Taqueria El Pueblito - 70 and First Capitol

If you didn't know that Taqueria El Pueblito (1411 S. First Capitol, St. Charles, 63301) was there, you would drive by 100 times and never notice it. That's what we did. We probably pass by every other day, and just happened to catch it out of the corner of our eye. It's just south of 70 on First Capitol -- and I do mean JUST. It's the very first strip mall, next to the El Pueblito grocery store.

It's not a fancy place - just a handful of tables, and ordering at the counter off of a hand-written menu. The young woman at the counter cheerfully explained every single item on the list to us, when it was apparent that we didn't understand a lot of Spanish. As she explained in detail the many things that are made by hand, it was apparent that we were about to get some very authentic Mexican food.

I chose a large sope, which is made from fried masa (maize) which are made in the shape of a tortilla, by hand, and then fried. It's topped with beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese. There was salsa and guacamole on the table to put on top. The masa was excellent and I could really tell that it was made fresh.

My husband chose the burrito, which was of good size. For both the burrito and the sope, we chose pork al pastor, which was cooking on a spit right behind the counter - and it looked absolutely delicious. This is a huge chunk of pork marinated with spices and slowly cooked on a vertical rotisserie with a slice of pineapple on top. It was really, really tender.

We also had a steak quesdilla which had lots of steak, cheese, and a few tomatoes. I had a Lime Mexican soda - and they have a large selection of drinks from Mexico -- but no alcohol.

While we were there, several parties came in, including a family. Diners order at the counter, and the young woman (she was more than a waitress - she seemed to do eveything!) brought the food to the table. Chips, salsa and guacamole were on each table. The chips are fried fresh on site.

Bottom line - this isn't your normal Mexican restaurant. There aren't any margaritas, waiters or smoking section. However, the food is delicious, authentic and inexpensive. This was a nice place for dinner, and would be a great place to take the family for lunch.

Llywelyn's Pub - Main Street St. Charles

Llywelyn's just opened this location - at 100 Main Street at Jefferson in historic old town St. Charles - within the last week. The building used to be a bank way back when I first moved to St. Charles. It was a few other things, and now it's had a full remodel and looks absolutely fantastic. The old safes are still there, and have been turned into a room for a small group.

The beer list was daunting - over 20 beers on tap...and many more bottled. I chose a Kilkenny red, and it arrived at almost room temperature. For dinner I tried a pub burger and sweet potato fries, which were really different. The pub burger used an English muffin as the bun and the sweet potato fried were waffle-style. My husband had some great homemade chips, complete with malt vinegar to make them truly Irish.

The only opportunities for improvement that we saw were probably a result of the newness of the restaurant - the beer was a bit warm, and the food was a bit cool. Once the staff gets more experience, we will probably go back and see if these things are ironed out.

The decor was great. I couldn't believe how fantastic that old bank looked. Our waitress, Lacey, was friendly and attentive. The cost was between 8-15 for a regular pub meal. They have a great selection on the menu, including a lot of Irish dishes.

Llywelyn's Pub will probably do well on Main Street, as a tourist attraction.

Alexander's Bar and Grill

Alexander's is so new, they don't even have a web page. Our waitress, Gabby, said that they've only been in business for about two weeks, but the owners are no strangers to the business. They've owned restaurants in the Chicago area for about 30 years. Located at 2865 Veterans Memorial Pkwy near Zumbehl and 70, next to the PetSmart, they're easy to see from the highway.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that a place called Alexander's Bar and Grill was a whole lot more than that. The menu has a lot of surprises, most of them Greek. There are Gyros, Spanakopita, and homemade Baklava. Of course, there is the usual sandwiches and burgers, but also a large seafood selection.

They make their own chips, and served a basket of them hot as soon as we arrived. We went with the spinach and artichoke dip to start, then I had a spicy tenderloin sandwich and my husband chose the monte cristo.

Everything was so great, we had a hard time choosing something to suggest as an improvement. First, I'd say that if they are going to serve hot potato chips (and they should!), they should have some more side item choices with the sandwiches, other than french fries, sweet potato fries, or more chips. That's a lot of potato.

That's a very small nitpick, however. The staff was very friendly. Our waitress, Gabby, was cheerful, nice, and attentive but not bothersome. I hope she's there next time we go. The manager came around a couple of times to check on us. Prices are very reasonable...the sandwiches were under ten bucks, and most larger entrees were under 15. Couple that with Happy Hour half price appetizers and a couple of two-dollar beers, and you have a fantastic and inexpensive dinner. It's close to home, so we'll be back!

El Maguey - Hwy 94 and Jungermann

Yes, El Maguey is a chain restaurant, but they each one is very individual and different. Tonight, we went to the one at 309 Centre Pointe Drive, St. Peters, 63304. With five good friends, we had a great outing, with great food.



This El Maguey location is larger than most of the others. It has a wide open seating area with plenty of room for large groups. There's a large skylight overhead that makes the room feel even larger. In the back of the seating area, there's a wide opening to the kitchen, where you can see the cooks working hard over hot stoves. They even had a magician for the kids!

The menu is as you might expect...the usual tacos, tostadas, burritos, fajitas and of course, margaritas! They have a lot of entrees with shimp...to misquote "Forrest Gump," they have shrimp tacos, shrimp nachos, shrimp fajitas, shrimp burritos...!


I chose the chimichanga with beef, covered in queso sauce. The beef was actually beef tips rathe than pulled beef, which was a nice surprise. Friends shared fajitas-for-two, and gave them a huge thumbs-up.

A pleasant experience, great food and drink. I'd definitely recommend El Maguey in St. Peters for an inexpensive evening out.

Java G's Coffeehouse

Java G's came to St. Charles when there weren't a lot of coffeehouse options in town. They have a great location at 2031 Old Hwy 94S (63303), in a strip mall with pretty good parking. They're a little hidden by Sonic, so if you're heading down Hwy 94, you may not catch a glimpse of it.

We stopped in at about 1:30 PM on a Sunday, and we were one of three groups of people hanging out. One group of four was enjoying the quiet of Java G's large meeting room (which is available for reservations any time), and the other seemed to be some kind of meeting of six people sitting near the window.

I only bring up the groups because Java G's is a wonderful place for groups to meet. It's large, has a big meeting room, a good amount of seating, and offers a wide variety of food and drink. If you have a Bible study, committee meeting, planning meeting, or anything that needs a centralized, comfortable location for discussion, this is a great place. In addition, they have a separate children's room with windows to the main dining area so that you can bring your kids and they can have a good time while you're discussing business.

They have a large menu with lots of lunch-type offerings: hot and cold sandwiches, soups, wraps, and salads. For breakfast, it's mostly continental - bagels, pastry, yogurt, fruit. Everything is very reasonably priced - no item is over $6.95, and you can even get a cup of soup for less than $3.00. We had regular coffee, and a piece of coffee cake. They serve Kaldi's Coffee, which is local to the St. Louis area and features regular, organic and/or free trade blends. The cake was good sized, and reasonbly priced, but was dry. Their pastry and bagel offerings were a bit small for a coffeehouse. Next time, I'd probably go for the soup. If I do, I'll update the blog!

We sat in the comfy chairs near the fake fireplace (fake!). While it was relaxing, it was the only place with comfortable chairs in the dining room, and there were only four. The glass on the fake (fake!) fireplace was full of fingerprints, there was a fork under one of the chairs, a potato chip on the end table, and generally it was a messy area. They weren't busy at all, and I did see them wiping the main counter a couple of times, so I'm not sure why the dining room was not clean that day.

Assuming that was a fluke, I'd say that Java G's does offer a good place for meetings and groups, especially if you have kids.

Gingham's Homestyle Restaurant

If there's anything I love, it's a great homestyle breakfast. Since they opened their doors in 1991, Gingham's Homestyle Restaurant (1881 Sherman Drive, 63303) has been one of the most popular places in St. Charles to get one.

We headed out for a late breakfast at 10:15 on a Saturday morning. Despite the late hour, the waiting area was full. They moved quickly, however, and our wait was a mere 10 minutes. If you go to Gingham's and see a full waiting room, do not hesitate to ask about the wait time - it might look like it will be longer than it actually is.

Hot coffee was on our table almost as soon as we asked for it. In a place as bustling as Gingham's, it was a relief to have coffee brought in a carafe, to avoid having to wait for subsequent cups.

The menu is large, and contains breakfast, lunch and dinner, which are served 24 hours a day. There is an ample kids menu, containing fourteen selections for kids. If you have ever taken kids out to eat, you know that's a lot! There were quite a few breakfast specials, ranging from approximately $4-$10.

My classic breakfast (two eggs, toast, sausage links, and a ton of hash browns) was $6.99, and the average omelette is about $7.49. My eggs were prepared over easy, and they had nice runny yolks, but the whites were solid. The hash browns were crisp on the top, and soft on the bottom.

My husband's ham and cheese omelette was large, taking up half the plate. It had plenty of meat, peppers, and onions, although the vegetables were large and could have been chopped to about half their size for easy eating. The omelette plate also include a large amount of hash browns.



The atmosphere and decor of Gingham's is definitely that of a homestyle restaurant, with both booths and tables, and homey wallpaper. Our waiter, Danielle, was friendly, efficient and attentive. The restrooms were clean and stocked, and the waiting area was comfortable with plenty of seating. The parking lot was average - there were only a couple of spots open when we arrived. There were several families and large groups eating while we were there. The staff was very welcoming to all sized groups.

All in all, Gingham's delivers a delicious homestyle breakfast at a nice price. If you're looking to enjoy a relaxing morning of good food in a comforting family-owned atmosphere, definitely consider Gingham's.