Weekend in St. Louis & Springfield

Friday February 6, 2009 
 
After landing in St. Louis around 6:30PM, I headed to my dinner destination, Porter's Fried Chicken in Maplewood.  Located in a strip mall,

it sits between a laundromat and a pool hall.  That tells you everything you need to know about the atmosphere of this place.  Even though there are a few uncomfortable booths on the one side, everyone else but me was getting their food to go.

The young lady in the photo there?  Awesome!  I heard her saying someone else had called off, but she expertly juggled the walk-in customers and the constantly ringing phone.  In the very few moments she had a break, she would go over and pour more containers of hot sauce.  I gave her a nice tip before I left for her hard work.
 
This shot of the menu board doesn't cover everything they offer, but it does have what is most important. 

Namely, the chicken! 
 
Knowing I hadn't eaten since lunch and that this would be my only stop of night, I planned on hitting this place hard!  I started off with the 3 piece chicken dinner, a side of toasted ravioli and I tried to order a side of catfish nuggets.  But you can only get that last dish as part of a dinner.  Realizing I was teetering on the brink of being out of control, I did without the catfish nuggets.  Too bad, it sure sounded interesting.
 
After about a 20 minute wait, (this is a good thing, as I am assuming it is cooked to order and not just sitting around waiting for someone to buy it), my name was called and I took my order to one of the booths.  All the food comes in plain white boxes.  First up, the toasted ravioli.

These meat filled beauties, were hot, crisp and expertly seasoned.  Delicious!  Here is a close up.

Good marinara sauce, too.  I can see why St. Louisians are crazy about this dish.
 
Time for the main event!

But first, I tried out the sides.  The cole slaw was sweet and minced into tiny shreds.

I was very happy with the slaw.  Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the mashed potatoes.

Thin and sitting in a poor excuse for gravy, it was not up to the standards of the rest of the meal.
 
Luckily, the chicken more than made up for this.  I usually prefer chicken with a lighter, brittle crust and Porter's has some of the heaviest, thickest crust I have seen on fried chicken. 

The skin tore off in large, flavorful hunks.  All three pieces of chicken were loaded with tender, juicy meat.  This was a substantial meal!
 
For dessert, the menu listed apple, sweet potato or pumpkin pie.  I asked and paid for sweet potato.  By the time my order was given to me, they were out of the sweet potato.  So, I switched to the pumpkin.

Not really sure if this was homemade or not, although I doubt that it was.  Still, it tasted fresh and was a fine conclusion to my meal here.  Porter's is a terrific Roadfood place and I would be happy to go back.
 
Porter's Fried Chicken
3628 Big Bend Blvd.
St. Louis, MO
314-781-2097
 
I checked into my hotel, the Comfort Inn by the airport.
 
Much more to come.....

Could you have gotten the catfish nugget dinner and added side pieces of chicken?   Those ravioli look awesome.

Awww Nancy, why weren't you there to give me sage advice like that?

BB -

When I checked out the menu...I knew you'd go for the Sweet Potato Pie...what a shame they were out. 

The ravioli looked fantastic?  I wonder how the corn fritters were?

ChiTownDiner

BB -

  I wonder how the corn fritters were?

I would have liked to have known.  Unfortunately though, I am only one man!  Actually, I came very close to also trying the okra.  But, I already walked out of the place stuffed.

My mouth is watering  .....     those ravioli's look scrumptious

buffetbuster

ChiTownDiner

BB -

  I wonder how the corn fritters were?

I would have liked to have known.  Unfortunately though, I am only one man!

 
You could have fooled me!
 
Those toasted Ravioli do look good..
 
So...how was the fried chicken compared to say....Strouds?

I got a phone call from buffetbuster as he was in the STL airport yesterday afternoon.  I think that it is a fun new game.  He can call me from the airport - preferably on the flight home, but the flight out would work, too.  I can try to guess where he's calling from - based on clues - like surrounding airport noise, accents of nearby passengers.  It'll be a blast.  Then I can try to guess which places he's been before they hit the trip reports.  Fun.

Or, we can just mutate this into a situation where we can all gamble.  We can use the map of the USA like the squares they sell for the Super Bowl.  Everyone buys one, and whatever "square" buffetbuster lands in, that's who collects the money.

Who's in?

buffetbuster


Awww Nancy, why weren't you there to give me sage advice like that?

We can create a new position for your entourage, Order Efficiency Manager, and I will be happy to take on that role.  Or I can just be Johnny Drama.  No, wait, that should be Johnny, in all fairness.  <sob>  I don't wanna be Turtle.

with my luck, I'll get Oregon.

I just split a half dozen gooey butter cakes with the ladies at work.  At least for a few minutes, I'm a hero!

Including Chocolate Covered Cherry???

Oh toasted ravioli's..............
 
Good start to the trip thus far!

I've always wanted to try toasted ravioli, and after seeing the picture I REALLY want to try it. But it's not easily found here in the NY/NJ area. Oddly enough my work cafeteria has it on the menu once in a while, but I'm sure what they serve has no resemblance to the picture you posted.

Thanks for a great report!

ken8038


I've always wanted to try toasted ravioli, and after seeing the picture I REALLY want to try it. But it's not easily found here in the NY/NJ area. Oddly enough my work cafeteria has it on the menu once in a while, but I'm sure what they serve has no resemblance to the picture you posted.

Thanks for a great report!

Ok, Ken,

I'm not picking on you, but why not go to St. Louis and check it out? One time I had a real hankering for a Rochester style garbage plate- so I drove the 400 miles to Rochester and got one!

buffetbuster


I just split a half dozen gooey butter cakes with the ladies at work.  At least for a few minutes, I'm a hero!

Work?  WORK?  I thought you were bringing those to Memphis this weekend? 

<<Ok, Ken,

I'm not picking on you, but why not go to St. Louis and check it out? One time I had a real hankering for a Rochester style garbage plate- so I drove the 400 miles to Rochester and got one!>>
 
There was a time......

Without turning a thread about a trip to St Louis into a Journal of My Lfe, when I was in my 20's that was pretty much the way I lived my life. Example: The day after I realized I had been in 47 states but not Colorado, that's what I did, drove to Colorado from NY, met up with a friend of mine who trained in from SF, did the Camping in the Rockies thing for a few days, then drove home.

The next 30 years have been the trade-off: marriage, family, kids, etc. Now I'll be fully retired by the end of the year, and then St Louis better have a supply of toasted Ravioli on hand.....

ken8038

The next 30 years have been the trade-off: marriage, family, kids, etc. Now I'll be fully retired by the end of the year, and then St Louis better have a supply of toasted Ravioli on hand.....

Good for you!!!

ken8038


<<Ok, Ken,

I'm not picking on you, but why not go to St. Louis and check it out? One time I had a real hankering for a Rochester style garbage plate- so I drove the 400 miles to Rochester and got one!>>
 
There was a time......

Without turning a thread about a trip to St Louis into a Journal of My Lfe, when I was in my 20's that was pretty much the way I lived my life. Example: The day after I realized I had been in 47 states but not Colorado, that's what I did, drove to Colorado from NY, met up with a friend of mine who trained in from SF, did the Camping in the Rockies thing for a few days, then drove home.

The next 30 years have been the trade-off: marriage, family, kids, etc. Now I'll be fully retired by the end of the year, and then St Louis better have a supply of toasted Ravioli on hand.....

That's the spirit!
 
Mama Campisi
Cunnetto House of Pasta
Lou Boccardi's
Take your pick- they're all on "The Hill" - The Italian neighborhood of St Louis and
they're all excellent!

<<Mama Campisi
Cunnetto House of Pasta
Lou Boccardi's
Take your pick- they're all on "The Hill" - The Italian neighborhood of St Louis and
they're all excellent!

Thanks! I'm saving this for future reference. I'll say hello to Yogi's and Joe G's relatives while I'm there...

So where are th HORSESHOES????  You are making me hungry here in Florida.

CajunKing -

We're being teased....

wanderingjew


So...how was the fried chicken compared to say....Strouds?

As good as the fried chicken was at Porter's, I actually had even better fried chicken later in the trip.  I never really thought of St. Louis as a fried chicken town, but may have to reconsider that. 
 
As for Stroud's, still no comparison as that is the best I have ever had.  I am eating at the Bon Ton Mini Mart in April with Louis.  It should be very interesting to see how that stacks up!

buffetbuster

   I am eating at the Bon Ton Mini Mart in April with Louis. 

 
Wow, you've planned as far ahead in advance as April, and you already know where you're going and what you're going to have!!?? That's going to throw The Travelin Man into a TIZZY!

Mock if you want, but he has only planned his meals through April 2009.....you have things mapped out through April 2011!

Besides, what else would one order at Bon Ton Mini Mart?

Saturday February 7, 2009 

Last week, I bought a guide book to St. Louis, which included several donut shops it recommended.  Normally, I wouldn't pay too much attention, but the name World's Fair Donuts caught my eye.  When I read that their street address was 1904 S. Vandeventer Avenue, then I knew I had to visit.

It was still dark when I showed up, which allowed me to appreciate the glowing red "Donuts" sign in its full glory..

Everything in the long case looked good,

but I was most impressed by being able to watch the guy in the back make donuts by hand.

 
Before I ate any of the donuts, though, I made another stop at Gus' Pretzel Shop.  Apparently, St. Louis is a big pretzel town.  According to their website, they don't open until 7:00AM.  When I arrived around 6:40AM, they were already open for business.
 
How can you not love being able to buy freshly made/hot pretzels before 7:00AM?  Here is the menu board, which hangs overhead.

Isn't Ted Drewes misspelled?  Anyway, they do have the famous custard for sale, along with plenty of frozen pretzels to take home.

 
Here is what I bought:  3 each of the twists and sticks,
 
2 jars of dipping mustards,

which I am bringing to Memphis this weekend for the door prize exchange and one pretzel encased sausage.  This is the saltsiccia.


Saltsiccia is a word I had never seen before, which I, of course, mispronounced.  The young girl described it as a spicy Italian sausage.  Though being a little skeptical, the sausage inside the pretzel was a great combination, even though the sausage itself was not the least bit spicy.
 
There are lots of windows at Gus' where you can watch the pretzels being made and I took a few minutes to watch.



 
In the parking lot, I enjoyed eating some of Gus' pretzels and the donuts.  Of the donuts I tried there, the best was the buttermilk old fashioned, which unfortunately broke in pieces while I was pulling it out of the bag.

 
I did buy some mustard and cheese dipping sauces to eat with the pretzels, but you know what goes great on pretzels?  Ketchup!  Lots and lots of ketchup!  Just across the river into Illinois, in the town of Collinsville, is the world's largest Ketchup bottle.


 
I got on I-55 and headed towards Springfield.
 
World's Fair Donuts
1904 S. Vandeventer Ave.
St. Louis, MO
314-776-9975
 
Gus' Pretzel Shop
1820 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, MO
314-664-4010
http://www.guspretzels.com/
 
Much more to come.....

Oh, action pictures too!  Donut and pretzel making!  Awesome.

In my best whining voice

"Daaaaaad are we there yet?"

Bring on the horseshoes


The donuts & pretzels looked REALLY good, and I am starving

I'm jealous.  I think I live about 1000 miles from the nearest pretzel shop.  Well, maybe there's a chain one in a mall food court somewhere, but nothing like that place!

The salsiccia looks great.  I thought that I was going to have my first pretzel dog the other day, but the restaurant where I went for it stopped carrying them.

We have no pretzels here either one place is in the mall "Pretzel Twister" I think,  but their pretzels have like a flaky interior, don't like them.  Then there's the ol' "Super Pretzel" frozen from the grocery store, they'll do in a pinch.  I liked them much better years ago when they were a frozen dough and you HAD to bake them, no microwaving them.  Still contemplating trying them from scratch.