As you may know from my blog, when I get the chance, I like to pay a visit to restaurants featured on Food and Travel Channel TV shows, especially Man Vs. Food . In the first season, he visited St. Louis, and I can now say, that I’ve hit two out of the three places he went to.
Last week, the kids were off from school Friday, so we headed downtown to find Crown Candy Kitchen. This place has been around since 1913, and just oozes old time charm. The area that surrounds it is a bit dilapidated, however, it looks as if there is a big street long renovation going on across the intersection, so maybe that will revitalize the area.
They opened at 10:30am, and we arrived at 11:10, and there was already a line out the door. This is a tiny place. There are 8 or so booths that seat two people, down the middle of the small store/restaurant, and approximately 12 or so booths for four around the edges. You stand just inside the doorway and form a line out the door, and when a table is cleared, you seat yourself. This is a bit of a problem if there are several groups of four in the front of the line, and tables for two keep getting up. They’ll sit there, open, until a party of two moves up or notices they are there.
We waited about 20 minutes, and I used that time to peruse the candy counter that is next to the ice cream counter on the left wall. They had all kinds of sweets for sale. Chocolate covered raisins and cranberries and others, solid chocolate turkeys, some sort of “Crown Candy Hash” and various nuts. Lots of things to go straight to your hips.
We got our table and checked out the menu. One side is dedicated to lunch items and the other side is all ice cream delights. There are some menu boards around the room, so we pretty much knew what we wanted. The server brought waters (no ice?) over from the counter, and was very accommodating with our “Grilled Ham and Cheese, don’t grill it” and “Breaded Chicken Sandwich with Cheese, cheese on the side and nothing else!”. I had the grilled roast beef and cheddar, which was very good – the cheese was plenty melted, and there was some on the bottom and top of the meat. All dishes come with chips and a pickle. Our reuben was rated A+ by my sauerkraut loving daughter who stole half from my wife.
The main course was dessert. I filled up too much on my sandwich, so I split a chocolate milkshake with my son. That thing was huge. We didn’t finish it between the two of us. I can see why Adam got… sick… on the show after five. By the way, that “challenge” is listed on the menu. We also ordered a scoop of Oreo ice cream, and a hot fudge sundae. The ice cream tasted just like Oreos, and had a great texture. I highly recommend it! The hot fudge sauce is made fresh in the store, and the menu warns not to eat it if you have dentures. I can see why. Once it hit the ice cream and hardened a bit, it was pretty chewy, but it was rich and delicious.
Bill was around $45. Sandwiches are around $6-7, and the ice cream goodies are around $5. So, it adds up if everyone gets something. But it was very good. Another restaurant experience for the books!
