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Summertime Dining
Dining Divas Try Out Traditionally
‘Weber ‘ Backyard Barbecue Indoors
By Lisa Kampeter
Summertime. Barbecue. Hanging Out With Friends. What’s Not To Love!!!
The Dining Divas Spent A Summer Evening Together Enjoying Some Barbecue And Each Other’s Company At Weber Grill Restaurant In The St. Louis Galleria This Past Month. The Same People Who Introduced The Backyard Sensation Of The Kettle Grill Have Now Brought The Sensation Indoors To St. Louis.
As Has Happened In The Past, Weber Was Not The First Choice For The Dining Divas. The Restaurant We Had Planned To Go To Said They Couldn’t Accommodate Us Until After 9 P.M.. So Planning Ahead For Next Month, We Tried To Make Reservations Again With Them For Three Weeks Later, And They Still Couldn’t Accommodate Us. They Basically Told Us We’d Have To Give Them A Two To Three Month Advanced Notice. Well, The Only Notice I Gave Was To The Planning Diva That Our Group Would Never Be Going To That Restaurant. There’s No Way That The Restaurant Is “That” Good.
So We Decided To Try Weber, And They Were Happy To Accommodate Us. And When A Few Divas Walked In And Saw That St. Louis Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock Was Dining There, We Knew The Place Had To Be Cool. And When Our Very Confident And Attentive Waiter Greeted Us, We Were Well On Our Way To Having Found Another Enjoyable Dining Establishment In St. Louis. Well, Almost. Or At Least For Some Of Us.
The Latecomer Diva Surprised Us All And Showed Up Late, Of Course, When We Hadn’t Expected Her. She Missed The First Helping Of Pretzel Bread With Multiple Dipping Sauces, But Our Waiter Was Happy To Get Us More. He Was Happy To Bring Out A New Salad For The Diva Who Couldn’t Enjoy Her Salad Entrenched In Vinegar And He Comped It For Her Later). And He Was More Than Happy To Tolerate The Complaining Diva Who Reprimanded Him For Taking Her Drink Away Before She’d Poured The Last Drops Into Her Glass.
This Night The Divas Seemed Divided. Half Liked Their Food And Thought The Waiter Was Personable And Attentive. The Other Half Thought The Food Was Overpriced, Barely Warm, And The Waiter Was Average And “Needs To Be Retrained”. Some Of Us Had To Laugh When We Heard The Complaint That The Prices At Weber Were Ridiculously High, Yet The Unimpressed Diva Ordered The Most Expensive Item On The Menu. She Also Expected The Service There To Be Similar To A Five Star Upscale Restaurant. This Is A Barbecue Joint, For Pete’s Sake!
So If You Want Sea Bass, Go To Pf Changs. Theirs Is Cheaper And Better. For Your Salad, Maybe Order Your Dressing On The Side, So You Don’t Have To Deal With Too Much Vinegar Or Dressing For That Matter. The Beef Tips With Garlic Mashed Potatoes Were Tasty But Average. Make Sure You Get Them Hot. Many Of Our Items Arrived Just Warm. Skip The Vegetable Kebab. It’s Not Worth The Seven Dollars. The Weber Firestarter Sampler Is A Good Idea To Get A Taste Of Several Items Like Ribs, Chicken And Steak Skewers, And Shrimp, But Don’t Be Fooled. Because It Has Lots Of Items Doesn’t Mean There’s Lots Of Food.
Starting Your Meal Off With A Caesar Salad Is An Excellent Idea. Delish! The Non-Barbecue-Eating Diva Even Enjoyed Her Black Angus Meatloaf That Was Grilled And Covered In Hickory Bbq Sauce. The Barbecue Combination Was A Wise Choice. You Pick Your Meat, And I’d Recommend The Beef Brisket. Bringing Back Childhood Memories, The Beer-Can Chicken Was Juicy And Delicious.
I Doubt Several Of The Divas Will Try Weber Again. Their Palettes Weren’t Overwhelmed, And The Prices Were Too Steep. I Do Know Some Of The Other Divas Have Their Next Visit In The Books. And If Coach Hitch Is A Fan, We’re A Fan Too.
