We were recently on a family road trip to St. Louis! My dad had a gig there and we decided to all go. We also spent some time nearby doing things in Illinois and then on our way back we went to a Cub’s game in Chicago, an annual tradition of our family’s!

Along the trip we had some pretty yummy food. Dad is great at finding good restaurants that we’d enjoy.

I’d like to share about what we had!

Monical’s Pizza

Our first stop, Monical’s pizza! That was a very yummy lunch and start to the trip! We got root beer and salad with their classic Sweet and Tart dressing that my mom loves and the Creamy Italian that my dad loves! I liked both! Our parents got a thin sausage and mushroom pizza and us kids split a sausage with pan crust. Monical’s pizza was where my parents went on their first date. It’s very nostalgic!

The Train Shed

The hotel we were staying at in St. Louis was called Union Station Hotel, and it was attached to the whole Union Station which held different shops, an aquarium, a big pond and stuff. It used to be an old train station. We checked in and shortly after went down to dinner at one of the restaurants there, The Train Shed. They had a pretty small menu but good options. It kind of made it feel fancier. I ended up getting the Mac N’ Cheese which was cavatoppi pasta in a gouda and white cheddar cream sauce, grilled chicken and old bay fish crackers. Legit goldfish crackers! They at least topped the pasta but it may have been more incorporated too. You could taste that flavor subtly throughout! Very unique, I’ve never seen that before. It was a nice addition and the rest of it was really good too. My mom got roasted chicken, my dad got country fried steak (also seemed very good!), and my siblings split the smash burger and Mac N’ Cheese. It was a cool atmosphere and not having many menu items also added to the vibe.

Soda Fountain

Now despite being super full after The Train Shed, we wolfed down these “freak shakes” at the Soda Fountain. It was a super cute shop with a neat vibe! Dad and Ro split the “A Very Happy Un-Birthday” which was a birthday cake-flavored shake, vanilla-flavored frosted sprinkle rim, topped with a funfetti cupcake, rainbow sprinkles, snickerdoodle cookie, rainbow pop, whipped cream and a cherry. Mom, Ben and I split “Everything But…”, a chocolate-flavored shake, chocolate-frosted rim with chocolate-covered potato chips, topped with a chocolate toffee-dipped pretzel rod, kitchen sink brownie, caramel sauce, peanut butter cup, potato chips, whipped cream and a cherry. It was sooo good! And I loved that kitchen sink brownie. The atmosphere was really cool!

Rooster #1

Dad found this nearby, great place for breakfast! The vibe was super cool, they had drawings of roosters on the walls, over the bar were egg shaped lights, neat colors and the menu was great. It was hard to choose, there were lots of good options! We decided while we were there that this would be the place we’d come back to for breakfast the next day. Ben and I ended up splitting 2 things, the pork slinger… slingers seem to be something St. Louis is known for. The pork slinger was sausage, bacon, “rooster” potatoes, eggs and sausage gravy all piled on white toast. It was sooo good! We also split the apple pie French toast, which had roasted apples, caramel and streusel. They were both so good in different ways! Another place where I loved both the vibe and the food!

Lombardo’s Trattoria

After Dad’s gig we went out to this fancy Italian restaurant! Italian is one of, if not my favorite kind of food! They gave us some yummy bread before the meal and we ordered what they’re known for- toasted ravioli. It seems to be another thing that’s popular around St. Louis! It was very good. One of my favorite meals that I order all the time is chicken Alfredo. That’s what I got for dinner and it was one of the best that I’ve ever had! Something about the sauce was so good! But I loved it all. That dinner was a very nice treat!

Rooster #2

So, we went back to Rooster the next day for breakfast. It was hard to choose again though because I liked what I got the day before, but wasn’t sure if I should get something else and what that would be. I ended up splitting with Mom the pork slinger and the berries & cream French toast which had fresh strawberries and blueberries and cream cheese icing! They were both very good!

City Museum- Nachos

While we were at City Museum, we decided to get some lunch there. We got two orders of loaded nachos, one with pulled chicken and one with pulled pork. They were actually really yummy! They’re very generous with the meat and toppings. It was a nice break!

Salt + Smoke BBQ

Oh boy, this was a good meal. I ate way too much and probably did not do what God wanted me to do the whole time. Right by Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play, this place had a cool vibe. They were very busy but we ended up getting in pretty quickly. We were allowed to get the black cherry soda- which also had free refills! So… we drank way too much of that! The food was sooo good! I ended up getting the 2 meats combo plate with brisket and pulled pork. It was also served with a cheddar biscuit popover and 2 sides so I got their white cheddar cracker Mac and cheese and coleslaw which had apples in it! Both were so good. I ended up taking some of the popover of Dad’s too… it was all so yummy but I ate and drank more than I should have! I enjoyed that meal!

Twisted Biscuit Brunch Co.

This place had a very fun, funky vibe! It felt like a chain restaurant, which I think they want to get there but are not yet. They had lots of fun decor and the titles of their menu items were silly! It was hard to choose. We ended up getting a basket of Cinnamon Bear biscuits which were soo good! And with that cream cheese dipping sauce- yum! For breakfast I got “Which Came First?”, a crispy chicken tender, egg, jack cheese, and gravy on a grilled XL Nothing Gets Cheddar Than This biscuit and served with Twisted style potatoes. It was all very good and I loved those potatoes! We were also watching funny animal videos they had playing on a TV.

Budweiser

We did a Clydesdale V.I.P. tour in St. Louis! Mom and Dad each got a beer during the tour, they had a cooler in the beautiful tack room. Then after the tour, for the adults, you could choose from some more options of different beers. Us kids got other drinks and I got Dr. Pepper!

Red Robin

Red Robin was nice to go to after our visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. We don’t go often but it’s a place we have been enjoying. We split up two chocolate shakes for dessert first and then I went a little bit adventurous for my meal, I had a burger with pepper jack, melty Swiss, cheddar-and-parmesan crisps, sweet jalapeño relish, candied bacon, freshly-smashed avocado, lettuce, tomato and onion. It was very good! I’m glad I got it! I had broccoli as my side.

Cub’s Game

On the way back from our trip we went to Chicago to attend a Cub’s game. When we got to the ballpark we stopped at a food booth. Mom, Dad and I each chose a polish sausage, Ben and Ro chose hot dogs and we got them all gussied up with toppings. There were some other snacks and treats during the game, some of which I didn’t have but I did have a few pretzel and cheddar cheese Combos and I ate a lot of peanuts- we had brought a lot of the kind in the shell. Those were yummy!

Giordano’s

Giordano’s is always where we go after Cub’s games! It’s become part the tradition! This was a great way to end it, and it was a nice comfort. As always, the pizza takes a while and it felt like longer this time but it was worth it! If you’ve never had a slice of Giordano’s pizza, you need to try it! I love that crust, those big sausages, that top layer of sauce and of course… the huge bed of cheese. Mom and Dad got a sausage and mushroom pizza and us kids got a sausage pizza.

Dad always does a great job at finding restaurants for us to eat at. I’ve gotten a bit more adventurous but I like to stick to the kinds of foods I enjoy. Getting more adventurous actually expands “the kinds of food I enjoy”. It’s not necessarily because I wouldn’t like other things, but I like to make the most out of going out to eat and get the things that sound really good to me!

What’s something you liked about it (and why)? Obviously… from the post you can see there were a lot of things I like about it. But two of my favorites that I will highlight again were the pork slinger- something I bet we could make here at home! I also liked that chicken Alfredo, I really enjoyed it!

What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? I was feeling like I should work on temperance on this trip and I don’t know, I was worried about that a lot but I really needed it. I did not do well on it at times and may not have always done what God wanted me to do. I wish I would have practiced more temperance but not to dread that, to just have enjoyed what I had. I also was making the food we ate a big part of the day in my mind and put too much significance on it and on having more, I wish I wouldn’t have done that.

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? I think one lesson has to do with the question above, giving me the chance to learn and see what happened. And the chance to keep seeing how much of an importance I have been putting on food, it wasn’t just this trip. Maybe if I would have asked and relied on God more, asked more for the prayers of Mary, the saints, etc. and then tried better it would have made the experience better and helped me not put so much emphasis on food.

What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? I’d like to learn more about what it’s like owning and managing restaurants. Plus a lot of things we ate, we could make here at home or similar versions which could be fun!

Thank you for reading!

Lucy