Meet me in St Louis, Louis

Toasted Ravioli

Photo courtesy www.blueberryhill.com

Ted Drew's Frozen Custard Stand

Last night Andrea drove us to The Hill (Little Italy) precinct of St Louis city where we tried a new appetizer called ‘toasted ravioli’. It is ravioli that is dipped in seasoned breadcrumbs and then lightly fried. It is served with a bolognaise sauce plus or minus a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. It was supposedly created and popularized in St Louis and it really was delicious. After that we drove to try another locally famous eatery, Ted Drew’s frozen custard stand. Murray & I were surprised to people lining up at the four windows and cars coming and going, but it is a very popular dessert here. You can order it as a sundae using frozen vanilla custard (very much like a soft serve only with real milk and eggs) and various toppings, or as a ‘concrete’ which is like a sundae with flavouring and topping and then all squished together like a slurry. Interesting. The locals only have a one more week before summer is officially over, so they are making the most of the balmy nights and treating themselves to this summer delight!

Fortunately we had a beautiful evening for our 30 minute jaunt to St Louis last night as we woke up today to the effects of Hurricane Ike – wind around 25 mph (warning of gusts up to 45 mph) and beating rain. Flood warnings are in effect and as flash floods are common in this area, we are deferring our departure to Mike & Tina’s in St Louis until it settles which should be around noon.

We know it is time to go home as we noticed some trees starting to turn yellow and red, autumn is nearly here. Spring started in Australia 2 weeks ago, so it is almost time to head back and enjoy an Aussie spring and summer once again.