Monday, March 21, 2011
This week our food columnist tried out three different steaks on his trip to Texas Roadhouse.
As a very welcome end to a very stressful week, I gladly continued our O’Fallon food quest for the best steak in O’Fallon at Texas Roadhouse. With six locations around the St. Louis area, I landed at the location at 1600 Mexico Loop Road. This review will be a bit of a “kill two birds with one stone” situation, as I had several family members who were interested in also enjoying a steak at the end of a stressful week, so I will be reviewing three dishes instead of just one. We walked in a little after 6 p.m. to find the place absolutely packed with people. I was told that it would be about a 20-minute wait, so I headed back outside to enjoy the weather and sat down on a bench. The system that Texas Roadhouse has in place to seat guests is …
38.79014
-90.703169
Texas Roadhouse
1600 Mexico Loop Rd W, O Fallon, MO
/articles/ofallon-food-quest-three-steaks-in-one-night
835171
/locations/3748301
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Reader comments lead O'Fallon Patch food columnist to McGurk's Public House for a taste of their top sirloin.
It is with a full stomach that I share my latest findings in O'Fallon Patch's quest for the best steak in town. This week I decided to take the challenge to the next level. After I took a look at my user comments for this week's place to try, I called up a friend who is in culinary school to help me break out the microscope on our next contestant. We hopped in the car and headed for McGurk’s Public House, located at 108 S. Main Street. Arriving for an early lunch, we were seated right as we walked through the door. We were marched right past a large bar into the dining room which also contained another nice sized bar. A drinking establishment, is what I would tag this place, but they also have a wide variety to choose from on the menu. …
38.810767
-90.699939
McGurk's Public House
108 S Main St, O Fallon, MO
/articles/mcgurks-takes-lead-in-quest-for-best-steak
834071
/locations/3693049
Monday, March 7, 2011
O'Fallon Patch food columnist heads to Longhorn Steakhouse for the New York Strip.
Welcome to the first review of our next food challenge. For those of you who did not catch our pizza wrap-up, we have moved on to the challenge of all challenges--we are seeking the best steak in town! Rib-eye, New York Strip, Filet Mignon or T-Bone--I’m heading out for the best of ‘em. So I hit the road and landed at Longhorn Steakhouse at 2102 Highway K in O’Fallon. I headed to dinner around 8 p.m. all by my lonesome and walked right in past the hostess station and sat myself down at the bar. It took a few minutes for the bartender to greet me, which was a bit frustrating, because for that late at night, I was hungry and ready to dig in. I quickly ordered a drink and scanned the menu. There were several cuts of meat to choose from, …
38.780206
-90.699869
Longhorn Steakhouse
2101 Highway K, O Fallon, MO
/articles/search-for-best-ofallon-steak-begins
833884
/locations/3601505
Monday, February 28, 2011
O'Fallon Patch food columnist wraps up his pizza quest and heads out for steak next month.
As we wrap up our second round of our O'Fallon food quest. I say a somber goodbye to the food that got me most of the way through college and brought happy people around my table. Pizza, you are a huge part of my life, but lets see now how O’Fallon did in the pizza challenge. We started off our quest returning to an O’Fallon favorite – Stefanina’s. I finally made it there to try the pizza (which they are best known for). I loved the classic St. Louis style thin crust, but not so much the wait, 45 minutes for a pizza was a little off putting. The restaurant had good pizza and a great family atmosphere, but if you are looking for O’Fallon’s best, I suggest you keep reading. Our next stop was JJ Twiggs. I have a terrible habit of judging a …
38.80037
-90.69894
Stefanina's Pizzeria & Restaurant
8645 Veterans Memorial Pky, O Fallon, MO
/articles/jj-twiggs-ozellas-come-out-in-top-of-pizza-challenge
834326
/locations/3531975
38.829596
-90.707493
Ozella's Pizzeria
470 Highway P, O Fallon, MO
/articles/jj-twiggs-ozellas-come-out-in-top-of-pizza-challenge
835705
/locations/3531976
38.821547
-90.676839
JJ Twig's Pizza & Pub
1090 Tom Ginnever Ave, O Fallon, MO
/articles/jj-twiggs-ozellas-come-out-in-top-of-pizza-challenge
835738
/locations/3531977
Monday, February 21, 2011
O'Fallon Patch continues the search for the best pizza in town.
Once again, I begin this week's Culinary Challenge by saying thank you to readers who send me out into O’Fallon with some sort of direction. With your recommendation, this week I ended up at Ozella’s Pizzeria. With origins begining in North County from the late '50s, I ended up at their new location in O'Fallon at 468 Highway P. I headed out to Ozella’s for a later dinner this week, and have to admit that that is about the farthest down Highway M I have ever traveled, but after a quick turn onto Highway P, you’re right there. I arrived around 6 p.m. and there was plenty of seating available. My dinner guest and I brought the total customers in the restaurant up to eight. The menu had your standard appetizers, including toasted raviolis…
38.829596
-90.707493
Ozella's Pizzeria
470 Highway P, O Fallon, MO
/articles/ozellas-takes-close-second-in-pizza-quest
835705
/locations/3459903
Monday, February 14, 2011
O'Fallon Patch food columnist checks out Chicago style pizza in this weeks culinary challenge.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope that you all find a wonderful, delicious restaurant to take that special someone to and tell them how much they mean to you! This week I journeyed out to continue our pizza quest at a small l pizza place that was suggested to me by a reader--A Better Pizza, located at 8622 Mexico Rd. here in O’Fallon. I set out having no idea what to expect for A Better Pizza. I arrived to a store within a strip mall across from the QT on Mexico road. I saw bright hand painted words on the windows displaying the specials currently available. I was eager to go inside and take a look. I walked in to see several tables and a soda fountain in a small dining room. I was greeted by who I believed to be the manager, and …
Monday, February 7, 2011
O'Fallon Patch food columnist tried out the double decker for the next stop on the quest for best pizza in town.
Under the recommendation of several readers, I was excited to try our next contender for our pizza competition. When I heard the words “double decker pizza," I knew I had to travel to JJ Twig's, located at 1090 Tom Ginnever Ave. in O’Fallon. I headed out to JJ Twig's for a late dinner on a Friday night. Once again, like Rizzo’s , this was a case of “don’t judge the book by its cover.” From the outside, JJ Twig's looks like a bar, but I was very wrong. While the restaurant has a nice bar at the front of the restaurant, walk past the bar and you will find a large dining room, complete with a fire in a large stone fireplace (very welcome after the week of winter weather we had). My guest and I were greeted by the hostess and were seated in …
38.821547
-90.676839
JJ Twig's Pizza & Pub
1090 Tom Ginnever Ave, O Fallon, MO
/articles/jj-twigs-takes-lead-in-pizza-quest
835738
/locations/3313337
Monday, January 31, 2011
Our Patch food columnist makes his first stop at Stefanina's on the quest to find the best pizza in O'Fallon.
For the next few weeks of our "Culinary Challenge," we are on the quest to find the best pizza in O’Fallon. Thick crust, thin crust, pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella or provel--I’m going to find it and give it a try. This week, I returned to Stefanina’s Pizzeria and Restaurant at 8645 Veteran’s Memorial Parkway right here in O’Fallon. My guests and I arrived for a late dinner, to avoid the evening commute traffic (if you sit in westbound 70 traffic in the evening I am sorry) right around 7 p.m. and walked through the door. Once again, there was a line backed up to get into the restaurant (a good sign!) so I put in our names and was told it would be about 15 minutes. Within 20 minutes, my dinner party and I were seated at a nice booth. The …
38.80037
-90.69894
Stefanina's Pizzeria & Restaurant
8645 Veterans Memorial Pky, O Fallon, MO
/articles/ofallon-pizza-quest-begins
834326
/locations/3218656
Monday, January 24, 2011
O'Fallon Patch food columnist looks back at his favorite dishes of pasta and shares his pick for "Best Spaghetti in O'Fallon."
It is with much optimism that I look forward to both O’Fallon’s food feature, and our next Culinary Challenge. This week we look back upon our dishes of spaghetti in the area, wrap up with some final thoughts and then crown a favorite for the area’s best spaghetti. We began our challenge at A'mi’s Italian, their dish was great for a quick lunch, but if you are looking for something with a more authentic atmosphere and taste, you may look somewhere else. However, for the price as well as the quick service, you might want to check this place out. I know I am looking forward to going back to try something else on their menu. Next we tried national favorite Fazoli’s. With a late night dinner I marked Fazoli’s with an A plus, forgoing the …
38.785897
-90.73694
A'mis Italian Restaurant
1266 Bryan Rd, O Fallon, MO
/articles/spaghetti-quest-comes-to-an-end
1856454
/locations/3151656
38.78778
-90.717389
Rizzo's Pasta
104 Triad Ctr W, O Fallon, MO
/articles/spaghetti-quest-comes-to-an-end
834323
/locations/3151657
38.80037
-90.69894
Stefanina's Pizzeria & Restaurant
8645 Veterans Memorial Pky, O Fallon, MO
/articles/spaghetti-quest-comes-to-an-end
834326
/locations/3151658
Monday, January 17, 2011
With the spaghetti quest coming to an end, O'Fallon Patch food columnist says he can't wait to try something else on the Italian restaurant's menu.
I was not familiar with the next contender in our Spaghetti Food Quest of our Culinary Challenge. Rizzo’s Pasta was simply a restaurant I picked off of the O’Fallon Patch directory of Italian restaurants in the area, so I went in completely blind. I grabbed a dinner partner and headed out to 9002 Mexico Rd. where Rizzo's operates. I was a little apprehensive when I pulled into the parking lot, for a late night dinner the parking lot was relatively full, but from the outside, Rizzo’s looks almost like a bar, with a lit up “ Bud Light” sign sitting in the window. My first impression was completely turned upside down when I walked in the front door and was face to face with a hostess station. Diners were seated at well-set tables, and even …
38.78778
-90.717389
Rizzo's Pasta
104 Triad Ctr W, O Fallon, MO
/articles/rizzos-pasta-picture-of-class
834323
/locations/3078729
Jim Frain
3:45 pm on Tuesday, March 15, 2011
There is no other place in O'Fallon that can compare with the steak that you enjoyed at McGurk's.....Plenty of places to get a "decent" steak, but no place that compares. Everything at McGurk's is special, cooked perfectly, always tasty, presented well and the service is always good. My friends and I enjoy "meals of side dishes"...Their Mrs. Donegal's Potato Soup is superb, all of their potates, … more ›