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E R H P O SC HIZ

ED IAGNOS BEEN D E V A H T. HAT H OS E T E AT M EN Y FOR T K IN G N E W T R D U T S A RC H E S EE R A RESE AND AR OR YOU THERE ISH IZO PH R EN IA IF YOU O IS E N C RS LOVEDSTED, PLE ASE W IT H S O L U N T EE A LIFIED VE: INTERE C T ST. LOUIS U Q : T E MUS RECEIV ONTA L TRIA LS N C Y O Travel A , & Y e M IF im L T r n fo TO Q U A CLINICA 2-8822 o C o st mpensatio e s 18-55 we e n Ag - Be Bet w it h g n o se d ia - B e D p h re n ia o iz h Sc B ip o la r . - Not be a y a p p ly c ri te ri a m - O th e r

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Amani: “There is something that is so strange about St. Louis. When we picked St. Louis to come here, we didn’t know anything about it. Then we did Googling and we discovered that St. Louis is the second most dangerous city in the U.S. So when we first came here, we were like, ‘We will stay at home.’ And we stayed, like, three months at home: We just go to Walmart, then school, and then back home. Then we felt calm, we felt security; we are fine. There is nothing wrong that is going on.” Mahdi: “Maybe when we heard about St. Louis being the second most dangerous city in the U.S. we felt scared, but after that, ‘No, I think they were all wrong about this.’ We’ve been here four years and never had a problem. The people here are very nice and very kind to us.” —Maryville students aMani Mansur (left) and Mahdi alsubhi, photographed at Creve Coeur lake on January 21

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE

11.

The Brunch Issue

Morning meals are having a moment. Here’s our guide to maximizing yours

Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

Cover photo of Egg by

MABEL SUEN

NEWS

CULTURE

DINING

MUSIC

The Lede

Calendar

Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera

Seven days worth of great stuff to see and do

Dreamers to Blunt: Help!

‘They’re just playing with our lives,’ a young immigrant says

Newfangled Notice at City Hall

St. Louis gets serious about posting meeting notices — and perhaps even readies to enter the 21st century

Stage

Paul Friswold appreciates the Rep’s Faceless

Film

Robert Hunt reviews The Hostiles, a Western that explores an American soldier coming to terms with prejudice

Over the River

In Memoriam

Cheryl Baehr travels to New Town St. Charles to find Pangea’s talented young chef pushing the envelope, with delicious results

The city’s tight-knit music scene mourns the death of Nathan Jatcko, a talented pianist

B-Sides

Side Dish

Jim “Otto” Ottolini of Brew Hub had a front seat for St. Louis’ craft beer revolution

First Look

Thai Kitchen brings top-notch classics to north county, while L’Acadiane offers a taste of New Orleans in Lafayette Square

Club Imperial survives a demolition request — leaving some to wonder what’s next

Homespun

The May Day Orchestra Wake

Out Every Night

The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week

Clementine’s gives the city a rare taste of mugolio

Food News

This Just In

This week’s new concert announcements

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NEWS

Dreamers to Blunt: Help! Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

rian, a 23-year-old Dreamer who lives in St. Louis, sees the country’s politicians cast his future from side to side on a daily basis. “They’re just playing with our lives,” he says. Since arriving from Mexico at age eleven, he has spent most of his life in the United States. Last Wednesday, he was among a group of about 50 people who stood outside the Clayton office of Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), calling on him to support a deal that would protect young immigrants like himself from deportation. President Trump has tried to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an Obama-era program that allowed “Dreamers” who entered the country without permission as kids the ability to go to school and work. The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked Trump’s efforts — at least for now — even as he rages about “shithole” countries. In the background of debates about the president using bad words to punctuate racist ideologies, however, are hundreds of thousands of young students and workers waiting to see if they will be forced from their homes. A local group, MoDreamers, organized Wednesday’s rally as part of a campaign to pressure politicians like Blunt to take a stand. Blunt issued a statement in September 2017 saying Dreamers need a “permanent, common-sense solution” that would let them continue working and studying in the U.S. He added that it was “imperative” that legislators work with Trump on border security. Since then, he’s mostly avoided the issue. “How could he say so little about something that matters so much?” Rigo, an eighteen-year-old St. Louis Dreamer asked on Wednesday. No one from Blunt’s office came outside to speak to the group. The activists want what’s become known as a “clean” Dream Act. They worry that Republicans will wrangle funding for border agents and ramped-up deportations as part of any deal to extend DACA. “No hate!” demonstrators chanted. “No Fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” n

Rigo, center, and other Dreamers in orange hats lead a demonstration in front of Sen. Roy Blunt’s office. | DOYLE MURPHY

Newfangled Notices in St. Louis

or gadflies like Gerry Connolly, trying to figure out what quote-unquote public meetings are happening in St. Louis city government requires full-time dedication — or an army of helpers. Connolly, a member of the activist group Team TIF who focuses on government transparency, says he relies on a small group of informants to keep him posted even when the meeting notices aren’t. “These are people who either work at City Hall or I know are downtown, and I’ll contact them to say, ‘Can you look at the notice boards?’” Connolly says. “The spot for the St. Louis Development Corporation is literally a bulletin board tucked away in a corner.” That’s because while state law requires that government meetings

be open to the public (with limited exceptions), and requires that notice be given 24 hours before a meeting, it doesn’t say where that notice must take place. You may go online for information, but in city government, all too frequently, it can only be found on bulletin boards. But that might all be changing. On January 16, Alderwoman Cara Spencer filed a bill at the Board of Alderman that would require all city departments and agencies covered by the state’s Sunshine law to post their meeting notices online. Koran Addo, a spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, said that afternoon that the mayor has also been intent on changing practice and pattern on public notices — and one day later, she issued an executive order requiring that all city departments reporting to her must post their meeting notices online. Spencer says she appreciates the mayor’s order but notes that it does not preempt the need for an ordiriverfronttimes.com

nance. For one thing, many of the city agencies that seem to have a particularly hard time with public notice are outside Krewson’s purview (this being St. Louis, a whole host of city agencies and quasi-governmental bodies do not report to the mayor). For another, she says, an aldermanic vote could keep a future mayor from undoing the policy — or failing to enforce it. “It’s a good government no-brainer that this should be law,” Spencer says. You won’t get quarrel from City Hall watchers like Connolly, who’d like to retire his team of informants (or at least put them to better use). He says the Board of Aldermen itself doesn’t always get its notices posted 24 hours before meetings — and that’s just talking about the dead-tree kind. Posting meeting notices online, he says, doesn’t seem like too much to ask. “It’s 2018, and we’re acting like it’s 1995,” he says. —Sarah Fenske

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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S Q UAT T E R ’ S C A F É | S A R A G R A H A M

Wake -up Call LUNCH MAY BE ON THE ROPES IN 2018 AMERICA, BUT IN ST. LOUIS, BREAKFAST IS BIGGER — AND BETTER — THAN EVER

e e kd ay m o r n i n g s a t Winslow’s Home are abuzz with activity — not from harried office drones with to-go coffees and croissants in hand dashing off to work, but from actual diners pouring into the University City restaurant. There are tables of individuals carving out quiet, pre-work moments, a two-top engaged in an early morning meeting, stay-at-home parents in need of time away from the house and even a group of seven nurses enjoying 7 a.m. burgers and beers after their night shift. The scene is contrary to everything we’re told about the state of a.m. American dining, in which scarfing down microwaved gas station sausage-and-egg biscuits while speeding down the highway is deemed a hot breakfast. In an overextended, always-on work reality, the sight of a businesswoman lingering over a latte, scone and the newspaper at 7:30 a.m. on a Wednesday seems no less like a scene from the past than if she’d ridden there in a horse and buggy. Yet Winslow’s Home could not be any more indicative of today’s dining habits, a reality confirmed by the number of daytime-focused restaurants that have popped up in St. Louis over the last few years. American workers can’t pry themselves away from their desks for lunch breaks, but breakfast is having a moment. From determinedly daytime concepts like Milquetoast and Squatters Café to evening-centric

Written by CHERYL BAEHR restaurants like Tree House or Taco Buddha that also incorporate a daily breakfast, the area’s dining scene is filling up with daytime options providing a level of polish and skill previously reserved for dinner service. On its face, this weekday breakfast push is perplexing, but Winslow’s Home general manager Josh Renbarger sees it less as a contradiction and more a sign of the times. “It’s almost a zen-like experience to be able to sit down with coffee and breakfast and read your paper or your Kindle and start the day,” Renbarger muses. “In an age where the workday never ends and you’re accessible all the time and can’t clock out, everyone needs some time where it is just them. They can escape and not be bothered and carve out a little bit of time for themselves before starting their day. In some ways, you can think of it as an alternative to going for a run or going to the gym. It’s that personal time.” And that calls for something more than a big-box pancake house. Perhaps those sorts of establishments satisfied our breakfast needs in a different era, but today’s diner is different. We are more educated about what is going into our bodies and more conscious of our footprint, and that impacts our restaurant choices. “Farm-to-table” is no longer an ethos that needs to be advertised; it’s the expectation for any restaurant worth its salt. It makes sense that a phenomenon that started in upscale evening dining rooms has made its way onto our breakfast plates. Chef Mike Randolph was one of the first in town to embrace a refined approach to breakriverfronttimes.com

fast and lunch when he and wife Liz opened their popular Clayton eatery Half & Half in 2011. He agrees with Renbarger, but also sees the daytime trend as a response to a nationwide decline in evening dining. “I think the scene for breakfast over the last two or three years has really changed,” says Randolph. “Aside from the fact that you have all of these places popping up in the same vein, we’ve seen a decline from coast to coast in sales at night. The breakfast-and-lunch bubble doesn’t seem to have burst quite as much as it has on dinner. It will be interesting to see how many of this type of place we can sustain.” Listening to Randolph talk about national dining trends, you could get the impression that his decision to open Half & Half (and then its second outpost last year, in Webster Groves) was a calculated one. In reality, however, it’s been a passion project, his interest no less romantic than in his acclaimed fine-dining restaurants Pùblico and Privado. “We felt like you could go to a coffee shop for good coffee or a breakfast-and-lunch place for good food, but you couldn’t do both,” he says. “We’re letting them coexist in the same building, and for St. Louis, that is unique.” If Randolph is passionate about his coffee and food menus, his guests are no less passionate about their breakfasts — a fact that was made clear when Half & Half began doubling his daily projections. The response demonstrated to the Randolphs that they were indeed on to something, and their daytime dining success Continued on pg 14 has no doubt convinced JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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Angels in the Morning

WAKE-UP CALL Continued from pg 11

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THESE 22 PLACES NOT ONLY MAJOR IN BREAKFAST, BUT SCORE AN A-PLUS IN THE EXECUTION Written by CHERYL BAEHR

H A L F & H A L F | J E N N I F E R S I LV E R B E RG

many restaurateurs that there is a niche in upscale breakfastand-lunch service. Mary and John Bogacki recognized this void when they opened Yolklore in Crestwood nearly two years ago. As industry veterans who cut their teeth working grueling hours in country clubs and hotels, the husband-and-wife team drew upon personal experience when coming up with the idea for their daytime-only restaurant. “Working in the industry, I was a daytime diner,” Mary Bogacki explains. “I didn’t see that there were a lot of options out there. Now there are.” John Bogacki attributes the rise in more refined daytime concepts to consumers demanding better food. “I think people are trying to get away from chains and more into sustainable dining, and they are doing that with breakfast and lunch as much as with dinner,” he says. “I was an outside salesman for three years, and I basically lived in my car. There was nowhere to go that was fast and good. There was only Jack in the Box or McDonald’s. But I find that is changing. People are going to Half & Half or Yolklore instead of First Watch or Courtesy [Diner]. There are just more people doing it now.” Bogacki is right. If there was a hole in the weekday breakfast scene when he and Mary opened Yolklore in the summer of 2016, it’s getting smaller every day, as evidenced by the large selection of chef-driven daytime options that we’ve rounded up below. There are breakfast veterans and newcomers, innovators and traditionalists. There are spots that just do breakfast and lunch, and spots that make it a part of a three-meal day. But no matter how different these restaurants may be, they are united in the philosophy that what you eat in the morning is every bit as important, and exciting, as your evening choices. Why grab and go when you can start the day off right? Or, as Mary Bogacki puts it, “When you smell coffee and bacon in the air, it just puts you in a good mood.”

HALF & HALF

SQUATTER’S CAFÉ

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It’s not as if you couldn’t find a decent breakfast in town before Half & Half (two locations, including 8135 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-725-0719), but there is no question that Mike and Liz Randolph’s beloved restaurant shifted the notion of what daytime dining could be. When it opened in Clayton in 2011, Half & Half brought to breakfast and lunch the same level of care, quality and service typically reserved for evening restaurants — and fine-dining ones at that. In the process, they showed us that there was a real demand for elevated breakfast in St. Louis, even in the middle of the week. Though the acclaimed chef is known for sometimes-edgy cuisine at his other restaurants Público and Privado, at Half & Half Randolph keeps it approachable with classics such as biscuits and gravy, French toast and blueberry pancakes — only they’re the best versions of each you’ll find anywhere. Add to this top-shelf coffee offerings and thoughtful service, and it’s no wonder why we’ve seen so many others follow his lead.

Chef Rob Connoley didn’t plan on opening a breakfast-and-lunch café when he moved back to his native St. Louis from New Mexico in 2016. The James Beard-nominated chef had much different plans on his mind, namely the forage-driven tasting-menu concept Bulrush that he’d been dreaming up even before he arrived. Unfortunately for Connoley — and for those of us eager to enjoy his cooking — Bulrush has been plagued by delays as the chef seeks out the perfect location. The curse, however, has also been a blessing for the city’s daytime dining scene. Unwilling to stay out of the kitchen any longer, Connoley opened Squatter’s Café (3524 Washington Avenue, 314-925-7556) last fall, a fast-casual, grab-and-go spot inside the KDHX building in Grand Center. Though the concept may be worlds apart from the high-end Bulrush, the ethos is the same: Connoley and sous chef Justin Bell use as many foraged and hyper-local ingredients as possible, making nearly everything in-house, even the yogurt. The result is a menu filled with classic dishes such as oatmeal and hash, prepared in thoughtful, innovative and vegetable-first ways. Connoley may be disappointed in Bulrush’s postponement, but his plan B is proving to be A-plus.

Since 2006, Bowood Farms has been an oasis on the gritty edge of the Central West End, providing a revitalizing touch of green in the midst of the urban environment. Its companion restaurant, Café Osage (4605 Olive Street, 314-4546868), draws upon the farm, quite literally, using produce grown in-house whenever possible, allowing diners to feast on vegetables mere feet away from where they’ve grown. Rising star chef Scott Davis (Elaia, Three Flags Tavern) took over the café operations last year and has created a menu of elegant daytime offerings that hint at his background in upscale evening dining. Davis focuses on the little details: The strawberries on the French toast are roasted, classic breakfast sausage comes from bison and pancakes are made with tart sourdough. The result? Breakfast and lunch offerings that are familiar, yet have a touch of refinement that sets Café Osage apart from basic daytime dining. The setting doesn’t hurt either.

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TACO CIRCUS The term “chef-driven breakfast restaurant” may not be the first phrase that comes to mind when you think of Taco Circus (4258 Schiller Place, 314-320-8884), the quirky south-city love letter to Texas taco counters. However, owner Christian Ethridge does not allow the casual and irreverent vibe to keep him from bringing the same level of care to his cooking that you’d find in the city’s finest restaurants. For his Tex-Mex specialties, Ethridge uses the highest quality ingredients he can find, including humanely and sustainably raised meats from local farms. He grinds his own sausage, prepares his own spice blends and makes as much as possible in-house, a degree of effort that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a borderline greasy spoon slinging breakfast burritos. Taco Circus proves, though, that we should.

co-and-barbecue restaurant, Spare No Rib. But Egg became so popular, Jeliti expanded service to Saturdays and then, overwhelmed by hungry customers, eventually decided the concept needed its own standalone spot. Rather than move Egg, he packed up Spare No Rib and moved it around the corner on Jefferson, converting its former home into a dedicated breakfast-andlunch restaurant. Once you have a taste of Egg’s delightful dishes, you’ll understand the demand for more. Like the quirky Spare No Rib, Egg draws inspiration from a variety of food cultures. There are elements of Tex-Mex, borne from Spare No Rib’s influence; classic Southern Americana in the form of cornbread and hotcakes; and even a shout-out to Jeleti’s Tunisian heritage, which comes via the lovely chakchouka, a North African tomato-and-bell-pepper stew baked with eggs on top. It’s a transportive start to the day.

RISE COFFEE HOUSE

WINSLOW’S HOME

Not much more than a year ago, Rise Coffee House (4176 Manchester Avenue, 314-405-8171) was a cozy coffee shop in the Grove whose food offerings consisted of a small selection of baked goods prepared by local artisans. That all changed when owner Aaron Johnson moved the café a few storefronts down Manchester. The much bigger new home didn’t just double Rise’s seating but also gave it a full-service kitchen and the opportunity to offer real-deal, housemade breakfast and lunch fare. Much credit goes to chef Scott Davis, who, in a stint between more permanent jobs, helped Johnson develop a food program that would be appropriate for the casual cafégoer but still has enough edge as to make Rise a bona fide dining destination. His deft touch can be felt on such thoughtful dishes as a nettle-and-mushroom frittata or a seasonal vegetable hash with sweet-potato puree and carrot hollandaise. And to those who see avocado toast as a passing millennial fad, Rise’s version, complete with a poached egg, cucumber, fresh herbs and pickled onions, will make you a believer in its staying power.

When Winslow’s Home (7213 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-725-7559) opened its doors ten years ago, it was meant to be a general store first and a restaurant second. Over the years, the game plan has flipped as St. Louisans have gotten a taste of this delightful restaurant’s farm-to-table fare and have begged for more. Perhaps it’s because the Lipton family’s use of the term is literal — much of what is served at Winslow’s Home comes from their working farm in Augusta, Missouri. The result is a seasonally focused menu of fresh ingredients that reflects the simple pleasures of breakfast fare: avocado toast with sunny-side-up eggs, buttermilk pancakes, an egg sandwich with local cheddar cheese on a housemade roll. Some of the city’s top chefs have graced Winslow’s kitchen (Ben Poremba, Cary McDowell), yet the restaurant still has the feel of an under-the-radar neighborhood spot. Which it is — and which is one more reason it’s such a delight.

EGG At first, Egg (2200 Gravois Avenue, 314-202-8244) started as a Sundays-only pop-up inside Lassaad Jeliti’s North African-inflected ta-

ROOSTER A conversation about St. Louis breakfast spots is incomplete without mention of Dave Bailey’s beloved daytime café, Rooster (two locations, including 1104 Locust Street, 314-241-8118). As one of the first to double down on weekday, daytime service, Bailey’s restauContinued on pg 17 rant paved

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the way for the boom we are seeing today, and in the process helped to define the genre. The answer? A mix of approachable and innovative, with mouth-watering favorites like savory crepes and slingers mixed in with enough creative dishes (think Finnish pancakes or smoked sirloin crepes) to hold our interest. The perennial favorite has maintained its place at the top of the city’s breakfast game for more than a decade now by consistently delivering what we like to eat in the morning — no small feat in an ever-saturated industry serving customers with a short attention span. Rooster’s staying power (and wildly successful expansion into south city) is directly linked to Bailey’s talent as a restaurateur, and our daytime dining scene owes him a debt of gratitude.

KINGSIDE DINER Kingside Diner (4651 Maryland Avenue, 314-454-3957) may be chessthemed, but dining at this gem of a restaurant is far from black and white. At this Central West End riff on the classic American diner, chef Aaron Teitelbaum of Herbie’s fame paints in Technicolor with bold flavors and creative takes on traditional breakfast fare, like his egg sandwich, called the “Three Little Piggies,” which piles as much breakfast meat as you could possibly stack onto a piece of bread. His slinger is equally impressive, subbing out overplayed beef chili for a version that is filled with chorizo and topped with succulent pulled pork. Kingside is unique in that it is able to provide the satisfaction of a quintessential greasyspoon diner even while somehow managing to seem upscale at the same time — the sort of place where you could down limitless cups of coffee over bacon and eggs or come dressed in your Sunday best for quinoa pancakes. It’s a balance that only a culinary grand master like Teitelbaum could pull off.

TURN David Kirkland, the chef and owner of Turn (3224 Locust Street, 314240-5157), used to be a DJ, and he likes to describe cooking as being a lot like spinning music — the physical movements, the energy, the constant pressure to be on top of what comes next. At his delightful

YO L K LO R E | M A B E L S U E N

BREAKFAST Continued from pg 15

Grand Center café, Kirkland may as well be Beethoven, concocting a symphony of flavors that has us dancing in our seats. Drawing upon his experience at Bowood Farms’ Café Osage, Kirkland is an expert at infusing his dishes with local, seasonal ingredients. He shows a restrained hand on even traditionally heavy offerings like biscuits and gravy or chorizo-covered arepas. His flavors are classic, but they are refined and impeccably presented in a light, airy eatery that looks like a modern museum café. It’s a fitting setting for such artful food.

YOLKLORE Mary and John Bogacki are veterans of the culinary industry: she, a former pastry chef at the Four Seasons; he, a cook who counts the city’s most prestigious country club as a former employer. Together, they could have done just about anything in the food world, but they chose to focus on breakfast and lunch for their first restaurant, Yolklore (8958 Watson Road, Crestwood; 314-270-8538). You’ll see the same thought given to bacon and eggs as you’d see in an entrée special at a trendy evening bistro. This results in innovative dishes, such as Yolklore’s signature “Nest Egg,” a biscuit-like shell filled with eggs, bacon, cheese, pickled onion and preserved lemon, and a frittata with goat cheese, mushrooms and

tomato jam. Don’t let the innovative menu items fool you, though. Yolklore is equally the place to go for the old-fashioned comfort of biscuits and gravy or a slinger. And no matter what you choose, you can be in and out in a flash — or simply head through the drive-thru for the best fast food you can get.

CIELO It’s not shocking that one of the best places in town for daytime dining happens to be inside the city’s most luxurious hotel. What is shocking, however, is how much Cielo (999 North 2nd Street, 314881-5759), the restaurant on top of the downtown Four Seasons, manages to feel less like a hotel restaurant and more like an intricate part of St. Louis’ innovative dining scene. You won’t want to stick to the basics here. Sure, chef Gian Nicola Colucci offers the classic American breakfast, oatmeal and seasonal fruit plates you’d see at any property, but he’s not afraid to push daytime diners out of their ruts with creative dishes like his breakfast pizza, an Italian twist on biscuits and gravy, or a sausage omelet made with spicy salsiccia in place of the usual breakfast sausage. In this sense, Cielo infuses its menu with the same modern flavors that make it one of the city’s best Italian restaurants. That we can have such delightful cuisine in the middle of the morning is a riverfronttimes.com

luxury as decadent as a stay in a five-star hotel with an Arch-front view.

TACO BUDDHA The building on the corner of Pershing and Jackson was thought to be cursed, as restaurant after restaurant failed to take off in the space. Then came Kurt Eller, a native Texan with ties to New Mexico. Returning to restaurants after years outside the industry, Eller transformed part of the storefront into the wonderful, Southwestern-inspired Taco Buddha (7405 Pershing Avenue, University City; 314-502-9951) and, in doing so, gave the city some of the best breakfast tacos we’ve seen. Taco Buddha’s breakfast menu is small, typically limited to four offerings that range from potatoes and eggs to chorizo, egg and cheese. What it lacks in breadth, however, it makes up for in depth of flavor, thanks to the fiery Hatch green chiles that can be liberally applied to every dish. Not that you need any additional flavor when you’re having the signature “Migas Scramble,” a tortilla stuffed with eggs, tortilla strips, pico de gallo, green chiles and an optional choice of meat. And if the barbacoa is on offer during your visit, don’t hesitate; have Eller pile it on and then bask in this little taste of New Mexico in the heart of U City.

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BREAKFAST Continued from pg 17 COLLEEN’S Over the past few years, Colleen Thompson has been quietly transforming the storefront housing her decorative-cookie business, Colleen’s Cookies, from a quaint coffeehouse into an under-the-radar spot for imaginative daytime comfort fare. You’ll still find Intelligentsia coffee and a seeming endless array of baked goods at Colleen’s (7337 Forsyth Boulevard, University City; 314-727-8427), but now they are only part of an edible story that reads like a love song to breakfast and lunch. Dishes like soft scrambled eggs with prosciutto and arugula, or biscuits smothered with spinach-and-tomato chutney, are so elegant they’d be equally at home at a white-tablecloth bistro, and Thompson’s quiche is easily the best version in town. Unexpectedly, you’ll also find a spectacular huevos rancheros and smothered breakfast burrito at Colleen’s — Thompson lived in Colorado and perfected her recipe for pork green chili during her time there. It’s just one more unexpected dish from a delightfully unexpected bastion of upscale morning cuisine.

SOUTHWEST DINER Southwest Diner (6803 Southwest Avenue, 314-260-7244) is that rare place that fits as easily on a list of the city’s most beloved greasy spoons as it does on one of elevated breakfast fare. Its charming vibe, after all, is less upscale dining room and more truc- stop diner in the middle of the New Mexico desert. However, this edge also makes the food interesting, one reason why you’re hard-pressed to find an empty table in this beloved spot. As its name suggests, Southwest Diner exists as a Midwestern version of the sort of places you’d find in points far to the south and the west. In this spirit, you’d be a fool to walk out without having tried the mammoth breakfast burrito smothered in green chiles, huevos rancheros or the “Fiery Scramble,” an egg dish so hot it will give you the hiccups. Even the quintessential St. Louis diner dish, the slinger, gets the Southwest treatment here with the addition of spicy green or red chiles. It’s such a perfect rendition of the favorite, you’d wonder if it wasn’t invented in Santa Fe. With morning fare this good, you might be asking the same thing about breakfast itself.

THE SHACK It seems like a lifetime ago that the Shack (multiple locations, including 13645 Big Bend Road, Valley Park; 636-529-1600) was a greasy diner for hungover college kids called Shack Pub Grub. These days, the daytime eatery is more a hangout for people who get up, not go to bed, at 6 a.m., a shift in concept that has made the Shack one of the most popular breakfast-and-lunch spots in the area. The success is deserved: The Shack may have “grown up” over the years, but it has not lost the sense of joyous, youthful energy that comes from sharing a platter of s’mores pancakes with friends after tagging the walls — yes, you are encouraged to decorate the place, so long as you refrain from profanity and University of Kansas shout-outs (aren’t they basically the same thing?). It’s this lighthearted approach to everyone’s favorite meal, as well as good ol’ comfort food that is both delicious and creative, that has turned the Shack from a solo location in Valley Park into a growing brand with regional, if not national, ambitions.

WHITEBOX EATERY In a part of town known for its sleek, trendy restaurants, Whitebox Eatery (176 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton; 314-862-2802) is just that — only instead of an evening bistro, this modern spot is dedicated to putting a polish onto breakfast and lunch. The bright, modern aesthetic bespeaks the restaurant’s approach to food: You’ll recognize classic dishes, but they will be dressed up for today’s diner, as with the fontina cheese fondue that tops poached eggs, ham and an English muffin for the “Eggs-on-a-Box.” A simple eggand-cheese sandwich is anything but when paired with avocado and herbed goat cheese, and the “Matzo and Eggs,” with its house-smoked salmon, sautéed leeks, fried onions and sour cream, is a contemporary Jewish deli on a plate. Whitebox Eatery even dabbles in mixing genres with its “Breakfast Salad,” a fun brunch hybrid that makes the case for moving your power lunch up a few hours.

TREE HOUSE If vegetarian food calls to mind sacrifice for you, then you haven’t been to Tree House (3177 South Grand Boulevard, 314-696-2100), the wonderful South Grand

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restaurant that just so happens to be plant-based. Tree House isn’t just a celebration of vegetarian cuisine — it’s a celebration of cuisine, period, appealing to plant-eaters and omnivores alike with its joyful, satisfying fare. Whether it’s house-cured tomato “lox,” tempeh bacon or scrambled eggs with vegetarian chorizo, Tree House’s breakfast dishes give the satisfaction of the classics, only without the meat. Not that you would notice any missing ingredients — just order the slinger smothered in blackbean chili and cilantro and see if you think anything has been left out. You’ll be too busy devouring every last bite.

SOULARD COFFEE GARDEN If breakfast spots were judged on their environs alone, Soulard Coffee Garden (910 Geyer Avenue, 314-241-1464) would take the cake. This delightful neighborhood café has the sort of quintessential Soulard courtyard you want to linger in all day over a cup of coffee and a great book. However beautiful the setting, however, it won’t distract you from the delicious, classic comfort dishes coming out of its kitchen. Soulard Coffee Garden keeps things traditional with platters of eggs, breakfast meats and potatoes, overstuffed omelets and a variety of benedicts. It’s the kind of breakfast fare that can turn even the most mundane workday into a little slice of a lazy Sunday.

THE BARN Set in the historic Sappington House complex in Crestwood, the Barn (1015 South Sappington Road, Crestwood; 314-966-8387) is a cozy breakfast-and-lunch spot that harkens back to a bygone era of general stores and the cooking you’d find coming out of Grandma’s farm kitchen. In that spirit, the Barn keeps things classic with its menu of breakfast and lunch dishes. Biscuits and gravy, hash browns, bacon, eggs and grits might provide the sort of morning comfort you’d want from a restaurant in such a pastoral setting, including a lovely outdoor patio that looks out over the historic site’s grounds. It’s a scene that will transport you back in time — with food befitting the old-time country feel.

THE CLOVER AND THE BEE If Olive + Oak is the poised firstborn child, the Clover and the Bee (100 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-942-1216) is her whimsical, free-spirited little sister. At this fast-casual Webster Groves eatery, co-owner Mark Hinkle and chef Jesse Mendica translate the magic of their wildly successful freshman effort into a more low-key concept, without sacrificing the thoughtful food that has made their reputation. Out of the warm corner storefront, the pair have pushed the limits of what quick-service dining can be, with elegant daytime fare like an egg cup with parsnip puree; a plate of

roasted asparagus drizzled with almond pesto and romesco and then capped with a poached egg; or a pearl-sugar bubble waffle. It’s as elegant as breakfast can be — heck, it’s as elegant as evening dining can be, too — all with the ease of counter service. Hinkle and Mendica have managed to do the impossible: They’ve captured lightning in a bottle twice.

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MILQUE TOAST BAR If your idea of toast is simply a slice of crusty bread used as a canvas for butter and jam, Milque Toast Bar (2212 South Jefferson Avenue, 314-833-0085) will blow your mind. Using toast as a jumping-off point for culinary exploration, this charming McKinley Heights café does more with bread than lesser restaurants do with an entire pantry of provisions. Savory apple and white cheddar or mushrooms and goat cheese sprinkled with truffle oil are just a few examples of Milquetoast’s “Spiffy Toasts,” and there is always a rotating selection of special offerings — if you happen to be there when the bluecheese toast is on offer, do yourself a favor and order it. Then again, if your sweet tooth is dominant, the s’mores with Nutella is the way to go, though we won’t fault you if you can’t choose between that and the restaurant’s namesake, a crockpot-style bread pudding with notes of vanilla. Why not order both and revel in the delight of such delicious comfort? n riverfronttimes.com

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More, Please

THESE WEEKEND BRUNCH HOTSPOTS WILL HAVE YOU SAYING “YES” TO MORE THAN JUST ONE

et’s face it: Sometimes you don’t necessarily need farm-fresh ingredients or a chef’s careful touch. Sometimes, when you’re at brunch, you simply want the hair of the dog.... OK, and one more for your baby and then one more for the road. We’ve rounded up a list of some of the best boozy brunch deals in town. Some combine top-notch ingredients with great prices; others simply let you go for volume. Whatever your preference, if you’re ready to whet your whistle on a lazy weekend morning, we’ve got you covered.

Bar Louie Multiple locations, including 14 Maryland Plaza, 314-678-3385 All local outposts of this national favorite offer bottomless mimosas Saturday and Sunday for just $10. Scape 48 Maryland Plaza, 314-361-7227 Enjoy unlimited trips to the bloodymary bar at this Central West End favorite for just $25. That includes all the booze you can take in from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. DeMun Oyster Bar 740 De Mun Avenue, Clayton; 314725-0322 Bottomless mimosas or bloody marys are on offer for just $15 seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Tuesdays (because who isn’t into brunch on Tuesdays?), take 20 percent off sparkling wine by the bottle and enjoy $1 oysters with the purchase. BBQ Saloon 4900 Laclede Avenue, 314-833-6666 This stylish barbecue spot offers $15 bottomless mimosas from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Louie’s Wine Dive 16 South Bemiston Avenue, Clayton; 314-875-9373 So long as you purchase an entree, you can enjoy bottomless mimosas on the weekends here for $17, with three mixer options: the classic with orange juice, a ruby red with grapefruit juice, and cranberry juice. The bar also offers $5 old-school bloody marys from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The Wheelhouse 1000 Spruce Street, 314-833-3653 22

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A bottomless-mimosa wristband, sold for $15, lets you brunch at the Wheelhouse and then wander over to its sister business, Start Bar, to get your game on ... and keep the mimosas coming. The deal is good from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. In the summer, mimosa options include a frozen one. Evangeline’s Bistro and Music House 512 North Euclid Avenue, 314-3673644 Bottomless mimosas are $20 on Saturday and Sunday — drink them while you enjoy performances from Miss Jubilee & the Humdingers or other hot jazz artists. Orange, raspberry and mango are mixer options. Or visit the bloody-mary bar: $11 gets you one drink plus full access, or pay $30 for unlimited booze and unlimited access. Crafted 3200 Shenandoah Avenue, 314-8653345 Enjoy $10 bottomless mimosas during Sunday brunch service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mollys in Soulard 816 Geyer Avenue, 314-241-6200 Enjoy bottomless mimosas for $20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. On Saturday, there’s no brunch menu, but you can still enjoy the mimosa deal from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Buildyour-own bloody marys, which you order to your specifications much like sushi, are also a popular option. Tin Roof 1000 Clark Avenue, 314-240-5400 This downtown fun zone offers a different theme every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring DJs and live music. Bottomless mimosas are $15 (though there is a two-hour time limit). Mix yours with passionfruit, grapefruit, pine-

apple or raspberry lemonade for an additional $5.

your-own bloody-mary bar starts at $7.

Reeds American Table 7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood; 314-899-9821 Reeds’ curated wine list includes an option of bottomless bubbles, topped with fresh-squeezed orange juice, for just $17.

Three Monkeys 3153 Morganford Road, 314-7729800 By purchasing buffet access, you get a complimentary bloody mary or mimosa; after that, you can mix and match up to three more for 99 cents each. From 9 to 10 a.m., buffet access is $17.99; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., it’s $20.99.

SqWires Restaurant & Annex 1415 South 18th Street, 314-865-3522 Each $14 bloody-mary bottle at Sqwires has enough vodka and house mix for two bloody marys and includes a trip to the bloodmary bar, which boasts more than 50 ingredients. Virgin bloodys, which also include a trip to the bar, are only $10. For those who simply want to snack, access to the bar sans drink is just $7. Bottomless mimosas are $14 and include access to the same bar. Vin de Set 2017 Chouteau Avenue, 314-2418989 Everyone is treated to a complimentary mimosa or Champagne cocktail with Vin de Set’s wildly popular Sunday brunch. For an additional $12, you can make that glass bottomless. Get unlimited access to the huge bloody-mary bar with the purchase of a shot of liquor; prices begin at $7.60. Gamlin Whiskey House 236 North Euclid Avenue, 314-8759500 Gamlin Whiskey House makes its bloody marys with a spicy house-infused pepper Jim Beam; yes, the whiskey house does it with whiskey. Topped with bloody-mary mix, it’s $12. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, mimosas are $5 each. Layla 4317 Manchester Avenue, 314-5539252 Enjoy bottomless mimosas or bloody marys at this Grove mainstay on Saturday or Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for just $15. Pat Connolly Tavern 6400 Oakland Avenue, 314-647-7287 Bottomless mimosas at this classic Irish pub in Dogtown are just $12 on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Scottish Arms 8 South Sarah Street, 314-535-0551 “Endless” mimosas at this delightfully cozy Central West End eatery are just $15. Access to the build-

Highway 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen 34 South Old Orchard Avenue, Webster Groves; 314- 968-0061 Build your own bloody marys for $3 each. Enough said!

ALL KILLER. NO FILLER. HAND-CRAFTED SMOKED MEATS AND BREWS

Cyrano’s 603 East Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-963-3232 Enjoy $5 mimosas, bellinis and bloody marys on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hammerstone’s 2028 South 9th Street, 314-773-5565 Every day until 11 a.m., this Soulard bar offers $4 mimosas, $3.50 bloody marys or a 48-ounce mimosa pitcher for $12. They begin service at 8 a.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. Sunday and 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, making it a popular stop for third-shifters.

Photography by JENNIFER SILVERBERG

Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria Two locations including 9568 Manchester Road, Rock Hill; 314-9426555 Get access to the bloody-mary bar for $10 per glass or $30 per pitcher. Mimosas are $9, or $28 for a pitcher, with several different mixer options, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends. Oceano Bistro 44 North Brentwood Boulevard, Clayton; 314-721-9400 From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, enjoy bottomless mimosas or bloody marys for $25. Photography by JENNIFER SILVERBERG

Das Bevo 4749 Gravois Avenue, 314-832-2251 Enjoy Sunday brunch fit for a beer baron inside the windmill that gave Bevo Mill its name. Bottomless mimosas are $15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Herbie’s 8100 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-769-9595 The restaurant offers a classic unlimited bloody-mary bar every Saturday and Sunday for $18. Unlimited mimosas are also $18. n riverfronttimes.com

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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Saturday, February 10 th • 7 – 10pm VIP Entry 6 pm

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BURLESQUE SHOWS EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY 7 PM: DINNER SHOW 10 PM: LATE NIGHT SHOW PERFECT FOR BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!

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• Featuring 80+ Beer Tastings • 4 Tasting Plates • Science Demonstrations • Live Music: The Loot Rock Gang Join Starlite Events and the Saint Louis Science Center on February 10th for a beer-tasting event for your brain. Learn about the chemistry and science behind the entire beer brewing and bottling process. Test your hand-eye coordination through vision distortion goggles, see your beer as it is chilled instantly through the magic of liquid nitrogen, along with other science demonstrations at this truly unique event.

Tickets on sale now! $45 Members, $55 non-Members or $60 at the door the day of the event. VIP tickets $75. All tickets include entertainment, four tasting plates, beer tastings, parking and more! slsc.org • 314.289.4400 5050 Oakland Avenue SPONSORED IN PART BY:

CALENDAR

WEEK OF JANUARY 25-31

Big Muddy Dance goes to the movies with Screen Shot. | GERRY LOVE

BY PAUL FRISWOLD

THURSDAY 01/25 Burns’ Night It takes winter a long time to wend its way to spring some years. In Scotland, winter is longer, darker and a little more depressing than most people would like. That’s why the January 25 birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns is celebrated every year: It gives people a chance to gather in honor of poetry, camaraderie, drinks and song. Burns often wrote in the dialect of the Highland district, which became a source of pride for a people who hadn’t had an easy go of it in the eighteenth century, and by extension, to the rest of Scotland. The “hometown boy made good” story always lifts spirits, especially when aided by the judicious imbibing of the Scotch spirit. Tonight from 5 to 9 p.m., the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust Street; www.schlafly.com) hosts its 27th Burns’ Night. At 6 p.m. the pipers will escort Tom Schlafly and his haggis into the dining room in a skirl of bracing bagpipe music, after which he’ll address the crowd in

an attempt to summon the spirit of the Ploughman Poet. Duddy Breeks takes the stage at 7 p.m., and the Scotch Ale will be tapped for the first time this year. Admission is free, though you’ll need money for food and drink. Kilt up if you have one.

is in peril. Winter Opera St. Louis presents Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers in French with English supertitles at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday (January 26 and 28) at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts (425 Lindbergh Boulevard; www.winteroperastl.org). Tickets are $35 to $55.

FRIDAY 01/26 The Pearl Fishers

SATURDAY 01/27 Big Muddy Dance: United We Brunch Screen Shot In a world in which the ever-ex-

Georges Bizet’s early opera Les pêcheurs de perles, or The Pearl Fishers, was initially not a great success. Bizet was only 25 when the opera premiered, and it was never revived in his lifetime. (He later composed Carmen, so it wasn’t the end of the road for Georges.) Later audiences found much to like in the exotic tale of two Indian pearl fishers who fall in love with the same priestess, Leïla, yet promise to forget her and remain friends. But neither Zurga nor Nadir can forget Leïla, and Zurga has in fact pursued her to the pearl-fisher camp. When she appears, old passions are rekindled and a once-strong friendship

panding number of choices tends to paralyze people’s ability to decide, it’s nice to know brunch is out there making life easier. Do you want breakfast or lunch? Do you want something sweet or savory? It doesn’t matter: Brunch has all bases covered. Come together to enjoy the magic meal with the Riverfront Times at the third installment of United We Brunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today at St. Louis Union Station (1820 Market Street; www.rftbrunch. com). BEAST Craft Barbecue, Das Bevo, the Dapper Donut and Piccione Pastry are among the 29 riverfronttimes.com

participating restaurants serving up brunchables including cinnamon-roll pancakes, Turkish mac ’n cheese, hot mini donuts and mini pork Saint Paul sandwiches (although the menu is subject to change). Tickets are $40, with VIP tickets priced at $55 (you get some extras with the VIP route; see the website for details).

A movie uses light, sound, color and motion to transport audiences to another world. The only other art form that can replicate that formula for success is dance, which is why the Big Muddy Dance Co. has created Screen Shot: An Homage to the World of Film. This dance concert features the return of Brian Enos’ crowd-pleasing Worlds of Wonder, as well as three premieres: a Josh Manculich-choreographed dance for an all-male dance corps, another Brian Enos creation for the full company and a special performance choreographed by Dustin

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Continued on pg 26

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CALENDAR Continued from pg 25

A culinary concert unlike any other

Delight all of your senses as music from across the history of opera is paired with delicious food and drink crafted specially to complement the flavors of the music.

A L L- I N C LU S I V E TI C K E T S J U S T $ 20 -$ 2 5 !

Photo © Elizabeth Wiseman

M A RC H 9 –20

VENUES

Sunday, March 11, 3 p.m. Central Missouri Blue Bell Farm Tuesday, March 13, 7 p.m. University City Mandarin House

Photo © Elizabeth Wiseman

Friday, March 9, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 10, 7 p.m. South City Tenacious Eats

Wednesday, March 14, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, 7 p.m. Lafayette Square Moulin Events Saturday, March 17, 3 p.m. Cortex District @4240

J’s Catering

with a Taste of Elegance LLC

Sunday, March 18, 1 p.m. North City The Omega Center Sunday, March 18, 7 p.m. Grand Center Centene Center for Arts Monday, March 19, 7 p.m. Edwardsville Catrinas Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m. Lafayette Square SqWires

ExperienceOpera.org/OperaTastings | (314) 961-0644 Thanks to media sponsors

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JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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Krish Mohan is woke and full of jokes. | TARA ARSEVEN Crumbaugh expressly for the Convergence Training Company. Screen Shot is presented at 8 p.m. tonight at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square; www.thebigmuddydanceco.org). Tickets are $40.75 to $286.

MONDAY 01/29 Mozart’s Magic Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born 262 years ago, and yet his music is still played regularly throughout the world. The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis celebrates the life and music of Salzburg’s greatest cultural export with two nights of music titled Mozart’s Magic. The program includes Mozart’s Adagio for English Horn & Strings, K.580A, and his Divertimento in D Major, K.251, a thoroughly bouncy musical confection. Mozart’s Magic is performed at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (January 29 and 30) at the Sheldon (3648 Washington Boulevard; www.thesheldon.org). Tickets are $38.

TUESDAY 01/30 Blues vs. Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup a record 24 times. The Canadiens are also the last team from Canada to win a cup, which happened way back in the 1992-93 season. Things haven’t really worked out for the team since then, and this year is no different.

The Habs now sit six places out of the playoffs, with a long climb to make before respectability is achieved. The Blues are still in the thick of the playoff hunt in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, which means tonight’s game, the Blues vs. the Canadiens, will likely be the last time they meet this season. The Blues take on the Canadiens at 7 p.m. tonight at Scottrade Center (1401 Clark Avenue; www. scottradecenter.com). Tickets are $22 to $129.

WEDNESDAY 01/31 Anti-Imperialism Comedy Takeover Krish Mohan hates lazy stereotypes, people who say they live in a “post-racial society” (“that means you have a black friend”) and college students — which is to say, he’s an American. But he’s an American by choice, having gone through our bizarre immigration process and remained here anyway. Tonight at 8 p.m. he brings the Anti-Imperialism Comedy Takeover to the Heavy Anchor (5226 Gravois Avenue; www.theheavyanchor. com) with fellow comedian Andrew Frank. Tickets are $5. Planning an event,? Let us know and we’ll include it in the calendar section or publish a listing on our website — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@riverfronttimes.com), fax (314-754-6416) or mail (308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103, attn: Calendar). Include the date, time, price, contact information and location (including ZIP code). Please submit information three weeks prior to the date of your event. No telephone submissions will be accepted. Find more events online at www.riverfronttimes.com.

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FILM

Rosalie (Rosamund Pike) has survived a massacre; now she has to survive a long trip with Christian Bale. | LOREY SEBASTIAN, © YELLOW HAWK INC [REVIEW]

The Frontier of Redemption Scott Cooper charts an American soldier in the old West as he retreats from racism Written by

ROBERT HUNT Hostiles

Directed by Scott Cooper. Written by Scott Cooper, based on a manuscript by Donald E. Stewart. Starring Rosamund Pike, Christian Bale and Wes Studi. Opens Friday, January 26, at multiple theaters.

he American Western has, since some time around the late 1940s, been a genre about loss. Because it dealt with a time that was still within living memory in its movie heyday, the nostalgia was acute. Other historical films — stories of knights

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or pirates or European revolution —were so far removed that they had already transformed into myth. But the aging Westerner was so close to our culture that, to borrow a familiar image from the genre, we could almost see him walking into the sunset. For the last quarter-century or so, the same could be said about the nearly extinct genre itself. Any filmmaker turning his sights on the American West in the 21st century knows that he’s dealing with a time and place that is now doubly lost, gone in time and largely absent from contemporary film culture. Scott Cooper’s Hostiles begins under the shadow of one of the genre’s key works, John Ford’s 1956 The Searchers, arguably the most complex American Western and a definitive statement on the racism that can hardly be separated from the romantic myth of the frontier. Cooper’s film begins, like Ford’s, with Comanches attacking an isolated frontier prairie home. Unlike the start of Ford’s film, it’s a scene of blunt, raw violence, with no worldly Ethan Edwards present to interpret the carnage for us. Adapted from an unproduced screenplay by Donald E. Stewart,

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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Hostiles is the story of a small group on a dangerous journey from New Mexico to Montana. Army captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale), no admirer of native Americans, is ordered to escort Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi), a dying Cheyenne chief, back to his tribal home. Along the way, Blocker and his team pick up the deeply traumatized Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike), the survivor of the opening massacre, and encounter a variety of threats, from marauding Comanches to the internal fighting of the travelers. It’s almost like two separate movies, one a traditional Western about the dangers of traveling through wild and unknown territory, the other a more existential drama about guilt and loyalty. Director Cooper made a strong debut with the 2009 Crazy Heart, but his subsequent films have floundered in violence and murky ethics. The same could almost be said of Hostiles. Cooper comes dangerously close to a kind of self-indulgent nihilism not entirely justified by the story. It’s brutal and somewhat artless, but that seems to be deliberate. But for all of the violence and the inevitability of the moral reversal of its ending, Hostiles overcomes

its stiff beginning and makes a convincing case for Blocker’s redemption. There’s a refreshing solemnness to it, a sense that the characters have been forced to think about life and death and consequences beyond the simple dynamics of their daily actions. Though the conclusions may seem obvious, they’re given a convincing sense of humanity through the performances of Pike, the proud, avuncular Studi and the frequently problematic Bale. Christian Bale is a very strange kind of movie star, one who sometimes seems to wear a visible disdain for his own craft. He’s sullen and gravelly, but here he balances those qualities with a surprising gracefulness. He doesn’t have much to say, but he can express his thoughts just as well with a twitch of his mouth or a slight disgusted frown. In other films, most notably the Batman series, his grouchiness is so extreme that is seems like a caricature, but in Hostiles he’s balanced the edginess with a wellneeded dose of humility. We expect Cooper’s script to lead Blocker to some kind of spiritual redemption, but Bale makes sure we see that he’s not going to get there without putting up a fight. n

THE ARTS

[ S TA G E ]

No Mercy Faceless, now at the Rep, asks why man judges and kills, but leaves the loving to God Written by

PAUL FRISWOLD Faceless

Written by Selina Fillinger. Directed by BJ Jones. Presented by the Repertory Theatre St. Louis through February 4 at the LorettoHilton Center (130 Edgar Road; www.repstl. org). Tickets are $45 to $69.50.

h, the courtroom drama. It’s a fine set-up to depict America struggling to discover the true nature of justice as the state attempts to punish one of its own for their crimes. Selina Fillinger’s play Faceless, which is currently on stage at the Repertory Theatre St. Louis, offers an intriguing twist on the format: Rather than focus on matters of jurisprudence, she concentrates on the reactions of five principals to the crafting of “impartial justice” in a high-profile terrorism case. Such justice, she argues eloquently and surprisingly without cliche, is manufactured from a toxic stew of publicity, personal ambition and shutting oneself off from any emotion that comes too close to compassion or mercy. Faceless is an intelligent, empathetic and moving cry for applying more humanity when solving human conflicts. Susie Glenn (Lindsay Stock) is an eighteen-year-old white girl from the suburbs who converted to Islam and joined ISIS online and was then captured by the authorities while trying to join her fiancé (whom she’s never met face-to-face) in Syria. She’s now facing twenty years in prison for aiding terrorists. Federal prosecutor Scott Bader (Michael James Reed) wants to use Claire Fathi (Susaan Jamshidi), a Muslim child of immigrants, as his hammer of justice in this career-making case, but Claire is adamantly against being his proxy to demonize Is-

Scott and Claire (Michael James Reed and Susaan Jamshidi) plot the best way to annihilate a teenager with bad judgment. | JERRY NAUNHEIM JR.

Faceless is an intelligent, empathetic and moving cry for applying more humanity when solving human conflicts. lam. When she sees Susie for the first time in court, though, Claire is enraged — what does “Muslim Barbie” know about the Quran? If Susie will soon represent Islam to Americans, Claire decides she has to counteract this sham with her own patriotism and lifelong peaceful practice of her religion. She takes the case on with a vengeance. Fillinger twins the characters in scenes to compare and contrast their beliefs and reveal their flaws. Several times Claire

and Susie are shown simultaneously praying, one in Arabic and one in English — only one gains strength from the ritual, while the other becomes shaken. As for Susie’s father, Alan (Joe Dempsey) is a recent widower who can’t comprehend his daughter’s decisions. At a loss, he reads the Quran in hopes of understanding who she is now. His open-mindedness and willingness to meet her halfway only causes more friction between them and leaves them more estranged. Meanwhile, Mark Arenberg (Ross Lehman) is Susie’s defense attorney, yet he regularly plays basketball with prosecutor Scott, an aggressive loudmouth. None of these characters is so hidebound that he or she deserves to be called a villain — except for the general public. The unknowable mass of angry Americans issues death threats to both Muslim women (sometimes in person), even as Mark and Scott (Jewish and American dream, respectively) escape notice. The skill of each individual riverfronttimes.com

actor is subtly applied. None of the characters feels like a puppet here to voice a particular argument; they are complex people, whose lives outside the case start to affect them in strange ways. Scott fights his own stubborn ignorance to respect and understand Claire’s faith; Mark’s Judaism can encompass his passionate defense of a Muslim accused of terrorism. Claire’s righteous anger meets its match in Alan’s untethered rage at what his family has become, and both are startled to see their reflection in one another. As Claire works toward the absolute destruction of her foe — who, again, is a grieving, confused teenager — doubts nag at her. Even Susie grows less sure of her actions as the case drags on. And as these developments affect them, compassion is born. Legal foes are seen as human beings, battered by a lifetime of difficult choices and misplaced pride. It’s faith that redeems them in each other’s eyes — and somehow, that matters more than justice. n

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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CAFE

Pangea’s riffs on comfort food favorites include, clockwise from top, potato skins, duck grilled cheese and coffee-crusted pork. | MABEL SUEN

[REVIEW]

Over the River Pangea and its talented young chef push the envelope in New Town St. Charles, with delicious results Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Pangea

3245 Rue Royale, St. Charles; 636-7573579. Mon. 5-9 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. 5-9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (Closed Tuesdays.)

hen Jessie Gilroy told her parents she wanted to go to culinary school, they balked, insisting that she go to college for a four-year degree. Her response? She hopped

on a plane to Hawaii to study marine biology. Anyone who has had the good fortune of eating Gilroy’s food over the last few years knows how well that career path worked out for her. She lasted only about a year in the marine-biology program before switching majors to hospitality management. After that, she dropped out of college altogether to soak in the island life and focus on what she knew all along was her true calling: food. The pursuit led her to Miami, where she enrolled in culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu and immersed herself in Latin American food culture. After graduating, she returned to St. Louis where she worked at Charlie Gitto’s on the Hill and the Tavern Kitchen and Bar before landing at Kevin Nashan’s Peacemaker and, ultimately, his acclaimed Sidney Street Cafe.

When Gilroy announced last year that she was leaving Nashan’s James Beard Award-winning kitchen to open a restaurant in the New Town area of St. Charles, she may as well have said she was traversing the Pacific again, not just crossing the Missouri River. The sleepy St. Charles community is where you go to raise kids, not make your name as a rising star chef. To call it an odd choice is an understatement. That perception wasn’t lost on Gilroy, who herself didn’t know much about New Town before opening Pangea. She’d never even been to the planned community before she went to look at the building, lured by an offer she could not refuse. Some friends of her father had purchased the twostory structure and were looking to fill the space that previously held Cornerstone Café with a new riverfronttimes.com

venture. Knowing Gilroy was a talented chef, they virtually gifted the space to her. Though she had no immediate plans to leave Sidney Street, it was an opportunity she simply could not let pass. No stranger to packing up and moving across bodies of water, Gilroy decided to double down on New Town, moving there and immersing herself in the community that would house her debut restaurant. As she got to know the neighbors, she began to understand the balance she would have to strike at Pangea, cooking innovative food while still keeping it accessible. Pangea would indeed be creative and refined, but it would not be Sidney Street West. That balance defines Pangea. Gilroy has put together a menu of creative comfort food designed to appeal as much to a couple on

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Continued on pg 32

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St. Louis’

Steakhouse 19 Years In A Row! 1998-2017 RFT Readers Restaurant Polls HISTORIC SOULARD

2117 South 12th St. 314-772-5977

SOUTH COUNTY

3939 Union Rd. 314-845-2584

WEST COUNTY

14282 Manchester 636-227-8062

www.TuckersPlaceSTL.com Chef/owner Jessie Gilroy was lured from Kevin Nashan’s James Beard award-winning team with an offer she could hardly refuse. | MABEL SUEN

PANGEA Continued from pg xx WINNER RFT FAVORITE IRISH/ENGLISH/SCOTTISH 2006-2016 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK LUNCH & DINNER FULL MENU AVAILABLE UNTIL MIDNIGHT FRI & SAT

SAT & SUN BRUNCH 10-3PM ENDLESS MIMOSAS BLOODY MARY BAR

PHOTO BY ED ALLER

8 S . SARAH ST REE T, ST. LOUIS 31 4-535 -0551 WWW.THESCOTTISH A R MS.COM 32

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date night as a family looking to grab a casual dinner. The setting captures this broad appeal, with a large, light-filled dining room that feels both new and old at the same time, like a newly constructed townhouse in the middle of Soulard. The restaurant is painted light green and decorated with modern artwork. Soaring ceilings and large windows on two sides make the room feel bright and airy and allow light to bounce off the glassware on the tables. A large bar takes up one wall of the room; the rest is filled with wooden tables and chairs. If Pangea is the sort of place where heels are as appropriate as sneakers, it makes sense that the menu is a spectrum of dishes that both nudges less-than-adventurous diners out of their comfort zones and gives them a safety net. No matter which route you choose, however, you’ll be greeted with beautifully executed food. Take, for example, the ricotta gnudi, a bowl of perfectly seared, pillow-like cheese dumplings ac-

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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cented with squash, leeks and brown butter whose nutty flavor underscores the toastiness of the dumpling’s exterior. A bone-marrow tart could quickly become overly decadent, but Gilroy’s version reads like a delicate quiche. The marrow- and cheese-infused custard filling is encased in buttery pie crust, then finished with rosemary, preserved lemon and tomato jam. It’s one of those dishes that may require an initial nudge for a hesitant diner, but it ends up being an approachable crowd pleaser. But the biggest crowd pleaser among Pangea’s appetizers are the “New Town Skins,” a luxe riff on potato skins that replaces the freezer-burned potato boats that are the staples of mediocre sports bars with tender fingerling potatoes. Gilroy smothers the fingerlings in funky raclette cheese, green onions, housemade sour cream and hunks of spicy pork, which stand in for bacon bits. These alone are worth the drive from Benton Park to the ’burbs. There was a bit of a salt problem on both of my visits, most notably in the French onion soup. It’s a dish

that would have been outstanding — a thick, beefy bowl of caramelized onions and molten cheese — were it not over-seasoned. The rub on the coffee-crusted pork was equally salty, a factor exacerbated by the spicy Thai curry sauce. With the seasoning toned down, it would be a fun fusion dish. Pangea’s bestseller, according to Gilroy, is the beef cheeks entree, a plate that might sound quizzical to the unfamiliar diner but is actually no different from a good old-fashioned pot roast. Sitting in a deeply savory gravy, the succulent meat is almost spreadable. Creamy polenta soaks up the jus, and mustard cream sauce adds just a punch of tartness that cuts through the decadence. If the fried-chicken craze of a few years ago is over, Gilroy does her best to resurrect it with her jerk-seasoned fried bird. The meat is marinated in the spicy seasoning and cooked sous vide so that every morsel is infused with flavor. Gilroy then rubs it in even more jerk seasoning before finishing it in flour and buttermilk and throwing it into the fryer. The result is a multi-layContinued on pg 34

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PANGEA Continued from pg 32

Authentic Hong Kong Style Cuisine

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Pangea’s ricotta gnudi is tossed with roasted squash, leeks and brown butter. | MABEL SUEN

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ered chicken that has quite the kick until it is toned down with verdant cilantro-lime crema. A few black beans finish a plate that is a beautiful hybrid of Southern comfort fare and Caribbean cuisine. I’d call it my favorite dish at Pangea, were it not for Gilroy’s dazzling duck grilled cheese, a sandwich so perfect I’d almost consider packing my bags and moving into the apartments above the restaurant. Pieces of tender, pull-apart duck confit are enveloped in gooey raclette; the funky cheese plays off the duck’s rich flavor, creating an impossibly rich, almost fondue-like experience. The heavenly concoction is garnished with peppery arugula and sweet tomato jam to balance out the decadence, then stuffed between two slices of buttery, griddled bread. We’re just a month into 2018, but this is a safe bet for sandwich of the year. Gilroy offers a few rotating desserts, including a warmly spiced chocolate budino (like a grown-up chocolate pudding) and apple pie served in a Mason jar, which was tasty although it would have been better warmed. Though I’d finished nearly all of my main courses, saving room for sweets was never a problem; portions at Pangea are on

the smaller side. Well, let’s clarify. They are on the smaller side if you are used to the hefty platters that typify the big-box American dining experience; they are indeed closer to the appropriate size for what we should be eating. Gilroy has taken pains to strike the right balance between innovation and approachability with her food, and to that end she has succeeded. However, I worry that portion and price could be a sticking point. Charging $21 for a duck grilled cheese is certainly fair, especially in light of how delicious it is, but selling that idea to a family more inclined to go down the street to Gingham’s for a $10.49 half-chicken might be a battle. If so, that’s a shame, because Pangea is a delightful addition to the area’s dining scene, one that showcases just how right Gilroy was when she decided to follow her passion for cooking halfway across the world. Is it too much to ask for us to follow her across the river — and for those who are already there to give her a chance? She’s making a great case that we should. n Pangea

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SHORT ORDERS

[SIDE DISH]

He Was There at the Revolution Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

im “Otto” Ottolini balks at the concept of inspiration, at least in the traditional way of understanding it as a spark that ignites an action. He sees it as the opposite: that you begin with a first step, then see if it catches you in a way that makes you want to go further. That’s how he describes his entry into the world of beer — a career in which he has risen from bussing tables at the Schlafly Tap Room to become one of the most respected brewers in the industry. With the benefit of hindsight, Ottolini can sketch out the circumstances that led him to where he is today — a key figure in Schlafly’s rise, a brewing veteran with more knowledge about craft beer than just about anyone in town and head brewer of the forthcoming Brew Hub (5656 Oakland Avenue) — but he’s careful to note that he didn’t get there according to some master plan. In fact, he doubts that if he had tried to enter the industry today he would have gotten so far. “I was in the right place at the right time,” Ottolini explains. “If you asked Dave Miller, who was [Schlafly’s] brewmaster, he’d tell you I was a pesky little guy constantly asking him about stuff. But I’m handy and I’m scrappy and I proved myself to be valuable in a couple of areas. Today, I don’t think I’d have a spitting chance at working in a brewery with all the people coming out of programs, but back then, it was different.” Though Schlafly was Ottolini’s first foray into professional brewing, it wasn’t his first experience making beer. His Italian grandfa36

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Jim Ottolini credits his success to one thing: “I was in the right place at the right time.” | MONICA MILEUR ther made his own wine and had some fermenting equipment that Ottolini used for experimentation. When a friend asked if he’d be interested in helping him make beer, he agreed, and the two began brewing as a hobby. Ottolini may have gotten the equipment from his grandfather, but he traces his interest to his parents’ love of cooking. He describes his mother as the consummate technician, the sort of cook who would follow recipes to the letter and treated cooking as a science. His father, on the

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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other hand, is the sort of cook Ottolini views as an artist — one who could open the pantry and throw something together with great results. It’s no surprise, then, that Ottolini likens brewing to cooking. “I look at brewers as specialized chefs, like pastry chefs,” he explains. “We can get really technical about one particular thing, but don’t ever put us on the grill or sauté station. We’re one-trick ponies.” Ottolini’s initial plan didn’t involve food or beer. He studied

French literature and moved to France to study law, lured by the appeal of being an international businessman, only to become disillusioned by the reality of contracts, mediation and other mundane work. He returned to the U.S., where he began working at the Tap Room. He considered getting into the jewelry business (his designs caught the attention of a local jeweler who wanted to bring him on board) but Ottolini began to think beer could be more than a temporary occupation. Ottolini had joined Schlafly at a pivotal time in the brewery’s history. At the time, its beer was only available at two places in St. Louis outside the Tap Room — and naysayers said Anheuser-Busch’s dominance would leave the upstart brewery unable to get into local taps. Schlafly proved them wrong, upped its production, began bottling and revolutionized the city’s beer scene. At every step of the way, for 22 years, Ottolini was there. These days, Ottolini is bringing the knowledge he gained to Brew Hub, a new-to-St. Louis concept that will be something of a beer incubator for those just getting started. Led by Anheuser-Busch alumnus Tim Schoen, Brew Hub hopes to nurture and partner with aspiring brewers, giving them the luxury of making beer without the expense of building a brewery or becoming a marketing expert. The mentorship role appeals to Ottolini. He’s been in younger brewers’ shoes and knows the challenges associated with taking that leap — one he took two decades ago with the words of his father ringing in his mind. “I remember asking my dad, who was a successful physician, how he knew what he wanted to do, and he said, ‘What makes you think I am doing what I want to do?’” Ottolini recalls. “That made me want to pursue my interests and do what you love. I’ve been doing this a quarter of a century, which makes me feel old, but what can I say? It’s fun. You have to find something you love and do that.” Ottolini took a break from his

HEAD ON SHRIMP

duties at Brew Hub — the brewery and tap room will open this spring — to share his thoughts on the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene, his desire to transform matter and why you’ll never see duct tape in his brewery. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? That’s a trick question, right? If people don’t know something about me, I probably want to keep it that way, right? Did I do it? Did I avoid getting tricked? Are all the questions going to be this complicated? What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Managing time to reflect and ponder. Definitely a must. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? I would want to transform matter. I could manage and affect quite a lot with that ability. What is the most positive trend in food or drink that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year? I love the independent and creative small enterprises. That is always refreshing, and I see it more and more in St. Louis. What is one thing missing or that you’d like to see in the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene? I would like to see more bridges between manufacturing and consumption. “Farm-to-table” is manufacturing to consumption. People have an innate curiosity about how things are made, and they want to connect the dots. Who is your St. Louis food or drink crush? I used to work with Ted Charak who now has Planter’s House, and I love what he’s doing. Kelly Spencer is in a whole different ballpark when it comes to catering with her company the Social Affair. I don’t care how you do it, but get yourself invited to an event which she is catering so you can say you knew her when. W h o ’s t h e o n e p e r s o n t o watch right now in the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene? Watch out for that guy in the trench coat. Something’s going down with him…. One person, huh? How about Steve Ewing with

Steve’s Hot Dogs? Couldn’t you just crush a hot dog right now? Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? Malt. If someone asked you to describe the current state of St. Louis’ food-and-beverage climate, what would you say? If Missouri is the “Show Me State,” St. Louis is the “Oh Yeah, Well Prove It City.” Can we fit that on the license plates? I’d say the current state is a long slow renewal, but it’s also an eclectic amalgam of many cultures and influences. All of that is built upon a pretty traditional base, so it’s interesting to see things play out. Name an ingredient never allowed in your brewery. Duct tape. That stuff isn’t even good for repairing duct work. It embodies the spirit of things poorly done without care. It has its place, I suppose, but not in a brewery. Let the hate comments commence. What is your after-work hangout? Home or Tower Grove Park. On the way home are Union Loafers and Olio, so there’s that. I love both places. What’s your edible or quaffable guilty pleasure? Pernod, bourbon, Cheez-Its. Never together, though. What would be your last meal on earth? If I am leaving earth in a spaceship, my last meal will be whatever the dieticians at NASA have dreamed up. If the earth is coming to end à la Armageddon, then I suppose carnal desires will dominate the menu. If I’m simply dying and everything else continues onward, then it depends on what happens next. If I am cremated, then my last meal should be something flammable. I want the furnace operator to say, “Whoa! That’s never happened before….” If I am interred, I would like my last meal to include something which will be fascinating for a future archeologist to find in my remains. If I am thrown from a plane dressed up as Superman over a large metropolis to fall to my death, then my last meal should be something light. n

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[FOOD NEWS]

MUGOLIO COMES TO ST. LOUIS Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

David Bailey, left, has retooled the spot that held his first restaurant to offer delicious cocktails, top, and Cajun-inflected fare. | KELLY GLUECK

[FIRST LOOK]

A Taste of New Orleans in the Square Written by

SARAH FENSKE

here is a large map on the back wall of the front room of L’Acadiane (1915 Park Avenue, 314875-0108), David Bailey’s new restaurant in Lafayette Square. To the uninitiated, it may seem like merely a cool design element, something to look at while you’re quaffing one of the bar’s excellent cocktails. But it’s much more than that. It is, instead, a Rosetta Stone for the entire restaurant (and that’s not just the cocktails talking). Rather than being oriented around the borders of nations or even states, the map keeps its focus on the Mississippi River. Viewed that way, you understand the mighty river as a ribbon connecting St. Louis to New Orleans — and you understand the historic ties underpinning the two cities. “With this restaurant, we’re thinking about the whole French Acadian influence on St. Louis — and the Acadian connection to Lafayette Square

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in particular,” Bailey explains of the French settlers who eventually came to be known in Louisiana as Cajuns. “St. Louis was very much connected to New Orleans; before the highways, it was much more connected to New Orleans than Kansas City.” And so there is a house gumbo, and a half-dozen varieties of po’ boys. There is a crab cake, sitting atop remoulade, as well as crab-stuffed catfish, jambalaya and shrimp and grits. And there are, yes, cocktails, including a chicory milk punch and an incredibly good hurricane. If you’ve only had the sticky-sweet versions they serve on Bourbon Street, you’ll want to try this iteration — it’s simply fresh juices and rum, a deliriously tasty return to the original conceit. The cocktails here are courtesy of Justin Austermann, the beverage director for Baileys’ Restaurants, and the food was primarily developed by chef Stephen Trouvert and executive sous chef AJ Benga. The team has not only retooled the space that used to hold Baileys’ Chocolate Bar — they’ve almost erased any memory of what used to be. Baileys’ Chocolate Bar, of course, was David Bailey’s first restaurant, the one that kicked off a long string of successes (Rooster one and two, Baileys’ Range, Bridge Tap Room, Small Batch, Hugo’s Pizzeria). But Bailey became convinced that, after thirteen years, the place needed a change. This summer, he moved the chocolate bar upstairs and got

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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to work on what would become L’Acadiane. It opened just before Christmas. The changes are much more than merely cosmetic. Not only does L’Acadiane have a new and improved kitchen to handle the much more complex menu, but construction crews removed the huge old bar that ran along the right side of the room and replaced it with one on the left side. “It was definitely an undertaking,” Bailey acknowledges ruefully. But it opened up the possibility of banquette-style seating in the front room — and 22 more seats. Instead of the chocolate bar’s dark, intimate, red-walled vibe, L’Acadiane is light, bright and stylish. There’s a liveliness to the space that would be right at home in, yes, New Orleans. You could come in for lunch, a dinner of several courses, or just a snack and a drink at the bar. “We’re definitely wanting people to come in and have a good time,” Bailey says. “It’s a perfect spot for hanging out and kicking back with a cocktail.” The second half of 2017 was intensely busy for Bailey’s group. They closed and reopened Baileys’ Chocolate Bar, opened Hugo’s Pizzeria in Midtown and then L’Acadiane. They’re ready to take a deep breath — and maybe even do some kicking back themselves. L’Acadiane is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. n

amara Keefe couldn’t believe it had never been done before. After happening upon an exotic pine bud syrup called mugolio at a gourmet market in Portland, Oregon, the owner of Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Creamery (multiple locations including 1637 South 18th Street, 314-858-6100) began frantically searching the web for an indication that anyone had previously used it to make ice cream. To her surprise, the search came up empty. Keefe could not understand how this could be. After all, the syrup was advertised as a topping for many things — a drizzle for lamb and duck, a dressing for salads and even an icecream topping. Yet no one had actually put mugolio in the ice cream. “I couldn’t find anyone who had done it, and it didn’t make sense,” Keefe recalls. “When I didn’t see it out there, I thought that maybe it wasn’t good or something. I figured, ‘Why not bring some back to St Louis and play around with it?’” After bringing a few bottles back to St. Louis — no small investment at $45 for each two-ounce jar — Keefe confirmed her suspicion that the syrup was indeed made to be an ice-cream flavor. The perfume and earth of the pine bud syrup softens in the sweet cream base, resulting in an understated flavor that can only be described as if you could bottle up the experience of walking into a home with a fresh-cut Christmas tree in the living room and a batch of amaretti cookies in the oven. “It’s hard to nail down,” Keefe admits. “It’s deep,

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earthy, somewhat pine-y and sweet. The flavor is subtle and elegant.” Keefe may have stumbled upon a new flavor of ice cream, but don’t expect to see mugolio suddenly mass-produced. As she learned in the course of her research, the syrup is so rare and small-batch it simply cannot be scaled for large production, and even if it could, it would be cost prohibitive. The base of the syrup is the sap of Mugolo pine buds, which are hand-harvested from the Dolomites every spring by a woman named Eleonora Cunacia. Cunacia forages for the buds with her husband, then places their haul in glass jars with sugar and herbs where they macerate and seep their sap. This mixture is then filtered and cooked over low heat with additional sugar until it forms a deep, herbaceous brown syrup. The entire process takes roughly one year. “She’s a woman after my own heart,” says Keefe of Cunacia. “She’s a forager and a craftswoman who spares no expense and does what she does for the love of it. In order for her to even begin picking these buds she had to have the Italian government create a whole new classification for her. Can you imagine having to go through something like that?” Keefe has only had one phone call with Cunacia, and they chatted mostly about the logistics of importing the syrup in large quantities. However, she gets a kick out of the feeling that she may have left Cunacia a bit dumbfounded. “Italians like to think that they

“At first, they seem hesitant, like they won’t like it, but they don’t want to be rude and refuse to try it. Then they put it in their mouth and are like, ‘I love it!’” think of everything first,” Keefe laughs. “In the gelato world, they think they have come up with all the flavors, and she hadn’t heard of anyone doing this. She was definitely surprised.” Keefe’s customers are equally surprised when they try the mugolio. “At first, they seem hesitant, like they won’t like it, but they don’t want to be rude and refuse to try it,” she says. “Then they put it in their mouth and are like, ‘I love it!’” Seeing this sort of expression come over customers’ faces is Keefe’s favorite thing about Clementine’s, she says: “I make the happiest food on earth.” Still, that happiness will only be shortlived — at least when it comes to the mugolio. She estimates that it will be around for only a few more weeks, and once it is gone, it’s gone. n At least until next year.

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9 South Vandeventer Ave. Saint Louis, MO 63130 • 314-391-5100 • blkmkteats.com

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11423 Olive 314-274-8046 @nudohousestl nudostl.com

The second outpost of an O’Fallon favorite, Thai Kitchen is now open in Florissant. | CHERYL BAEHR

[FIRST LOOK]

Terrific Thai in North County Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

f Florissant is not on your radar for outstanding Thai cuisine, Thai Kitchen (8458 North Lindbergh Boulevard, Florissant; 314695-5039) is about to change that. Fans of owner Andie Ongartsutthikue’s cooking — and there are quite a few — might recognize the restaurant’s name; the not quite two-month-old spot is the second location of a popular O’Fallon eatery. For five years, Ongartsutthikue has been offering her family’s recipes for delectable Thai dishes to the diners of St. Charles County. Last fall, she decided to expand, opening the Florissant outpost in a strip mall on North Highway 67 in late November. Ongartsutthikue’s daughter, Nickie Hill, attributes her mom’s loyal following to several factors. First, she uses the same recipes passed down several generations in their family — they are tried, true and as traditional as it gets in the middle of the Midwest. Second, Ongartsutthikue is no stranger to the restaurant business, having owned two restaurants in her native Thailand before immigrating to the U.S. twenty years ago. When

she arrived stateside, she continued to work in the restaurant business before branching out on her own a little over five years ago. Hill notes another factor that makes Ongartsutthikue’s cooking stand out: Her mother ’s commitment to using only the highest-quality proteins and produce. That fact is notable in her elegant dishes, like the nam tok beef, which offers meat of the same high quality you’d find in an upscale steakhouse. Caramelized hunks of tender steak are gilded with a vibrant chile-lime sauce and tossed with cilantro and red and green onion. Thai Kitchen’s khao soi, the northern Thai yellow curry and noodle soup, is a vibrant bowl of pickled vegetables, meat, fresh herbs, soft rice noodles and a crispy rice noodle garnish whose beautiful presentation bespeaks layers of warm, mouthwatering flavor. Ongartsutthikue’s version packs quite a kick of heat that sneaks up on you after a few bites and then lingers. It’s revelatory. Look for a comprehensive menu of Thai specialties, from chicken satay to larb gai to pad Thai and a variety of curries. Though the dishes may look familiar to fans of Thai cuisine, their quality makes them anything but ordinary. It’s unexpected, especially from an unassuming storefront in the middle of a strip mall. Thai Kitchen is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 9 p.m. The restaurant does not currently offer alcohol, though a liquor license is in the works. n

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UPCOMING SHOWS 2/15 BLACKBERRY SMOKE

3/18 GRAHAM NASH

2/16 JOE RUSSO’S ALMOST DEAD

3/22 ERIC JOHNSON

2/18 REBELUTION

3/27 MATT & KIM

2/20 BROCKHAMPTON

4/2 MAT KEARNEY

2/21 ABOVE & BEYOND

4/6 KAYZO

2/22 THE POINT BIRTHMONTH SHOW W/ WALK THE MOON

4/15 THE WOOD BROTHERS 4/25 THE DECEMBERISTS AT PEABODY OPERA HOUSE

2/23 & 2/24 CELEBRATION DAY: A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN

5/1 AS THE CROW FLIES

2/25 BIANCA DEL RIO

5/11 JIMMY EAT WORLD

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3/3 GANJA WHITE NIGHT

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MUSIC

[IN MEMORIAM]

Rest in Peace After an intense search, Nathan Jatcko is mourned by friends, family and fellow St. Louis musicians Written by

DANIEL HILL

he search for a St. Louis musician who went missing early on the morning of Friday, January 12, ended five days later with a devastating announcement from his family: Nathan Jatcko has passed away. The talented musician was 31, the victim of an apparent suicide. “I am heartbroken to announce the passing of my dear and loved brother Nathan Jatcko on 1/17/2018,” Sara Jatcko wrote on Facebook that evening. “He took his life. He leaves behind a loving family and wide community of friends.” Jatcko was last seen alive around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning at his apartment on Lawn Avenue, near South Kingshighway. When he missed a rehearsal and then a scheduled performance at the Monocle on Friday night, friends and family began to worry. Jatcko wouldn’t have missed a performance without finding a sub or at least calling to cancel, his family reasoned, and so after initial attempts to find Jatcko proved fruitless, they met with police at his home and filed a missing-persons report. According to his father, Jatcko had left extra food for his cats before disappearing. “I don’t know what it means, but it’s....” John Jatcko told RFT on Sunday, trailing off. In the days that followed, supporters made a Facebook group in the hopes of finding information about Jatcko’s whereabouts, or even that of his car, which was also missing. Fliers were created and hung around town, hospitals and jails were contacted, and a

Nathan Jatcko in his element, performing behind the keys. | COURTESY OF THE JATCKO FAMILY large group of friends and family mobilized in the effort. On Wednesday night, the worstcase scenario was realized. Jackto’s family spread word of his death through social media, asking for privacy. “We are at a loss for words, but appreciate all of the love, kindness, and prayers communicated to us over the past five days,” Sara Jatcko wrote. “Thank you.” The outpouring of grief in St. Louis’ music community, where Jatcko was a highly regarded player, was swift, with many friends, fellow musicians and current and former bandmates taking to social media to share their stories. John Krane of Brotherfather first started performing with Jatcko when they were in high school, he writes. They still performed together over the years, with Jatcko providing guest keys from time to time, and recently they’d decided to make Jatcko a full member of Brotherfather. “What are the chances that one of the first musicians you ever play with will turn out to be the greatest you’ll ever play with?” he writes. “I will remember playing music with him, and video games, and

poker, and talking about Herbie Hancock and the Traveling Wilburys, and making jokes about his hat, and sitting outside my parents’ house after the first rock gig we ever played and talking about the rush we felt.” Fellow keyboardist Ryan Marquez of Fresh Heir writes that he filled in for Jatcko on a gig last year with Jatcko’s group Naked Rock Fight. He describes how much fun it was playing Jatcko’s original compositions, describing them as “some bad-ass funky tunes.” “Nathan, you are an amazing talent and I am grateful and better for knowing you,” he writes. “Your loss leaves so many that your light touched truly heartbroken. May you rest in peace in jazz heaven.” John Henry, for whom Jatcko played keys on 2016’s Dark City Dark Country, shared three photos of the pair onstage together. “I will always remember my friend, Nathan,” he writes. “You brought so much beauty to a world that needs it. You made those around you better, you gave more than you took. You brought me to tears in the studio with your playing. It’s a terrible injustice that you suffered the pain that you did. Life is unfair, but I am grateful for the riverfronttimes.com

time we spent together. You are the best.” Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced, but tributes to Jatcko have already begun spilling their way onto stages in St. Louis. Jazz players Ben Reece, Montez E. Coleman, Ben Wheeler and Austin Cebulskii performed at the Dark Room Thursday night, a venue Jatcko frequently played. Reece announced the show by saying the group will “honor him with our music and our fellowship.” Jatcko was raised in Highland, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he studied music. After graduation he moved to St. Louis. Over the years he performed with a plethora of local acts, including Pavlov’s Dog, Yankee Racers, Kentucky Knife Fight, Naked Rock Fight, the Liberation Organ Trio and many more, in addition to frequent solo work and collaborations with the likes of Emily Wallace, Dawn Weber, Christy Coleman and others. His death leaves a gaping hole in St. Louis’ music community. Jatcko released his debut solo album Catch in September. It can be found on his Bandcamp page at nathanjatckomusic.bandcamp. com. n

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GREEN DINER While you recharge yourself, recharge your devices. Outlets in booths and all u-shaped counters! LEED Platinum certified!

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B-SIDES

[HISTORY]

Saving the Club Ike Made Famous Written by

DANIEL HILL

n its heyday, Club Imperial was the place to be. Located in north St. Louis at West Florissant and Goodfellow, the ’50s saw the swingin’ nightclub help launch the careers of musical luminaries from Chuck Berry to Ike and Tina Turner. It even gave birth to its own dance craze known as the “Imperial Swing,” a variation of the Jitterbug that is still taught in area dance schools to this day. But now the building sits in disrepair. A fire gutted its interior some five years ago. The roof is damaged, and there is standing water in the basement. George Edick, who purchased the space in 1952, booking big-band music for a few years before shifting to rock & roll as the genre began to explode, passed away in 2002, shifting ownership to his son. By 2013 the building was sold at a tax sale to former Rams tackle Orlando Pace; when Pace ended up doing nothing with it, it went back to the city. In 2017 it went up for sale again. Robert Vroman, who lives nearby down Goodfellow, was the only bidder. On Monday, the St. Louis Preservation Board denied his request to have the building demolished with a 5-0 vote. For Vroman, it’s a setback for a building that has gotten a lot of attention, but few offers. “The only person that has made an attractive offer to us, they definitely want to build something new, and they’ve asked us to fully explore the demo permit process in order to close that deal,” Vroman explains. “I’m totally open to selling it to anyone for whatever purpose, rehab or

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Club Imperial, in swinging-er times. | COURTESY OF THE METRO ST. LOUIS LIVE MUSIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY VIA IMPERIALSWING.COM AND GREG EDICK not, but there’s only one offer on the table now, and that’s the direction that they want to go.” That’s not for lack of trying, Vroman says. The building is appraised at $226,000. Vroman says he reached out to a few big-name celebrities who might have the money and interest in rehabbing the spot. He found no takers. “Tina Turner’s agent did not respond; Nelly’s agent did not respond,” Vroman says. “I also talked to Greg Edick, who is the son of the original owner who is still alive, and talked to him about the history of the building and what he had done with it, and maybe try to find some solution. It was a dead end there also.” Vroman explains that he is not a builder or developer; he does no

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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repairs or demolitions. Of the nearly 150 properties he has purchased at tax auctions, he says, he’s financed the sale of most to people local to the neighborhood where each property was purchased. That’s the case with the building that formerly housed Club Imperial, too. Vroman’s would-be buyer owns a business nearby and wanted to convert this property to something new. “My job is just to facilitate that as much as possible, and if the Preservation Board says no, then we’re gonna go in a different direction,” Vroman explained a few days before the meeting. “But at the moment this is the plan.” The St. Louis Cultural Resources Office had previously ruled that the building should not be torn down; the Preservation Board was merely

upholding its denial. Preservation Board Chairman Richard Callow explains that a city ordinance previously established that the building is located in a preservation review district — which is different, he hastens to add, from a local historic district. “That means that all we will consider is a request for demolition,” Callow said before the vote. “And one of the things that we’ll look at is what will replace it. But most of the consideration will be whether or not this particular building has to come down.” Vroman and his wife, Natalie Vowell, say they were merely trying to give the neighbors what they wanted. (Vowell is also the founder and executive director of Project Raise the Roof, a nonprofit that works with St. Louis citizens to

prevent their homes from going to tax auctions.) “The first application for demolition, the alderwoman [Pam Boyd, of the 27th Ward] said she’d rather have a place — she specifically mentioned an Applebee’s, for example. So she wanted to have a sit-down restaurant,” explains Vowell. “The demolition was initially denied because of the mini-mall and the lack of demonstration that the building couldn’t be fixed. It has since been condemned. So the next step is appealing that with the new plan with — as the alderwoman suggested — perhaps an Applebee’s.” Music fans and history buffs in St. Louis obviously, and somewhat understandably, bristled at the idea of a building with such rich history being torn down and replaced with a chain restaurant. After all, along with Chuck Berry, Club Imperial also helped to propel performers including Dolly Parton, the Monkeys and Glen Campbell. Ike and Tina Turner, in particular, have a strong connection to the club — the pair even released a live album recorded there in 1966. That connection started in 1954, when the Mississippi-born Ike Turner made his way to St. Louis to visit his sister, and soon started playing a weekly gig at Club Imperial on Tuesday nights. Those gigs begat more local shows, prompting him to set up shop in St. Louis. During one show in town, he would later meet Anna Mae Bullock — better known as Tina Turner. When Ike and Tina first recorded together, for their 1960 debut single “A Fool in Love,” Club Imperial was the first place Ike took the recording. “I wrote the song for [R&B artist Art Lassiter],” Ike told the RFT in 2001. “Tina was there as I was writing it. And this guy, he was going to beat me out of some money, man. He borrowed, I don’t know, $80 or $90 to get some tires for his car, and he had no intention of paying that money back. So we went out to Technisonic Studios. They never did any live bands there; all they did was TV commercials and stuff. We waited on Art, and he never showed up. So Tina said, ‘Why don’t you put my voice on there, and when you find him, you can put him on instead.’ So that’s what we did. When Tina got to the part where she makes that

scream — ‘Hey, hey, hey, wowww!’ — Ed, the guy who owned the studio, like to hit the ceiling: ‘Goddammit, don’t holler in my microphone!’ In those days, they didn’t have no limiters. I guess she rammed the needle. It was real funny. “But that was the beginning,” he continued. “There was a disc jockey there called Dave Dixon. After I recorded the song, I went out to Club Imperial, and we played it out there for some of the kids on a little recorder in the car. They said, ‘Man, why don’t you put it out with her voice on it?’ So Dave Dixon heard it that same night. He sent it to Sue Records; they put it out, and boom, it was a hit.” The duo of Ike and Tina Turner would go on to release 15 studio albums and 68 singles together, nabbing a Grammy win for 1971’s “Proud Mary.” In 1991 they were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Their early work helped to shape the development of soul music, and in spite of their famously tumultuous life behind the scenes, they are still thought of as a one-time musical power couple who reached dizzying heights of success. Still, that rich history won’t get the water out of the dilapidated building’s basement. Better for it to be developed into something that can generate tax revenue in an economically depressed part of the city, Vowell reasons. “The biggest thing that I’m concerned about here is what we consider ‘historic.’ Because I work for — well, I volunteer, actually — to prevent people’s houses from going to the sheriff’s tax auctions,” Vowell says. “People who have lived here for generations, who have been born there, grown up there, have families there. And no one is concerned that dozens of those people — scores of those people — lose their houses every year. And then one of these big buildings comes up and everybody is all of the sudden upset. That’s where I’m having trouble really understanding this.” As for Vroman, whether the building ultimately ends up facing demolition or rehab, he’s philosophical. “I’m impartial. I bought it at the auction; I was the only bidder,” he says. “We’re just trying to make something happen one way or the other.” n

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JANUARY 24-30, 2018

RIVERFRONT TIMES

HOMESPUN

T H E M AY D AY O R C H E S T R A Wake themaydayorchestra.bandcamp.com

t’s Monday afternoon on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Tim Rakel has just wrapped up another two-hour shift of Mystery Train, his long-running show on KDHX. He’s been a presence at the station for more than fifteen years — an understated, borderline monotone but musically heterogenous presence. It being MLK day, he favors songs of freedom and liberation on today’s show, so yes, U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love)” gets an airing, but so does Bob Dylan, Max Roach, Fela Kuti and Mavis Staples. Toward the end of the set he drops in the jubilant, percussive “Namuvera Jesu,” a selection from Kenya’s Muungano National Choir. It’s a sacred song, and even if its lyrics are lost in translation, the spirit is strong. Rakel is not a particularly religious person, but his recent radio playlist’s mix of liberation, social justice and, specifically, the nation of Kenya intersect neatly with his latest musical undertaking. As the lead singer and songwriter for the May Day Orchestra, he wrote the songs on the just-released Wake. It tells, in part, the story of Yusuf bin Hasan, a sultan who, in 1631, led a massacre of Portuguese Christians in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. It’s an obscure bit of African history, but in Rakel’s hands it becomes a crucible for themes of revenge and colonialism against a martial, wiry rock & roll backdrop. Rakel, who graduated from Washington University with a degree in African studies, used his education to inspire May Day’s latest set. “I went to Kenya in college, and it was kind of a combination of my own study of history while I was there and what I discovered, and then also there’s a story within that story too,” Rakel says of the new album’s source material. “The whole Yusuf bin Hasan story is a seventeenth-century thing, so I learned about that through libraries and stuff, but there is more modern-day stuff that I was told firsthand.” In Rakel’s eyes, Hasan’s story — being taken away from home, educated and indoctrinated abroad, only to return home to find your father betrayed and murdered — has a universality that extends outside of Kenya’s history. “It’s kind of like a Shakespeare storyline that you can drop into any historical period,” Rakel says. “This guy discovers that his father was killed and he was betrayed. All that stuff fuels his revenge plot, and there we have our story.” He notes that the historical narrative is a somewhat loose thread, and he’s right — the story doesn’t burden the listener, and these songs vibrate with an energy and intensity that don’t exactly require footnotes to comprehend (though the band has furnished relatively in-depth liner notes to fill in some blanks). “As far as writing a record full of songs, sometimes it is easier to have an anchor like that to focus on

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

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— even if it strays a little further,” Rakel says of the album’s scope. And that framework is a natural fit for May Day as the band’s last few recordings have taken album-length approaches to themes of imperialism and socialism. But where Wake diverges from those other releases is in the band’s current lineup; whereas earlier incarnations were more acoustically driven and rooted in folk music, this album uses a moody and expansive rock band as its engine. Longtime drummer Mary DeLeonardis is joined by her husband Jake on bass, alongside guitarist Charlie Tabing. Tabing’s guitar work in particular provides the biggest shift in sound; he can be exploratory or restrained, and the through-line he provides on the instrumental track “Morning” gives the album a cinematic opening. “Mary and Jake were the rhythm section for Tenement Ruth, and they’re coming from more of the rock-band background, and Jake and Charlie play in Jackhead, a Carbondale band that was around in the early 2000s,” says Rakel. “It just kind of lent itself naturally to more of a rock sort of sound. I wasn’t really looking for something different, but that’s how it wound up.” Rakel is a student of politics both historical and current, but May Day Orchestra exists to tell forgotten stories of the past — previous albums have been set in in the late 1880s and early 1900s. So the band doesn’t explicitly speak to our current political climate, but Rakel sees this style of storytelling — and the unburying of forgotten or suppressed histories — as part of the constant churn of politics and identity. “I think, even as distant as it might seem, I think it can tie into what’s going on in America today,” Rakel says, “where people don’t really know the history of their own country, to the point where they’ve invented whatever they want to tell themselves.” –Christian Schaeffer

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OUT EVERY NIGHT

THURSDAY 25

house and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave,

CHASE RICE: 8 p.m., $20-$30. The Pageant, 6161

Webster Groves, 314-968-0061.

Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

SPACE DINGUS: w/ Tennis Club, Sunset Over

DOMINIC: 4 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S.

Houma, Thee Fine Lines 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy

9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.

Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-

JACK HARLOW: 8 p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706

5226.

Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broad-

SATURDAY 27

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

BLACK FAST: w/ Alan Smithee, Bastard 9 p.m.,

LEEWAY: 7 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

free. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St.

Louis, 314-289-9050.

Louis, 314-775-0775.

MACEO PARKER: 7:30 p.m., $40-$45. Jazz At the

BOBBY STEVENS: w/ Dan Sullivan, Nick Gusman

Bistro, 634 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-

9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois

3663. MICKY AND THE MOTORCARS: 8 p.m., $13. Off

Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-

BRANDON SANTINI BLUES BAND: 10 p.m., $10.

Leeway, captured way back in the day. | FRANK WHITE

6989. THE RETURN OF F.R.E.S.H.: 9 p.m., free. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-

BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. DATSIK: w/ Space Jesus, Riot Ten, Wooli 8 p.m., $25-$30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.

775-0775.

Leeway

TORREY CASEY & THE SOUTHSIDE HUSTLE: 8 p.m.,

7 p.m. Thursday, January 25.

$5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway,

Fubar, 3108 Locust Street. $15. 314-289-9050.

“We might have helped open up a can of worms by bringing suburban metalheads to shows,” Leeway guitarist A.J. Novello says in the liner notes to the 1996 reissue of the band’s first two albums. That’s a rather succinct way of describing the influence of the New York-based group’s fusing of hardcore punk with metal in the early ‘80s, which helped to shape a style of music referred to as “crossover.” Leeway was a pioneer of the form, one of the first crossover bands on the East Coast, merging those high-volume, breakneck-speed genres together

alongside the likes of Texas’ D.R.I., California’s Suicidal Tendencies and D.C.’s Void to create a new, unwieldy musical monster for adolescent kids to bang their heads and punch their friends to. A NYHC pillar that frequently performed with Bad Brains, Sick of It All and Cro-Mags at the legendary CBGB in its heyday, Leeway broke up in ‘96 after releasing four highly influential LPs. Recent years have seen the band reform, though whether that will result in new music is unclear. First Time for Everything: Leeway has never performed in St. Louis, and anticipation for this show is sky-high. Expect a room packed with punks of all ages. —Daniel Hill

PAULA KNOX (CORLEY) MEMORIAL CONCERT: w/

The Witness, Pure October 6 p.m., $10. Fubar,

$3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis,

2337.

Inner Outlines, The Cinema Story, The Haddon-

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

314-773-5565.

VP SIGNING & MUSIC SHOWCASE: 8 p.m., $5-$10.

fields, The Radio Buzzkills, Kerplunk, Silence

ROLAND JOHNSON & SOUL ENDEAVOR: 9 p.m.,

SLIGHT RETURN: 7 p.m., free. Hwy 61 Road-

Palomino Lounge, 5876 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

FRIDAY 26 BULLY: w/ Bagheera 9 p.m., free. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222. LUH HALF: w/ 3 Problems, Benji Brothers 9 p.m., $15-$25. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. MACEO PARKER: 7:30 p.m., $40-$45. Jazz At the Bistro, 634 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-5343663. NICK MOSS & THE FLIP TOPS: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. NOAH GUNDERSON: w/ Lizzy Gunderson 8 p.m., $17-$20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St.

STREAK’S CORNER • by Bob Stretch

RIVERFRONT TIMES

ESHAM: 7 p.m., $11-$13. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. JOE METZKA BAND: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-4365222. KAHSAN: w/ Jhai, Iso, Travis Teel Page 7 p.m., $15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. KATIE GUILLEN AND THE GIRLS: 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-4986989. MACEO PARKER: 7:30 p.m., $40-$45. Jazz At the Bistro, 634 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-5343663. ROCKY & THE WRANGLERS: 4 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222. ROGER GUTH: 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. TOM IRWIN: 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave, Maplewood, 314-241-

Louis, 314-498-6989.

Louis, 314-726-6161.

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

riverfronttimes.com

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Bully

The Nashville-bred rock trio Bully had a fruitful 2017: Its sophomore album Losing came out on Sub Pop with plenty of acclaim for the band’s nervy grunge update. Alicia Bognanno commands the group with both wiry, overdriven guitar lines and a voice that can accelerate from feathery and

resigned to a full-bore howl at the drop of a downbeat. Bully returns to St. Louis as part of 4 Hands Brewing’s annual anniversary showcase; tickets are free and available for pickup at various locations around town but they do not guarantee entry, so pick one up and be ready to queue up for admittance. 4 Hands, 3 Bands: Locals Bagheera and the Fuck Off and Dies will open the show. —Christian Schaeffer

314-361-3099.

9:30 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S.

WINTER JAM 2018: w/ Skillet, Kari Jobe, Cody

Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

Carnes, Building 429, John Crist, KB, NewSong,

JAMAICA LIVE TUESDAYS: w/ Ital K, Mr. Roots, DJ

Jordan Feliz, Nick Hall 6 p.m., $15. Scottrade

Witz, $5/$10. Elmo’s Love Lounge, 7828 Olive

Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-

Blvd, University City, 314-282-5561.

1888.

KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broad-

8 p.m. Friday, January 26. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. Free. 314-7266161.

SUNDAY 28

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880. LADY RE’S “JUST FOR LAUGHS”: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s

BLACK & WHITE BAND: 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

314-436-5222.

436-5222. AN EVENING WITH JACKOPIERCE: 8 p.m., $35. Off

WEDNESDAY 31

Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-

AUGUST BURNS RED: w/ Born Of Osiris, Erra,

6989.

Ocean Grove 7 p.m., $23. The Ready Room,

FREEKBASS: 9 p.m., free. The Bootleg, 4140

4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-775-0775.

BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7

LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,

p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

436-5222.

CYRUS CHESTNUT TRIO: 7:30 p.m., $35-$40. Jazz

ROSEWOOD AND DADDY MELLOW: 11:30 a.m.,

At the Bistro, 634 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis,

free. Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th St., St. Louis,

314-534-3663.

314-771-8230.

MARTY SPIKENER & ON CALL BLUES BAND: 10

RYAN KEBERLE & CATHARSIS: 6 p.m., $10. The

p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-

Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Gran-

way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

del Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550.

THE ANTI-IMPERIALISM NATIONWIDE COMEDY

SOUL REUNION: 10:30 p.m., $7. Beale on Broad-

TAKEOVER: w/ Krish Mohan and Andrew Frank

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

8 p.m., $5. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois

U.S. BOMBS: 8 p.m., $18-$20. Fubar, 3108 Lo-

Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

cust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

ZACH DEPUTY: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Old Rock House,

WEBSTER GROVES H.S. JAZZ BAND: 3 p.m., $15.

1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314726-6161.

MONDAY 29

THIS JUST IN ANTHONY JESELNIK: Sat., May 5, 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-

K.FLAY: 8 p.m., $20-$23. The Pageant, 6161

6161.

Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

BIT BRIGADE: W/ Thor Axe, Fri., April 20, 8 p.m.,

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Broadway

$10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis,

Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

314-498-6989.

621-8811.

BRIT FLOYD: Sun., May 13, 7 p.m., $29.50-$59.50.

THIRD SIGHT “SPECIAL EDITION”: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s

Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St, St.

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

Louis, 314-499-7600.

314-436-5222.

DAVID BEEMAN RELEASE SHOW: Sat., March 17,

TUESDAY 30

8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

BØRNS: 8 p.m., $26-$28.50. The Pageant, 6161

DECEDY ALBUM RELEASE: W/ Pure October,

Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

We Should Leave This Tree, Fri., March 16, 7

BLIND WILLIE & THE BROADWAY COLLECTIVE:

Continued on pg 48

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JANUARY 24-30, 2018

RIVERFRONT TIMES

THIS JUST IN Continued from pg 47

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RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM/CONCERTS 52

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

riverfronttimes.com

BIG RICH M

Wed., Jan.

Soups, 700 5222.

BLACK & W BB’s Jazz,

Louis, 314

[CRITIC’S PICK]

BLACK FAS

Jan. 27, 9 p

chester Av

Noah Gundersen. | HIGH ROAD TOURING

BLIND WIL Tue., Jan.

Noah Gundersen

Soups, 700 5222.

It didn’t take long for archetypal Northwestern U.S. indie folkie Noah Gundersen to cut loose from the shackles of the fiddle and the strum. But on last year’s overlooked White Noise, he doesn’t just go electric; he goes full electric ladyland — or at least that’s the concept behind this big studio project. The guitars stutter and wail, the strings distend and distort, and

the reverb chambers get a deafening workout. He’s still got that yearning, plaintive quiver in his voice, but he’s now singing with his whole body, a body that surrenders to twisting and surging synths and rhythms. And he still throws down a gorgeous semi-soul ballad like few singers of his generation. Soul Sister: Noah also still works with family band La Wrens, which features songwriter, poet and sibling Lizzy Gundersen, who joins him as special guest for this winter tour. —Roy Kasten

p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Exp-

Jan. 27, 8 p

Louis, 314-535-0353.

wy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

Delmar Bl

THE DECEMBERISTS: Wed., April 25, 8 p.m.,

JOURNEY AND DEF LEPPARD: Fri., Aug. 24, 6

DOMINIC: T

$38.50-$96.50. Peabody Opera House, 1400

p.m., TBA. Busch Stadium, Broadway & Pop-

stone’s, 20

Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.

lar St., St. Louis, 314-345-9600.

ESHAM: Sa

DIANA KRALL: Fri., June 15, 8 p.m., $45-$125.

KEITH URBAN: Fri., June 15, 6 p.m., TBA. Hol-

bird, 2706

Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St, St.

lywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth

AN EVENIN

Louis, 314-499-7600.

City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

p.m., $35.

FAMOUS DEX: Sun., March 4, 8 p.m., $38. The

LADY ANTEBELLUM AND DARIUS RUCKER: Thu.,

Louis, 314

Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

Sept. 13, 6 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino

FREEKBAS

726-6161.

Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy.,

Bootleg, 4

FIREBIRD 9TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY: W/ Hell

Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

775-0775.

Night, Valley, Spacetrucker, Sat., Feb. 17, 7

MINUS THE BEAR: W/ the Coathangers, Sat.,

JACK HARL

p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

May 5, 9 p.m., $25-$27. The Ready Room,

Firebird, 2

Louis, 314-535-0353.

4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-

JAMAICA L

FOO FIGHTERS: Sat., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., $46.50-

3929.

Witz, Tues

$96. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St.

PAUL THORN: Thu., March 22, 8 p.m., $35.

7828 Olive

Louis, 314-241-1888.

Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

JOE METZK

HALL & OATES: W/ Train, Sat., May 12, 7 p.m.,

314-726-6161.

Jazz, Blues

$30-$139.50. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark

PETER MARTIN AND BRIAN OWENS: W/ Terence

314-436-52

Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

Blanchard, Sat., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., $45. Grandel

K.FLAY: Mo

HATEBREED: W/ Crowbar, The Acacia Strain,

Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square, St. Louis, 314-

Pageant, 6

Twitching Tongues, Tue., March 27, 8 p.m.,

533-0367.

6161.

$25-$28. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St.

TECH N9NE: W/ Krizz Kaliko, Just Juice, Joey

KAHSAN: W

Louis, 314-726-6161.

Cool, King Iso, Thu., June 14, 8 p.m., $27.50-

Jan. 27, 7 p

JAPANESE BREAKFAST: Sat., June 16, 8 p.m.,

$30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.

Blvd., St. L

$18-$20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester

Louis, 314-726-6161.

KATIE GUIL

Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

TYRONE WELLS: Fri., April 27, 8 p.m., $15-$20.

p.m., $10.

JASON ALDEAN: W/ Luke Combs, Lauren

Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis,

Louis, 314

Alaina, Thu., May 17, 7 p.m., TBA. Hollywood

314-588-0505.

KIM MASS

8 p.m. Friday, January 26. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $17 to $20. 314773-3363.

BOBBY STE

Gusman, S

Anchor, 52 5226. BRANDON

10 p.m., $1

Broadway

BULLY: W/

Delmar H 726-6161.

CHASE RIC

Pageant, 6 6161.

CYRUS CHE

$35-$40. Ja

St. Louis, 3

DATSIK: W

SAVAGE LOVE MOTHER LOVE BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: My father left my mother abruptly when I was fourteen years old, and he hasn’t contacted either of us since. It was a crushing blow for her, and she retreated from the world. She was never bitter about it, but it was devastating. She lost the love of her life for no apparent reason and was left completely alone, except for me. We have both done our best to forget about him. We were extremely close for the next four years and actually slept in the same bed every night. Eventually, we began doing something that most people would consider evil but neither of us has ever regretted. It was just something that happened. And it wasn’t something that just happened once — it went on for two years and ended only when I left to go to university. I haven’t thought about this for years, and it is something my mother and I have never discussed. She has since remarried and seems perfectly fine. But even today, we sometimes send each other friendly messages that are vaguely suggestive. The problem is I mentioned it to my wife recently and she went ballistic. She called me and my mother sick and moved into another bedroom and refuses to have sex with me. I wish I had never mentioned it, but it was part of a truth-or-dare session we were having. This has been the situation for the last three months. I have finally lost my patience and I am thinking of leaving. I have never cheated on my wife or hurt her, either physically or emotionally, and I have supported her financially while she studies at university. I have mentioned going to a counselor, but she refuses and claims that she is married to a monster and that no woman would want me. We don’t have any children — so if I were to leave, I wouldn’t be disrupting an innocent’s life. Do you have any advice? Truthful Revelation Unmakes Two Happy Spouses I’m not a professional counselor, TRUTHS, but I’m gonna climb out on a limb and say that a game of truth or dare isn’t the right time

to reveal an incestuous sexual relationship with a parent. Dr. Hani Miletski and Dr. Joe Kort, on the other hand, are professionals: Dr. Miletski is a psychotherapist and a sex therapist, and Dr. Kort is a sex and relationship therapist. Both are certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and both are authors — Dr. Miletski literally wrote the book on the subject of mother-son incest: Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo Persists. “There’s no wonder his wife is so upset,” said Dr. Miletski. “Sexual relations between mother and son are considered the most taboo form of incest.” Dr. Miletski told me it isn’t uncommon for a woman who has been abandoned by her husband to turn to an adolescent son for emotional comfort. “These women are often very insecure and needy,” said Dr. Miletski. “Unbeknownst to the son — and sometimes to the mother — the son begins to feel responsible for his mother’s well-being and emotional support. The son becomes ‘parentified’ and is treated by his mother as a substitute husband. Occasionally, this close relationship between a mother and her son evolves into a sexual relationship, and the substitute husband becomes her lover as well. The situation described in this letter sounds exactly like that. And while I’m glad this man believes he has not been affected by this boundary violation, [the fact that he and his mother are] sending suggestive messages to each other may suggest otherwise.” Dr. Miletski prefers not to use terms like “abuse” or “trauma” unless the person involved uses those terms themselves — which you didn’t, TRUTHS, but I’m going to go ahead and use them. Here goes: You say you have no regrets, and you don’t mention feeling traumatized by the experience, but the absence of trauma doesn’t confer some sort of retroactive, after-the-fact immunity on your mother. She is responsible for her actions — actions that were abusive and highly likely to leave you traumatized. “In the mental-health field, we

have a growing body of work showing that not everyone who is abused is necessarily traumatized,” said Dr. Kort. “I have seen countless men who have been sexually abused by their mothers who do not label it as abuse because they were not traumatized. But his mother seduced him, dismissing the sexual and emotional needs of a teenage boy. There is no other way to describe this other than abuse, however consensual he may have perceived it to be at the time.” But that was then, TRUTHS. What do you do about your situation now? “Unfortunately, I don’t think his wife will ever be able to put this revelation behind her,” said Dr. Miletski. “I think his best bet is to leave her, move on and seek therapy. A therapist will help him deal with the emotional upset of the breakup with his wife, as well as process what happened with his mother.” Dr. Kort sees some hope — albeit slim — for your marriage. “To gain empathy and compassion from his wife, TRUTHS should be willing to listen to her concerns, fear, and anger,” said Dr. Kort. “He also needs to invite her to have compassion and empathy for the vulnerable position he was in — but he cannot do that until he has some compassion for himself. Untreated, the abuse he suffered from his mother, as well as the loss and grief over his father, could be troubling to his wife and their relationship. Perhaps if he ever has children, the reality of the abuse will hit him. Parents don’t have children to turn them into lovers.” And, once again, people probably shouldn’t reveal incestuous relationships to their current partner during a game of truth or dare. You can find Dr. Miletski’s books and learn more about her work at DrMiletski.com. You can find Dr. Kort’s books and learn more about his work at JoeKort.com and on Twitter @drjoekort. Hey, Dan: I’m writing you to ask about a friend of mine. He’s a gifted artist who hasn’t truly dedicated himself to his art. It’s as if he’s riverfronttimes.com

afraid of success. He’s also a socalled “womanizer,” and every time he meets an interesting woman who’s into him, he inevitably fucks it up. For this reason and some others (that I won’t mention), I believe he’s a repressed homosexual. Let’s just assume that he is. Every time we talk, maybe once or twice a year, he recounts his latest fuckups with women (and everything else). During the last call, I was very close to asking him if he was sure about his sexual orientation. I believe that what makes him unable to face this aspect of his life is interfering with everything else, too. I would like to be able to talk openly about it with him without hurting him. Do you have any tips? Artist Failing At Relationships Sometimes a cigar isn’t just a cigar — but an unsuccessful heterosexual is almost always just that. Unless the details you didn’t share include, say, a massive collection of gay porn or messy closet-case classics like drunken lunges at male friends or running for Congress on a “family values” platform, your friend will have to remain in the hetero column for now. That said, if you believe a solid gay ass pounding would jar loose the professional and romantic success that has thus far eluded your friend, go ahead and ask him if he’s a “repressed homosexual.” It might cost you his friendship, AFAR, but someone who calls only once or twice a year to recount his romantic fuckups doesn’t sound like much of a friend anyway. Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org Want to reach someone at the RFT? If you’re looking to provide info about an event, please contact calendar@ riverfronttimes.com. If you’re passing on a news tip or information relating to food, please email sarah.fenske@riverfronttimes.com. If you’ve got the scoop on nightlife, comedy or music, please email daniel.hill@riverfronttimes.com. Love us? Hate us? You can email sarah. fenske@riverfronttimes.com about that too. Due to the volume of email we receive, we may not respond -- but rest assured we are reading every one.

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VALENTINE’S

South City 3552 Gravois at Grand Mid County 10210 Page Ave (3 mi East of Westport) St. Peters 1034 Venture Dr (70 & Cave Springs-Outer Rd)

Mon. - Sat. 9 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Noon - 5 PM Unless otherwise limited, prices are good through Tuesday following publication date. Installed price offers are for product purchased from Audio Express installed in factory-ready locations. Custom work at added cost. Kits, antennas and cables additional. Added charges for shop supplies and environmental disposal where mandated. Illustrations similar. Video pictures may be simulated. Not responsible for typographic errors. Savings off MSRP or our original sales price, may include install savings. Intermediate markdowns may have been taken. Details, conditions and restrictions of manufacturer promotional offers at respective websites. Price match applies to new, non-promotional items from authorized sellers; excludes “shopping cart” or other hidden specials. © 2019, Audio Express.

JANUARY 24-30, 2018

riverfronttimes.com

AUDIO EXPRESS!

Lowest Installed Price In Town — Every Time!

Ultimate Massage by

Summer!

SWEDISH & DEEP TISSUE FULL BODY MASSAGE mon - fri 10 am - 5 pm

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some weekends

South County/Lemay Area

314-620-6386 # 2006003746