I know, I know I just recently blogged/ tagged/ checked in to Katie’s Pizza and Pasta Osteria in Rockhill, but there was something that was so magical and EPIC that happened just last weekend that I can barely contain my excitement in sharing it with you. This is a long one so prepare your taste buds, you will be hungry after. It was the first #STLFoodieEatsUP. Saint Louis has some of the best restaurants and chefs in the country, at least many of us think so :). Just recently several chefs from St. Louis were nominated for the James Beard Award. How neat for them and our city!! With amazingly talented chefs and restaurants it is no wonder there is an increasing number of food bloggers. So Mike who owns, Gus Gus Fun Bus organized a foodie meet up, so that we could put a face with a name on Twitter. We all decided our first meeting should be at Katie’s Pizza and Pasta. Stephanie with Off the Eaten Path St. Louis, Spencer with Whiskey and Soba, Candis Stiebel, aka Bacon Girl, the Pastry chef at Sugar Fire Smokehouse, Bob with Completely Sauced, two hipsters with We Eat Stuff, Mike with Gus Gus Fun Bus, and Lisa Annie with Olive Food Do You? ( AKA MEEEE!!!) met and had the most fabulous time eating, sharing, talking about food and taking pictures. Each time a new dish came out, it took a solid 5-10 before we could eat lol. We took picture after picture.
This was my second time eating at Katie’s Pizza and Pasta. Katie and Ted, the owners are very big into giving back to the community. Last Month on a Tuesday evening, they gave 100% of the proceeds to Angels Arms, which is a local Saint Louis Charity. My husband and I had been wanting to try Katie’s for a while, and this just gave us the edge to get there! They had a full house both times we were there. I was able to meet Katie and Ted the first time I went. They were so inviting and friendly; I immediately wanted to be there friend :). Ted introduced himself to me because I was taking pictures of their artwork, and thought I might be interested in it. He let me know that he picked out the artwork himself, and had a big part in the design of Katie’s. Katie’s has a very chic and at home feel. It is definitely a family restaurant,
Joe and I sat at the bar when we went. We love to sit at the bar to eat and chat it up with the bartender. I asked our bartender to make me whatever he wanted. What do you think he made me??? Joe the bartender, we later found out his name, made me Joe’s Frisky Whisky. lol It made me giggle, because my husbands name is Joe and Whisky makes me frisky ahahaha. It was delicious and fresh. It has Jameson, rosemary green tea, simple syrup and fresh lime juice! The bartender was so chatty and charismatic. We loved it. Joe acted like he was taking our picture but took a selfie of himself and his coworker instead.
We ordered the fried artichoke salad, Ted’s Meatball Pizza, Lemon Pappardelle, and had Gelato with donuts and fresh fruit for dessert. The fried Artichoke salad was outstanding. My Joe just could not get enough. The combination of goat cheese, pistachios,fried artichokes over greens with balsamic vinaigrette was amazing. Katie’s makes their own pasta, and uses fresh ingredients in all of their food. They also use San Marzano tomatoes in a few of their dishes. San Marzano tomatoes are incredibly juicy and flavorful. The pizza was simple and perfect. You can’t go wrong with fresh mozzarella and meatballs lol. The Gelato is one of the best Gelato’s we have ever had. The recipe is straight from Italy. We took home half of the Pappardelle because it was so much food, but it didn’t go to waste. Joe had it for lunch the next day. We cleaned house though, and left so happy and full.
For our STLFoodiesEat, I was too excited. So of course I was the first one there. I grabbed a seat at our table and ordered one of the two drink specials for the day. I enjoyed a blood orange mimosa. Ooo lala. Several of the ladies ordered one when they got there too. The boys ordered Bloody Mary’s. They pickle everything, and put it in the Bloody Mary. It is almost a meal within itself! Look how tasty this looks.
For an appetizer, we all shared toasted ravioli topped with fresh parmesan cheese, a charcuterie platter, seasonal figs and prosciutto,and mussels. The toasted ravioli, was stuffed with artichoke and cheese and served with a pine nut pesto. I tried my first mussel! I don’t think I could eat a whole plate, but I would definitely eat them again. The charcuterie platter had pickled watermelon radishes (top left of the picture) I just wonder who thinks of delicious food ideas like this. I could not stop eating these. It was spicy and flavorful to the point my mouth was watering wanting more. The platter also had a tomato jam with hint of chili spice to it, several cheeses, and roasted nuts.
For our meal, gosh we ate so much. We all shared the Cured Meat Pizza, Margherita Pizza, Corn pizza, Fiori Arrabiatta, and Black Spaghetti. I only had chance to try the Cured Meat Pizza, and last two dishes. The Cured Meat Pizza was spicy :). Just how I like it. I am loving dishes spicier and spicier as I am trying new foods. It had coppa, sopressata, arugula, fresh mozzarella and chili pepper. The Fiori was my favorite dish. The noodles were cute little tulips cooked exactly how I like them, just a little more firm than al dente. Homemade pasta makes so happy. I make it all the time at home now. It makes such a difference in the freshness of the dish. It was tossed in a red spicy arrabiatta sauce. The black spaghetti was so far out of my comfort zone. The dish includes black sphagetti, which is spaghetti died with squid ink, clams, scallops, prawns, caviar, and chilli flake. Surprisingly, the taste of the spaghetti was not much different. The clams had a great flavor and were very tender. I tried caviar for the first time too. It was squishy and salty. I ate several of them.
We were all so full no body could get dessert. It was such a lovely afternoon meeting other people who love food as much as I do. I love that they want to share it, talk about it, and capture it in great pictures too!! We are already planning our next STLFoodiesEatUp, it will be at Mai Lee’s in Maplewood.
Until our next foodie get together, hopefully with even more food loving people!
Lisa Annie
XOXO
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