August 31, part 2

The terrain on the drive from Tulsa, Oklahoma through Missouri into the St. Louis changes, but the changes are subtle. It's generally gently rolling hills and moderately wooded landscapes for most of the way, but as St. Louis gets closer, the hills become more pronounced and the cut-throughs into hills start becoming larger. More layers of cream-colored and tan and light brown rock become visible in the cut-throughs.

Our trip from Tulsa to the St. Louis outskirts was uneventful. We listened to CDs and passively watched the scenery roll by. I was particularly involved in a 2-CD set of John Prine's music, while my wife was more interested in a Crystal Gayle CD of Hoagie Carmichael music. After awhile, we turned off the music and just experienced the road. I like that.

The closer we got to St. Louis, the stranger the livestock. One area, in particular, seemed to be a gathering point for farmers/ranchers who were into exotics. First, we came across a ranch that advertised itself as a large supplier of exotics. Then, we came across a place that had lots and lots of llamas wandering about, in the same pastures as kiwis...lots of them. For a fairly long stretch of road, we saw signs that the farmers and ranchers were experimenting with odd beasts from around the world.

Clayton is a suburb of St. Louis that finds space in the guidebooks, maps, etc. as a spot to find good food in a distinct St. Louis neighborhood. We drove from our Holiday Inn Express in Fenton, MO to Clayton. We aimed for BARcelona, a tapas bar that had received some positive press, although one reviewer called it "snooty." We found it quite the contrary.

BARcelona caters to twenty-somethings (or, I should say, they were in abundance when we were there) who have just gotten off work in offices that require them to dress the part of aspiring young executives. The women were decked out in clothes that almost certainly cost more than a sensible person would spend and the men (few though they were...the place was almost entirely packed with women) were in their finest suits.

We were seated in the larger of two rooms. The entire front of the restaurant was open to the alfresco dining on the street, though, so "room" doesn't quite do it justice. It was far too loud, but we were able to tolerate it.

The menu was full of interesting and inviting tapas and we decided to have a nice little sampling of them for dinner. My wife insisted on the gazpacho (she has decided that almost no restaurant in Dallas actually serves gazpacho as part of their regular fare), and we picked some other items that were particularly interesting, names, alcachofas (battered and fried artichokes), queso de cabra al horno (an exceptionally good baked goat cheese, sitting in the middle of a wonderful tomato salsa), tuna tartare with apples and caperberries, and hot bread. The alcachofas and queso de cabra el horno were excellent, particularly the latter. The tuna tartare was good, but a bit bland, though the caperberries were wonderful. The place keeps very good olive oil on the table, which is good with salt and pepper for dipping the hard bread. Over all, I'd give the place a rating of 7 on a 10 point scale...but the queso de cabra el horno was 10+ in my book. I would go back for that and that alone.

After dinner, we headed straight back to the hotel, where we dawdled about, watched a little news, got online to read email, and then made an early night of it...I was asleep by 10:30.