Wednesday, May 18, 2011

search and devour: taste of maplewood

this saturday, may 21, we'll be heading over to one of our favorite neighborhoods for the taste of maplewood.  we're looking forward to getting samples from our old standbys--monarch and schlafly--but we're even more excited to try some new places.  the new kid on the block is water street, which serves up contemporary american/fusion cuisine, and we're curious to see if they cater to vegetarians at all (from the looks of the menu, it doesn't look promising, but we'll stay open-minded).  we're also looking forward to tasting food from some maplewood standards that we just haven't had a chance to visit yet.  acero and maya cafe are at the top of our list, but we'll also be on the lookout for some guacamole from las palmas.  and, of course, we'll save room for some baked goods from foundation grounds.

please let us know if you're also planning a trip to the taste of maplewood, and we'll try to arrange a time to slap fives with you.  then we'll pound some black pepper and cheddar scones together.

[update] as much as we love some of the maplewood purveyors, we were really disappointed with the taste of maplewood.  we couldn't believe how un-veg-friendly everything was.  so, we still haven't tried acero or las palmas or maya cafe, and we're beginning to wonder if we ever will...

6 comments:

  1. acero doesn't appear veg friendly, but will make a mushroom pasta that will blow you away. maya cafe, last time i ate there, had a stuffed chayote squash that was great. put me off typical mexican food forever.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow, thanks for the recommendations. we will absolutely keep those in mind. thanks, e!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh yeah, and also the gnudi and egg raviolo from acero. love your blog! have you looked at either of mine? one is a cooking blog, and i just started the second one to organize my recommendations for veg restaurant fare in st. louis. maybe you could do a guest post on hummus?

    ReplyDelete
  4. thanks again for the recommendations; alas, the taste wasn't so veg-friendly after all (plus by the time we got there at 6, lots of stuff had run out). but we'll keep them in mind when we finally go there for a meal.
    we are working on our own hummus list! one of our first posts was our top five, but we're putting together something more comprehensive, and more up-to-date. i'll definitely keep my eyes peeled so we can compare!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been to Acero many times, and while at taste they may not have been veg-friendly, they do have some pretty good options. As e said, the mushroom pasta (tagliatelle) is absolutely amazing, as is the gnudi and egg raviolo. They go by a tasting menu, and I usually start with a salad or a grweat soups, on which all times I've been, are fantastic vegetable ones (no meat base, I always ask!). And for the next two courses, pasta and main course, I just sub in another different pasta for the main dish. And then there's dessert (the torte is to die for).. It's not a whole lot of option, but I have no complaints in having to choose so little, it's just really that delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. charlie, that was awesomely helpful. sometimes we find that if a restaurant is just that good, having only a few options isn't necessarily a bad thing--just means less work for us to decide what to get! thanks for writing in. we're definitely going to have to move acero closer to the top of our list. thanks for giving us something to look forward to!

    ReplyDelete