Sinister Ice Cream, and the Best Sandwich I Ever Ate.

Before we get started, I would like to point out that my hair does not, in fact, actually look like Peter Brady's snazzy 1970s 'do.  Here's some proof:

There now.  Told you I was overreacting :)

The big story of today is that I got together with my friend Nick for dinner.  Nick, like my friend Ashley who I visited three days ago, is one of the middle school buddies with whom I still maintain a friendship, despite the fact that we only went to school together for a year, 10 years ago.  Typically, Nick, Ashley, and I all go out together, but since Ashley's in Springfield for the summer and Nick is in St. Louis, the middle-school friend gatherings have been doubled.  Although it'd be fun to all be together, this DOES have the bright side effect of giving me multiple opportunities to go eat yummy food at fun restaurants!

Today, Nick and I ventured off to a restaurant that neither of us had been to before - or even heard of, for that matter!  Our destination: The Fountain on Locust, an old-fashioned soda fountain/ice cream parlor in downtown St. Louis.  Nick found out about it in some sort of "Best of St. Louis" magazine, so it was bound to be good.  

The restaurant did not disappoint!  Immediately walking in, we both uttered an audible "Whoa!"  The Fountain doesn't look like much from the outside - just an unassuming white building on a deserted and somewhat barren street.  But as soon as you walk in, you are bombarded with bright blue walls with light yellow arches springing up from a mahogany bar.  As Nick and I were gaping at it, we heard the hostess say, "This must be your first time here!"  "Yes!" we answered, and she led us off to a wooden booth in the corner, and handed us some menus.  

Unassuming Exterior...

Awesome Interior!

After some deliberation, I decided on the Hot Roast Beef Melt, with a Stutz salad on the side.  People.  It was quite literally THE BEST SANDWICH I have ever eaten.  EVER.  And the salad wasn't too shabby either.  

To give you a picture of this best sandwich ever, here's the menu description (pulled from their website): "Savory roasted Certified Angus Beef with melted white cheddar, rosemary grilled onions and tangy house-made horseradish sauce on a baked baguette."  The salad included "plump mandarin oranges, walnuts, and goat cheese on baby spinach with a creamy marmalade dressing."  Here's some photographic evidence:

 As soon as I bit into that sandwich, I suddenly had a great desire to swear.  And if you know me at all, you know that I don't swear...THAT is how good that sandwich was!  The homemade horseradish sauce, so creamy and rich, just oozed out of the middle of the sandwich amid globs of melted cheese, and the roast beef was tender and flavorful.  I LOVE roast beef sandwiches, particularly of the melted variety, and I've eaten many in my 23 years of existence, but there is no question whatsoever that this is the best one I've ever eaten. If you are in St. Louis, or if you are ever in St. Louis, it is necessary that you eat this sandwich...and, if I am around, it is necessary that you take me with you.

But, you will recall that The Fountain is also an ice cream parlor.  Therefore, the sandwich was not the end of the meal...

Despite the fact that the desserts were about the same price as the entrees, they were just too good to pass up!  Nick chose something called the Sweet Annina (named after the daughter of the family who runs the restaurant) - it involved orange sherbet and raspberry sauce and hot fudge and the like.  It was pretty.  

But I went for something entirely different...something daring.  Something dark.

I chose the Dark and Sinister.

The Dark and Sinister is an evilly tempting ice cream creation, a "tall glass coated with hot fudge, filled with Zanzibar chocolate ice cream, topped with marshmallow sauce, whipped cream, and a chocolate coin."  Heck yes.  That's my kind of ice cream, right there - chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, and marshmallow.  And whipped cream.  Because you've got to have whipped cream.

It was, in a word, delicious.  Everything in it was homemade, with the exception of the ice cream itself.  But, about halfway through the very tall glass, I began to realize why they call it "sinister" - I could hardly finish it!!  The chocolatey-ness nearly threatened to destroy me, but I persevered.  And I ate that WHOLE thing.  And I'm proud about it.  It is a feat worth recognition.

Victory.

So to recap: The Fountain on Locust = Awesome.  Awesome food, awesome ice cream, awesome atmosphere.  And, of course, it doesn't hurt to have an old friend as your dining companion!  All in all, it was an evening well-spent :)