8 food and drink products we're fixated on this month

Perennial Artisan Ales Suburban Beverage
This lip-smacking, gose-style ale is the refresher we keep coming back to this summer to help us beat the heat. Brewed with salt and key lime juice, it’s a little like Tostitos’ Hint of Lime tortilla chips in a can – and equally addictive.
Four-pack: $11. Southside Wine and Spirits, 4920 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 314.779.6294, southsidewineandspirits.com

Upper Crust Bread rye-chocolate chunk cookies
Longtime industry pro (and 2016 Sauce One To Watch) Jeffrey Moll makes a wide variety of loaves and accoutrements like compound butter and lacto-fermented sauerkraut that are available through his online-only shop. He also offers these hefty cookies made with dark rye flour and black sesame seeds; together, they lend a toasty, nutty, savory note we love in a dessert.
Six cookies: $9. Upper Crust Bread, IG: @uppercruststl, upper-crust-bread.square.site

Onyx whole-bean coffee
This Arkansas-based roaster produces whole-bean coffees that range from light to medium, bringing out each bean’s best flavor profile. (A recent favorite carried notes of peach and brown sugar.) Sustainability informs their process from start to finish, beginning with sourcing, to using solar power at their roastery, to having transparency with pricing and trade data for consumers – plus the packaging is lovely. The knowledgeable folks at Comet Coffee can guide you to the best way to prepare your selection.
$18 to $24, Comet Coffee, 5708 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.7770, cometcoffeestl.com

AO&Co. Mohammara
Roasted piquillo peppers give this luxuriously smooth mezze dip its body, but pomegranate molasses bolsters the flavor with sweet and tart notes. It’s smoky with a slight hint of heat, and can be eaten with a warm pita or used to brighten other dishes – we love it with AO&Co.’s egg salad.
Half-pint: $12. AO&Co., 1641 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.899.0991, Facebook: AO&Co. Market and Café

Annie Gunn’s Caesar Salad Dressing
One of our favorite Caesar salads in town is from Annie Gunn’s. It’s the dressing that makes it next level: It’s thick, salty and has just the right amount of fishiness. With the help of the Smokehouse Market next door, you can buy the restaurant’s dressing to make big Caesars at home that make your guests say, “Wow!”
8 ounces: $5. The Smokehouse Market, 16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield, 636.532.3314, smokehousemarket.com

Very Asian Merch
When a caller told local KSDK news anchor Michelle Li she was being “very Asian” for talking about her Korean holiday traditions, Li parlayed the words into the Very Asian Foundation. The foundation supports highlighting Asian stories and provides grants to organizations dedicated to strengthening Asian communities. We love the merch they released to support the foundation like this tote bag, but you can find T-shirts and even onesies too. To learn more about the foundation visit veryasianfoundation.org.
Tote bag: $25. United Provisions, 6241 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314.833.5699, unitedprovisions.com

Baetje Farms Miette
This bloomy rind cheese from Baetje Farms is soft and delicate. Baetje is famous for their goat’s milk cheese, but this one blends goat’s and sheep’s milk for a cheese that has sweet, yeasty notes and a little funk. It’s best paired with bread and a sparkling wine.
$14. Parker’s Table, 7118 Oakland Ave., Richmond Heights, 314.645.2050, parkerstable.com

Field To Fire Moroccan chickpea-lentil stew
Can stew be exciting? When it has a light-yet-creamy texture complemented by warm spices like ginger and harissa paste, the answer is definitely yes. Veggies like sweet potatoes and kale plus the legumes make this a filling and blissfully easy workday lunch or weeknight dinner.
16 ounces: $12. Fresh Thyme Market, multiple locations, freshthyme.com