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After the Game The St. Louis Rams are gone 20 years after the Superbowl — and so is Nathan Hobgood-Chittick Cover illustration by
E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Jaime Lees Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Columnist Ray Hartmann Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Thomas Crone, Jenn DeRose, Mike Fitzgerald, Sara Graham, MaryAnn Johanson, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Lauren Milford, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer Proofreader Evie Hemphill Editorial Interns Katie Counts, Joshua Phelps, James Pollard A R T Art Director Evan Sult Contributing Photographers Virginia Harold, Stephen Kennedy, Monica Mileur, Zia Nizami, Andy Paulissen, Nick Schnelle, Mabel Suen, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Jen West P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Haimanti Germain
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Ashcroft acorns don’t fall far from the tree — and they’re all nuts
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HARTMANN Like Father, Like Son Jay Aschcroft carries on the family tradition of extremist politics and shifty maneuvering BY RAY HARTMANN
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can’t believe we’re dealing with another Ashcroft in Missouri. It has long been my policy to keep someone’s children out of any argument — political or otherwise — that I might have with an adversary. That’s old school, I confess, but it’s the bright red line one doesn’t cross. People’s kids are off limits. Unfortunately, I’m not merely old school: I’m old. And I’ve just discovered one of the many downsides of aging, which is that if
one stays around long enough in a profession like journalism, the high-minded rule of respecting the privacy of adversaries’ children comes with a catch: They grow up. Take John Ashcroft. Please. For many decades, we have not cared for one another’s politics, not even a little bit. Our relationship has consisted mostly of me railing against what a holier-thanthou, right-wing extremist Ashcroft has been, as state attorney general, governor, U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general. Not surprisingly, his response has been to ignore me. But we did once have a pleasant lunch in Clayton back in 1993, after he moved to St. Louis, having finished two terms as a bad governor, and I did find him to be quite engaging and pleasant. In a surreal moment, I even gave him a ride in a bright red, fancy new sports car I had just purchased, during one of my several midlife crises. I certainly didn’t come away from lunch wanting to de-
ride Ashcroft on a personal level or cross any lines about his kids. But I’ll be damned: One of those kids grew up to be just like him. Goodbye, old rule, I’m stepping over the red line: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has come to work in the family business of politics, and I’m sad to report, he’s done his father proud. That’s not good. Now, am I suggesting that young Jay Ashcroft is putting together a public record that might be described with such provocative language as “holier-than-thou and right-wing extremist”? Have I not mellowed with age enough to refrain from such hyperbole? Yes and no. In the case of the Ashcrofts, it’s not just that the acorn didn’t fall far from the tree. We’re pretty much talking about the same acorns here. From this vantage point, the best thing Jay Ashcroft has done in his young political career is to have lost to Democratic State Senator Jill Schupp in their 2014 west-
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county race. Schupp, my fellow Parkway and Mizzou alum — reelected last year — has turned out to be one of the brightest lights in the state senate. Ashcroft rebounded quickly to win election in 2016 as Missouri secretary of state. He seems like a nice enough guy publicly — his persona is a bit less dour and confrontational and, to date, he hasn’t appeared prudish enough to cover up a naked statue like his dad famously did as attorney general — but Jay Ashcroft’s politics aren’t nice at all. Arguably, much of Ashcroft’s right-wing extremism has been normalized as mainstream in today’s Republican Party: He’s a standard anti-choice, pro-NRA, Trump-enabling member in good standing in the party. But where it matters most, Ashcroft has acted like, well, an Ashcroft as secretary of state. He garnered fleeting national attention in July 2017 when he shilled for
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Trump and forcefully defended the paranoid president’s bogus, national “voter fraud” investigation, a sham that no fewer than 44 of Ashcroft’s counterparts in other states had rejected out of hand. And he wasn’t done. In June , sh ro t testified on a itol Hill — before a committee chaired by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt — feeding the Narcissist-in-Chief’s Russia denial narrative with the following stupendous response regarding how outside actors had impacted U.S. elections: “While these are serious allegations, it is vitally important to understand that after two years of investigation there is no credible — and I can strike ‘credible’ and just put ‘evidence’ — there is no evidence that these incidents caused a single vote or a single voter registration to be improperly altered during the 2016 election cycle,” Ashcroft said. “It was not our votes or our election systems that were hacked — it was the people’s perception of our elections. “The evidence indicates that voter fraud is an exponentially greater threat than hacking of our election equipment,” he said. ell, that alifies as e tremism. Ashcroft stopped short of using the phrase “Russian hoax” in blowing off what just about everyone else in the nation — including his Republican colleagues — have acknowledged as Russian interference in U.S. elections. And Ashcroft’s passion for rooting out nonexistent “voter fraud” has been over the top, from the campaign to the present. He has continued to bang the drums for voter suppression in the form of photo ID requirements that have no more noble purpose than to reduce the number of Democratic votes. Let’s say it all together now: There has not been a single iota of evidence of a single case of voter impersonation on record in the state of Missouri. And there’s also not a shred of evidence that any actual fact is going to deter Ashcroft from misusing his o ial er h or artisan advantage on the subject. He is the Republican secretary of state, which I’m pretty certain he takes to mean “the secretary of state for Republicans.” Speaking of that, Ashcroft took the abuse of his power to new lengths on June 6 with his successful — albeit illegal — maneuver to run out the clock on what would
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I’m stepping over the red line: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has come to work in the family business of politics, and I’m sad to report, he’s done his father proud. That’s not good. have been a referendum to overturn House Bill 126, the so-called “Heartbeat Bill,” that is, for the moment at least, putting Missouri on the national map as an enemy of women’s reproductive freedom. A month later, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals rejected Ashcroft’s rejection, ruling he acted “without authority” in not allowing the effort to challenge the noxious law to proceed. But the intended damage was done: The law won’t be stopped by a vote of the people. Hopefully, legal challenges in the state or nation will eventually stall laws like Missouri’s, but ultimately issues like women’s reproductive freedom and voter’s rights and gun control can only be resolved in a humane and just manner if Americans act at the ballot box. That pretty much comes down to voting out politicians like Jay Ashcroft, something that wasn’t done in the case of his father. So far, the family business continues to do well. But speaking of the Ashcroft family, Jay Ashcroft and his wife Katie are proud parents to four children. In the spirit of that old, red line of leaving an adversary’s kids alone, I genuinely wish them nothing but health and happiness. That said, if I ever have to debate another generation of Ashcrofts, someone please put me in a home. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann@sbcglobal.net or catch him on St. Louis In the Know With Ray Hartmann and Jay Kanzler from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).
NEWS
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‘Your Next Mass Shooter’ Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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e erson it man who identified himsel online as o r ne t mass shooter was arrested a ter osting threats on a eboo , a thorities sa rian roner, , was harged on h rsda with one o nt o ma ing a terroristi threat e erson it oli e sa the on ronted roner at his home on ednesda a ternoon a ter learning o dist rbing statements he made online oli e des ribed his res onse to them as hostile b t sa he admitted to nderstanding the gravit o his statements on so ial media he Jefferson City Tribune, iting a robable a se statement, reorted that roner re eren ed the ol mbine mass illings o , writing that the shooters won t have e letive on me e added, a ording to oli e, he ol mbine shooters were
Arrest After Bodies Found in Truck Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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63 -year-old man has been charged with killing the mother of his kids and the woman’s boyfriend. Willie Little shot 41-year-old Toni Washburn and 62-year-old Mark Kuhlenberg and left their bodies in the back of a pickup truck, according to police and court documents. Police discovered the couple’s bodies, covered by a tarp, in the truck bed on Friday in St. Louis’ Old North neighborhood. Little lives less than a half mile away. Prosecutors in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office issued charges on Thursday of two counts first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. He was jailed without bond. n
Brian Groner bragged he could kill more people than the Columbine shooters, authorities say. | COURTESY COLE COUNTY SHERIFF lame be a se the onl illed eo le I o ld do better and ill more than It is not lear whether roner had ta en an ste s toward arr ing o t an atta e is not a ing an wea ons harges e has a long riminal histor , in l ding onvi tions or the t, b rglar and mari ana ossession e was arrested in ar h and a sed o orger hat ase is still ending In the threat ase, he was ailed witho t bond n
Randy Constant killed himself after he was sentenced in a massive organic grain scam. | DOYLE MURPHY
PrisonBound Farm Fraudster Dies By Suicide Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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high fl ing isso ri armer illed himsel da s a ter a ederal dge senten ed him to more than a de ade in rison or or hestrating what is believed to be the largest organi grain s am in nited tates histor and onstant, , was o nd on g st inside a vehi le in his garage in hilli othe, a arentl d ing o arbon mono ide oisoning, the ivingston o nt oroner told the Associated Press or ears, onstant bo ght h ge amo nts o non organi grain and sold it as organi or massive ro its ost o the grain went to eed animals that were in t rn mar eted as organi ederal rose tors allated he was involved in at least Willie Little, 63, is facing two counts of firstmillion in sales between degree murder. | COURTESY ST. LOUIS POLICE and , a o nting or seven
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er ent o the om arable organi orn mar et and eight er ent o the organi so bean mar et in the nited tates thorities ni named the s am the ield o hemes n investigation b the e artment o gri lt re and I nearthed not onl st nning amo nts o ra d b t h miliating details o onstant s ersonal li e he northern isso ri based armer re entl etted o to as egas, where he s ent lavishl on hotels, gambling and es orts, a ording to ederal a thorities onstant, who was married, had se al relationshi s with three as egas women, a ing two o them more than , over the ears, rose tors sa Investigators o nd that he shared a ban a o nt with one o the women, a ing or her ar, international travel and breast enlargement s rger onstant leaded g ilt to wire ra d last ear n g st a ederal dge in Iowa senten ed him to months in rison and ordered him to or eit more than million in illi it rofits hree ebras a armers who s lied him with non organi grain were senten ed the same da to rison terms o two or ewer ears in rison and ordered to or eit million ea h onstant remained ree a ter the senten ing nder an agreement that wo ld allow him to sel re ort to rison in the t re n
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After th The St. Louis Rams are gone twenty years after winning the Super Bowl — and so is Nathan Hobgood-Chittick BY ERIC BERGER
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y the time Nathan Hobgood-Chittick was a middle school student in the mid-1980s in Orno, Maine, he was already skilled at making a persuasive argument. “Mom, I would think you of all people would want me to play football,” Hobgood-Chittick said one day. Mary Hobgood recalls that she of all people was certain she did not want him to play football. At the time, she was a professor of religious studies at the University of Maine and taught social ethi s In that field, she dis ssed the fossil fuel, food and beverage, and corporate sports industries, which she thought were “based on ma ing rofit witho t limits, for relatively few investors, and nothing is barred on the way to ma ing those rofits Decades before there was a national conversation about a concussion crisis among players, Mary viewed the National Football League as an especially bad actor in American society. Her son, however, appealed to her sense of social justice. Before the family moved to Maine, Hobgood-Chittick had attended a predominantly black magnet elementary school in Philadelphia while Hobgood was a graduate student at Temple University and her husband, Tom Chittick, served as a Lutheran minister at the University of Pennsylvania. Mary says Hobgood-Chittick, the oldest of her two boys, was “always attracted to the movers and shakers” and would come home from school crying because he wasn’t
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black. That’s part of why he wanted to play football. Mary was adamant that he would not. “There is no way you’re going to play football,” she recalls telling him. “It’s a dangerous sport.” But Hobgood-Chittick sensed an opening in her defense; his mom was also concerned about inequality. “Soccer is for white kids,” he told her, but “football is for everybody.” And so the parents signed a permission form. “I was much more supportive, because I was much more ignorant, ignorant of the dangers,” Tom says now. In one sense, it proved to be the right decision: Hobgood-Chittick had trouble reading, so “football meant even more to him, because he o nd s ess on the field in a way that he wasn’t in the classroom,” Mary says. He became a hometown hero as a high school defensive end and tight end in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which led to a scholarship at the University of North Carolina. After college, he bounced aro nd the be ore finall landing a spot with the St. Louis Rams. Head Coach Dick Vermeil remembers Hobgood-Chittick as likely the hardest-working player on the 1999 Super Bowl championship team that became known as “the Greatest Show on Turf.” This season marks the twentyyear anniversary of that team, but the memories in St. Louis are tinged with anger and loss. In 2016, Rams owner Stan Kroenke moved the team back to its for-
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mer home, Los Angeles, leaving behind an empty stadium and jilted fans. Hobgood-Chittick later moved to Los Angeles as well, but he too is now gone. And so, at this twenty-year marker, it’s worth contemplating whether Hobgood was right when she taught her college students the NFL was a league without limits. She believed then, as she believes now, that football is a sport that “chews up healthy young men and spits them out.”
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efore the 1993 school year at UNC, Jeff Saturday was standing with other football recruits in a building near the stadium when he looked out the window and saw a young man in the parking lot who “was just broken down and crying.” “He’s hugging and kissing his mom and dad and his brother repeatedly; he’s kind of going back and forth,” recalls Saturday, who didn’t even like to hug. “And I’m like, ‘This dude. I can’t believe this.’” It turned out that the emotional guy, Hobgood-Chittick, would be his college roommate for the next five ears “It was comedy from the start,” Saturday says. Hobgood-Chittick was moving away from a supportive family and community. On offense and defense, he helped lead William Allen High School to the state football championship in 1992. At the grocery story, people would stop his mom and ask, “Are you the mother of the football player?”
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she recalls. “The football player.” Rich Sniscak, then Allen High’s head football coach, remembers him vividly. “Nate’s one of those special people that comes along very seldom in a coach’s career,” he says. “The thing that sticks out the most about Nate is he was always questioning ‘Why?’ because he always wanted to be better.” That could mean discussions about how they were training in the weight room or the coach’s offensive and defensive philosophies. Sniscak, whose father was also a coach on the team, describes Hobgood-Chittick as “an aboveaverage athlete; he wasn’t elite by any stretch of the imagination, but he was extremely dedicated to being better — whether it was in the weight room, learning technique, studying the playbook — whatever it took for Nate to get an edge, he was willing to ma e that sa rifi e to do it.” At UNC, Saturday and HobgoodChittick battled every day at practice on the opposing offensive and defensive lines, only to go back to their room and spar in political and philosophical debates. Hobgood-Chittick leaned liberal; Saturday leaned conservative. “It could start out in a real peaceful conversation and turn into a screaming match and then back to a peaceful conversation — let’s hug out and we’re going to go to bed, shut-it-down type thing,” Saturday says. “It wasn’t just words. He was a man of strong conviction, Continued on pg 14
ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER GROSS
he Game
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teen seasons in the league and made six Pro Bowls. His name is in the Colts Ring of Honor. Last year, he was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “There are not many people in the world who would go to bat for you like that — especially in the position he was in,” Saturday says. “He was not in a position of leverage.” It did not work out as well for Hobgood-Chittick. The Colts released him be ore the season
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and I think that’s why so many guys cared so much about him; he was real.” Hobgood-Chittick could also be the life of the college party. At one shindig hosted by members of the swim team, he put an empty Coors Light box on his head and started dancing to Michael Jackson. Kelsey Durkin, a swimmer, saw this 305-pound man groovin’ and thought, “Who is this guy?” Together in her room, he spotted the “Serenity Prayer” (God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference) hanging on the wall. Hobgood-Chittick told her, “I live my life by that.” “That’s a really weird way for a meathead to talk,” Kelsey recalls thinking. In a television interview years later, Hobgood-Chittick said of meeting Kelsey, “It was like seeing an angel.” The two started dating. When Hobgood-Chittick went home to Allentown, Mary Hobgood would make “pies and cakes, which I normally did not do, as treats” for her son. Usually, she cooked healthy food. But at the meals during college breaks, she could tell that her 6-foot-3-inch son, who had been skinny in high school, was contin ing to fill his late even tho gh he was full. “I would see him force-feeding himself at our dining-room table, and I was horrified nd I said, ‘Nathan, what are you doing?’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry, Mom, I can lose the weight,’” Mary recalls. Other players were on a similar diet, and Hobgood-Chittick needed to stay big in order to be om etitive on the field In , when he was a freshman, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released a study commissioned by the NFL Players Association looking at the rate and cause of death among former players. The researchers found that de ensive linemen had a percent higher risk of death from heart disease compared to men in the general population. At UNC, Hobgood-Chittick had a bigger im a t on the ra ti e field than in games. During his freshman year, his roommate Saturday recalls, the team was running around campus when he caught a senior “not running the way we were supposed to, and he challenged him in front of the whole team, and the got in a fight
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Kelsey Chittick and Nathan Hobgood-Chittick met in college. | COURTESY OF THE FAMILY because he was like, ‘That’s our integrity, that’s our character.’” Afterward, the other player admitted that Hobgood-Chittick was right. He earned respect from teammates for the “never skip a rep” attitude despite the fact that he played less than the stars around him. Disappointed that he wouldn’t be starting his senior year, HobgoodChittick, who majored in communications and minored in African American studies, considered quitting but decided to stick with the sport. “I stopped focusing on football and just focused on me being the best person I could be,” HobgoodChittick told the Morning Call, a newspaper covering Allentown. “I want to be a good, respectful person; I want to be a good friend od has a la e or me, and he is telling me to just worry about myself and things will take care of themselves.” During his senior year, a New or iants oa h s o ted a air o North Carolina star defensive linemen, onnie ollida and reg Ellis. But the coach also noticed Hobgood-Chittick, according to the Hartford Courant. Holliday and Ellis were dra ted in the first ro nd
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in and went on to s ess l NFL careers. Hobgood-Chittick did not get drafted but signed with the iants e was ina tive or the first four weeks of the season, then cut and signed to the team’s practice squad. Then the Indianapolis Colts signed him in November, but he did not play in a game for the remainder of the season. Despite his own tenuous standing with the Colts — he had never played in an NFL game — Hobgood-Chittick wanted to help out his former roommate who had also not been drafted. So he visited the o e o ill olian, the olts resident, who led the Buffalo Bills to three Super Bowls and won multiple NFL Executive of the Year awards. “I had no footing at all with that franchise, so I stood outside Polian’s door in my dirty sweats, saying a prayer,” Hobgood-Chittick told Sports Illustrated. “I walked in and said, ‘There’s a guy selling electrical supplies in Raleigh right now who whipped all those first ro nd dra t hoi es at orth Carolina every day.’ Polian looked at me and said, ‘I love it. Let’s get him in here for a workout.’” Saturday went on to spend thir-
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ams Head Coach Dick Vermeil had noticed Hobgood-Chittick during a scrimmage with the Colts and decided to reach out after the Colts cut him. “When he called me, he said, ‘Nate, I’ve just got done with practice and I’ve been thinking about you. You’ve got a real good opportunity here. We’d like you to be a part of this team,’” Hobgood-Chittick told the Morning Call. “The whole thing really stuck out in my mind because no one had showed me that kind of consideration elsewhere.” Vermeil recalls that he “almost immediately started developing a fondness and respect for him, because he was one of those extremely high-effort guys no matter what you were doing. He had a hard time going slow on a walkthrough,” a non-contact practice held the day before a game. While with the Rams, HobgoodChittick spent six hours each week volunteering at a crisis hotline for suicide intervention, according to the Morning Call. Also a staunch Democrat, he o ld never fig re o t wh ermeil was a Republican. “I used to say, ‘Nate, just because I’m a Republican doesn’t mean I don’t care about people just like you do,’” Vermeil recalls, laughing. Hobgood-Chittick played in ten games that season and recorded thirteen tackles. Once again, in St. Louis, his dedication as well as his fun spirit endeared him to his teammates. He and Ray Agnew, a Rams defensive tackle and North Carolina State graduate, enjoyed the rivalry between their former schools. Agnew lost a bet and had to wear a Tar Heels hat for a day. Agnew also remembers Hobgood-Chittick’s van. “Most guys had regular cars,” Agnew says, laughing. “He had a van, and all the D-linemen used to get in it. I was older than the rest of the guys, so I didn’t get in it, but it was kind of like the hangout van, the party van.”
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om Chittick, his younger son Luke, Kelsey, who was still dating Hobgood-Chittick, and family and friends traveled to Atlanta for Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 between the Rams and the Tennessee Titans. Mary Hobgood decided to stay in Boston. She was now teaching at the College of the Holy Cross, and “the psychology students were informing me about what they were learning about brain injuries and football,” she says, “so I was kind of sick of the football thing, and I didn’t go.” In October of that year, Mike Webster, a Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, brought more attention to the dangers of the game when he announced that the repeated head trauma he suffered during his career had left him with a traumatic brain injury. He had become estranged from his family and homeless in the early 1990s. He died in 2002 of a heart attack. So Mary watched the game with two friends who knew nothing about football but were “emotional supports,” she says. Hobgood-Chittick recorded three tackles in the game, which the Rams clinched with one of the more memorable plays in NFL history: With St. Louis leading by seven, Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson caught a pass near the five ard line and ran toward what seemed like a certain touchdown, only to be caught just short of the goal line by a diving Rams linebacker, Mike Jones. Rams 23, Titans 16. “It was amazing just to walk in there,” Tom says. “The last five min tes o that game, I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack — the excitement was so enormous.” After the win, Hobgood-Chittick, drenched in sweat, leaped into the stands. Kelsey was certain that he was coming for her. But he went straight to his friends from Allentown. “He kissed them all, and I realized for him, the joy was providing them that experience — way more than” for himself, she says. Afterward, Hobgood-Chittick told the Morning Call, “Man, I’m beat up. This is going to sink in in a week or two and I’ll wake up to what we just accomplished, but right now, all I can say is I hurt.”
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ermeil retired after the Super Bowl. With his main supporter gone, H o b g o o d - C h i t t i c k ’s place in St. Louis was
her grandchildren’s games with Hobgood-Chittick, and “he would not say anything to me the entire game.” Another time, they were driving in Maine, and he “yelled and s reamed at me or two ho rs and this was totally out of character for this warm and genero s erson I tho ght ma be it was just because he was under so much stress because he was la n hing a areer in finan e, Hobgood says. But Kelsey also noticed changes. “He had always been different — just kind of in his head — but he seemed more confused, more sad, more introverted the last couple years,” she says. “He was really good at pretending and trying and hiding it, but he was quiet, and I knew something was wrong.”
The Rams tweeted condolences to Nathan Hobgood-Chittick’s family after his death. | TWITTER s ddenl in fl he ams t him midway through the 2000 season, so he signed with the an ran is o ers e was still tr ing to fig re o t what to do in 2001 when Vermeil returned to coaching with the Kansas City Chiefs and brought him aboard. Hobgood-Chittick started a game or the first time in and played in thirteen games over two years. He and Kelsey got married in July 2002 and eventually had a son, Jack, and daughter, Addison. He went to training camp with the Arizona Cardinals the next year but didn’t make the team. “It’s over,” he said to Kelsey over the phone. “How do you feel?” “Sad but relieved.” Four days later, he enrolled at California State University-Long Beach, near where they were now living, to get his master’s degree in social work. He graduated and then be ame a finan ial adviser in 2008. “He had seen so many NFL players work so hard and then having nothing to show for it because either they had invested it wrong, or got taken by some bad adviser or just made bad decisions, so he had this idea” to try and “handle their money the way he would ours,” Kelsey recalls. He enjoyed success in that realm and was a great husband and father, she says. He supported her as she pursued standup comedy. “My husband has a lot of really
ama ing, wonder l alities none of which I’m going to touch on tonight,” Kelsey said during one gig. obgood hitti was fine with being the butt of her jokes. “When you’re watching your wife perform, you so badly want her to succeed. You want her to be funny. So at that point when you’re watching the performance, you’re rooting so hard, you don’t care what she says, as long as she gets a laugh, because that’s ultimately what you’re after,” Hobgood-Chittick told El Segundo TV. While Kelsey gave her husband a hard time in her comedy — “he is the quintessential man, except he an t fi an thing, whi h b gs me because if you’re going to be a meathead and just watch TV, at least be able to, like, make me a tool bench or something” — she became increasingly concerned about his health. The entire time they were married, he used a sleep mask because he had sleep apnea, a common issue among heavy retired players. He struggled to lose the weight he had gained during his career. “He had gotten so big that his body had gotten to a new set point,” Kelsey says. e also too anti inflammator drugs like Vioxx to manage the pain in his joints and back, which le t him with terrible a id refl , Kelsey says. Eventually he had to sleep sitting up. The issues weren’t all physical. Mary Hobgood would go to
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n November 10, 2017, Mary, who had also moved to Californa, went to dinner at her son’s home in El Segundo. As she sat at a breakfast bar, she recalls staring at him at waist height and thinking, “My God, he is such a huge man.” During dinner, he spoke with his kids about the fossil fuel industry. He later walked Mary to her car with Addison atop his shoulders. When she got home that night, she texted him about “how moving it was for me to see him parent his children and what an incredible dad his children had.” The next day, Hobgood-Chittick and his two children went to a Sky Zone Trampoline Park. He started jumping with Jack and Addison, ages nine and twelve, but then told them he wasn’t feeling well and said, “Let’s try basketball.” Then his arm stopped working and he collapsed. Mary received a call from a Sky Zone employee who told her that he was with her grandchildren. She and Hobgood-Chittick’s brother Luke dropped the kids off at their godparents and headed to the hospital. Kelsey’s mother alerted them as they were approaching the entrance, “It’s not good news.” Luke collapsed outside in the sun, and Mary became numb.
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obgood-Chittick had suffered a heart attack and died at age There was an issue in the left ventricle. “Our hearts are supposed to be fle ible and small, and his heart was huge and loose,” Kelsey explains. Jeff Saturday had been able to
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lose the weight that HobgoodChittick couldn’t shed. “Listen, man, when you play in the NFL and you’re playing Oline and D-line, there are a lot of extremes in how you eat and how you lift a huge amount of weight,” Saturday says. “You have to stay strong and fit and ast I thin people sometimes underestimate how fast and explosive defensive and offensive lineman are in the NFL, and you’re doing it at 300plus pounds.” Kelsey sent a part of her husband’s brain to be autopsied at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, a primary location for research on how a brain is affected when it’s jarred by collisions for years and years. It turned out that HobgoodChittick had stage 2 CTE. Some of the symptoms are aggression, depression, memory loss, confusion and suicidal tendencies. Two years earlier, in 2015, the NFL had reached a settlement agreement with more than 5,000 la ers who had a filed a lawsuit claiming that the league hid the dangers of concussions from them. Players with certain severe neurological disorders could receive as much as $5 million. But it does not cover players who were only discovered to have CTE, which can only be diagnosed postmortem, after the settlement agreement was finali ed Kelsey says she tries not to dwell on the fact that the terms of the settlement leave her family out of the compensation. “It isn’t available, so I have to kind of let it go,” she says. “It’s a tricky situation, because part of me is lucky that I don’t have to watch Nate go through the phases of CTE, because he died basically of heart disease. But on the other hand, there are a ton of families that over the next twenty years are going to be facing this, and their loved ones aren’t going to be dead ... “So we might have a generation of men that have CTE and there is no compensation for the families, but they are going to live for a long time with this degenerative brain disease.” Those closest to Hobgood-Chittick offer a range of feelings on football and the NFL. Vermeil says coaches aren’t supposed to have favorites, but he keeps a photo of Hobgood-Chittick, Kelsey and their two kids on the window at his home in Pennsylvania. Now the owner of a win-
Hobgood-Chittick with Kelsey and their kids, Jack and Addison. | COURTESY OF THE FAMILY ery, Vermeil Wines, the coach says o the finding, othing s rprises you in regard to that anymore.” But he still loves football. “It was not a sport for me; it was a way of life,” he says. Sniscak, Hobgood-Chittick’s high school coach, says, “You could have brushed me over with a feather when I got the news. I was so shocked. And to this day, it still holds a big hole in my heart, because he was such a special person and left far too early.” “CTE is a real issue, and for those of us who played football for many years — it is concerning ... I know it does affect your qualit o li e signifi antl ot being around Nate the past few years because he was living in California, I’d see him on visits and he seemed to me the same person,” Sniscak says. Saturday, the less emotional of the two roommates, says “it was surreal. I remember just crying in my hotel room. I just couldn’t believe it.” He now coaches high school football in Georgia. The two spent years bumping heads at North Carolina — and Saturday had a professional career that was twice as long. He says the death was “a sobering thought.” His son now plays football at
UNC, and the ex-NFL player still views the game “as a tremendous blessing for me and my family.” But he tries to be more cautious with his son and his high school players. “If there is anything going on, make me aware of it,” he tells them. “It doesn’t make you soft, it doesn’t make you weak — any of the stereotypes that were assigned to that when I was playing.” Kelsey says she “never was into football. I don’t like big hits. I don’t like watching people be in pain.” And she will never let her son play. But she appreciates the bonds Hobgood-Chittick made with the players on the ’99 Rams team and elsewhere. “Those guys — [Rams defensive linemen] Kevin Carter, D’Marco Farr — were all just good men. These were guys that cared more about their families and their life and their legacy, but they all got together and loved playing football,” Kelsey says. “I don’t want to be the mouthpiece for [HobgoodChittick] when he doesn’t get to say his side. I know he loved his life” in football, “but I also know he loved his ids, and is reall young and no one wants to die in front of their kids.” Tom Chittick would like to see all football leagues present parents and kids “with a sheet of pa-
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per that will detail all the risks and that no one will proceed without being advised of what the risks are — and they are pretty enormous.” He wonders what effect his son, given his infectious personality and strong convictions, might have had “in trying to rally a more scientifi all oriented wa o dealing with the sport. That’s the question.” As for Mary, the other person who allowed Hobgood-Chittick to play, her worries about her son playing football proved valid. And her son’s argument about football being a sport for everybody — no matter the skin color — may eventually not hold true. There have been a number of stories in recent years about the emerging racial divide in youth football. Fewer white kids are playing because of concerns over concussions, while black kids in low-income neighborhoods continue to sign up, perhaps because they view the game as a good o tion to es a e di lt circumstances. “For Black Boys, the NFL — and Traumatic Brain Injury — Can Be Lottery Tickets,” reads the headline of a 2012 story in the Nation. The Atlantic reported earlier this year that black athletes now comprise almost half of NCAA Division I college football players, compared with 39 percent in 2000. The number of white athletes has decreased from 51 to 37 percent during that time. “I think it’s terrible that our political economy does not have more ways for more people to earn a good living, and that people have to hope on this once-in-alifetime chance to play a dangerous sport in order to make a lot of money,” Hobgood says. As for the Rams, the team returned to Atlanta earlier this year for the Super Bowl. Many former fans in St. Louis opted not to watch.
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ary Hobgood now lives in Portland, Maine. Tom Chittick lives there too, but the two are divorced. From her home, she looks out at “huge white pines and beautiful maple trees.” Amidst the “physical beauty” of Maine, where the family lived and vacationed for decades, Mary says she “feels close to Nate in a way that I didn’t in LA” where she was living and had planned to retire before his death changed her plans. “I have two lives. I have my everyday life, and I am able to enjoy things In m other li e, I am st grieving all the time,” she says. “The sadness is so deep I can’t describe it. And it’s always there.” n
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BY PAUL FRISWOLD
Cyclists will race around Francis Park this Saturday as part of the Gateway Cup | MATT JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY
FRIDAY 08/30 Love’s Labours Insight Theatre Company ends its season with Shakespeare in Love, Lee Hall’s stage adaptation o the o lar film o the same name. William Shakespeare is a struggling playwright hampered by writer’s block. Maybe it’s because there’s no real inspiration behind his current work-in-progress, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. He’s besotted with the beautiful Rosalyn, who is currently involved with the powerful Master of the Revels. That’s when he encounters Thomas Kent, a surprisingly attractive young actor. Thomas is really Viola, daughter of a noble family, a fact he soon discovers. Of course they fall in love, but she’s already engaged to another man. Shakespeare’s gonna have to really work to write his way out of this mess. Shakespeare in Love is performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (August 29 to September 15) at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square; www. insighttheatrecompany.com). Tickets are $20 to $40.
veals some very intimate things about herself; she’s a spy, those shots were meant for her and she knows there’s a secret organization that wants to steal British military secrets. Her murder later that night proves the truth of her wild claims, setting Hannay on the path to uncover the truth of the “39 Steps,” her last words. Patrick Barlow’s comedythriller The 39 Steps is adapted from Richard Buchan’s very serious novel of the same name. As you’re watching St. Louis Shakespeare’s season-opening production of the play, you may feel your own paranoia increasing. That’s because the small cast of four actors perform more than 100 roles throughout the play. The 39 Steps
is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 30 to September 7) and 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Thursday (September 1 and 5) at the Tower Grove Baptist Church (4257 Magnolia Avenue; www. stlshakespeare.org). Tickets are $15 to $20.
SATURDAY 08/31 Big Boys Weekend It’s a big year for the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden (4434 Shaw Boulevard; www.mobot.org): The Sumo have returned. A trio of the traditional wrestlers – Byamba, Yama and Hiroki – will demonstrate Japan’s
It’s a Conspiracy Richard Hannay is enjoying a night out at the music hall when the crowd is panicked by gunshots. He comforts a distressed woman, who talks him into taking her to his place. There she re-
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national sport in the Cohen Amphitheater several times throughout the festival. These demonstrations are always popular, so get there early to stake out a good spot. Of course, the fest is about more than sumo; there are demonstrations of traditional cooking, flower arranging, martial arts, folk dancing and meditation. This year’s Japanese Festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday (August 31 to September 2). Admission is $8 to $16.
Fast Francis The Tour de Francis Park is the second race in this year’s Gateway Cup bicycle race series, which shows off a different St. Louis neighborhood in each of four races. The race course in Francis Park (Eichelberger Street and Donovan Avenue; www.gatewaycup.com) is a mile s are with fields o to 150 cyclists vying to get around those hard right angles in timed heats that start at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 31. The Women’s Pro riders start at 4:30 p.m. and race for 55 minutes; the Men’s Pros go at 5:30 p.m. for a grueling 75 minutes. The Tour de Francis Park is free for spectators.
It’s A-Mazing Things get crazy in the stage adaptation of Shakespeare in Love. | JOHN LAMB
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Labyrinth, which is somehow 30 years old at this point, is the platoni ideal o a lt film tart with Jim Henson’s creatures, throw in a screenplay by Monty Python’s
WEEK OF AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 4
David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia heads back to theaters.| COURTESY OF FATHOM EVENTS Terry Jones, get a young Jennifer Connelly to play the lead and then top it all off with David Bowie as the enigmatic Goblin King, Jareth — it’s quite a concoction. The musical story of a young girl (Connelly) entering an otherworldly labyrinth in order to rescue her younger brother has Muppet-y goblins, the gentle giant Ludo and a dancing Bowie. What the world needs now is Labyrinth, sweet Labyrinth he avorite film o two or three generations is screened at 11:55 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 30 and 31) at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Boulevard; www.landmarktheatres.com). Tickets are $8.
SUNDAY 09/01 The Big Desert There’s only way to truly experience David Lean’s four-hour epic Lawrence of Arabia, and that’s on the largest screen available. Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events have jointly arranged just such a screening of the digitall restored film at m nday, September 1, at theaters nationwide hot on mm film in various desert landscapes, Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young composed every moment of every scene as if it were a painting. T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) is an archeologist specializing in the Middle East who is ordered by the British army to act as a liaison with the Bedouin tribes of the Arabian Peninsula during World War
I. Lawrence forges close bonds with the Bedouins and joins their fight or inde enden e rom r ish and European interests, even going so far as to lead a raid on the port of Aqaba. Along with O’Toole, the film stars le inness, mar Sharif and Anthony Quinn. You can see it locally at the Marcus Ronnies 20 Cine (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $13.47.
MONDAY 09/02 Pop Goes Molina It’s the last month of regular season baseball, so every game counts for teams on the wild-card hunt, such as the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards start September with a fourgame series against the San Franciso iants, with the first game being particularly interesting. Not only is it a day game in September, but the Cardinals and Nathan’s Famous hot dogs have teamed up to bring the first , ans a ni e adier Molina Funko Pop. Funko Pops are small so t vin l fig res re resenting the famous and infamous, each depicted with a uniquely large and square-ish head. The Molina Funko Pop is captured signaling for an intentional walk, and a small perentage o the fig res are ainted entirely gold and silver in honor of Yadi’s many Gold Gloves and his four Platinum Gloves. The game starts at 1:15 p.m. Monday, September 2, at Busch Stadium (601 Clark Avenue; www.stlcardinals.com). Tickets are $10.90 to $225.90. n
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[REVIEW]
Celebrating the Ozarks Bulrush’s carefully researched approach honors an overlooked cuisine Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Bulrush 3307 Washington Avenue, 314-449-1208. Thurs.-Sun. 5-11 p.m.(Closed MondayWednesday).
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hef Rob Connoley had some basic ideas about the form he wanted Bulrush to take even before he moved back to St. Louis three years ago from Silver City, New Mexico. However, his aha moment wouldn’t happen until much later when he received a message from someone who heard about his nascent research into Ozark cuisine. The writer, a former Kaldi’s employee who was born and raised in the Ozarks and has since moved out of town, reached out to Connoley with a profound message that would go on to shape the restaurant. “You don’t know me,” the message began, “but I’ve been following what you are doing and can’t tell you what this means to me. The food you are doing is the food my family and I ate because we had no money. We ate off the land, and it was always embarrassing to me. What you are doing is really special to me, because it’s elevating our food in a way that makes it feel important.” Until that point, Connoley knew he wanted to open a restaurant in St. Louis with a certain ethos. He’d use ethically sourced ingredients, employ creative techniques to ensure a zero-waste kitchen and pay his staff a living wage — all components of what he thinks fine dining in sho ld be e also knew that he wanted to incorporate foraging into the menu, a method for obtaining ingredients that had thrust him into the s otlight in , earned him a ames eard semifinalist nod and
Chef Rob Connoley draws from the Ozarks in the 1800s for dishes such as this amazake with elderflower honey and pickled cherry tomato. | MABEL SUEN inspired his cookbook, Acorns & Cattails. However, seeing those words from a stranger awakened a sense of responsibility in Connoley and gave him a concrete vision for Bulrush that dovetailed with his own upbringing. A St. Louis native who grew up in the northwest St. Louis County suburb of Bridgeton, Connoley had always envisioned Bulrush as centering around the food he and his family enjoyed on weekends and during the summer at their cabin in Ste. Genevieve. Though he never thought of it in a larger culinary context, he knew it was both personal and rooted in the land — two factors that were important to his plans for Bulrush. He began to think of his family’s food as “Ozark” when he met his now-sous chef, Justin Bell. Bell, a central Missouri native and lifelong forager, heard of Connoley’s return to St. Louis and reached out to see if he’d like to join him on a forage. Instantly, the two connected and realized that the food the grew on had signifi ant similarities. Bell made the connection to Ozark cuisine, which led the two down a rabbit hole of research into what that term actually meant. Through church cookbooks, handwritten family letters, in-person interviews and travels throughout the Ozark region (southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, bits of
Kansas and Oklahoma), Connoley and Bell began to sketch out an idea of Ozark cuisine, focusing on the eriod o thro gh hose ears were nat ral boo ends represented the earliest written record they had (at the time), while was the oint at whi h the genre appeared to be overtaken by o tside infl en es rmed with this wealth of information, the two had what they needed as their jumping-off point for a restaurant that would explore this unsung piece of food history and, in turn, give voice to a marginalized culture. That last factor — the comedic and disdainful lens through which regions like the Ozarks and Appalachia are viewed — was at the forefront of Connoley’s mind as he sketched out how to execute his idea for Bulrush. There was a tone he had to get right, which meant that at no point, whether through food or decor, could he veer into caricature. This is why, when you walk into Bulrush knowing that you are at an Ozarkinfl en ed resta rant, o re immediately struck by what it lacks as much as what it has. There are no washboards to be found, you won’t see a moonshine jug or catch anyone wearing a kitschy handkerchief around the neck, and the soundtrack is decidedly banjo-free. To carry out this delicate balancing act, Connoley enlisted the help
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of SPACE Architecture + Design, who brought to life a gorgeous, modern aesthetic. The restaurant is divided into two distinct spaces: The front room, comprised mostly of a square-shaped, sleek wooden bar with a handful of tables along one wall, blends a mid-century wood aesthetic with industrial elements. A few jugs of housemade kombucha and two small wooden barrels on the bar are the only overt winks to anything “Ozark,” and even these touches are utilitarian, first A striking mural runs the entire length of the restaurant and ties together the front and back rooms. This staff-created art piece is comprised of colorful vertical paint drippings in shades inspired by wild persimmon. While the mural brings the spaces together, a floor to eiling artition o light colored wooden slats divides the front room from the tasting-menu area. The semi-visibility gives it an air of mystery that makes entry to the space seem almost ceremonial. Guests enter the main dining space and are seated around Connoley and Bell’s workspace and kitchen. The room is almost entirely done in black, save for the colorful orange-red pops, courtesy of wooden knife holders that are in front of each place setting. The room feels weighty, but this is
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immediately broken by the conversational way Connoley, Bell and their service team approach their guests. The result is a give-andtake, as the chefs explain courses and diners ask questions; it’s more of a dinner-party feel than a stuffy tasting-menu experience, even if the strikingly modern room gives an impression of the latter. Like the environs, Connoley did not intend Bulrush’s food to be a literal exposition of old-timey Ozark cuisine. Instead, he and Bell have reimagined the dishes they came across in the research, applying techniques and ingredients that elevate the humble into the extraordinary. Consider cornbread, a “poor-people food” that is one of the staples of Ozark and Southern cooking. Here, Connoley and Bell fashion a circular cake from local grits and fry it, then pair the fritter with ramp aioli. The richness is cut with pickled cherry tomatoes, peach compote and a melon-pepper salsa to wipe away the oil from the fryer. The dish is elegant and comforting at the same time — a feeling that carries throughout the meal. An oyster course might seem like a diversion from Ozark cuisine, but Connoley and Bell explain that they came across the shellfish thro gho t their research. In the 1800s Ozarks, canned oysters were once a cheap form of protein. My, how times have changed. Here, the chefs coat a tender oyster in cornmeal and just barely fry it; the texture is so soft it practically melts on
the tongue. The oyster rests atop a bed of sauercorn, a fermented corn akin to sauerkraut and a silken corn soup that tastes like the sweet distilled essence of the vegetable. It’s masterful. Handpies appeared throughout their research as well, and here, Connoley shows off his pastry prowess in the form of a shockingl fla shell that is basi all a flo r ond it or b tter he filling changes regularly; on one evening, the ie was filled with savor charred greens, their bitterness offset by apple cider aioli and cherry mostarda. On another night, the he s too a sweet ta , st ng the shell with squash jam and pairing it with apple cider aioli and pawpaw vinegar mustard. The result was a delicious, though sweet for a midcourse, throwback to the Squat Tarts at Connoley and Bell’s nowshuttered Squatters Café. And the show continues. On one evening, the meal begins with a ermented elderflower hone amazake that is encased inside a cattail pollen shell and paired with savory fermented blueberries and pickled cucumbers. The sphere bursts in the mouth, energizing the palate for what’s to follow. On another visit, that same amazake is infused with redbud vinegar and served as an intermezzo between the savory and dessert courses, building a bridge between what’s gone before and what is yet to come. Another successful course teases tomato onfit, i led cumber and forage-spiced ricotta, and presents unexpectedly as a delightful cucumber tomato tea sandwich on freshly baked bread. The effect harkens back to the sort of mid-afternoon snack you’d en-
joy on your grandmother’s covered porch. Doughnuts and crullers were ubiquitous throughout 1820-1870 Ozark cooking, and Connoley and Bell interpret this in the form of a golf-ball-sized acorn doughnut that has more chew and heft than what is typical of the form. The doughnut is delightfully sticky with nocino (walnut liqueur) glaze and served atop velvety, white chocolate and potato mousse. Alone, it’s a good dish, but what makes it positively transcendent is what happens before you even take a bite. Presented in a covered, acorn-shaped bowl, a puff of persimmon smoke is released the moment you remove the lid, infusing your senses with the memories o a am fire in the damp woods. It’s intoxicating. On both visits, Bulrush’s only meat course was a fork-tender piece of braised pork cheek, accented with husk cherries. The pork was served alongside fermented wheat berries that popped in the mouth and gave the dish a toasty undercurrent. Desserts are a strong suit for Connoley (who is also a chocolatier), and he shows off his baking skills in the form of a jawdropping acorn sable that tastes like a rustic, brown butter shortbread. Acorn meringue, oak essence, blackberries and berry milk crumb bob in a rich yogurt chantilly. Though presented as a showpiece, you could close your eyes and think you are eating an old-fashioned icebox pie in a great-aunt’s kitchen. Connoley and Bell are trying to achieve those sorts of evocations, and on one occasion, they brought
an 80-something man to tears. An Ozarkian from birth until present, he came to St. Louis with a family member to experience Bulrush’s tasting menu and sat awestruck at how much a course of simple greens brought him back to his youth. Though not literal, Bulrush has clearly captured the essence of what Ozark cuisine means, at least to this man. I do wonder how many folks like him will dine at Bulrush, however, and my only concern with this ositivel flawless la e is that a fine dining tasting e erien e li e this — albeit, comparable to any other fine dining e erien e at $100 inclusive of tax and gratuity — is likely inaccessible to the people its food represents. With a overt rate nearl fi teen ercentage points higher than the national average, can someone from the Ozarks actually experience an Ozark tasting menu in the city? I believe the answer is evident. I am onfident, however, that Connoley is conscious of this, as he sees Bulrush not simply as a restaurant, but an ongoing exploration of the ethical and moral issues that inevitably come up when we view food as more than fuel. Perhaps by placing this marginalized cuisine (of course, just one of many) into the spotlight, he is ta ing a first ste o shining a light on it as an important part of our culinary heritage – of his and Bell’s culinary heritage. After all, it’s what inspired Bulrush’s path in the first la e
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PING PONG TABLE • POOL TABLE • BOARD GAMES WEDNESDAY TRIVIA • LIVE MUSIC / DJS 5 DAYS A WEEK
THIS WEEK THE GROVE SELECTED HAPPENINGS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
MELVIN SEALS & JGB
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ZOSO: THE ULTIMATE LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE W/ BROTHER LEE & THE LEATHER JACKALS
Day or night, there’s always something going on in The Grove: live bands, great food, beer tastings, shopping events, and so much more. Visit thegrovestl.com for a whole lot more of what makes this neighborhood great.
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FEATURED DINING SEDARA SWEETS
SPONSORED CONTENT
6 RESTAURANTS YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT...
CLUSTER BUSTERS
SEDARASWEETS.COM
CLUSTER-BUSTERS.BUSINESS.SITE
314.532.6508 8011 MACKENZIE RD AFFTON, MO 63123
314.297.8846 3636 PAGE BLVD ST. LOUIS, MO 63113
In May of 2019, Sedara Sweets joined the community of Affton. Sedara serves a variety of baked goods including fifteen types of baklava—both Iraqi and Turkish. Just like the name says, Sedara sells ice cream, using products from Wisconsin-based Cedar Crest, and milkshakes. The cafe offers a small savory menu featuring breakfast bread, falafel and shawarma sandwiches, with rotisserie versions of beef or chicken both on offer. Whether you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, or a new option for lunch and dinner, Sedara has you covered. “We want to have something for everybody” Sedara Sweets is both family owned and operated. They offer dine in and take out food services, as well as an amazing Baklava gift box that can be ordered online, or even delivered! Owners George and Esraa Simon look forward to meeting their new neighbors and sharing some of their favorite dishes with the community!
Located on both Page Avenue, as well as the upcoming location in the Saint Louis Galleria, Cluster Busters hopes to provide Saint Louis with high quality seafood at affordable prices. Cluster Busters offers both dine in and carry out seafood, with recipes from Chef Deion Woodard. You will find all your favorites dishes such as seafood, pasta, gumbo, and fried fish. Whether you want to try their flagship “Cluster Buster” or the Lobster Mac and Cheese, Cluster Busters offers something for everyone. Since 2017, Cluster Busters continues to grow as part of a staple of the North Saint Louis community, and is very excited to bring their offerings to the Galleria. Keep an eye out for menu additions as well as daily specials. Cluster Busters is also available for catering and private events, so consider them for your next event. At Cluster Busters, you’re invited to come catch this drip!
POKE DOKE
POKEDOKESTL.COM
J. SMUGS GASTROPIT
314.833.5900 8 S EUCLID AVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63108 314.553.9440 6316 DELMAR BLVD UNIVERSITY CITY, MO 63130
JSMUGSGASTROPIT.COM
314.499.7488 4916 SHAW AVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 Housed in a retro service station, J. Smugs GastroPit serves up barbecue that can fuel anyone’s fire. Married teams of Joe and Kerri Smugala and John and Linda Smugala have brought charred goodness to the Hill neighborhood, nestled among the traditional Italian restaurants, sandwich shops and bakeries. Part of St. Louis’ ongoing barbecue boom, the J. Smugs’ pit menu is compact but done right. Ribs are the main attraction, made with a spicy dry rub and smoked to perfection. Pulled pork, brisket, turkey and chicken are also in the pit holding up well on their own, but squeeze bottles of six tasty sauces of varying style are nearby for extra punch. Delicious standard sides and salads are available, but plan on ordering an appetizer or two J. Smugs gives this course a twist with street corn and pulled-pork poutine. Several desserts are available, including cannoli – a tasty nod to the neighborhood. Happy hour from 4 to 7pm on weekdays showcases half-dollar BBQ tastes, discount drinks, and $6 craft beer flights to soothe any beer aficionado.
Poke Doke offers St. Louis their energized recipes intertwined in a fast-casual model. Best part is every bowl is customizable to the patron -- whether you know what you want and can come up with your own flavor pairings — but it’s certain your heart will be content with the rich, high-quality seafood. Customers choose a size, a base, (such as rice, greens, or soba noodles) and choose from proteins (such as salmon ahi tuna, spicy tuna, shrimp or tofu), then add as many toppings and drizzles as they wish. If you’re less interested in the simple pleasures of fish and more in playing around with accoutrements, both the shrimp and tofu are neutral enough that they benefit from the enhancements. The menu also offers appetizers such as pork-filled pot stickers, miso soup, and crab rangoon, along with an assortment of bubble milk teas and soft serve ice cream. With locations in both the Central West End and the Delmar Loop, Poke Doke is the perfect spot to grab a quick bite!
BLK MKT EATS BLKMKTEATS.COM
STIR CRAZY
314.391.5100 9 S. VANDEVENTER AVE. ST. LOUIS, MO 63108
STIRCRAZY.COM
The fast-fresh, made-to-order concept has been applied to everything from pizza to pasta in St. Louis, but the sushi burrito surprisingly had no Gateway City home until BLK MKT Eats opened near Saint Louis University last fall. It was worth the wait, though, because BLK MKT Eats combines bold flavors and convenience into a perfectly wrapped package that’s ideal for those in a rush. Cousins and co-owners Kati Fahrney and Ron Turigliatto offer a casual menu full of high-quality, all-natural ingredients that fit everything you love about sushi and burritos right in your hand. The Swedish Fish layers Scandinavian cured salmon, yuzu dill slaw, Persian NOT cucumbers and avocado for a fresh flavor explosion. YOUR AVERAGE SUSHIAnother SPOT favorite, the OG Fire, features your choice of spicy tuna or salmon alongside tempura crunch, masago, 9 SOUTH VANDEVENTER DINE-IN, TAKEOUT OR DELIVERY MON-SAT 11AM-9PM shallots, jalapeño and piquant namesake sauce; Persian cucumbers and avocado soothe your tongue from the sauce’s kick. All burrito rolls come with sticky rice wrapped in nori or can be made into poké bowls, and all items can be modified for vegetarians.
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314.569.9300 10598 OLD OLIVE STREET RD CREVE COEUR, MO 63141 Stir Crazy Asian has been serving the St Louis area for 20 years. The pan-asian fusion style restaurant offers something for everyone. The market bar allows the guest to choose thier own vegetables and sauce, hand it to a chef to wok fry, and get fresh healthy options everytime. Serving gluten free, vegetarian and keto friendly options, Stir Crazy has tastes for any of your Asian desires from sushi to fried rice. Homemade sauces, fresh vegetables, handrolled crab rangoon and springrolls, bring out the true suttle flavors of Asia. With no MSGs the food will have you feeling great for lunch or dinner. Come see us at 10598 old olive rd. Creve Couer MO.
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SHORT ORDERS
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[SIDE DISH]
Schlafly’s Emily Byrne Loves Being a Busy Brewer Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
U
nlike most teenagers, Emily Byrne was laser-focused on what she wanted to do with her life after high school. She enrolled in the food sciences program at Mizzou, went on to emphasize in viticulture and oenology after she completed her basic coursework, and graduated to a job as a winemaker at Charleville Vineyard and Winery. nd then she fli ed the s ri t first ind str ob was working out in the country — which is exactly what happens when you get a job at a vineyard,” Byrne says. “But I realized pretty quickly that I am more of an urban person. The vineyard also had a brewery, and once I started learning about brewing, I realized I could continue my career and move back to St. Louis. And I also realized it’s something I am passionate about.” Byrne traces her passion for brewing — and winemaking and food and beverage in general — back to her upbringing. Growing up, her parents would regularly take her on the Ste. Genevieve Wine Trail, and she would marvel at the beauty of the countryside. However, what struck her even more than that was listening to winemakers sit at bars and talk with such passion about their jobs. She knew she wanted to be a part of the industry in some form. Byrne also realized at a young age that she loved science. As a kid, she especially enjoyed her biology classes which, once she got into wine and beer-making, she realized were directly applicable
The fast-paced world of beer-making suits brewer Emily Byrne better than the quiet vineyards of her previous career in wine. | SCHLAFLY BEER to fermentation. When she discovered brewing, she realized she could combine this passion with a more urban lifestyle, something that deeply appealed to her. Brewing also spoke to Byrne on another important level. A self-described “high-energy” person, she realized winemaking is a slower-paced endeavor with a lot of downtime. Though she loved the processes, she found herself feeling restless during those slower periods. “With winemaking, I’d say you aren’t busy 100 percent of the year,” Byrne explains. “You are very busy during harvest and getting stuff into barrels and tanks. But then there is a lot of ‘hurry up and wait,’ where you are really busy and then hit a wall. I love that beer keeps me busy all the time.” Working for Charleville made the transition from wine to beer easy because of its on-site brewery. Byrne’s employers supported her move to that side of the business, and she reveled in the new gig. Once she was ready to move back to St. Louis, she got an internship at O’Fallon Brewery for six months before getting hired on as a brewer with hlafl Now in her fourth year with the brewery, Byrne is not only thrilled to be living her passion but also
thankful to be working for one of the industry’s female trailblazers, hlafl ran aradonna s a brewer in a traditionally maledominated field, she a re iates the role that Caradonna has played in paving the way for women in the industry and hopes to pay that forward to other up-and-coming female brewers. For now, though, Byrne is content to be doing what she loves in a gig that is the pere t fit and one her res ient parents knew was right for her all along I m definitel an energetic person,” Byrne laughs. “My parents have told me that it’s not surprising that I ended up in this field he now I have wa too much energy to end up in a sedentary job.” Byrne took a break from the brewery to share her thoughts on the St. Louis food and beverage scene, her impressive knowledge of Parks and Recreation and the one thing she shares in common with the beer she makes. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? I am a two-time reigning champ of Parks and Rec trivia nights. What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Morning coffee. I can’t function without it. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
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Super strength. I’d love to have the power to lift kegs like they were pillows and never hurt my back. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year? More female presence! St. Louis now has its own chapter of The Pink Boots Society, a national beer organization which was created to help educate and encourage women to advance in their careers. Seeing the number of women coming to meetings and signing up to be members with our local chapter has really inspired me and made me excited for the future of St. Louis craft beer. What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see? Troy Bedik. If someone can bring her back to me that would be great. Who is your St. Louis beverage industry crush? Kenny Franklin, head distiller at Square One. Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis beer scene? le li ton, brewer at hlafl He’s been with the company for two years now, and watching him grow and become a leader has been amazing. He’s come up with some great beer ideas, and I can’t wait to see what he does over the
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[FIRST LOOK]
EMILY BYRNE
Continued from pg 27
next few years. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? Brewer’s yeast. It’s bubbly and makes alcohol. If you weren’t working in the beer business, what would you be doing? Working at an animal shelter. Name an ingredient never allowed in your brewery. High-fructose corn syrup. What is your after-work hangout? My balcony. I’m pretty sure it’s the best bar in St. Louis. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? Cheez-Its and gummy bears. What would be your last meal on earth? Risotto and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. n
[FOOD NEWS]
Grace Meat Opening Late-Night Concept Grace Chicken + Fish
T
he worst thing about Grace Meat + Three (4270 Manchester Avenue, 314-533-2700) is that it closes at a respectable hour, leaving hungry bar crawlers in the Grove to pass sadly by its darkened windows. But chef/owner Rick Lewis has taken pity on us sinners and is starting a latenight window called Grace Chicken + Fish. The new concept will operate out of the same storefront from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. You won’t be able to get Lewis’ amazing ribs, but the takeout window will offer a tasty alternative during the hours typically dominated by White Castle and gas station pizza. The planned menu includes fried chicken, catfish, shrimp and tofu for mains to be paired with one or more sides exclusive to the late-night operation, including Grace’s Hot Chili Blend, Ssäm Jang Sauce, Put the Lime in the Coconut or Cacio e Pepe. “The Grove has continued to be one of Saint Louis’ most vibrant night life neighborhoods,” Lewis says in a news release. “We wanted to offer a menu that would satisfy those late-night cravings. I am really excited about our loaded fries and hand pie options. We will have a little bit of all the good stuff to soak up those bad decisions!” The dining room will be closed, but customers will be able to carry out or grab one of Grace’s outside tables.
— Doyle Murphy
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Elevated Food with Down-toEarth Roots Written by
KATIE COUNTS
A
t Alta Calle (3131 S. Grand Blvd., 314-282-0840), you can o ten find o owners l e and Veronica Morales moving around the space as serenely as the music that is playing overhead. Under banners of brightl olored flags, the sisters gather menus, simultaneously shake drinks behind the bar and even ask customers how their meal was. Meanwhile acclaimed chef and family friend Tello Carreon shifts around the kitchen, carefully eyeing each dish. It’s a vibrant scene, and one that is the realization of a dream for the Morales sisters. Alta Calle’s name is Spanish for “high street,” whi h is refle ted in the elevated approach to Mexican food. However, the restaurant is rooted in something deeper: home. “I like when customers feel comfortable here,” Veronica says. “To feel like they’re at home.” hat sense o home is refle ted in the name, which pays homage to the hilly Mexican village in Michoacán where the Morales family hails from. Family photos of the town are featured on some of the restaurant’s tables, which Veronica’s son and co-owner, Steve Suarez, built. Alta Calle, which opened on l , fills the s a e where the Mekong Restaurant and Upstairs Lounge formerly resided. The resta rant is the first e i an resta rant to open in the South Grand neighborhood (Qdoba excluded). “To bring the food and her cuisine into the area is obviously ni e, to be the first ones, arreon says of Veronica. “It’s almost like a break in the seam.” Brightly colored and intricately arved hairs fill the resta rant, which can accommodate around 100 diners throughout the inside and outside seating areas. Many of the decorations and furniture come from Mexico. A colorful mural covers one wall, and a portrait
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
Alta Calle is now open on South Grand, serving elevated Mexican cuisine. | KATIE COUNTS of Frida Kahlo hangs on another. Veronica, who founded the restaurant Las Palmas in 1997, started cooking at age nine for her ten siblings. Much of Alta Calle’s menu connects to Las Palmas and those hometown roots with a bit of twist. That twist comes courtesy of Carreon, who created the menu. The talented chef, who served as executive chef at Nixta and now operates his own catering business, levada, first met eroni a when he was sixteen, working at the now-shuttered Casa Gallardo. It was only his second restaurant job — now one in a line of many — but he never forgot Veronica and her amil e ades later, they reconnected. “I still remember her very much,” Carreon says. “She remembered me, but she didn’t recognize me. That was emotional.” es ite di erent oo ing st les, Veronica and Carreon have a lot in common. Their history, as well as a shared work ethic, led them to create a menu and a restaurant which, according to Carreon, has allowed them to learn from each other. Having worked in a variety of restaurants, Carreon says “all my refle tion is in lta alle s men — French techniques, Middle Eastern-style spices, Mexican ingredients and so on. He says getting to show some of this to Veronica has made him the happiest. “We never stop learning,” Carreon says. “I learn from her and vice versa. I love to cook with other people who can teach me something.” Carreon describes the food as a combination of “street food and fancy.” He says the dishes are
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“casual but nice-looking cuisine with a lot o flavor o a hieve that, Carreon keeps his ingredients as fresh as possible. Popular dishes include the scallop ceviche, which is served with avocado, tortilla, beets and green chile. Another dish, a sweet chilled corn soup called sopa de elote blanco, is sweetened using vermouth. Tortas are offered either vegetarian or with pork; the vegetarian features crispy tofu, avocado and black beans, while the pork is marinated for four days and seared to order. Alta Calle also offers a drink menu with a variety of tequilas — hibiscus-infused, coconut-based, lime and man more everal flavors of Mexican soda called Jarritos are also available esserts, li e ho olate astel and flan, are also offered. Carreon, who joined the operation three months after Veronica and family signed the lease, has tentative plans to leave Alta Calle in the next few weeks. His main goal was to help get the restaurant up and running. Regarding that departure, Carreon says he is not sure what is next for him, but he would love to focus on Elevada and travel internationally with his family. While Carreon will no longer be the executive chef at Alta Calle in the near future, he and Veronica share a similar hope for the restaurant. “To grow,” Carreon says. “To continue. To last and to continue bringing happiness to people.” Alta Calle is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner Tuesday through Thursday. n
[FIRST LOOK]
The Wine Tap Gets a Fresh New Vibe in Belleville Written by
CHELSEA NEULING
I
t’s not the concept, building, name or even the food that guarantees a business’ success — it’s the love, hard work and passion that makes a business thrive. If you want proof, look no further than the Wine Tap (223 East Main Street, Belleville; 618-239-9463). The Wine Tap was established in 2008 and has had four different owners over the past eleven years. While it remained a popular restaurant throughout its run, things never seemed headed in the right direction. Enter Dan and Robbie Fogarty-Hayden, who took over the Wine Tap in September of last year. After a month of renovations, the pair reopened the restaurant and bar with a different approach than the previous owners, and their changes have had a positive impact on business. “This was a great opportunity at the right time,” Robbie says. “We were taken away with how beautiful the building was, but it needed a lot of work. The passion
was gone, and the time and care fizzled out with it.” Dan is a Belleville native who has been in the restaurant business for over ten years. Robbie is from Canada and has experience in owning a small business. Owning a restaurant is new to both of them, but their innate sense of what people want in the Wine Tap has been apparent despite the fact that they are first-time restaurateurs. Their most noticeable change is the concept itself. The Wine Tap is now more of an upscale restaurant than a bar. The old menu used to consist merely of flatbreads and appetizers. Now about 90 percent of the food is cooked in the wood-fired oven and is made from Robbie’s recipes. However, it’s Dan who serves as the restaurant’s chef, while Robbie works the front of the house. “We have put a lot of thought into the comfort aspect and believe in social food,” Robbie says. “We want our customers to be able to come in and share the items and a glass of wine with their friends and have a relaxing time. We work hard to make sure that this is never a hectic environment, straight down to the music levels.” The menu consists of pizzas, salads and sharable plates like the “Sizzling Brie Spread and House Bread.” This hot-outof-the-oven cheese dip with cranberries, honey and Himalayan pink salt is served sizzling in a cast-iron skillet. Another spe-
Robbie and Dan Fogarty-Hayden shifted the Wine Tap toward a wood-fired menu. | CHELSEA NEULING cialty, the “Italian Mermaids,” are jumbo shrimp wrapped in prosciutto and served with housemade dipping sauces. Both have been big hits. The Wine Tap also offers a large variety of twelve-inch, brick-oven pizzas. Diners can choose from such offerings as the “Ladies Love It,” which is a thin-crust shell topped with red sauce, mozzarella, chicken, spinach, feta and sun-dried tomatoes. The “Three Stooges” is made with red sauce, mozzarella, chicken, Schubert’s thick-slice bacon, Schubert’s salsiccia and red onion. One of the restaurant’s most popular pizzas is the “Pesto,” which features a thin crust topped with pesto
sauce, sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, chicken, kalamata olives, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. The wine list consists of about 30 wines by the bottle and 30 by the glass. New wines are added about every three months. Bottle prices range from $24 to $200-plus, so there is something for everyone. Seating is divided into two inside rooms and a front patio. A beautiful event space is available upstairs and can be rented out for up to 50 people. The Wine Tap is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4 p.m until midnight, Wednesdays from 4 to 10 p.m and Saturdays from 11 a.m to 2 a.m. n
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Filmmkaer Geoff Story is trying to learn more about recently discovered footage of gay parties in the 1940s — but time is running out. | COURTESY DIRECTOR GEOFF STORY
[ P O O L PA R T I E S ]
A Gay Old Time Rediscovered footage of gay Missouri pool parties is full of mysteries Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
D
uring an estate sale in the late 1990s, Geoff Story was sifting through one of the grand old houses across from Forest Park when he discovered an intriguing canister o mm film It was titled a art tor bought it and took it to his parents’ house, where he borrowed his father’s projector and glimpsed for the first time a long hidden o et o ga li e in s isso ri The aging footage showed young men lounging around a pool, drin ing beer, o ing, embra ing Some mugged for the camera in light drag In one li , a ni ormed World War II-era soldier plants a big iss on another g est Story initially watched only a ew moments hen in his late twenties, he was not out to his family at the time, and he was in-
stantl fl stered when his ather looked in on the scene unspooling on his home movie s reen Story snapped off the projector and set the canister aside — until one da , he de ided to loo again “I didn’t think this whole world e isted, he sa s now In the past two years, Story has tried to learn as much as he can about that world and those young men as he turns the footage into a do mentar he ro e t was detailed at length in a 2017 feature story in the RFT’s sister publication Out in STL, and it has since generated coverage across the country, including a recent New York Times ie e But Story is still hoping to reach others who might provide clues abo t the rare ootage In some ways, he has already been surprisingl s ess l e now nows the names o five o the men including party hosts Buddy Walton and Sam Micotto, who once lived in the Lindell Boulevard home where Story attended the estate sale — and the rough outline of the gatherings at a farm in the o ntr side o tside o t o is But so many mysteries remain, and time is r nning o t he men in the footage, which was apparently spliced together from multiple parties, would be closing in on a hundred ears old and are li el dead Whatever details of their lives that remain are slipping away as even their surviving relatives and acaintan es grow older Beth Prusaczyk attended one
of the private screenings of the footage that Story has held as he attempts to gauge interest and nearth investigative leads health-care researcher, she was fascinated and soon joined the ro e t as the dire tor o resear h r sa is onfident that someone knows more about the men and the parties — but she worries they won’t be able to rea h them in time “I think there are people out there who know who these men are, but they don’t know we’re loo ing or them, she sa s In the past two years, she and Story have been able to pin down key details using the sparest scraps o in ormation rom the film a 1943 gas rationing sticker on a car in the footage, beer bottles from a bygone era, markers on the soldier s ni orm ld aerial ma s o armland near illsboro show the ool, whi h has sin e been filled in and all b t erased But there is only so much they an get rom the film he need help and are making a last push to reach anyone who might have in ormation Many of the most interesting discoveries have come from relatives o the men r sa made a e breakthrough when she wrote a letter to Walton’s niece, who was delighted to learn about the footage and has eagerly supported the project, supplying stories of her uncle’s li e alton had been a wealth hairdresser in t o is with lientele comprising celebrities and
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so ialites is longtime artner, icotto, ran a successful dog-grooming business at the Chase Park Plaa It was i otto s amil s arm that served as the backdrop to the s mmer gatherings The Chase seems to have played a large role as a social connector among at least some of the partygoers ne o alton s si salons was lo ated there nother o the men identified b r sa and tor played piano at the iconic hotel, and the filmma ers s s e t man of the party guests were wealthier or charmed their way into similar so ial ir les In the footage, the men appear carefree, and there is a disarming sweetness to their pranks and horse la It o ntera ts a narrative of a grim, straight-laced Midwest d ring wartime In interviews with relatives, Story and Prusaczyk learned that the majority of the men the have identified maintained long term, i low rofile, relationshi s nd while the might not have openly discussed their sexuality, it was not exactly secret, either “A lot of these families, they weren t tting ride flags on their porch, but they knew, and they loved their n le, r sa sa s till, the filmma ers have roceeded with caution, cognizant of the moral pitfalls of outing even dead men ome o the art goers were filmed wearing wedding rings, suggesting the trips to what they referred to as “the
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
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Farfetched’s Darian Wigfall ran the Fellowship until its recent closure. | DANIEL HILL
[VENUES]
Event Space the Fellowship Has Closed
T
he Fellowship, an event space housed in the historic St. Matthew’s Church at the intersection of South Jefferson and Potomac, has closed. The announcement came via the venue’s Facebook page. “Before rumors rise and misinformation spreads, we want to make this clear. Our decision to move on was amicable and best for both the owners of the building and us,” a statement read in part. “We both were able to recognize that financially it would be best to cut ties now than to continue and possible issues arise. No bad blood but a chance for growth.” The venue began operating as an event space operated by Farfetched’s Darian
GAY OLD TIME Continued from pg 31
arm were a landestine de art re rom another li e t tor and Prusaczyk say they have been encouraged by the surviving connections — relatives and friends who have supported the in-progress documentary as a tribute to their loved ones and the nuances o their lives he filmma ers are ra ing to find others as the target film estivals or the do mentar s release he have reated an online gallery of still shots from the footage, showing images o men the still ho e to identi And they ask anyone with infor-
Wigfall back in late 2018, after developer Jason Deem, who’d owned the building since St. Matthew’s closed in 2014, approached Wigfall about running a full-time music venue within its walls. The plans for the space were grand, involving three levels that would include two performance spaces, a teen lounge, kitchen, VIP area and more. While it’s obviously a setback that the venue is closing its doors, those behind the venture made clear in their statement on social media that this is not the end. “We have some significant opportunities bubbling, and we plan on continuing to use our brand to support, uplift, and empower our community and cultivate our culture,” they wrote. “In the next few months, you will see us hosting events and more, so please continue to support us as we grow into our next chapter.” For updates on the Fellowship’s next moves, sign up for the group’s newsletter or follow its Instagram page.
—Daniel Hill
mation to contact them through the website, even if they are only willing to have an off-the-record onversation hatever the ltimatel find, Story is grateful for this window into a world that was almost lost to time he men, a t red so andidly in their youth, were probably enjoying one of the few places where they felt totally free to be themselves Story feels a little sadness as he watches them linger near their cars, preparing to set off for lessa e ting environs, or even war It s bittersweet, he sa s ecause you see how happy they are, and you wonder what they ame home to n
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[HOMESPUN]
Ace in the Hole Carondelet venue the Sinkhole is now a record label, complete with its own studio Written by
CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER
T
here are those who practice the do-it-yourself ethos — musicians who master the means of production and control the creation and dissemination of their art — and then there s att t ttler e has helmed a few bands over the ast de ade first in the bo girl duo Burrowss and, for the last five ears, in hitstorm , gigging in and o t o t o is e s also been the booking agent for Cherokee Street’s Foam for the past six ears, finding a home or and coming locals and hard-to-categori e to ring a ts But that’s only a sliver of the ear old s o t t t ttler opened the Sinkhole, a Carondelet neighborhood venue specializing in the noisier corners of rock, hardcore, punk and experimental music, about two years ago with a ew artners i months later, Stuttler was the sole owner and operator of the space, a stage-free club that does its best to obviate the line between performer and a dien e Lately, Stuttler’s DIY spirit has evolved into more of a do-everything-yourself spirit as Sinkhole la n hes its own re ord label “The concept of a record label was always part of the concept or the ven e, t ttler sa s he band could play here, record here and t o t a release So far Sinkhole Records has released a few Shitstorm EPs, but a pair of split-cassette releases — a ea h odies anana li s o ering and a anides oint is more in the spirit of what Stuttler envisions nd while it is tr e that Stuttler is a member of every one of those bands except for TSP, his vision is to give a curated but comprehensive tour of the local scene thro gh these ta es For the fall, Sinkhole Records has plans to release a split with contributions from Bucko Toby and a new project from Langal-
Matt Stuttler first opened the Sinkhole in 2016. | JOSH BASCO
“The concept of a record label was always part of the concept for the venue. The band could play here, record here and put out a release.” eers member or r nea t ttler also plans to partner with atewa it ard ore, an mbrella group that does shows a few times a month with local and to ring bands he goal is to reord abo t fi teen bands rom the scene (including Time and Pressure, Brute Force and Blight Fut re or a ll length om Stuttler admits that hardcore isn’t exactly his scene — his bands tend toward the frenetic side of garage rock or the hazy, detuned tunefulness of psych-kissed indie rock — but bringing disparate groups together is a stated goal with the in hole In a t, he received a grant from the Carondelet Business Association to build out the studio side of the Sinkhole with the express purpose of bringing more eo le to the area With that studio space now operational, Stuttler’s goal is bearing r it It s great or live tra ing, getting ever one going at on e, Stuttler says of the studio space, which abuts the venue — though
the space is small enough that both can’t be used simultaneousl he green room do bles as a live room or re ording verall, t ttler notes that the venue has found its feet, despite being somewhat off the beaten ath It s onl gotten better the longer we ve been here, he sa s “It’s taken people a few minutes to fig re o t where we re at, b t once we got our name on concert listings, bands started playing here more regularly: Fister, Lion’s Daughter, the Gorge all booked shows when we were just starting lot o the heav m si in the it has been o r s ene Sinkhole Records’ most recent offering is the split with Cyanides and TSP; Stuttler plays bass in the former but it’s really a showcase for co-leaders Andy Kahn, formerly of Troubadour Dali, and relative new omer rian ill he band bonded over a shared love of Velvet Underground and psychrock, and on Cyanides’ four songs, that passion gets transmuted into something a ght between lo fi indie and earning shoega e , a duo of Andy Basler and Keegan Wyatt, offer three songs that run the gamut from mangled harmonic folk-rock to bare-bones riffro to s o e s ng minimalism The tape is a varied set from both bands, but fans of one will almost s rel dig the other “I think it’s cool to be able to take a cassette home from the show, he sa s o the label s reerred medi m ven i o don t have a cassette player, it’s an artia t rom the night It s abo t ma exposure for both artists on the split; you’re exposing one band’s ans to the other n
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m
p ow 8 h s | 7pm
n s ope ilable at e t a a g ts av e
tick
, il alton
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[CRITIC’S PICK]
Other People blog their way into the future. | MICHAELA KUBA
Other People Final Show 8 p.m. Friday, August 30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. Free. 314-773-3363. Breaking up is hard to do, we’re told, and most of us have enough experience to verify that little bon mot. So it’s with a little sadness that Other People, the earnest and raggedy indie rock trio, says farewell with this weekend’s show. The band has gone through a few transitions over the years, but the center of the group is built around the work of guitarist Bob McMahon (an intermittent RFT contributor) and pianist Jeremy Goldmeier. At times, that meant Other People felt
THURSDAY 29
BEN DICKEY: 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. FORCES: w/ the Abducted, the Green Leaves, Thy Descent, Nolia 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MONOBODY: w/ Jr. Clooney, PRYR 8 p.m., $7-$10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. NICOLE DOLLANGANGER: w/ Kijani Eshe, Pealds, Infinit r sh m, oam, eferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THE RAGGED BLADE BAND: 8:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. STL SHED: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THRASH SOCIETY: ST. LOUIS THRASH/DEATH METAL COVER BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE WEE HEAVIES: 8 p.m., $15. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis. ZIGTEBRA: w/ Sister Wizzard, Cranky Yellow 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
FRIDAY 30
C.W. STONEKING: 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University
like two different bands, but both singers subscribe to the idea that rock & roll bliss is produced by the union of tuneful constructions and propelling rhythms. As a parting gift, the band is using its swan song to release its last album, the fittingly titled Farewell to the Golden Age of Blog Rock. If there’s any justice, Tiny Mix Tapes or Largehearted Boy will give them some love. Super? Fun? Yes, Yes: Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, the indefatigable poprock explosion from the minds of Corey Goodman and Christopher Eilers, opens the show. —Christian Schaeffer
City, 314-727-4444. EN VOGUE: 8 p.m., $28. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. FRIDAYMIXX: w/ DJ she BEATz 10 p.m., free. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-932-7003. GAELIC STORM: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. GENE JACKSON BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. GHOST TOWN REMEDY: w/ Biff K’narly and the Reptilians, Half Gallen and the Milk Jugs, Wombmates, Conman Economy 7 p.m., $8. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ: w/ Bedouine 8 p.m., $35-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MIKE MASSE: 8 p.m., $33.39. .Zack, 3224 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-533-0367. MINIMUM WAGE ASSASSINS: w/ Primitive Rage, Lowest Life 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. MOROSE EP RELEASE SHOW: w/ Summoning the Lich, the Greater Good, Cavil, Lowlife 6:30
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Wednesday August 28 9:30PM
Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players Tribute To Johnny Cash
Thursday August 29 9PM
Keisha Davis Band Friday August 30 10PM
Jason Nelson Band Saturday August 31
Big Muddy After Party
with Big Mike and the Blu City Allstars presented by Jameson.
Sunday September 1 8PM
Blues and Soul Legend Kim Massie Wednesday September 4 9:30PM
Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players Tribute To Phish
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[CRITIC’S PICK]
José González. | VIA PARADIGM TALENT AGENCY
José González 8 p.m. Friday, August 30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd. $35 to $40. 314-726-6161. As a recording artist, José González has never been prolific. His disinterest in the music industrial complex and its starmaking machinery owes as much to his temperament as the gossamer soul of his trenchantly acoustic music. But while his last album of new material is four years behind him, the quietly experimental Swedish guitarist and songwriter hasn’t been dormant. In recent years, he has worked with the Göteborg String Theory, an avant-garde classic ensemble, and
OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 37
p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ONE WAY TRAFFIC: 9:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. OTHER PEOPLE RECORD RELEASE/FINAL SHOW: 8 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. RAVENSMOKE: w/ Moon Rocket, Thrash Society 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. THREE PEDROS: 7 p.m., free. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061. TUNNEL LIGHTS: w/ the Offsets 8 p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. UNDERTIPPER: w ras , oston rofit, NoPoint 8 p.m., $8. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ZOSO: THE ULTIMATE LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE: w/ Brother Lee and the Leather Jackals 7 p.m., $20-$25. Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, 4140 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, 314-775-0775.
SATURDAY 31
24TH ANNUAL BIG MUDDY BLUES FESTIVAL: 2 p.m., free. Laclede’s Landing, N. First St. & Lucas Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-5875. BREWBOPS MUSIC FESTIVAL: 4 p.m., $5-$10. Webster Groves Garden Cafe, 117 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314-475-3490.
the fruit of that collaboration, documented on this year’s Live in Europe album, is stunning and expansive, even as it focuses on his most well-traveled songs. With his deep, recondite voice and haunting, gnomic lyricism, González’s journey may just be beginning. Uncanny Kinship: Performing under the name Bedouine, Syrian-American (born to Armenian parents) Azniv Korkejian sings with a rapt, whispering warmth that suggests González’s own delivery. But her voice, and her opening set, will surely convince you that her sound is her own. —Roy Kasten
THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND: 8 p.m., $29.50$69.50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. DIESEL ISLAND: 1 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. JAN SHAPIRO GROUP: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Ozark Theatre, 103 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, 314-962-7000. KEY GRIP: w/ The Pat Sajak Assassins, 3 of 5 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. KILVEREZ ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: w/ Subtropolis, Bad Investments, Killing Fever 8 p.m., $10$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MS HY-C & FRESH START: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MUSCLEGOOSE: w/ Big Whoop, the Wirms 8 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300. PIGMENTS: w/ the Knees, Little Cowboy, Dew Drop 9 p.m., $5-$7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. PRICELESS LION BDAY BASH: w/ P.R.E.A.C.H. , Von, RIP James, J Rebel, Big Blaze Propane, Dramatik 7 p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. ROCK WITH YOU: AN MJ BDAY TRIBUTE JAM: w/ Jame Biko 8 p.m., $5-$10. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. ROGERS AND NIENHAUS: 2 p.m., free. Mount
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8205 GRAVOIS ROAD • ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63123 • (314) 631-3130 MIDAMERICAARMS.COM • FACEBOOK.COM/MIDAMERICAARMS
FALL IS COMING, TIME TO
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AND HEAD TO THE RANGE
YOUR HOMETOWN FIREARMS RETAILER FOR OVER 15 YEARS!
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[CRITIC’S PICK]
Hank von Hell. | TED LINDEN
Hank von Hell 8 p.m. Monday, September 2. Fubar, 3108 Locust Street. $20. 314-289-9050. Norway’s Turbonegro, the world’s premier purveyor of the genre known as deathpunk, just hasn’t been the same since singer Hank von Hell left the band in 2010. His irreverent lyrics and wild antics simply can’t be replicated — not that the new guy isn’t trying his best. Luckily though, while von Hell may have left his former band be-
OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 39
Pleasant Estates, 5634 High St., Augusta, 800-467-9463. TOM HALL: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE TROPHY MULES: w/ Prairie Rehab, the ron heers m , ree hlafl a oom, 2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337. VOODOO GUMP: w/ Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players 9 p.m., $12-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. WAYBACK POINTFEST: w/ Collective Soul, the Urge, Everclear, Living Colour 4 p.m., $10.57. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.
SUNDAY 1
JAVIER MENDOZA: 2 p.m., free. Mount Pleasant Estates, 5634 High St., Augusta, 800-467-9463. KISS FAREWELL TOUR: 7 p.m., $39.50-$1000. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. LABOR DAY GRAPHIC TEE CELEBRATION: w/ DJ Charlie Chan, DJ Climate 4 p.m., $5. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MELVIN SEALS AND JGB: 7 p.m., $25-$30. Atomic Cowboy Pavilion, 4140 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, 314-775-0775. ROB THOMAS: w/ Max Frost 7:30 p.m., $27.50$127.50. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND: 7:30 p.m., $29.50$69.50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. TYLER CASSIDY: 8 p.m., $15-$50. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
MONDAY 2
HANK VON HELL: w/ Overdose 8 p.m., TBA. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
hind, he’s not walked away from making music in the same spirited fashion that made him (in)famous. Last year’s Egomania, his debut solo album, is unmistakably on-brand, and assuredly enough to keep the Turbojugend of the world pumping their fists and singing about asses. Overkill: New York’s Overdose, obvious worshipers of Motorhead, will open the show, making this a night of pure, unadulterated rock & roll. —Daniel Hill
SHARK DAD LAST SHOW: w/ Tiger Rider 8 p.m., $5-$7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. THIRD SIGHT BAND: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
TUESDAY 3
ALLEN, MACK & MOORE: 8 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE ALMAS: w/ The Shaved Cat Project, Relynness, Bury The Shadows, Arthur Yore 7 p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. JOHN MAYER: 7 p.m., $69.50-$150. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. THE NUDE PARTY: w/ Pinky Pinky 8 p.m., $12$15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. ST. LOUIS SOCIAL CLUB: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
WEDNESDAY 4
BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. CLANG!: w/ Kids 9 p.m., $5-$7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. ELECTRIC HOT TUNA: w/ Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley 8 p.m., $50-$65. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. FRESH PRODUCE BEAT BATTLE: first ednesda of every month, 9 p.m. continues through Oct. 3, free. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-932-7003. FROSTY PALMS: w/ Crisis Walk-ins, Heavy Weather 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. THE SHOWCASE TOUR: 7 p.m., $10-$15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. TOM HALL: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. n
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Tuesdays SEPT
3–24
6–8pm • Forest Park • Museum’s North Lawn mohistory.org/twilight-tuesdays
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SAVAGE LOVE COME THE REVOLUTION BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’m a straight woman and have been sexually active for about six years. I’m in my midtwenties now and about ready to become a “man-hating feminist.” I feel like I can figure out what a guy wants in bed pretty easily. I cannot remember a single time when I’ve had sex with a guy that he has not had an orgasm. I, on the other hand, have never had an orgasm. Quite the opposite! I’ve barely even been aroused lately when I am having sex because it’s easy to tell when the guy I’m with just wants to come and that is the only thing on his mind. This makes me want to just get it over with. I’ve become really angry with the male population and their lack of care for pleasing a woman. Will it take a Women’s Pleasure Revolution for men to realize that their female counterparts have needs, too? Granted, I’ve had sex with only five guys — but in my mind, Dan, that’s five too many. I also have girlfriends in the same boat. Men skip foreplay, they don’t return the favor when it comes to oral, and they’re so eager to get their penises in my vagina, they barely touch me before doing so! THIS MAKES ME FEEL USED. I’m a giving woman by nature, but I feel like men just take. I don’t hate men. I actually really like men. In fact, I was madly in love with one of the five. Really Enraged/Vexed Over Lazy Turds “Lots of foreplay, mutual oral, enough touch to get me going or, better yet, get me off at least once — all of these things have to happen before we fuck.” Practice saying that in a mirror, REVOLT, and then say it out loud to the next guy you sleep with. Say it and mean it. And if those things don’t happen — if he skips the foreplay or won’t go down on you or refuses to touch you with anything other than his dick — then he doesn’t get to fuck you. Get up, get dressed, and go. The sooner you walk out on guys who don’t want to do those things, the sooner o ll find o rsel in bed with guys who do. So no more
having sex to “get it over with” (GIOW), no more sticking around for shitty GIOW sex that leaves you feeling used. Some guys will be happy to see you go. Given a choice between a woman they can’t treat like a crusty tube sock and an actual crusty tube sock, a statistically signifi ant er entage o straight guys will choose the crusty tube sock. Don’t waste your precious time or pussy on guys like that. And don’t waste a moment of your time or any of your pussy on guys who will engage in a little half-assed foreplay or go down on you for 30 seconds before they try to stick their dicks in you. Only fuck the guys who enjoy foreplay and are excited to eat your pussy before fucking you — or instead of fucking you. The revolution you want isn’t going to come because some homo ordered straight boys everywhere to start engaging in foreplay and eating pussy. The revolution is only going to come — you’re only going to come — if you and your friends and all women everywhere stop settling for GIOW sex. Now, some women have GIOW sex because they’re afraid a guy might react violently if they withdraw consent. They fear male violence, and that’s a sadly reasonable fear. But too many women have GIOW sex to avoid disappointing male partners who have already disappointed them; too many women slap on a smile and fake an orgasm to spare the feelings of dudes who don’t give a shit about their feelings or their pleasure. You say you were in love with one o the five g s o had sex with, REVOLT, which I hope means you didn’t fear him and could talk to him. Yet every single time you had sex, you allowed this guy to essentially masturbate inside you. You didn’t stick up for yourself, you didn’t advocate for your own pleasure, you didn’t say, “Here’s what you need to do to please me.” Take a little personal responsibility here: You let Mr. One-In-Five get away with it. He let you down — he should have been more proactive about pleasing you — but you also let yourself down. No more. Insist on more and better from here on out, REVOLT, and you will get more and better.
Only fuck the guys who enjoy foreplay and are excited to eat your pussy before fucking you — or instead of fucking you. P.S. If what you meant by “I have never had an orgasm” is that you’ve never had an orgasm at all, ever, alone or with a partner, then you need to start masturbating right now. You’ll enjoy partnered sex more if you know what it takes to make you come and you can show your partners exactly what that looks like. And whether you’re already masturbating or not, please get your hands on a copy of The Vagina Bible, Jen Gunter’s new book on everything vaginal, vulval and clitoral. Hey, Dan: I’m a straight woman in my mid-30s. For most of my adult life, I’ve gotten off on fantasizing about my boyfriends fucking other women. So far it’s been fantasy-only, but I’m intrigued by the prospect of a real cuckquean scenario. However, I’ve always been reluctant to share my kink. It’s not that I fear rejection or judgment. I think most guys would be into it, including the lovely man I’m currently in a committed relationship with. Rather, it’s my own discomfort with a kink that I fear stems from an unhealthy emotional place. Insecurity, avoiding intimacy, and difficulty trusting men are all issues I’ve struggled with, and the cuckquean kink plays right into all of that. I’ve worked with therapists over the years and gotten into a somewhat solid place emotionally. Alas, my kink remains, and has gotten stronger to the point where I’m imagining my guy fucking someone else about 99 percent of the time in order to come. I wish I could get more enjoyment from “normal” sex. I’ve read your column long enough to know that I should probably just embrace my kink and enjoy it. But while I’m trying my damnedest to
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be sex-positive, I can’t get around the nagging feeling that there’s something “unhealthy” about this fantasy. If my kink is based on specific insecurities/fears, do they get even more hardwired into my brain with every orgasm? This Reluctant Cuckquean Two quick questions: (1) How much more hardwired could something possibly become if you already have to think about it 99 percent of the time in order to climax? (2) What if imagining your guy fucking other women is “normal” sex for you? A lot of people’s kinks are essentially eroticized fears: the fear of being humiliated, the fear of being exposed, the fear of being cheated on, etc. Not everyone eroticizes these fears, of course, but so many of us do that it really should be covered in sex-ed courses. In your case, TRC, your erotic imagination took something that scares you — being cheated on — and turned it into something that arouses you. The difference between your worst fear and your ultimate turn-on is control. If your man fucks another woman, it will happen because you wanted it to (you gave him permission) and there will be something in it for you (it will get you off). Which is not to say you ever have to act on this. You don’t. Plenty of straight men are turned on by the fantasy of their wives being with other men but know they couldn’t handle the reality of it, so they enjoy it as a fantasy only. But they don’t — or the healthy ones don’t — deny themselves the fantasy, whether it’s just playing it out in their heads or their monogamous partners indulging them with a little cheating-centered dirty talk during sex. We can’t will kinks away, TRC, we can only embrace and accept them. Again, that doesn’t mean we have to act on them — some fantasies can never be realized for moral reasons — but to beat ourselves up about our kinks is a waste of time. Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
riverfronttimes.com
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
RIVERFRONT TIMES
47
HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS CARNIVORE
HAPPY HOUR
A PLACE TO MEAT
Located in the historic Hill neighborhood of Saint Louis, Missouri, Carnivore STL is a flame-grilled steakhouse for the people of casual American dining from the esteemed Italian families of the Hill. arnivore is one of St. Louis’ most popular new restaurants and brings something unique to the Hill, a steakhouse. They take pride in their steak, and offer a few different cuts along with delicious house made butter. hether it was required to be part of the group of restaurants, or they ust felt obligated, arnivore offers some Italian dishes that could compete with anyone in the neighborhood as well. Part of their unique offering is their fantastic happy hour, offered every Tuesday through Friday from 4-6 pm. arnivore offers $ domestic beers, $4. house wines, $ premium rail
CARNIVORE |
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drinks, and $6 martinis. Hungry Try their steak medallions, arancini balls, luganiga sliders, and various flatbreads. Every Tuesday, they like to put a spin on happy hour with Taco Tuesday featuring $ tacos, a specialty margarita of the week and a loaded taco flatbread. This deal lasts all night. Speaking of drinking, arnivore is offering some exciting new drinks ust in time for winter including the inter Paloma Una ida tequila, cranberry uice, pomegranate uice, topped with club, or their ocoa Martini vanilla vodka, hot chocolate mix, cocoa liquor, topped with mini marshmallows, and finally the arnivore Kringle vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry uice. arnivore, a place to meat. See you there!
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