Schlafly Bottleworks Maplewood - Visited September 2013

Today we again visited Schafly Bottleworks in Maplewood so I had to find something interesting to get there despite already knowing they had lots of good choices to eat. You never know how busy it will be there, sometimes it is completely packed and sometimes it is pretty empty. This week it was pretty empty and we were seated in a quiet corner where the cool air was blowing from some mysteriously hidden vent. I did not mind too much but my daughter was freezing.

Before we came I had perused the menu online, but I forgotten to check out the brunch selections. Our waitress told us the specials, including the soup of the day (chicken and rice) and some of the brunch selections, and the chorizo and cheddar quiche sounded tempting, but when I read the full brunch menu, I thought the Chorizo Breakfast Burrito sounded even better so that is what I selected.

Most of the others ordered bison burgers of some sort, but my daughter decided to get the Formaggiovore pizza with bison meat added on top. I tried her pizza when it arrived and it was very good with the cheese being very rich and flavorful, with the bison adding a nice meatiness to the pizza. It was a very pleasant combination. My son and mother-in-law ordered Billy Goat chips with their burgers, and I had to be kind and "help them finish" off their chips (my wife ordered a side field green salad with vanilla viniagrette as her side.)

As for my breakfast burrito I enjoyed it quite well, especially with the cilantro sour cream adding a nice accent to the chorizo sausage, eggs, salsa and black beans. It was a flavorful combination of tastes which worked well together as a burrito, albeit somewhat messy to eat with my hands. Luckily, messy foods never stop me from eating anything and I devoured it quite easily before enjoying my dessert of Billy Goat chips from other peoples' plates.

We always enjoy visiting Schafly Bottleworks since they have some unique local ingredients which make for a different type of meal in a unique environment. It is hard to believe it is located in the same municipality as the "corporate chain row" restaurants further up Hanley (Applebee's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc.) We are glad to help keep them in business!