18 minute read
Short Orders
23
[SIDE DISH]
In the Mix
Todd Brutcher keeps St. Louis quenched with Southside Alchemy’s award-winning cocktail mixes
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
Todd Brutcher vividly recalls the moment that bartending frst piqued his interest.
As a nineteen-year-old bussing tables at Olive Garden, Brutcher would watch in awe as the restaurant’s bartenders were treated like rock stars by anyone they encountered. The staff, the customers, the ladies — everyone loved to be around them, and he knew he wanted to be that guy.
“Back then, I already knew restaurants would be my career, because I had zero interest in school,” Brutcher said. “At Olive Garden, I saw how the bartenders always got girls laughing and guys giving them high-fves. They were the celebrities of the restaurant. I told myself, ‘I’ve got to fgure this out.’”
Now a few decades later, Butcher has both realized that dream and expanded upon it. As the founder of the Bloody Mary and sangria mix company Southside Alchemy (@Southsidealchemy), the longtime barman is no longer behind the stick, but is instead arming his compatriots with the tools they need to make exceptional drinks.
Early on, however, Brutcher didn’t know if he’d ever get his shot to tend bar. He spent the frst few years of his food and beverage career waiting tables and lucked out during a daytime shift when the restaurant he was working needed some help. The bartender failed to show up for her shift, he explains, so the manager asked Brutcher to jump in and handle the lunch bar business. That lunch shift turned into happy hour, and when he looked down at how much he’d made for the day, he was both exhilarated and determined to never go back to waiting
Longtime barman Todd Brutcher isn’t behind the stick anymore, but he’s still supplying drinks with Bloody Mary and sangria mixes. | ANDY PAULISSEN
tables. When his manager, who only hired female bartenders, refused to put him behind the bar permanently, Brutcher packed up and headed to the former Pitted Olive and eventually Onesto Pizza & Trattoria. That would prove to be a fateful switch.
“When I frst started at Onesto, we only had a license for beer and wine, but after two years, we got our full liquor license,” Brutcher says. “At that time, we were going through about a case of Zing Zang [Bloody Mary mix] about every two or three months. Once I started infusing my own vodkas, it turned to a case and a half every month.”
Not content to stop at infused vodkas, Brutcher made a deal with his boss. He’d been playing around with his own Bloody Mary mixes at home, and suggested that Onesto should begin using his instead of Zing Zang. His boss suggested a taste test: He’d blind taste Brutcher’s version against the bought-in mix, and whichever was better would be put on the list. Brutcher wasn’t surprised when his won out.
In no time, Brutcher developed a cult following for his Bloody Marys and sangria, another of his specialty concoctions. Even after leaving Onesto, he’d still hear praise from his former regulars who insisted that he bottle up and sell his mixes. Eventually, he began to test the waters at a pop-up market his friend put together to showcase local makers. Though Brutcher was hesitant to participate at frst, he came around to the idea and was thrilled with the response. He did it again the next year, never thinking of it as more than a way to make some extra spending money — but a run-in with a St. Louis health department ofcial made him reconsider.
“He couldn’t have been nicer, but he told me I had to start doing things on the up and up to sell to the public,” Brutcher says. “He gave me all of the information I needed to go legit. I discarded it, because I was bartending full time, but about a week later, I was having one of those nights at work. The barback didn’t show up, I was the only bartender and fve kegs blew. I was a week away from my 40th birthday and said to myself, ‘I am so sick of this shit.’”
Brutcher talked with his wife about going all in with his Bloody Mary and sangria mix. As he explained it, he’d done a lot of things in his life for which he had no regrets, but he felt that this would be that one thing he’d look back on as a missed opportunity if he didn’t act. With her solidly behind him, Brutcher got all of the logistics in order and launched Southside Alchemy in 2019.
Two years later, Brutcher could not be more thrilled with his decision. Not only has his Bloody Mary mix gone on to receive national awards, it’s also afforded him more of a work-life balance.
TODD BRUTCHER
Continued from pg 23
No longer out of the house from 3 p.m. until 2 a.m., he gets to be a more present (and, he admits, less grouchy) husband and father. For him, that’s the most important thing that has resulted from him taking the leap.
“When you grow up aimless and lost, it’s scary to fnally take the plunge,” Brutcher says. “If my wife didn’t support this, it wouldn’t be happening. To have that support of the people in your life who mean the most to you is key. A few times in the past, people have told me that I had to go for this, and I thought they were insane. Finally, I fgured that I’ve chickened my way out of pretty much anything else, so I have to do this. I’m glad I did. I’m very humbled — and lucky.”
Brutcher took a break from Southside Alchemy to share his thoughts on the state of the St. Louis food and beverage scene, the things you’ll never fnd at his bar and why you shouldn’t be afraid to approach him, even if it looks like a bad idea.
What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?
I am not constantly pissed off, even if it looks like I am. I’m generally in a great mood. You see, I have resting dick face. It’s the male equivalent to resting bitch face.
What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you?
Coffee is defnitely non-negotiable. I cannot function without it, and I am a miserable, miserable person to be around if I don’t start my day with it. It sets the tone for my day, and its the only way I’m getting anything done without half-assing it.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I’d love to be able to just snap my fngers and be somewhere new without traveling. I get antsy quickly and don’t like to sit in the same place for long, but I hate the process of traveling. It’s exhausting to me.
What is the most positive thing in food, beer, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year?
Honesty this past year has shown how much the industry as a whole cares about each other. When the pandemic started and restaurants were shutting down, everyone shifted their focus. Whether it was to-go windows installed at a sidewalk or shifting to frozen pizzas or breweries making sanitizer, these places fought for their survival, and innovations were on quick display. My friend Tiffany [Unger] owns the Wandering Sidecar Bar and had to shift from weddings and events to pre-batched cocktails. As she’s doing that, she sees me losing the farmers market, STL Barkeep losing the farmers market and their events, so what does she do? She calls me to buy my Bloodys and my sangrias to sell in these pre-batched cocktail kits; she calls Matt at Barkeep and gets him involved. Instances like that were the trend I saw — us fghting for our lives but helping our colleagues out as we go. It was beautiful to see unfold, despite the uncertainty and fear. It was survival, but it was a far cry from every man for himself.
What is one thing missing or that you’d like to see in the local food and beverage scene?
I think I’d really like to see more festivals or block parties unique to each neighborhood like how Macklind Days does it. Like, how each parish has their “school picnics” but it’s three blocks on a street shut down to trafc, and the restaurants are the anchor of the neighborhood. I really wish someone would hold a giant tomato festival.
Who is your St. Louis food or drink crush?
Thai Pavilion on Bayless. Outstanding and fast. Great selection of dishes and unpretentious.
Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis food and beverage scene?
My boy Kore Wilbert is a magician. Alex Salkowski has a great Instagram that shows how much he loves what we’re doing. I’m also such a big believer in 9 Mile Garden. It’s a great concept, and I’ve discovered so many amazing places that I never would have without it.
Which ingredient is most representative of your personality?
I have no idea. I’m an unashamed dork and a wiseass, so use that information as you will.
If someone asked you to describe the current state of St. Louis’ food and beverage climate, what would you say?
Patient and resilient. Riding this pandemic out while getting shit on by antimaskers for enforcing health code protocol designated by someone else while just waiting for business to get back to normal is astounding.
If you were not tending bar, what would you be doing?
This, I guess, since I haven’t bartended in a year.
Name an ingredient never allowed behind your bar.
Gimmicky things like Loopy or Wedding Cake vodka. Pre-made simple syrups. Those smoker things.
What do you do after work?
Stay home. I’m sober now, and I don’t have any desire to be out. Those days are long past.
What’s your edible or quaffable guilty pleasure?
Bold Spoon Creamery’s goat cheese and fg ice cream — if I can hide it from my daughters.
What would be your last meal on earth?
The Cuban from Little Havana food truck. It’s perfect. n
[SNOOCHIE BOOCHIES]
Mooby’s Pop-Up Coming to St. Louis
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
If you’ve ever watched Dogma and thought to yourself, “Man, I could really go for some Hater Tots,” your wish is about to be granted. Mooby’s, the fctional restaurant that makes a recurring appearance throughout several of Kevin Smith’s flms, is coming to town this spring.
The Mooby’s pop-up is the brainchild of Smith and event producer Derek Berry, who came up with the idea last April. According to Berry, Smith had been wanting to do a real-life version of the fctional fast-food joint for some time, and was inspired to fnally act as a way to help struggling restaurants. At frst, the event was supposed to be a ten-day pop-up partnership with Postmates in Los Angeles, but once Smith and Berry saw how successful it was, they decided to expand the idea to a national audience.
The St. Louis event, which was announced last week, will be the eleventh stop on the tour and will take place April 21 through May 3 at a yet-to-be-named restaurant. Folks interested in attending are encouraged to sign up on the event’s website; doing so will give them advance notice of where the event will take place as well as early access to tickets. The cost will be $30 per person and tickets include an entree, side dish and 45-minute time slot to hang out in the immersive Mooby’s experience. Mooby’s, other Askewniverse-themed merchandise and beer from a to-be-announced St. Louis brewery will also be available for purchase.
Fans of Smith’s flms will recognize several favorite Mooby’s dishes at the pop-up, including the signature Hater Tots and the Cow Tipper, a triple-decker burger that will be available in both beef and plant-based versions. Smith, who is vegan, has committed to making 50 percent of the menu vegan-friendly.
For more information and to sign up for early access, visit moobyspopup.com. n
Mooby’s, a pop-up restaurant, is bringing the Kevin Smith Askewniverse to St. Louis this spring. | JOHN TROXELL
Sweet (Spring) Lovin’
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is releasing a limited-edition collaboration with Dolly Parton
Written by JAIME LEES
Want to just sit around eating ice cream, but also want to help change the world? We have the perfect sweet treat for you.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
(multiple locations including 389 North Euclid Avenue; 314-3671700) is releasing a limited-edition collaboration with Dolly Parton, dubbed Strawberry Pretzel Pie, in shops and online this Thursday (April 8).
RFT readers already know that Dolly Parton Is the Queen of Ev-
Ice cream with Dolly? Sign us up! | VIA JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAM
erything and the Glowing Center of the Universe, and the great thing about this collaboration is that proceeds will go to one of the music legend’s greatest charitable accomplishments: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a charitable initiative that helps gift books to kids fve and under.
“Dolly Parton is the person we all want to be when we grow up: an unstoppable force for good with the power to bring people together — a.k.a. a walking, amplifed embodiment of what we hope to be as a company,” Jeni’s says in a statement. “Strawberry Pretzel Pie is our ode to the Queen of Country: sweet and salty, with timeless appeal, deep American roots, and makes you feel good.”
The ice cream is described as “a throwback to the triple decker pie from the potlucks of our youths. Layers of salty pretzel streusel, subtly sweet and effortlessly tangy cream cheese ice cream, and lipstick red strawberry sauce.”
For those anxious to try it, Jeni’s recommends fnding a way to order some as soon as you can on Thursday. Like the shop’s other limited-edition favors, it is expected to sell out immediately.
The new favor will be available online at 11 a.m. at jenis.com, and can also be found in stores. Customers are limited to two pints per purchase. Only 10,000 pints will be made.
“To give everybody an equal shot of getting it, most of the pints will be available online for nationwide shipping,” Jeni’s says in a statement. “The remainder will be split across our shops. If you prefer to buy the favor from your neighborhood shop, we recommend getting there early (like before open) on release day. Otherwise, your best bet will be to buy it online ... the day it drops. We can’t guarantee availability (or reserve pints), so please plan accordingly!”
May the ice cream gods smile upon you, and may Dolly Parton continue to look out for us all always. n
[WIENERS]
The Wienermobile Returns to 9 Mile Garden
Written by JAIME LEES
The world-famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is returning to town and will once again be stopping by 9 Mile Garden (9375 Gravois Road, Affton; 314-390-2806) on Sunday (April 11).
The food truck garden has been doing steady business since reopening earlier this year — the outdoor food and entertainment space temporarily closed last summer to help combat COVID-19.
And now, in addition to reopening and announcing that it will be hosting a full season of entertainment including live music and movies, 9 Mile Garden has also announced that it will again play host to the most famous meatshaped food truck in the world, the Wienermobile.
The Wienermobile will be at 9 Mile Garden this Sunday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. And if the whole family isn’t into hotdogs, no worries: There will be other trucks open alongside it to serve you barbecue,
Everyone’s favorite food-shaped vehicle is coming to St. Louis. | JEREMY NOBLE/FLICKR
sandwiches, tacos and more.
Some facts about the Wienermobile from its website: • The frst WIENERMOBILE was created in 1936 by Carl Mayer. • The 1952 WIENERMOBILE has been living for years in the Henry Ford Mu-
seum in Dearborn, Michigan (and in our hearts forever, obviously). • The 1969 WIENERMOBILE model featured Ford Thunderbird taillights, a Chevy motor home frame and averaged 187 smiles per gallon. • Six different WIENERMOBILES are driving across the U.S. at any given time.
And, yes, they’ll also be selling merch onsite, and you still get a Wiener Whistle with every order. (That’s a whistle shaped like the Wienermobile, you perv.)
For more information, visit 9milegarden.com. n
28
CULTURE
[NEW MUSIC]
Take It Sleazy
St. Louis metal act the Lion’s Daughter continues to evolve with Skin Show, its best album yet
Written by DANIEL HILL
It would be folly to imply that the past year-plus of quarantine life has been anything but excruciatingly difcult for all of us, but even within that context, the timing of the pandemic’s onset was particularly cruel to St. Louis metal band the Lion’s Daughter.
The three-piece had been steadily gaining steam since the July 2018 release of Future Cult, the band’s groundbreaking third LP and second record with the revered French label Season of Mist. The album’s synth-heavy twist on the band’s usual brand of relentlessly heavy blackened sludge won the overwhelming acclaim of critics and fans upon its release, who appreciated the John Carpenter-esque sounds on offer. The Lion’s Daughter hit the road hard to support the new record, touring across the United States and even doing a run through Europe in 2019 with Baltimore death metal act Misery Index.
And, at its start, 2020 was looking to be even more exciting. The band secured a support slot for the celebrated and long-running Italian prog-rock act Goblin’s summer 2020 tour — a huge win, as Goblin is a massive infuence. The members of the Lion’s Daughter were beside themselves with excitement as they prepared to announce that tour. Then, of course, COVID came along.
“Right before we were about to announce it, everything got shut down,” guitarist and vocalist Rick Giordano says of the tour. “Goblin’s from Italy, and Italy got hit frst, so it’s just like, ‘Hey, there’s no way this could happen — these guys can’t even get out of the country.’ And you know, a week later it was like, ‘Oh, hey, nobody can go anywhere ever again.’
“That was the only thing that got axed,” he continues. “But that was going to be the biggest tour that we’d ever done with literally one of my favorite bands of all time. And a band that we, I think pretty obviously, pull a lot of infuence and inspiration from. So that was a fucking dream tour for us. Having that get canceled was a sledgehammer to the fucking nuts, man.”
Obliterated testicles or no, the Lion’s Daughter made the best of a bad situation and got to work on some new music, resulting in Skin Show, a ten-track offering that will see its ofcial release this week with a party at Record Space and a streamed event flmed on Arch City Audio Visual’s massive soundstage.
The new album was recorded over the summer at Firebrand Recording Studio in Maryland Heights with Chicago producer Sanford Parker, who worked on the band’s last two albums and who has put in time behind the boards with a slew of well-known metal acts, including Darkthrone, Voivod, Eyehategod and Nachtmystium.
Legendary glam-metal musician Lita Ford helped out with recording, too — in the form of a scantily-clad poster hung in the studio throughout the proceedings.
“I purposely bought that poster off of eBay weeks ahead of time in preparation for the studio, and I wanted to hang that where it was in plain view the whole time,” Giordano says with a laugh. “I literally played instruments and recorded this whole record while staring at that poster. Instead of just the back of like, Sanford’s head or my feet or whatever, I could stare at Lita. It was like drinking espresso or something — looking in Lita’s eyes, you know, it gets you going.”
Whatever trade secrets were employed, they worked. Across its ten tracks, Skin Show remains characteristically heavy but superbly polished, with Erik Ramsier’s thunderous drums underpinning the suitably disgusting sounds of Giordano’s guitar and Scott Fogelbach’s bass. The synths that made Future Cult such a revelation are present and accounted for on Skin Show as well, from the bubbling line that kicks off the record’s frst track “Become the Night” to the haunting horror-soundtrack sounds of closer “The Chemist.” This time around, though, the synths were more thoughtfully arranged to serve as accents to the rest of the music — a decision that Giordano, who played them, says the band made deliberately.
“We’ve always played with horror themes. And with the last record, Future Cult, we introduced a little more sci-f and stuff like that,” Giordano says. “I’m always looking for a way to mix horror and metal that hasn’t been done before. Because it’s been done to death — to great success — by a lot of bands, whether it’s King Diamond and some of the theatrical stuff, or something like Cannibal Corpse and gore, Misfts and kind of cartoonish B-movies and stuff like that. I’m always looking for a new, unique way to do it.
“So with Skin Show it was like, ‘OK, what if we let the synthesizers and stuff sound a little more natural and a little more spooky, and have things sound a little more haunting?’” he continues. “And then kind of take the themes, and let’s make the scenes kind
