With an ever-growing, forward-moving food scene, St. Louis has sautéed, flambéed and puréed its way into the proverbial culinary spotlight … and it’s not even breaking a sweat. But it is something to celebrate. And what better way to savor the flavors that our local chefs are concocting than by taking a stroll down Sauce Magazine’s Restaurant Row?
This year’s Taste of St. Louis, held this weekend in Soldiers’ Memorial, is set to keep you eating well all weekend long as 45 restaurants line up in the heart of Market Street to serve up a mere sampling of the culinary creations they have to offer. Some of the restaurants lined up include Oceano Bistro, Molly’s In Soulard, Mojo Tapas, The Cup, Vito’s, Pappy’s Smokehouse, Onesto Pizza & Trattoria and Hank’s Cheesecakes.
As if that isn’t enough to please your palate, the Chef Battle Royale is sure to be a showstopper. Eights chefs have been hand-selected to have their skills put to the test in 45-minute head-to-head battles that will leave one chef with bragging rights and send the rest home to sharpen their knives. Emceed by Sauce publisher Allyson Mace and Vito Racanelli of Mad Tomato, the chefs competing include Jack W. MacMurray III, returning 2010 champ and the man behind Jack Mac’s Distinctive Taste; Nicholas Miller of Harvest; Jim Voss of Duff’s; Carl Haze of The Scottish Arms; Chris Lee of Sanctuaria; Grace Dinsmoor of Modesto; and John Griffiths of Truffles. The last spot will be decided by an on-air battle between two “mystery chefs,” one representing KTVI and one KPLR. Judges will include Marc Bynum, a Food Network Chopped champion, and Mark DeCarlo, host of MSN’s Road Raves and author of A Fork in the Road: 400 Cities, 1 Stomach.
Taste of St. Louis will kick off this Friday, September 23, with events running through Sunday, September 25 at Soldiers’ Memorial. Admission is free.
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2011.