Food, Shopping, Spending and more Food

…continuing with our visit with Laurie’s family in St. Louis Missouri.  We were out and about with Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill.  We dined, shopped, gambled and then dined again.

This post might be just a tad longer than usual…

Bonnie and Bill like taking us to some of the long time restaurants, diners and dives, that they’ve enjoyed over the years.  Amighetti’s has been a fixture in the St. Louis area for many years…since 1916.  Of course, with the Italian “Hill District”, Italian cuisine of every type can be found in the area. 

This new location, (now 3 in total), at 5390 Southwest is referred to by many residents as the “Top of the Hill”.  New owners, Italian of course, bought Amighetti’s in 2016 and then they acquired Hank’s Cheesecakes, another local favorite, in 2021. 

I like that fact that Amighetti’s retained the old sign for Hanneke Hardware when they took over the building.  Hanneke Hardware was located here for many years, opening in 1927 and finally closing in February of 2015

The hardware store ‘look’ continues inside Amighetti’s.  The front of the concrete counter is clad with wooden doors mounted sideways.  The pitted surface of the counter looks like one where customers placed their various hardware items for purchase.  Another feature that stresses the ‘aged look’ of the restaurant are the barn wood sculptures that hang from the ceiling.  In the end, the interior look is industrial. 

Customers line up and place their orders and when your food is ready, as I remember, you pick it up and head for a table.  Basically, Amighetti’s is a popular sandwich shop that serves other items as well.  Go through the “Exit” door in the second photo and you’ll find a large showcase full of Hank’s Cheesecakes…with more than a dozen flavors!

Many St. Louis residents consider the Amighetti Special to be the best sandwich in town.  It consists of ham, beef, salami, brick cheese, lettuce, pickles, tomato, onion, pepperoncini and Amighetti’s special dressing. ($6.49 half/$10.79 whole) I forget who ordered the 'side' salad but the restaurant is certainly generous with all that cheese on top!

I can’t identify the sandwiches that we ordered as per the photos above…except for the last one, my Italian Roast Beef with cheese and house made gravy. (Whole $11.49) An important factor with any of these sandwiches is that the bread is from Amighetti’s.  It’s fresh and crusty while being soft in the middle.  

But, it’s not all about sandwiches!  Amighetti’s also has a number of starters, salads, soups, sides and pasta offerings.  The latter includes lasagna, spaghetti and tortellini.  They also offer a sandwich that I’ve never had…a Wild Salmon Meatball creation.

Everyone seemed pleased with their selection.  But, as frequently happens, I was an outlier as regarded my sandwich.  It was OK but I wasn’t really impressed.  Of course, my problem might be that I was thinking an Italian roast beef sandwich from Chicago, probably not a fair comparison.

Amighetti’s Hill location is at 5390 Southwest Avenue in St. Louis Missouri.  For more about this local favorite, and to view their extensive menu, go to Amighettis – St. Louis' Signature Sandwich.

Our next stop was at Cool Stuff Period, a home furnishings, antiques and décor items, creating a weirdly wonderful and interesting store.  Given its location and signage, you could just drive by without noticing if you didn’t know about it.

The following photos are intended to give you an idea about the variety and scope of the decorative and functional items feature at Cool Stuff Period.

Cool Stuff Period/aka Cool Stuff.  This imaginative store is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Like the store and what it sells, the days that they are open for business are a bit ‘different’.

This is a great place to find unusual décor and furniture too.  Check it out at 5707 Manchester Avenue in St. Louis Missouri.  Their website is at Welcome to CoolStuff. (coolstuffperiod.com).

Weakness set in and we decided to briefly visit one of the casinos that can be found in the St. Louis area.  Bill knows where these money sapping entertainment centers are located…as well as which ones might yield a payout.  So we stopped at the River City Casino and Resort at 777 River City Casino Boulevard in St. Louis Missouri.

We were at the casino for a little bit more than an hour.  Laurie and I dropped less than $100, a ‘win’ in our estimation…but thanks to Bonnie knowing when to quit, she and Bill left with a few extra dollars in their pocket.  I did note that there was good ventilation which helps those of us who don’t smoke…and there was a large non-smoking area with a bunch of slot machines.

River City Casino features all the usual games for those who like variety…although I did notice mechanical ‘dealer’ for black jack players.  Find out more at River City Casino in St. Louis, MO.   

Our next dining opportunity was this little St. Louis restaurant.  El Potro Restaurant serves a variety of Mexican and Central American dishes, including a number of seafood specialties.  Bill really likes this place and Yelp reviews give El Potro 4.6 stars out of 5.0.

Other than this large imaginative and colorful horse on one wall, laid back industrial would best describe the dining atmosphere.  FYI, El Potro is translated as “the foal”.

We started with the obligatory gratis basket of corn chips with a mild salsa.  No photos…but a couple of mojitos ($7.00 each) and dos cervezas ($8.00) “might” have been ordered to accompany the chips and salsa.  Guacamole was also ordered for the table.  Since I don’t and can’t consume guacamole, I can’t comment on it…but it was completely consumed by the time we were done.

The ladies weren’t very hungry after the chips and guacamole, so they spit the order of Tacos de Pescado/fish tacos. ($14.99) I ordered the Burrito de carne Asada/steak, beans, rice and cheese with cheese melted on top. ($15.99) It was just OK…nothing special.

Bill is really into seafood!  So, he ordered the Coctel Vuelbe Ala Vida. ($22.99) This creation is a cold soup of shrimp, octopus, snail, oysters, onion, tomato, avocado, jalapeno and cilantro.  It’s served with crackers and lime wedges.  Bill was content with his seafood feast...

The service at El Potro was sporadic and uneven.  It took a long time for Bill to get his food.  I just was underwhelmed…

El Potro also operates a market under the same name next door to the restaurant.  It offers Mexican and Central American groceries and other items.  This restaurant is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.  It’s located at 6922 Manchester Avenue in St. Louis Missouri.  Phone: 314-256-1400.  Website: www.elpotrostl.com.

Only one more post to follow for our St. Louis family visit… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave