Week Ten - Vito's In The Valley

Vito's In The Valley
138 Chesterfield Towne Centre
Chesterfield, MO 63005

This week, I was in St. Louis for Spring Break! I got to spend time with my family, see my fabulous friends and visit with such great company. Clinton joined me on Friday in St. Louis and we chose Vito's In the Valley for our new restaurant of the week. 

We were out running errands on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and chose to eat at Vito's for lunch.

We ate al fresco and chose to sit on their front patio (they had another larger patio on the side of the restaurant as well). Very Cute! (This restaurant is right behind the International Tap House in the Valley.)

Complimentary Bread and Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar was served to us. Fantastic free food.

-Started with an order of bruschetta. DELICIOUS. We have had our fair share of bruschetta at restaurants and this was definitely one of the bests. $6 for five topped crostinis.

We each decided to do the lunch combo that included a 10'' personal pizza (pepperoni, sausage or cheese) and was served with a house salad. $10 per combo.

*Although the menu specifically listed those three toppings, the waitress said it was no problem at all to choose a different topping of choice.

-Clinton got ranch dressing for his house salad (pictured below)
-I chose the House Italian dressing (not pictured)

*Croutons were fabulous!

Although they have a variety of choices on the menu that sounded delicious (paninis, calzones, pasta), we both chose what I always think is the best option, PIZZA PIE. Plus there was the combo option.

-I got a green olive pizza and Clinton chose sausage as his topping choice.

There was an issue with their credit card machine at the end of our time at Vito's which took an extra amount of time but the service overall was great! The inside of the restaurant was very pretty and gave a warm feeling.

On the bright side, we found a Living Social deal that was pay $10 for $20 worth of food at lunch.

Recommendation: We would definitely go back and highly recommend this restaurant!!


The original Vito's is closer to downtown STL, off Lindell Blvd.


We ended the afternoon antiquing around STL and spending time with my family!

Deb

Week Nine - Jun's Sushi

Jun's Sushi
7660 State Line Road
Prairie Village, Kansas 66208

We drew Jun's Sushi this week.  We like this location because it's close to my work, our house, and Hy-Vee!  (We waited until after eating to go grocery shopping so that we would be full - expert move).

We first had to decide where we wanted to sit.  This isn't typically a problem as we're pretty indifferent.  However, Jun's had four options: Sushi Bar, regular bar, dining, or... the location we chose:

This is a view across the aisle from our table to an empty space.  Everyone gets a pillow to sit on and you sit on a a cushioned benching.  At first I thought you had to sit cross-legged but there is actually room to dangle your feet below the table.  Caveat - you must remove your shoes. 

On to the food...

We "started" off with edamame (not pictured) ($4.00).  I say "started" because they "ran out and had to cook a new batch" and it came out late.  Regardless it was delicious.

For dinner we decided to each order an item and split.

I ordered the Hibachi Salmon dinner ($16.00).  This also came with a house salad (not pictured). 

Deb ordered the Spicy Salmon Roll ($5.50).

All of the food was great.  We both really enjoyed the overall experience.

This is how they top it off:

Unique, no?

Finally, even though we didn't go during happy hour, we took a picture of the happy hour menu since it isn't featured on the website's menu.  Note that the prices aren't too different.  Fifty cents here.. five cents there. 

Recommendation: Yes.  There are so many choices that can please a variety of palettes.  Give it a try, especially if you're in the area.  

Until next time,

Clint

Week Eight- Pointer's Pizza

Pointer's Pizza
1023 S. Big Bend Ave. 
Richmond Heights, MO 63117

Another fabulous weekend in St. Louis! 

This week, we chose Pointer's Pizza near the Esquire Theater, Clayton and Forest Park. We decided to carryout the pizza and take it over to our friends' home for a relaxing Saturday night. 

When we originally googled Pointer's Pizza, we spotted the deals/coupons on the website and planned accordingly. When we called to place our order it turns out those deals were no longer valid because they expired in 2013. Ooops. The employees were helpful and told us the current deals that we would be able to use. 

Appetizers: [not pictured]
Garlic Cheese Bread ($4.88) 
-Delicious. I would definitely recommend. 

House Salad (Whole $6.98) 
-I thought it was a good salad although Clinton was not too fond of it and thought it was bland. It was nothing special but it had nice iceberg lettuce, onions, tomato, mozzarella. The Marzetti's dressing came in fancy packets- we chose Ranch and Italian! 

PIZZA TIME: (Coupon- Two 16'' Pizzas for $20.95 + $1.19 per topping) 
16'' Half Green Olive & Half Meatball ------ OURS
16'' Pineapple ------ Chris & Sarah

Regular price, the pizzas would have been $13.59 each + $1.19. So we saved a bit of change.  

Recommendation: 
We all really enjoyed the pizza. The sauce, cheese and toppings were delicious and the dough was just right. They offer different crust choices to please everyone- thin, regular (which we got), and thick. 

It made for great leftovers as well! I recommend putting it in the toaster oven over the microwave... much better taste. 

You can never have too much pizza pie! 

Deb 

Week Seven - Harry's Country Club

Harry's Country Club
112 E. Missouri Ave, Kansas City, MO 64106

This week my mom, Craig, and Justin joined us for a birthday lunch at Harry's Country Club. 

We started out with two appetizers:

Sea Hogs - bacon-wrapped shrimp with creamy horseradish sauce ($9.95).

Although the shrimp were small, we all enjoyed the app in general.  The creamy horseradish sauce was really good. 

We also had the Chips with Black Bean Dip - Tortilla chips with jack and cheddar cheese, salsa, and sour cream ($7.75).  We all really liked this app.

Here is where things go down hill.

Deborah and I shared the Chipotle Black Bean Burger that came with a cactus aoli ($8.95).  We liked the black bean burger and the fries were wonderful.

We also shared the Caesar Salad ($8.45).  Only half of the salad is pictured here because we already split it.  Frankly, the salad sucked.  The lettuce was soggy and the caesar dressing was terrible.  Neither of us finished our half. 

Justin got the Chorizo Encrusted Chicken that came with a chili relleno ($10.95).  He really liked the chicken but didn't care for the chili relleno.  Justin also got a side caesar salad and it was gross as noted above. 

Mom got the French Dip ($8.95).  She didn't like it at all and could not finish it.  "It tastes like the beef is about a month old."  Craig tried a bite and had trouble not spitting it out.  

Craig got the Cuban ($8.95) and was apparently the only one who enjoyed all of his food.  He finished his fries in about 2.4 seconds and finished his whole sandwich. 

Recommendation:  I'll go back for a beer or happy hour.  I hear their nightlife and music scene is good.  Probably won't be back to eat.  Such a shame but next time don't serve us soggy lettuce and old beef.

Clint.

Week Six- La Bodega

Saturday, February 21, 2015
La Bodega
703 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 

In week six, we chose La Bodega and planned accordingly to sit, eat, drink and relax all staying within a budget. We researched their website and found out they have a pretty nice Happy Hour on Saturdays from 2-6pm. We were anticipating bad weather late Friday night but since the roads were not bad at all that day, we had the pleasure of going to a late lunch and left feeling very full and pleased! 

-La Bodega provides the table with complimentary bread and olive oil-balsamic vinegar mix for dipping. Fabulous! 

-We started with the Queso de Cabra Al Horno ($4.00). Goat cheese baked in housemade tomato fresco and served the garlic crostinis. ABSOLUTELY delicious! The tomato sauce and goat cheese tasted so fresh and the crostinis were very flavorful. Also, I dipped the complimentary bread (not toasted) into the tomato fresco which was delicious. 

It was a very happy hour! 
-I ordered a Red Sangria ($3.50) which was fantastic and I would definitely recommend. The Sangria was half price during Happy Hour (normally $7.00/glass or $30.00/pitcher). I will definitely be coming back with other sangria lovers to get the $15.00 pitcher during those Happy Hours. 
-Clinton ordered a Modelo beer, served with a lime($3.00). 

 We then decided to try our own small plate. Who doesn't love TAPAS?! 
-I got an order of the Papas Fritas con Ajo ($3.75). Refried-roasted potatoes with garlic, parsley and garlic-cumin aioli. I asked for a side of ketchup and Tobasco sauce to heat them up a bit. The aioli was delicious! 

 -Clinton got an order of the Calamares y Chorizo a la Plancha ($4.50). Sautéed squid with Bilbao chorizo in olive oil, garlic and lemon sauce. 

Recommendation: The food and drinks were absolutely delicious and the environment was very fun! They have a nice patio on the side of the building that we both look forward to coming back and enjoying. We are excited to try some different Tapas the next time we go. 

After the delicious meal, I was ready for a nap because I was so full. Too much bread but everything was so delicious I just couldn't stop. We ended up running some errands and browsing a ReStore shop before heading back to our home. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at home with great friends, more food and drinks! 

Deb 

Week Five - Lulu's Asian Bistro

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Lulu's Asian Bistro

2701 W. 47th Westwood, KS 66205

This week's restaurant was supposed to be in St. Louis but we headed back to KC early to beat the incoming inclement weather and ate at Lulu's instead.

We started off with an order of Salmon Rangoon ($6.00)

Deb ordered the Pad Se Eu ($10.49) with all veggies and no protein.  Spice level: hot.

I ordered the Rainbow Peanut Noodles ($11.99).  Spice level: medium.  

Recommendation:  We will definitely be back.  This is nearing the top of my favorite restaurants thus far.  The service was good until we had to wait 20 minutes for a box and our check.

Bonus: they have happy hour all day Sunday (i.e. $6.00 Salmon Rangoon).  The happy hour also includes $9.00 Miller Light buckets although we chose not order beer.  The happy hour menu in general has numerous other food items that are either $4.00, $5.00, or $6.00.

Clint

Week Four - Cupini's

Monday, February 2, 2015

Cupini's Italian Food

1809 Westport Rd, Kansas City, MO 64111

Deb: Combination Special ($7.49)
-Half House Salad with Balsamic Dressing
-Half Melanzane (Eggplant) Cold Panini

Clinton: Combination Special ($7.49 + $1.00 up-charge)
-Half House Salad with Balsamic Dressing
-Half Salsiccia Hot Panini

At Cupini's, you order at the counter and a server brings the food to your table. It is more of a casual restaurant environment but still with a nice Italian feel to it. In the entrance of the restaurant, there are two different cases filled with food. One had a variety of pasta salads, appetizers and fresh pasta available and the other was filled with what looks like decadent Italian desserts. 

Recommendation: The Paninis were absolutely delicious and the salads were great. The balsamic dressing was very tasty... I even poured some onto my panini. We plan to go back and try other options that are available on the menu, especially the homemade pastas and pizzas.

Afterwards, we joined some friends for a drink at a local bar in North Kansas City. 

Deb