House Tour

We are back and with a great new experience. You know how sometimes you like to just drive around neighborhoods and check out the houses? Usually they are a little out of your price range (ok…or maybe a lot!) or possibly an older neighborhood or even some place that you are NOT suppose to be. 😉

Well we got to do that and more on the 44th Annual Central West End House & Garden Tour. For a small ticket price, Dan and I, along with our cousins, walked and toured five mansions and a garden on historical Portland Place. Designed in 1888, Portland Place is one of the few St. Louis World Fair-era private streets (meaning you cannot be in there unless you live there or are invited!). Each house featured on the tour allowed you to walk in and see much of the inner parts of the house. Wearing hospital style booties, the four of us began our exciting and lavish tour. To describe all the different houses would take a huge blog but I can give some highlights. One of the first houses we went in had a 14 foot stain glass window in the foyer which had a large sitting room off to the left where ladies and gentlemen would wait to be greeted by the host and hostess. Within this house there were 22 rooms and the entire third floor was a formal ballroom (we did not get to see that floor)! Another mansion had a beautiful mural painted on the ceiling that they just uncovered within the last 40 years. Some of the bathrooms we saw I never wanted to leave! There are pictures of all the houses we saw on the tour.

Overall, we had a great time. Seeing these beautiful and spectacular homes was not only amazing, but truly worthwhile. Spending a sunny afternoon walking around such history was rewarding and we love hanging with our cousins. Both Dan and I highly recommend going on this tour next year even though it will be different homes, it will still be incredible.

Thanks for reading,

Denise

STL Irish Pub #2

So I guess you could say we are getting prepared for St. Patty’s Day! This weekend following one of our marriage prep classes, Denise and I ventured over to the Central West End (CWE) for lunch at Llywelyn’s Pub. The CWE location marks the original of six Llywelyn’s locations throughout St. Louis. Having been in business for over 35 years, the owners of certainly understand how to run a successful Irish pub.

After parking on a nearby street, we walked in and seated ourselves at a high-top table in the bar area. As always, I began looking around, observing the architecture, utilities, decorations, etc. (hey it’s practically second nature when you’re in the architectural engineering industry). To sum it up, the environment is exactly what one would expect from an Irish bar. The bartender quickly came to our table, dropped off a couple menus, and took our drink order. After scanning the menu for a few minutes, I chose the Ploughman’s Melt, a shredded pork, ham, and swiss cheese deli sandwich, and Denise had the Seasonal Salad, a roasted pear, walnut, bleu cheese, and grilled chicken spinach salad.

After 15 minutes or so, we received our food. Some may say this was a bit of a long wait for lunch; however, given the relaxing, casual environment, I actually didn’t mind the wait since it gave Denise and I a chance to just hang out. After the first bite, we were both sold. The food was very good. The combination of the pulled pork, ham, and “whiskey mustard” sauce was delicious. Plus, the side order of “skinny fries” (which, were reminiscent Steak ‘N Shake fries) were a plus considering my love of fried potatoes. Denise loved her salad and repeated mentioned how refreshing it was. The grilled chicken combined with the pears, walnuts, and bleu cheese provided a great crunch and appealed to her taste buds, especially since she was sick with a head cold. All in all, the food was great, especially for a pub.

Given our appetite and the tasty food, it wasn’t long before our plates were empty. Before the bartender came to clear our table, Denise mentioned that she saw that this Llywelyn’s location bought a personalize barrel of Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve bourbon whiskey. To my surprise, the bartender gave me a free sample. I thought this was a nice little bonus to an already great meal. Being a fan of the regular Knob Creek, this special edition batch was very good. As much as we wanted to stay and hang out, we paid the bill and continued on with our day. I should mention that the prices were average with other restaurants in the CWE, but may seem a bit high for customers not accustomed to the CWE scene. We will certainly come back again to try both dinner and the private loft dining area.

For locations, menu, and additional photos, please visit http://llywelynspub.com/

Thanks for reading,

Dan