What is a coon supper? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like – a dinner at which the main course is raccoon meat.
You won’t find many communal coon suppers these days (at least, we don’t get invited to them), but cherished local author Mark Twain craved them. Throughout his years as a literary giant, he also wrote about some of his other faves – canvasback duck, possum, frogs, oysters, prairie chicken, grass-fed steak and turtles.
Author Andrew Beahrs’ new book, Twain’s Feast: Searching for America’s Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens, does more than just recreate the meals that Twain waxed poetic over, it examines how the American menu and palate has evolved and devolved, becoming less local, and, he argues, less adventurous.
Beahrs will roll through Twain’s beloved St. Louis for two events this week. Left Bank Books will host “Twain’s Feast” 41st Birthday Party at Herbie’s Vintage 72 at 405 N. Euclid Avenue on Sunday, July 11. From 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., guests can enjoy a lunch of locally sourced dishes fit for the father of American literature himself (sorry, no coon at this one), as well as a talk by Beahrs. Visit www.left-bank.com or call 314-367-6731 for reservations.
Beahrs will also be at Pudd’nHead Books at 37 S. Old Orchard (the shop is named after a character in Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson, incidentally) for a book signing at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 12. Visit puddnheadbooks.blogspot.com or call 314-918-1069 for more.
– Byron Kerman
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2010.