May 2022 Family Trip – On to St. Louis!

Perhaps you remember that we had driven to Omaha Nebraska for a family visit capped by our grandson Emmett’s high school graduation ceremony…or not.  In any case, once our Omaha adventures were concluded, we headed down to the St. Louis Missouri area to spend some time with Laurie’s family…

Of the posts that I’ll publish about this portion of our road trip, you may be happy that this one will be the only post that is almost totally focused on food and dining out…with an interesting local neighborhood weed/flower explored at the end.

As usual when we visit the St. Louis area, we spend a lot of time with Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill.  They are always introducing us to different restaurants serving a variety of food choices. 

On this visit, our first dining experience with them was at the Frisco Barroom.  It is billed as an American corner tavern and gathering space and its located in a historic corner building that once served as the general store to the old Orchard Railway Station on the Frisco line in Webster Groves Missouri. 

The menu is considered rustic American and, as you will see and read, it’s very diverse.

The bar is huge, attractive and has that old time vibe.  The restaurant’s layout and décor projects an old time feeling.  Note the mirror photo with yours truly taking a photo of Laurie, Bill and Bonnie in one of the dining areas or rooms that make up this restaurant.

The Frisco Barroom is a lively place, featuring regularly scheduled live music and a “Happy Hour”, actually ‘hours’, Tuesdays thru Fridays from 2PM until 6PM.

As is our practice when this foursome dines together, we started out with a few ‘light’ appetizers.  These Deviled Eggs ($9.00) were quite good…although they don’t measure up to the ones that Laurie makes.

Another appetizer of interest was the Smoked Whitefish Dip with crostini ($10.00) but we resisted temptation.

Does a charcuterie board count as an appetizer?  This version is called “The Frisco Board”. ($26.00…$24.00 in May) The Frisco Board includes Veneto salami, beef jerky, smoked trout, sharp cheddar cheese, blue cheese, pickled vegetables, dried blueberries, caper berries, walnuts, rose raspberry jam and of course, crostini.  It was very nice, except for the fact that as usual these ‘boards’ are never served with enough crostini so we had to order more for the table. ($1.00)

Bill loves fish…actually seafood of any type.  So for his entrée he ordered the farm-raised Rainbow Trout coated with toasted parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic and parsley. ($24.00) It came with 2 sides so he chose the steamed squash and the wild rice mix.  He really enjoyed the trout!

Other entrees on the menu included a Sirloin Steak ($30.00), Grilled Kielbasa Sausages ($19.00), Grilled Half-Chicken ($22.00), Grilled Shrimp ($26.00) and Gnocchi with Seasonal Vegetables. ($19.00)

Laurie loves onion soup and I don’t care for onions so it’s never something that we have at home.  So, she looks forward to ordering French Onion Soup with grilled croutons/crostini and Swiss Cheese whenever she sees it on a menu. ($9.00) She was extremely happy with this classic version.

She also ordered an adult beverage that we hadn’t heard of before... (No photo) It was the “Bees Knees”.  This Prohibition Era cocktail is made with gin, fresh lemon juice and honey.  It’s served shaken and chilled with a lemon twist.  Its name comes from Prohibition Era slang terminology which meant “the best”, as in that party was the “bee’s knees”.

One of the sandwiches ordered at our table was the French Dip, another classic American creation. ($16.00) In this case, herb rubbed, roasted top round of beef is sliced and served on a toasted house-made baguette with au jus and horseradish cream.  Swiss cheese is added on request…and it was requested.  I personally love a good roast beef sandwich!

This sandwich is the Old Orchard Grilled Cheese. ($13.00) It consisted of smoked Gouda, cheddar and American cheeses with tart apple slices and bacon on grilled house-made honey white bread. 

Other sandwich options on the menu included the following: Perch Sandwich ($15.00); Salsiccia ($14.00) and: a Beet Reuben…with beets, sauerkraut and 1000 island dressing on rye bread. ($14.00) Of course, this begs the question…when is a Reuben not a Reuben?

This was the Chicken Sandwich. ($14.00) A marinated and grilled chicken breast was served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and cheese.  Upon request, it can come ‘Buffalo style’. 

As I’d mentioned earlier, Frisco’s menu is very diverse.  Other items that one can find here include pierogis, pasties, smoked trout toast, brie puff pastry, buffalo roasted tempura coated cauliflower, poutine with 2 gravy options and Swedish meatballs.

The Frisco Barroom is located at 8110 Big Bend Boulevard in Webster Grove Missouri…a St. Louis suburb.  Phone: 314-455-1090.  Website: The Frisco Barroom (thefriscostl.com).

Moving from Missouri in May to East Tennessee in the present, these beautiful blooms have sprung up in the neglected building lot across the street from our house.  The lot was cleared months ago and nature has run her course.  The lot is filled with lots of weeds that are going crazy with all the rain we’ve had.  Included in the weeds are a couple dozen of these large plants with dozens of these attractive blooms...which fully open up in the evening.

I finally was able to identify them!  They are jimsonweed...aka, thorn apple, moonflower, devil’s snare, devil’s trumpet, moonflower and several other appellations.  A member of the nightshade family, this invasive weed has frequently been used to treat a variety of ailments.  All parts of this plant are toxic and it has been used as a hallucinogen taken to induce intense sacred or occult visions.  These plants produce egg-shaped 1” to 3” seed capsules either covered with spines or bald…time will tell with the type across the street.

These plants played a role in early North American history.  Another name for jimsonweed in the USA is rarely used nowadays.  “Jamestown weed” was derived from the town of Jamestown Virginia where English soldiers consumed it as food while attempting to put down Bacon’s Rebellion…the first rebellion in the American Colonies. (Learn about this bit of history at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon%27s_Rebellion.  In any case, the soldiers spent “11 days in altered mental states” and had to be confined for their own safety.

I just had to end this edition of my blog site with something other than yet another food ‘report’!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave