July 10, 2015 by davidcraigstl

Throw Back (A Cocktail or Two) Thursdays at The Ritz

Beginning July 16, on Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, The Lobby Lounge will step back into the days of Prohibition for Barrels, Bourbon and the Bee’s Knees.

For fans of classic cocktails and nostalgia, here’s your fun! There’s no cover, no reservation required.

For each week’s event, The Lobby Lounge lighting will dim to replicate historic Edison light bulb levels, and vintage cocktails will be created throwback-style. Beverage offerings will include the Bees Knees — influenced by the honey, lemon and orange initially used to mask the taste of Prohibition’s “bathtub gin,” as well as the Mary Pickford, the Champagne-based French 75, and the Ward 8, shaken with rye.

The signature drink for the Ritz’s Prohibition nights will be a classic Manhattan, prepared in 1930s style using beakers and pipettes, and featuring Missouri’s own Defiance Rye Bourbon along with sweet vermouth, house-crafted orange-infused bitters, bourbon-marinated cherries and lemon juice.

Prohibition nights will continue each Thursday evening at the Ritz through August. The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis is located at 100 Carondolet Plaza in Clayton.

July 2, 2015 by davidcraigstl

Bud And Burgers Championship July 11

You have seen the TV spots that tout Budweiser as the beer to enjoy with a great burger. Now you have a chance to taste the top burgers in the U.S. and enjoy them with a Bud!

Budweiser has been conducting a nationwide contest to pick the best burger to go with your Bud. The champion will be chosen Saturday, July 11 at the A-B brewery in St. Louis. The event will feature an appearance by celebrity chef David Chang (pictured below) who will serve as one of the judges.

Tickets for the Bud And Burgers Championship are on sale now for $20/person ($25 on day of event). To order click HERE. You can sample burgers from all ten semifinalists. You can enjoy Budweiser Signature Draught samples at a frosty 32 degrees. And you can take a selfie with the Clydesdales. The event begins at 5:00 p.m.

The Esquire Network will be filming at the brewery as part of the new show, “The Next Great Burger.” The winner of the Bud & Burgers Championship Finale will also be featured on the show.

Live music will be provided by Matt Stillwell.

June 16, 2015 by davidcraigstl

BPV Crawfish Fest Saturday (June 20)

St. Louis’s Ballpark Village will host its 2nd annual Crawfish Fest on Saturday, June 20, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Budweiser Brew House. Two packages are available.

For $25, you get unlimited crawfish, jumbo shrimp, red potatoes, corn on the cob and smoked sausages plus $3 draft Abita Beer specials. (Abita is brewed about 30 miles north of New Orleans.)

For $50, you get all that PLUS early admission at 4:00 p.m, a commemorative Crawfish Fest t-shirt and glass and reserved seating in the Budweiser Brew House Garden.

BPV will have a thousand pounds of crawfish to boil Saturday, so don’t be timid about going back for seconds.

The very cool North of the Quarter band will provide live music during the event.

For more info, go to stlballparkvillage.com.

April 28, 2015 by davidcraigstl

Alastair Nisbet Brings Scotland And Its Food to St. Louis and The World

Alastair Nisbet, owner of The Scottish Arms restaurant and bar in St. Louis, is starring in a series of videos celebrating the food of Scotland. (2015 is the Year of Food and Drink in Scotland.) Here’s the first video:

Nisbet spoke recently about why he came to the U.S. from Scotland and the work he did in St. Louis before opening The Scottish Arms a decade ago. (Audio runs 2:54)

Alastair points to his hometown of Aberdeen on the map of Scotland he proudly displays at The Scottish Arms.

How was Alastair chosen to do the videos? (Audio runs 3:55)

Here’s Alastair’s April video in which he prepares Scottish Salmon:

Alastair has another restaurant and bar in St. Louis called The Shaved Duck, featuring a totally American type of cooking. He explained how the place got its name. (Audio runs 2:26)

The bar at The Scottish Arms is well stocked.

There have been changes in the beer selection at The Scottish Arms in recent times. (Audio runs 2:00)

Be sure to bookmark the website scotland.org/scottishrecipes and look for Alastair’s videos each month.

The Scottish Arms is located at 8 South Sarah Street, just north of Forest Park Avenue (and just a hop, skip and jump from the new IKEA store). thescottisharms.com

The Shaved Duck is located at 2900 Virginia at Pestalozzi in Tower Grove East. theshavedduck.com

November 19, 2014 by davidcraigstl

A-B Lights It Up For The Holidays

Driving by the Anheuser-Busch brewery to enjoy Christmas lights has been a St. Louis holiday tradition for years. For the 2nd year in a row (following the opening of the Biergarten), A-B now offers a walking tour on the brewery campus. With food and drink!

The tours begin November 20 and run every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., through January 4, 2015. (No tours on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days.)

Along with walking tours of the grounds, guests 21 and older can sample beers (complimentary tastings) along the way including Bud and Bud Light. Other beers available include Stella Artois, Stella Cidre, Shock Top Shockolate and Bud Light Ritas.

Other offerings include:

S’Mores Stations—Fire pits for roasting s’mores. (S’mores kits $2.50 each.)

Biergarten Buffet—$10 for adults; $8 youth.

Holiday Cheer Pass—Pose for a photo in a themed snow globe or with a Clydesdale and take home a print, plus a sampling glass. ($10.)

The Biergarten Package—Buffet, sampling glass, photo and s’mores kit. ($22.50 adults; $10 youth.)

Fire Pit Fun—Reserve a fire pit for 8 people for 3 hours. Includes 8 s’mores kits and wait staff service. ($75.)

VIP Clydesdale Photo Op—Dinner for 4 in Biergarten, 15 minute photo session with a Clydesdale and 2 holiday ornaments. You get a print and a digital copy (for your family Christmas card) of your photo. (Limited availability. $200.)

For info on special experience tickets, click HERE.

Parking is free at the Tour Center lots at 12th and Lynch. The holiday lights experience is wheelchair and stroller friendly.

Drive-through tours of the A-B brewery are welcome Monday through Wednesday evenings from November 24 until December 31 from dusk to midnight and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Enter from Arsenal onto Seventh Street, then along Pestalozzi.

October 29, 2014 by davidcraigstl

Too Much Halloween Candy?

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/)

October 15, 2014 by davidcraigstl

Nuggets! (Random Notes of Interest)

Sauce magazine’s Harvest Festival is set for Sunday, October 19, at Laumeier Park in Sunset Hills (near I-44 and I-270). Food and beer from great restaurants and breweries, plus live music and art. Admission is $10.

Click HERE to go to the Harvest Festival Website. Click HERE to see my pics from last year’s Festival. (The eyeball above is one of the art items at Laumeier!)

John Carney’s annual “Taste of Restaurant Tuesday” Halloween Spooktacular happens Friday night, October 24, at Hotel Lumiere. 15 restaurants will provide food and the bar will be open for 4 hours. Good times!

Click HERE for ticket information and a full list of restaurants. That’s John in the middle above.

There’s a new sushi joint that recently opened in midtown St. Louis called BaiKu Sushi Lounge, located in the Hotel Ignacio, at 3407 Olive.

The restaurant will feature “an extensive sushi menu with specialty nigiri, fresh fish being flown in fresh from Hawaii, as well as a healthy selection of engaging appetizers. Lunch will feature a noodle shop concept with ramen noodles made by Midwest Pasta especially for Baiku.”

Baiku is Japanese for motorcycle, which is appropriate since it is located near the Triumph Grill and the Moto Museum. Click HERE to visit the BaiKu website.

Nick Malgieri will be back in St. Louis for an event at Cravings on Big Bend in Webster Groves on Tuesday, December 9, promoting his latest book Nick Malgieri’s Pastry. Call Cravings for info on Nick’s visit at 314-961-3534.

I interviewed Nick in 2012 when his Nick Malgieri’s Bread book was new. Click HERE to listen to that interview. (Click HERE to go to Nick Malgieri’s website.)

Ballpark Village will host the 1st annual Brew Fest by Budweiser on Saturday, November 8, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Samples of various Anheuser-Busch beers will be available, along with samples from seven local home brew clubs. There will be live music and Clydesdale photo ops.

Tickets for the beer sampling are $35. In addition, a special VIP package is available for $75 that includes a four-course lunch with special beer pairings led by an Anheuser-Busch Brew Master, a souvenir glass and rare beer samples! For complete event information and to purchase tickets, click HERE.

On Sunday, November 9, McCormick and Schmick at West County Mall in Des Peres will offer a free meal (complimentary lunch or dinner entrée) to all U.S. Veterans, in honor of Veterans Day on November 11. (They ask that you bring along some credentials to verify your service.) Click HERE for the McCormick and Schmick website, where you can make reservations.

October 10, 2014 by davidcraigstl

BBQ Weekend!

Two big barbecue events on the agenda this weekend!

On Saturday, October 11, at Firemen’s Park in Maryville, Illinois, the Grillin’ Fools present their Backyard BBQ Bash. The park is located on Illinois route 159, about a mile north of I-55/70.

The Backyard Bash is a competition that features local amateur teams offering up their best. This family friendly event will feature music from a DJ starting at 10:00 a.m. with live bands playing from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

I will be one of the judges for the event. Below is the event poster.

Then on Sunday, October 12, the St. Louis Occasional Barbecue Society (aka the SLOBS) will hold a charity BBQ competition, Victory in the Valley, at PM BBQ, 161 Long Road, in Chesterfield. See map.

The event runs 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For a $25 charitable contribution, guests can sample ribs from all competing teams. Proceeds will be split evenly between Circle of Concern food pantry and Lift For Life Gym. Rib sampling begins at noon.

Along with SLOBS ribs and other food from PM BBQ, iTap Chesterfield, located next door to PM, will present a Homebrew competition beginning at noon. (PM will have popular beer brands and other food and beverages available at 11:00 a.m.)

Area restaurants with teams participating include Iron Barley, BBQ ASAP, Keeton’s Double Play, Colorado Bob’s, Kilderkin’s, Highway 61 Roadhouse, Dylan’s Sports Bar, PM BBQ, among others.

The Brewbadours will provide live music during the event. Come hungry and thirsty!

October 9, 2014 by davidcraigstl

Cards in Playoffs Can Be Tough Time for Restuarants

When you hear all the news touting the economic benefits to St. Louis of having the Cardinals in postseason play, remember your local independent restaurant.

When the Cards are on TV in the postseason, business is impacted. For sports bars and places within walking distance of Busch, there’s a huge upside. But for others, the damage can be significant.

What should a restaurant owner do? Here are a few ideas.

Let your patrons know it’s okay if they check scores on their smart phones. Not that they wouldn’t anyway, but if you and your crew sanction such behavior, they are likely to feel more comfortable about doing it (and may return during future playoff games).
Have at least one TV in the joint. You may not want to position it so every diner can watch, but for those who may want to keep up, an occasional glance can make them feel in touch. (I attended a beer dinner at PW Pizza during game 1 of last year’s World Series. A TV in the room allowed us to check on the game from time to time while enjoying the pizza and beer.) (Make sure you can get the Fox Sports 1 channel for games 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7.)
Keep your servers aware of the game score so they can share that info with diners who are interested. (I recall a server at Bookbinder’s in Philly providing frequent updates on a Phillies-Astros NLCS game when we dined there in 1980.)
Offer special catering packages to your patrons who want to throw playoff parties in their homes!
Look for additional business on open dates. I’m not sure where the Giants and their traveling party are staying in STL (Westin? Ritz?), but they may want to go beyond their hotel and its environs for dinner this Friday night (and next Friday if the series goes beyond 5 games). Make sure the concierges/front desk crews at all major hotels know you’d welcome the business.

For diners, a Cards playoff game may result in less demand for tables, even on a generally busy Saturday night.

In the long run, having our Cardinals in the NLCS and, maybe, in the World Series is a great thing for our city. Despite that silly Wall Street Journal piece last week, many people around the U.S. genuinely like the Cardinals. And because of their affection for the team, they are more likely to embrace our city and the entire region. And, as Martha Stewart might say, that’s a good thing.

October 1, 2014 by davidcraigstl

Jack Daniels Whiskey Taster Lynne Tolley in STL

Lynne Tolley is in St. Louis this week to teach cooking classes at several Dierbergs School of Cooking locations. She comes from Lynchburg, Tennessee, where she works for Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey.

Lynne is a charming Southern lady with a beautiful accent. I think you’ll enjoy hearing her talk!

I visited with Lynne Wednesday morning (October 1). We talked about cooking with Jack—I mentioned pecan pie—but I began our chat by asking what it says on her business card. (Segment 1 runs 5:10)

I asked Lynne about Miss Mary Bobo’s, the restaurant in Lynchburg that my parents visited several years ago. (Segment 2 runs 3:29)

I asked her to mention a few of the items she would be cooking at Dierbergs. I also asked about a special treat for cold weather months called Winter Jack. (Segment 3 runs 4:28)

For more information about Jack Daniels Distillery and its products click HERE.

For info on Dierbergs School of Cooking, click HERE.

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