The London Tea Room

The London Tea Room
Originally uploaded by jricker

It was a rainy, chilly, English...er, St. Louis morning when our St. Louis Tea Meetup group visited the London Tea Room. Despite the weather, the tea room was bustling with a very diverse crowd of patrons.

The atmosphere is stately, yet cozy, with a nice mix of glass and wood tables, as well as hardback and cozy chairs. Whatever your seating pleasure, they have you covered.

The main counter is fronted with a full case of quiches, pastries, cakes, brownies and, of course, scones. A bounty of teas fill the backboard, which proudly displays the moniker, "THE LONDON TEA ROOM."

Of course, we started off with tea. The menu of beverages is overwhelming for the casual tea drinker. Be sure to read all of the clever descriptions - you won't be sorry. I had previously tried the Monk's blend, and was going for the Fifth of November blend, only to find out that it had been sold out for the day.

Our waitress, Amanda, came to the rescue like a pro. She offered to make a blend of Organic Vanilla and a dash of Oolong, which would give sweet vanilla taste with a smoky touch. Bingo! I did tell her that the owners should add this as "Amanda's Blend" on the menu, and by the time I left, she had already made the same for another happy customer. It was so good, I'd definitely order it up front next time.

To eat, I went for "The Croque Monsieur," which is hard to say but, oh, so delicious to eat. It's basically a smoked ham sandwich on their pugliese bread. Add both muenster and gruyere cheese, and you have a delightful - and very large lunch.

Last time I was there, I had the Apple and Brie sandwich on the same type of bread. It was slippery, but something very different for the vegetarian appetite.

Dessert was a difficult choice, but definitely try one of the cakes. They had a citrus an poppyseed that I wish I had tried, but I went for the carrot cake and I was not disappointed. Each of my lunchmates had a dessert, and they were so large that not one of us could finish ours, and we are no amateurs when it comes to finishing desserts.

If you're in the mood for shopping, you can find many English treats to take home with you, from Cadbury chocolate to Marmite. I only recommend one of them. You guess which.

If you're down by the City Museum, definitely stop in for lunch or just a snack, and don't forget to pick up some tea to take home!

Visit http://www.thelondontearoom.com/ for directions.

Got the Life by Fieldy (review)

gotthelife
Originally uploaded by gr8fulged

I was fortunate enough to see Korn (with Staind) many years ago, and really enjoyed the concert. This might not seem unusual, except for the fact that I was a parent chaperoning my kids at the time. The "nu Metal" sound of Korn was new, fresh and interesting. Little did I know how much this band was hurting on a personal level.

Fieldy, Korn's bassist, opens up about his own alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, and general immaturity in a way that shows extreme vulnerability. He takes complete responsibilty and shows deep remorse for the hurts of his past, but makes it clear that his heart was always in the music and with the fans. He shows a love for all of the band members, past and present.

The writing style is as coarse as the material. Fieldy doesn't sprinkle the pages with flower petals, and readers shouldn't expect a watered-down version of a picnic with Korn. I loved the edginess, yet compassion, that resides in these pages.

In addition to a great story, the book is crammed full of great photos of Fieldy, his family, band members, and other cebrities and fans.

It's very well done, and very enlightening. This would make a great gift for teens who are starting to move off of the straight and narrow.

Corned Beef Brisket

Preparation (153:366)
Originally uploaded by MannyWallace

I made a wonderful corned beef brisket tonight in the oven. I purchased it from the Schnuck's on Zumbehl, and it was very good...and very tender.

It weighed 2.83 lbs. before taking off the fat. I wrapped it in foil and put it in the roasting pan (on the rack), and cooked it at 300 for about 2.5 hours.

My meat thermometer bit the dust, or I would have liked it to have been about 160 degrees before I took it out. Since corned beef is pink on the inside when it's completely done, it's hard to tell just by eyeballing it.

I used my best judgement, and it all worked out.

Cracker Barrel

Love of mine....
Originally uploaded by ifollowedarabbit

Today, after the Toastmasters contest, we went to the Cracker Barrel in St. Charles, MO.

For a fake old fashioned restaurant, Cracker Barrel has some darned good food. Today, I had a sausage skillet, which had onions, peppers, eggs, cheese and, of course, sausage. Served with incredible two buttermilk biscuits, it's a very inexpensive - and large - meal.

Our waitress, Connie, with a southern drawl that fit right in to the atmosphere. She turned out to be an expert at pouring tea out of both the left and right side of the pitcher. Not an easy feat considering she was adeptly handling many tables.

Of course, no visit to Cracker Barrel is complete without a visit to the gift shop. The had some cute Easter items out, and a lot of winter clothing that was 50% off.

I hardly ever go there, because I always forget it's there - tucked right next to the Convention Center - but I'm always glad (and full!) when I remember.

Fountain Lakes Park

Walkway
Originally uploaded by missouri_gal

I went Geocaching in Fountain Lakes Park today. Went for seven, found five. The road was flooded so, of course, I waded across. It was about a food deep in the middle.