Riverbend Restaurant and Bar

Riverbend is quaint restaurant located just a few blocks south of the wonderful Anheuser-Busch Brewery.  It's on the corner of Utah and S 7th St.  It was started by a chef who has 25 years experience cooking Cajun cuisine in New Orleans.  I had been to New Orleans just a month before I visited Riverbend, and to say that it is just as good as anything down there would be an understatement (if you ask me)- gumbo was better, etouffee was better, and I'm excited to compare the other things the menu has to offer.  We went on a Saturday night around 7 PM, so it was very busy.  The restaurant is not very big so we had to wait for about 15 minutes.  They have a bar, so we were able to have an Abita while we waited for a table.  Now for the good stuff:

Heavenly Delight

Appetizer:  Crabmeat-stuffed shrimp.  Caution.  This dish will make you think you are eating in a parallel universe.  I'm not sure how everything is prepared, but the shrimp is simmering in a garlic butter sauce, and then topped with crab stuffing (so the shrimp isn't technically 'stuffed').  Shrimp was delicious on its own, but the combination with crab stuffing simply brought it to perfection.  Cost was 9.99 for 6 large shrimp- it could serve as your meal if you wanted.

Jumbo Gumbo

Alex:  Bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo.  I wasn't very hungry so I went light, but the bowl was huge!  It only cost $5, and was very filling.  I find most Cajun food to be so spicy that any flavor is washed away, but not here.  The broth was quite thick, giving a nice cream taste to it.  The meat was seasoned literally to perfection, and extremely tender.  Then they top it with a scoop of steamed rice to give it some more substance.  I'll say this with caution, but this may be the best bowl of soup I've ever had in my life.

Crawfish Etouffee

Tyler:  Crawfish Etouffee.  This dish is a tad more spicy.  The crawfish is very succulent and has more flavor than I expected (I'm not a huge fan of crawfish).  It's a traditional etouffee, in that it has the onions, peppers, and celery with spicy seasoning, and also not lacking butter- but not too much to make you feel bad about yourself.  What was unique about this etouffee was the amount of tomatoes in the dish.  They were diced and gave great flavor to the dish overall.  Like I said, this is for people who can handle a little more spice, but the flavor is not overpowered by the pepper.  Cost was 12.99.

Zach (Matt's replacement this week):  Cuban Sandwich.  Wow.  This sandwich is perfect.  I've had Cubans before where the meat was dry, or the sauce was plain, or the pickles were too bitter.  It's served on a panini, and grilled to perfect crispiness.  The pork and ham is actually oven-smoked, so it doesn't have the flavor that comes with a traditional smoker.  The pickles are mild, and the Swiss cheese adds a good flavor, not too strong.  The sauce that comes with it is a mayonnaise/mustard mix.  It is a perfect combination that I've never tasted on a Cuban before.  I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially if you're not fond of spicy, Cajun food.  Price was 7.99, did not come with a side.

Cuban Sandwich

Overall, this place is truly incredible.  The menu is versatile and everything so far has been magnificent.  The only downside is that certain menu items are available on certain days, which limits your options (Seafood gumbo on Fridays, red beans and rice on Mondays, and jambalaya on Thursday).  I usually like to try a restaurant once and then move on, but I can't wait to go back and try other things- especially the jambalaya.  And if you like to have a beer to wash the spice down, they have a very nice selection.  We give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!  Awesome, awesome stuff.

Kevin's Place

Kevin's Place is located on Cherokee Street, just south of the Brewery.  This restaurant is a different breed.  It's a St Louis style pizza establishment, owned by Kevin.  Kevin cooks your pizza, he brings it out to you, and if you have it delivered (delivers to Soulard, Lafayette Square, Cherokee, and other places close by)- Kevin will even bring it himself.  How you wonder?  Well, we witnessed it.  We had called ahead, told Kevin we were coming in, and he said he was expecting us.  So, when we arrived, we went in and no one was there.  The radio was on, lights on, Kevin- not there.  We sat for five minutes and waited for him.  When he came, he told us that he had ran out to get ice because he knew we were coming.  Super nice guy, kind of different- but you can tell that he loves what he does, is very trustworthy, and is appreciative of the business- we think he needs more of it though!  The restaurant is very small, just around 5 tables, but very home-like, decorated nicely.  Here's the food (we split everything):

Appetizer- 1 pound of chicken wings- hot.  These we were not so impressed with.  You could tell they had been pre-fried, and then placed in the oven to warm (so one side of the wing was soggy, other side was nice and crispy).  Then instead of tossing the wings in the sauce, Kevin had sort of drizzled the sauce over it.  It was enough to enjoy, but I like wings saucy all over.  The sauce itself was very good though, spicy but not too spicy.  Similar to Imo's hot wings, but not all greasy.  It was a more pepper based sauce.  It cost 6.99, which was reasonable, but the wings are not the reason to go...

Deliciousness...

Pizza- We ordered an extra-large St Louis Style (provel cheese of course!)  You can also get mozzarella, but what's the point of that?  Toppings- pepperoni, sausage, and bacon, which Kevin declared "Grease Lovers" on the spot.  It was a good decision, and Kevin gave us two mediums for the same price instead.  The bacon added that different flavor, and it was a little salted just like Imo's.  Very good.  The pizza overall was fantastic.  Honestly, it was very similar to Imo's, with two differences:  1.  I have had mediocre pizza at Imo's, some cooks just don't put good effort into it at Imo's.  Kevin takes care in every pizza he makes.  2.  Thickness.  Kevin's crust is thicker, he puts more cheese, more sauce, and more toppings on it.  Sometimes it seems like Imo's is just a tad more than a cracker.  Kevin's Place gives you much more substance.  It does carry some grease on top, but grease is the spice of life sometimes.  It cost about 18.00 for these two pizzas. Between the three of us, we ate all the wings, one pizza, and half of the second one.

Overall, this place is great.  If you are in the area, craving some St Louis style pizza, go there!  Kevin is an interesting guy, the pizza is phenomenal, and the restaurant is very quaint.  Very similar to Imo's, just better.  If you have someone visiting from out of town who has never had St Louis style, take them there fore sure.  We give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Til we dine again,
Alex, Matt, and Tyler

Kevin's Place

Tower Tacos

Tower Tacos located in Benton Park is a Mexican Restaurant.  We went there on a Sunday night an hour before close, and wasn't busy at all.  Service was fine and ambience was average.  It's relatively small, just fitting about 6 tables or so.  No draft beers, only had common Mexican bottles and a few domestics.  They bring two salsas to the table, and one is a very spicy verde salsa.  It was the best verde salsa I've ever had, so you should definitely give it a try if you make it there.  Now for the meals:

Alex- four tacos (one chicken, one pork, one beef, one chorizo).  They were all very average, except for the CHORIZO.  Delicious.  It was the most tender chorizo sausage I've ever had.  I would go back just to have a couple chorizo tacos.  As far as the other meats, they were all pretty mediocre and kind of dry.  Although the al pastor (pork) came with pineapple, which was a great contrasting taste.  The price per taco was 1.49 so my bill was only about 6.

Matt- Steak Ranchero with rice and beans.  It had a nice spice to it, with a combination of hot sauce and peppers on top. It came with 3 small tortilla shells.  The steak was more like fajita meat, even though the menu makes it sound like a real steak. It cost 10.50, which seems like a lot but it filled me up. I typically do not eat a lot of Mexican food but it was one of the best Mexican meals that I have ever had. I would order it again.
Tyler- Burrito California.  See picture.  Absolutely ridiculous in size.  It legitmately could feed a family.  It's a monstrous tortilla stuffed with rice, beans, your choice of chicken or steak (Tyler got steak, which is what our server recommended), as well as lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo.  It really was just a bunch of stuff mixed together and packed in a not-so-tight space.  All the ingredients blended together to make a pretty bland burrito.  The upside was that it was topped with white cheese (queso, just like you get at any Mexican restaurant, very good).  The downside was that it was also topped with a sort of enchilada sauce.  The sauce tasted like tomato paste mixed with water, something out of a Chef Boyardee can.  Cost was 8.50, but if you split it with someone it is probably worth it.  It's interesting to say the least.



Burrito California



Overall, we give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Try the chorizo, and  you HAVE to try their verde salsa.

Til next time,

Alex, Matt, and Tyler

Wall Mural