Ongoing
St. Louis Wine Club Monthly Meetings: Chardonnays & Bubbly
June 1 and 15 – 5 p.m., multiple locations
www.stlwineclub.com
When you show up at a St. Louis Wine Club meeting and taste, you don’t just start passing around the bottle like a hobo. Oh, no. That may happen later, sure, but the club wants you to arrive prepared for a sort of show and tell first. They ask you to bring, in addition to an exemplar of the wine of the month, a little background info about your pick. You tell the group about the vineyard or vintage or some amusing Googling related to the bottle in question, and then everyone tosses back. This month’s Celebrate Like It’s 2008 gatherings focus on Chardonnays and Bubbly (cava, Sekt, American sparkling, French Champagne, sparkling rosé, etc.). Wine club events are often in members’ homes and have limited attendance, so if you’re interested, you’ll definitely want to head to the Web site to make reservations (and learn the location of the meeting). While you’re there, check out the comprehensive wine glossary, which explains why such descriptors as “jammy,” “hedonistic” and “long” are desirable, while “hollow,” “flabby” and “barnyard” are not.
Cinema Nights at Five
June 10 – 7:30 p.m., Five · 314.535.5553
www.fiveinthegrove.com
Here’s looking at you, Five. Your Cinema Nights, on the second Tuesday of each month, include a three-course meal, quality wine and a fun film screened right there on the premises. June’s film, Casablanca, is, among other things, about how quickly love can come and go. Kinda like the seasonal cuisine made with locally grown ingredients in which Five specializes. The best things in life are limited engagements. Cinema Night starts off with popcorn, then moves on to a cheese plate, a salad and an entrée with vegetable served family-style. It’s never easy when Rick and Ilsa say goodbye. The chef’s dessert tasting, however, does help.
All-Inclusive Seats at St. Louis Cardinals Games
Busch Stadium · 314.345.9500 · www.stlcardinals.com
You can complain about the price of a beer at Busch Stadium, but those complaints turn quickly to sly calculations when sports fans learn about the all-inclusive seats. Following the lead of many other sports stadiums, Busch now offers a “prix fixe” ticket that includes a seat for the game, plus unlimited hot dogs, brats, nachos, soft drinks and beer. (The calculations involve the number of beers and hot dogs you intend to down, which then determines whether the price, for you, is a bargain or not.) But of course, in this highly corporate, plutocratic world, it doesn’t end with the beer and brats of the Homer’s and Left Field Landings packages. You can go higher. The Coca-Cola Scoreboard Patio, Rooftop Deck and Bridge packages, as well as the Legends Club package, feature hot dogs, barbecued beef, boneless chicken breasts, nachos, baked beans and brownies. The Bank of America Club package features salad, a pasta station, baked beans, hot dogs, brownies, cookies and two entrées (to be named later, as they say). The fancier-still Champions Club package includes carving and pasta stations, a full-service bar, and a dessert menu. The ultimate level of service, featuring delights from the exclusive Cardinals Club, awaits those who already have tickets for the coveted Commissioner’s Box package – that’s “already,” because those ultra-hot tickets are completely sold-out for the 2008 season.
Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market
Saturdays through September – 8 a.m. to noon, Henry Street at Landmarks Boulevard, Alton · 618.463.1091 www.visitalton.com
Alton is much more than a place to find a life-size statue of the world’s tallest man, although that is totally awesome. Take a deep figurative breath, and check out a list of everything for sale at the Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market: apples, peaches, pears, cherries, raspberries, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon, Indian corn, gourds, cabbage, zucchini, onions, honey, beeswax items, small trees, fresh-cut flowers, baked goods, coffee, woodworked crafts, jewelry, stained glass, pottery, et cetera. All foods are homegrown and all arts and crafts are at least 50 percent handmade. You can breakfast on hot coffee and baked goods right there at the market, and there are kids’ activities on the first Saturday of each month.
Special events
Central West End Art Fair & Taste
June 6 to 8, Euclid and Maryland avenues · 314.367.2220 www.thecwe.com
If you live in or near the Central West End, you know the neighborhood restaurants, and you no doubt have your favorites. The fun at the annual CWE Art Fair & Taste means that you can buy sample-size portions from several restaurants at once, and your family can divide and conquer. Culpepper’s hot wings for dad, a California roll from the Drunken Fish for mom, Llywelyn’s fresh chips for the kids, and Edy’s ice cream from Coffee Cartel for everyone. (Hey, it may not be a paragon of nutrition, but it sure puts nachos and Sno-Cones to shame.) Other eateries with booths include Bar Italia, Wildflower Café, Liluma, Cha Yoon, Bar Louie and The Pasta House Co. Buy your goodies and eat as you stroll through the art show, craft village and kids’ area.
Lambstravaganza 2008: A Feast in the Field
June 8 – 2 to 6 p.m., Prairie Grass Farms in New Florence (advance ticketing only) · www.slowfoodstl.org
“Wham, bam, thank you, lamb” is what you’ll be saying after a long day of wining and dining outdoors at a lamb farm, thanks to Slow Food St. Louis. The area chapter of the international food advocacy group hosts its annual Lambstravaganza at Dave and Barb Hillebrand’s Prairie Grass Farms in New Florence. Guests enjoy a walking tour of the farm with beverages from Schlafly followed by a gourmet meal so fresh you can almost hear it bleating, made from lamb grown and fed right there on the farm. Erstwhile Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel executive chef Tim Grandinetti, chef Lou Rook III of Annie Gunn’s, chef Dave Owens of Bissinger’s and chef Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Café will prepare the family-style, multicourse dinner for 60, featuring wine pairings from Les Bourgeois. The lamb dishes and wines taste that much better on the green – you’ll feel like a bon vivant feasting in the rolling countryside of the South of France.
16th Annual National Pez Convention
June 19 to 21, Marriott St. Louis West · 314.293.0179 www.pezconvention.com
Yes, the annual National Pez Convention is a great place for kids to pick up lotsa inexpensive Pez dispensers (and candy) and get into the hobby. But it's also a place where serious adult collectors can go “room-hopping” to check out displays, swap, sell and buy items from other collectors. How “serious” can this hobby truly get? Like any obsessives, Pez collectors seek out the rarest models and prototypes, and shell out big money for them. Sometimes a dispenser can cost hundreds of dollars or more. The best way to check out the pedestrian as well as the esoteric sides of all thing Pez is to come to the public session at the dealers’ area on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. As soon as you walk through the door, you’ll be immersed in a world of crazy colors, toys and candy.
Classes
Cool and Classy Summer Desserts
June 9, 16, 23 – 6:30 p.m., Dierbergs School of Cooking 314.432.6505 · www.dierbergs.com
Zabaglione – it sounds like something that Tony Soprano might call his yacht. In truth, it’s a whipped Italian custard, often served with berries. It’s perfect for the summertime, and it’s on the menu at the new Dierbergs School of Cooking’s Cool and Classy Summer Desserts Class. Pastry Chef Kenda Morado of Reggie’s Backstage Restaurant & Bar (in Grand Center) will overwhelm you with strawberry chiffon pie, cheesecake mousse trifle, sponge cake roulade, zabaglione with berries and a lemon mint granita that can turn any room into a breezy front porch. Chef Morado trots to three area Dierbergs to make your sugar-centric fantasies come true. Taste a little of everything and you’ll be floating on a chiffon cloud.
Summer Salads Cooking Class
June 26 – 6 p.m., Eckert’s · 618.233.0513
www.eckerts.com
Angie Eckert of Eckert’s Farms is, like many of us, “almost a vegetarian,” she said. This means meat and fish may occasionally find their way onto her plate, but not terribly often. So she’s excited about sharing some of her recipes for meatless summer salads. She’ll be teaching a class at the Belleville Eckert’s Country Store that features fruit and vegetable salads with such ingredients as homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers and peaches. “A great salad, in my opinion,” she went on, “includes fresh ingredients, a homemade but easy dressing and a surprise ingredient. For example, I’ll add fruit to a green salad or blue cheese to a fruit salad.” The scion of the fruity empire added that she will be pouring some of her favorite summer wine drinks, too. Let the picnic begin.
River City Professionals Networking Happy Hour
June 17 – 5:30 p.m., Mandarin Lounge
www.rivercityprofessionals.org
Quaff and klatch at RCP’s happy hour. This month, the well-connected will be meeting at the übercool Mandarin Lounge to drink Belvedere vodka. The sponsored charity is Young Friends of Children’s Hospital, so drink up.
Saucy Soiree
June 30 – 6 p.m., Moulin and Vin de Set
314.772.8004 · www.saucysoiree.com
You’ve cast your Readers’ Choice ballots, now read the results before the rest do. The Saucy Soiree preview party lets you get (stuff your) face time with all your faves – from favorite new restaurant to favorite small plates to favorite winery. It’s our, well, favorite event of the year.
Hermann Rhythm and Brews Fest
Saturday June 21st, 11am-5pm
Tin Mill Brewing Company First and Gutenberg, Hermann, MO 65041 573-486-2275
http://www.tinmillbrewing.com
Featuring great beer from regional micro brewers, great music and food too!
Ongoing
Tower Grove Farmers’ Market
Through Oct. 25 – 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., West of the Pool Pavilion in Tower Grove Park · 314.772.3899 · www.tgmarket.com
Clayton Farmers’ Market
Through Oct. 25 – 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 8282 Forsyth Blvd. · 314.398.9729
www.claytonfarmersmarket.com