Granite City Food and Brewery

Granite City Food and Brewery
11411 Olive Blvd
St Louis, MO 63141
(314) 432-3535
Website

Granite City Food and Brewery on Olive Blvd in St. Louis, MO. is not a place I will go to again. First, I did not know this was a chain restaurant before we went, but I should have known the minute I walked in, because the atmosphere did not feel like a unique restaurant. Second, after doing some research I found out that they do not even brew the beer on location. See for brewing process. I think that a place has to brew beer on location to be considered a brewery.

Granite City Food and Brewery had a selection of five specialty beers. A light American brew, a bock type beer, an IPA, a stout and a seasonal wheat beer. I started out with the wheat beer. This tasted like I was chewing on yeast. I was not impressed. I think it is pretty hard to mess up a wheat beer, but somehow they did. The second beer I ordered was the IPA. This was much better, but it was still not what I expected. Beers are expensive. One of the "homemade brews" will run $4.50. We are talking ballpark prices here, ridiculous.

Expensive is all I have to say. Now, I do not mind spending money if the food is worth it. But, I kind of felt like the place cut corners to save money, while charging out the ass. For example, a tiny little thing of homemade chips was $4. A cheeseburger with coleslaw (fries are an extra charge, go figure) was $8.50. This burger had one little piece of cheese on it. A pizza ran about $11 and would have definitely not filled me up. Salads ran between $12 and $15. Pastas ran a little higher than that. I saw some pasta dishes and they definitely did not look like they were worth the money.

The service was also slow. Make sure to set aside a lot of time if you go to this place. The burgers took forever to cook. The pizza came out at least 10 minutes before the burgers.

I left this place unsatisfied and feeling ripped off. I will not be back.

September 28, 2007: Culver's is the Place to Eat in St. Louis for Today

Culver's - Multiple Locations around the St. Louis Area.

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Culver's is always packed. It is packed because it is good. Culver's is fairly new to St. Louis and they have made a big splash. If you like Steak n Shake hamburgers, then you will love Culver's. Culver's is a step up on taste, and quality. Culver's has a variety of foods. They have the usual burger, but they also have some different items such as the pot roast sandwich, which I had a bite of and it was excellent. Culver's is a fast food restaurant that serves better food than most sit down restaurants.

At Culver's I always order the Double Butter Burger with everything on it. And as a side I get the Cheese Curds. The Butter Burger is never a disappointment and one of the best burgers in St. Louis. Yes, I know it comes from a fast food restaurant, but if you have to give respect where respect is due, and if you have ever eaten a Butter Burger from Culver's you know what I am talking about. The Cheese Curds are little fried cheese balls that are very good as well. But, one thing Culver's severely lacks in the sauce department. The ranch is no good, the horseradish is no good, and the honey mustard looks like a goo. But, Culver's is so good that I don't need sauces.

Prices: About $6 for a ButterBurger, fries and a drink

September 13, 2007: Flannery's Pub is the Restaurant in St. Louis for Today

Flannery's Pub
1320 Washington Ave
St. Louis, MO 63103
Phone number: 314-214-8885

Flannery's is located on Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis, where people are know building lofts by the hundreds. I ate Flannery's for lunch. The inside of Flannery's is a bar atmosphere. They have about 12 flat screen televisions, a few wooden booths and a bunch of bar tables. The menu has a variety of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. It has all of the usual pub and bar food. I don't know what it is about these places on Washington Avenue that makes them think that they can price their food so high. I would rather go get some good food at a cheaper place than go to these places. The menu at Flannery's didn't have a burger on it for under $8. The service was good at Flannery's. I had nothing to complain about, so if I don't notice that the server is doing a bad job, then the service is good. If you are looking for a good bar atmosphere and a place to eat lunch in the city, Flannery's would be a good place to go

I ordered the Taco Burger. This was a burger topped with salsa, jalapenos, and taco cheese. For the side order I got some fried corn. The burger was a huge patty and was pretty good. I have had better burgers before, and I have had much better burgers for less than the $8.25 I paid at Flannery's. The fried corn things were delicious. They were little balls of sweet cream corn, coated and fried. I would get an order of those next time. The food at Flannery's was pretty good, prices are a little high, but the Cardinal's game was on so that made my experience better.

Prices: $8.25 for a hamburger, and a side.

September 10, 2006: Fuddrucker's is the Restaurant in St. Louis for Today

Fuddrucker's
10752 Sunset Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63127
Phone number: 314-966-3833

Or

12322 Dorsett Rd.
Maryland Heights, MO 63034
314-434-5565

There are two Fuddrucker's in the St. Louis area that I am aware of. One in South County in Sunset Hills and on in West County off of Dorsett. Fuddrucker's is known for hamburgers and toppings bar. On the inside of Fuddrucker's there are pictures of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis and more. Fuddrucker's is the type of place where you order your food at the counter, they cook the food and then call you name to pick it up from the counter. At Fuddrucker's you have your choice of many different varieties of burgers. You can order a from a 1/3 pound hamburger up to a one pound hamburger. Fuddrucker's also has chicken, fish and nachos. The great thing about the nachos is that they have hot cheese sauce in a container and you can put as much cheese on the nachos as you want. The self serve sauce and toppings are is the best thing about Fuddrucker's. You can get as much of the sauces as you need. They have ketchup, mustard, ranch, honey mustard, and my favorite is the hot cheese sauce. There is also a toppings bar with tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, lettuce and more. If you go to Fuddrucker's you have to put cheese on everything.

When I went to Fuddrucker's I ordered the Southwest hamburger. The Southwest burger comes with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, and bacon. The first thing I do when I grab my burger is walk over to where the cheese sauce is and pile it on. I also put ketchup and mustard on the burger. My burger was thick and juicy and it was made even better because I got to choose my toppings that went on the burger. I always make sure to get fries when I go, because I get a bunch of the free cheese sauce and make cheese fries.

Prices: About $10 for a 1/3 pound burger, fries and a drink.

August 30, 2007: Syberg's is the Restaurant of the Day in St. Louis for Today

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Syberg's has multiple restaurants and bars throuhgout the St. Louis area. Find one.

Syberg's is a classic St. Louis establishment. They are famous for their chicken wings and wing sauce. They also have the famous shark chunks that are served at Syberg's. I have never had them but I hear they are good. I have been to two Syberg's. I have been to the one on Gravois in Affton, and the one by Westport. Both locations have the bar atmosphere. During the day Syberg's is a nice restaurant and grill. And at night Syberg's becomes a place where people gather to drink. At the Westport location on weekend nights there is live entertainment and the bar is packed with people. But at the Gravois location they play loud music over the speakers and the bar gets pretty packed with people. At the Gravois location they have a nice outside patio.

I ate lunch at the Gravois location. I got there at about 11:50 and there were plenty of places to sit. The menu at Syberg's is huge. It has a ton of stuff on it. You have your choice between a ton of appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, pizza and more. I ordered the cajun chicken philly sandwich. This was a grilled chicken breast covered in cajun spices, peppers and onions. This was a very good sandwich. The spices on the chicken gave it a different taste, it was good. The sandwich also came with a side order of fries or home made chips. I ordered the chip and they were good as well.

Prices: $10.05 for a chicken philly, home made chips, and a drink

Hardee’s is the Restaurant of the Day for July 31 in St. Louis

It has been a while since I went to Hardee's and I was short on time, so I went. I have heard so much about their "thick burgers" and how they were supposed to be so good.

Hardee's is claiming to have the best burger in town, period. This advertising may work on others, because whoever is saying that Hardee's has the best burger is dead wrong. They don't even have the best burger in the fast food industry. I would much rather eat a Culver's, or White Castle burger instead of Hardee's. I ordered the sourdough thickburger. The burger seemed like an ordinary burger to me. Hardee's offers nothing different than any other fast food joint. It had the pale brown look of the every fast food burger that I have eaten, with the exception of a few quality places.

I went into Hardee's at about 5:15 p.m. The place had three people inside eating. I don't know how this place stays open. Hardee's better think of something that distinguishes them from the other fast food places or I don't see how they can stay in business much longer. Almost all of the Wendys' closed in St. Louis, and I can see Hardee's doing the same thing.

Prices: $5.47 for a sourdough thickburger and a drink

White Castle is Restaurant of the Week for July 29

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White Castle’s is one of St. Louis’ gems. What a great place to eat at any time of the day or night. It was about two o’clock in the morning, and we drove through White Castle. There is nothing better than their little jalapeno cheeseburgers and chicken rings with cheese at two in the morning. This was after a night of drinking at the baseball game and then drinking some more at a bar. Good thing I didn’t drive. There are only a limited number of restaurants that will hit the spot under these circumstances and White Castle is one of them.

White Castle has some of the best drunk food ever. And the thing that is different about White Castle’s drunk food is that it still taste delicious when you are not drunk. For example, Eat Right has some of the best food at three in the morning, but there is no way I would set food in that place in daylight. The little White Castle hamburger is so tender and good it is like no other hamburger I have ever tasted. The menu has a ton of good food listed on it. Usually when I go to a place to eat I stick to one or two things, but at White Castle I can’t ever make up my mind. They have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, fish nibblers, chicken rings, cheese sticks, and more.

We are lucky here in St. Louis because we are blessed with so many White Castles. If you go about 120 miles west to Columbia, Missouri you can’t find one anywhere. This is a disgrace because when I would go down there to visit I would get hammered and I would want some White Castle’s and I would always be disapointed by some place I would end up eating.

Prices: Around 55-70 cents for a hamburger or cheeseburger. $2.50 for some chicken rings with cheese. Prices are very cheap.

White Castle is Restaurnt of the Day for July 27

White Castle's is one of St. Louis' gems. What a great place to eat at any time of the day or night. It was about two o'clock in the morning, and we drove through White Castle. There is nothing better than their little jalapeno cheeseburgers and chicken rings with cheese at two in the morning. This was after a night of drinking at the baseball game and then drinking some more at a bar. Good thing I didn't drive. There are only a limited number of restaurants that will hit the spot under these circumstances and White Castle is one of them.

White Castle has some of the best drunk food ever. And the thing that is different about White Castle's drunk food is that it still taste delicious when you are not drunk. For example, Eat Right has some of the best food at three in the morning, but there is no way I would set food in that place in daylight. The little White Castle hamburger is so tender and good it is like no other hamburger I have ever tasted. The menu has a ton of good food listed on it. Usually when I go to a place to eat I stick to one or two things, but at White Castle I can't ever make up my mind. They have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, fish nibblers, chicken rings, cheese sticks, and more.

We are lucky here in St. Louis because we are blessed with so many White Castles. If you go about 120 miles west to Columbia, Missouri you can't find one anywhere. This is a disgrace because when I would go down there to visit I would get hammered and I would want some White Castle's and I would always be disappointed by some place I would end up eating.

Prices: Around 55-70 cents for a hamburger or cheeseburger. $2.50 for some chicken rings with cheese. Prices are very cheap.

Blueberry Hill is Restaurant and Bar of the Day for July 25

Blueberry Hill is located in the Loop on Delmar. This place has good food and good beer. Blueberry Hill is big on the inside, with multiple rooms and tables. One room has a wall of dart boards, about 10 in all. The crowd at this place is more of a younger crowd with a few older people mixed in. In the basement of Blueberry Hill is the Duck Room, this is where anyone can still see Chuck Berry play once a month.

Blueberry Hill claims they have one of the best burgers in St. Louis. While the burger is good, it is not the best in St. Louis. In my opinion, Culver’s has a better burger than Blueberry Hill. If you get the burger at Blueberry Hill get the cheddar cheese spread for the cheese option, it is the best part of the burger.

Blueberry Hill is also a place to drink. On the weekends, or even weekdays there is always people in this bar enjoying a few drinks. This place is located in the loop so drinks will not be that cheap. A pitcher of Bud Light is about $8 and mixed drinks are around $4.50. Don’t come to this place sober expecting to get drunk on a tight budget. The atmosphere is great, it is a smoky bar with a lot of history and in a great part of town. There is always a place to sit, or if you don’t want to sit you can stand in the bar area, because it is pretty big.

Prices: Food is fairly priced. A burger cost around $4.50, but it does not come with fries. Drinks are a little overpriced for the average bar.

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