Mainlander is a prix-fixe supper club worth visiting in the Central West End
At prix-fixe supper club Mainlander, the lights are turned down low, but the restaurant is never moody, thanks partly to co-owner and maître d’ Gordon Chen’s effervescent hospitality. Chen and chef-co-owner Blake Askew have cultivated an oasis that combines mid-century modern furnishings and a subtly tropical aesthetic with effortless style. Reservations are required, dining is pre-paid…
4 Oktoberfests to check out in the St. Louis area
We can’t get enough of fall beer festivals. Here are four happening around St. Louis in October. The Crafty Chameleon Brewery & Pizza CraftoberfestSunday, Oct. 1, The Crafty Chameleon Brewery & Pizzeria, 1384 Clarkson Clayton Center, Ellisville, facebook.com/TheCraftyChameleonThe Crafty Chameleon Brewery’s annual Craftoberfest will feature more than 10 guest taps with Oktoberfest beers that include Toppling Goliath,…
Navin’s BBQ is closing its location off South Grand in Tower Grove East
Navin’s BBQ has announced, in a Sept. 27 Instagram post, that it is closing its doors. According to the post, the eatery will close its location at 3559 Arsenal St. at the end of business today, Thursday, Sept. 28. The post thanked the St. Louis community for its support, while also sharing that the business will…
3 namesake cocktails at St. Louis restaurants we’re obsessed with right now
We love an eponymous cocktail: If a drink is good enough that a bar or restaurant is willing to stake their name to it, we want to give it a try. At new dinner club Mainlander, the Mainlander cocktail reflects the restaurant’s tiki-inspired aesthetic; featuring a blend of Jamaican and Missouri rums, Missouri black walnut…
2 non-alcoholic wine alternatives to try this fall
Non-alcoholic beverages continue to be an area of growing interest as consumers look for quality ways to imbibe booze-free, and NA wines are at the forefront of the trend. Most are either categorized as wine alternatives, which are custom creations that use various ingredients to replicate the flavors of wine, or dealcoholized wines, which have…
Eat this green goddess salad at Pastaria Deli & Wine in Clayton
Call us crazy for giardiniera. In our opinion, it is the star of the green goddess salad at Pastaria Deli & Wine. This spicy, vinegary condiment boasts crunch from cauliflower, carrot, bell pepper and celery and heat from jalapeno and black pepper; it delivers a vibrant tang to whatever it touches. The salad is no…
Advanced sommelier Wanda Cole-Nicholson shares her strategies for making wine less intimidating
Advanced sommelier Wanda Cole-Nicholson got her start in wine while working as a server at Blue Water Grill in Chicago. Through weekly wine classes and regular tastings led by the restaurant’s sommelier, “I found out there was this huge world of wine and involved in it was not only art but also geography, geology –…
There are only 2 more Sauce Food Truck Fridays at Tower Grove Park this season
The second to last Sauce Food Truck Friday of the season will take place at Tower Grove Park from 3 to 7 p.m. (earlier than normal to accommodate the setting sun) on Friday, Sept. 22. Here are five of the trucks that will be at the park this week. Go Gyro GoWith a simple but…
Cocktails on draft are trending at St. Louis bars
Places as diverse as Modern Brewery, The Vandy and Planter’s House have incorporated draft cocktails into their beverage programs, and the trend is becoming more pervasive as owners look to streamline service while still offering top-notch drinks. Corey Moszer, beverage director at The Lucky Accomplice and Press, has cocktails on draft at both locations. “At…
Baked & Boiled will bring bagels to Soulard in fall 2023
Over the past 18 months, Alex Pifer has built a loyal following for her Baked & Boiled bagels, selling first at Wild Olive Provisions in Shaw and latterly at Tower Grove Farmer’s Market. Now she’s ready to bring those bagels to Soulard with her first brick-and-mortar bakery, which is set to launch in late September…
This week on The Sauce podcast: Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs feature, Taco Buddha and essential St. Louis cocktails
This week on The Sauce podcast, managing editor Liz Wolfson and executive editor Meera Nagarajan discuss the annual Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs feature, which this year put Steven Pursley of Menya Rui on their list. He joins four other local chefs – Nick Bognar, Michael Gallina, Gerard Kraft and Kevin Willmann – that have also been awarded the…
Parker’s Table is opening a wine bar in Richmond Heights in spring 2024
Richmond Heights will have a new wine bar next year when The Yale Bar, set to launch in spring 2024, opens at 7120 Oakland Ave. The bar is being brought to the neighborhood by Jon Parker, of Parker’s Table and The Oakland Room event space, located on the corner of Oakland and Yale, at 7118…
Sugaree Baking Co. will reopen in Dogtown on Friday, Sept. 22
Sugaree Baking Co. will reopen for retail business on Friday, Sept. 22, under its new owners, Megan and Derrick Cobb. The bakery has been closed to retail customers since the end of 2022, but Friday will see the Cobbs open the doors once again at 1242 Tamm Ave. in Dogtown, the location Sugaree has called…
4 wines leading the Missouri wine renaissance
Because Missouri’s climate is harsh for vitis vinifera (the most familiar grape species – think: chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon), regional producers discovered the varieties most conducive for winemaking are French hybrids and native vines, which can produce wine despite our humid summers and cold winters. These wines have garnered a reputation for being cloyingly sweet, lacking…
Nick Bognar of Indo and Sado featured alongside top chefs in Eater cookbook
Indo and Sado chef-owner Nick Bognar is set to be featured in a new cookbook from digital media brand Eater alongside dozens of “chefs and creative minds behind food trucks and Michelin-starred restaurants, bakeries, and bars, and more.” The cookbook, Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes, will be published by Abrams on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Compiled by Eater’s restaurant editor, Hillary Dixler…
Where to try sugarcane spirits in St. Louis right now
Cachaca, the Brazilian distillate that fuels the caipirinha, usually dominates any conversation about non-rum sugarcane spirits. But other spirits in this niche category are slowly making their way into cocktail culture. Clairin is Haiti’s unofficial national spirit, and making it is a revered tradition in the island nation. Made with raw cane juice as opposed…
Menya Rui chef-owner Steven Pursley named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine
Steven Pursley, chef and owner of Lindenwood Park ramen shop Menya Rui, has been honored as one of the best new chefs in the country by Food & Wine. Pursley was one of 11 chefs the magazine celebrated for “cultivating kindness in the kitchen and vibrant flavors on the plate.” The Food & Wine Best New Chef award is…
First Look: King & I’s new location in Richmond Heights
King & I will complete its relocation from Tower Grove South to Richmond Heights this week, with the local Thai institution set to open its new restaurant at 8039 Dale Ave. on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The Prapaisilp family’s restaurant ended its 40-year run in Tower Grove South when King & I closed its former location at 3155-3157…
5 iconic St. Louis cocktails
Over the last 20 years, primed by a global renaissance of the art of the mixed drink, St. Louis bartenders have fashioned their own creations in the spirit of both experimental rigor and playful abandon. In the process, several local originals have become St. Louis essentials, inspiring copycats and homages and giving young bartenders the…
5 Oktoberfests happening this September in and around St. Louis
Beer festivals abound each fall, and we’re here for it. Here’s what’s happening in September, and keep an eye on our site for another roundup of festivals happening in October. Lieferbrau Brewery OktoberfestSaturday, Sept. 16 – noon to 11 p.m., Lieferbrau Brewery, 118 E. Market St., Red Bud, Illinois, facebook.com/lieferbrau/Who says Oktoberfest can’t be in September?…
The Wine Merchant is now open in its new location in Olivette
Longtime Clayton stalwart The Wine Merchant recently picked up stakes and moved west. The spirited retailer opened its doors to its new location at 9200 Olive Blvd. in Olivette in mid-August. The store was located at 20 S. Hanley Road for over 20 years before relocating just a few blocks away to 7817 Forsyth Blvd.…
2 new St. Louis restaurants to try this month
Every month, we make it our mission to try all the new restaurants and bars that open in the area so we can make meaningful recommendations on where you should go. Here’s where made the cut in September: Mainlander in the Central West EndAt prix-fixe supper club Mainlander, the lights are turned down low, but…
This week on The Sauce podcast: ‘Ssippi Wine Bar, Lion’s Choice, Companion, Eat Crow and more
This week on The Sauce podcast, managing editor Liz Wolfson and executive editor Meera Nagarajan discuss the famed cornbread at Companion and the best ways to eat it – a little truffle honey takes it to new heights. They chat about a recent takeout experience from Lion’s Choice and why the original roast beef sandwich remains…
11 new St. Louis bars we love
We love hanging at our regular watering holes where everybody knows our name; but sometimes change can be a good thing. From University City to Belleville and points in between, St. Louis has seen a slew of new bars open over the past year. Here are a few we’ve especially enjoyed and recommend working into…
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Four Seasons St. Louis is hosting a Mississippi River dinner experience on Friday, Sept. 22
Enjoy a night along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River at the Four Seasons St. Louis Mississippi River Dinner at the Cinder House restaurant located on the eighth floor at 999 N. Second St. at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22. Four Seasons St. Louis executive chef Kelley Schmidt will welcome Four Seasons Minneapolis…
Al-Tarboush Deli on the Delmar Loop will soon close its doors for good
Lebanese eatery Al-Tarboush Deli has announced it is closing. The information was shared with deli customers via a written message on the windows of the eatery’s storefront, which is located at 602 Westgate Ave. The University City deli has served the community since 1997, according to information on a Facebook page associated with the business. …
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Music at the Intersection has an incredible lineup of food trucks this weekend
The Music at the Intersection festival held in the Grand Center Arts District Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10, aims to bring a global spotlight on St. Louis culture, from the city’s world-class musical artists to the food that fuels them. (Check out our previous article on the festival for a more general overview of what…
5 trucks to visit at Sauce Food Truck Friday in Tower Grove Park on Sept. 8
The next Sauce Food Truck Friday of the season will take place from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. (a bit earlier than normal to accommodate the setting sun) at Tower Grove Park on Friday, Sept. 8. Here are five of the trucks that will be at the park this week. Cinnacrush GrilleAlong with their popular chicken…
This week on The Sauce podcast: 4 Hands at The District, Idol Wolf and more
This week on The Sauce podcast, managing editor Liz Wolfson and executive editor Meera Nagarajan discuss a number of First Looks from the website. Up first is the new, second location of 4 Hands Brewing Co. in Chesterfield at The District. The 10,000-square-foot sleek and modern tasting room opened on Aug. 31. Up next is El…
Hanlen’s Fine Meats & Catering in Kirkwood is closing after 51 years in business
A Kirkwood butcher shop, Hanlen’s Fine Meats & Catering, announced via a written statement posted to its Facebook page that the business is closing its doors after serving the community for five decades. The shop, located at 11037 Manchester Road, will have its last day in business on Saturday, Sept. 30. According to the Aug. 31…
8 food & drink events to check out this month in the St. Louis area
Growing City Greens Sept. 6 – 6 to 9 p.m., Wild Carrot, 3901 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, 618.694.4688, stlcitygreens.orgShow off your green garb while supporting your local green thumbs. Local beer and wine will fill your glasses while Farm Spirit STL provides the bites at this cocktail-style “green party” (think Diddy’s white parties, but in…
The Hill Food Co ghost kitchen collective now open in St. Louis
The concept of ghost kitchens, spaces without dining areas where chefs can prepare their wares for pickup or delivery, have exploded in popularity, especially in the wake of Covid-19. Some culinary entrepreneurs are able to access kitchen space at existing restaurants, but there is a growing trend of dedicated commercial ghost kitchens, like The Hill…
