Oh sushi, my seaweed wrapped temptress. My love affair with sushi began in the summer of 2001 at a restaurant in Chicago, where my first apprehensive bites broke down my will and made me a devoted and devouring follower. Since that night, I get regular cravings, which can sometimes be subdued with grocery store sushi, but every now and again I have to go to an actual restaurant to satiate my desire…

When I go out to get sushi, I fully expect to drop some cash on the experience. It feels like the equivalent of paying for a meal and commissioning artwork at the same time. It’s expensive. Even grocery store sushi isn’t cheap (don’t knock the grocery store sushi – its actually pretty decent). My brother Sean and I once ran up a $120 restaurant bill for just the two of us at one restaurant. And we enjoyed every bit of it. I would eat sushi all the time if I could afford it.

I discovered Blue Ocean Sushi when I was looking for new restaurants to try on Urban Spoon (www.urbanspoon.com) and was surprised to find a place that offers All You Can Eat (AYCE) sushi starting at $19.99 (we’ll get into what I mean by “starting at” in a sec). I was a little hesitant at first – AYCE doesn’t always translate to fantastic quality, but after reading the diner reviews I was more than willing to give it a shot.

Tuna Roll and Salmon Avocado Roll

Blue Ocean offers both a more traditional menu, where you can order items ala cart or combo options, or they have the AYCE menu. The AYCE menu is broken down into three tiers, which you can see here so I don’t need to try and describe it. Basically, the more you pay, the more you can order from the menu. I decided to stick with tier two for this visit along with Beth of Craves Caves & Graves. Amy and Kevin were slumming it at Tier One, and Keith and Courtney ordered ala cart. Anyway, here are some of our thoughts about the menu.

Negatives:
-The edamame had very little to no salt. Edamame needs salt.
-The spicy salmon roll wasn’t spicy.
-The nori paper was a little chewy.
-The Salmon Skin Roll was like eating flavorless bacon wrapped in rice.

The general feeling we had on the Salmon Skin Roll was "why bother?"

Positives:
+The Albacore Nigiri was one of the tastiest things I’ve had in a long time.
+ The Miso Soup and Spring Rolls were both excellent
+The service was great and our waiter had a great sense of humor.
+Both the regular and AYCE menus have a large variety of items to choose from and the prices were more than reasonable.

The Albacore Nigiri was so good I ordered seconds.

Neutrals:
=You are still served full rolls in the AYCE menu, so its easy to fill up on the more standard fare before getting a chance to try the more exotic choices.

Now I feel like I should make a note about the negatives – I can’t account for personal tastes, so some of the things I like or dislike may just be particular to me. I am also fully aware that restaurants can have an off night, which is why I usually try a place twice before making a decision as to whether I like it or not. Oddly enough, this is also my approach to online dating, but that’s neither here nor there.

Okay, now I feel like I should get this out of the way… Blue Ocean Sushi serves a Cheese Burger Roll, which is exactly what it sounds like. We debated whether or not someone should get it (namely me – for the sake of the blog and all) but none of us could get past the mental hurdle. Maybe there just something inherently wrong about the idea. Maybe its a little too westernized for our tastes? Who knows. Maybe sometime in the future, but

Overall, I really did enjoy Blue Ocean Sushi and I look forward to going back.

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Ugh. Part of me feels dirty for doing a restaurant review. The part of professional reviews that bother me the most is that most of the reviewers act like they are they are the definitive authority of what people should and shouldn’t like. I hope I made it clear that the things I said are just my opinions and shouldn’t sway your decision to try a restaurant or not. Please go there, try it yourself and make up your own mind.

Pandora’s Lunchbox is back, and what better way to mark the occasion than by the continuation of the St. Louis Hot Dog Tour! If you missed the first leg of the tour, you can find it here. On to part 2!!!

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7-Eleven
5200 Chippewa St.
St. Louis, MO 63109
www.7-eleven.com

While doing the St. Louis Hot Dog Tour, I have discovered something profound about myself – I’m a convenience store snob. While I have no problem getting a hot dog from QuickTrip (see part 1), I found myself very reluctant to try one from 7-Eleven. They both serve hot dogs of questionable quality that have been sitting under sneeze guards all day, but I have somehow managed to convince myself that QuikTrip is just somehow… classier.

The 7-Eleven Big Bite surprised me by being edible.

So with that prejudice in mind, I was actually both surprised (an relieved) that the 7-Eleven Big Bite Hot dog is actually pretty edible. It does a good job of tasting like a hot dog, and they have a good variety of toppings to choose from. My only real hang-up with it was that the Big Bite’s problem was in the name – you really had to bite into it. The resistance the hot dog gave me while biting into it, while I’m sure is unnoticeable to most everyone else, and probably even a normal quality a hotdog should have, was a little disconcerting. I felt like it was trying to fight me.

When I bought the Big Bite, 7-Eleven was running a special where you get the hot dog, a bag of 7-Eleven branded chips, and a soda for $2.99. You win this round 7-Eleven.

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Woofies Hotdogs
1919 Woodson Rd.
Overland, MO 63114

When word got out that I was touring St. Louis hot dog establishments, the first question most people asked was either, “Are you going to try Woofies?” or, “Have you been to Woofies yet?” Woofies is probably St. Louis’s best-known hot dog stand, complete with pictures of local and national celebrities who have eaten there. I can now finally answer, yes, I have been there and I have eaten the Big Herm.

Actually, the menu refers to it as “Big Herm: A Super Jumbo Dog.” The hot dog I ate has a friggin’ subtitle! Woofies doesn’t screw around – the Big Herm is a 1/3-pound hot dog that had to be serviced by two regular hot dog buns, and it was so completely loaded with relish, pickles, onions, sport peppers and tomatoes that it could have passed for a salad.

Even covered with all the veggies, the hot dog flavor of the Big Herm managed to shine through, which, after the lackluster performance of the hot dog from Dr. Jazz in the first leg of the tour, has redeemed Chicago Style hot dogs in my eyes.

The Big Herm from Woofies earns its title of Super Jumbo Dog.

The Big Herm costs $5.49, which at first might sound a little expensive for one hot dog, but this thing is huge and is filling enough that you don’t need to get a side of fries. Overall, I’m very impressed with Woofies.

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Random Hot Dog Cart
Corner of Washington Ave & 14th Street (Outside Levin’s)
St. Louis, MO 63103

Running around the City Museum on a Friday night (and its newly opened roof section) is a pretty good way to work up an appetite. Luckily Washington Ave. is dotted with street vendors who are more than happy to serve you chicken kabobs, polish sausages, bratwurst, and, of course, hot dogs.

The blue neon glow of the shop window is a must when enjoying street food.

The hot dog I had wasn’t really all that impressive or special – it looked about the size of a packaged (think Oscar Meyer) hot dog, but it was cooked in such a way that the flavor managed to compete with some of the bigger ones I’ve had. Toppings were limited to ketchup, mustard, and relish. I’m not exactly sure how much it cost – I just handed the guy some money and told him to keep the change, but I’m guessing under $3.00. Nothing special, but still pretty good. Maybe I’ll revisit a street vendor if I cover the best foods to eat when drunk.  These guys are probably loved by the drunks stumbling out of the clubs.

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And that concludes part 2! I apologize for the quality of a couple of the pictures – my main camera is on the fritz and I have to rely on my cellphone camera. I still have many more places to try, including one that I heard serves their hot dogs with pineapple. If you have any you would like to suggest, let me know at pandoraslunchboxblog@gmail.com or by commenting below!

When updates resume, they won’t be as frequent as they once were, maybe twice a month instead of weekly. I want to hone in on more interesting stuff – some of the posts were done because I felt like I had to put something up instead of taking my time and really having fun with it, and I don’t think that is fun for anyone.

In the meantime, Pandora’s big sister site, Craves, Caves, and Graves has migrated over to a fancy new blogger site. Go check it out!!

I’ve always been a little surprised by how different flavors of milk you can find these days. Growing up, the only options I really knew of were either regular or chocolate (I thought strawberry syrup was just for ice cream). These days, however, you can find at least a half dozen different flavors. But are they any good?

Hmm. I should have made little gladiator outfits for them...

Regular Milk – I thought it would only be fair to start off with a control group – regular 2% milk. I like milk. I don’t drink enough of it, but I always enjoy having a glass, except for the fact I’m mildly lactose intolerant. Thankfully there is Lactaid or I wouldn’t be doing this entry at all. Not a whole lot to say about regular milk. It would get a higher grade if it weren’t for the spoiling thing and the intestinal distress it causes me. A

Chocolate Milk – I have a brother who is addicted to chocolate milk – to the point where he has a Nestle Quik Bunny tattooed on his person. I have no doubt in my mind that, given a hostage situation, he would sell me out for a large glass of chocolate milk. I like the stuff, but can only take it in moderation, whereas I can drink regular milk almost anytime. My brother may disown me for this, but Chocolate milk gets a B+.

Vanilla Milk – Have you tried vanilla milk yet? I’ve only really just started seeing it in the stores and I think it may have taken the place of banana milk (more on that in a minute). Vanilla milk tastes like slightly toasted marshmallows. Toasted marshmallows are great and all – I just don’t think I want to drink them. Not horrible, but not great. C

Strawberry Milk – I would always see the bottle of strawberry syrup on the shelf next to the chocolate stuff, but I didn’t actually try it until you could buy ready-made strawberry milk at the store. I have mixed feelings for strawberry milk. It’s way too sweet and tastes nothing like strawberries. It does, however, taste like a concentrated form of milk left over from a bowl of Crunch Berries, and that’s pretty cool. B

Banana Milk – I drove around for two hours today trying to find a place that sells banana milk and couldn’t find it anywhere. I’ve had it before, but I thought it would only be fair to give it a fresh chance. If I remember correctly, it tasted like banana flavored Runts candies, and I didn’t like it very much because it was kinda gross. Also, I drove around for two hours today trying to find it. D

Cookies and Cream Milk – I know this exists, having recently seen it while at a dairy industry workshop for my real life job. I should have tried it when I had the chance, but that was before I came up with the idea of doing this. I have no doubt that it will be too sweet and a horrible combination of chocolate and vanilla, but since I haven’t tried it, it gets a stay of execution… for now.

Just a quick note – As you could tell from the picture up top, I only used Prairie Farms milk products for this battle because they offered the widest variety and they were on sale. I could have used Nestle Quik, but the only flavors I could find were chocolate and double chocolate, which is just silly. A quick Google search also revealed that there are other flavors out there – mostly in foreign markets – such as melon and blueberry flavored. If I can find these flavors locally, there may be a round two.
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Have a suggestion for a Food Fight battle? Let me know at pandoraslunchboxblog@gmail.com or by sounding off in the comments!

By Noah Hunt

I have a Master’s degree in Public Policy and I love talking about the bureaucracy. That, drawing, and drinking are my three great loves. Recently I have been listening to what the news has to say about the Obama administration dealing with Cuba. It has gotten me thinking more about international trade and drinking.

First, our horrible relations with Cuba out of some fear that communism is an evil that will consume American democracy is just plain stupid. And the problems in diplomacy have fed in to problems with taking part in, and thoroughly enjoying, a drinking culture that is almost lost to future generations. The real trade between countries should be one of culture- and one thing that brings cultures together is the love of a good drink. (Too bad one of those is a nonrival/non-exclusive good, and the other is just cheap).

Drinking culture is something that has de-evolved in America. When I hear that there may be new relations with Cuba my mind instantly thinks that the good times where vacationers could travel to the magical island for good drinks and vibrant celebrations may yet return. It’s important that they do.

August F. Winkler wrote in the book Rum Drinks & Havanas, Cuba Classics:

“Anyone who wants to really experience Cuba, to get a true sense of the land and its people instead of simply lying on the beach or collecting a bunch of dry statistics, has to visit its bars… Cuban bars are theaters; people talking, listening, meditation, and sometimes drinking their way past a reality that doesn’t always have a silver lining”.

Now, I have never been to Cuba. And when I was in Central America I was too young to drink (in front of my dad). But I do like bars. I’m a romantic; when I read about notions of intellectually affluent tropical locations where people just drink and smoke all day I get a little misty eyed…

Make a list of your three favorite bars. Make a list of the drinks those bars are known for. Now draw a mental picture of the people you see coming in and out of the bar on a regular basis. How many of the bars have a reputation for original drinks, intelligent and creative clientele, and bartenders who know the full history of the spirits they pour? How many of the bars have a ladies night, sales on sugary shots, and are havens for the single and horny?

I declare that there needs to be a revival of appreciation for the spirits we imbibe. Everything, including great literature, music, culture, politics, loves and friendships has all taken place in the presence of a good, heart-warming beverage. There was once a time when bars had huge literary volumes of different drinks that were comprised mostly of actual liquor, not watered down sugary substitutes in fishbowl plasticware. People used to know what glass needed to be used for what drink and why. So shall it be again.

The next entry here is going to be specifically about Rum. Before it comes out I have a quiz. What is the proper recipe for a Daiquiri (one of Ernest Hemmingway’s favorite drinks)?

Not to leave anyone empty handed, here are some Cuban originals listed in my drinktionary.

To come: What we can learn from Cuban Rum.

As before, I try to filter through them to find the ones that involve the least amount of hoop jumping to receive your goodies. In spite of that, a lot of these require registering or signing up for something, so I recommend setting up a second email address unless you want your inbox spammed. If you know of any free food finds, sound off in the comments or by sending me an email at pandoraslunchboxblog@gmail.com. Free Stuff! Ho!

The free stuff was a little hard to come by this month – lots of dead links or expired offers… sigh. Luckily there are a few good things out there right now.

Jiffy Mix Recipe Book: http://www.jiffymix.com/recipeform.php

Free appetizer from Macaroni Grill: http://www.macaronigrill.com/Home/Default.aspx
(Its on the bottom left where it says “Join the Mac Pack”)

Free appetizer from Houlihan’s: http://www.houlihans.com/emailclub.aspx
Thanks, Beth!

Get a free birthday burger from Red Robin: http://apps.fishbowl.com/a/redrobin/eclub/agegate.aspx
Thanks again, Beth!

Cold Stone Creamery is offering a free “creation” for your birthday… I wonder if there is a Dr. Frankenstein’s Ice Cream Parlor anywhere…http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/birthday/birthday_club.aspx

3-Pack of Lindt Truffles and a cooking DVD: http://www.ilqu.com/lindtpromotion.php

Other Free Things:

www.spoofee.com has links to a ton of bargains and free stuff.
Thanks for the tip, Sandy!

Not food, but useful in the kitchen. I love these things. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers: http://www.cleanupthatfilthyhouse.com/aprom_01.php

Thank you for allowing me that bit of immaturity. I’m going to cover a few Easter related things in this post, so it might be a little all over the place. First up, St. Stephen’s Fish Fry -

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St. Stephen’s Protomartyr Catholic Church
3929 Wilmington Ave
St. Louis, MO 63116

Back in March, we made it out to St. Stephen’s Fish Fry. Fish fries are a pretty big deal in St. Louis, thanks in part to the large number of churches we have. On any Friday during Lent, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a fish fry around here. in fact, we actually considered using that method to determine which one we should go to, but with my luck, I would be paying to replace a stained glass window or worse. Instead, we just settled on the one closest to a friend’s house.

Before we get into this, I have a confession to make. Although I was raised Catholic, this was the first fish fry I have ever been to. I know. I KNOW! Let me explain. I was a much pickier eater in my younger days, and during Lent, my only exposure to “fried fish” (and fish in general) were fish sticks, which I wasn’t a fan of then, and still not much of one now. Even the frozen breaded fish filet’s we would get from time to time just reminded me of big fish sticks. It wasn’t until years later that I learned that real fish are mechanically separated and formed into “sticks.” This also reminds me of the time we though we got frozen fried shrimp from the store only to find out that, while they contained shrimp meat, they were chopped up and formed into shrimp-like shapes. That’s right, shrimp meat formed into shrimp shapes… They ended up tasting like fish sticks in disguise. Blech. But I digress.

We made our way to the basement where they had a pretty good size crown and a short food line, so we didn’t have to wait long. The menu includes fried or baked cod, the “catch of the day” (which was grouper when we went), or a fried shrimp plate. Each plate comes with two hush puppies, two sides (fries, coleslaw, macaroni bites, green beans, or spaghetti), and two slices of bread. You can also get individual pieces of friend shrimp or side items ala cart. They also have kids’ plates and desserts.

The food was pretty fantastic. I got the fried cod plate with the macaroni bites and coleslaw. Having heard they were great, I also added a couple pieces of shrimp and a brownie. The fish was flaky and tender (not mechanically separated) and had a great taste. The shrimp were large, crunchy, and also excellent. The macaroni bites and hush puppies were both really good, and the oil-based coleslaw was pretty standard.

Fried Cod Plate from St. Stephen's

I didn’t get a picture of the brownie, but it was obviously homemade and one of the fudgiest things I have ever had.

My bill came out to be $11.75, which considering the amount of food I was getting was a god deal made even better by how great everything was.

Satisfied with the experience, I decided to see if I can find any information about fish fries in St. Louis. A few years ago (3/29/2005) KETC’s Liveing in St. Louis ran the following feature on the fish fry at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in St. Charles:

This just goes to show you how much work and effort are put on by these people to successfully hold a fish fry for the entire duration of Lent. Sure, it’s only on Fridays, but these people are all volunteers.

However, after watching the video, did anyone else have the same question I did? It’s okay to eat frog meat during Lent?

———

Next I just want to share a couple things I found to make Easter even more festive. First up -

Geez, everything I can think of saying about this can really get taken the wrong way...

Yes, you to can make Jesus shaped cookies. Who knew dying for your sins could taste so good?

Available at www.tadenberg.de for 14,95 EUR

If you are looking for something a little more subtle, there is always the Holy Toast -

If only it would cry butter...

Thanks to Beth of Craves, Caves, and Graves for the picture.

The Holy Toast bread stamp is available at Archie McPhee’s for $4.95

———

And finally, the traditional Hoffmann Easter story. When I was young, we would always go to a relative’s house for Easter dinner. One year, my mom was expecting an invitation to dinner from someone on her side of the family, so when we were invited to my uncle and aunt’s house on my dad’s side, she turned them down. Well, it turns out that no one on my mom’s side of the family was doing a big Easter dinner that year, and my mom, not wanting to crash Easter on my dad’s side with four hungry kids in tow, decided to start a non-tradition that now only lives on in our hearts and memories. We had White Castle’s for Easter dinner.

Don't judge. Jesus would eat them too.

So, thanks for that memory, White Castle.

Love you Mom.

By Rob Hoffmann

Last Sunday (3/29/2009), Pandora’s Lunchbox and Craves, Caves, and Graves went on our first co-blogging adventure. A small group of us decided to trek out west to spend the day in Hermann, Missouri for Wurstfest – a day of site seeing, wiener dog races, and food. The weather started out a little questionable but ended up being a beautiful day. This was the first food-related festival I had ever been to, so I was excited to see what the day had in store.

First up was the Whole Hog Breakfast sponsored by the Hermann Fire Department. On our drive out, I admitted that I was somewhat intimidated by the idea of a “whole hog” breakfast? What did “whole hog” mean? Was is just a lot of bacon and sausage or would we be served omlets with snouts and ham hocks? Would I be able to stomach a snout omlet?

Reality ended up being both a relief and a letdown.

Eggs, pancakes, and two kinds of sausage for $3.

Don’t get me wrong, the food was fantastic, but I got my hopes up a little that it would have been more than just sausage. Breakfast included scrambled eggs, pancakes, and two different kinds of sausage, plus your beverage of choice for $3. It was served buffet style and was all-you-can-eat, but none of us dared to get another plate as we were all pretty stuffed.

After breakfast, we stopped by the Hofgarten to see what was going on. They were still setting up for the most part, but we did get to see a vendor make some sausage and try a couple samples.

Sausage Makers at Work

Next, we made our way over to Hermannhof Vineyards. The upstairs area had a giftshop, a deli/bakery, and a restaurant/dining area. Downstairs was the cool dungeon-like wine cellar with all the barrels.

Stone Hill Winery Cellar

More Barrels

Sorry, I don’t know anything about wine or I would prattle on about things such as grapes or fermentation techniques. I just thought the cellar was pretty neat.

After the winery, we headed to the German School museum and the Wiener Dog Derby. Both of these will be covered more in depth over at Craves, Caves, and Graves, but here is a little taste:

Here is an old newspaper clipping from the museum:

The Belles of Hermann, MO. Hot.

And here is a wiener dog race in progress – cocktail class:

Run, Wiener Dogs, Run!

After the races, we finished up our day back at the Hermannhof Festhalle where all the bratwurst and sausage submissions were laid out for viewing. Juding was the previous day.

Hermannhof Festhalle

Contest Submissions

More Submissions

In the fest hall were four of the vendor/contestants who were offering up their products for tasting and purchase. The first vendor we sampled also happened to be my favorite – Swiss Meat & Sausage Company. I enjoyed them so much that I bought some bratwurst for my parents’ and myself – Beer & Cheddar (which was awesome!) and Apple Cinnamon, which I’m saving for a nice breakfast sometime.

Paradise Locker Meats - one of the vendors set up in the Festhalle

Overall, we all agreed it was a good way to spend the day. Hermann is a nice little town with a lot to offer, even when there isn’t a festival going on, and I could see myself returning another year.

Just a sidenote – this was also the first time I ever had headcheese… and while the flavor was really good, the texture was a little disturbing. I guess I just prefer my meat to be a little less… gelatinous. Oof.

Resources:
Hermann Chamber of Commerce
Hermannhof Vineyards
German School Museum

In the meantime, here’s a video of cows getting a carwash massage. Happy cows = better milk apparently.