“Dam” the Breadsticks!
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Director Alice Wu Stir-Fries Social Taboos in ‘Saving Face’
I once read a movie critic’s column in which he postulated that there are only two types of Chinese movies. The first is the overwrought emotional drama, filled with lots of self-sacrifice, honor and ancient wisdom passed along by the obligatory omnipresent, omniscient, wizened relative. There’s always lots of tragedy, and things seldom end well,…
Music from Gaslight Square Glows With the Energy of a Long-Lost Era
For a good four decades, the album “A Musical Tour of Gaslight Square” was the finest example of the nightlife that blossomed in midtown St. Louis during the late ’50s and early ’60s. Though a few CD copies of the record were pressed before the eventual passing of the Norman Records label, most listeners have…
In the Trenches, Arts Commandos Perform Valiantly for Local Nonprofits
At noon Tia Adkins dashed into the Regional Arts Commission offices to dial Len Bull, the director of the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteer Association, for the third time. She needed to confirm that parking instructions and passes had been sent. Seated at her favorite computer, Adkins printed out the latest schedule of the 15 volunteers…
Beyond the Cup: Cooking with tea infuses new flavors into common dishes
With summertime here, tea will be served cold. But no matter the season, cooking with tea continues to gain steam both for its health benefits and its versatility as an ingredient. You receive the same antioxidant boost from eating it as drinking it, plus it’s a great way to infuse new flavors into common dishes.…
Riddle’s Homegrown Corn Relish
• Buy freshly picked, homegrown sweet corn on the cob. (If corn is not in season, put this recipe away until it is.) Shuck the corn, remove the silks and cook in boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the ears to cool. Cut the whole kernels off the cob to measure 2 1/2…
Have a Hankering for Catfish? Get your fryin’ pan ready for Missouri farms’ summer harvest
Living next to North America’s biggest river certainly does have its advantages. If you want a straight shot to New Orleans, the mighty Mississippi is the perfect conduit. If you are looking down from the top of The Arch, it makes the view all the more majestic. And if you are a fisherman, the waters…
Scavenging On the Sidewalk: You’re going to pull those weeds anyway … why not eat them?
Today you have a blur of green grass. Tomorrow you possess a purple-and-yellow dotted canvas. Weeds – those masters of evolution that visit without calling ahead – bring this surprising color every year to St. Louis backyards. Most of us look with disdain at these plants with boundary issues, but harvesting unwanted weeds can make…
Wind ‘Round to Mount Pleasant, Where Everything Is, Well, Pleasant
The winding roads of mid-southern Missouri’s slowly rolling hills remind me of Juicy Fruit gum. As a kid, my family would vacation at Bennett Springs State Park near Lebanon, Mo. It was a long drive, so when my brother, sister and I would awaken from our Dramamine-induced coma, we’d be well into the road trip…
Review: Savor in St. Louis
Waiting for Savor, while not a process as involved or lengthy as waiting for Godot, lasted long enough that many St. Louis diners had almost given up hope that Kirk Warner, who left a wide trail of happy patrons where he previously cooked, would ever get behind a new stove at a new restaurant. Well,…
Floyd Johnson’s Deep-fried Whole Chicken
4 servings
Beer Can Chicken on the Grill
4 to 6 servings
Tandoori Chicken
6 servings
Cookin’ Up A Careeer: The first year of the culinary arts program at St. Louis Public Schools’ Mill
While their peers flip burgers at the nearest fast-food franchise, students at St. Louis’ Clyde C. Miller Career Academy learn the fundamentals of fine cuisine from a celebrated chef. These teenage gourmets-in-the-making are the inaugural class of the academy’s culinary arts program, a new career track at the vocational high school that is itself a…
Thanks to Computers, Bar Owners Can Be Their Own DJs
It used to be that the disc jockey’s biggest enemy was a club with no dedicated sound system. Not unlike a wedding DJ carting in a carload of speakers, monitors, mixers and turntables, a freelance club DJ from a decade ago would need to set up a whole rig to do a gig, adding hours…
Brunch at The Boathouse Will Help You De-Stress
Maybe it’s because I was born under a water sign, but I’m a sucker for waterside meals. And at last I’ve found a local brunch that fits that criterion. The Boathouse in Forest Park was redone in the renewal effort the last few years, and to good effect. However, that same effort has made it…
The Vivacious Wine Documentary ‘Mondovino’ Stands Up for the Small Guys
So last year we had “Sideways,” the comic tale of two not-quite-lovable schmucks facing down middle age and commitment fears while careening through California wine country. It was 2004’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” – another movie that really wasn’t nearly as good as everyone made it out to be but which still managed to…
Adam Puchta, America’s Oldest Family-Owned Winery, Celebrates 150 Years
When Adam Puchta began his winery in the rolling hills of Hermann in 1855, it seemed unlikely that he was thinking a century and a half into the future. This summer, sixth-generation Tim Puchta and his seventh-generation sons, Spencer and Parker, will lead his winery’s celebration of 150 years of continuous family ownership, making it…
Shoal Creek Chickens Bring the Taste of the Farm to the City
Floyd Johnson calls himself “The Chicken Man” for good reason. Pastured poultry raised on his Shoal Creek Farm in Raymond, Ill., feeds people hungry for good, wholesome food. And for Johnson, selling the tasty birds keeps his family farm running small in the face of the mega-farming trend. “We’ve got great customers,” Johnson said. “They…
Summer Lunchin’, Had Me a Blast
Summer is here and outdoor patios are open, which means that if you’re a food lover and restaurant junkie like I am, you’ve entered your busiest time of the year at the office. No, not busy from actual work, but from more important things, like planning long, leisurely “business lunches” and advising co-workers about where…
Bar Italia Keeps an Italian Grappa Tradition Alive
Until the 1970s, when Italy’s Nonino family embarked on a mission to revive and refine grappa, this high-alcohol brandy had for centuries remained a European peasant’s drink. Probably first distilled between the 12th and 15th centuries in Italy, grappa was a cheap, somewhat toxic concoction distilled from the leftovers of wine production – the pomace,…
Budding Picassos and Pavarottis Flourish at Local Camps for Kids
Watching a child’s creativity blossom is one of the perks of parenthood, and as schools de-emphasize the arts curriculum, summer opportunities to introduce children to the arts become all the more valuable. We’re not talking run-of-the-mill craft-making to get kids out of the house. The best camps for beginners are designed to help kids truly…
