Food Review: The Brass Rail Delivers Great Service, Crab Cakes

Local blogger Jared England reviews restaurants and food in St. Charles County.

O'Fallon Food Critic

Friday Food Critic: Angelo's Chicago Taste

Each week, we nominate a new restaurant for you to review. That's right, you're the local expert.

When it comes to restaurants, O'Fallon has plenty. O'Fallon has some local places that many would consider community gems, some restaurants that aren't exactly mom-and-pop but are unique to the area and O'Fallon certainly have plenty of chains lining our main streets. But what the city doesn't have have is a consistent food critic to tell us what's good and what's not.  That's where you come in. We could throw some money at a professional food critic, but that's not exactly what Patch is all about. We'd much rather know the opinion of the fine folks that eat there day-in and day-out. It's your community. You eat the food. You tell us if it passes the mark. That's why we have The Friday Food Critic column, where each week we will put a …

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Friday Food Critic: Daddy Ray Burgers

Each week, we nominate a new restaurant for you to review. That's right, you're the local expert.

When it comes to restaurants, O'Fallon has plenty. O'Fallon has some local places that many would consider community gems, some restaurants that aren't exactly mom-and-pop but are unique to the area and O'Fallon certainly have plenty of chains lining our main streets. But what the city doesn't have have is a consistent food critic to tell us what's good and what's not.  That's where you come in. We could throw some money at a professional food critic, but that's not exactly what Patch is all about. We'd much rather know the opinion of the fine folks that eat there day-in and day-out. It's your community. You eat the food. You tell us if it passes the mark. That's why we have The Friday Food Critic column, where each week we will put a …

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Massa's Italian Grill Sets a High Bar for O’Fallon’s Italian Battle

This month we begin our epic battle between O’Fallon’s Italian Restaurants. Can they possibly hold up to the incredibly high quality of our Thai food? Keep reading to find out.

I like the atmosphere at Massa's. It helps that their choice of late '80s/early '90s rock took me right back to high school. The music fit with the purposefully eclectic blend of quirky restaurant with hints of sports bar. The maroon walls are dotted with mounted antlers every few feet. Between the antlers are everything from signed jerseys to framed lithographs of St. Louis back in it’s international heydey to pictures of Victorians playing tennis. All of the actual sports equipment on the wall is from an earlier era - solid wood gorgeous golf clubs, elegant wooden ski poles and tennis rackets that look like they were used by ladies in corsets and gentlemen in waistcoats. To keep it from getting too stuffy, plush monkeys hang from the …

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Thai Battle Roundup: Thai Jasmine vs Thai Gourmet

See how O’Fallon’s two exceptional Thai restaurants fared as they battled for the love of our reviewer.

Ladies and gentlemen, I couldn’t be happier with this month’s battle. Some fights are one handed. Others are stealthy. In this case, I am proud to say we have two mighty, evenly matched and vastly different contenders for Best Thai in O’Fallon. In one corner we have Thai Jasmine with it’s Japanese influence. In the other stands Thai Gourmet with their Indian flare. You can get a great bowl of Pad Thai or plate of Basil Chicken at either, but it’s the extra influences that really set them apart. If you think Japanese and Indian food seem like an improbable combination, take a look at a map. Thailand is smack dab between the two and their cuisine has tasty influences from both. You’ll have to come back next month for my usual smack talk. I …

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Breakfast Restaurant Battle: Cappucino's vs Ham 'N Egg

This week we wake up our tastebuds as Cappucino's faces off with Ham 'N Egg for best breakfast in O'Fallon

Breakfast. It's not only the most important meal of the day, it also has the potential to be the tastiest. Breakfast is the only time of day when it's socially acceptable to eat a plate full of sugar as your main course. We sampled the sweet morning treats at Cappucino's and Ham N Egg to learn where to find the best morning food in O'Fallon. BEST HASHBROWNS Pro: At Ham 'N Egg, the thin sliced German style potatoes were scattered across a grill until they achieved a perfect golden brown. Crispy on the outside, buttery soft within - they were droolworthy. Con: They were a little on the greasy side (but worth it). Pro: The hash browns at Cappucino's were entirely grease free. Con: They were also mostly flavor free. The generic Waffle House …

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Sushi Battle Roundup: Fujiyama versus Kitaro

After dining at Fujiyama and Kitaro, which sushi will roll our reviewer over to their side in our O’Fallon Sushi battle?

In one corner stands Kitaro, strong, massive and as well known as Godzilla. In the other stands Fujiyama, a smaller, less well known underdog. The two of them dominate the sushi scene in O’Fallon like giant rubber monsters dominate downtown Tokyo. Your humble restaurant reviewer battled them both to learn their secret weaknesses and discover which contender was the strongest. BEST ATMOSPHERE Pro: Kitaro is a huge, spacious building with an upscale atmosphere and a lovely outdoor patio. They can easily support a party of ten. Con: When sitting in the sushi bar, the hibachi was so deafeningly loud we gave up on conversation and texted one another from the same table. Pro: Fujiyama has a small, intimate, family diner atmosphere where …

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Kitaro Serves Sloppy Sushi

Freshly infused saki and interesting appetizers make Kitaro look like an appetizing place for cooked entrees, but the sushi left something to be desired.

My first visit to Kitaro surprised me. Based on the website, I was expecting a strip mall anchor, so I passed right by the massive building while searching for something more modest. When I realized I’d been circling it all along, I felt like a dolt. Kitaro is a warehouse sized upscale restaurant with decor reminiscent of a P.F. Changs without the faux Chinese sculpture. The red and black interior with cherry finishes opens onto the wrap around sushi bar. There are two hibachi grill areas at opposite corners.In between, the restaurant is filled out by curved, intimate tables for two tucked around some round corner booths and standard four tops.  The overall effect was an airy space that allowed for intimate conversation. I hadn’t expected …

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Culinary Challenge

O'Fallon Food Quest: Three Steaks in One Night

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 …

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Culinary Challenge

Search for Best O'Fallon Steak Begins

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, …

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Jordan Lanham

9:03 am on Monday, March 14, 2011

Thanks Jason!   more ›