Vangel's

I had another meetup with a friend and she is always good for trying a new restaurant. Since she lives way out west, I picked something halfway that has been on my list.

I'm not sure where I heard about Vangel's, but it definitely is a hidden gem sitting at the end of a strip mall in Rock Hill. And you can't go wrong with Italian. The wine list was short, but the cocktail menu was impressive and we both enjoyed ours.

Cocktail Menu

We probably could have made a meal just out of appetizers as it was hard to pick just one, which we did with much discipline! The Roasted Carrots were laid on top of a bed of whipped goat cheese. We were generously given bread to mop up the rest with...

Roasted Carrots

We also split a house salad, which was pretty much an Italian salad, since we both knew it was going to be a lot of food for the evening. (The salad came pre-split, which is a huge service plus to me.)

House Salad

I knew I wanted the Eggplant Parmesan after studying the menu, as it's my go to and was the first item on the list! There were two huge slices of eggplant on top of a bed of angel hair pasta. I stopped at one, don't worry, as it was easily two meals.

Eggplant Parmesan

Jessie got the Tortellini in cream sauce, which also was a winner.

Tortellini

We were way too stuffed for dessert, but I definitely hope to go back!

Menu

Resources:

Vangel's = https://www.vangelsrestaurant.com

Tenacious Eats Chateau Coupe Roses French Wine Dinner

Chef Liz and Sommelier Shannon Behnen are an amazing chef/somm pairing, so I had to go to this French wine dinner at Vom Fass!

While there aren't too many wine dinners at Vom Fass, usually just wine tastings, often led by Shannon herself, this is the first time I can remember attending a full coursed dinner.

Anyway, Chef Liz and her husband run Tenacious Eats where they host unique food events and dinners. Since their website is under construction, your best bet is to look through the events at Work & Leisure!

I used to attend quite a few of their events many years ago, and if you search for "Tenacious Eats" in this blog you can see those blog posts, so it's nice to get to see them again!

For now, let's look at the gorgeous wines by Chateau Coupe Roses and courses...

Wines by Chateau Coupe Roses

We started the night off with a Salmon Amuse Bouche, but unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture since they were passed hors d'oeuvres.

Still keeping it light, the next course was a salted cod in a parsley crème fraiche sauce...

Brandade du Morue or Salted Cod

Next up was a Brulee prawn with cherry tomatoes, which was my favorite dish of the night.

Crevettes et Tomate Vierge or Shrimp with tomatoes

The heavy and meaty dish came next, "Allouettes sans Testes", which is a shaved local ribeye with prosciutto. There was also a beautiful red beet rose as a vegetable side along with potatoes too. The sauce was to die for!

Allouettes sans Testes or Ribeye with Prosciutto

And for dessert, I was thrilled at the Fromage (cheese) course with apples and fig jam!

Fromage or cheese!

Here is the official menu since it was quite elaborate and we felt fancy!

Tenacious Eats Chateau Coupe Roses wine dinner menu

P.S. We bought the first two wines on the list!

Resources:

Tenacious Eats = https://workandleisurestl.com/event-cale

Chateau Coupe Roses = https://chateau-coupe-roses.com

Vom Fass = https://vomfassusa.com/blogs/stores/st-louis

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Marconi Mercato

I just love trying new restaurants! Even if it's another Italian restaurant on the Hill!

Why YES! It IS a market on Marconi street! How did you know? The store in the front of the restaurant is small and cute, and allows plenty of room to hang out while you wait for the rest of your party.

My friends and I ordered a couple of appetizers to share. Arancini rice balls are my favorite...

Arancini rice balls

We exchanged a couple of them for some Carciofi Fritti, or fried artichokes. Anything fried is delicious!

Carciofi Fritti

The specials all sounded amazing, but I was feeling pasta. All the dishes were winners.

I finally chose Maine Lobster Gnocchi...two of my favorite things together. The gnocchi melted in my mouth, and then I dipped the lobster and bread in the leftover sauce!

Maine Lobster Gnocchi

My friends ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese and Wild Boar Pappardelle used such fresh pasta and were so rich and creamy.

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Wild Boar Pappadelle

And dessert? Of course we did, as I couldn't turn down the cannoli. Luckily, they were on the smaller side (four to an order), so we were able to put them away. Unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture. 

If you love Italian restaurants on the Hill and are willing to try something new...be sure to add this to your list!

Resources:

Marconi Mercato = https://www.marconimercato.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Hangar Kitchen + Bar

While my birthday season is over with, I luckily still have friends that want to meet up for dinner, which is good since my list of "new restaurants to try" keeps getting longer.

I was able to cross another one off this month as my friends and I met up at Hangar Kitchen and Bar. I have been to Momo's several times for brunch, right next door, and my brunch friends recommended it.

The weird thing about Hangar is the eclectic menu, which made it hard to narrow down my choices. So I just went ahead and picked from two different categories. The best part about it, is that there is something for everyone this way. 

I don't normally choose the "spicy" sushi roll, but I wanted more than just the vegetarian version, so when I got my Spicy Ahi Roll, I kicked off the jalapeños.

Spicy Ahi Roll

My Tempura Cod Tacos were also a winner, and were quite filling even though they looked small.

Tempura Cod Tacos

There were a lot of small plates and appetizers to share, which you could definitely make a meal out of, so we shared Da Goat for the table. Goat cheese with lots of crostini.

Da Goat

My friend chose the Caesar salad and Seared Scallops for her dinner. I thought it was interesting that they paired scallops with shiitake mushrooms on top, but it was still delicious.

Seared Scallops and Caesar Salad

Patience went all out and ordered one of the few large dishes - a Braised Short Rib on top of goat cheese mashed potatoes and vegetables. Probably the best dish of the evening.

Braised Short Rib

I definitely want to go back to try more things!

Resources:

Hangar Kitchen + Bar = https://www.hangarkitchenandbarstl.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Esca

Since I love the major restaurateurs here in St. Louis, it has been my goal to visit all their restaurants, so Esca was high on my list. I had been planning to go for my birthday for MONTHS. 

The whole first page of the menu was dedicated to beverages and I knew I wanted a cocktail. They all were so pretty and made me feel fancy. I ordered a Vesper and my friend ordered the Gibson just to name a couple. There were multiple rounds of cocktails honestly.

Vesper

Gibson

This is definitely a place where you want to study the menu in advance and have some friends to help as well. There are quite a few "Appetizers", but really, they are small plates to be shared and can easily be a meal.

There were two I wanted for sure and my friends were willing to help order a few other items.

The shrimp oreganata and the gnocchi were high on my list. 

Shrimp Oreganata

Gnocchi

My friends ordered the lamb meatballs and fire baked polenta with a Ragu Bolognese on top. Both of those really stood out...

Lamb Meatballs

Fire Baked Polenta

We did order some vegetables as well...the fire roasted broccolini.

Fire Roasted Broccolini

There are only a handful of main dishes, if you prefer to go that route, and Patience succumbed to the special of the day: lamb shank over barley

Lamb Shank with barley

Regardless of my desire to try as many appetizers as possible, you really need to save room for dessert. We ordered four of them and they were amazing.

Of course I chose the chocolate truffles, but I did share.

Chocolate Truffles

We also shared cannoli, which were quite creamy.

Cannoli

They served the highly popular vanilla gelato drenched in olive oil with a touch of salt. The olive oil definitely makes it creamier, but without any chocolate in it, I was good with one bite.

Vanilla Gelato with olive oil and sea salt

Patience loved her lemoncello tiramisu. SO dense and lemony. 

Lemoncello Tiramisu

And you can always drink your dessert as well. Beth's expresso martini was so pretty.

Espresso Martini

Just a heads up that the tables are pretty crammed together and it was very warm in the restaurant. We all had trouble reading the menu with the low light and small font. Hopefully, those are details that can be easily resolved.

Beverage menu

Dinner Menu

Resources:

Esca = https://bengelina.com/esca

Photos by Patience Scanlon