HI!!! OMG – last night was pretty amazing! Let me get this morning’s breakfast out of the way and then I will give you ALL the deets…
Breakfast was simple and filling. I ate not so great for me (or great in general) food last night and needed to add some serious good stuff to my tummy this morning. I went easy and tasty with 2 pieces of Ezekiel bread with a tbsp of superfruit spread on each, 2 slices of soy bacon and 2 “fried” eggs…
Plus my Chicago mug of some much needed coffee.
When I’m done writing this post I’m taking the girls to the park. It’s so beautiful outside and I DO NOT want to waist the day!!
Now…The Cake Boss!! I was invited by Jason’s boss (owner of Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream) to attend a meet and greet with buddy Valastro. He was asked and accepted the offer of making a cake for the grand opening of a new casino in South City…yada yada yada. Last night was the unveiling of the cake and tickets were sold (or given away) to attend. There were probably 150 people at this event and Buddy talked to us for about 20 minutes or so and then there was a question and answer session and then the cake was rolled out.
Buddy was super nice, very funny and just seemed to be an all around awesome guy. If you have never watched the show you should!!
After the cake was brought out on stage and he told us all about it they let us come up on stage and take pictures and get a really good up close look. It was so amazing!! Being that close and seeing how much work was put into the cake just dumbfounded me. It truly was more than cake – it was a piece of art that we got to eat!! 
Then it was time to meet Buddy! He was so nice and pleasant and down to earth. I told him (while posing for our photo) that my daughter was “pissed at me right now” because I was there. He laughed and asked how old she is and said he was so excited to know that families watch his show together because that’s the most important part of his life – his family.
Then he was nice enough to autograph a post it for Linsey (that I always have in my purse) and a picture for her too!! Mother of the Year?? I think so…
Then it was time to actually EAT this cake we’d been ogling over for the last hour! It was super yummy…
I even snuck a piece home for Linsey…shhhh (don’t tell)
Once the event was over and Buddy said goodnight to the crowd we headed out. My company for the evening wanted to go out for a late dinner (which I usually don’t do) and they wanted to eat at this restaurant near my house called Eclipse inside the Moonrise Hotel.
REVIEW
Moonrise and Eclipse are a new addition to the Loop Area. They’ve been here a little less than a year and it’s very hip and swanky and trendy and…that doesn’t impress me. PERIOD! Sure, it’s fun to go there and have drinks if you’re a “see and be seen” kind of person. I AM NOT! Give me good food and a decent amount of vegetarian options and I’m a happy camper.
First of all we got there after the dinner menu was put away and the “late night” menu was out.
There were 2 vegetarian options… strike 1. They were both fried… strike 2. The Chef de Cuisine, Wes Johnson, told me that he “hates vegetarians”… strike 3. Chef’s don’t impress me – I’ve been married to one for 10 years and most of them are snakes, but to tell a customer that to their face is just BAD SHOW!!! I think most chefs “hate vegetarians” because they don’t really know how to cook for us…but that’s another blog post.
I ended up ordering 2 different appetizers (the only vegetarian items) thinking they would both be small and I could nibble a little on each and share with the table. I really wasn’t that hungry.
First I ordered the Arrancini:
Menu Description: fried risotto stuff ed with basil, buffalo mozzarella & tomato concasse, basil oil & balsamic reduction. $4.00
This dish was actually quite yummy. It had a good crunch and the flavor combination was pleasing and not super strong. B+ 
Second I ordered the Moonrise Toasted Ravioli:
Menu Description: three cheese & spinach or pork & fennel sausage
ravioli with spicy puttanesca sauce. $8.00
This dish was nothing great. I could get toasted cheese ravioli at the grocery store freezer section that tasted just as good. Totally not worth the $8.00 they charge for it. C- 
Overall I would have to say that my experience last night was not an impressive one. Now, in all fairness, I’ve never been there before and have not had or even seen the “regular” menu, but glancing through the website I see they have only a couple vegetarian dishes which is always a strike against a restaurant in my book.
The chef did tell me that they will be trying out a tofu dish in the future which is great. I wish that chefs and restaurants alike would realize that as a vegetarian I want a really great dish full of vegetables!! I don’t NEED or WANT a dish that is a “this looks like meat and tastes like meat, but isn’t meat” I just want them to make me an incredible tasting vegetable dish. That’s all!
If you live in the St Louis area or will be in the St Louis area at some point – try out Eclipse and make your own decision. I’m sure it will be around forever simply because of who owns it. I, sadly, wasn’t that impressed.
Off to the park with the girls to enjoy what’s left of this beautiful weekend!!
There’s always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down. ~ Don Delillo
I haven’t eaten at Eclipse yet, so I will have to try it. I went to the bar on the roof though, and the location at least is impressive. It was really cool to stand on top of the building in the open air and look west and see the loop and look east into Downtown.
Ian and I stayed at the Moonrise for our anniversary and the package came with a four-course dinner for two, so we ate at Eclipse and I loved it! That was at the end of the summer, and I think their menu changes seasonally, so it may have been totally different. I had a delicious fruit appetizer, a fruit- and nut-filled salad, delicious mushroom pasta, and a few chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. I never knew the chef hated vegetarians, though… that’s just ridiculous and lazy! The hotel also had the most comfortable bed I have EVER slept in. That sucks that you had a bad experience, though.
@Colleen and @Kara – I will definitely go back sometime with Jason during dinner hours and try it again. The building and location are AMAZING – don’t get me wrong – but I wasn’t impressed with the menu we were given. I was really sad too because I had high hopes. I LOVE the Loop (obviously-I live here) but it seemed like they were trying to hard to “look good” or something last night. Maybe it’s because of who I was with (name droppers that made me feel like I was on an episode of Real Housewives of St Louis) I will give it another shot and another review at a later time. The chef did tell me they are having some trouble with staffing. Please forgive me…I have lived in the chef world for far too long and see through a lot of their BS! If you guys loved it then I will ABSOLUTELY try it again.
Maybe we should have a Girls Night there!!!
So awesome!