Stop #22: Kicker's Corner

Tim's Review: Kicker's Corner is a nice little spot on South Broadway. I'm not so familiar with this area, but once I heard someone describe this part of town as “the armpit of st. louis”. I don't think that's really a compliment, but I like it. Kicker's Corner is kind of a dump. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Especially since the staff there were so nice. Just like at Bailey's Range, we got some special treatment at Kicker's Corner. They only serve the slinger on the breakfast menu, and I guess we came in after the official cut-off, but they were kind enough to make it anyway.

I feel like this place had some great potential, and I'll give them an A for effort, but it just didn't measure up. Let's remember that we are in week 22 now and we've experienced some quality slingers in the past few months. It's getting harder and harder to break into the top ten. The great part of this slinger was the potatoes. I don't exactly know what style these were. They weren't hash browns, they weren't diced, I guess I'd just call them breakfast potatoes?? I don't care what they're called. The point is they were cooked perfectly. Great texture, great flavor. The jalapeno's topping this slinger were also a great addition. The bummer about this plate was the burger. What the fuck was up with the burger? Probably one of the worst on the tour. So bad, that after a couple bites we just started eating around it. Problem solved, until I got a hunk burger on the fork by accident. Ahhhhh! It's even worse when it sneaks up on you. After I shoved a good portion of this mess down my throat, I was disgusted when I looked down and saw all that nasty burger juice lingering in the bottom of the bowl. The other gross part was the biscuit that was hiding under everything. 12^th St Diner pulled this same bullshit! I don't want a crappy biscuit soaking up all the chili, getting soggy and ruining my plate. It's completely uncalled for.

I don't want to leave a bad impression of this place. I'd like to come back for a happy hour sometime. On Monday and Wednesday, they have a cooler of “Fun beers” for $2.00. I saw some Blue Moon, some Limarita, not sure what other kind of beer is in there, but for $2.00, I'm sure you can find something you like. Kicker's Corner seemed like an alright place, but slingers just aren't their thing.

Tony's Review: I have also never been to Kicker's Corner nor do I often find myself that far south on Broadway but we've heard some things from our slinger friend Matt to check this place out. I liked the feel of the place and wouldn't call it a dump like that asshole Tim, it was clean and didn't smell like shit so it passes in my book. Like Tim said the staff were great and did give us the special treatment they must of recognized us from all of our internet fame.

This was easily one of the biggest slingers we've had so far, if not the biggest. The one thing that instantly caught my eye were the fresh jalapeño, also this was one of the best looking slingers we've seen. Tim talked about the potatoes perfectly, fresh, home made breakfast potatoes that were very good. Chili tasted pretty good and all of the toppings were really working together on the pile but then disaster struck...the burger. I took one bite and knew that this slinger was fucked, it started out so promising and then that asshole joined the party. It wasn't a case of not having a good flavor or improper seasoning I think this was some old ass nasty meat that should not of been served. So of course I had to take another bite to confirm that this tasted like a cat's asshole...turns out it did. And the biscuits at the bottom of the plate, again, after a couple bites you're like "Oh cool, biscuits" and then you realize the whole bottom of the plate is covered in this soggy shit and instantly you don't want to eat anymore.

I ended up just scraping the top off and enjoying all the edible toppings it's too bad this slinger was 50% great and 50% the grossest shit I've ever tasted. I'm sure the burger was a fluke and it probably tastes better than that but I'm not going back to risk it. If any of you extreme, Mountain Dew drinking, wakeboarders out there want to try it, leave a comment. 

Stop #21: Joe's Chili Bowl

Tony's Review: Well we made it to Joe's Chili Bowl before they decided to randomly close early again and I'm glad we did. This place is in the middle of CityGarden and has a ton of outdoor seating and is actually pretty nice. Double high five to the weather for not being 100 big ones so we could enjoy watching a bunch of little brats swimming in the water fountain (aka other kids pee).

The slinger covered all the bases and was huge, it was guaranteed that my little baby stomach wasn't gonna hold all of that trash. Biggest difference in this slinger was the use of french fries versus hash browns, while the fries were really good they still did get in the way when you try to shovel a complete bite in your mouth. The chili was great which is a huge relief when you're eating at a restaurant with chili in the name (Chili's should take fucking note). Eggs and toppings were prem-o with a good ratio of cheese and onions and those onions were tasty as hell. The biggest/weirdest thing about this thing were the two massive sausage patties that covered the entire bottom of the plate. Normally this would be pretty cool but the sausage had a really mild taste and obviously never graduated from Flavor University. And the size of them just really made it more obnoxious, if that had been burger patties or two smaller sausage patties this slinger could of easily been in top 5.

Even though we ran into some meat difficulties and they're pushing fries on you it was still a great slinger and you should check this place out before they close for good

Tim's Review: I've always had a good feeling about Joe's chili bowl. I thought this place was going to be great and I was right!! This place was a winner.  It's a damn shame that business doesn't seem to be going so great. We went on a Friday around 6:00 and there was maybe two other tables. I guess that means more chili for me.

I was a little skeptical about the fries at first. Don't get me wrong, I love fries, but I just wasn't so sure they have a place in a slinger. Well, Joe's chili bowl proves that fries work just fine. These fries were perfect! They weren't anything fancy. No crinkle cut, no curly non-sense, and waffle fries a overrated anyway. These were straight up, good eatin', fries.  I do have to agree with Tony that at first, it seems like they get in way. You go for a fork full of egg, chili, sausage... (I like to get the full boat on every bite) and the fries are sticking out all over the place.  I probably look like I jackass trying to bend all these fries into my mouth. Well, the great thing is, after a few minutes and good mix-up with your fork, the fries get all nice and soft, smothered in chili, and that takes care of that! I'll gladly welcome some fries in my slinger. The sausage was definitely the weak link here and, like Tony said, there just wasn't a whole lot of that spicy sausage kick. I actually thought they were burger patty's when I first took a bite.

I actually liked Joe's so much that I went back 3 days later. And guess what?? it was great the second time too! I wanted to get a better sample of the menu so I passed on the slinger and went with the chili cheese dog. Tell me how good that looks.

Stop #20: Bailey's Range

Tony's Review: Well once again downtown makes our civic duty of eating slingers more difficult. The plan was to go to Joe's Chili Bowl in City Garden but of course they were closed even though their hours said they were open late so we improvised and ended up at Bailey's Range.

Now I have been to the Range a few times and have very mixed feelings about it mainly due to inconsistencies but none the less they have a slinger burger...actually they don't have a slinger burger or at least not anymore, it was on the menu but they change their menu all the time and that one didn't survive. BUT since we were there on a week night and they were "slow" the waitress said that the kitchen could do it so I'll give them a high five for that.

Once we got the slinger burger I was surprised at how visually good it looked and turned on by how tall it was, size does matter. ©Godzilla, 1994. I'm not gonna lie to you I put on my sissy pants and cut this up with a fork and knife due to how tall it was, I don't care you can judge me, I'm civilized unlike that slob Tim. I was impressed with the flavor of the chili but since it was a burger a lot of the ingredients played a lesser role and the burger did most of the talking, unfortunately the burger was under seasoned and while it had a good beef taste it didn't really do enough. The egg was great and it was nice to not have the sloppy yolk drip on my hands. There were some fries on there but they didn't matter you couldn't taste them and I will give a shout out to the bun cause that shit was soft and tasty.

I still have my differences with Bailey's Range but after this descent visit they will live to see one more visit from me. But overall don't feel bad that you're not VIP like Tim and myself and you may not be able to get the slinger burger, they have a good menu with other good choices. Don't think this one is gonna make the Top 10.

Tim's Review:
I don't know why Tony is so quick to throw out the high fives. I was originally thinking that waitress was full of shit. Was it that big of a deal to heat up some chili and pour it on top of a burger?  I really didn't feel too special. But I guess that sounds kind of mean. Maybe I should be a little more positive and thankful like my partner and consider the fact that we did order something that wasn't really on the menu. VIP!! I just wish I could be a VIP at better restaurant.

It's not that the Range was bad, but it's not top ten material either. The chili was actually great, but that's about it. I thought the fries were a nice touch, but the truth is, this burger could not stand alone. Isn't this supposed to be a burger place? I've had a couple burgers there before and they were fine, but I'd say that was close to a year ago. The only reason I came back was because they have (had) the slinger burger and because Joe's chili bowl was closed, not because I couldn't wait to eat there again.

I don't want to sound so negative. Overall, this thing was pretty good, but just really uneventful. I doubt have the desire to go back anytime soon.    

Stop #19: Crow's Nest

Tony's Review: FINALLY! The streak of shit is officially over! After suffering for over a month of just bad slingers we get to enjoy a good one. But I digress. Crow's Nest is a great bar in Maplehood on Manchester that used to be the Red Lion that is run by the old owners of the Bleeding Deacon so the food is already better than your average bar food. They recently started a Metal Brunch on Sunday which is the only time you can get this puppy so you have time to go after church.

Now this is the furthest we've had from a traditional slinger so far and it was vegetarian so we struggled a bit about how to rank/review it. I'm in the mind set of if I can eat something that has the spirit of a traditional slinger I will review it as such (I am so deep). Let's get to it: start with a base of breakfast potatoes that were cooked and seasoned perfectly really solid flavor, next was the bottom of a burger bun...honestly I don't know why that was there, it wasn't bad but I'm on a diet and I'm trying to avoid extra carbs. On top of that was a thick as hell, hand made, rice based veggie cheese burger that was one of the best veggie burgers I've had. The chili was also vegetarian and it was excellent, another bummer was the lack of chili just another scoop and this could of been even better. Then there was the egg, normally I could give a shit about the egg but this little thing looked great and sealed the deal in the flavor dept.

Again this is easily one of the better slingers we've had so far and more importantly it broke the depression streak that this tour was becoming.

Tim's Review: Tony pretty much spoke the truth. The Crow's Nest was breathe of air and finally made me feel good again about being on the slinger tour. I've been there a hand full of times before, but probably not as much as I should only because there are other shit holes closer to my house. If I remember correctly, my last visit to the Crow's Nest was a couple months back when Tony and I went in for a drink after our tour stop to Tiffany's diner. I couldn't even enjoy a couple beers due to that fact that the disappointing Tiffany's slinger was making me feel like crap!

This visit was a little more enjoyable. Definitely the farthest thing from the traditional slinger we've had so far. When it came out, I really wasn't impressed. Even looking at the picture now, it's not the prettiest slinger I've seen, but the bottom line is, this thing tasted damn good. Potatoes were great, the egg cooked perfectly, and I really don't care if the chili had meat in it or not, because it was awesome. I don't know what Tony's problem is with the bread. First: quit whining about carbs, because you sound like a peter puffer. Second: I think that was a slice of Texas toast, not a bun. And Third: like everything else on the plate, the toast was great. Since I'm kind of a piggy, my only complaint is that there just wasn't enough of this slinger. More chili and perhaps another egg would be just fine.

It seems like it's been forever since anyone has broken into the top ten, but the Crow's Nest jumps into a very respectable 6^th place. I would definitely eat this again.