the hours for the Grand Hall are from 4 - 11.

The atmosphere was great and so was the food.  I liked all the drinks I ordered.  The drinks are given names related to railroads and are based on some of the first popular cocktails like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Negrani.  This Grand Hall is great for a romantic night out or a few sophisticated cocktails after a game.   Despite being upscale The Grand Hall is very laid back and welcoming.

Please please check this place out.  My wallet can only afford this once every couple of months.  It's not extremely pricey I just over indulge.

Cocktails are between 8 and 10 dollars.  Small plates range from eight to sixteen dollars and aren't very small.   The heirloom tomatoes, stacked seafood salad, oysters rockefeller and cheese & charcuterie board are all excellent.  The hummus sampler and margherita pizza are very good and the short rib toasted ravioli were good.  I highly recommend checking out the grand hall there is still a lot for me to try and the manager let us know they will be bringing in an improved menu.

Paradise Briyani Pointe, Winchester MO, Restaurant Review

All right this place is going to be hard to find.  It is tucked away in the corner of Winchester Plaza down a bit from St. Louis Bread Co..  The strange thing is that this is part of a chain of Indian Restaurants with about 40 locations nation wide.  My wife and I ordered the buffet.  There were a lot of items that I had never had before.  Unfortunately, not everything was labeled.  There was fish mash dish that was really good but I have not clue what it was called.  There was also this curry with whole hard boiled eggs that was really good.  Also, not labeled.

Overall, the food was excellent given we got the buffet.  The service was really confused.  I've never had such confusing service.  Everyone was really shy and didn't seem to know what was going on.  Most of the patrons were Indian so it may have been due to some language barriers.  Although I could understand everything .  There did seem to be a few employees who did not speak English at all.  That's okay just serve up the legit Indian Cuisine and we can keep that party popping.

Well I recommend this place.  Hopefully they iron out some of the service issues.I will say I eat at a lot of Indian restaurants and the service is typically a bit weird.

Lambert's Cafe, Sikeston, MO Restaurant Review

After seeing billboard after billboard for this restaurant I decided to stop in and check it out.  Lambert's has an old fashioned concept that was new to me.  The two unique features of the restaurant are the thrown rolls and the pass arounds.  The term thrown rolls doesn't refer to a baking method.  It refers to a delivery system.  There is a guy that throws rolls across the restaurant when you signal your ready to catch a roll.  Don't worry he's got a good arm.  Watch out hot softball sized roll, incoming.    The pass arounds are delivered by people carrying around huge pots full of food.  These come with your meal and are all you can eat.  The portions provided with your meal are huge.  If you don't plan on having anything to go watch your intake on the pass arounds.

Lambert's serves home cooked southern cuisine.  It's nothing classy but it is exactly what it's supposed to be.  This is your grandma's cooking.  Straightforward nto very creative but really good.  This is food that soothes the soul.  Overall Lambert's offers a great experience.  Now when we went we only waited for fifteen minutes to get through the door.  I've heard there can be an hour plus wait to be seated.  That is really saying something because this restaurant is huge.  If you're driving down the highway and see a Lambert's cafe billboar mark the exit and stop by for a great time.

Now there are three locations but Sikeston is the home of Lambert's Cafe.

Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Review

This was a good movie.  I expected it to be really bad but I was pleasantly surprised.  When I saw the previews I thought the characters were pretty cheesy.  The genius of the film is that they made sure the characters weren't overbearing.  The character flaws/quirks were kept life size, which played out really well.

Grut was my favorite character by far.  The writers were very creative with this character.  Grut was an amazing character and it is worth the price of admission just to see the things the came up with for this character.  I will say he was by far the best character.  The rest of the characters played very traditional rolls.

The reason this movie is that the comedy wasn't forced.  The laughs seemed to flow naturally.  There was a lot of adult humor in the film as well.  In that way the film was similar to the first Shrek.  A lot for the kids but enough for the adults.  This was definitely a comedic space odyssey that was pulled of successfully.

Kobe Steakhouse at Westport - Restaurant Review

The food was good.  I am not a great fan of food from the hibachi but I do like the show.  The problem with Kobe is that one of the chef's was on his game and the other was horrible.  Our chef was the horrible one.  If we had been seated near the other chef's grill we would have had a great time.

I went with four other people and a member of our group tried shrimp for the first time.   He like it.  Tasty shrimp, I like to eat them to.  I got that Land and Sea.  Now this was by accident, they got to me and I hadn't been paying attention.  I read the first thing I saw on the menu.  Again, it was good but not a unique meal.  The drink made up for it though, they were strong and not too hard on the wallet.

My favorite tricks were the egg toss and the onion ring volcano train deal.  I can't touch an egg without breaking the thing.  I don't know how that guy flings it around with a steel spatula.  Amazing.  Kobe is a fun thing to do if you're making a night out at Westport.  We also ended up at the Funnybone and Train Wreck Saloon.  Cost for four at Kobe 120 dollars (2 alcoholic beverages), tickets to Funnybone 20 dollars, drinks for two at Funnybone 50 dollars (bucket of beer, three call drinks), drinks for 2 at Train Wreck 80 dollars.  I was in a group of four but two people didn't drink.  They got sodas or juice everywhere we went.  Value??  Totally worth it I had a lot of fun.

I didn't do this but a bonus is that you can use Priceline to bid for a room in the area if you want to have a hotel party.  Winning bid from 40 - 45 dollars.  You should get the Sheraton Westport Chalet, Doubletree or Marriott Courtyard.

Transformers Age of Extinction

I know I am supposed to write reviews about movies I have seen but in this case I am going to make an exception.   I hate Michael Bay because he is the destroyer of child hood memories.  I was so excited when I heard that this movie bombed over the 4th of July weekend.  Happy Birthday America, our gift, realizing Michael Bay is an asshole.

Then I read the horrible news.  The movie was save by the Chinese box offices.  Why?  Not only do we owe them our soul but they are using the interest to further destroy my precious child hood memories.  Please, China those sweet morsels I've retained from way back when are all I have left.  This is my campaign to stop Michael Bay.  Some one please translate this post to Chinese.  Let the Chinese know that my brain cannot comprehend the crappy rendition of American staples that Michael Bay calls art or artistic license.  My view on his work is that he poorly plagiarizes.

Double Feature Godzilla and Blended at the Drive-In

Alright, I had my first drive-in experience.  It is definitely different going to a drive-in.  I think the big benefit is going to the movies with a large group of people and the ability to bring in whatever the hell you want.  I brought a mixer pack of vodkas, rum, whiskey and a bunch of mixers.   Now that's a good time.  The downside are the trains that roll by and the people in the other movie that have the ultimate sound system and intend to use it.   I honestly got over it pretty quickly.  VODKA, RUM, WHISKEY!!!!!

Godzilla wasn't what I thought it was going to be.  I thought the battle was going to be against Godzilla and different cities were going to be ripped a part.  Another problem with the movie was that it was too dark for an action film and like a lot of action films don't expect a good storyline.  I also expected some more spectacular scenes.  I know this is cliche but I really wanted to see the side of a building getting ripped off exposing some guy sitting on the toilet.  Since, I was drinking I had to  run to the bathroom a couple times.  Maybe I missed the scene let me know.  This is the type of movie you know whether your going to like before you see it.  If you typically love this stuff go see it, but if you don't it's going to be a long two hours.

The second movie I liked a lot more, Blended.  This is your typical sappy Adam Sandler film.  Nobody should admit to liking these but I love them.  I though the movie had a lot of great scenes.  They were predictable but funny.  I will admit liking movies like this is my expression of bad taste but I am going to recommend seeing this movie.  I hope you're pleasantly surprised, let me know in the comments.

Walking Dead: Terminus Season Finale

Well they've been worried about being eaten by zombies but now I think they gotta watch becoming some people chow.  At lead Rick didn't make it to eating one of those plates they were offering.

So what support from the episode do I have from the episode for my assumption.  Well they have been directed into a cattle car to start.  Next when they were being shot at they ran by a pile of skeletal remains.  That might not be such a big deal if there was livestock in anyone of those scenes.

I will tell you they left so much open I am going to burst at the seems before October.  I am not sure I am going to be able to take it.  Walking Dead is the one show I watch religiously and the church has been closed for six months.  It's wrong, I tell ya.

Bad Words Movie Review

There are obviously some bad words said in the movie and it is inappropriate for children but it is very funny.  I recommend checking it out.  There aren't many knee slapping laughs and it seemed like different part of the movie were funny to different parts of the audience.  That seems like something negative to say but it actually make the movie much more interesting.

I liked the story, character development and ending.  The movie kept a good pace so there is nothing to claim about.  Despite some earlier comments I wouldn't say the movie is outlandish, it is simply meant for adults. Definitely make it to this flick if you get the time this weekend.

Omar's Mediterranean and Italian Review

Omar's is a small restaurant located in St. Ann, MI am O just outside of St. Louis.  I am mixed about my experience at Omar's.  The dinner started off strong in terms of the food but quickly unraveled.  The problems are clear.  One of the major issues the restaurant suffers from is a lack of a good POS system and the staff clearly isn't trained very well.  Our server although nice issued a lot of "I don't know's".

So let's start off with the positives.  The waitress was really nice.  The appetizers were great.  I got kibbeh and chicken wings.  The kibbeh was a first for me.  Tasting it on its own it's got a strange spice profile although it is not spicy.  It comes with a sauce similar to tazekeh sauce which creates a perfect harmony with the spice profile of the kibbeh.  I don't know why but I was craving chicken wings.  I didn't expect much from a Mediterranean joint but they were really meaty and are comparable to really good bar wings.

We hit a hiccup when it came to the appetizers.  My wife order the clam fettuccine with clams.   Well the communication from the from to the back got messed up and the cook prepared the normal fettuccine.  That put a delay on my dish the mixed grill which ended up coming out overcooked and cold.  If they hadn't had the issue with having to recook my wife's dish I think everything would have been better.  The other issue is she asked for red sauce and they brought a cream sauce claiming it was a red sauce.  They stirred in some tomato sauce making it pinkish.  Not the most appetizing color.  All that being said the pizzas looked very interesting so I am definitely giving this place another shot.

The other big issue is the atmosphere.  This is a very tiny and very cluttered restaurant.  They have an all you can eat bar.  Some out of place bar stools next to a booth chair and table.  Then the accessories are just all over the place.  They also have those plastic grape things hanging from the lots, which are obviously dusty.  The color profile of most everything in the place is brown and beige.  They could do a lot by just reducing the amount of shit in the place.  Then they could brighten up some of the brown paneling with a little color.  They could do wanders with a little elbow grease and a couple buckets of paint.  They could also update the furniture but I can understand that they are probably struggling.

Well I think with a little community support this place could become a gem.  I overheard a carry out customers stated he had been in three times that week so they have to be do something right.  I can also say that a lot of what I had seemed to be homemade.  I'd recommend checking this place out.

Oh one more thing.  Owner's listen up.  It is cool that you don't sell pork, I get it, but get the turkey bacon out of the restaurant.   I didn't have anything with turkey bacon but if you had bacon before you'd be insulted.  Replace the bacon with something completely unrelated like summer sausage, get creative.

Non Stop Movie Review

To enjoy this movie you'll have to put your brain on the back burner.  It was very predictable although I wasn't right about everything.  The pickings in the theater are pretty slim right now but I would still skip this movie.

It does keep up a pretty fast pace and has a few plot twists. The key to enjoying this movie is to actually not try to think it through.  Just sit back and relax if you do chose to see this flick.  There are some Speed moments as well and by that a mean some scenes are complete bullshit.  For instance a character in the movie gets wrecked against cockpit twice and continues to resume his task like it never happened.  The experience didn't even shake off his glasses.

The worst part of me was when everything unravels the reasoning behind the plot.  The best part of the movie was one of the characters reaction to the little speech that results.  I was hilarious.

SPOILER ALERT

Alright at the end of the movie the hijackers are two soldiers that are upset with the fact that America really hasn't changed since the war and 911.  So they are bring to light that America really isn't safe by framing the Air Marshall.  The white hijacker state he never planned to escape the flight and the black hijacker reacts like what you talking 'bout fool.  The scene wasn't meant to be fun so I ended up being the only one in the movie theater who cracked up.  The social stereotypes were so evident in the movie I found the situation funny.

Cafe Kebab Ellisville Missouri Review

The food is really good.  A lot of Mediterranean joints start at well but the food quality diminishes rapidly.  I will definitely be going back.   They had a few things on their menu I haven't had, that I want to try.  I am not very familiar with Bosnian food and it seems like that is where the owners are from.  They were busy when I went and the where running out of things.  We had a twenty - thirty minute wait time for our food

I wasn't impressed with the Gyro Platter but the mixed grill was great.  I wish I would have asked for more taziki when I ordered.  I also got the an appetizer called the 4 Way Combo (I think).  It was really good.   I am not a real big fan of Babaganoush but I really enjoyed the dip.  They did have a Philly sandwich on the menu so no need to be sacred if you have picky eaters with you.

The atmosphere is pretty nice.  A piece of advice for them would be to replace their menu with a chalk board.  It seems like they are still ironing things out in that department so you'll see paper covering some things and other thing crossed out.  It looks shabby.  It would be better to put up something that is meant to be changed.  Well I hope you make it out to Cafe Kebab and share you experience in the comment section.

Lego Movie Review

The Lego movie is awesome, everything is cool when you've got your seat
The Lego movie is awesome, when you’re watching it's better than a dream

Everything is better when watching this movie
Some have said you and I are gonna go together
Let's eat popcorn and candy
We’re sitting together you next to me
We are watching a great movie
The Lego movie is awesome, when you’re watching it's better than a dream
Life is good ‘cause the Lego Movie is awesome
We are watching a great movie
The Lego movie is awesome, when you’re watching it's better than a dream
The Lego movie is awesome, when you’re watching it's better than a dream


The Lego movie is awesome, everything is cool when you've got your seat

Woooo! 3, 2, 1, go!
Have you heard the reviews? Critic's are talkin'
Lost my bladder, there’s another showing
Another viewing of this awesome movie
I feel like watchin' more than a watchin' possum
Dip my body in movie ecstacy
Three years month later buy it on DVD'
Smellin’ like snack food, the Lego movie's awesome
Stepped in the dark, got some previews to see
It’s awesome to watch and it’s awesome to play

Everything is better when watching this movie
Some have said you and I are gonna go together
Let's eat popcorn and candy
We’re sitting together you next to me
The LEGO movie is awesome, everything is cool when you've got your seat

Batman, Wyldstyle or Lucy we just named a few awesome things in the LEGO Movie that are awesome
A Emmy, an epic masterpiece
You know what’s awesome? The LEGO Movie!
Soda with popcorn, calories
A folding pair of 3D glasses
Ice cold frostees, warm nacho cheese
Awesome movies are the best
Skittles, Twizzlers, M&M candies, they’re awesome
Pop Rocks, snaps, and pops, they’re awesome
Tickets, and wickets, and crickets, that’s awesome
Everything you see or hear or don't say is awesome

The Lego movie is awesome, everything is cool when you've got your seat

What can I say I liked the movie and yes I kind of got into the song.

Walking Dead: After

Alright, Walking Dead is back.  I might just get rid of my TV after this series it is so good.  Between Walking Dead and Breaking Bad AMC has really ruined other TV experiences.  

I am not going to lie, this episode wasn't the most exciting.  I do think it was a meaningful episode.  It really displayed the human element of the apocalypse and Carl's has been brewing as a character for a long time.  I think he becomes a main character after this episode.  Prior to this I think Carl has been more of a background character and I know there are people that would disagree with that statement.  In this episode Carl comes to terms with his weaknesses and gets a better understanding of his father.  Then Rick tells him he is a man as the episode closes. 

I also think a scene that is easy to overlook it very powerful.  Rachone crosses the road twice.  The first time she is heading away from tracks leading to her group then she heads back crossing the road to go find them.  Even though a lot of things have been left unanswered and might not been action packed this was a very powerful episode.

Restaurant Review: Sushi AI Saint Charles Missouri

My brother invited me here touting the $20 dollar all you can eat Sushi and to be honest I was very skeptical.  When I got the menu I notice that you could opt for all you can eat or select from a fancier selection of rolls and pay by the roll.  I was further surprised to see that they did have a solid selection of nigiri, rolls and appetizers available to the all you can eat diner.

I selected the all you can eat option and the only thing I will say is that the nigiri seemed slightly smaller than usual.  Everything else matched up to what I am accustom.   I was honestly not disappointed by anything I ordered.  While I was there they had this great two for one beer deal as well.  That being said I think I ate a little more than usual but I don't think all you can eat offers great savings for the average customer.  It does allow customers to venture outside of the box.

They are pretty serious about the eat everything you order deal but either go with someone who will eat just about anything or politely inform the staff you are having trouble eating the roll/nigiri.  From my experience they are pretty understanding.   To be polite I would limit yourself to one tester per visit.  Once, you find something you don't like stop experimenting.

Overall, Sushi AI is a good experience.  The atmosphere is a little dark and the reception area is a bit strange but the restaurant does have a trendy feel.  As far as the food goes freshness is not an issue and everything I had I enjoyed.  The one recommendation I have is don't eat until you are "sushi full".  It really sucks.  Fortunately, I learned that prior to my first all you can eat sushi experience.

Grudge Match Movie Review

Grudge Match is a really enjoyable movie.  The story was well told and nothing was over the top, which I liked.  It might be that I am getting old but I am sick of movies trying to be impressive.  This was a subtle flick and very funny.  This is a good movie to hit up.

To entice you to go see this I will let you know there is a surprise ending.