I was lucky to have my brother Matt and my future brother in law Chris in town for a visit recently. We pretty much ate and drank from the moment they got off the plane from North Carolina until they left three days later, starting off with some outstanding sushi at Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton. For the midwest, Tani somehow manages to get fish that is of a better quality than I can normally find around town. Standouts at Tani include the sashimi, the dragon ball, a collection of inventive rolls (sadly many include cream cheese which continues to confuse me) and a real treat - the hot rock - served in a thick bowl and accompanied with thinly sliced raw beef in a soy, garlic, ginger and yuzu. The beef cooks directly on the stone in seconds and is a perfect foil to the sushi.I took the guys to the City Diner for breakfast the next day and to discuss what we would end up doing during their visit. After a half hour of fruitless discussion, my brother suggested that a eating tour of St. Louis might be in order. I was into the idea of a tour of my favorite places here in town, however I had no desire to actually complete such a task myself. I let him know that if he felt up to it, he would be eating alone for the most part and that when in doubt, I would be ordering for him.Lucky for everyone my brother is hungry, brave and willing to entertain his big brother - and what follows is a minute to minute and bite to bite recap of Matt vs. Food - St. Louis Edition.09:43:46 AM - City Diner - St. Louis Missouri
The plot is hatched and the day is full of possibilities. I kick Matt's day off with a slinger - two eggs with sausage and hash browns, topped with chili and cheese. Friends recommended that the City Diner slinger should be topped with mustard as well. From the way Matt devoured the dish - I can only assume it was a good addition.
The mere mortals amongst us enjoyed BLT's and The Southsider - eggs, biscuits and gravy with hash browns.
Fortified on sturdy carbs from breakfast we headed out to get Matt the St. Louis eating adventure that he demanded, nay deserved, for flying in to spend the weekend with me.
11:37:56 AM - Woofie's - St. Louis Missouri
I last visited Woofie's in November and I reviewed and contrasted Chicago style and New York style dogs. I suggested the Chili Pie for Matt - a Vienna dog served on a bed of chili, Fritos, onions, pickles and cheese.
Matt knife and sporking it at Woofies, enjoying each bite a bit to much.
01:22:51 PM - Carl's Drive-In - St. Louis Missouri
I wrote up a long time favorite of mine, Carl's Drive-In, last fall. I can't think of an out of town visitor that I have not tried to bring to Carl's because the burgers are executed so well. Pressed flat on a griddle, the burgers become completely caramelized and for some diners take on a sweet flavor that plays along with the toppings. Matt enjoyed a double cheeseburger with all the fixings and a mug of home made root beer the size of his head.
A few hours and stops in, Matt was motoring along and devouring everything I could put in front of him.
01:48:12 PM - Kolache Factory - St. Louis Missouri
A kolache is a small dough treat filled with any number of meat, vegetable or fruit fillings. The Kolache Factory is a small chain with a shop in St. Louis and serve several dozen varieties of this eastern European treat.
Matt opted for a Philly Cheesesteak while Chris took a chance with the bbq pork. In hindsight, this seems to be the first time I captured gastronomic distress in my brother.
02:14:53 PM - Ted Drewes Frozen Custard - St. Louis Missouri
Ted Drewes has been serving frozen custard in St. Louis since the 1920's and its likely that no other local location has received as much attention by the national media than it has - the place is known far and wide for its frozen treats. Because of this, "that custard place" is always on the lips of visitors as someplace they would like to stop while they are in town.
It could be that the massive quantity of cream, eggs and sugar are leading to the serious nature of this picture, however it could be that a concrete from Ted Drewes is nothing to joke about and he's just getting down to spooning that sweet treat into his already filled food hole.
02:39:47 PM - CC's Depot Dog - Home Depot - St. Louis Missouri
A hot dog from Home Depot? You bet your ass. CC's Depot Dogs can be found nestled by the exit doors of the Kingshighway Home Depot, and they serve up some tasty hot dogs for a price you can't beat for quick lunch - a loaded Chicago style or custom dog will run you about two bucks after tossing a quarter into the tip jar.
Matt "enjoying" a CC's dog in the parking lot, not to mention his third or fourth soft drink of the day. All that sugar - rookie eating tour mistake for sure.
03:12:14 PM - Gus' Pretzels - St. Louis Missouri
Gus' rests in the shadow of the Budweiser brewery and has been making pretzels since the 1920's. With dinner reservations at Modesto for later that evening, I figured that this doughy and salty treat would be perfect for soaking up all the grease and chili Matt had taken down.
Matt Veety - eating machine - he will break you.
10:59:46 AM - Chris' Pancake & Dining - St. Louis Missouri
The next morning we began again, this time at Chris' Pancake & Dining for some much needed breakfast. To my amazement Matt dove right back into the challenge after a nights sleep and healthy constitutional, this time opting for steak and eggs with hash browns. The only issue with his order resulted from his relative unfamiliarity with the menu. When you are offered a side of toast or pancakes at a pancake house, you always, always say pancake. After a quick discussion he indeed have the pancakes.
I joined Matt for the carb load by taking down a stack of pancakes with bacon, eggs, hash browns and a bloody mary. However, to be fair, I didn't eat much the day before and I had just finished running up all 42 floors of the Metropolitan Building for the American Lung Association.
04:41:01 PM - Tin Can Tavern and Grille - St. Louis Missouri
As part of my plans for the weekend, I pulled together a bar crawl around Tower Grove Park with stops at The Royale, Three Monkey's, The Tin Can Tavern and Grille, The Amsterdam Tavern, Tower Pub, Stella Blues, Friendly's and The Blackthorne Pub.
Matt waited all day to try out the mini corn dogs at The Tin Can and compared their doughy goodness to the classic appetizer called pigs in a blanket - an observation I can't bring myself to argue with.
Keeping up the impressive consumption, Matt didn't hesitate to enjoy a cold PBR with his mini corn dogs, while I enjoyed the opportunity to share my neighborhood and friends with my family.
07:59:49 PM - Stella Blues - St. Louis Missouri
While others faded, Matt saddled up the bar at Stella Blues and took down a basket of onion rings.
Moving into his 48th hour of eating, Matt kept taking his best shot at menu's all over St. Louis. It was an epic showing that left me proud yet concerned about his body's ability to process all that grilled, fried and steamed food.
10:17:35 PM - The Blackthorne Pub - St. Louis Missouri
Regular readers might remember my post on the Blackthorne Pub, where they serve up Chicago and pan style pizzas in the land of the inedible thin crust pizza topped with provel - St. Louis. The Blackthorne turned out to be the end of Matt's eating tour as well as the bar crawl, which is probably a good thing for all of us.
A group of us destroyed several pizzas in a matter of minutes before retiring for the evening. While we all had a great time, I find myself wishing great piles of vegetables on my brother to help him recover from this eating challenge - because as I was creating this post - I noticed his meals were totally devoid of them.
Good times - great meals.
Let's never do this again.
