Month: June 2014

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QuikTrip Intros QT Kitchens in St. Louis

QuikTrip gas stations have always had good grab-and-go sandwiches and beverages. Now they are officially rolling out their QT Kitchens with fresh made-to-order food and specialty drinks in several St. Louis locations.

Kitchens signage

The QT Kitchens offer fresh-made food from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The newest of the 31 QT’s in St. Louis with QT Kitchens is the one at 9404 Page Avenue in Overland, QuikTrip’s 700th store, which opens tomorrow (Thursday, June 26).

Kitchen crew at counter

Opening day festivities begin with a ribbon cutting at 7:00 a.m. Special appearances Thursday include a Budweiser Clydesdale from 10:00 a.m. to noon, Fredbird from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Rams cheerleaders from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

On Thursday evening (June 26) from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m, ALL metro St. Louis QuikTrip locations will offer one free Big Q drink to customers who stop in.

QT Touch Screen

The QT Kitchens feature touch screens which allow you to order breakfast sandwiches, kolaches, flatbreads, personal pizzas, pretzels, specialty coffee drinks, smoothies, frozen lemonade and other frozen treats (including milk shakes). When you finish ordering, take your printed ticket to the main counter to pay while your food is being prepared for pickup.

Bacon egg cheeseKolache

I attended a preview event this morning and sampled the Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich and the Sausage Kolache (whose bread wrapping has a slight sweetness). Both were good, as was the Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Flatbread. (I also enjoyed my large Mocha coffee drink.)

QT pizza

The Personal Pizza choices include Pepperoni, Cheese, Supreme or Build-Your-Own. They’re right at 8 inches in diameter.

QT Pretzel

Along with the classic Soft Pretzel, QT Kitchens have a Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel (with sugary icing) and a Parmesan Pretzel.

Lady orderingIt’s good to see a place where you stop in mainly for gas, snacks, soda and beer step up their game to provide something above and beyond the norm. QT will be retrofitting more of their St. Louis locations between now and year’s end to include QT Kitchens.

(I know a few people who might like to see some locations keep their QT Kitchens open later on Friday and Saturday nights.)

The newest St. Louis area QuikTrip—a bigger “generation 3” QT store—is located one-half mile west of the Inner Belt (I-170) on the southwest corner of Page and Woodson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Are You Ready For Some Futbol?

The 2014 World Cup kicks off tomorrow (Thursday, June 12) at 3:00 p.m. STL time with host country Brazil facing Croatia.

Tucanos image

Tucanos Brazilian Grill in St. Charles and the St. Louis Ambush are hosting a watch party tomorrow from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The game will be shown on a large projection screen TV and several Ambush players will be on hand to meet and greet soccer fans.

Tucanos will offer an assortment of Brazilian appetizers at half-price, including coxinhas (click HERE for Wikipedia entry on coxinhas) and Brazilian nachos.

An assortment of non-alcoholic Brazilian drinks will be available and, of course, there will be beer!

Tucanos is located at 1520 South 5th Street in St. Charles, just off I-70.

Fifa

 

 

 

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The Precinct

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit during lunchtime and sample some of the food at The Precinct in midtown St. Louis (1900 Locust). The Precinct is also open for dinner and post-game eating and drinking. (Until 1:00 a.m. Monday thru Thursday nights and until 3:00 a.m. on Friday thru Sunday nights.)

Not only will you find several great menu choices, you might also run into former St. Louis Cardinal (and Precinct partner) Jim Edmonds!

Edmonds

My tasting included ribs that were perfectly smoked and not sauced (which is my preference).

Ribs Precinct

The Precinct’s BBQ “Carolina” Steak Burger is a beef brisket sandwich served with coleslaw. Delicious!

Precinct brisket

A spicy selection at The Precinct is the Southwest Steak Burger, made with chorizo, a fried egg, avocado, candied jalapeños and a sriracha aioli. Not something I’d want to eat everyday, but it delivers an interesting combo of flavors to be enjoyed on occasion.

SW Steakburger

The Precinct also has Flatbreads, including the Italian, shown below.

Precinct Flatbread

The dining room at The Precinct is spacious.

Precinct roomThe bar is inviting and well-stocked.

Precinct bar

And, as mentioned, you might run into Jim Edmonds. I caught Jim and Tim McKernan (and producer) during a break in their radio broadcast from The Precinct.

Jim and Tim

Click HERE to get a printable version of The Precinct menu, which includes The Precinct’s famous (infamous?) Hot Pursuit Challenge. That’s a plateful chicken wings with a powerfully hot sauce. The menu notes that anyone taking the challenge should “be prepared to sign a waiver.”

One more food note: If you’ve seen the new movie Chef and have been craving a Cuban sandwich, The Precinct menu has one that includes “cilantro pesto.” (Newly added to my “must try” list.)

The Precinct is a quick ride from the downtown business district, not far from Wells Fargo HQ and SLU, and generally has a good number of on-street parking spots available nearby.

Click HERE to go to The Precinct’s homepage.

 

 

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J. Gilbert’s—Worth Finding

J. Gilbert’s at West County Mall in Des Peres is in the area that was remodeled about 6 years ago to give a handful of mall tenants an outside entrance. (At the northwest corner of the mall.)

Two other restaurants have the prime spots that are visible from the roadway around the mall. J. Gilbert’s entrance is tucked just beyond one of the other eateries. You CAN miss it. But don’t.

At a tasting last week at J. Gilbert’s, I had the opportunity to sample some of their good food. First up was Ahi Tuna Tartare, garnished with avacado, mango and pineapple, served on a crisp wonton. A wonderful flavor combo to begin the repast.

JG Scallop

My favorite of the 3 savory dishes was the Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops with lobster risotto. Great taste, beautiful presentation!

JG Filet

The Filet Au Gratin with asparagus was also pretty terrific. (As were each of the wines chosen to accompany our samples.) We finished with a bit of New York Cheesecake.

JG Bar

During my visit, quite a while before peak dinner time, the bar at J. Gilbert’s was beginning to get some traffic. And the large, dark dining room (which is available for private events) was slowly beginning to fill up.

JG Dining Room

While most of the word-of-mouth I’ve heard, most of the online reviews I’ve read and the images on the restaurant’s HOME PAGE all focus on steaks, the full name is J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks and Seafood. Click HERE to see their dinner menu which includes salmon and crab cakes. (Although I’m aiming for a KC Strip on my next visit.)

If you want to make a reservation OR if you’re wandering around the mall and can’t quite locate J. Gilbert’s, here’s the number: 314-965-4600.

(Final note: In case you were wondering, as I was, Georges Bank—the scallops’ provenance—is an area of the Atlantic between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia.)