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Stuff to do: March 2008
• by Byron Kerman
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Festivals and Special Events
Great American Meatout
March 22 – 5 to 6:30 p.m., First Congregational Church (6501 Wydown Blvd.) · www.vegstl.org
The Great American Meatout is not about preaching to the converted. It’s about attracting carnivores to an event designed to show them just how delicious the vegetarian lifestyle can be. So whichever way you choose to go after the feast has digested, rest assured, the event itself will be a saturnalia of exotic delights for diners of any and all persuasions. The St. Louis Vegetarian Society sponsors the all-you-care-to-eat vegan buffet of international delicacies. Advance tickets are available at MoKaBe’s, Sapppington Farmers’ Market and The Natural Way.
Andy Gross in Mind Boggling, The Show, presented by the Cabaret at Savor
March 27 to 29, Savor · 314.531.0220 · www.savor-stl.com
Andy Gross is a Renaissance man. He might bend a spoon with his mind, then throw his voice, then get crushed by a bed of nails. He’ll do a little stand-up comedy, split his body in two, and then maybe haul out his ventriloquist’s dummy and truly freak people out. He’s also been known to levitate, which you don’t get often with dinner theater. The St. Louis expat begins a national tour called Mind Boggling, The Show at Savor. A prix fixe two- or three-course dinner is accompanied by the show, which has some interesting food-related moments, too. Gross has been known to have an audience member sign a $100 bill and lend it to him, and the bill is eventually discovered within a solid loaf of baked bread.
Mad Hatter’s Pub Crawl
March 29 – 10:30 a.m. · 314.318.0084 · www.fuelforthecity.org
Those senior ladies in red hats ain’t got nothin’ on the Mad Hatter’s Pub Crawl. Everyone’s favorite civic group named after a Foghat song, Fuel for the City, sponsors the annual progressive drink party. Revelers wear outlandish hats for a trip on a festive shuttle – with Bloody Marys available on the bus, no less – that tours the Metro East via the Great River Road. The crawl will make various stops in Grafton and at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton. Partiers start the excursion with breakfast at Dogtown landmark Pat’s to provide victuals to soak up the booze. It’s a day to remember, though many may not be able to remember.
Hermann Wurstfest
March 29 and 30, Hermann, Mo. · 800.932.8687 ·
www.hermannmo.info/Wurstfest
Did you hear about what happened at last year’s Wurstfest in Hermann? The big sausage-making machine at the center of town suddenly went out of control. It started firing sausages across the town square at high velocity. No one was safe. A tourist from Iowa caught a knockwurst full in the face and had to have her nose reconstructed. A dozen sausages broke through the stained-glass window of a church during a bassoon recital and wreaked havoc. The mayor of Hermann got on a megaphone and urged the panicked crowd to “remain calm. Everything is going to be fine. Just, please – for the love of God – everyone keep away from the sausage machine.” OK, OK, none of that really happened. But they do put on one hell of a show at Wurstfest. The nearly 30-year-old festival of all things sausage features sampling and sales of bratwurst, Leberwurst, Schwartenmagen and Sommer sausage; live music and dance; a statewide sausage-making contest; sausage-making demos; a whole-hog sausage breakfast; the Wiener Dog Derby; all manner of food, drink and gift vendors; and wine tasting and tours. Look out!
Fundraisers
I-Squared Dinner Club
March 18 – 7 p.m., Mango · 314.773.9090 ·
www.iistl.org/young_friends_network.php
On the third Tuesday of each month, the Young Friends Network of the International Institute meets to digest a new foreign cuisine, literally and otherwise. This tidy gang of polyglots invades a fun, ethnic restaurant and gets an education in the culture and menu of their target country. This month’s destination, Mango, it is safe to say, is the only authentic Peruvian restaurant in Shrewsbury. Peruvian food, we are told, is a reflection of Incan, Spanish, African and Asian influences. Mango’s mouthwatering selections include exotic skewer treats, a variety of dishes flavored with the Peruvian aji amarillo pepper, small-plate samplers, and Torta de Chocolate, made in-house from a family recipe. I-Squared diners are also asked to bring items to fill a donation basket for families new to St. Louis and to the U.S. The list of needed items includes everything from shampoo to alarm clocks to cutting boards to ironing boards (go here for the whole list: www.iistl.org/pdf/dinner_donation.pdf).
Slow Food Convivial Pursuit
March 22 – 7 to 10 p.m., Mad Art Gallery ·
www.slowfoodstl.org/convivial-pursuit
They’re calling it “a friendly game of food trivia,” but cram a couple of hundred gourmands into a banquet space for a competition and watch the umami fly. The benefit is hosted by Slow Food St. Louis, the local chapter of the popular nonprofit dedicated to food ecology, sustainability, fair practice, good taste and taking time to enjoy living. Each team of eight to 10 participants will answer a veritable smorgasbord of trivia questions related to food, while soda, wine and Schlafly beer pour freely into the flagons (drinks are included with the $20 admission). You can also bring your own snacks, be it a bag of pretzels or a standing rib roast emerging from a bed of parsnips and seasonal herbs. Two more things you need to know: Admission is by pre-purchase only, and, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll be the evening’s emcee. I’ll take Potent Potables for $1,000, Alex.
Art St. Louis Grape Arts XVI
March 30 – 2 to 6 p.m., Windows Off Washington · 314.241.4810 · www.artstlouis.org
There are those among you – and you know who you are – who have attended every single one of the 15 annual Grape Arts benefits. The celebration of wine and of the indispensable downtown Art St. Louis gallery has grown and grown, and many wouldn’t think of missing the annual gala. After 15 years, they’ve nailed down the schedule for maximum entertainment. 2 to 4 p.m.: Four separate silent auctions, informal tastings, hors d’oeuvres and live jazz. 4 to 6 p.m.: Guests are seated for the live auction (featuring original art), followed by the formal tastings of regional, national and international wines led by local restaurateurs, sommeliers, merchants, collectors and winery purveyors. 5:30 to 6 p.m.: Desserts and coffee. 6 p.m.: It’s early yet, and you’re downtown, so find a tavern, club, bowling alley, dance hall or street-corner doo-wop act and enjoy.
Classes and discussion
Community Cinema Screening of King Corn
March 13 – 7 p.m., Missouri History Museum · 314.746.4599 · www.mohistory.org
King Corn is a cute, engaging little film about a real-life “cornspiracy” that’s more than a little disturbing. Two friends decide to see what it takes to plant and grow an acre of corn, so they move to Iowa, where corn is king. After getting past various hurdles (leasing land, acquiring genetically modified seeds and powerful herbicides, etc.) they find themselves with a bumper crop of yellow gold. When they attempt to follow their corn through the food industry, they quickly discover that corn dominates the American diet; high-fructose corn syrup, corn-fed meat and corn-based processed foods are inescapable. Our novice farmers meet with a variety of experts who discuss the link between high-carb diets, obesity, diabetes, the inhumane confinement of cows and the apotheosis of the $1 hamburger. After the screening at the Missouri History Museum, the Kelly Twins of TV’s Twice Baked, Jean Ponzi of Gateway Greening, Steven Hollis of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center and moderator Jim Kirchherr of KETC will discuss the film.
Get Your Goat
March 25 – 6:30 to 8 p.m., Whole Foods in Brentwood · 314.968.7744 · www.wholefoodsmarket.com
If it is a sin to eat goat cheese, let the orgy of the wicked commence. What other cheese has the consistency and tang of this piquant delight? What? Does that sound excessive? Well, you’ll be moaning in pleasure and hearing others do likewise at a sampling of eight to 10 deluxe goat cheeses at Whole Foods. The class features goat cheeses in a range of styles from “simple to complex,” crows Whole Foods media maven Marcia Whelan. Whole Foods cheese specialist Melanie Coffey will pair the samples with various spreads, nut mixtures, fresh fruit and wines.
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Sauce Magazine Sponsored Events
Kemper Presents Concert Series
Through April 18 – 6 p.m., Kemper Art Museum · 314.935.4523 · www.kemperartmuseum.
wustl.edu/KemperPresents.html
Shake your groove thing and support St. Louis musicians whose talents range from indie folk to Middle Eastern electronic. Concerts are free and promise to please with complimentary food and drinks.
Art in Bloom 2008
March 6 to 9, Saint Louis Art Museum · 314.721.0072 · www.slam.org
This free festival is a perennial favorite for those who enjoy the work of St. Louis-area floral designers and garden clubs. Entrants create arrangements inspired by artwork selected from the museum’s collection.
Scape Celebrity Chef Series 2008: Tony Mantuano
March 13 – 6 p.m., $125, Scape · 314.361.6944 ·
www.scapestl.com/news.html
hef Tony Mantuano is one of the most celebrated chefs cooking Italian cuisine in the United States. Before opening Spiaggia in Chicago in 1984, Mantuano spent a year cooking in Italy, absorbing knowledge that he then brought stateside to diners eager for a taste of authentic Italian food. And now Mantuano is coming to St. Louis on March 13 to kick off Scape’s Celebrity Chef Series 2008, where he’ll sign complimentary copies of his Spiaggia cookbook, present a cooking demo and offer guests a Spiaggia-inspiried four-course meal with wine pairings. “Once you get a taste of Spiaggia,” said Mantuano, “you’ll want to make the trip to Chicago and sit in this dining room with 40-foot windows overlooking Oak Street Beach. You’re going to get a glimpse of all that without the view.”
Discerning Palette: Jerry O. Wilkerson Retrospective
March 28 to Aug. 15, Saint Louis University Museum of Art · 314.977.2666 · www.slu.edu/sluma.xml
A clever mélange of pop art and pointillism are served up in this exhibition of paintings and sculptures created by Jerry O. Wilkerson. The art of this St. Louis native invites viewers to ponder their relationship to food in a nation fueled by a consumer economy.
Art St. Loius Grape Arts XVI
(see details at left)
Before and After The Sheldon
BEFORE: Whether you’re in store for cabaret or Cowboy Junkies, set the tone for your musical evening with dinner at smart and stylish Terrene, the eco-friendly restaurant on the eastern edge of the Central West End. With salads and steaks, flatbreads and fish, the seasonal market menu offers plenty for both light and hearty appetites, and carnivorous and vegetarian palates (everyone, however, should have the frites). 33 N. Sarah St., St. Louis, 314.535.5100
AFTER: After the last encore, make your way to Sol (pictured), the quietly cool new lounge from the owner of the legendary The Grind coffeehouse, for post-concert drinks. Grab a pint of imported brew from the bar – or, in true rocker style, go for something harder, like one of the high-end rums – and try to snag some space on one of the couches draped in sheer curtains. A DJ keeps the music theme going, but at decibels low enough that you can debate the merits of the set list without screaming to be heard. 4241 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314.534.1300
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