Happy China, O'Fallon, MO

Happy China (http://happychinafood.com/) has become one of my favorite Chinese places to grab a bite to eat. It's located in Dardenne Square near Target. I think I feel the need to draw one of my lovely maps...

Ahhh, how I've missed my maps...
So, Happy China, yeah. Really good Chinese food (even if their Web site looks like it was designed by a 13-year-old kid in the mid-90s). And I'm pretty picky about my Chinese food. One of the best things about Happy China is they deliver, but you need a $15 minimum order. I still feel kind of bad for having the little Chinese lady deliver food to me in the middle of winter, but, hell, I didn't want to go out and I wanted some black pepper chicken. I tipped her well, though. Speaking of the black pepper chicken, it isn't listed on the menu, but you can order it. I don't know why it doesn't appear anymore, but it's pretty much the only dish I order unless I decide to get a lunch special. So, they're open every day also. Monday - Thursday: 10:30 am to 10:00 pm; Friday and Saturday: 10:30 am to 11:00 pm; Sunday: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Black pepper deliciousness

I love the black pepper chicken, and the regular portions of their food is enough for 2 meals. Even the lunch portions are pushing it and could be a light lunch and a light dinner, especially if you get some wontons, crab rangoons, or egg rolls. Oh, the wontons. Mmmmmm. I'm not really a fan of wontons, but I now have to order them every time I get food here. They are just really good. I don't like pork, but I freaking love these wontons with a bit of soy sauce on them.

Fuzzy wontons (will get a better picture next time I order them). The crack that must be in them gives that extra bit of flavor.
So, the prices are pretty reasonable at Happy China, too, considering you can get two meals out of the regular portions or share it with someone. Lunch specials will run about 6 bucks and come with either fried or sticky rice and either an egg roll or a crab rangoon. The regular meals will vary from about $6 - $9.50 depending on what the ingredients are.

Happy China's menu
So if you live in the O'Fallon area, definitely give Happy China a shot: You won't be disappointed.

Sushi Ai, O'Fallon, MO

Post number 100!! Woohoo!!

Alrighty, enough of that.

Next up is Sushi Ai. Sushi Ai has several locations in the area, but the only one I've been to is the one on Hwy K in O'Fallon, MO (so I can't attest to the quality of the others). More specifically, it's located next to Dierbergs at 2981 Hwy K, O'Fallon, MO 63368. Their website offers the menu, ordering online for pick-up or a quick dine-in, and the ability to make reservations.

In addition to a full menu of Japanese food, they offer an all-you-eat sushi special for lunch and dinner. The all-you-can-eat lunch special is just $12.99 while the dinner version is $17.99. Also, it's available 7 days a week. Now, you may be thinking that your selections are fairly limited and it's not very good, but that isn't the case here. You're given a pretty robust sheet to fill out with how many of an item you want. The options include some appetizer items, like miso soup and vegetable tempura, a selection of 7 or 8 sushi items, and a wide variety of rolls to choose from (I'm partial to the California roll and avocado roll).

The all-you-can-eat menu
Here are some shots of some of the food that either I or my dining mates have ordered.

Greg's selection. I don't remember what he ordered, but that's a Missouri roll on the end closest to the camera.

Matt's selection. I don't remember what he ordered, either.

My noms: a cucumber roll, California roll, avocado roll, and avocado sushi.
After we received our order, we put in another for our second round. It took forever and a day to get our second order, so if you're going during the week on lunch break from work, put in everything on your first order. Now, I'll warn you that on the menu they say that if you don't eat all of what you order, they will charge you extra for what you didn't eat. I'm not sure of the truthfulness of this, but we finished all of our orders so it wasn't an issue. Now, I don't eat a lot of rolls or sushi since I don't eat fish, but what I ordered was really good. So good in fact that I made my brother, Wes, and Doug go back with me on the following Saturday so I could gorge myself on sushi-goodness again. The guys ordered off of the menu and I ordered a buttload of sushi.

Why yes, that is seven rolls of deliciousness. And I ate them ALL, bwahaha!

Doug ordered the chicken yaki soba, I think.

Wes ordered the teriyaki chicken.

My brother watching the teriyaki chicken sizzle.
My brother had ordered the Missouri roll and gyoza (dumplings), but I didn't take a picture of them. I think I was too busy eyeing my plate of rolls. Anyway, everyone said their food was really good so I didn't feel as bad for railroading them into going here with me so I could fulfill my avocado roll fantasies. As for my grub, the avocado has always tasted really fresh and creamy, the seaweed doesn't taste fishy, and the rice is, well, sticky :)

The servers here are friendly enough, but I'd watch the floor. The floor is very slippery for some reason. It feels like they've polished it too much or maybe they have too much soap in their mop buckets and it dries with a soapy film. It may also be from humidity, I don't know, but just watch your step when you're walking.

So, if you're looking for some good Japanese food at a reasonable price, definitely check out Sushi Ai. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the selection, quality, and price.

Bonus pic from today's lunch (7/16/2013):

Avocado sushi, avocado rolls, California rolls, and a honey roll.

Farmhouse Sandwiches, O'Fallon, MO

Alrighty, one of the first places I want to blog about is Farmhouse Sandwiches. Farmhouse Sandwiches is located in a shopping center on Technology Drive just off of Hwy K (1120 Technology Drive, Suite 113A, O'Fallon, Missouri 63368 is the address).

I've tried a couple of different sandwiches here and thought they were both really good. They use Boar's Head meats and fresh bread. They also sell soups, salads, and freshly made cupcakes. They aren't exactly cheap, but all of the food is of excellent quality. A full sandwich w/ a bag of chips or fruit will run you about $8.50 depending on the meat you choose. You can also do a combo thing with a half sandwich and a cupcake for about the same price. They even have vegetarian options and a few kids' items, too. You can also purchase the variety of meats by the pound to take home with you, and they're cheaper than the local grocery stores on that.

According to their website, they're open from 10am - 7pm during the week, 10am - 4pm on Saturday, and closed on Sunday. However, the last time I went there (in May, I think), their hours were 7am - 1pm during the week for breakfast and lunch. I'll have to go back by sometime soon and check on that.

The employees were always friendly when I would go in and make a point to try to get to know what you like on your sandwich and remember you for next time. The service is also always quick. While it's more expensive that Subway, Quizno's, or other sub shops, I think the quality of the food more than makes up for it.

A Farmer Joe's Italian sandwich (half of it). It also comes with their homemade banana pepper mustard, which is tangy, a bit spicy, and a bit sweet. It's a bit strong and can be overpowering, so I ask for it on the side so I can apply just a bit.

Pastrami on marble rye bread. I think this is the only place around here where I can get a pastrami sandwich.

Turkey on wheat. Delicious.
I'm fairly picky about the meat I eat on sandwiches and otherwise, but all of these were absolutely delicious. It might be a bit pricier than your average sandwich shop, but it's totally worth it for good quality!