revisited: local harvest cafe

ever had a "slinger"?  ever heard of a "slinger"?  we hadn't, but as soon as we read the description of it on local harvest cafe's menu, we knew we had to have one.  ever heard the expression "life changing"? 

mission: 

local harvest cafe

tower grove

(peep our original local harvest post here.)

rations: 

a slinger, as it turns out, is a st. louis original, surely originating at some st. louis dive in the wee hours of a blustery winter's morn.  by definition, slingers are supposed to come with eggs, hashbrowns, and a hamburger patty, all smothered in chili.  by all accounts, it is the zenith of comfort foods.  at local harvest, however, vegetarians and vegans alike can help themselves to a slinger.  for vegetarians, the hamburger gets nixed in favor of extra roasted potatoes and red onions; for vegans, eggs, cheese, and hamburger are replaced with a veggie burger.  in both cases, the chili is vegan, easily hearty and tasty enough to satisfy herbivores and omnivores alike.  we opted for the vegetarian version because we were in the mood for some eggyweggies, and boy were we impressed.  everything--everything--was cooked to perfection.  nothing was underdone or overcooked, and each ingredient maintained (miraculously) a distinct flavor.  you might think the eggs or potatoes would get lost under the chili, but not so.  quite literally, we moaned after each bite.  the bread, too, was excellent, providing the perfect accompaniment for sopping on the remaining goodness.  next time, instead of sharing, we've agreed that we'll each need our own plate.  pretty sure we'll be trying the vegan option next time, too, and we'll be sure to provide a full report.

because breakfast food and sweets are lois's favorite things, we opted for the vegan stuffed french toast.  plump, beautifully browned companion bread gets stuffed with vegan cream cheese, and then it all gets topped with fresh fruit and organic (!) maple syrup. to clark's palate, this french toast doesn't outshine sweetart's, but lois insists that they're equally good but for different reasons, and clark always defers to wifey in matters of taste.

the final component of our brunch was the egg sandwich.  we're big fans of st. louis bread company's "egg and cheese on ciabatta" breakfast sandwich, and we wanted to see how local harvest stacked up.  not surprisingly, local harvest is the winner, not only because of flavor but because you can build your own sandwich.  one chooses from different breads (5-grain for us, please), different cheeses (cheddar this time), and different spreads (hummus, obviously).  the egg was cooked sort of omelet-style, managing to be both fluffy and firm, and it had some herbs mixed in, too.  the result: the best daggone breakfast sandwich we've had at a restaurant.  still, it could've been even better if we'd had the option to add some sauteed spinach or greens.

all things considered, this is probably the finest vegetarian-friendly brunch you'll find outside of sweetart.  there's a vegan chorizo pot pie we'd like to try at local harvest, and we're dying to create some far out sandwiches (everything bagel, goat cheese spread, and cherry preserves, anyone?).  next, though, we have to try dinner at local harvest.  we'll let you know how it goes.  we're guessing it's gonna be frickin' awesome.

assessment: 

a

vegetarian-friendly score:

a-