First Look: Botanica in Wildwood
When local brewery Six Mile Bridge Beer announced in August that Ben Welch (formerly of Big Baby Q and Smokehouse and The Midwestern) would be taking over as executive chef, it was a surprise to many. It turns out that that was only the beginning. Shortly after, it was announced that Six Mile Bridge’s owners…
Narwhal’s Crafted is opening a massive new location in the Grove
Popular boozy slushy hangout Narwhal’s Crafted, with locations in Midtown St. Louis and St. Charles, is gearing up to open another spot in the next year or so. This time, they’re bringing their magic to the Grove. “[Our plan is] to move the flagship location over to the Grove,” said Brandon Holzhueter, co-owner of Narwhal’s.…
The (not so) bitter truth about amaro
Amaro is good for you; or at least there are things in it that are thought to be good for you. Most Italians innately know this gospel, but many Americans have only realized it in the past decade. Meaning “bitter” in Italian, amaro is a bittersweet, herbal liqueur that’s traditionally enjoyed before or after dinner…
3 new St. Louis restaurants you need to try
Afandi Sweets & CafeOn entering Afandi Sweets & Cafe, diners are greeted by an enormous pastry case filled with baklava of all different shapes – square, diamond, rolled, bird’s nest – and flavors like pistachio, walnut and chocolate. While it’s all fabulous (the restaurant’s chef and owner is a third generation pastry chef), the baklava…
Landmark: Grassi’s Ristorante & Deli?
The cafeteria line feels like a bygone mode of food service. In recent years – and especially after the pandemic – the thought of going down a line and selecting your lunch items by hand seems more and more foreign; but not at Grassi’s Ristorante & Deli, where it’s been the standard for many years,…
New bar, Crow Bar, to open in former Nadine’s Gin Joint spot in Soulard next year
Anybody who frequents Maplewood or loves metal, eating and drinking surely knows The Crow’s Nest, the beloved local dive about to mark its 10th anniversary. To celebrate (or perhaps just coincidentally), the owners are planning to open a new spot, Crow Bar, in the former Nadine’s space at 1931 S. 12th St. in Soulard; Nadine’s…
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Taste of St. Louis will feature over 20 local restaurants this weekend at Ballpark Village
It’s been a long two years, but Taste of St. Louis is finally back and at a new location. After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the festivities are coming to Ballpark Village for this free event Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, featuring tastes from plenty of St. Louis restaurants, along…
How to shop for wine like a pro
So you stopped off at the grocery store or the neighborhood market to pick up some ingredients for dinner and you’ve decided to grab a last minute bottle of wine. But the shelves are so long and tall! And you don’t recognize most of the bottles! What the hell is muscadet? You start to panic.…
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Soju is Korea’s best kept secret – until now
Think the best-selling spirit in the world is whiskey? Vodka? Not even close. Korean soju has annually sold millions more cases than any other liquor for years. In fact, the brand HiteJinro has been named the world’s best-selling spirit brand for 20 consecutive years. While soju is ubiquitous throughout Korea and has a history that…
Deer Creek Bar & Grill is now open in the former Cousin Hugo’s space in Maplewood
Earlier this month, Deer Creek Bar & Grill replaced the vacancy that had been left by the long-standing Cousin Hugo’s Bar & Grill (3233 Laclede Station Road in Maplewood) as a result of the pandemic. However, the new Deer Creek restaurant is in good hands. Two tenured employees from Hugo’s, John and Paige Cundy, have…
First Look: Steve’s Hot Dog’s new location on South Grand
“I have some great memories here,” said Steve’s Hot Dogs owner Steve Ewing of Mangia Italiano (3145 S. Grand Blvd.), the beloved and infamous late night spot that closed in late 2020. Now, years later, he’s moving his popular restaurant into the space. “As a working musician I was in here a lot – it’s…
6 St. Louis patios to drink beer on this fall
I love posting up outside on a chilly fall evening with a stout or a pumpkin beer in hand; but sometimes, even the most hardcore flannels can’t do anything to stop those sub-60-degree nights from overpowering us. That’s why cozy patios with fire pits and heaters are so essential. Here are a few local restaurants…
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Microdosing is the best way for medical marijuana patients to ease in
If you’re a new medical marijuana patient, some of the most important advice you’ll be given is to go “low and slow,” which is simple to do when microdosing. “The main goal of microdosing is to receive the medicinal benefits without experiencing a high,” said Connor Cervantes, general manager at Swade Dispensary in the Grove.…
The Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill will relocate to Kirkwood next month
Popular local wine and cheese shop The Wine and Cheese Place will be moving its Rock Hill location to a new space in Kirkwood (10451 Manchester Road) starting next month. Store manager Chris Spina said that the store is aiming for a soft open around Oct. 1. The store, known for its huge selection of…
The espresso martini is back
In December 2016, we noticed a shift in the cultural zeitgeist. Guests on yachting reality show Below Deck began demanding rounds of espresso martinis, of all things. “What is this, the ’90s?” we thought. Soon the young professionals summering in the Hamptons on Summer House were replacing their gallons of rosé with espresso martinis too.…
Revel Kitchen opening a third location in Kirkwood
Revel Kitchen, the nutrition-focused restaurant is set to open a new location in Kirkwood in the middle of October. Revel Kitchen’s third location formerly housed SymBowl, which closed last December. Owners Simon and Angelica Lusky first opened Revel because they were looking for healthy options to eat themselves. The build-a-bowl concept came from Simon’s days as…
Make this: 2 classic Italian spritzes
A spritz is an easy cocktail to make at home, and it doesn’t even involve any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients. However you decide to make your spritz, if you make it at home, you will be saving your money for a future trip to Italy where you can drink all the spritzes your heart desires…
What I Do: Mark Schwarz, co-founder/owner, Omega Yeast
Omega Yeast is a classic example of the “guy behind the guy.” The company supplies one of the crucial components of the beer-making process – yeast, which drives fermentation– to many of your favorite local breweries, like Perennial Artisan Ales and Rockwell Brewing Co., as well as brewers nation-wide. Soon after co-founding the company in…
Stone Soup Cottage to reopen later this month for service, close permanently next June
Like many restaurants, lauded fine dining establishment Stone Soup Cottage closed early in the pandemic to reevaluate how to move forward. This week, its owners announced a new plan to reopen doors for a limited amount of time. “We’re opening from Sept. 24 until next June,” explained Nancy McConnell, who co-owns the restaurant with her…
Eat this dal makhani at Khanna’s Desi Vibes
The dal makhani at Khanna’s Desi Vibes is a traditional Punjabi dish that owner Pravin Khanna learned to make from his mother. Slow-cooked urad dal (black lentils) give the dal its deep, rich color. It’s flavored with tomatoes, garlic, onions and coriander powder that get a dose of richness from being cooked in butter and…
Havana’s Cuisine to open brick-and-mortar downtown later this month
Tamara Landeiro, owner of the popular food truck Havana’s Cuisine, will be bringing her food to a brick-and-mortar very soon – at the end of the week or sometime next week, according to her. The restaurant will open at 1131 Washington Ave. “I love it,” Landeiro said. “The buildings look like Havana. The concept we…
The true story behind how Missouri saved the French wine industry
Once upon a time (the 1860s), in a wine-loving land far, far away (southern France), a mysterious disease started killing grapevines. In less than 30 years, the disease decimated nearly half of all of France’s vineyards. Yet, just when all hope was lost and French vintners and Francophiles alike were steeled for a fate of…
First Look: Chatawa and Grand Pied in Tower Grove South
Chatawa and Grand Pied opened on Aug. 18 at 3137 Morgan Ford Road (formerly Local Harvest Cafe and Seed Sprout Spoon) in Tower Grove South. Chatawa is a bar, owned and operated by Thomas Crone, who worked behind the bar at Tick Tock Tavern for six years. Grand Pied is the restaurant housed in the…
All Rolled Up rolls up to Urban Eats
Late this summer, All Rolled Up debuted in Urban Eats’ marketplace in Dutchtown. Helmed by co-owners Bryan White and Terry Coleman, the restaurant aims to mix the egg roll with … well, everything. “We want to bring something unique,” White said. “Something new, something we haven’t seen on this scale.” According to White, the restaurant’s egg roll-centric concept was…
Basil India opens in Tower Grove South serving up Asian fusion cuisine
Basil India opened mid-July in Tower Grove South at 3183 South Grand Blvd. The space was previously occupied by Basil Spice Thai Cuisine. The restaurant has been renovated with a modified kitchen and seating area, and a completely new menu. Co-owner Naveen Kumar decided to go into business with Basil Spice owner Somying Fox (who…
Casa de Tres Reyes, new Mexican concept from Three Kings Public House, will open this fall
Local watering hole(s) Three Kings Public House announced today that it would be opening a new concept this fall: Casa de Tres Reyes, which translates (according to a press release) to House of the Three Kings. The restaurant will be found at 1181 Colonnade Center in Des Peres (formerly the home of Rib City). “It’s…
Prime 55 will open second location downtown in Le Méridien hotel this fall
Popular restaurant Prime 55 Restaurant & Lounge, which opened in the summer of 2019 at 6100 Delmar Blvd., will be making big moves this fall when it expands to a second location inside the downtown Le Méridien hotel at 1019 Pine St. “It’s been a blessing – it’s not something that was on our radar…
Second location of Baileys’ Range finally opening on Shaw Blvd. later this year; downtown Rooster moving to new space
If you live in Tower Grove or drive down Shaw Blvd. regularly, you’ve undoubtedly seen the sign promising a second location of Baileys’ Range at 4175 Shaw Blvd. Finally, after years of planning, the much anticipated restaurant should open later this year, according to owner Dave Bailey. Bailey explained that the gestation stage was extended due…
Crab N Go, a new Cajun food spot opens in Overland
Crab N Go, located at 10041 Page Ave. in Overland, is a new Cajun food spot housed in the former Dollar Express Chinese Restaurant. The restaurant, which opened on Aug. 28, offers Cajun food options like seasoned crab and potatoes with signature seasonings, shrimp, corn on the cob, and more. Taking inspiration from their popular Sushi…
5 tips for making the perfect spritz
A spritz is an easy cocktail to make at home, and it doesn’t even involve any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients. All it takes to make a good spritz is the 3:2:1 formula: three parts sparkling wine like prosecco to two parts bitter liqueur to one part bubbly water; add a garnish and serve over ice.…
A sustainable future for St. Louis food producers
Ask Blueprint Coffee’s Andrew Timko about facilitating direct trade relationships in specialty coffee, and he’ll almost immediately talk about another dark, crumbly matrix: the soil in which coffee plants are grown, thousands of miles away, in farming regions clustered along the equator. Often, the improvements Timko, Blueprint’s co-owner and green buyer, plans with the company’s…
First Look: Birch Market in O’Fallon, Ill.
Birch Market, a new specialty food and prepared foods market is opening on September 4 at 227 W. 1st St. Suite B, O’Fallon, Ill. The market is the first brick-and-mortar space for co-owners Greg and Christie Maggi, who also run a catering business. “My husband and I are from the O’Fallon area and we wanted…
Maize & Wheat Colombian Cafe coming to Brentwood this fall
A new Colombian restaurant, Maize & Wheat Colombian Cafe will open later this year at 1912 S. Brentwood Blvd., the former home of Applegate’s Deli and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, St. Louis Magazine first reported. There, owner Claudia Marcella Niswonger will bring dishes like empanadas, arepas, tropical juices, soups and salads to the St. Louis community. While this…
James Beard semi-finalist Chef Brian Fisher joins Seoul Taco as culinary director
Seoul Taco has appointed James Beard semi-finalist Chef Brian Fisher as the company’s culinary director. Fisher will oversee menu and recipe development and kitchen operations across the Korean-Mexican restaurant’s locations in St. Louis and Chicago. “We’re very excited to welcome Chef Brian to the Seoul Taco team,” said Seoul Taco chef and owner David Choi in…
First Look: International Tap House in the Delmar Loop
There are a lot of fine places to drink beer in St. Louis, but people always seem happy to patronize a fresh one. So when the opportunity to open a new International Tap House (iTAP) came up, the team behind the popular bar jumped on it. “We’d always kind of had The Loop on our…
