Drive Cattle, Stomp Grapes, Make Cheese: Agritourism gives city folk a taste of farm life
You may have visited a farmers’ market, romped around a pumpkin patch or picked apples at Eckert’s, but how much do you really know about farm life? Numerous growers and producers are just itching to teach city slickers a thing or two about how food makes it from the farm to your fork. If you’ve…
Recipe Upon Recipe: What makes cookbook collectors tick
If a recipe calls for Jell-O or MSG, you can bet it comes from a cookbook of yesteryear. Some people collect vintage volumes along with new ones, whether they understand why or not. Yes, they love food. Yes, they enjoy cooking. Yet there’s more behind a person’s impulse to crowd a bookshelf. Otherwise, why not…
Fast and Flexible: Flour tortillas go far beyond burritos and wraps
One of my Mexican cookbooks describes tortillas as “a food born out of the necessities of the primitive people.” I guess I’m still in a primordial stage because I frequently use flour tortillas as utensils and dishware. Tortilla wedges are my spoons for scooping up salad, dip or beans; flat, unleavened disks are my plates…
He Said | She Said: The crabbier the better
It’s probably no revelation that crab Rangoon isn’t an Asian dish. After all, how many cheesy Chinese foods can you name? The exact origins of this American appetizer, most popular in Eastern and Midwestern states, are debatable. Some sources give “Trader Vic” Bergeron credit, while others suggest it came to be right here in St.…
Spring Mix: Zippy vinaigrettes and local lettuces make simply spectacular salads
Come to my house and I will serve you a plate of lettuce. Um, sure – be right over. Really, though, it’s an invitation to check out the incredible lettuces grown right here in greater St. Louis. These gorgeous greens shine when lightly tossed with glossy vinaigrettes that are a snap to whip up. If…
Recipe: Trattoria Marcella’s Lobster Risotto
You’ve got your toasted ravs, sure. Gooey butter cake, OK. But when it comes to St. Louis foods, Trattoria Marcella’s Lobster Risotto tops the list, hands down. What other dish has achieved such fame without once appearing on a menu? The Komorek brothers first ran this elegant twist on the Italian classic as a 1995…
Review: Tigín Irish Pub & Restaurant in St. Louis
In the thick of a cold, hard winter night there are certainly worse places to be than nuzzled up to a warm hearth with a stiff drink in hand, surrounded by friends. Such would be my case when, on a Saturday night, I pushed through the doors of Tigín, a snug little Irish pub that…
Review: Cielo Restaurant & Bar in St. Louis
At night, the first thing you notice when driving up to the Four Seasons Hotel – the sparkling luxury hotel sitting atop the equally upscale Lumière Place Casino – is the 650-foot ribbon of color emanating from the building’s illuminated tower, casting a fabric of light stretching up, over and down the edges of the…
Veggie Tortilla Pie
6 servings
Smoky Vinaigrette
Makes about 3/4 cup
Basil-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
About 3 1/2 cups
Citrusy Sesame Vinaigrette
Makes about 1 cup
Fruity Vinaigrette
Makes about 3/4 cup
Ricotta-Stuffed Artichoke Hearts
4 servings
Trattoria Marcella’s Lobster Risotto
4 servings
Matters of the heart
Most vegetables are easy to approach and easy to identify. Not so the artichokes, which come with their own body armor and prickly thorns. Yes, the leaves will stab and draw blood if you are not careful. Are they worth the effort? Most definitely, because the taste of artichoke is indescribably delicious and unique. The…
Missouri’s Wine and Grape Board is a national leader
The impact of Missouri’s more than 70 wineries is much greater than the more than 800,000 gallons of wine each produces: More than 6,000 jobs are created by the $700 million Missouri wine industry; winery revenues are over $30 million, with an estimated retail value of over $50 million; tourism related to wineries generates over…
The Tattooer, the Baker, the Apple Tart Maker: Matt Herren and Debbie Sultan live big in a small tow
Chuck’s House of Sushi Chicken. Dirty Girl Laundry Mat. Canada Bob’s Beer, Bait and Bordello. Setting up shop at 222 Main St. in Edwardsville, Debbie Sultan and Matt Herren covered their front window with a new “coming soon” sign every week. “The whole town was talking. ‘You can’t sell sushi chicken!’ Schlafly actually sent people…
Cheese, pastries and one heckuva PB&J: C’est si bon
There’s an unfair aura of pretentiousness that seems to cling to French restaurants. I blame the language. In the first place, you can hardly write about food without trotting out French words like cuisine (haute? nouvelle? Lean?) and gourmet. Then there are the dishes themselves. You sit down at a restaurant, open the menu and…
East meets West for some tasty results
Knowing a thing or two about Asian food, I was somewhat confused when I heard a new restaurant was opening in the Central West End called Banh Mi Boba. I knew banh mi was the traditional Vietnamese sandwich on a French baguette and boba was the Taiwanese boba tea. So when I found out the…
The quintessential taste of summer starts now
On my list of must-have plants in the sunny raised beds of my backyard, basil ranks second only to tomatoes. Sweet basil makes a tall backdrop for zinnias mid- to late summer. I love the contrast of hot reds, sassy oranges and dizzy pinks against the deep green crinkle of basil leaves. Like tomatoes, growing…
Slow smoking, sweet touches and sauce on the side
Step into Pappy’s Smokehouse and you’ll likely meet owner Mike Emerson, who makes it a point to greet customers at the door. He’s quick to tell you that his new barbecue restaurant near downtown is a joint effort. “We have no titles because everybody here’s on the same team,” Emerson said. “I guess if you…
