Blog

The Dining Divas Take in the Big Sky;

Worth a Repeat Visit

By Lisa Kampeter

  When we pick a restaurant for the Dining Divas outing, typically we choose a place that is somewhat new, but definitely new to most of us. This month’s restaurant choice was neither new nor new to several of us, but that’s okay because Big Sky Café in Webster Groves is worth a return visit.

    As usual, parking is always an issue in Webster, and this night was no exception. But Big Sky Café is worthy of a walk or taking the risk of parking in other lots “reserved” for guests of neighboring restaurants. A very busy night it was, but Big Sky Café takes reservations and happily greeted our larger group without hesitation. And we felt welcomed immediately.

   Big Sky has an amazing patio, but we’ll be saving that for a warmer evening. The first thing I noticed once seated was a beautiful, mosaic wall, with rolling hills and what looked to be cows and pigs in a sky of many shades of blue. It was interesting. As were the employees and our waiter.

    He was very knowledgeable and frank, which is probably a good thing when dealing with our group. The menu and what goes into making it up was interesting too. Almost 100% of their menu comes from local farms and is naturally raised. They have close relationships with partners who provide seasonal produce as well as sustainable seafood. They believe in taking care of the surrounding communities.

    The Returning Diva was so glad we picked Big Sky because it had been quite a long time since she’d been there, and she was reminded how much she loved the food and the atmosphere. Big Sky serves small plates and larger plates to share. We did both.

   The NOLA BBQ Shrimp with gouda polenta was an appetizer but it was big enough for a meal. And it was delicious. Those of us who could tolerate Sweet and Sour Brussel Sprouts really enjoyed them. The Picky Diva commented that Brussel sprouts smell like stinky feet. No stinky feet smells this night! The Baked Kale Chips tasted a lot like flash fried spinach, and we love flash fried spinach.

    And never one for passing up Mac and Cheese, the Play-It-Safe Diva and the table enjoyed the Cheddar Cheese Macaroni with panko and bacon. This night was Burger and Craft Beer night. The Non-Drinking Diva really enjoyed her burger without the brew, but the Non-Craft-Drinking Diva really enjoyed her beer choice with her burger. The Brined Buttonwood Farm Chicken Breast with mushrooms and sprouts and mashed potatoes was a brave choice for one Diva.

   She rarely orders chicken and was so glad she did. It was juicy, full of mushrooms, and had a great flavor.   

   Another delicious choice was the Rosemary and Red Wine Braised Pot Roast. It was even better the next day as leftovers. Did we save room for desserts? No. But did we still order them? Of course! The Chocolate Cherry Pie was an unexpected delight. The crust just melted in your mouth and was full of cherries and chocolate. The Chocolate-Loving Diva chose the Blueberry Chocolate Crisp with homemade salted caramel ice cream. She seriously was considering driving back to Big Sky Café from Grafton, IL a couple days later just to get this dessert to-go. That’s how impressed she was with it.

    Aside from the great food, we enjoyed our conversations about weekend getaways, upcoming holidays, and ghosts. The Traveling Diva offered up her beautiful condo on the river over Thanksgiving to a couple Divas going through some hard times. The Adventurous Divas were heading to Toronto for the weekend to see the Hockey Hall of Fame. And the Apologetic Diva shared an intriguing story of an experience with a medium, which had us all convinced she could “see people.”

    Besides being impressed with Big Sky’s quality food, we were also impressed with their mission to provide clean water to developing countries. Through their charity change program, they donate to charity:water.

   As you leave the restaurant, there is a large wine bottle by the front door for you to drop off your spare change. They match 20% of whatever is given. That got us talking about our charitable effort this holiday season, and we were all very excited about our plans. Each month, we collect our “spare change” for a charitable donation during the holidays. More on that next month!

    As we all walked out of Big Sky, I thought of the “big sky” out west in Wyoming and Montana. It’s beautiful. And I wondered about what this Big Sky is doing to support the communities in which we live, as well as countries nowhere near to us. That is beautiful too.

   I couldn’t have been happier to have tried this not-new-to-many-of-us restaurant. As I said, it’s worth a return visit. And I’ll be sure to bring along my spare change.