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By Lisa Kampeter

To be fair and geographically desirable, I try to mix up the Dining Divas outings each month to cover all of Metro St. Louis.  Divas drive from as far west as Wentzville, north as Godfrey, east as Belleville, and just a little south of 40.  Being the coordinator of the outings, I try to make sure the restaurants are convenient for most everyone, not just me.  With that being said, I try to avoid downtown St. Louis since I’m the only regular Diva working downtown.  But this month, fairness didn’t fare so well.

A very reliable source suggested the Divas try out a new restaurant in downtown called Lola, and let me just say, we’ll be singing “L-O-L-A Lola” for awhile.   Previously, Crepes in the City occupied this location, but literally overnight, the furniture disappeared and the restaurant closed to the angst of many fans.  But what a replacement Lola is.

The restaurant sits on the corner of 14^th Street and St. Charles Street., right across from the new dog park.  If you’re not accustomed to the canine critters and the homeless people who enjoy the park, you may initially be cautious.  But fear not, Lola is a delight, the area is safe, and parking is easy.  We found plenty of available street parking spots.

Pick a night when you can kick back and stay.  You’ll be impressed with the drink menu.  It covers the entire back wall of the bar.  The “Urban Ice Picks” can be dangerous but delicious if you enjoy ice tea (and vodka).  Unfortunately for us, it was a “school” night, so we went the mellow route and drank wine.

Most nights, they have live music, too.  This night, a blues band entertained us as we watched couples doing the tango.

The New Mommy Diva was happy to learn that this place is kid-friendly as she had the Little Tike Diva joining us this evening.      The host so considerately seated us at a table away from the music so as to not irritate any tiny ears.  However, the Little Tike Diva excitedly joined the Grandma Diva on the dance floor for a few twirls.  So, yes, Lola was kid-friendly that evening, but I wouldn’t recommend bringing a toddler or any  child.  Mom can’t enjoy the Ice Picks quite as much.

Many of the Divas went for the Carmen Crepe as their entrée.  It was beef tenderloin with Borsin cheese in a crepe topped with shredded romaine lettuce and crispy fried shallots drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  Everyone loved it.  The Picky Diva enjoyed the Josephine Sandwich with roasted chicken, smoked mozzarella, and a pesto sauce as well as a side of sautéed spinach with garlic.  Of course, she had them hold the tomatoes and switch up the Focaccia bread.  The Colorful Diva happily ordered it “as is”.

The one crepe entrée may have been a blessing because several of the Divas had room for desserts.  As I’ve mentioned many times before, the Dining Divas love banana bread pudding, but the Dining Divas are usually disappointed in the banana bread pudding that we’ve ordered in the past.  Not this time.  Lola’s bread pudding is amazing.  June Cleaver Diva wished she’d ordered her own so she wouldn’t have had to share.  It was the best she’d ever had.  Grandma Diva went home and tried to duplicate the recipe.

The Picky Diva had the chef make an off-the-menu strawberry crepe, and it was light and delicious.  The Engaged Diva ordered the chocolate-banana crepe and was disappointed.  They made the cardinal sin of baking with bananas, she said.  The bananas weren’t ripe, and they tasted “green”.

Our Special Guest Diva didn’t enjoy her meal of formula much, but we sure enjoyed her unladylike way of entertaining us by putting her feet on the table or in her mouth.  We were just envious of how flexible she is.

So now we’re already talking about happy hour or dinner on the patio at Lola.  With the season finally cooperating, we want to check it out and the wall of amazing drink options.  And maybe another piece of the banana bread pudding which will have all of us singing we “love, love, love Lola” for quite some time.

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