food – Bits of Love Creations

Burger Bounce – At Home

The Reed household lies on a mostly quiet street in a fairly standard suburb in Missouri. A ranch-style home, this is where the Reed family resides, though this should be obvious at this point. Jokes aside, my mother has fixed meals for the lot of us for quite some time, and she isn’t shy to take the recipes of others and add her own quirks and tweaks to make them purely of her own design. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (though not always in that order), my siblings and I would be hard-pressed to actual find a meal of hers that we actively dislike.

To that end, something that has definitely increased more in recent years is “Taco Tuesday” transpiring in our house on, well, Tuesdays. Though not an original concept in and of itself, we have taken this to heart and started to have different Mexican themed meals on these Tuesdays. Sometimes we get take-out, other times we have make your own taco nights, and so on and so forth. However, my favorite aspect of this is most assuredly the one that involves burger. So, here comes the Nacho Burger to satisfy our cravings for both burger foodstuffs with that Mexican flair. I know we just talked about our venture to the Southwest Diner which involves a similar theme, but not only is this a favorite of my mother’s cooking, but an order to stay at home as much as possible and not stay in incredibly packed circumstances than an eatery like Southwest Diner provides, this is the perfect time to cover the Nacho Burger. It’s the Burger Bounce Quarantine Special!

Now, as said before, the idea can be derived from other similar burgers that exist in multiple places. Chili’s has their own Nacho Burger that shares a lot of commonalities with the one that I ate at the Southwest Diner, and it seems famed Food Network chef and Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game participant Bobby Flay has a Nacho Burger all his own. Granted I haven’t had any of these particular burgers, especially not Bobby’s as I don’t foresee him serving me one anytime soon, I’m sure that my mother’s nacho burgers top both of those. Should be noted that Bobby’s softball season wasn’t even that good, and I much prefer the 2001 season with the likes of Paul Williams and James Van Der Beek. Anywho, what about the food?

Most who know me also know that I have a strong predilection towards cheese, which is without a doubt my favorite aspect of the Nacho Burger. You take a burger patty, of course the standard bun (although this can be toasted for added effect), tortilla chips, jalapeños, and as much queso as you could possibly desire. Of course, this can vary based on taste, but I prefer an immense amount. Drench it, I say! Occasionally when making this dish, my mother will also mix chunks of pepperjack cheese into the ground beef so that the burgers have cheese inside the patties as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t have pepperjack at the time of this meal and didn’t feel going to the grocer so soon after the quarantine announcement was a good idea, so these patties were pepperjack-less. Que serà serà.

The burger was just fine without it, with the queso providing the soft, liquidlike contrast to the crunch of the jalapeños and tortilla chips. As expected, this Mexican flair also provides a level of spice to the dish. Not one that’s excessive, mind you, especially this time around with the lack of pepperjack, and that’s the way I prefer it too. I’ve never been one with a spicy palette. I like it to a degree, but I’m not one to suffer for art, especially one’s culinary in nature. Regardless of the full makeup and what ingredients may or may not be available, this remains one of my favorite dishes to this day, and the fact that as I write this another instance is coming up makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I love the fact that the kids love a lot of my concoctions. I like to try new things and make changes to recipes. In fact, I’m horrible at actually following a recipe unless I’m baking. Which perhaps is why I don’t enjoy baking as much as I do cooking. When you bake, most times, if you do not follow the recipe, it just doesn’t turn out right.

I honestly don’t remember what started me making Nacho Burgers. There wasn’t a recipe, but maybe an idea sparked from something I saw or something someone said? Hard to tell. But I figured I would try to dress up the burger into one of my favorite types of food, Mexican. Our whole family loves cheese, with the exception of Mallory. She absolutely detests it in any way. However, she does like cheese sauce like queso. Weird, I know. But the fact that I can make a burger without the pepperjack inside for her, but she can still top it with queso for the effect makes me happy. However, she is now allergic to red meat and pork. So I made her a chicken breast instead. It’s all about pivoting these days, right?

Anyway, most of the time I make this burger, I add my homemade taco seasoning to the ground beef along with the pepperjack cheese chunks before forming the patties. Once they are cooked, each person gets to use whatever toppings they like. we have the queso and tortilla chips but we also have lettuce, sour cream, salsa, banana peppers, and jalapeno peppers. For this specific evening we had fried potato slices as our side. It’s pretty easy. Just fix what you and your family like!

Have a lovely day!

Burger Bounce – Southwest Diner

Southwest Diner’s name tells you what it is and what it’s about right up front, baby. A diner with a Southwestern aesthetic (primarily with a New Mexico-flair, as indicated by the rather large map of New Mexico hanging on one wall), this restaurant sits in a brick style building with the standard four sided feel next to what seems to be an abandoned food truck. The diner also touts a long wait time if you are to read any online review of the establishment, though whether by circumstance or luck, our wait was a mere 5-10 minutes. Upon entering, you’ll notice the rather tight quarters with a bar shoved into the back corner allowing people to prop up on stools to eat and drink, loudly conversing with the stranger next to them about the sorry state of a football team the area has had no ties to for nearing on four years now.

Only adding to the pure claustrophobia is the copious amount of décor adorning every wall on the building’s insides. I wouldn’t call any of it tacky or offensive really, it can just overwhelm you by sheer volume. There were things reminiscent of the Southwestern area of the country, images of New Mexico state bird the roadrunner were at home, and the paint palette was hues of red, brown, and orange, giving off the arid, desert feel of the state that rewarded this nation with Smokey Bear so many years ago (note that his name is Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear. Mindbender for many, I’m sure). The back wall next to where we sat boasts a mirror so that you can see the queso drip down your face as you eat, though most of it is covered with well-done cartoonish art likely crafted by an artist in the community, if not one that worked or is working at the diner. Speaking of the artistic community, the final wall of note had little paper figures in bags certainly created by a local resident, each of which was a different fictional character with customizable limbs. I noticed Ellen Ripley and John Rambo, among a myriad of others. All of these were next to the aforementioned poster of New Mexico towering over the denizens of Southwest ready to impart detailed information on the location of Santa Ana County to any brazen enough to approach the imposing monolith. We had fun looking for the city of Grants on it since that’s where my mom’s aunt & uncle use to live!

Perhaps the most stressful part of the entire experience is how cramped everything ended up being. Especially in times such as these, where its perhaps best not to be all that close to any one person at any given time. The time at which we went was around noon on Saturday, and the place was packed. This isn’t even to say that there were a tremendous amount of individuals there, but the location is a bit on the smaller side with a number of communal tables, where you get to sit at the same table as strangers that you don’t know and overhear about how they have countless problems that they take no actual measures to solve themselves. In fact, at one point during our meal one of the servers dropped a large amount of food at a table directly neighboring ours. These things happen, and it isn’t much out of the ordinary, though it does beg the question: How often does this happen in such a tight environment? Regardless, be prepared that if you aren’t a people person that you may be quite literally surrounded by people.

As always, the food is saved for last. Now, we were led to believe that this was a big burger joint, as we found the restaurant itself on a list of the best burgers in the area. However, Southwest Diner is seemingly more of a Mexican restaurant. There are two burgers and one black bean burger on their menu. Since one of the burgers was standard and the other was a specialty, I opted for that item to get a more authentic experience. This was the Green Chile Cheeseburger. The burger came with, as advertised, green chile and cheddar cheese, as well as most anything else one would expect to find on a complete burger. Lettuce, onions, “the works” as any hack writer would probably describe it. Though perhaps my inability to sum up with another descriptor outside of listing every individual ingredient puts me in that same camp. I did, however, add bacon to mine. The sandwich was good I must say, as although I found the meat kind of dry, everything else more than made up for it. This is probably the first burger I’ve had in quite a long time where I left everything that came on it when I ate it (sans tomatoes, as those are perpetually horrible). For a period, I started ordering my burgers plain as I felt it was simpler than just explaining what I didn’t want to have on my meal. I had forgotten how much I liked eating all these different additives with my sandwich, especially onions. And the green chile added a decent amount of mild spice, which I assume is the Southwest kick. Overall, Southwest Diner’s aesthetic and food go beautifully hand in hand, though perhaps getting takeout from the place would be for the best if you don’t want to run the risk of excessive social interaction.

Mom’s thoughts:

I agree with Jacob. The “closeness” of the dining area was a little too close for my liking. But the charm added to the experience and I have to say I didn’t actually mind it too much as I enjoyed my company with my son and we had numerous things including that to discuss.

I chose the same burger as Jacob, minus the bacon. Please bacon lovers – do not send me hate mail, I like bacon just fine… however, I do not understand the love so intense that it must be placed on or in everything! I did not notice the dryness of the meat as Jake did, but that may be because the other toppings added plenty of flavor and lush to the burger. The green chile was delicious and did add just the right amount of flavor and spice, in my opinion.

I was worried about the wait due to all the reviews we read prior to going, but the wait was not long at all and it was a beautiful day. We waited outside at a picnic table and enjoyed the sunshine and conversation. I would like to go back again as I am a huge fan of Southwest food.

Have a lovely day!

Burger Bounce – Stacked STL

Stacked STL lives in an area that represents the truest duality of man. The restaurant itself is setup nicely on the side of a street opposite some lovely shrubs, a fountain, and a statue of… someone. The surrounding houses are slightly worse for wear with more furniture on the lawn than in the den. Of course, this doesn’t come from a place of judgement and rather one of awe.

Stepping inside Stacked doesn’t betray this feeling either, as looking at the decor and overall setup allows thoughts to flood your mind as you attempt to piece together what it is you’re looking at. In lieu of a theme or gimmick, Stacked has a random assortment of ideas that make up its make-up. Excellently hand-painted pictures of farm animals hang on some of the walls. The tables are topped with literal door panel long pressed between panes of glass. The chairs are honestly terrible, though. Much to small for the average person to sit, and really could only be comfortable to an individual the size of a Smurf or a… sea Smurf. The ones with the straws on their heads? Uh… SNORK! Snork size, we’ll say. So, I guess they sort of do have a schtick: homemade and crafted, possibly even with some help from the community. I’m not sure if the person who painted those animals works at Stacked or is merely a nearby resident, but regardless it does add to the charm.

A bar is also present fully stocked with a tremendous amount of alcohol and a variety of chalkboard signs hanging above it, dictating various types of special and menu items, as well as a sort of FAQ with things that are commonly asked at Stacked. Unfortunately, none of the answers to these questions are written on the board, so it’s kind of mocking anyone that asks those questions by teasing them with the possibility of an answer. This is something that I greatly enjoy.
The strangest aspect of the place that I can think of is that our initially placement was at a table stationed right in front of the door. And when I say in front, I mean directly in front of the door to open, as there is no lobby to this establishment. And with the current temperature and windy conditions that come with the winter season, we almost immediately asked if we could move to another table, as there were plenty open. And granted, they obliged quickly. However the next individuals to come in once that table was open we’re also seated in front of the door. I don’t recall whether or not they ended up staying. Was this a game? Was there a pool in the back of the restaurant for how long any given party could withstand the numbing cold of their front entrance? Did they laugh? I can only hope.
But now, of course, the most important part of Stacked: how was the food? I didn’t go for the ambiance, as appealing as all of the crazy crap littering the walls was. We go to these restaurants because we want to eat. That’s why there aren’t scary singing animatronic mice and filthy play-pits at the Olive Garden. Though, that being said, we certainly going to the Olive Garden for the food, so maybe those things could only help.

Super blurry pic, guess we couldn’t wait to dive in!

Anyhow, we’ll start off the food talk with the appetizer we had brought in. These being 4 pretzel sticks and two types of dipping sauce: beer cheese and spicy beer mustard. Now, I’m not a big pretzel fan, I just see it as bread and salt, and while both of those things are nothing to scoff at what’s stopping me from dumping salt into a bag of Wonder Bread and shaking it up? Jests aside, that’s where the dipping sauces come in, as they can always be used to improve the situation. The cheese there isn’t much to say about. I love cheese of most every kind, and the beer cheese given to me did it’s job well enough. The mustard was another story. I both loved and loathed simultaneously, as the spice provided was welcomed heartily. However, the aftertaste and reintroduction of the spice in my throat nearly choked me twice. Perhaps I had too much, but I couldn’t just let it sit there unconsumed. I knew you’d understand.

The burger itself was something special, as I was directly responsible for its creation. You see, you can get a sandwich that they have listed in their menu already predetermined OR you could construct your own burger from the ground beef up. It’s like Build-a-Bear with all of the trimmings and none of the stuffings. I took it upon myself to take my favorite elements of every sandwich and put them together, while still making it unique enough to make building my own worthwhile. Most have ketchup and mustard, so I used BBQ. I added two of my favorite cheeses, Pepperjack for a peppery flavor and Cheddar for a cheddary flavor. I put it on a between two pieces of Texas Toast (which honestly is just garlic bread without the garlic, come on), and I added both pickles and fried pickles. And all was good. It was tasty, and this is one of those restaurants that gives you a lot of burger when you order it. Given the pre-meal pretzels, I was worried I wouldn’t finish it, but it was so good that perhaps I ate more than I should’ve at the moment and I did end up finishing it. Truly, it was a great burger, and I got to have a hand it’s inception so is there really anything else I could’ve asked for? Well, a lot according to the sheet, but I’ll save that for another day. Mom’s meal here…

I loved the fact that you can build your own burger. I chose a pretzel bun (no surprise to those that know me), with lettuce, pub cheddar, bbq sauce and crispy onions. I also had french fries for my side. This burger, while simple considering all the topping choices, was soooo good! The beef had a great flavor, the pretzel bun was just about perfect (IMO), and for me anything with crispy onions AND bbq sauce is a win! The french fries were good. I added salt and ketchup, but no funky after taste or taste of stale cooking oil. I will definitely go back to Stacked STL. The only thing better than the burger was the company I was with ! Cheesy I know… but true!

Until next time, lovelies!

Coffee Crawl – Toasted Coffee House

Welcome to our first Coffee Crawl blog post! Each morning my oldest daughter, Megan, and I start our day with coffee and each other. We often talk about trying out the local coffee shops, and since it’s something we like to do together, we decided to turn it into our adventure! Spending time with each of my kiddos and doing things that interest them is precious to me. Check out the Burger Bounce with my son, and coming soon will be Fashion Finds with my youngest. But you are here for the Coffee Crawl with myself and Megan! Read on for her recap of our time at our first stop!

One of the constants throughout my day is coffee. Time is treasured by me, and I find that when I miss my morning coffee talks with my mom, my day feels off. She’s the first person I talk to everyday, typically. Usually this time consists of us making coffee at home and chatting about what is happening in our lives or meeting to talk over logistics for Bits of Love Creation’s latest projects.

We’ve decided to take our coffee time on the road! Visiting small coffee shops around the greater St. Louis area, we want to share our experiences of these local places. Of course, we are by no means any sort of acclaimed critics, we are just everyday girls sharing the impact and impressions we receive from local small businesses.

Our first stop was one close to home: Toasted Coffee House in High Ridge, MO. It’s tucked away in a small strip, not really on a busy street which was a draw in itself. When we opened the door there was a flood of sensations; the smell of coffee and food, the light chatter of some customers, and a warmth and coziness that made us feel right at home, not to mention the adorable decor! We walked up to the counter to order and were greeted immediately with a smiling face who was happy to help us with making our decisions, and answer any questions we may have had.

I also have to mention that I have a severe food allergy. It’s rare to find places where the staff take the time to tell you the ingredients in the food you want to order to ensure there aren’t any risks, yep, we found that here!

We ended up getting their regular black coffee and their breakfast poppers. We both chose the Toasted House Coffee blend, mom added a bit of creamer to hers. We both ordered the bacon, egg, and cheese poppers, but they are offered also with sausage and in a veggie option! Here’s a description from their menu: “House made honey wheat roll stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, + your choice of bacon or sausage. Veggie poppers available Saturday + Sunday”.

We found a table and stayed for a while to soak in the vibes. Artwork from local high school students are hung on the walls. They have a calendar of events being held, a mural painted above the front window, and an area where they sell products from other local small businesses. Behind this area was a small alcove of sorts that has activities and chalkboard walls for children to play while their adults enjoy the coffee and atmosphere.

They also had a bin collecting for Brendan’s Friday Backpacks, a local charity that provides single-serve, non-perishable, kid-friendly food to local school children. Read more about their mission here.

Donating to charities, supporting local businesses, great food & coffee, friendly & helpful staff, and a cozy atmosphere definitely make this stop a win in our book! We will Definitely be back! Until next time…

Have a lovely day!

Burger Bounce – Fitz’s SoCo

Welcome to the first edition of the Burger Bounce! The adventurous burger dates with myself and Jacob, my oldest child and only son. I’ve always loved to hear him tell stories, or read what he would write for his papers in school. Just talking with him, you get a sense of his humorous disposition. When we decided to write about our burger dates, it was only natural that I asked him to write them. I’m not sure if he said yes because he truly wanted to, or because he loves his Momma, but either way is fine with me. I hope you enjoy reading our reviews!

You’d be forgiven for not knowing that there was a Fitz’s restaurant independent of the famed St. Louis root beer chain, but it’s also just as likely that I am a member of the silent minority in that regard. After the restaurant’s reopening in 1993, they’ve only been expanding into the area while I was none the wiser. As this has also happened to me with the A&W restaurant, who knows what other beverages are out there with associated eatery’s? Perhaps there is a Snapple drive-in somewhere, or maybe a purchasable Bennigan’s brand lemonade?

In the end, all of that is besides the point. Merely to illustrate my surprise when being invited to eat at the restaurant with my mother. Double my shock when i discovered they served actual edible food as well, as opposed to walls lined with Cardinal Cream IVs. It’s near impossible for me to turn down a burger of any kind, so I heartily agreed to partake in what soon became the first entry in a series of establishments known for quality hamburgers. Of course, whether the two of us agree with the placement of these meats in the upper echelon of the food world will be determined by each of us, since everyone’s taste is as unique as a snowflake.

When walking into the Fitz’s in South County, you’ll notice a wall of soda separating those waiting for a table from those already eating. While the majority of this beverage blockade is comprised of root beer brown, there are flashes of additional color for things like the hard pink of Strawberry Pop, or the brilliant orange of… Orange Cream. It creates something neat to be looked at, and these drink packages can be purchased from the counter and taken with you, allowing these drinks to put the fun in functionality. Additionally, the structure of this Fitz’s had a neat raised level structure, with one section slightly higher than others for no immediately apparent reason other than to give the illusion of more space, which did seem to work. It definitely felt more open, even though I would also say the place was “packed” at the time we went.

This establishment also has an attached bottling line, where from behind the safety of a pane of glass, you can see the machines that run the bottling assembly. It wasn’t running at the time, quite possibly because it would produce an amount of noise that would drown out individuals that are already trying to drown one another out. The equipment is likely either used when the restaurant as a whole isn’t open in order to add to the stockpile of drinks they sell in 6-packs at the front of the store, or it’s primarily for show with the once operational machinery now being relegated to set-piece status. Either way, it’s fun to see, and it’s the type of aesthetic that actually warrants photography from tourists.

Now, to get to the food, which was the whole reason we went in the first place! The visit wasn’t just to look at soda and smell the brine of pickle chips after all. I went with a standard root beer out of a Fitz bottle (for the experience, of course!), and their Sunshine Burger. Now, already I was in, because I’m a sucker for putting an egg on a sandwich. But they also offered two types of cheese, neither of which was American, which I loathe. So of course I got it, and it was great! The egg is usually the problem spot in sandwiches like these, with the egg always leaking too much of the yolk everywhere and just making a mess, as well as getting things soggy. You think I’d learn my lesson at this point but no. If it’s available, I always get a burger with the incredible edible egg. Sometimes, however, it does manage to pay off as it did here. The menu said that the sandwich comes with both Pepper Jack and Colby cheeses, though due to the overpowering spicy nature of the Pepper Jack, I had completely forgotten that Colby was even on the sandwich. Overall, it was one of the better egg-based burgers. The fries, however, are a bit of a different story. They weren’t terrible, in fact I can recall having similar fries with the same familiar starchy consistency at a burger place I frequented when I was in college. My main problem was with the aftertaste, it was almost like a bitter buttery flavor. As if someone had put butter on a griddle, melted it all the way down, and then let it sit until it burnt to a crisp. At least, that’s how I’d describe it. In the past I’ve been able to attribute this taste to being bad oil in the fryers, so perhaps it was just time to change those out and pull in some new ones. That’s a little disappointing as well, because while some will pair anything from tater tots to coleslaw with their burgers, the french fry is at this point the classic staple. That’s usually why I always go with fries, because it’s become the natural fit for a hamburger meal. So for me at least, if there’s something off with the fries, then it can lower the meal a bit. I would be willing to go back and see id there’s any change to the side situation, and maybe that will be done at some point in the future.

As for my Mother, here’s what she had to say:

This is actually not the first time I’ve been to Fitz’s. Usually when I go here I order a chicken wrap of some sort, but for my visit with Jake a burger is a necessity. I decided on the Bourbon. It’s a burger topped with smoked cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and crispy onion straws, served with a side of their house made bourbon mayo. Now, I don’t like mayo… in fact if it had not been listed as coming ‘on the side’, I would’ve either asked for the burger without or not ordered it at all. However since it was on the side I figured it was worth a try. I’m also not the biggest bacon fan. I know that’s a most unpopular opinion, and I don’t hate bacon – I’m not just a fan of putting bacon on everything! What typically sells a sandwich for me when checking out the menu are the onion straws and/or the type of cheese. In this case the cheese was smoked cheddar. As I am a cheddar cheese fan and the burger also came with smoked bacon, it seemed like a good fit. The onion straws though… love! I did try the house made bourbon mayo. Not bad at all and added a new layer of flavor to the sandwich. I did not use much of it, just enough to get the taste. The burger was good and I would in fact definitely order it again.

I do, however, agree with Jake on the fries. Not bad, but definitely not my favorite. We are in agreement that the after taste is much like a bitter butter (say that 5 times fast!) taste. Old oil in the fryer would make sense to me if that were the case. However I feel it’s just how they always serve them since the times I’ve been there before they have tasted the same. It’s not something that would keep me from going there for sure. A little salt and ketchup to dunk them in and they are decent.

The overall experience from atmosphere & decor, to aesthetic & food makes me a fan. I love Fitz’s and will always be willing to go, especially if my dining companion is my son. These times with him enjoying something he loves (in this case, burgers) is something I will always cherish. It’s not about the food, it’s about enjoying the time with him and taking an interest in something he loves.

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