be wright back!
Coming back to school for round two, for many obvious reasons it felt different. For some strange reason, I feel a bit more emotional this time than the first. A few ideas come to mind as to why: I just spent an incredible four months in the most perfect Chicago season, and so leaving home is hard when life just feels like it’s back to “normal”. I know how college classes work, and while many of them are fascinating, they are also exhausting. I can feel the angst creeping for what Thursday afternoons and Sunday nights will look like for the next sixteen weeks.
But, in so many amazing ways, this year appears extremely bright. I’m living in my first apartment, with a kitchen and all, with some great friends. We’ve spent the first few weeks building things, hanging pictures, and buying cooking supplies. We get to decide how we want things. It’s been awesome. Yet, this while last year felt like gaining independence, to me, this year solidifies it. And while that’s a wonderful and inevitable thing, it’s also a bit scary, again, for obvious reasons.
It was nice to spend one of my few last meals as a soon-to-be sophomore with my mom at the best restaurant I’ve tried in St. Louis, and one of the best I’ve ever had. Wrights Tavern is known to be an impossible reservation. When I first saw their massive ice cream sundae on my Instagram feed, I immediately went on Resy to reserve a spot, just to find they were booked a month out with one 11:00pm reservation on a Wednesday. For months, I tried to get a reservation, but lucked out when I wasn’t able to stay up till midnight on the first of the month.
When my mom called me a few days before we drove down to St. Louis to tell me she landed an 8:15pm reservation, I literally squealed. My mind jumped to that image of that ice cream sundae, with all the toppings to choose from around the bottom of the dish. I could not wait to leave Chicago.
The inside of Wright’s Tavern was much smaller than I thought it would be. Like many St. Louis restaurants, this one was also small, moody, and packed. Around fifteen tables were encased on one side by the kitchen and on the other a four-seat bar.
Our server was so kind, offering light conversation, checking in on my mom and I after each dish to get our thoughts, and talk to us about his experience at Wright’s. That kind of service just makes a restaurant feel like home, like you’ve been there so many times even though it's your first. The ability to treat anyone like a regular is something special about this restaurant, even beyond the food.
We started off with their Wedge Salad which came with a large hunk of thick-cut bacon. Spectacular. Best wedge salad I’ve ever had, and if you’ve tried the wedge salad from Gemini Bistro in Lincoln Park, you know that means a lot. The dressing on the salad was perfectly seasoned and slightly citrus, the blue cheese was punchy but not too funky, and the bacon was just perfect. Delectable, actually. I could have just had that salad and been satisfied with my meal. But, we still had more coming.
Between my mom and I, we split the filet mignon au poivre, a side of green beans, and french fries. When my mom asked the server if they could slice the filet, he said they’d never done it before. But, that didn’t stop them from slicing it perfectly and plating it beautifully. The talent is unreal. And, the steak was possibly the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly tender, tasty, and INSANE. I’m at a loss for words while writing this. I’m also doing a lot of coding for my data science class and reading Spanish while writing this, so my brain is kind of flooded with a lot of information.
The au poivre sauce was sweet and rich. The green beans were buttery and perfectly cooked. The french fries were addicting. Our server made it worse by telling us to dip the fries in the au poivre sauce, an insane combo. I was stuffed. But, the star of the show was still waiting. I needed that ice cream sundae. So, I sacrificed my stomach and went for it.
I got to craft each bite to my liking. Chocolate and pretzels. Strawberry and marshmallows. Vanilla and the cherry on top. Literally anything in this sundae was possible. That’s why I loved it so so much and would do anything to have it again. That sundae felt like a great way to represent the larger things ahead of me, which includes the ability for me to choose my own path this year and do what feels best for me. I’ve filled my sundae glass with a lot of experiences, and now it’s time to try a bunch of different combinations, toppings, and ice creams. And if one doesn’t taste very good, I can always go for another combo.
So, Wright’s was a 10/10. On Beli, it ranked in my top 20 best restaurants of all time. It’s truly next level dining. I cannot wait to be back! (My mom already wants to do my graduation dinner there, so I’ll probably be back in May of 2029…)
