St. Louis restaurant news

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Too Much Halloween Candy?

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In years past, my kids have returned from trick-or-treating with enough candy to last for weeks.

If your kids get too much candy this Halloween, give some of it to the USO, via Noodles and Company.

On Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2, St. Louis area Noodles and Company locations will trade a small noodle bowl for a donation of wrapped candy. This deal is just for kids, age 12 and under, accompanied by an adult. Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes if they wish.

All candy donated will be passed along to the USO and distributed to U.S. military personnel. Suggested donation is a small bowl size of wrapped candy.

Noodles and Company has 6 STL stores: Hampton Village, The Loop, South County, Creve Coeur, Des Peres and Chesterfield.

(photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jfanaian/6167937426, http://photopin.com, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nuggets!

The in-box is FULL of nuggets! Here are a few…

Angie Ortmann, AKA @STLWineGirl has launched Cork Dorks with Forks. Click HERE to go to the CDWF website and see what all she and Matthew Dulle are up to.Angie

Fleming’s on Lindbergh has a neat September deal. A Filet and Lobster combo for 44.95. That comes with soup or salad and a scallop appetizer. Available through September 30.

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The Cochon 555 BBQ event at the Four Seasons happens Sunday, September 14, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Competitors are Gian Nicola Colucci of Cielo Restaurant & Bar, Jenny Cleveland and Eric Heath of Cleveland-Heath, Patrick Connolly of Basso, Josh Galliano of The Libertine, and Lou Rook of Annie Gunns. Tickets start at $100. Get info by clicking HERE.

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Lambert-St. Louis International Airport hosts the 4th annual Art of Travel event on Wednesday, October 2, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost is $75. Chefs from HMSHost (vendor for several Lambert food venues) will fly in for the event. The theme of this year’s Art of Travel celebration is ‘40s-style film-noir and will include a drink menu of ‘40s-themed signature cocktails to complement gourmet plates. For info, click HERE. Benefits Lambert Art and Culture Program.

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The Smokehouse Market and Annie Gunn’s are hosting a wine dinner on Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 p.m., featuring wines from Gundlach Bundschu of Sonoma. Cost is $150. Info: 636-532-7684.

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Kathleen Flinn has authored a new book Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good, a memoir with recipes. She’s a native of the Midwest, now living in Seattle.

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St. Louis chefs Lou Rook, Josh Galliano and Gian Nicola Colucci are scheduled to host Cruising with the Chefs cruises in 2015-16. For info, click HERE. That’s Josh, pictured below.

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KTRS radio (550-AM) host John Carney is featuring Ferguson restaurants throughout September on his weekly Restaurant Tuesday segment which airs each Tuesday between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

John Carney

F & D Prime Culinary Tours is offering several tasting sessions during September at Comet Coffee on Oakland Avenue across Highway 40 from Forest Park. For info on the seasonal fruit and coffee tastings, click HERE.

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The Grillin’ Fools 4th annual Backyard Barbecue Bash Amateur Competition is set for Saturday, October 11, in Maryville, Illinois. Registration fee is $110/team. For info, click HERE.

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Ivy In Charge
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Ivy In Charge

Veteran St. Louis chef Ivy Magruder has taken control of the kitchen at Panorama, the restaurant that opened last summer in the St. Louis Art Museum.

Panorama pic

A new summer menu has just been announced which includes, among other items:

Fresh Summer Pea Soup
pistachio gremolata, crème fraîche, shoots

Summer Kale Salad
avocado, strawberries, toasted almonds and
lemon-chia seed vinaigrette

Pan Seared Golden Scallops
creamy-pea-basil risotto, sherry gastrique

Basque Chicken
summer bell peppers, artichoke hearts, fresh basil,
tomatoes, grilled crusty French bread

Grilled Beef Tenderloin
onion ring, Foyot sauce, summer-tomatoes,
spinach, roasted fingerling potato

Ivy on TV

Panorama is also kicking off a monthly dinner series on Wednesday, August 27. For each dinner Panorama will partner with a local winery or brewery. The first event will feature a prix fixe menu of items paired with Schlafly beers. Cost is $75 (which includes tax and gratuity). Call 314-655-5490 for reservations.

Panorama is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and for dinner on Fridays, 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday brunch is offered 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Click HERE to go to Panorama’s website.

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J. Gilbert’s—Worth Finding

J. Gilbert’s at West County Mall in Des Peres is in the area that was remodeled about 6 years ago to give a handful of mall tenants an outside entrance. (At the northwest corner of the mall.)

Two other restaurants have the prime spots that are visible from the roadway around the mall. J. Gilbert’s entrance is tucked just beyond one of the other eateries. You CAN miss it. But don’t.

At a tasting last week at J. Gilbert’s, I had the opportunity to sample some of their good food. First up was Ahi Tuna Tartare, garnished with avacado, mango and pineapple, served on a crisp wonton. A wonderful flavor combo to begin the repast.

JG Scallop

My favorite of the 3 savory dishes was the Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops with lobster risotto. Great taste, beautiful presentation!

JG Filet

The Filet Au Gratin with asparagus was also pretty terrific. (As were each of the wines chosen to accompany our samples.) We finished with a bit of New York Cheesecake.

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During my visit, quite a while before peak dinner time, the bar at J. Gilbert’s was beginning to get some traffic. And the large, dark dining room (which is available for private events) was slowly beginning to fill up.

JG Dining Room

While most of the word-of-mouth I’ve heard, most of the online reviews I’ve read and the images on the restaurant’s HOME PAGE all focus on steaks, the full name is J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks and Seafood. Click HERE to see their dinner menu which includes salmon and crab cakes. (Although I’m aiming for a KC Strip on my next visit.)

If you want to make a reservation OR if you’re wandering around the mall and can’t quite locate J. Gilbert’s, here’s the number: 314-965-4600.

(Final note: In case you were wondering, as I was, Georges Bank—the scallops’ provenance—is an area of the Atlantic between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia.)

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Even MORE BBQ for St. Louis

Restaurant owners Dave Bailey and Tom Schmidt engaged in a clever Twitter chat yesterday afternoon that revealed their respective new BBQ plans.

At 5:50 p.m. @BaileysinSTL tweeted to @FrancoSTL: “Hey, Tom, a little bird told me that you were opening a BBQ restaurant.”

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In the next few minutes, beans were spilled via Twitter that Schmidt’s Nico (in the Loop next to the Chuck Berry statue) would be retooled into Salt + Smoke and would open in May.

Bailey shared word that his yet unnamed BBQ joint downtown at 1011 Olive would open next winter.

At 6:08 p.m. the P-D’s @ianfroeb noticed the chat and tweeted: “Dave Bailey and Tom Schmidt are either breaking news together or trolling all of us brilliantly.”

Congrats to both for using Twitter to bypass the local foodie media and take their news straight to the whole Twitterverse. Whether they plotted the exchange on their own or were guided by an unseen hand, it was nicely done.

Is there room for 2 more BBQ restaurants in town? I say yes. We may have enough Walgreen’s locations and a sufficient number of Starbucks stores to take care of our needs. But the saturation point for BBQ—while getting closer—is still a ways away, in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Melting Pot Fundraiser for Autism

On Monday, April 28, The Melting Pot of Town and Country, is hosting a “fondue-raiser” for Missouri Families for Effective Autism Treatment (MO-FEAT).

For this benefit event, 100 percent of proceeds raised will go to MO-FEAT.

Karen Barnett is co-owner of the T & C Melting Pot and the parent of a child with autism.

The 4-course dinner will include a cheese fondue opener, a fresh salad, a “succulent entrée with fresh vegetables,” and a chocolate fondue dessert. Cost is $65/person and that includes your tip.

A cash bar will be available. Silent auction and raffle items will help raise more money.

First seating on 4/28 will be at 5:00 p.m. Make reservations by calling 636-207-6358. For more info, click HERE.

 

 

 

 

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Ed Imo Rookie Card

Ed Imos Rookie Card Front Final

Imo’s Pizza is marking its 50th anniversary this year. They have printed up some cool Ed Imo baseball cards for the occasion. You may have looked at this card and thought, “I want one!” Not that easy.

Each Imo’s store throughout Missouri and Illinois will receive 1,000 Ed Imo rookie cards for distribution in March and another 1,000 in April.

Each week, 250 customers at each location will be chosen at random to receive a card with their purchase via delivery, carry-out or in-store dining. When a customer receives his or her card they need to register it online at http://www.imospizza.com. This will then qualify them as eligible to win one of several nice prizes, including sports trips and tickets.

Congrats to Ed and Marge Imo on this big milestone!

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Big Footprint: BlackFinn’s Fatal Flaw?

When BlackFinn opened two years ago, the big story was not its food or drink or its décor, but its huge footprint: two large dining areas, two bar areas, event space and a patio. Its size may be the main reason it closed this week.

BlackFinn’s food was good, if a bit pricey. They carried a decent lineup of beers, enough to make me happy when I attended happy hours and parties there. The restaurant and its bigger bar area (with plenty of screens for sports viewing) looked great.

Was BlackFinn’s location a problem? My guess is probably not. It was at the north end of the Galleria, on Clayton Road, close to Brentwood Boulevard, just off I-170 and Highway 40. (Its sister restaurant Vida Cantina suffered a quick death, just months after opening. Its semi-obscure location, tucked away in a corner next to BlackFinn, was a likely factor in its demise.)

The Galleria may not be as hot a mall as it was in the 90’s, but it still draws large traffic. The Cheesecake Factory, which opened just over a decade ago, thrives in an arguably better spot on the mall campus.

We’ve seen several operators move into St. Louis in recent years with concepts that have had success in other markets. Many have been almost as ambitious as BlackFinn’s owners were. They have invested heavily in equipment and décor and, presumably, are paying high fees for their leases.

“Go big or go home” is a philosophy embraced by Tucano’s, prasino, Bricktops, Central Table Food Hall and McCormick and Schmick, among others.

But larger rooms have to be filled with a steady stream of diners. A slow night at a big place can be costly in terms of food, personnel and heating/cooling costs. Too many slow nights can be fatal.

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New Favorite

The ChoriHuevo Torta at Mission Taco Joint in the Loop is something you might want to try. It’s not a menu item I would’ve normally opted for, but I wanted something different when I lunched at MTJ last week.

Torta

It’s made with chorizo sausage, fried egg, jalapeños, cheese, black beans and “garlic lime mayo.” Happily, all those ingredients are served on a roll that complements rather than dominates.

“It’s the closest thing we have to a breakfast item,” said the bartender. (He was my server as we ate at the bar). It’s a very filling sandwich. I ate half and brought the other half to my wife who also liked it.

My son had the Three Little Piggies Burrito (pork shoulder, pork belly carnitas and chorizo queso are the main ingredients) which he loved.

Mission Taco Joint is located at 6235 Delmar, a block or so west of Skinker.

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Going Mobile

A Facebook friend posted a pic last week of a local Breadco with promotional signage glued to every table. As many commenters pointed out, it did look a bit tacky.

That afternoon, I went to my neighborhood Breadco and learned the reason they did it. St. Louis Bread Company (AKA Panera) really wants you to know about their new mobile ordering app. They have signage all over the store and, in case you don’t get the message, on your table as well.

“Mobile is the biggest shift in QSR [quick serve restaurants] since the drive thru,” says Taco Bell’s Jeff Jenkins. He was quoted in an article last week from Nation’s Restaurant News. Click HERE to read the article which details the 2014 mobile ordering plans of many fast food chains.

Breadco App

Breadco is testing mobile ordering in St. Louis as well as a few other markets. The mobile app is, so far, only available for iPhone. You can also order from your computer at THIS site.

The app lets you order and pay for your soup, salad, sandwich, etc., then waltz into your Breadco, grab your order from the “Rapid Pick-Up Shelf” and split.

The biggest advantage, I think, is avoiding long lines. I’ve seen lines out the door of the Breadco in my neighborhood in the early morning and at lunchtime. Also, this method should help insure more accurate fulfillment of your order, especially if you have any non-standard requests.

My biggest concern would be ordering a bowl of soup or a panini early in the morning for pickup at 12:15 and have it be lukewarm because it was packaged for pickup at 11:45.

If you are a Breadco customer, download the app to your iPhone (Android coming soon, I’m sure) and give it a shot. There may be glitches as they work to make the process work smoothly. Be understanding.