Riverfront Times - September 28, 2016

SEPTEMBER 28–OCTOBER 4, 2016 I VOLUME 40 I NUMBER 39

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75

reasons TO LOVE

St .

Louis

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THURSDAY 9/29

FRIDAY 9/30

MONDAY 10/3

TUESDAY 10/4

WEDNESDAY 10/5

SATURDAY 10/8

MONDAY 10/10

WEDNESDAY 10/12

THURSDAY 10/13

FRIDAY 10/14

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IN 2016, LOVE IS IN THE AIR

75

For as long as anyone around here can remember, the RFT’s Best of St. Louis issue has followed a standard format: We deem a person, place or thing the best in a category, and then we explain why.

Simple, judgmental, useful.

But not everything that’s wonderful about St. Louis fits into such a taxonomy. We love both Left Bank Books and Subterranean Books, for different reasons. Why should we have to pick just one? Oh, and we love the Novel Neighbor, too — is the best solution really a three-way tie?

reasons TO

St.

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After thinking about that this year, we opted for major change, scrapping the neat little categories and embracing the messiness of life.

Now, rather than “Best This” or “Best That,” we give you 75 reasons to love St. Louis — personal recommendations, essays and explorations of the things in this city that our writers and editors adore.

Some of these things are book stores. Some are restaurants, clubs and theaters. One is (yes!) a gin bucket (we’re thirsty that way). And while they don’t always fit into bite-size pieces, we think they collectively provide a portrait of this complicated, screwed-up, wonderful place we call home.

Check out our enthusiastic recommendations in City Life (page 11), Things to Buy (page 19), Arts & Entertainment (page 33), Things to See and Do (page 43), Food & Drink (page 53), Bars & Nightlife (page 81), and last but never least, the Music Scene (page 89). You’ll find 75 tributes to the people, places and things in St. Louis that have us most excited right now — our hope is that, reading along, you’ll be excited too.

Longing for the sort of clear-cut award system we previously published? We’ve still got a series of Best Of awards, all voted by our readers. Check out their picks beginning on page 96.

Happy reading!

Sarah Fenske Editor in Chief

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Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Elizabeth Semko Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Editorial Interns Harry Hall, Jessica Karins Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Sara Graham, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer, Mabel Suen, Lauren Milford, Thomas Crone, MaryAnn Johanson, Jenn DeRose

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We learned how to stand up long before the rest of the country.

That’s coming in handy. | THEO WELLING

[ Ci ty Li fe ]

BECAUSE WE’RE BATTLE-TESTED — AND BETTER THAN EVER

T

here was a moment not long into Donald Trump’s only big campaign rally in St. Louis in which protesters managed to stop the presidential candidate in his tracks. For a full ten minutes, he sputtered and ad-libbed awkwardly while security struggled to remove everyone who was shouting. There were so many of them, and they were so effective, Trump simply couldn’t regain control of the room.

He seemed genuinely surprised by the wall of resistance he was encountering.

“Missouri, I can’t believe this,” he said.

The off-the-cuff remark was telling. Trump thought he’d landed in Missouri — reddish-purple Missouri, home of assorted rednecks and deplorable fellow travelers. But he’d really landed in St. Louis. True blue St. Louis, a city committed to a diversity that’s anathema to everything the Republican nominee stands for: black and white, gay and straight, refugee and native-born, we live side by side and we make it work. No wonder the protesters around the Peabody Opera House that morning seemed to outnumber the bigots.

The fact is, while the last couple of years have been tough ones, adversity is nothing new when your address is St. Louis. We’ve endured waves of crime, white flight, corrupt law enforcement, serious racial tension and year after year of bad press coverage. We’ve been scorned for our weather, our race relations, even the cheese on our pizza. We keep fighting.

The troubles exposed by the 2014 police shooting in Ferguson might have felled a weaker city. Not us. We made changes, squared our shoulders and carried on. We know we have more to do, but we’re committed to seeing it through.

And there are glimmers of hope. The only fighting at the Trump rally was stagecraft; outside, protesters and supporters interacted peacefully. Faizan Syed even handed out doughnuts, forcing Trump supporters to put a face to the oft-demonized other (in this case, Muslims).

“We had a lot of people who gave us hugs, they gave us high-fives,” he reported a few days later. “They gave us handshakes. One random guy donated $5. He said, ‘I love what you’re doing, here’s five bucks.’”

Within municipal politics, too, change is afoot. The reformers who battled their

way onto the Board of Aldermen in 2015 are having a ripple effect. This August, a group of starry-eyed young progressives took on the entrenched Democratic Party establishment — and won a few big victories.

One of the highest-profile races pitted Cherokee Street business owner Bruce Franks Jr. against incumbent state Rep. Penny Hubbard (D-St. Louis). Matriarch of a small dynasty, Hubbard had a record of putting family before community, even voting to protect Doe Run Co. from people alleging harmful lead exposure. Surprise: At the time of the vote, the company had recently hired her son as a lobbyist.

The Hubbard family also had a penchant for racking up victories via absentee ballots. But unlike past candidates, Franks didn’t chalk up the absentee irregularities as the way things are done in St. Louis. His lawyer, David Roland, forced the Board of Elections to follow state law — filing two different lawsuits and finally winning in appellate court. The pair’s efforts caught the attention of no less than Governor Jay Nixon, who responded to Roland’s string of legal victories by booting two top election commissioners.

The most telling moment in the imbroglio came a few weeks before victory, when Hubbard started to realize she had to fight back and chose to get down in the mud to do it. One of her attorneys, state Rep. Mike Colona (D-St. Louis), tried to put Roland on blast on Facebook, alleging that Franks’ campaign was really about voter suppression because his lawyer was (gasp!) a libertarian.

Franks’ supporters, some of the city’s staunchest progressives, weren’t having it.

They knew Roland had been working without concern for payment and had even crashed at one of their homes during the legal battle, just to have somewhere to stay in St. Louis. When you’ve broken bread with a guy, it’s impossible to dismiss him as the caricature of his political beliefs. They rose to defend the attorney, and ultimately Colona deleted his post.

The St. Louis of 2016 isn’t partisan, which may be a rude awakening to the machine that has long counted on people simply voting for the Democrat on the ticket. The divide is no longer black vs. white, north vs. south. Young city residents are reshaping old coalitions. And seeing the energy surrounding Franks and his supporters, it’s impossible to imagine that the great shakeup is done yet. The status quo isn’t working; we want more for this city we love.

Franks, by the way, crushed his do-over race. Presuming we can survive the presidential election, the 2017 mayoral race ought to be really, really interesting.

– Sarah Fenske Continued on pg 12

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 11

Yes, this man was invited here. But only to debate. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

BECAUSE WE’RE THE IOWA OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES For the sixth consecutive election cycle — that’s dating all the way back to the ascension of another candidate named Clinton, in 1992 — Washington University has been invited to host the center stage for one of the national election’s most pivotal moments: a presidential or vice presidential debate. Overseen by the Commission on Presidential Debates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will duke it out on October 9 over everything from health care to social justice issues to that damn wall, all while being watched live by millions of citizens here and abroad.

What makes Wash U so desirable as a debate location? Is it the school’s reputation for high-quality education and discourse? Perhaps it’s because St. Louis is a busy city in the center of the country? Maybe the debate commissioners just really like hanging out near Forest Park?

While all of these reasons make sense to us, none of them is good enough for the Washington Post, which posted a bellyaching opinion piece last year decrying St. Louis’ debate-hosting dominance. “Maybe it’s time to give Wisconsin a shot,” the piece argued.

Yeah, and maybe it’s time Wisconsin developed schools that regularly rank higher on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” list (Washington University is No. 15 among national universities this year).

Until then, we’ll happily accept hosting one of the most decisive events every four years and forcing the folks who will run our nation to consider flyover country for once. America, we’re ready for our close-up. Yes, again.

– Allison Babka 12

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BECAUSE WE’RE BUILDING A BETTER BREAST PUMP

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Husband-and-wife team Samantha Rudolph and Jared Miller’s downtown startup, Babyation (911 Washington Avenue, 844-744-7867), is doing the unthinkable: It’s building a breast pump that doesn’t suck. Which might be a slight oversimplification, because its Kickstarter-funded pump still sucks in the literal sense. It just won’t be noisy, or require terrible contortions, in order to get milk from boob to bottle. If all goes as planned, it won’t even require nursing moms to leave that important board meeting.

Babyation’s prototype quietly thrums away under your shirt, pumping out milk even as you pump out work. It should hit the market next year.

Before going all-in on Babyation, Rudolph and Miller had been living on the East Coast, and they’re up front about the fact that they might never have considered moving back to her hometown had it not been for Arch Grants. The nonprofit gives entrepreneurs living in St. Louis $50,000 in equity-free grants, plus a wealth of pro bono support.

For Babyation, that has made all the difference. “We made more connections in three weeks here than over eighteen months working on this in Connecticut,” Miller says. To date, Arch Grants has awarded $4.75 million in total, with 86 new companies funded and trying to become the next big thing. Not all of them are likely to change the world — but if they can help it suck a bit less intrusively, we’re not complaining.

– Sarah Fenske

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… AND A PROSTHETIC NIPPLE With a face covered in tattoos, Eric Catalano wears his profession on his skin. A body piercer and tattoo artist based in St. Louis and Hecker, Illinois, Catalano also operates a one-of-a-kind service. He restores nipples for women who lost them in life-saving breast cancer surgery.

Crafted from silicone and custom-made to match each woman’s body, the prosthetic nipples are a testament to the impact cancer survivors have left on Catalano (find him at eternalink.youcanbook.me).

Starting in 2010, Catalano began tattooing areolas and nipples on women whose breasts had been removed during single and double mastectomies. He listened to their stories about painful skin grafts intended to create new nipples from flesh — but these operations regularly ended in disappointment. Eventually, he’d heard enough.

So he applied his own expertise to the problem and invented a solution.

In October 2015, Catalano conducted his first microdermal prosthetic nipple implant on a woman who had sacrificed her nipple in a battle with cancer. Catalano employed the same technique he uses to set jewelry on his customers’ skin: A tiny metal post with a socket is inserted just below surface; once healed, the opening serves as an anchor for the bespoke prosthesis.

“I feel complete today,” the woman said afterwards.

When he can, Catalano prefers to perform the entire procedure for free. “I feel blessed to have been doing this,” he says. With people like Catalano around, we’re pretty sure St. Louis can count itself blessed, too.

– Danny Wicentowski

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Continued on pg 14

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 13

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Bipolar I Depression Mybipolarstudy.com 636.946.8032 LEARN MORE Lewis Claybon says good morning. | KELLY GLUECK

Gregory F.X. Daly Collector of Revenue

Public NOTICE Suits have been filed on the properties listed on the Collector of Revenue website.

www.StLouisCollector.com Collector of Revenue Office St. Louis City Hall Room 109 1200 Market Street St. Louis, MO 63103-2895 Phone: (314) 622-4105 | Fax: (314) 589-6731 Email: propertytaxdept@stlouis-mo.gov Hours of Operation: Mon. - Fri., 8:00am - 5:00pm Tax Sale: 185 Circuit Court Division No: 29

BECAUSE A GUY OUTSIDE LAMB’S BRIDE DAYCARE SHOWS THAT SOMEONE CARES ABOUT YOUR MORNING COMMUTE The south city traffic jam on Tower Grove Avenue is a soul killer, and that’s not changing any time soon. We’ll all have jet packs before they finish rebuilding South Grand, much less Kingshighway. Lucky for us, there is Lewis Claybon.

A 51-year-old daily affirmation in human form, Claybon posts up at 6 a.m. outside of Lamb’s Bride Child Care Center (1324 Tower Grove Avenue, 314-531-2425) to watch out for school kids and make your life a little bit better. He waves — two hands if he recognizes you — at every passing car and cyclist. He roars like a lion to make kids laugh. He blows kisses to pretty women.

“Sometimes, I even dance a little for them,” he says.

Claybon started his daily routine about twelve years ago. A bachelor with no kids of his own, he noticed a young girl waiting alone for the bus one morning. He stayed out on his porch to make sure she was OK. The next day he did the same, and soon he was watching out for kids every morning in every kind of weather. As long as he was standing out there on the corner, he figured he’d start to wave to the drivers grinding past. People deal with darkness in this world, he knows. Why not try to lighten it? Claybon says you know it’s bad when you hear about rich people committing suicide.

“People come through and you never know what they’re going through,” he says. “I give them a smile and a wave. Don’t cost nothing.”

He mans the corner until 9 a.m., and then he goes inside Lamb’s Bride and works in the kitchen until 1 p.m. He might go across the street to volunteer at Adams Elementary School after that or just walk the neighborhood before returning to the corner for 3 p.m. school dismissal.

He sees you coming, grim-faced in all that traffic, caught up in God-knows-what problems. He waves and smiles. Feel better. Lewis Claybon cares about you. – Doyle Murphy Continued on pg 16

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 14

Can tech assist social service agencies in solving the world’s toughest problems? GlobalHack thinks the answer is yes. | COURTESY OF GLOBALHACK

BECAUSE WE’RE PUTTING THE MIDWEST ON THE WORLD MAP WITH GLOBALHACK

BECAUSE WE’RE NOT JUST QUESTIONING THE LACK OF WOMEN IN TECH — WE’RE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Plenty of brilliant developers throughout St. Louis build fun apps for the hell of it.

But what if those geniuses were charged with solving society’s problems? And what if they were backed by some serious cash?

GlobalHack (911 Washington Avenue, Suite 657, 314-896-4225) challenges St. Louisans with both, aiming to elevate the Gateway City’s stature as a haven for tech startups even while contributing answers to real issues that hold our city back.

For 2016, GlobalHack is partnering with St. Patrick Center, compelling participants in a weekend-long hackathon to consider how new tech solutions can help agencies better serve the local homeless population.

To do this, the foundation and event bring together participants from all over the tech realm — engineers, designers and everyone in between — for lots and lots of coding, as well as crash courses in team building, critical thinking and business planning.

The “bettering humanity” angle is pretty sweet, but participants can get more than just warm fuzzies from putting their minds to work. During this year’s hackathon, scheduled for October 21 to 23 at Chaifetz Arena, GlobalHack will award $1 million in cash prizes to the teams whose prototype software best advance real-world solutions. That’s a huge step up from the $275,000 that’s been awarded in total in GlobalHack’s previous five events since 2013.

And a big cash infusion isn’t the only increase GlobalHack is seeing in 2016.

While hackathon divisions for youth, college and professional participants were already up and running, GlobalHack just launched a set of children’s programs that give kids hands-on opportunities in computer science and encourage them to explore careers in the tech world. What good is a startup community without bodies to, well, start it up? GlobalHack founders and local entrepreneurs Drew Winship of Juristat, Travis Sheridan of Venture Cafe and Gabe Lozano of LockerDome know that a pipeline of eager, creative students is vital for sustaining an ecosystem of innovation, especially in the oft-overlooked Midwest. And with mentors and partners beside these youngsters, they just may be able to solve the intractable problems that scientists, businesses and politicians have failed to fix for decades.

– Allison Babka

“Why aren’t there more women in computer science?”

The question has been weighing on hiring managers’ minds in recent years as companies finally recognize that a diverse lineup of employees often leads to better products.

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t simple. Everything from marketing PCs specifically to boys in the 1980s to the subsequent absence of female representation in geek culture to flat-out sexism in a male-dominated field has contributed to a situation where women hold only 26 percent of computing-related jobs — and more than half leave those gigs mid-career for less technical, less toxic opportunities, according to a 2015 study from the National Center for Women and Information Technology.

Enter CoderGirl, an initiative from the St. Louis tech nonprofit LaunchCode (4811 Delmar Boulevard), determined to address the gender gap in tech and create a pipeline of talented coders.

CoderGirl aims to change the stereotypical face of programming — admit it: when you hear “computer geek,” you probably think of a white dude — by offering free training and networking opportunities to St. Louis women in a collaborative, non-toxic environment.

Facilitated by education and community engagement manager Crystal Martin, CoderGirl participants of every skill level pair up with mentors to work on personal and professional coding projects without the hesitancy that women sometimes find in male-skewing learning spaces. Through a combination of weekly online classes and hands-on tinkering, these women build apps and programs that are both useful and creative.

The program is doing more than simply pulling women toward a traditionally male industry, though; it’s also introducing even more diversity into that talent pipeline.

CoderGirl’s go-at-your-own-pace training has become immensely popular with women of color, women at both very young and advanced ages, and women from a variety of economic backgrounds — all of whom are traditionally underrepresented in the tech field and in hiring in general. Participants who successfully complete CoderGirl training at the LaunchCode Mentor Center may apply for LaunchCode apprenticeships with local big-name companies or explore other opportunities for full-time work in programming.

With dozens of women taking advantage of CoderGirl’s skills training each week, we’re betting that the next “women in tech” study will be a bit more encouraging.

– Allison Babka

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Sam Coster needed a distraction, but created a best-seller. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI

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BECAUSE WE CAN TURN ADVERSITY INTO A BREAKTHROUGH In the beginning, Sam Coster and his brothers created the world of Crashlands to be bright, squishy and weird. The PC and mobile game had to be outlandish, they decided, and funny as hell. But above all else, it needed to be big — so big you could get lost there for hours on end. Because while Coster’s mind was busy dreaming up characters and bizarre alien fauna to populate the game, his body was busy trying to kill him.

In October 2013, Coster was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There is never a convenient time to find out you might be dying, but Coster had just cofounded a game development studio, Butterscotch Shenanigans, and like many indie developers, the young company was feverishly trying to make a name for itself, with simple, goofy titles that could be replayed endlessly.

Then Coster found himself trapped in a hospital bed. He and his brothers scrapped their next planned project. Instead, Coster wanted to make something ambitious, a game that wouldn’t “disappear in the blink of an eye.” He wanted a game that would take him away from the disease eating his liver, bones and spleen.

“What I needed,” Coster says, “was a huge project.”

Two months after his diagnosis, and only one day after his first chemo session, Coster went to work on Crashlands. From his hospital bed, he drew more than 1,000 unique items, aliens, monsters, plants and weapons. His brothers, Seth and Adam, built a sprawling world to contain them.

After two years of development, Crashlands launched in January 2016 to critical acclaim; it remains one of the most popular role-playing games ever released on iOS and Android. The player controls Flux, an intergalactic truck driver who finds herself waylaid on a strange planet after her cargo is stolen by a nefarious alien. In her quest to reclaim her stuff, Flux must build shelter, explore territory and defeat local wildlife to gather resources. “Turn their parts against them!” urges an unhinged narrator in the game’s launch trailer. “Sew their skin into armor! Grind their bones into weaponry and turn their babies against their former brethren!”

So yes, Crashlands is super weird, but its cartoony aesthetic and 60-hour storyline has put Butterscotch Shenanigans on the map. And after months of intense treatment, and one scary relapse, Coster says he’s been given a clean bill of health.

Butterscotch Shenanigans is angling to build on Crashlands’ success. The University City-based company has increased its staff by three, and the team is now working on improving the “Crashlands Creator,” which puts the same tools used to build the game into players’ hands.

“We’ve had three years of pretty intense struggle,” Coster says. “It’s not something you can forget about. You’re not given an infinite window of time. You need to chose well how to direct your energy, to where you can accomplish whatever you’re trying to do.”

– Danny Wicentowski

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A patron browses the stacks at Subterranean Books. | KELLY GLUECK

[ T hings to Buy ]

BECAUSE WE STILL BUY BOOKS HERE

W

hen Charles Dickens first arrived in America he reportedly asked to be taken to see a few prisons; ever the social reformer, he felt he would gain some insight into who we are by seeing how we treated and housed our criminals.

Me, I go to the book store.

More accurately, I go to several. St. Louis is less a city and more a sprawling connection of neighborhoods, each with its own concerns, gossip and squad goals.

Our book stores are the limbic system of our Frankenstein body politic, capturing the mood and general emotional health of a particular neighborhood. You’ll overhear people talking about their fears (the coming election is a big one), the day-to-day stuff like dead car batteries, the Cardinals and the big issue of our time — what are we going to read next?

Kelly von Plonski (currently reading Emma Cline’s The Girls and Robert O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH) is the owner of Subterranean Books (6275 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-862-6100). She suspects this is the case because of the communal nature of how people buy books.

“We hand-sell them,” she says. “It’s a personal, one-to-one relationship between us and the customer.”

Subterranean has been in business in the same location since 2000, and von Plonski says seeing customers who were there at the beginning come in now with children is one of the most rewarding things about the job. She also knows who gets the credit for those life-long relationships.

“It’s the staff. I’m not here all the time, so I know it’s up to them.”

Subterranean has two full-time employees and two part-timers. Von Plonski believes a good book seller is “part introvert and part extrovert. They have to be a voracious reader, and they have to be curious about what other people are reading.”

That curiosity is important. In 2016 people have a plethora of outlets for book talk,

book news and book buying, most of them online. But none of them compares to standing in a book store and talking with strangers about what they have in stock.

When a customer asks where to find D.H. Lawrence and it opens a store-wide discussion about his best story, you know you’re in a great book shop; when everybody nominates a different story and then all involved — including the employee — file off to browse Lawrence’s back catalog, you know you’ve found your people. It’s an experience impossible to replicate via text, chat or online review.

That’s why social media plays such a small role in von Plonski’s professional life.

“It’s not any more important now than it’s ever been,” she agrees. “I run Twitter and Facebook, and Gena (Brady, a full-timer) manages our Instagram account, which is mostly for pictures of Teddy.” Teddy is Gena’s dachshund, and he’s in-store several times a week. He has his own shelf of recommended books along with the other employees.

Despite what you may have heard about print dying, business at Subterranean has only grown since 2011, von Plonski says. That was the same year a collective of locally owned bookstores joined forces in the Independent Bookstore Alliance (www.stlindiebook.org), the goal of which was to raise awareness of the integral role book shops play in the life of their communities. Current members include Subterranean, Left Bank Books (399 North Euclid Avenue, 314-367-6731), the Novel Neighbor (7905 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves; 314-738-9384), the Book House (7352 Manchester Road, Maplewood; 314-968-4491), Main Street Books (307 South Main Street, St. Charles; 636-949-0105) and Rose’s Bookhouse (8935 Veteran’s Memorial Parkway, O’Fallon; 636-272-5857). The group holds irregular meetings and maintains a website with information on upcoming literary events, in addition to curating a best-seller list based on all member stores’ sales. (They’re all, you have perhaps noticed, located in interesting and well-defined neighborhoods. Imagine that.)

Asked about other group initiatives, von Plonski demurs. “We need someone who has the time to lead us, “ she says. “We’re all pretty busy with our stores.”

So busy, in fact, that she has no definite goals for the coming year. “Not until the kids are in school all day. So I look forward to cleaning the office in 2018.” – Paul Friswold Continued on pg 20

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SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

19

75 REASONS Continued from pg 19

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The Normal Brand, created by local businessman Jimmy Sansone, has been taking the country by storm since its creation in March 2015. Sansone was inspired by his in-the-middle lifestyle: his family lived in the city, but spent weekends enjoying the outdoors. He didn’t need fancy duds, nor did he find the Nantucket-inspired preppy looks of J.Crew appealing. He just wanted clothing that was … normal.

Frustrated by the lack of well-made, durable options catering to this lifestyle, Sansone set out to create a clothing line that redefines what it means to be normal, with henleys, flannels, long-sleeved T-shirts. The basics, but with good fabrics.

Roughly a year and a half later his business has taken off, to say the least. The Normal Brand (various retailers; thenormalbrand.com) raked in more than $500,000 in its first year. It’s featured in stores from St. Louis to Atlanta to Dallas and now includes a successful college ambassador program. With men’s and women’s lines, accessories and even a few items for our canine counterparts, this clothing brand is showing that Midwestern fashion is just as versatile and desirable as our way of life.

– Natalie Rao Continued on pg 22

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

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Reclaim Renew can turn a barn into shelving, or a table. | EMILY McCARTER

BECAUSE EVEN OUR OLD BARNS ARE TRENDY Just about every week, Barry Kraft gets a phone call from someone saying their barn is falling down.

But they’re not calling to complain. They’re calling to give him access to the materials. Kraft’s business Reclaim Renew (2145 Barrett Station Road, Des Peres; 314-858-9100) combines his well-honed furniture-making skills with old wood from Midwestern barns to build strikingly beautiful furniture.

“We have calls from grandmothers who say that her and her husband have been with that barn in their life for the past 50, 60 years,” Kraft explains. “It has become a part of their life and the fact that it’s falling down just breaks their heart. So when they come in here and see what we’re doing with it, it makes them feel really good.”

Kraft and his team tear down four to five barns a month, and they can get somewhere between 3,000 to 10,000 board feet of lumber from each one.

That’s enough to make dozens of tables, benches, mantels and other items.

“Let’s just say I have enough wood to last me years,” Kraft says with a laugh.

Although Reclaim Renew’s storefront and showroom only opened in Des Peres in early June, the company has already outgrown three work spaces in its five years of operation. Kraft’s team of approximately twelve builds custom cabinets, sliding barn doors, mantels, coffee tables and virtually anything else made of wood. They partner with a local stoneworker, concrete company and a blacksmith.

“Our stuff isn’t just ‘farm,’” says Katie Bingham, a longtime friend of Kraft’s who joined the business in 2011. “Just because it came from a barn doesn’t mean it has to go back into a barn style. We’ve gone super high-end modern, but also very rustic. So we can really morph the wood into a lot of different looks to match those home styles. I think that’s why Reclaim Renew has become so popular here in St. Louis, because people love that history behind things, but they want a more modern touch.”

And it’s not just a matter of creative reuse. It’s also a superior grade of wood.”

“That wood is first-growth lumber that is just not around anymore,” Kraft says. “It’s never coming back; we’ll never have it again.”

Adds Bingham, “The durability of these products is through the roof — how solid and how strong.”

At the Des Peres store, customers can purchase furniture to fit their style, or meet with the pair to design custom pieces for their homes, offices or any other space. Reclaim Renew has provided custom items for many stores and restaurants around the area, including Lion’s Choice, Circle 7 Ranch and Twisted Tree.

Another reason to feel good about shopping at Reclaim Renew? The business is giving back. On top of building custom furniture for profit, Kraft also works with St. Louis’ Rise Together Ministries to train refugees and others in woodworking. Many of the smaller wooden items, such as drink holders, were crafted by program participants.

– Emily McCarter Continued on pg 24

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

23

75 REASONS Continued from pg 22 BECAUSE WE EXCEL AT REUSING, REPURPOSING AND RECYCLING St. Louis may not have a Fifth Avenue’s worth of highend shops selling new items, but we simply can’t be beat when it comes to repurposing. There are many places across the metro area to hunt for both vintage home goods and furniture or gently used treasures.

You probably want to start on Cherokee Street.

The south city neighborhood’s row of antique shops has long been a standby of vintage goodness, with gems such as Riverside Architectural Antiques (1947 Cherokee Street, 314-772-9177) and Ruth’s Vintage (2001 Cherokee Street, 314865-1091). The options are many; pick up a drink and treat from Whisk: A Sustainable Bakeshop (2201 Cherokee Street, 314-932-5166) to fuel your journey.

But while it’s most concentrated, Cherokee is not the only shopping district for those looking for pre-used goods. Just south of Forest Park, Quintessential Antiques (5707 Manchester Avenue, 314-531-9701) has new treasures every month.

The owners take a unique approach and are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. the first seven days of the month, then spend the rest of the month traveling across the U.S. in search of vintage finds for their store. Nearby, the Green Shag Market (5733 Manchester Avenue, 314-646-8687) blends antique and modern in its large store, which contains booths from various vendors, each with their own taste and specialty.

There you might find decorative letters cut from vintage books and welcome signs painted on reclaimed wood in addition to mid-century modern furniture and 1970s bellbottoms. The Green Goose Resale and Consignment (5611 Hampton Avenue, 314352-5000) takes a similar approach; you’ll almost definitely find good antiques there, along with a wide range of slightly more modern furniture, dishes and home décor. If your home improvement projects are more on the renovation level, ReFab (3130 Gravois Aven ue, 314-357-1392) offers a warehouse of reclaimed wood, cabinets, doors and more (plus some furniture and décor, too).

At Green Shag Market, you can buy antique or go modern. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

Richmond Heights is home to two large antique stores on Big Bend, the appropriately named Treasure Aisles Antique Mall (2317 S. Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-647-6875) and Big Bend Antique Gallery (2337 S. Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-645-3130).

Until recently, it was also home to Miriam Switching Post (292 Hanley Industrial Court, Brentwood; 314646-7737), which has since relocated to Brentwood.

Miriam only sells items that have been donated, and sells them tax-free to raise funds for the Miriam School.

Another place you can shop and simultaneously feel good about giving back to the community is Revive Thrift Shop (2202 S. Vandeventer, 314-776-7520), where you’ll surely find some vintage goods but also fresher items, too. The goal of Revive’s nonprofit parent company, Mission St. Louis, is to break the cycle of poverty.

All of these stores require some energy and a discerning eye — it’s necessary to enjoy the hunt for the perfect old leather chair or vintage picture frames. More curated antique stores offer a smaller number of finds and require far less sorting; a great one is the White Rabbit

(9030 Manchester Road, Brentwood; 314-963-9784), which describes an “ever-changing assortment of painted vintage furniture, fun Pinterest-inspired décor, and great items from local artists.” However, the prices reflect the work of styling the store; you’re less likely to find a bargain here.

For the mid-century modern enthusiast, T.F.A. (6514 Chippewa Street, 314-865-1552) and MoModerne (8631 Watson Road, Webster Groves; 314495-4095) both have large selections of Mad Men-era pieces, but are on the pricier side; if you head further out of the city to north county’s Red Door Resale (408 St. Anthony Lane, Florissant; 314-488-5154) you’ll find mid-century pieces without a stuffy atmosphere, and you can stop by Pirrone’s Pizzeria (1775 Washington Street, 314-839-3633) afterwards.

Sorting through piles of dusty discards from the past is part of the fun. But nothing is better than someone complimenting the perfect piece you bought for your home and you getting to say, “Oh, I just found this at an antique store.” So much more satisfying than saying it’s from Target.

– Lauren Milford Continued on pg 26

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

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888.578.7289 | rivercity.com SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 24 BECAUSE IN ST. LOUIS, EVERY DAY IS RECORD STORE DAY Crate diggers are known to travel absurd distances, hunt down obscure contacts and forever keep their secrets as they pursue flat, black gold. In St. Louis, however, the vinyl is close and ever-ready for browsing, bartering and swapping. You could hit nearly a dozen record outlets by bicycle, assuming your tires are fat enough to carry the load.

The area’s flagship shops, Vintage Vinyl (6610 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-721-4096) and Euclid Records (19 N. Gore Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-961-8978), have won national recognition, and their stock seems endless. The former is the go-to location for classic blues, soul and hip-hop (and lots more, to be sure); the latter pulls in the latest rock and Americana vinyl releases and reissues, while remaining a jazz-collector’s paradise. Music Record Shop (4191 Manchester Avenue, 314-675-8675) in the Grove and Dead Wax (1959 Cherokee Street, 314-913-3692) in the Cherokee District are onetenth the size, but they still offer a wealth of LPs, new and vintage, and some sweet bargain-bin finds. For the last year, Maplewood has been home to Planet Score (7421 Manchester Road, Maplewood; 314282-0777), which has strong offerings in ‘60s-’80s rock and country. And don’t even get us started on the Record Exchange (5320 Hampton Avenue, 314832-2249) in St. Louis Hills. Owner Jean Haffner has spent a lifetime filling every corner of this former library with country, classic rock, ‘50s pop and rockabilly, jazz and miles of aisles of Elvis. The 45 room upstairs is not for the faint of heart or short on time.

The loss of Apop Records on Cherokee Street in 2014 was a heartbreaker for devotees of the experimental, noise and punk underground. Nothing has replaced it in St. Louis, but the city’s newest record store, Endless Planets (2715 Cherokee Street, lower level 5b, 314-884-8045), located just a few blocks east of where Apop stood, caters to a different kind of music obsessive.

Owners Scott Trausch and Jeff Michael opened the bedroom-sized space in the basement of the Cherokee Place Business Incubator in April 2016. They specialize in rare and bewildering international and American dance

St. Louis’ newest record store, Endless Planets, doesn’t have something for everyone. But that’s OK. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

music: out-of-print post-bop and jazz-fusion titles, African and Brazilian pop and funk, electronic and ambient wax, lots of private or import pressings — pretty much anything and everything that you simply won’t find anywhere else in town.

“People know about African funk and what not, but the market changes depending on what people are listening to,” Michael says. “Someone like Lazarus Kgagudi, who has electronic elements and the use of Linn drums, might not have been rare before, but now there’s interest in these different world rhythms. With the electronic and sampling culture, people are looking for new sounds.”

Both Trausch and Michael are DJs, with Trausch spinning regularly at Propaganda and also running a cassette-release label. Endless Planets features a small

collection of local experimental and electronic music tapes, and a bin for local releases — if by local you mean impossible to find Gaslight Square jazz albums and Ike Turner Jr.’s electro-funk unicorn Hard Labor. Japanese jazz players paying homage to Miles Davis’ electric period? Check. 12” house singles? Check and double check. And though the prices are prohibitive for the novice digger, and the total stock numbers just over a thousand records, the shop has plenty of reasonably priced soul and funk from artists like Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder to complete your collection.

“We know that most people can’t spend $100 on a record they might not know,” admits Michael. “But we want to create a space where people can come in and listen and discover something weird, something interesting, something new.”

– Roy Kasten Continued on pg 28

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If you ask enough St. Louisans where they got their tattoos, eventually you might get the answer “Ragtime.”

The shop is one of St. Louis’ hidden gems: a specialty parlor that operates off the grid with no phone, no email, no advertising, by appointment and referral only. It’s hard to find, but owner Matt Hodel likes to keep it that way: there’s something about having to work for your tattoo — hunting down the per fect place, choosing the perfect artist, creating the perfect design — that reminds him of when he first began getting tattooed at sixteen or seventeen, decades ago.

“There is a place for people who just want to get that one memento,” Hodel says — and that’s not Ragtime Tattoo (3144 Morgan Ford Road). He likes to tell his clients, “When you’re ready to go from having tattoos to being tattooed, then we need to sit down and figure out the direction you wanna go.” He works in bright colors and bold lines, in a particularly St. Louis style popularized in part by the old-guard tattoo artist Mitch Mitchell when he worked at Trader Bob’s Tattoo Shop.

Ragtime Tatto o’s current iteration came about thanks to Ho d e l’s convi c ti on t h at he couldn’t focus on creating Ragtime has no phone, no email. Just amazing tattoos. | COURTESY RAGTIME TATTOO/ HODEL large, complicated tattoos at a normal shop. On a trip to Austria, he saw a friend’s parlor; it worked by appointment City; 314-725-1499), fixtures on the Loop, do smaller only, booking weeks in advance, and allowed for a kind of tattoos in addition to big custom projects. (That said, a in-depth work that just isn’t possible when your day is full of few of the more established folks at Iron Age — including walk-ins. Since Hodel ambiguously inherited Ragtime around Brad Fink, a well-regarded St. Louis artist — work by ap2012, it’s grown (to his mind, somewhat unexpectedly), pointment only.) gaining artists, workspaces and clientele.

If you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten Because it’s a specialty shop, prices typically run higher path but aren’t feeling Ragtime, Art Monster Tattoo than many other St. Louis parlors. Ragtime starts at $100 Shop (2627 Cherokee Street, 314-258-1775), TRX for its consultation fee. After that, patrons work with an Tattoo & Piercing (3207 S. Grand Boulevard, 314artist to plan and budget for a long-term project.

664-4011), Trader Bob’s Tattoo Shop (2529 S. For the uninitiated who don’t want to commit dozens Jefferson Avenue, 314-776-2307), Tower Classic Tatof hours (or an entire limb) to the chair, Ragtime’s not the tooing (4146 Manchester Avenue, 314-875-9995) and only shop doing great work in the St. Louis area. Hodel calls Thunderdome Tattoo (1558 S. Broadway, 314-241the city “a mecca of tattooing,” with a number of excellent 1441) all have excellent reputations and numerous artists. shops that each have several top artists.

That’s just a sampling of some of the well-regarded shops The ever-popular Enigma Tattoos & Body Piercing in the city. Don’t forget to keep an eye out as well for visiting (6635 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-863-8288) artists from around the globe.

– Katelyn Mae Petrin Continued on pg 30 and Iron Age Studios (6309 Delmar Boulevard, University

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 28

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BECAUSE WE INVENTED THE ANTI-TRUMP TRUMP-SCENTED CANDLE When Kate Dobson first dreamed up the idea of a candle that smelled like Vladimir Putin — with notes of pine, earth and “smoke billowing from the cities of your enemies” — she knew nothing about candle-making. Formerly an editor at the Washington Post, she’d moved with husband JD to his native St. Louis in 2009 and was busy raising their two kids while he worked in marketing and PR. But the idea was too funny not to indulge — and six months of experimentation later, damned if Dobson hadn’t figured out how to manufacture one hell of a candle. Naturally, an anti-Trump Trump-scented candle was quick to follow, complete with a shock of orange-ish faux-fur on top. Today you can buy both at Phoenix Rising (6331 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-862-0609).

And that’s the thing about St. Louis — when you’re not racing your way past the other rats, you actually have time to follow your dreams. Even if your dreams smell of suntan oil and steak, with notes of bullshit. – Sarah Fenske

BECAUSE OSO: A STYLE LAB HAS GIVEN US THE WHIMSICAL BOUTIQUE WE WERE MISSING After Good Works Furniture store pulled out of the Loop in the fall of 2014, its landlord, which happened to be the city of University City, began working to fill the sizable footprint the shop had occupied for more than two decades.

Its efforts paid off; Three Dog Bakery brought its second Missouri location to a portion of the space in April, tempting the area’s best-heeled pooches with organic dog treats and self-serve washing stations.

But it’s the shop that opened a few months later in the remaining 1,200 or so square feet that has brought some30

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

Definitely worth a crash course in candlemaking.|COURTESY OF JD AND KATE INDUSTRIES

thing truly unique to Delmar. OSO: a style lab (6321 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-467-0436) isn’t just a clothing boutique and isn’t only a gift shop. It’s a little of both, with everything from $200 cocktail dresses to whimsical knit underwear to bourbon-scented toothpicks, all on display in the same spare, stylish space.

The shop is the brainchild of Jen Rieger and Chris Rubin de la Borballa, U. City residents who also own the digital marketing agency 963 Collective.

They previously took over the Webster Groves boutique Clover, but this is their first attempt at designing a retail shop from the ground up.

The result is a smart, ever-changing collection that’s unapologetically their own, a mix of high and low that combines Asian minimalism with West Coast color and pop playfulness. The shop would be at home on LA’s Abbot-Kinney Boulevard but utterly lost at Plaza Frontenac.

And so you can buy Mavis toothpaste here or rosewood cedar pencils. The jewelry is mostly locally made, as is the eyewear. There are pins by Michelle Volansky, T-shirts by Human. Apparel, dresses by Trang Nguyen, and cards from Sopearb Touch, whose work they spotted at the U. City Farmers Market and now can’t keep in stock.

It’s not just the witty, irreverent cards that are flying out of the store.

Before OSO even opened, de la Borballa placed a set of G.I. Joes in yoga poses in the window. “People kept knocking, asking how much they were selling for,” he says. “They really wanted to buy them.”

“We thought, ‘Maybe we should order some of these,’” Rieger recalls. Now

riverfronttimes.com

they’re a regular item — and they sell like hotcakes.

That willingness to listen to their customers has served OSO well. The pair’s “agile and determined mindset” means buying small and seeing what sticks. “We let the customers determine what the store will be,” de la Borballa explains.

The common denominator, though, is the co-owners’ vision — and their own impeccable taste. The selection may be idiosyncratic, but everything is exceptionally well-designed and somehow makes sense on the sales floor. You simply can’t go wrong with anything they’re selling.

That’s true even for what they’re not selling. “ We’ve sold stuff hanging on the walls,” de la Borballa says — things like display shelves and what had been intended as shop decorations.

“People try to buy our clock all the time,” Rieger adds. “People just like our stuff.”

While they don’t push the local brands they’re stocking in the earnest manner that suggests you should buy something because it’s good for you, they make a point of sharing the stories behind each item to anyone interested in a conversation. It’s partly their marketing background and partly that they just can’t help themselves.

“Most things have a narrative behind them, and our customers care about those stories or they wouldn’t be shopping here,” de la Borballa says. “They’d rather buy a card we found in a farmers market than a mass-produced one. And for any piece in the store, we can tell you a story like that.” – Sarah Fenske

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A girl can dream. And thanks to the Fox, many little girls do. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

[ A r t s and En t e r t ainm en t ]

BECAUSE THE FOX THEATRE CAN STILL WORK MIRACLES

T

he Fabulous Fox Theatre changed my life.

It’s true. I was eleven years old, on a field trip. I was sitting in one of those red velvet seats on the ground floor, less than 100 feet from that stage and those massive pillars and the giant elephant heads that screamed “exotic” in the Roaring ‘20s. The Fox had brought in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the St. Louis-born dance troupe known as Radio City Rockettes. And that decision planted a deep-rooted dream in the heart of one very awestruck dance kid.

Yes, by the time that beautiful curtain fell on the final kickline, I knew I wanted to be a Rockette. And it wasn’t, “Oh, I feel like being a professional dancer today!” My thought process was more along the lines of, “I am going to be a Radio City Rockette if it’s the last thing I do.” I wanted to be up there on that stage. I wanted to wear one of those costumes lined with Swarovski crystals. And dang it, I wanted to dance that precision choreography and execute those flawless kick lines that had been wowing audiences since 1925, just four years before the Fox first opened its doors to a bustling city.

That show at the Fox was the beginning of an eleven-year journey. I advanced through dance classes. I learned all about precision and kicklines on my high school dance team. The best day of my life came when I was sixteen, when I was accepted to the Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive in New York City.

And the worst days were whenever I went to the doctor and was told, yet again, that I wasn’t tall enough to be a Rockette.

The Rockettes are all about precision — right down to the height of the dancers. To create the illusion of uniform height, a dancer in the troupe has to be between 5’ 6” and 5’ 10 ½”. Me? I was stuck at 5’ 5 ½”.

But more years passed. I went to college. I started teaching dance classes. I minored in dance. Then, by some act of God, in my sophomore year I hit 5’6”.

And, yes, at 21, I still wanted to be a Radio City Rockette — just as much as that little girl sitting speechless at the Fabulous Fox ten years prior.

The summer after I graduated, I got on a plane bound for New York City to audition. About 500 Rockette hopefuls wrapped around Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater hoping to stand in that kickline. Yes, 500.

And here’s where you start preparing yourself for a not-so-fairytale-like ending. Today at 23, I’m an editor at the Riverfront Times, not a Rockette. Life has a way of taking you where you least expect it.

But you know what? Even though I haven’t added my own kicks to that famous line (yet), I still consider those auditions to be a high point in a story that isn’t over just yet. It’s a story that started because one beloved moviehouse-turned-theater shared — and continues to share — nationally renowned performing arts with the people of St. Louis. And when you’re a little girl from the Metro East sitting there in that amazing room with the red velvet and the soaring ceiling, you can’t help but understand that the arts have the power to make you laugh, cry and even change the course of your life. You can’t help but vow to do anything you can to be a part of it.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call a miracle. – Elizabeth Semko Continued on pg 35

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 33

graced the stage at the Fabulous Fox Theatre (527 N. Grand Boulevard, 314-534-1678) — and now the theater is bringing six Tony Award-winning shows in the upcoming season. Even Broadway game-changer Hamilton is coming in the 2017-2018 season.

It’s not just traveling shows and touring companies mounting top-tier work here. St. Louis dance companies such as Big Muddy and MADCO regularly bring top-notch work by choreographers from both St. Louis and around the country to life, and Saint Louis Ballet now boasts 24 dancers and a school that is teaching another 350.

Companies such as Leverage Dance Theater, Karlovsky & Company, Common Thread and Consuming Kinetics are also making a mark, providing performances as well as community involvement. A “barre crawl” to various St. Louis dance studios and lunchtime performances at Old Post Office Plaza? Yes, please!

It’s all part of an intoxicating mix that keeps dance fans busy and theaters full.

– Elizabeth Semko

The Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater: Just one of this year’s international visitors. | DEAN PAUL

BECAUSE AMY MILTON PROVES THAT NOTHING IS FUNNIER THAN HONESTY While a few dozen stand-up comics work the local scene with regularity, not many have allowed themselves the chance to tackle a headlining-length set, especially one as uniquely challenging as “GOOD,” the one-woman show that comedian Amy Milton recently performed for a trio of performances at St. Lou Fringe.

The show, a darkly funny, first-person reflection on her life, tackled many of the same topics as Milton’s stand-up act, including her time inside a religious cult and, later, family battles with drugs. Though Milton is understated in her delivery, her material digs deep — very deep — and touches on the complicated family dynamics that most audience members can appreciate, even if Milton’s family takes things to the next level. Telling those stories honestly can be a trick.

“There’s always an overlap of experience, and it’s not always easy to determine the line between your own life and another person’s privacy,” Milton, 29, says. “It’s an age-old writer/artist problem, arguably heightened for comics because nuance in jokes is challenging and we’re mean people.”

“GOOD” was a neat summary of the same feeling that Milton brings to comedy sets. She guesses that about 75 percent of the show originated in her stand-up, although “‘GOOD” is a little heavier on family and God than her comedy club work.

Milton moved to St. Louis from Indiana in the summer of 2010 to get a creative writing MFA at UMSL. “I first tried stand-up around a year later, so I just passed the five-year mark,” she notes. “As I started in — and haven’t abandoned — fiction writing, I’ve had to adjust to the difference between what works and makes sense on a page and what works and makes sense spoken aloud to a sometimes drunk-and-uninterested audience.”

With several co-hosts, Milton serves up the talk show Fatal Bus Accident at the Heavy Anchor (generally on the last Wednesday of the month), a show that’ll soon hit the road. She’ll also host Contraceptive Comedy at Shameless Grounds on October 29 and Two Girls One Mic at 1900 Park sometime in November.

– Thomas Crone

BECAUSE THE WORLD’S FAIR ISN’T JUST THE GLORIOUS PAST More than a century after the 1904 World’s Fair established St. Louis as a city on the rise, Davide Weaver and his team have restored the festival to the rolling Forest Park hills where it was born. Having just completed its third year, St. Louis World’s Fare Heritage Festival welcomed more than 25,000 attendees this August, says Weaver, who collaborated with partner Mike Landau to bring diverse artists, performers and food to the table.

This was no basic reboot: Weaver, an artist and entrepreneur himself, says he didn’t want to recreate the colonialist trappings of the 1904 event. Hence the “World’s Fare,” a name that evokes the new festival’s goal of offering a truly international “fare” to St. Louisans.

Over the course of three days, below the glow of a Ferris wheel, Weaver showed St. Louis what a world-conscious festival should look like. “We’re the new St. Louis,” he says. “We’re the new World’s Fare. And the new city owns it.”

– Danny Wicentowski

BECAUSE THE NATIONAL DANCE SCENE COMES TO US Sure, St. Louis isn’t New York City or Los Angeles — but we don’t need to be in order to experience world-class dance. You can save yourself a plane ticket and enjoy ballet, modern, flamenco, musical theater and every dance genre in between right here, because nationally recognized shows and companies come to us.

Case in point: This year, nonprofit Dance St. Louis (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, 314-534-6622) hosted its ninth annual Spring to Dance Festival, bringing in 26 dance companies of all styles from across the country — an event size that’s unheard of even in some major dance hubs. Performances by companies including Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nashville Ballet, MOMIX and Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater rounded out the organization’s 50th season.

Meanwhile, Broadway musical hits such as Newsies, the winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Choreography,

BECAUSE MARGINALIZED ARTISTS GET THEIR PLACE IN THE SUN AT WESTMINSTER PRESS Glimpse through the doors of Westminster Press (3156 Cherokee Street, 806-535-0719) to see pops of color everywhere. Craft pieces cover the DIY rustic-style shelves, and canvases hang from the walls; a varicolored rag doll sculpture sits in a streetside window exhibit. It’s a wonderland of hand-wrought goods, purchasable and not, all collected within what its owners call a “gallery, storefront and printmaking studio” all in one.

Founders Nicholas Curry and Tucker Pierce describe a goal at once political and artistic: to showcase creators with marginalized identities — artists and craftspeople whose work you might be less likely to see in mainstream galleries. Since opening last December, they’ve featured “women, people of color and LGBT folks,” Curry says.

Pierce describes “a community of artists interested in the type of work that engages with their identity, or artists who maybe feel marginalized in traditional art places.”

Building that community, Westminster Press partners with organizations that have similar goals. They host book clubs for the Meetup group Queer STL and participated in a benefit for Pu Fest. They’ve also hosted pop-ups for a number of other art collectives. As they grow, they plan to host six to seven shows per year with three to four artists each. “Every show, different people come out,” said Pierce.

“At the group shows, people bring their community.”

Their consignment selection takes a broader approach; it boasts wooden birds, metal-worked earrings, vibrant textiles, hand-printed poetry collections and woodblock lamps. This collection is based less on identity and more on works that fit into “maker culture.”

“There still seems to be a marginality associated with craft itself,” explains Curry. “As things become automated and mass-produced, we’re losing a lot of these techniques and these trades. We want to focus on the people who are still making things by hand, who still know the old processes and are using them to make beautiful art objects.”

The consignment items come from dozens of artists. Each purchase gives a little to Westminster Press (allowing its mission to continue), a lot to the artist (for their labor) and something to the buyer — after all, they get a hand-made addition to their household.

– Katelyn Mae Petrin Continued on pg 37

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“FANTASY MAPS: IMAGINED WORLDS” exhibit is made possible by generous support from: DM³, Edward Jones, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation and Nancy & Ken Kranzberg

slpl.org

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 35

Aunt Claudette, just one of the many faces of Libbie Higgins. | YOUTUBE

BECAUSE LIBBIE HIGGINS MIGHT BE THE FUNNIEST PERSON(S) IN THE STATE Carla was pissed. Some gal working the counter at the McDonald’s on Dorsett Road was giving her lip. Carla didn’t want lip, she wanted a McRib sandwich, along with a second McRib for the promotional price of one dollar.

And now this “Charlene” was saying she looked like a person who didn’t need the extra McRib? “McScuse me, bitch?” Carla raged, recounting the interaction as she filmed herself from the McDonald’s parking lot. A large woman in a purple Minnie Mouse T-shirt, Carla’s hairstyle was an ill-advised combination of mullet and bouffant that appeared to have been blow-dried by a jet engine. She spoke with a clipped Missouri drawl. She held her phone in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other.

The video, “Woman Rages Over Extra McRib,” went viral almost immediately, though many didn’t immediately realize that “Carla” was in fact a character dreamed up by Maryland Heights comedian Libbie Higgins. Millions watched and shared the clip, gleefully quoting her indignant demands that viewers find Charlene and “tell her Carla sent ya, and then you throat-punch her or punch her in the cooter!”

Higgins’ character work has made her one of the most sought-after comics in the region.

Since “Carla” visited McDonald’s in November 2015, Higgins has developed the persona in videos uploaded to her YouTube channel, racking up hundreds of thousands more views.

Her path to comedy notoriety didn’t begin in a club, though she’s now a regular at comedy shows around St. Louis. A special education teacher, Higgins got her start in 2007 by video-blogging and trolling, creating characters and scenes simply to generate laughs online.

That’s how Higgins became “Aunt Claudette,” a church lady who wears a bedazzled neck brace and lusts after Donnie Wahlberg and the New Kids on the Block. Acting as an on-the-scene reporter, Aunt Claudette has also exposed Target’s lack of plus-size clothing, claimed to be Justin Bieber’s aunt and even waved a floppy purple “dilder” at Larry Flynt during the Hustler publisher’s visit to St. Louis.

Higgins’ devotion to her roles has taken her far beyond YouTube, and her love for New Kids on the Block hasn’t gone unnoticed. She’s been featured on the TV show Rock the Boat, which chronicles the band’s performances on a cruise ship. At a recent NKOTB concert, she was invited to introduce the group — as Aunt Claudette — before thousands of screaming fans.

Already an accomplished viral hitmaker, Higgins seems to be barely scratching the surface of her comedy chops. For this funny lady, the sky is the McLimit.

– Danny Wicentowski

Tuesdays, Aug. 30–Oct. 4

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6pm to 8pm • FREE Museum’s Front Lawn Forest Park mohistory.org Featuring STL’s best food trucks!

FUN SHOULDN’T BREAK THE BANK It’s more affordable than you might think, because it’s meant for everyone.

OperaStories.org

Continued on pg 39

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KELLEY WALKER

DIRECT DRIVE On view September 16–December 31, 2016

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Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

75 REASONS Continued from pg 37

From car sales to farming to art: Justin Leszcz doesn’t mind switching careers. | DOYLE MURPHY

SAINT LOUIS ORCHESTRA

BECAUSE HERE, A FARMER CAN BECOME AN ARTIST

2016-2017 CONCERT SERIES

Justin Leszcz sold cars, and that went pretty well. He then quit to grow vegetables in south St. Louis, and everybody loved them. Now at 39, he’s a woodworking artist, and his work is all over the city.

That kind of career hopping wouldn’t work just anywhere.

Other cities tend to trap people into a single occupation. It costs too much to start over or takes too long to make new connections. People just keep doing whatever it is they’re doing.That can certainly happen here, but Leszcz is proof that St. Louis is the perfect launching pad for a moon shot every now and then.

These days, he’s working away in a $350-per-month studio in the old Lemp Brewery.

The second-floor space is filled with old-growth wood salvaged from St. Louis teardowns, hand tools and projects that started off as experiments.

“The wood is the biggest thing,” he says on a recent tour.

He’s currently in love with longleaf pine, a red-hued wood made dense by a unique resin. He found that by slicing it thin, it becomes translucent and glows in the light.

So Leszcz took strips, wrapped the edges in copper and soldered them together. The result is like a natural stained-glass window.

“It just looks like fire,” he says, holding one of his creations up to the light.

It was that curiosity and enthusiasm that endeared him to some of St. Louis’ top tastemakers. Celebrated restaurateurs Gerard Craft, Kevin Nashan and Kevin Willmann were customers. Leszcz says the three “bad-ass chefs” taught him how to focus and build a business. “Those guys, they want to help everyone,” he says.

First, it was buying his specialty produce. Later it included encouraging his off-season hobbies, such as ceramics and wood. Following a divorce, Leszcz moved into an apartment and set up a wood shop in a closet, creating wooden spoons and bowls.

He started taking commissioned work — lights for Sump Coffee, a wood counter for Lulu’s Local Eatery. When Craft closed Niche and no longer needed Leszcz’s specialty onions, Leszcz decided he too would make a big jump, to full-time woodworking.

He soon found his network of chefs and restaurateurs overlapped nicely with a growing circle of artisans. In the old brewery, he estimates he’s one of about 70 artists and craftspeople. They occasionally host underground shows to raise money and share space for large installations. Leszcz, who has retooled his YellowTree Farms operation as simply YellowTree (www.yellowtreefarm.com), has also begun running a popular Airbnb operation out of his home near the Cherokee district. He displays friends’ artwork and has found that guests are eager to buy the pieces. He gets to decorate with original artwork and his friends get to sell their stuff without losing a chunk of the profits to gallery fees.

It’s the artists’ cycle of life in St. Louis.

– Doyle Murphy

ROBERT HART BAKER

Conductor

The 3rd Piano Concerto “Rachs” Friday, October 7, 2016, 8:00 p.m.

PURSER AUDITORIUM (Campus of Logan University)

Valentina Igoshina, first prize winner of the Rubinstein Competition in Poland in 1993 and the Sergei Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition in Moscow in 1997, opens our season.

Elgar: Froissart (Concert Overture) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Valentina Igoshina, piano William Schuman: New England Triptych Respighi: The Pines Of Rome

GREAT STORIES HAPPEN HERE World-class shows meet world-class soirees. Always in English.

FOR TICKETS OR INFORMATION

(314) 421-3600

www.stlphilharmonic.org

The fun begins at

OperaStories.org

Continued on pg 41

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 39

The Black Rep’s production of Death and the King’s Horseman was a high point for founder Ron Himes. | STEWART GOLDSTEIN

BECAUSE THE BLACK REP IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER

BECAUSE OUR THEATER SCENE IS YEAR-ROUND NOW

It’s no secret the Saint Louis Black Repertory Company suffered a series of setbacks in the recent past. The impending sale of the Grandel Theater in 2013 forced the company to hit the road on the cusp of its 37th season.

“It was short notice. We had no way to start the season or build a campaign,” recalls the company’s founder and artistic director, Ron Himes.

The loss of what had been its home for twenty years and the uncertainty surrounding the Black Rep’s immediate future resulted in smaller audiences for the next couple years. The one-two punch of no theater and shrinking audiences could have been fatal, but Himes and the extended Black Rep family kept fighting.

Himes likens it, naturally, to a play.

“In the first season we did J.B.,” he says, referring to Archibald MacLeish’s modern retelling of the biblical story of Job. “These past few years reminded me of that. Another test, another test, another test.”

Last year felt like a rebirth for the company. There was a sense of stability again. Audiences slowly resumed their former sizes as the year went on, and opening nights felt like an event again.

The importance of that last item can’t be understated. There is nothing quite like opening night at a Black Rep production.

They are joyous affairs somewhere between family reunion and block party, and you better dress like you mean it. People look sharp — the clothes are new, the hats are bold and there is a sense of anticipation. By the final show of the season, the spirit of the old Grandel lobby was reborn.

Himes agrees. “We’ve turned a corner. Here we are. Here we stand.”

That “we” absolutely includes the audience.

“I was at a seminar this summer and someone asked me if I felt like my work was done now that there are more black actors on stage in St. Louis.” Himes throws his hands up as he recalls the conversation. “People still ask me if the Black Rep is ‘done.’ It’s not just about getting black actors opportunities or producing the works of black playwrights: It’s also for this community. We’re bringing theater to an audience that isn’t going to see the shows elsewhere.”

– Paul Friswold

Officially, St. Louis has two seasons: baseball and no-baseball.

But there is a third season that remains somewhat hidden because it suffuses those other two. St. Louis is blessed with a superabundance of theater, and the season for it wraps around the calendar, never-ending and always beginning.

You’re likely reading this at the end of September. If you hurried, you could buy tickets for the West End Players Guild’s 106th season-opener, Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, on September 30. Next week you could be watching St. Louis Shakespeare perform Macbeth, or the world premiere of Maya Arad Yasur’s Suspended at Upstream Theater’s first show of its twelfth season. (Or you could see both. Definitely see both.) Stray Dog Theatre opens its new season a week or two later with The Rocky Horror Show, just in time for Halloween.

“Sure,” you think. “It’s fall and a lot of companies start their seasons then.” But you can pick any month at random and find a show to see. Let’s take February — there’s nothing going on February, right?

Boom: Raisin in the Sun at the Repertory Theatre St. Louis.

A Doll’s House, Stray Dog again. Mustard Seed Theatre has a production of Yasmina’s Necklace that starts in late January and carries over through the middle of February — that’s a two-fer.

That’s how easy it is to find a show in this town.

I see more than 40 plays a year, and I never leave St. Louis.

Mostly I never leave because there’s always a play to see, so trust me on this: You can find something amazing and affordable on a stage in St. Louis almost every weekend of the year. Even at Christmas — The Rep runs its production of A Christmas Carol through 2 p.m. on December 24.

There’s always going to be the odd weekend that has no shows (New Year’s Eve for one), but there are no major gaps.

When the companies that start now wind down in April or May, here come the boys of summer: Stages and the Muny both take the stage in June, St. Louis Actors’ Studio breaks out the LaBute New Theater Festival in July and New Line Theatre ends its 26th year in August with the musical revue Out on Broadway: the Third Coming. That’s eleven months and roughly 50 shows in my future — and it could be your future, too. Think about it.

– Paul Friswold riverfronttimes.com

GREAT STORIES HAPPEN HERE World-class shows meet world-class soirees. Always in English.

The fun begins at

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The St. Louligans are a new kind of fan club for a new sports era in St. Louis. | JASON PATRYLO

[ T hing s t o S e e and D o ]

BECAUSE WE’VE GOT THE SPIRIT, YES WE DO!

T

he Cardinals famously have the best fans in baseball, and our Blues supporters aren’t half bad either — but if you want to see real spirit in St. Louis, you need to head to a St. Louis Football Club game at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (1 Soccer Park Road, Fenton; 636-680-0999). Forget rally towels; in the St. Louis FC fan section you’ll see light-up drums, coordinated cheers and smoke bombs lit in St. Louis FC colors. These fans calls themselves the St. Louligans, and they’ve been a big part of the team’s success since it started playing last year.

From pre-game tailgates with bigger food spreads than you get most Thanksgivings to special gear and a dedicat ed section in World Wide Technology Soccer Park, being a St. Louligan is a serious undertaking. But not too serious — the fan club’s running joke is that “everything is silly,” and that’s the one rule that never requires a referee.

One of the founding members, Mitch Morice, says, “We really don’t know how many people are in it — there’s no roster, no dues. The team says there’s 300 season tickets in that corner and they’re all sold out, so somewhere north of that.”

Morice claims it’s all very informal. “We just set out a collection bucket, and when we do scarves or T-shirts we tack on a couple extra bucks, but everyone works together. It’s a big dysfunctional family.” When pressed, he admits there was some cheer practice in the off-season. But, he adds, “A lot of the best chants that come up are spur of the moment. Last year we were playing one of the Canadian teams, and one of their players faked going down and the chant was ‘You’ve got health care.’

On the scarf right now, we’ve got ‘I want to dance with somebody’ — people just

started singing it at a game, and now people just break out into Whitney Houston.

To see 300, 400, 500 men and women singing Whitney Houston is pretty great.”

With an International Tap House trailer conveniently located near the fan section in addition to those amazing tailgate spreads, the St. Louligans enjoy their beer, but many families bring their kids along, too — Morice says his six-year-old daughter loves screaming cheers. Some high school students have even formed a group called “The Next Louligans.”

While there are people in leadership positions, the St. Louligans have no elections — the group functions as a meritocracy. “Two guys said, ‘Can we organize a tailgate?’

And it’s now huge. We’ve had Sugarfire come out with food, there’s Nacho Night and Wing Night,” Mourice says. “Same thing with the drummers — one guy said, ‘I want us to have an incredible drum corps.’ It started as soccer fans learning how to drum, but then one guy said, ‘I’ve got a guy who’s a great drummer, we should bring him.’

It’s a soccer first, drums second mentality, but now we do have a drummer with a degree in percussion.” These days, the St. Louligans even have their own podcast, This is Silly with the Louligans! Each episode gets about 3,000 listens.

All this support isn’t just fun and games. It’s also about showing that St. Louis has a community of soccer fans ready to support a Major League Soccer team, should the MLS decide to add another team. (St. Louis FC is actually an affiliate of the Chicago Fire MLS team, similar to a minor league club in baseball.)

They’re proving effective missionaries. Last year, local radio host Randy Karraker of 101ESPN’s The Fast Lane talked on air about not liking soccer, and so the St. Louligans extended an invite to come out to a game (and enjoy some free beer).

He did, and two days later, Kerraker announced on his show that everyone in town needs to go to a St. Louis FC game and see the St. Louligans in action.

Says Morice, “When you get somebody who is a professed soccer hater to say it’s something fun, that’s what it’s all about. We’re doing something right.”– Lauren Milford Continued on pg 44

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SAINT LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER

come celebrate the harvest BRING THE FAMILY AND ENJOY DEMOS, ACTIVITIES AND FOOD SPECIALS

PUMPKIN FEST

CHILI

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ENJOY CHILI SAMPLES AND LEARN THE SCIENCE OF HOT PEPPERS

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farm fest SHOP THE OUTSIDE MARKET FOR LOCAL GOODS

GRAB A MICROSCOPE, STUDY THE PLANT CELLS OF CORN, AND ENJOY A SCOOP OF SWEET CORN ICE CREAM

APPLE FEST

75 REASONS Continued from pg 43

Is the eagle flapping, or the beer filling? Oh, the suspense! | FLICKR/ PAUL SABLEMAN

BECAUSE RENEGADE STL TOURS GIVE US NEW REASONS TO LOVE ST. LOUIS — EVERY TIME St. Louis history and architecture isn’t just the provenance of overpriced textbooks and stuffy lecture halls as long as Renegade STL (renegadestl.com, 314-4678588) is around. The go-getting women behind this local company take the idea of city tours and turn them upside-down, putting a fresh, laidback and often humorous spin on bus and walking tours throughout St. Louis. You won’t get the typical rundown — it’s less about T.S. Eliot’s boyhood home and more about, say, the red light district that flourished after the city legalized prostitution in 1870. Or the true story of Madame C.J. Walker, the first female African-American millionaire. It’s the history you didn’t know you were craving, possibly with a few curse words thrown in.

Founder Amanda Clark had been giving private St. Louis tours under the Renegade STL name for a few years when she took on partner Adriana Perrone in 2015 and set out to give public tours. The original “Whole Damn City Tour” laid the groundwork, covering all the neat and nitty-gritty aspects of St. Louis that can be crammed into a two-hour tour. On its first run it sold out two entire buses.

Since then, Renegade STL has grown into a team of young women fascinated by history — a unique selling point in a trade otherwise largely dominated by older men. The tour options have grown as well, with geeky-cool themes such as “The Whole Damn City Tour: Badass Babes,” “The Whole Damn City Tour: Disasters and Catastrophes,” “Central West End for Nerds” and the “Baseball City” tour.

Whether you’re a transplant or a lifetime native, you’re bound to learn something new about St. Louis on a Renegade STL tour. Are they traditional? No. Informative?

Always. Entertaining? Damn straight.

– Elizabeth Semko

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Whether you’re driving back to the suburbs from the Soulard Market or heading to the Hi-Pointe, three magical words always ring out on westbound Highway 40 between the Forest Park and Kingshighway exits: “Flapping or filling?!” So goes the favorite car game of St. Louis millennials, generously and unintentionally brought to you by Budweiser. Budweiser’s large digital billboard sits to the left of the freeway, parallel to the Grandview Apartments. The fun comes in that you never know which of its two movements you’ll get — the digitized bald eagle, flapping its wings in all of its pixelated glory, or the mug of beer it clutches, slowly filling up. Once the beer reaches the top, the billboard switches back to the bird, so the fun is guessing correctly which will be on screen at the moment you pass by. Hey, it’s better than endlessly scrolling through your phone.

– Holly Ravazzolo Continued on pg 46

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 44

IN THE HEART OF THE DELMAR LOOP

Visiting Stone Hill Cellar is like being in Napa, minus all the Coppolas.| MARK SEMKO

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BECAUSE WHO NEEDS NAPA WHEN YOU HAVE HERMANN? Napa Valley may have the better wine, but if you’re seeking a trip to rolling countryside and gorgeous vineyards, there’s no need to fly to San Francisco first.

A trip to the heart of Missouri wine country is only a short drive away in Hermann, a German settlement-turned-wine-haven located off Missouri 94 in the Missouri River Valley. Here you’ll find the Hermann Wine Trail (312 Market Street, Hermann; 573-486-2744), a network of seven family-owned wineries, each with its own unique qualities, specialties and history. The group collectively sells about 200,000 gallons of wine each year, about one-third of all sales of Missouri wine.

Despite those achievements, Hermann is a far cry from a tourist trap. Blissfully free from kitschy commercialism, Hermann will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the past, with locally owned shops and quaint bed and breakfasts lining the pedestrian-friendly streets and a trolley providing transportation around town. You can also enjoy traditional festivities such as Hermann’s month-long Oktoberfest and the themed wine trail events that mark the calendar all year long (the “Wild Bacon Wine Trail,” anyone?). Be sure to pause in the midst of the good times and look up from your wine glass to enjoy the view. This may not be California, but that’s just fine by us — this place is beautiful all on its own, and it’s a much shorter drive, too.

– Elizabeth Semko

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6358 DELMAR BLVD. 314-899-9901 46

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BECAUSE EVEN THE BIRDS LOVE IT HERE Visit Tower Grove Park (4256 Magnolia Avenue, 314-771-2679) enough, and you’ll start to spot the birdwatchers. They can be identified by their binoculars, backpacks full of guidebooks and squinting eyes pointed skyward. Spotting a migratory warbler, cedar waxwing or summer tanager among the usual suspects (robins, woodpeckers and starlings) gives these avian enthusiasts the kind of rush that a Pikachu, Michael Jackson or leprechaun sighting would give a normal human.

The birders camp out here for a reason: Tower Grove Park is a favorite haunt of migratory birds every spring and fall. They flock to its varied habitats, with stately trees, prairies and the revamped Robert and Martha Gaddy Wild Bird Garden, which boasts a bubbling waterfall, native fruiting plants and plenty of places to dwell. And the birds here are capable of bringing joy even to those who can’t tell the difference between a blue jay and an indigo bunting. Hearing the park’s great-horned owls spookily call to each other at dusk, or watching a red-tailed hawk scoop up a bunny only to rip it to shreds, is enough to make even jaded city dwellers look up to these modern dinosaurs with the admiration — and fear — they deserve. – Jenn DeRose

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 46

“Gorgeous” Gary Jackson, hero of the South Broadway Athletic Club. | JIM HARRIS

BECAUSE WRESTLING AT THE SOUTH BROADWAY ATHLETIC CLUB IS THE BEST $8 YOU’LL EVER SPEND The second Saturday of every month is wrestling night at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S. 7th Street, 314-776-4833). Located deep in the bowels of Soulard, the space looks like a cross between a middle school gymnasium, a VFW hall and your great-uncle’s den, sparsely decorated with pictures of 40 years’ worth of performers. Wrestling here transcends the boundaries of age, class, sex and race. A 90-year-old woman will scream “you suck” in unison with her four-year-old grandson.

Hipsters in ironic T-shirts are indistinguishable from the guys the next card table over, who wear the same outfits without the slightest wink. Families of every color share popcorn, nachos and questionably prepared cheeseburgers.

At SBAC Wrestling, the lines between good and evil are as clear as the opening bell; the heels sneer at the audience, while the good guys dole out high fives to ecstatic fans in the front row. Where else in real life is the difference between right and wrong so easy to distinguish? Where else (besides a Trump rally) is screaming obscenities at a total stranger justified and encouraged? But unlike a Trump rally, spewing hate isn’t all that brings this diverse crowd together — love for the heroes gets loudly vocalized as well. Sometimes cheering for an injured, knocked-out good

guy will help bring him back to life, a meaty Tinkerbell who just can’t die.

Some fans scrutinize the complicated plotlines — the storylines are as juicy as the best soap operas — but the nuances tend to get fuzzy, thanks in part to the $2 drafts of Bud Light and the $4 wells, poured by a surly-yet-affable crew of pompadoured bartenders. Most of the crowd ignores the complicated twists and turns of the long-running plots, instead agonizing over major injustices in particular matches. Threats of physical violence are leveled regularly against the hapless refs, who somehow consistently miss illegal moves — “moves” like an unauthorized wrestler jumping into the ring to pummel someone else’s opponent with a stop sign and promptly jumping back out again. COME ON REF!!! ARE YOU BLIND?!

Most matches are a treat — amazing aerial stunts and feats of strength by some, cringeworthy displays of physical incompetence by others — but the matches featuring fan favorites are always the most fun to watch. “Gorgeous” Gary Jackson, beloved longtime hero of SBAC, has a series of catchphrases that alone are worth the $8 price of admission: “Rule No. 1: I came here to win. Rule No. 2: I refuse to lose. Rule No. 3: I will cheat if I have to. Rule No. 4” — and here the crowd roars along — “Don’t forget the rules!”

Brandon Espinosa is the man everyone loves to hate. With a long beard, belly button ring, swooped hair and a practiced leer, Espinosa knows how to whip the crowd into a vicious frenzy — he has been known to make children cry by yelling “shut up, little girl” into tiny, frightened faces. In other words, he is a master of his art and quite possibly the best wrestler at SBAC. Pro tip: Call ahead to reserve a table or two; it gets seriously crowded after the bell rings at 8 p.m. The room tends to thin a bit at intermission, but it can stay packed until the “main event,” which ends at 10 p.m.

– Jenn DeRose Continued on pg 50

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IT’S NOT ABOUT the highs or lows...

It ’ s a b o u t

75 REASONS Continued from pg 48

b a la n c e .

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SLAM’s Taylor Hay: Who needs the Rams with winners like this? | MICK LITE

BECAUSE WE LITERALLY WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF SKATEBOARDING For some, mass in a Catholic church is an uplifting and joyful experience, filled with singing and prayer and fellowship with your neighbors and friends. For others, it is more of an exercise in patience, a weekly pilgrimage undertaken at the behest of your parents, who drag you along for an hour of peculiar rituals and disconcertingly affectless chanting when all you really wanted to do was stay home and watch cartoons. (Hey, we all worship in different ways.)

But if that Catholic church was a mecca of skateboarding?

Well, let’s just say it’d be much easier to persuade the heathens among us to put on their Sunday best.

So it is with Sk8 Liborius, a 127-year-old abandoned cathedral that has been overtaken by a team of skateboarders, former City Museum fabricators, and engineers, who’ve transformed it into a skater’s Heaven on Earth. Brought to you by many of the same people who built the KHVT guerrilla skate park under the Kingshighway bridge (now demolished), the building is truly a St. Louis gem. The area where the congregation would have gathered is now covered in ramps, stretching all the way up onto the altar, with the occasional graffiti mural adding modern color alongside the church’s architectural antiquities.

Sk8 Liborius was formerly St. Liborius, a German national parish established in 1856 in the St. Louis Place neighborhood north of downtown, with construction completed in 1889. The massive Gothic Revival structure was active until 1992, when a decrease in area Catholics led to its doors being shuttered.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the edifice eventually became property of St. Louis’ Land Reutilization Authority before being sold to its current owner.

Though the park is technically a private one, it regularly 50

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hosts skate jams and competitions, accepting small donations to help with the building’s upkeep and repairs (online donations can also be made at www.gofundme.com/fygnzcjz). It has drawn visits from some considerable stars — rapper/skateboard enthusiast Lil Wayne even showed up for a late-night session after his Chaifetz Arena show in February. In time, thanks to the hard work of a dedicated group of volunteers, the unique park may open officially to the public. It’s good news for those who prefer our Sunday worship to include more kickflips and fewer kneelers. Can we get an amen?

– Daniel Hill

BECAUSE WE FIELD THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE NATION Outlined in their black and orange uniforms, St. Louis’ Greatest Show on Turf rode to victory in 2016. The title, once owned

by Rams like Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, is now rightfully repped by the St. Louis SLAM — an all-female, full-contact team of bruisers who cranked out a series of righteous blowouts en route to a Women’s Football Alliance Tier II championship win.

The title game pitted the SLAM against the undefeated Tampa Bay Inferno. At halftime, SLAM was up 24-0. The final score was an utterly dominant 38-7.

There are no pros on the SLAM roster. No one gets paid. But through the exhaustion and the pain, there’s no denying the results.

“It’s just one of those sports where anyone can be successful, no matter your shape,” says running back Taylor Hay, who punched in the team’s first touchdown of the championship. “You find a way.”

How do you improve on such a season? Another trip the championship doesn’t seem too farfetched. We don’t want to jinx it, but — is it too early to start talking dynasty?

– Danny Wicentowski

GO FURTHER. GO TOGETHER. The Wine.

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Joey Valenza of Melo’s Pizzeria proves you don’t need a fancy space to make great pizza, just passion and relentless dedication. | MABEL SUEN

[ Fo o d and D r ink ]

BECAUSE OUR QUICKIE MARTS HAVE AMAZING TACOS, UNASSUMING STRIP MALLS OFFER UP EXCELLENT INDIAN/PAKISTANI FOOD, AND THE BEST PIZZA IN THE CITY IS SERVED OUT OF A GARAGE

A

sk any random group of diners to name the best restaurant in St. Louis and, chances are, you’ll get the same three or four places. It’s equally likely that every one of this select group is a fine-dining establishment. This is understandable.

Not only do fine dining restaurants provide the backdrops for our most precious moments — a birthday, a graduation, a proposal — they also represent the pinnacle of the restaurant business. They are where the top chefs push us out of our comfort zones, the up-and-comers earn their chops, the food is impeccable and the service goes far beyond merely taking an order. Fine dining is about more than just food; it’s about creating experiences. In that sense, the credit is not just deserved, it’s earned.

But what about those other experiences? Maybe it’s the joy that comes from being at a diner at 3 a.m. and biting into a greasy grilled cheese on butter-soaked Texas toast, flecked with old bacon drippings from the flat-top. Pair it with a cup of sludgy black coffee and conversation with friends, and it’s as beautiful a match as foie gras and Sauternes. A dish like this, from one of the city’s venerable all-night institutions, wouldn’t likely make it on anyone’s top ten list, yet it can bring as much joy as a five-star meal.

And it’s not just the usual crop of diners or old-time doughnut shops that are spreading this edible mirth. Over the last few years, the opportunities to have a memorable culinary experience outside of white tablecloth settings have expanded in St. Louis, making us rethink what is meant by “great food.” There’s the thrill of discovery that comes from wandering into the quickie mart on a Saturday and finding Sabor Si (1133 Bellevue Avenue, Richmond Heights; 314-647-2696), a secret pop-up taco shack. Or the surprise that comes from discovering that the catfish

and Philly cheesesteak signs outside North County Worldwide International Market (7238 N. Lindbergh Boulevard, Hazelwood; 314-731-3500) are actually a front for some of the city’s best falafel. And who can say that Mrs. Kahn’s lamb vindaloo at the unassuming Spice N Grill (6800 Olive Boulevard, University City; 314-721-2421) doesn’t belong in the conversation about St. Louis’ best dishes?

Fine dining isn’t dead — it never will be. It’s just no longer the end of the conversation and the only measure by which food should be judged. And more importantly, fine dining no longer has the monopoly on quality. Consider the delicious Neapolitan pies Joey Valenza is making at Melo’s Pizzeria (2438 McNair Avenue Rear, 314833-4489). You won’t get a salad here, much less a sommelier, but sitting at a picnic table outside the garage where he bakes his pizzas, beer and slice in hand, you won’t miss them.

Or check out what Ted Wilson and company are doing at Union Loafers (1629 Tower Grove Avenue, 314-833-6111), the fast-casual bakery and café in Botanical Heights. Wilson’s naturally leavened sourdough is not just bread; it’s art — good enough on its own and just as good as a canvass for former Niche chef Brian Lagerstrom’s cooking. Ask any chef, and they’ll speak of his baking prowess with the reverence reserved for those at the pinnacle of their craft. And to think, this edible bliss costs a few dollars and can be torn into on a park bench.

Even the city’s top chefs are getting in on the casual action. Gerard Craft’s Porano Pasta (634 Washington Avenue, 314-833-6414) is an exercise in seeing how gourmet a fast-casual spot can be, with its housemade products and commitment to sustainability. Kevin Nashan’s Peacemaker Lobster & Crab (1831 Sidney Street, 314-772-8858) is the lively yin to Sidney Street Cafe’s elegant yang, a place to enjoy some of the city’s freshest seafood with as much reverence as you’d muster at a beer-fueled beach party. And some of the most exciting, innovative food being served in St. Louis right now comes from Brian Hardesty and Joel Crespo’s Guerrilla Street Food (3559 Arsenal Street, 314-529-1328) brick-and-mortar, a gig Hardesty came to after years in white tablecloth ventures.

But what’s equally exciting is that you don’t need these chefs’ pedigree to knock it out of the park. Outstanding food these days often comes courtesy of unknown cooks at unexpected, low-key places —and as they democratize our vibrant restaurant landscape, they show us that there is more than one way to define “fine” dining.

– Cheryl Baehr Continued on pg 54

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Kakao: The chocolatier is part of Maplewood’s green dining district. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

BECAUSE OUR RESTAURANTS DON’T JUST TALK THE TALK Across the nation, chefs boast of their farm-to-table ethos — even while they’re dumping recyclable empties in the dumpster and buying their veggies right off a Sysco truck. In the status-obsessed food industry, “greenwashing” that sounds good without actually doing much is far more common than it ought to be.

But a program established locally in 2011 by the nonprofit organization St. Louis Earth Day aims to change that. For eateries that are genuinely committed to sustainability, the Green Dining Alliance (4125 Humphrey Street, 314-6694432) provides a certification process to quantify (and continue to improve) their performance. Its mission recognizes that everything is connected and that eco-conscious restaurants have the opportunity to make a significant impact on our community, customer health and employee satisfaction.

The alliance’s rating system covers everything from waste management and food sourcing to energy and water usage, purchasing and education. Additional points are awarded for innovative solutions. All members are required to meet a few core concepts: ban indoor smoking, No. 6 plastics and Styrofoam; utilize single-stream recycling; phase in efficient lighting; set waste reduction and diversion goals; and share waste and utility data with the alliance. Points are awarded for each item achieved, with restaurants ultimately earning one of four levels of certification from two to five stars.

To date, more than 100 restaurants have been certified, and the alliance has also certified the first two green dining districts in the nation. In both Maplewood and the Loop, 25 percent or more of the locally owned restaurants in the community have reached the alliance’s standards.

Collectively, the work is having a big impact: Program directors estimate they’ve diverted 188 tons of material away from local landfills.

– Sara Graham

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 53

75 REASONS Continued from pg 54

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TEAfarm-to-table K, C H I C K Eethos N , — even whileSthey’re IDE Across the nation, chefs boast of Stheir P ORK RI B TI PS, dumping recyclable empties in the dumpster and buying their veggies right 25 T WOoff a ORfood C Hindustry, OP P ED“greenwashing” S TE AK S I D Egood S Sysco truck. In the status-obsessed that sounds without actually doing much is far more common than it ought to be.

But a program locallyDELIVERY in 2011 by theDORSETT nonprofit organization St. FOLLOW USestablished ON FACEBOOK 11640 ROAD | 314-291-6555 FOR SPECIAL DEALSto& COUPONS! TAKE - OUT Louis Earth Day aims change that.

For eateries that are genuinely committed O F F T H E G R I L L . C O M to WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/O F F T H E G R I L L . C O M CATERING sustainability, the Green Dining Alliance (4125 Humphrey Street, 314-6694432) provides a certification process to quantify (and continue to improve) their performance. Its mission recognizes that everything is connected and that eco-conscious restaurants have the opportunity to make a significant impact on our community, customer health and employee satisfaction.

The alliance’s rating system covers everything from waste management and food sourcing to energy and water usage, purchasing and education. Additional points PICNICS, are awarded for innovative solutions. All members are required to meet a few core HOLIDAY PARTIES, concepts: ban indoor smoking, No. 6 plastics and Styrofoam; utilize single-stream CHURCHand FUNCTIONS, recycling; phase in efficient lighting; set waste reduction diversion goals; and BIRTHDAY, share waste and utility data with the alliance. Points are awarded for each item OFFICE PARTIES & achieved, with restaurants ultimately earning one of four levels of certification FAMILY REUNIONS... from two to five stars.

OR ANY OCCASION To date, more than 100 restaurants have been certified, and the alliance has also Dine-In • both Carry-Out certified the first two green dining districts in the nation. In Maplewood and Catering • Open Days the Loop, 25 percent or more of the locally owned restaurants in the7 community have reached the alliance’s standards.

Collectively, the work is having a big impact: Program directors estimate they’ve 3628 S. BIG BEND • 314-781-2097 • www.porterschicken.com diverted 188 tons of material away from local landfills.

– Sara Graham

When Chris Bork announced two years ago that he was leaving Blood and Sand, the St. Louis food scene waited with bated breath to see what he’d do next. When he eventually made known his plans for a ramen shop, many reacted with confusion.

Why was a rising star chef known for elegant, modern cuisine jumping on the food trend bandwagon du jour — especially one that seemed out of step with his culinary identity?

Folks needn’t have worried. Granted, Vista Ramen (2609 Cherokee Street, 314-797-8250) is designed in the style of a noodle bar, and every main course offered contains ramen. And, well, it’s named Vista Ramen. But at its core, this exhilarating Cherokee Street spot is fundamentally a contemporary take on (dare we utter the culinary f word?) fusion cuisine that happens to serve ramen — not, as you might expect from appearances, a ramen shop. Bork has assembled a selection of small plates that draw from classical French cooking to modern Thai and Burmese, each showcasing the expert technique and creativity you’d find at a Michelin-starred restaurant. And yes, there’s ramen too, though there’s no doubt Vista will outlast the trend.

– Cheryl Baehr

Continued on pg 58

Continued on pg 60

We Do It All For You!

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Vista’s “pozole ramen”gives an Asian twist to the Mexican classic. It works.| MABEL SUEN

BECAUSE VISTA RAMEN PUTS SUBSTANCE BEHIND THE HYPE

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Holiday Inn

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$ 95 1 Free Mimosa per Adult Ages 21 & Up Reservations Preferred for Parties of 4 or More

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Call 314-892-3600, ext. 185 BECAUSE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ON EARTH ARE AT COMET COFFEE

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SOC0415MK33S 04/15

Prices Do Not Include T ax or G ratuity E ntré e Selections May V ary W eek ly

To the uninitiated, Comet Coffee (5708 Oakland Avenue; 314-932-7770) looks like any other third-wave coffee spot, complete with a large pour-over setup, an elaborate espresso bar and a staff capable of espousing the virtues of single origin coffee at greater length than it takes to make a batch of cold brew. The small pastry case that sits to the right of the coffee bar, however, tells the other part of Comet’s story: the top-tier baked goods that place co-owner Stephanie Fischer in the upper echelon of St. Louis’ pastry scene.

For this xylophone-player-turned-chef, pastry has been a part of her life ever since she was a little girl correcting her mom’s baking mishaps. Her scones, cakes and croissants showcase her talent, but Fischer’s piece de resistance is her chocolate chip cookie. This specimen of perfection is the platonic ideal of the ubiquitous sweet: A crispy exterior that tastes like toasty brown butter yields to a soft interior filled with discs of still-molten dark chocolate. A few flakes of sea salt over the top bring out the cookie’s savory notes. It doesn’t get any better than this. – Cheryl Baehr

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Continued on pg 62

BE WI

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 58

MAKE YOUR MAKE YOUR

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 60

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INSPIRED SIDES AND DESSERTS, AND FULL-FLAVORED Stephanie Fischer is a cookie genius. | KELLY GLUECK SAUCES ALWAYS MADE FROM SCRATCH.

BECAUSE THE BEST CHOCOLATE #EmbraceTheQ CHIP COOKIES ON EARTH ARE AT COMET COFFEE To the uninitiated, Comet Coffee (5708 Oakland Avenue; 314-932-7770) looks like any other third-wave coffee spot, complete with a large pour-over setup, an elaborate espresso bar and a staff capable of espousing the virtues of single origin coffee at greater length than it takes to make a batch of cold brew. The small pastry case that sits to the right of the coffee bar, however, tells the other part of Comet’s story: the top-tier baked goods that place co-owner Stephanie Fischer in the upper echelon of St. Louis’ pastry scene.

For this xylophone-player-turned-chef, pastry has been a part of her life ever MON-FRI (OR TILmishaps.

WE Her SELL OUT) since she was a little 11AM-6PM girl correcting her mom’s baking scones, cakes and croissants showcase her talent, but Fischer’s piece de resistance is her chocolate chip cookie. This specimen of perfection is the platonic ideal of the ubiquitous sweet: A crispy exterior that tastes like toasty brown butter yields to a soft interior filled with discs of11658 still-moltenDORSETT dark chocolate. A few flakes@ of sea salt FEE over the top bring ROAD FEE out the cookie’s savory notes. It doesn’t get any better than this. – Cheryl Baehr

We Cater!

314.801.8888 • BIGBABYQ.COM Continued on pg 62

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Chef Rex Hale’s ceviche is served with plantain and cassava chips. | MABEL SUEN

BECAUSE BOUNDARY’S CEVICHE WILL SAVE YOU AIRFARE TO PERU The gossamer strips of citrus-cured corvina arrive from the raw bar in a coconut, but you don’t need the reminder — the sheer freshness of the Peruvian ceviche at Boundary (7036 Clayton Avenue; 314-932-7818) is all you need to be transported to the Pacific.

Chef Rex Hale certainly knows a thing or two about seafood, having spent a good part of his culinary career in the Caribbean. After tasting his ceviche, though, you’d think he came up in a coastal Peruvian kitchen. Boundary’s version of the cured seafood dish is spiked with aji amarillo, a fruity chili that’s said to taste like sunshine itself. He softens its barely-there heat with some coconut milk, which helps to underscore the corvina’s creamy texture. Close your eyes as you take a bite and you’ll be convinced you were on a beach throwing back pisco sours rather than at a hotel hotspot in the middle of the country. If only Hale could make us a life-sized replica of Machu Picchu, we really could skip that trip.

– Cheryl Baehr

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Voted Favorite Mexican Restaurant -2016 RFT Readers Poll

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A Crawfish-remoulade toast, a Creole spin on the hipster obsession. | MABEL SUEN

BECAUSE EVEN OUR TOAST SHOPS ARE CHARMING As far as food trends come, perhaps none is more grating than artisanal toast. Not because charging upwards of $10 for something that could be made by someone with the culinary IQ of a potted fern is extortion — though that can seem awfully obnoxious. No, what makes the toast trend so annoying is that it’s so goddamn twee, it may as well been plucked directly from Wes Anderson’s brain.

On its face, Milque Toast Bar (2212 S. Jefferson Avenue, 314-833-0085) seemed to fit this stereotype: the name, the toast, the overly cutesy crockpot selections named after a children’s book about hippos. Then you bite into one of Milque Toast’s “spiffy toasts” — maybe it’s slathered with goat cheese and covered with truffled mushrooms, or perhaps it’s covered with luscious blue cheese, spiked with Louisiana hot sauce — and you’re suddenly transported. So this is what all the excitement is about! More an open-faced sandwich shop than a fancy toast spot, this McKinley Heights gem will make a believer out of even the most trend-averse skeptic.

– Cheryl Baehr Continued on pg 66

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BE C

Fleur de ideas tha tion, but In ope weren’t m respectiv for the s separate dishes h licious C the fusio to this an Fleur de

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75 REASONS Located in Beautiful Webster Groves Continued from pg 62

75 REASONS Continued from pg 64

603 EAST LOCKWOOD * 314-963-3232* CYRANOS.COM

Aw

ard

ie P -Winning BB Q &

s At Fleur de Lilies fusion isn’t awkward. It’s the owners’ life stories, intertwined. | MABEL SUEN

Crawfish-remoulade toast, a Creole spin on the hipster obsession. | MABEL SUEN

Delivery • D ine-In BECAUSE EVEN OUR TOAST SHOPS Takeout • Catering ARE CHARMING

BECAUSE OUR CHEFS PROVE THAT CREOLE AND KOREAN FUSION ACTUALLY WORKS

DAILY: 11 is more - SOLD OUT As far as foodOPEN trends come, perhaps none grating than artisanal toast. Not because charging upwards of $10 for something that could be made by someone with the culinary IQ of a potted fern is extortion — though that can seem awfully obnoxious. No, what makes the toast trend so annoying is that it’s so goddamn twee, it may as well been plucked directly from Wes Anderson’s brain.

On its face, Milque Toast Bar (2212 S. Jefferson Avenue, 314-833-0085) seemed to fit this stereotype: the name, the toast, the overly cutesy crockpot selections named after a children’s book about hippos. Then you bite into one of Milque Toast’s “spiffy toasts” — maybe it’s slathered with goat cheese and covered with truffled mushrooms, or perhaps it’s covered with luscious blue cheese, spiked with Louisiana hot sauce — and you’re suddenly transported. So this is what all the WINGHAVEN DOWNTOWNsandwichDOWNTOWN ST. CHARLES OLIVETTE is about! excitement More an open-faced shop than a fancy toast spot, this Olive Blvd. #114trend-averse 9955 Winghaven Blvd.

605 Washington 3150gem Elm Point 9200 Olive Blvd.

McKinley Heights will make a believer Ave. out of9200 even the most skeptic.

Industrial Dr. 314-997-2301 314-997-2301 314-997-2301 –636-265-1234 Cheryl Baehr

Fleur de Lilies (1031 Lynch Street, 314-932-5051) is one of those culinary fusion ideas that seems horribly wrong on its face. Sure, bulgolgi tacos are a genius invention, but Korean-Creole fusion? The last thing anyone wants is crawfish bibimbap.

In opening this Soulard spot, though, owners Misha K. Sampson and Alexis Kim weren’t merely chasing after trends. They wanted a restaurant that would honor their respective Creole and Korean heritages — not simply mishmash two different genres for the sake of something different. To do this, they smartly kept the different styles separate, opting for a predominantly Creole menu with accents of Korean-inspired dishes here and there. Their efforts result not only in some of the town’s most delicious Creole food, but also in a few fun dishes, like the bulgolgi burger, that push the fusion concept as far as it needs to go without getting too far out there. Add to this an always-hopping Sunday brunch service and a fabulous rooftop patio, and Fleur de Lilies shows that fusion, if done right, can still be relevant.

– Cheryl Baehr

Continued on pg 66

Continued on pg 68

am

636-724-7601

66

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

MIDTOWN

St. Louis’ Cajun-Creole Restaurant

SUSHI & RAMEN Offering the Best Quality Sushi & Ramen Dishes in Stunning and Contemporary Surroundings!

Breakfast Served All Day! CHEAPEST DRINK PRICES IN TOWN!

2015

WINNER

Beer, Wine, & Full Bar

Chicken Wings 3674 FOREST PARK AVE | (314) 328-2452 | midtown-sushi.com

Award Winning Wings

Sweet Potato Fries Award Winning Sweet Potato Fries

The Kitchen Sink (the Ultimate Shrimp & Grits)

Sauteed Shrimp & Andouille served over Cheesy grits w/a Tasso & Crab gravy.

626 N. 6th St.

At the corner of 6th & Lucas

314.241.5454

riverfronttimes.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

67

Cupcakes Ice Cream Great Food!

75 REASONS Continued from pg 66

75 R Contin

BEST TOASTED RAVIOLI IN ST. LOUIS!

BEST TOASTED RAVIOLI IN ST. LOUIS!

O P E N D A I LY L U N C H & D I N N E R S U N D AY B R E A K FA S T 9 A M - 2 P M LIVE MUSIC • HAPPY HOUR CATERING • GIFT CERTIFICATES 100 HOLLOWAY RD. IN BALLWIN 636-220-8989 • CANDICCIS.NET

Live Music Thurs-Sat Au thentic

Th a(near i Cu isine 100 Holloway Road in Ballwin Target) 636-220-8989 • www.candiccis.net

Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Café

8509 Delmar Blvd.

(314) 993-5455

Rick Lewis is showing the world how hot chicken should be served. | MABEL SUEN

’

BECAUSE THE BEST NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN IN THE U.S. MAY BE IN THE GATEWAY CITY

Mon-Sat 9-6 & Sun 9-4

Event Space Call for Availability

Jilly’s Ice Cream Bar

20 Steps to the left of Cupcake Bar (just around the corner)

Mon-Thurs 11-6 Fri & Sat 11-8 Sun 11-6

JillysCupcakeBar.com 68

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Open 7 Days a Week Lunch Specials Mon-Fri

13441 Olive Blvd. Chesterfield, MO 314.469.1660

addiesthaihouse.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

One is the king of ‘cue in the Lou; the other is a James Beard-nominated chef.

There was no question that Mike Emerson and Rick Lewis’ Southern (3108 Olive Street, 314-531-4668) would be the place in St. Louis to enjoy a plate of Nashville-style fried chicken. The real surprise is that the year-old chicken joint may be every bit as good as what they’re serving in Music City, U.S.A. Some serious R&D went into developing Southern’s searingly spicy fried bird, with Lewis plucking ideas from the country’s best purveyors of hot chicken. His efforts yielded a juicy, deep-fried chicken that is dipped in such an addictive chili oil glaze, you can’t stop eating it even as beads of sweat dot your forehead and smoke comes out of your ears. Regardless of the spice level — whether you order mild, medium, hot or “clucking hot” — Lewis has managed to concoct a seasoning blend that allows you to experience the flavor. Sure, they call it Nashville-style hot chicken for now, but the version Lewis is serving right here in St. Louis might make them think twice about it.

– Cheryl Baehr

riverfronttimes.com

Continued on pg 70

BEC THA

If you wa ketchup the Taiw 314-80 street fo local din Sure, most exc Maybe it radish so dressed w will get

asian food with a mexican twist!

RESTAURAN TS 2016

WINNER

TACOS • BURRITOS QUESADILLAS • rice BOWLS BAnh MI SANDWICHes Vietnamese iced coffee BUBBLE TEAs

Voted #1 Indian Restaurant, Again!

Lunch Buffet:

Tues-Sun 11am to 2:30pm Sat & Sun 11:30am-3pm Regular Menu Available

Dinner Buffet:

Tues & Sun Only 5pm to 8:30pm Regular Menu Available

Dinner a la carte: Tues-Sun 5pm-9pm

Dine-In • Carry Out • Catering 9720 Page Ave | 314.423.7300 | havelistl.com

314-240-5544 2301 CHEROKEE ST 1 block east of jefferson

kalbitacoshack.com wed-sun 11am-5:30pm

Mai Lee

Thanks for Supporting Local St. Louis Restaurants!

Tues-Thurs & Sun: 11a

#1 Vietnamese Restaurant - 2016 RFT READERS Fri POLL & Sat 11am-10

Mai Lee Since 1985

Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine

Tues-Thurs & Sun: 11am-9pm, & Sat 11am-10pm 8396 Musick Memorial Drive Fri - Hanley & Eager Rd behind Bes

Since 1985

Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine

314.645.2835 • www.maileestl.com

8396 Musick Memorial• Drive - Hanley & Eager Rd behind Best Buy 8396 Musick Memorial Drive • 314.645.2835 www.maileestl.com

314.645.2835 • www.maileestl.com #1 Vietnamese Restaurant 2014 #1 RFTVietnamese READERS Restaurant RESTAURANT POLL

2014 RFT READERS RESTAURANT POLL

OPEN EVERYDAY 11AM - 10PM 6665 DELMAR BLVD. 314.863.1148 FOR BOTH FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULES FOLLOW US

@SEOULTACO riverfronttimes.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

69

75 REASONS Continued from pg 66 FA M O U

75 REASONS Continued from pg 68 S FRIED CHICKEN

Pat’s Fried Chicken A St. Louis Tradition

just $9 on Saturdays

daily happy hour 3-6pm epic late night dealsTHEthurs-sat BECAUSE BEST NASHVILLE

Rick Lewis is showing the world how hot chicken should be served. | MABEL SUEN

HOT CHICKEN IN THE U.S. MAY BE IN THE GATEWAY CITY

VOTED BEST BAR IN STL!

After eating at Tai Ke, you may never settle for a Chicago dog again.| MABEL SUEN

BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SERVE A HOT DOG

One is the king of ‘cue in the Lou; the other is a James Beard-nominated chef.

RESTAURAN TS There was no question that Mike Emerson and Rick Lewis’ Southern (3108 2016 Olive Street, 314-531-4668) would be the place in St. Louis to enjoy a plate of Nashville-style fried chicken. The real surprise is that the year-old chicken joint may be every bit as good as what they’re serving in Music City, U.S.A. Some serious R&D went into developing Southern’s searingly spicy fried bird, with Lewis plucking ideas from the country’s best purveyors of hot chicken. His efforts yielded a juicy, deep-fried chicken that is dipped in such an addictive chili oil glaze, you can’t stop eating it even as beads of sweat dot your forehead and smoke comes out of your ears. Regardless of the spice level — whether you order mild, medium, hot or “clucking hot” — Lewis has managed to concoct a seasoning blend that allows you to experience the flavor. Sure, they call it Nashville-style hot chicken for now, but the version Lewis is serving right here in St. Louis might make them think twice about it.

– Cheryl Baehr

If you want to be daring with your hot-dog consumption, you have two options: Squirt ketchup all over your Vienna beef in front of a bunch of Chicago dog purists or try the Taiwanese sticky rice hot dog at Tai Ke (8604 Olive Boulevard, University City; 314-801-8894). Since introducing the St. Louis community to authentic Taiwanese street food last year, owners Calvin Koong and Brian Hsia have been challenging local diners to be a little more daring with their food choices.

Sure, you can get buns and dumplings at the University City restaurant, but Tai Ke’s most exciting dishes are the ones that may push you to rethink your preconceptions.

Maybe it’s an omelet studded with salt shrimp, a pork chop that simmers in pickled radish soup, or even the beloved hot dog, which here is placed atop sticky rice and dressed with a sweet and sour glaze. Whatever you previously thought of these dishes will get turned on its head at Tai Ke — and you’ll be the one who’s head over heels.

– Cheryl Baehr

Continued on pg 70

Continued on pg 72

WINNER

2016 readers choice

(314) 647-7287 patconnollytavern.com 6400 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139

70

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

Bridging Flavor&Spirit Serving delicious Mexican-inspired food with the heartfelt warmth of the Midwest

Bridging Flavor&Spirit on LaServing Fayette square delicious

Laredo

2001 PARK AVENUE • ST. LOUIS

Mexican-inspired food Bridging 314.231.9200 Flavor with the heartfelt &Spirit warmth Bridging LaredoOnLafayetteSquare.com Serving delicious of the Midwest Mexican-inspired food

Flavor&Spirit Serving delicious Laredo Mexican-inspired on LaFayettefood square with the heartfelt warmth of the Midwest

Laredo on LaFayette square

with the2001 heartfelt warmth PARK AVENUE • ST. LOUIS of the314.231.9200 Midwest LaredoOnLafayetteSquare.com

Laredo on L314.231.9200 aFayette square

2001 PARK AVENUE • ST. LOUIS 2001 PARK AVENUE • ST. LOUIS LaredoOnLafayetteSquare.com

314.231.9200

LaredoOnLafayetteSquare.com

riverfronttimes.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

71

75 REASONS Continued from pg 70

odel Come Se e Ou r Ne w ly Rem

75 R Contin

ed Di ni ng Ro om!

ebanese Food

cL Homemade Authenti 2010 & 2012 Best of St. Louis Winner Best Middle Eastern Restaurant 2013 Best French Fry

2013-2016 Favorite Lebanese RFT Restaurants 2015

WINNER

RESTAURAN TS 2016

WINNER

3171 South Grand

thevinestl.com •(314) 776-0991

Chef Matt Borchardt shows how it’s done. | MABEL SUEN

SANDWICH LOVER?

Join our Loyalty Program!

Order online at foodatfozzies.com

Richmond Heights 1170 Big Bend (314) 932-5414 72

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Des Peres 11656 Manchester Rd. (314) 909-4757

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

BECAUSE EDIBLES & ESSENTIALS IS A QUINTESSENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD GEM Dining at Edibles & Essentials (5815 Hampton Avenue, 314-328-2300) is less like going out to a restaurant and more like being a guest in Matt Borchardt’s home.

One minute, the chef and owner is popping open a bottle of wine at your table; the next he’s scrambling back to the kitchen to pull some mushroom tarts out of the oven. It can get a little chaotic, especially during patio season, but the former chef consultant and culinary educator wouldn’t have it any other way.

Borchardt opened the tiny Southampton cafe as a way to connect with people through food and hospitality, and he thrives on the interaction with his guests, spending as much time mingling out front as he does in the kitchen. On any day, you can find people from the neighborhood popping in for some white bean dip and a beer, grabbing a few provisions and bottle of wine to go, or chatting up Borchardt about a catering gig. And no matter how busy he is, Borchardt is there with a smile on his face and asking how he can help you, like a good neighbor. – Cheryl Baehr

riverfronttimes.com

Continued on pg 74

BEC TH

If you reg Maybe it the need know tha Somewh populate You’d Maplewo sommelie He’s n listened is one of you’ve fi dissertat Jackson both leve

THREEKINGSPUB.COM

Authentic MexicAn Food, Beer, And MArgAritAs!

2817 cherokee st. st. Louis, Mo 63118 314.762.0691 nco.coM o r B L e iA r e u q A .t w ww riverfronttimes.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

73

75 REASONS Continued from pg 70

75 REASONS Continued from pg 72

Pearl Cafe Thai Cuisine • St. Louis, MO

VOTED FAVORITE THAI RESTAURANT 2011-2016 RFT Readers Polls

over 400 craft bottled beers, single malt scotch whiskies, bourbon & rum!

4 BIG SCREEN TV’S • PATIO DINING • CARRY OUT

OPEN MON-SAT FOR LUNCH & DINNER

8416 N. LINDBERGH BLVD•1 mile north of 270 dinepearlcafe.com 314.831.3701

Andrey Ivanov will guide your choices, not judge them. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

Located in the Heart of “The Hill”

Chef Matt Borchardt shows how it’s done. | MABEL SUEN

The best of Mediterranean Cusisine, Classic Italian Fare and Traditional Spanish Entrees and Tapas.

BECAUSE EDIBLES & ESSENTIALS IS Your Pre Muny Dining Destination A with QUINTESSENTIAL 10% discount a Muny ticket NEIGHBORHOOD GEM Open 7 days a week

Dining at Edibles & Essentials (5815 Hampton Avenue, 314-328-2300) is less like going out to a restaurant and more like being a guest in Matt Borchardt’s home.

One minute, the chef and owner is popping open a bottle of wine at your table; the next he’s scrambling back to the kitchen to pull some mushroom tarts out of the oven. It can get a little chaotic, especially during patio season, but the former chef consultant and culinary educator wouldn’t have it any other way.

Borchardt opened the tiny Southampton cafe as a way to connect with people through food and hospitality, and he thrives on the interaction with his guests, spending as much time mingling out front as he does in the kitchen. On any day, you can find people from the neighborhood popping in for some white bean dip and a beer, grabbing a few provisions and bottle of wine to go, or chatting up Borchardt about a catering gig.

And Shaw no matter howStbusy he is, Borchardt is there with a smile 5046 Ave, . Louis, MO 63110 on his face and asking how he can help you, like a good neighbor. – Cheryl Baehr

(314) 771-4900 • guidosstl.com

74

RIVERFRONT TIMES

BECAUSE ANDREY IVANOV PROVES THAT WORLD-CLASS SERVICE CAN STILL BE APPROACHABLE If you regularly order wine at a restaurant, there’s a good chance you’ve been shamed.

Maybe it was by the server who just passed the intro-level sommelier exam and felt the need to correct your pronunciation of Languedoc. Or it could have been the “you know that’s dry, right?” comment from the bartender following your rosé request.

Somewhere, somehow, wine got snobby, if not downright elitist, with an industry populated by a good number of folks who feel it’s their job to make you feel inferior.

You’d expect Andrey Ivanov of Reeds American Table (7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood; 314-899-9821) to be one of them. After all, as an advanced-level sommelier, Ivanov really does know more about wine than most people.

He’s not afraid to show it either, but he does so in a way that makes you feel listened to and comfortable. Ivanov is one of the many reasons Reeds American Table is one of the toughest reservations in town, and an endlessly charming presence once you’ve finally scored a table. If you’re a veteran oenophile who wants a 30-minute dissertation on sherry, he’s your guy. If you’ve never drunk anything but Kendall Jackson chardonnay and are perplexed by his list, he’s got you too — and he’ll treat both levels of expertise with respect. We’ll drink to that.

– Cheryl Baehr

Continued on pg 74

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

riverfronttimes.com

75 REASONS Continued from pg 75

Stone Spiral is a coffee shop that stands for more than just good coffee. | KELLY GLUECK

BECAUSE OUR ITALIAN FOOD IS NO LONGER ‘RED OR WHITE SAUCE?’ Over the last few years a shocking — and once unthinkable — thing has happened in the St. Louis restaurant scene: It’s now possible to go out for Italian and not be asked “red or white sauce?” There’s nothing wrong, per se, with the old-school Italian-American spots that populate the Hill and its environs. Sometimes the comfort that comes from a plate of pasta con broccoli and a jug of cheap Chianti is what you need. Other times, however, you’re looking for something transportive — to the Amalfi Coast, not the Jersey Shore. And those options are growing.

Whether it’s the sophisticated dishes at I Fratellini (7624 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-727-7901), the evocative red-checkered dining at Randolfi’s (6665 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-899-9221) or the Calabrese soul food at Peno (7600 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-899-9699), more and more restaurants around town are turning diners on to the wealth and diversity of Italian cuisine that goes beyond the Americanized playbook. It’s about time.

– Cheryl Baehr

The fish fry at St. Cecilia, one of St. Louis’ greatest Lenten traditions. | KELLY GLUECK

BECAUSE WED iTAKE FISH FRIES n e i n - C a r OUR ry out SERIOUSLY

NorasÕ

There have been various points at various places — Seattle in the grungy 1990s, Vienna in the 1910s — when coffee shops were places to go plot the revolution.

Part drinking establishments, part counter-culture havens, these smoke-filled, caffeine-fueled salons were less about what was in the cup than what Trotsky and his compatriots were discussing around the table.

Third wave coffee ruined this. Yes, the brew is infinitely better than the sludge you used to get. And it’s fair trade and single estate and blah blah blah. But the obsessiveness over every last detail of the bean made coffee shops about — well, coffee. That’s great if you want to obsess over shade-grown Yirgacheffe, but if you’re trying to overthrow the government, it’s just a distraction.

Fortunately, Maplewood’s Stone Spiral (2500 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood; 314-335-7388) still provides that subversive coffee shop vibe, making it the metro’s go-to spot for struggling writers, aging chess players and bidding revolutionaries. The place looks like if the philosophy department student lounge was decorated by aging hippies: There’s the wall of “take one leave one” books (with titles you’d actually want to read), old concert posters and buttons, and eclectic artwork that could’ve come from a New Age shop. A small selection of café fare is available (hey, even Marxists have to eat). And yes, the coffee is good enough, but the conversations overheard are so much better.

– Cheryl Baehr

It can be easy to forget that, in some cities in this country, the citizenry does not order cod and catfish in bulk during the lead-up to Easter. Kansas City, for example, does not have competing “Fish Fry Finder” maps on every news station’s website. The good people of Oklahomas aCity the culinary output n d wdo i c hnot e s spend - s o u p40 s - days s a l adebating ds of parish kitchens.

And while Des Moines does have a handful of church fish fries, 1 1 3 6 Ta m m Av e . - 3 14- 6 4 5 -2 7 0 6 - n o ra s i n d o g t o w n .c o m the city is not crisscrossed with blocks-long lines on chilly Friday nights in February.

When it comes to God’s Cod, we St. Louis residents are the chosen ones.

Dozens of churches through the metro area open their basements, meeting halls and gyms during the “season,” happily serving Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Anyone who’s ever slurped a giant margarita for 45 minutes outside of St. Cecilia (906 Eichelberger, 314-351-1318) while waiting for the opportunity to buy jack salmon and a single chile relleno knows there is plenty of demand. It’s partly the food (seriously, those chile rellenos!), but also the tradition and common bond. There’s something about crowding elbow-to-elbow around shared folding tables, dessert ticket in your pocket, while little kids dance like maniacs to a family band of questionable talent that makes everything right for an hour or two. It’s all so goddamn earnest, it’ll break your heart.

It’s not just St. Cecilia, though its Mexican-inflected fish fry may be the city’s most beloved (and jam-packed). It’s also a pleasure to slide a chair across the multicolored tile floor in the basement of St. Pius V (3310 S. Grand Avenue, 314-772-1525) and squeeze in among what seems to be every single person who lives within the church’s three-block radius. Somehow, you’ll find yourself holding your breath as you watch an aging parishioner crank a metal shaker full of tickets round and round, waiting to see if this is the day you finally win a 50-50 raffle.

Maybe people in other cities don’t understand the appeal of pairing a hunk of flaky cod with spaghetti and green beans. But if it wasn’t part of the divine plan, Favorite please explain how the dinner at St. Ferdinand (1765 Charbonier Road, Florissant; RESTAURAN TS 2 0 draw 16 314-837-3165) continues to huge crowds after more than six decades.

Sandwiches W I N N E Rritual. The rest of the world can keep missing out; The St. Louis fish fry is a righteous 2016 we don’t need affirmation. Their loss just means more food for us.

– Doyle Murphy

Continued on pg 76

Continued on pg 78

BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE OLDSCHOOL, SUBVERSIVE COFFEE SHOPS

ST. LOUIS, WE THINK You’re THE BEST!

riverfronttimes.com

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

75

Failoni’s • MUSIC FOOD GATHERING PLACE

CELEBRATING

100 YEARS! 1916-2016

75 REASONS Continued from pg 75

“Please stop in for Lunch or Dinner.

My diners are all like family and friends!”

-Peggy Hou, Owner

6138 Delmar • 314-725-9889 Across from The Pageant in The Loop www.peggyhou.com Stone Spiral is a coffee shop that stands for more than just good coffee. | KELLY GLUECK

Eat Bold

BECAUSE OUR ITALIAN FOOD IS NO LONGER ‘RED OR WHITE SAUCE?’ SAUSAGE PIZZA

Over the last few years a shocking — and once unthinkable — thing has happened in the St. Louis restaurant scene: It’s now possible to go out for Italian and not be asked “red or white sauce?” There’s nothing wrong, per se, with the old-school Italian-American spots that populate the Hill and its environs. Sometimes the comfort that comes from a plate of pasta con broccoli and a jug of cheap Chianti is what you need. Other times, however, you’re looking for something transportive — to the Amalfi Coast, not the Jersey Shore. And those options are growing.

Whether it’s the sophisticated dishes at I Fratellini (7624 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-727-7901), the evocative red-checkered dining at Randolfi’s (6665 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-899-9221) or the Calabrese soul PASTA CON BROCOLLI food at Peno (7600 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-899-9699), more and more restaurants around town are turning diners on to the wealth and diversity of Italian cuisine that goes beyond the Americanized playbook. It’s about time.

7810 Forsyth– Blvd.

Cheryl Baehr

Right in the heart of Clayton!

Clayton, MO 63105

BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE OLDSCHOOL, SUBVERSIVE COFFEE SHOPS CHICKEN There have been DELIGHT variousPIZZA points at various places — Seattle in the grungy 1990s, Vienna in the 1910s — when coffee shops were places to go plot the revolution.

Part drinking establishments, part counter-culture havens, these smoke-filled, caffeine-fueled salons were less about what was in the cup than what Trotsky and his compatriots were discussing around the table.

Third wave coffee ruined this. Yes, the brew is infinitely better than the sludge you used to get. And it’s fair trade and single estate and blah blah blah. But the obsessiveness over every last detail of the bean made coffee shops about — well, coffee. That’s great if you want to obsess over shade-grown Yirgacheffe, but if you’re trying to overthrow the government, it’s just a distraction.

Fortunately, Maplewood’s Stone Spiral (2500 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood; 314-335-7388) still provides that subversive coffee shop vibe, making it the metro’s go-to spot for struggling writers, aging chess players and bidding revolutionaries. The place looks like if the philosophy department student lounge was decorated by aging hippies: There’s the wall of “take one leave one” books (with titles you’d actually want to read), old concert posters and buttons, and eclectic 6715 artwork thatMANCHESTER could’ve come AVE. from a New Age shop. A small selection of café fare is 11am 8pm but 314-781-5221 available (hey, even Marxists have to eat). AndMon-Sat yes, the coffee is good-enough, the conversations overheard are so much better.

– Cheryl MayanaMex.com Baehr FAILONIS.COM

LUNCH TUES-FRI DINNER TUES-SAT

LIVE MUSIC THUR, FRI & SAT TOM KELLY EVERY FRI NIGHT NEVER A COVER

The fish fry at St. Cecilia, one of St. Louis’ greatest Lenten traditions. | KELLY GLUECK

BECAUSE WE TAKE OUR FISH FRIES SERIOUSLY It can be easy to forget that, in some cities in this country, the citizenry does not order cod and catfish in bulk during the lead-up to Easter. Kansas City, for example, does not have competing “Fish Fry Finder” maps on every news station’s website. The good people of Oklahoma City do not spend 40 days debating the culinary output of parish kitchens. And while Des Moines does have a handful of church fish fries, the city is not crisscrossed with blocks-long lines on chilly Friday nights in February.

When it comes to God’s Cod, we St. Louis residents are the chosen ones.

Dozens of churches through the metro area open their basements, meeting halls and gyms during the “season,” happily serving Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Anyone who’s ever slurped a giant margarita for 45 minutes outside of St. Cecilia (906 Eichelberger, 314-351-1318) while waiting for the opportunity to buy jack salmon and a single chile relleno knows there is plenty of demand. It’s partly the food (seriously, those chile rellenos!), but also the tradition and common bond. There’s something about crowding elbow-to-elbow around shared folding tables, dessert ticket in your pocket, while little kids dance like maniacs to a family band of questionable talent that makes everything right for an hour or two. It’s all so goddamn earnest, it’ll break your heart.

It’s not just St. Cecilia, though its Mexican-inflected fish fry may be the city’s most beloved (and jam-packed). It’s also a pleasure to slide a chair across the multicolored tile floor in the basement of St. Pius V (3310 S. Grand Avenue, 314-772-1525) and squeeze in among what seems to be every single person who lives within the church’s three-block radius. Somehow, you’ll find yourself holding your breath as you watch an aging parishioner crank a metal shaker full of tickets round and round, waiting to see if this is the day you finally win a 50-50 raffle.

Maybe people in other cities don’t understand the appeal of pairing a hunk of flaky cod with spaghetti and green beans. But if it wasn’t part of the divine plan, please explain how the dinner at St. Ferdinand (1765 Charbonier Road, Florissant; 314-837-3165) continues to draw huge crowds after more than six decades.

The St. Louis fish fry is a righteous ritual. The rest of the world can keep missing out; we don’t need affirmation. Their loss just means more food for us.

– Doyle Murphy

Continued on pg 76

76

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 76

BECAUSE THE KITCHEN AT ST. LOUIS’ BEST NEW RESTAURANT IS LED BY A WOMAN

Jesse Mendica: “I just wanted to be the best.” Now she is. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

Jesse Mendica, the executive chef at Olive + Oak (102 W. Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-736-1370), has read the think pieces, understands the pay disparity issue and has been asked about the subject a million times. And yet she still has the same response when someone wants to talk to her about being a woman in the kitchen: She rolls her eyes.

“This again?” Mendica laughs.

Mendica is too busy to dwell on much of anything these days. As head of the year’s busiest — and most celebrated — kitchen, she has to make sure that people who have waited as much as three months for a reservation leave feeling like it was worth it. She holds up her end of the bargain with aplomb, drawing upon her Annie Gunn’s experience to execute a menu of luxurious yet approachable food. It’s a far cry from the garde manger station at her first restaurant gig, where she asked, “Would you ever hire a girl?”

Mendica wasn’t drawn to the kitchen because of a deep-rooted passion for food.

She was simply a teenager who wanted to work where all of her friends were working, and that led her to the old Two Nice Guys in Webster Groves. Mendica noticed that the back of the house was having all the fun — getting dirty, being messy and having a blast while getting their backsides kicked all night long. She wanted to be a part of it, but when she looked around and saw the usual all-male team, she had to wonder if they’d even give her a shot.

“I never looked at it like I had to prove myself more because I am a girl,” Mendica insists. “Everyone has to prove themselves. I just wanted to be the best, so I tried hard and worked hard and didn’t let stuff get to me. I think we all try hard in the kitchen — at least I hope boys try as hard as girls do.”

Mendica enrolled in culinary school at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park’s program and worked her way up at JP Fields (the Webster Grove iteration), Frazer’s and ultimately Annie Gunn’s, where she was promoted all the way to executive sous chef. When Annie Gunn’s former general manager Mark Hinkle approached her about

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the Chens manage to treat a roomful of patrons, each at their own individual tables, as if the restaurant solely exists for their individual dining pleasure.

The setup used to be even more mysterious: When Private Kitchen first opened in early 2015, those wishing to dine could contact the restaurant only via a difficult-to-find Wei Chat number and have the menu sent to them via private message.

It’s now public knowledge (the menu is on the Facebook page), and the Chens have begun accepting limited walk-in business. That level of intrigue is starting to fade, but the experience of a Chen-led personalized affair is still worth the effort it takes to dine there. He’s still taking you on a ride, even if you are the one who chooses the destination.

– Cheryl Baehr

BECAUSE YOU CAN’T STOP WATCHING MIKE RANDOLPH

Chef Mike Randolph: Always restless, always brilliant. | GREG RANNELLS

a new concept he was opening, she was intrigued.

“When we first talked about Olive + Oak, Mark and I realized that of course we knew good service and that the food was going to be great,” says Mendica. “We felt, though, that if we could create a place where people just feel happy, like it’s their own place, then that’s what it is all about. And that’s scary, because there is no formula for that.”

Mendica and her team have succeeded beyond anything she could have imagined.

Sure, there’s the delivery guy who asks when she’s going to “get on to having babies, because the clock is ticking.” And there have been many times when she’s been approached by guests who, having loved the food, requested that she give their compliments to the chef. Old habits (and perceptions) die hard. But she doesn’t let that bother her — and she doesn’t need to. She’s running the kitchen of St. Louis’ best new restaurant, and that’s nothing to roll your eyes at.

– Cheryl Baehr

BECAUSE PRIVATE KITCHEN HAS REDEFINED THE TASTING MENU When you think of tasting menus, what comes to mind? A multi-coursed pre-fixe affair wherein the chef takes diners on a ride of unexpected culinary twists and turns? In some ways, that is what you’ll find dining at Private Kitchen (8106 Olive Boulevard, University City; 314-989-0283), though there is one important difference: At this Chinese restaurant, the guest gets to be the one in the driver’s seat.

Private Kitchen’s concept is a first for St. Louis in that prospective diners make reservations and select their dishes in advance of their visit, thereby setting up their own, personalized menu. The selection is huge, peppered with options from whole Peking duck to sea cucumber rice to slow-cooked pork knuckles, and even though its format is a traditional board of fare, there’s a mystique that comes from an advance order for a tailor-made dinner, sight unseen. Chef Lawrence Chen and his wife Emily do the shopping for each night’s service based solely on what’s ordered, resulting in an experience akin to having a customized dinner party cooked by a private chef.

That tailor-made party isn’t exactly a private affair — from the outside, a passerby peering inside wouldn’t see any difference from a traditional restaurant. Yet somehow

About a year ago, someone started a mock Twitter account called “Bored Mike Randolph” to poke fun at the chef’s — how do you say it — dynamism. “A coffee spot that has a lunch spot in it that has a dinner spot in it that has a Taco Bell in it that has a secret pierogi menu in it next Thursday,” the prankster tweeted, taking Randolph’s penchant for overlapping concepts to an absurd level.

Really though, he wasn’t that far off. Since opening the Midtown iteration of the Good Pie in 2009, Randolph has opened and closed more restaurants — seven if you count the regularly occurring pop-ups; more if you count the dinner series — than most chefs do in their careers. It’s been enough to give Randolph a reputation around town as restless, and if he was a lesser chef, Randolph might be nothing more than a punch line. Actually, there are more than a few chuckles when he says he’s doing something new.

But once the wisecracks subside, the curiosity starts. When Randolph is on to something, everyone takes notice. St. Louis diners, other chefs, the James Beard Foundation — no one can stop watching Mike Randolph because they know that whatever he does, it’s bound to be spectacular. The man can do anything: authentic Neapolitan pizza at Randolfi’s (6665 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-8999221), breakfast, high-end tasting menus at Half & Half (8133 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-725-0719), and conceptual Latin American at Público (6679 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-833-5780). And he does it better than just about anyone else. At times, you almost wish he’d stop tinkering with your favorite pizza or that perfect arepa — it’s not uncommon to go into one of Randolph’s restaurants salivating for a dish from last week’s menu only to find that it’s gone. But really, this is the price we pay for his mad genius. He keeps us on our toes. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

– Cheryl Baehr

BECAUSE OUR BEST CHEF HAD THE COURAGE TO START OVER This past June, Gerard Craft invited a group of food writers and friends to Niche for what he’d only say was “coffee and an announcement.” Once everyone was assembled, he admitted something that sent a gasp through the room. “We open the restaurants we want to eat in,” Craft said. “And sadly, I don’t want to eat at Niche.”

What followed was a heartfelt explanation for why Craft had decided to close his flagship restaurant on June 11, at the peak of its success. It had nothing to do with money, he explained. Niche had survived leaner times and had even weathered the beating that the financial crises of 2008 inflicted on fine dining restaurants nationwide.

No, this was about something larger and much harder to quantify, though infinitely more important than balance sheets. Craft had simply lost his passion for Niche. It was his firstborn, the place that launched his career, the lauded restaurant that earned him his James Beard Award, the name that was synonymous with his brand — and it had turned from a labor of love into an obligation. What had started out as a fun bistro eleven years ago in Benton Park had become a chore, and the burden that came from feeling like he had to stay at the top took its toll on Craft and his team.

He’d only won that James Beard Award just one year before. He could have kept things going, relying on his executive chefs to take over for him while he rested on his laurels and counted his money. But that’s not Craft’s style.

Instead, he decided to blow the whole thing up. He’s putting the final touches on reinventing the space as a more casual breakfast, lunch and dinner spot, Sardella — a concept that, he says, will better represent where he is not only as a chef, but as a family man too. And doesn’t that matter far more than food awards any day?

– Cheryl Baehr

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VOLU

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Is there any better example of a great St. Louis dive than Iowa Buffet? | FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN

[Bars & Nightlife]

BECAUSE WE HAVE BETTER DIVE BARS THAN ANYONE

A

good bar is like its own small town, populated by essential archetypes. The owner or top bartender is your mayor (or sheriff, if it’s that kind of place), establishing the cultural norms while managing the day-to-day. Tourists will pass through, but a citizenry of loyal patrons keeps the lights on. There will be a peacemaker and a wizened council. A village idiot or three is unavoidable.

It takes time to build these tiny, inebriated municipalities. Sadly, our nation is haunted by the ghosts of a million failed societies, the graves marked by Ruby Tuesdays and faux speakeasies.

St. Louis remains one of the last strongholds of the honest-to-God bar. We drink cans of Stag without irony and decorate our walls with dusty Budweiser neons. A strong pour from the bottom shelf is easily covered by a five spot. And it’s this way in every neighborhood. Hidden between the brick bungalows of south city and burrowed into the side-street corners of north county, hundreds of bars provide a web of small towns with enough stools for each of us to find our true home.

Take a seat on the floral sectional below a Clydesdale poster that doubles as a window shade in the “VIP lounge” of the San Bar (9441 Lackland Road, Overland; 314-427-9750) and ask yourself whether a just society can co-exist in a world of Buffalo Wild Wings. Drink a $1.50 Natural Light draft in North Hampton’s Silver-

leaf Lounge (3442 Hereford Street, 314-481-4080) while you eat beef jerky homemade by a retired cop and consider whether it’s time to rise up with sharpened rakes against $12 muddled cocktails.

In another city, the sketchiness of One Nite Stand Dance Club (2800 Ohio Avenue, 314-776-0996) would be only a legend told by wrinkled barflies to incredulous youth. Developers would have ripped out its stripper pole, and there would be no need for Friday night pat-downs at the door — it would have been turned into a TD Bank long ago. Even the Central West End, the poshest neighborhood in the city, has Rosie’s Place (4573 Laclede Avenue, 314-3616423), a no-theme watering hole where you’ll see suits slamming rail whiskey next to lunch pail regulars.

Only recently has the rest of America begun to understand what has been lost by killing the neighborhood bar. From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, a nostalgic generation has tried to recreate the dive, hauling in thrift store couches and vintage beer signs for a curated vibe. The difference in St. Louis is that our bars are the real thing, not a carefully engineered echo. If the furniture looks a little worn, a little dated, it’s because it’s been there five decades. The wood paneling on the walls and mostly working Budweiser lights of Iowa Buffet (2727 Winnebago Street, 314-7768000) weren’t installed because someone wanted it to feel retro. They’re there because that’s what was in style during that last remodel. Age makes the dive here, a place where “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” feels like a commandment.

We are the keepers of the flame. Our elbows wear grooves in bar tops across the metro. It’s our civic duty.

– Doyle Murphy Continued on pg 82

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A&R

75 REASONS Continued from pg 81

SOLUTIONS

SUBOXONE Start Bar lets you have game night somewhere other than your sofa. | KELLY GLUECK

BECAUSE START BAR IS GIVING GAME LOVERS A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

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It’s official: Cory King’s Side Project Cellar is a beer lover’s mecca. | RICHARD HAEGELE

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Start Bar (1000 Spruce Street, 314-376-4453), a new concept opened in July by the owners of Wheelhouse, is much more than just another place to grab a drink downtown. It’s a genuine haven of nostalgia for an older crowd, less focused on bringing the party and more intent on bringing a piece of patrons’ childhood back to life. While the place offers various craft beers, boozy shakes and slushies, delicious food and an impressive selection of throwback tunes, Start Bar’s real raison d’etre is in the recreation it offers.

From old school games like Donkey Kong and Pac Man to a multitude of ski ball machines, Start Bar has a little bit of everything. Patrons can shoot their way to victory playing Time Crisis and House of the Dead II or enjoy some good ole competition with friends using N64 classics like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. All of that coupled with a great location just steps from Busch Stadium makes Start Bar the perfect place to eat, drink, play and, most importantly, have an awesome time.

– Natalie Rao

BECAUSE SIDE PROJECT IS ONE OF THE TOP PLACES TO ENJOY CRAFT BEER IN THE COUNTRY When the James Beard Foundation nominated the Side Project Cellar (7373 Marietta Avenue, Maplewood; 314-224-5211) for its Outstanding Bar Program award earlier this year, owners Karen and Cory King were shocked. The St. Louis beer community, however, saw this one coming.

Since he began brewing his Side Project beers out of Perennial Artisan Ales (8125 Michigan Avenue; 314-631-7300) in 2014, Cory has dazzled the beer world with his sought-after barrel-aged brews. He needed a venue that would not simply serve his beer, but would exist as a means to fully immerse drinkers in the experience. He turned to wife Karen to put together a world-class tasting room.

She delivered. The Cellar team is as serious about the craft of beef drinking as they are about the brewing process. They pay attention to such details as temperature, barware and proper serving for each individual selection. The result of their efforts is the premier place in town — if not the country — to experience beer as an art form.

– Cheryl Baehr

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 82

75 REASONS Continued from pg 89

Scarlett’s Wine Bar shows the Sasha’s brain trust still has what it takes. | MABEL SUEN

BECAUSE WE DRINK OUR GIN IN BUCKETS You know those vacation drinks? Giant glass bowls of sweet, colorful liquors sipped through bright twirly straws? So much fun, right? And then they top them with those little umbrellas? The best.

The St. Louis version is even better. CBGB (3163 S. Grand Avenue, no phone) calls them gin buckets and serves them in a metal bucket the size of a large dog bowl. Dogs are way fun! Anyway, there’s plenty of tasty liquor, because it’s really just a huge gin and tonic. There are no umbrellas. Super sorry! But they give you as many clear plastic straws as you want. Drink up.

– Doyle Murphy

Award Winning Bloody Mary’s & Martinis Seasonal Drinks Classic Cocktails

BECAUSE SCARLETT’S WINE BAR PROVES THAT LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE THRICE If you’re a regular at either Sasha’s — the wine bar on Shaw or the wine bar on DeMun — you may find it slightly discomfiting to visit the other, sort of like accidentally kissing your boyfriend’s twin brother. Here is the same charm you’d thought was entirely unique to your neighborhood, the same celebratory feel that keeps you drinking long after you vowed to make an early night of it. How, you wonder, can something that feels so specific to both time and place be duplicated?

Well, prepare to have your mind blown, again, with the arrival of Scarlett’s Wine Bar (4253 Laclede Avenue, 314-797-8223). Residing in the southeast corner of the Central West End, the twins’ baby sister is younger and sassier but no less appealing, with a lovely patio out front and cozy nooks inside, a bigger menu and a fancy pizza oven. Most importantly, like her older siblings, she’s ready for a good time at both 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., with a kitchen that stays open late and a staff that’s as accommodating and gracious at midnight as they were when you opened your tab. So far Scarlett’s hasn’t been as busy as her siblings in late-night hours, but we have no doubt time will take care of that. There are few bars this perfect anywhere in the world; St. Louis is now triply blessed.

– Sarah Fenske

NOW

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Continued on pg 86

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 85

WHERE THERE’S CHOICE,

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Only at The Haunt Beginning Oct 7th Dusk till Midnight The “Hot Jupiter”has taste as big as the planet it’s named for. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

BECAUSE THE ‘HOT JUPITER’ WILL GIVE YOU A PLANET-SIZE RUSH

CAN YOU ESCAPE

With the first sip of this magnolia-colored cocktail comes a rush of heat, the unmistakable punch of crushed red pepper. The “Hot Jupiter” at Taste (4584 Laclede Avenue, 314-361-1200) can easily draw comparisons to the fifth planet’s stormy Great Red Spot. The spicy notes of pepper and pineapple hot sauce delightfully dance their way across the tongue, balancing with subtle citrus undertones. And while many respectable people decry tequila as never a good idea, the Hot Jupiter will prove them wrong. The interplay of flavors — including agave, lime, suze and pineapple — is out of this world.

– Holly Ravazzolo

Tix are $25. Available for groups of up to 6. Free shirt with purchase while supplies last. Email haunt.stl@gmail.com for reservations or come to The Haunt Fri and Saturday without reservations.

UPCOMING EVENTS Oct 1st: The Lindburgh Babies; Thank You Jesus Oct 14th: The Punknecks; Skagbyrds Oct 15th: Jesse and the Hogg Brothers Oct 26th: The Haunts Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest Oct 28th: BROOM All shows $5. Music starts at 9pm.

The Haunt 5000 Alaska Ave in St Louis 314-481-5003 86

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

BECAUSE NEGRONI SLUSHIES God bless Gerard Craft. Here we were, desperate for a frozen adult drink but resigned to the notion that the only appropriate place to order such a margarita-strawberry-colada concoction is a Sammy Hagar Cabo Wabo after-party. Meanwhile Craft and his cohorts at Porano Pasta (635 Washington Avenue, 314-833-6414) soldiered on and developed a frozen cocktail that could be ordered without shame or even ensuing decay. Inspired by the classic negroni, a gin-based libation that until now has been reserved for Roman rooftops or trendy cocktail bars, the Porano team developed a negroni slushie, a drink that is so perfect it’s a wonder we’d survived for so long without it in our lives. A riff on the standard gin, Campari and vermouth elixir that somehow works in slushie form, it’s everything you want in an adult drink: citrusy, bright, not too sweet, shockingly refreshing and as boozy as it comes — though that doesn’t stop us from ordering two (or three).

– Cheryl Baehr

riverfronttimes.com

Only at the Libertine is your cocktail served in a vessel paying tribute to the original Big Papa. | KELLY GLUECK

BECAUSE YOU CAN DRINK OUT OF HEMINGWAY’S HEAD AT THE LIBERTINE Behind the bar at the Libertine (7927 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-8622999) sits a giant Hemingway tiki drinking vessel because … well, because why wouldn’t there be? Since the restaurant opened in 2013, owner Nick Luedde — or Bacchus incarnate, as we like to call him — has been instrumental in crafting the Libertine’s irreverent and ever-changing cocktail menu. In Ben Bauer he’s found a compatriot whose mastery of the art of bartending is matched by his ability to keep up with Luedde’s penchant for beautiful excess. This March, the pair conspired to concoct a classic tiki menu that takes the seriousness of the craft cocktail movement and laughs nostalgically in its face. Hemingway is just one of the magnificent heads you can drink from, as the Libertine’s menu proves that what flows from Luedde and Bauer’s noggins is as good as it comes.

– Cheryl Baehr

BECAUSE A GREAT BAR HAS SOMEHOW BECOME EVEN BETTER When Al Coco, longtime owner of the Hideaway (5900 Arsenal Street, 314-6458822) passed away unexpectedly last fall, regulars braced themselves. Nothing good lasts forever, and the beloved dive had enjoyed a great run — who could blame Coco’s heir for opting for the highest bidder rather than choosing a caretaker who appreciated the bar’s inimitable spirit?

Somehow, though, a near-miracle happened. The Hideaway was sold to a group of young owners who are both experienced in the hospitality industry and appreciative of the bar’s unusual charms.

Oh, sure, married couples Valerie and Dan Carroll and Gracie and Sam Jackson made a few changes. They pulled up that awful carpeting and replaced the ceiling, which had both been tarred by decades of heavy smoke. They also found themselves forced to deal with a major repair they’d hoped to put off for a bit when the bar’s ancient plumbing system gave way unexpectedly in July.

But the heart and soul of the bar? That’s remained the same. Mark Dew still plays

the piano Fridays and Saturdays. The drinks are still cheap — and stiff. And those busty ladies still make doe eyes from paintings hung over the bar. The essence remains wonderfully south city, and while the place is now drawing a younger crowd, the regulars are still here, and everyone mingles easily. When Dew sings “On the Road Again,” you might see an elderly couple two-stepping or a young one buying a round of shots.

Somehow it all works beautifully. No one thought this classic St. Louis watering hole could possibly get any better — but guess what? It did.

– Sarah Fenske

BECAUSE YOU CAN GET WASTED HERE FOR $15 … OR LESS Have you ever tried to buy a PBR at happy hour in Oakland? If so you’ll know a so-called “good deal” on cheap beer is a ridiculous $4. Lagunitas, brewed just a short drive to the north, goes for $7 on special.

And that’s not just California inflation. In Chicago, a PBR on special is $3.75 in the diviest of dives. How do people afford their drinking habits in such a place?

Suffice it to say, we don’t have these problems in St. Louis, home of the never-ending drink special. Here we don’t limit affordable prices to random hours in the early afternoon or late at night. And our discounts are good enough to undercut the best bargains being offered in just about any other city.

Consider the options on just one small part of one south city street. You could bounce around a few blocks of Morgan Ford Road near Tower Grove Park and get your buzz on for less than an Andrew Jackson.

Start at Colorado Bob’s Ship of Fools (3457 Morgan Ford Road, 314772-7564) from 4-6 p.m. for a $10 bucket of domestic bottles. Mosey on down to Stella Blues (3269 Morgan Ford Road, 314-762-0144) for dollar rails and $2 domestics ‘til 7 p.m. Pick up some delicious Korean pork kabobs to refuel while you’re there.

End your night wobbling down to Tower Pub (3234 Morgan Ford Road, 314-771-7979). There you can drink until close. Every night Monday through Thursday has a different special to fit your boozy needs, and these deals run all night long. Monday: $2 pints. Tuesday: Flip a coin, guess it right and your drink is on the house. Wednesday: Bring your gal pals for $2 ladies night. Thursday: Practice your trivia skills and chug some $1 PBRs. Play your cards right and you just scored ten beers for $15. Where else can you do that in the whole damn country?

– Kelly Glueck

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1 1 51 ST LO U I S G AL L E R I A ST ST LO UI S M O

NICK DIPAOLO

314 727 126 0 H ELI UMCO MEDY.CO M

THE DIRTY SHOW

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C O N TA C T R E M Y B @ H E L I U M C O M E DY. C O M T O G E T S TA R T E D

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Tü Fest brought crowds to Blank Space, and even more music to Cherokee Street. | TOM BREMMER

[The Music Scene]

BECAUSE CHEROKEE STREET IS BASICALLY ONE LONG, LIVE MUSIC PARTY

O

n Cherokee Street, you could easily poke your head in on a half-dozen live shows on any given night without breaking a sweat. The street bustles with activity most weekends as if it were throwing a low-key block party, with groups of the city’s hippest and hipster-est residents wandering to and fro as the sounds of live music fill the air.

Start at the intersection of Cherokee and Jefferson, facing west. Foam (3359 S. Jefferson Avenue, 314-772-2100) is to your right; stop on in for some garage-rock fun, or maybe some noise artists, or some experimental rock. Walk two blocks to the Luminary (2701 Cherokee Street, 314-773-1533) — if you’re lucky the art gallery will be hosting a LAB Series event, which allows local musicians to take over the building, musically and visually, in whatever way they see fit. Look across the street and you’ll see 2720 Cherokee Performing Arts Center (2720 Cherokee Street, 314-875-0233), which is in the midst of evolving into a multiuse artistic complex since Blank Space owner Kaveh Razani became a partner this spring. Within you’ll find everything from bluegrass to funk, dance music to soul, hip-hop to psych-rock.

Keep going; walk to the end of the block and take a left on Iowa. Tucked away behind Yaqui’s is Kismet Creative Center (3409 Iowa Avenue, 314-696-8177).

Maybe it’ll be hosting a show — it often is — but if not, grab yourself some records

to add to your collection. North of Cherokee on this same street you’ll find the Casa Loma Ballroom (3354 Iowa Avenue, 314-282-2258) as well, so don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Down two more blocks, if you can resist the siren call of the many Mexican food joints lining the street, you will find the aforementioned Blank Space (2847 Cherokee Street, 314-300-8831). In keeping with its name, the venue is intentionally devoid of an official identity — Razani’s stated intent upon opening the club was to be a blank page on which local creatives could express their art. Though all are welcome, St. Louis’ hip-hop community has especially found a home here. Walk another block, cross the street and stop in at the Blue Pearl (2926 Cherokee Street, 314-349-2222) for some roots music and a quick bite.

Seven blocks, seven venues, but we’re not done yet. Walk two more blocks: There’s El Lenador (3124 Cherokee Street, 314-875-9955). Remember El Lenador? It hosted Stag Nite for a few years and became an unlikely hipster hub before Stag Nite host Johnny Vegas and the venue’s owner had a falling out. Well guess what: El Lenador is back, if September 24’s record release show for Memphis rockers Ex-Cult is any indication. Grab a taco and keep walking if the room is quiet. Walk two more blocks. Tip your cap at Fort Gondo (3151 Cherokee Street, 314-772-3628) along the way — the space seldom hosts live music anymore, but its art installations and spoken-word performances are worthy of your time. Your journey ends with some punk rock, or maybe some country, or maybe some blues, at San Loo (3211 Cherokee Street, 314-696-2888), in the space that formerly housed the Livery.

And there you have it. You have poked your head into ten live music venues in the span of eleven blocks. If you didn’t see even one act that piqued your interest — well, we don’t believe you, but we still have just the advice you need: Come back tomorrow and try again.

– Daniel Hill Continued on pg 90

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 89

“St. Louis pioneers of craft beer and live music” THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 TH FRESH featuring DJ Sno - Hip Hop - 9pm - $5

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Big Muddy’s Chris Baricevic sees his role as something of a music sherpa. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO

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In the University City Loop

314.862.0009 • www.ciceros-stl.com

wed. sept. 28 9:30PM Voodoo Players Tribute to Talking Heads

thurs. sept. 29 10PM Aaron Kamm and the One Drops

fri. sep. 30 10PM

The Red Elvis’s from California sat. oct. 1 10PM Big Mike and the Blue City Allstars

thur. oct. 20 9:30PM

Andy Frasco and the UN thur. oct. 27 9:30PM

The New Orleans Suspects 736 S Broadway St. Louis, MO 63102 (314) 621-8811 90

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BECAUSE CHRIS BARICEVIC IS PUTTING ST. LOUIS ON THE MUSICAL MAP Chris Baricevic is just 30 years old, but he’s already been the steady heartbeat of the south St. Louis music scene for more than a decade. The label he started eleven years ago, Big Muddy Records, is one of the region’s most revered musical organizations, the St. Louis equivalent to Jack White’s Detroit-born Third Man Records.

Big Muddy is not some vanity DIY project. It isn’t even a “boutique” label. Its artists are robust, well-practiced, worldclass musicians ready to greet the world — Baricevic’s long roster has included Pokey LaFarge, Jack Grelle, Sidney Street Shakers, Rum Drum Ramblers, the Hooten Hallers, Southwest Watson Sweethearts, 7 Shot Screamers, Arson for Candy, the Monads and the Vultures.

Baricevic sees his role at the label as a hybrid of motivational producer and a spiritual mentor, but he’s more like a seasoned mountaineering guide, willing to carry the baggage so his artists can climb higher and claim their own victories. Baricevic often takes on the role of therapist or shaman (or maybe even mother) when leading his charges. He encourages them to develop their talents, embrace their community and to create art without ego.

His responsibilities go deeper than his current bands, though.

He’s been the executor of beloved St. Louis musician/photographer Bob Reuter’s estate since Reuter’s 2013 death, and he’s also currently in the process of licensing the music of early 1960s local blues legend Henry Townsend for reissue.

Baricevic does this all quietly and without fanfare. In fact, he’s so accustomed to staying out of the spotlight that he’s only now getting around to performing his own music with his new band, Kristo & the Strange Places.

Pure-hearted and a bit of a romantic, Baricevic’s humble exterior conceals a man who is naturally ambitious and seemingly inexhaustible. Authenticity is at the core of everything that he

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does, and he explains that he only cares to be involved with music that is “screaming from the soul.”

This St. Louis native has big plans for the city to “start to claim our creative landscape.” He promises, “If I get the resources I need, there is nothing to stop us.” Believe that.

– Jaime Lees

BECAUSE OUR MUSIC SCENE GIVES VEGAS A RUN FOR ITS MONEY When you think Las Vegas, you think entertainment. In addition to the gambling and almost-legal prostitution (always entertaining!), there are the bright lights, the magic shows and the music — oh, the music. Nowhere in America can you see more Elvis impersonators on any given night, filling the vast number of stages in town with shimmering sequins and ‘50s favorites.

Subtract the Elvis worship, though, and St. Louis gives the Sin City a run for its musical money. According to Wallethub, a consumer website that tracks and ranks U.S. cities on an array of topics with varying degrees of real-world relevance, St. Louis ranks sixth out of the nation’s largest 100 cities for overall recreation — barely beaten by Vegas, which came in fifth.

Interestingly, one of the metrics the site used in its research — the number of music venues per capita — had the two cities in a first-place tie. Meaning St. Louis is just as saturated with places to catch live music as one of the most famous musical meccas in the whole country.

Granted, that’s “per capita,” and Vegas has nearly double the population we do. But that same per capita math is what frequently lands our city on those bullshit “murder capital” lists every year, so we’re gonna go ahead and take this one. Plus St. Louis is indeed overflowing with music venues, as each week’s stacked roster of concerts can readily attest.

As for Elvis? You can keep your rock & roll impersonators, Vegas. We got the real Chuck Berry right here. – Daniel Hill Continued on pg 92

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 90 BECAUSE CONCERTS AT MOBOT ARE THE PERFECT SUMMER EVENING This must be what it’s like to be rich — eating fancy foodstuffs while sipping wine and lounging within an exquisitely curated garden. Hired musicians perform late into the warm summer evening for your pleasure. The Whitaker Musical Festival, a weekly series of concerts at the Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard, 314-577-5100), lets us all dream a little.

There are few things better than a picnic, a blanket and a patch of grass on the Wednesday nights it’s on the schedule. And unlike actual rich people, we don’t even have to pay for it. The concerts are all free.

– Doyle Murphy

BECAUSE ‘SOUTH CITY’ IS THE ANTHEM WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR One of the greatest challenges in life is making the quotidian seem romantic. It’s perhaps most imperative of all in the middle of flyover country. Ours is typically not the adrenaline rush of being the newest, the biggest, the shiniest. If we manage to be happy, it’s because we’ve found the sublime within the familiar.

That’s a truth captured in achingly beautiful harmony by the Sleepy Rubies in “South City.” From their first plaintive line — “I just want a simple life in St. Louis” — Emily Wallace and Ali Ruby defend the merits of a small and lovely existence against grander dreams. “Over on Gustine/Things are better than they seem,” they sing. “We are all we need in south city.” The sister act was a surprise pick for LouFest, but in retrospect, the organizers couldn’t have made a better selection. The Sleepy Rubies are singing our song, and they’re doing it gorgeously.

– Sarah Fenske

BECAUSE DAMON DAVIS IS MAKING AFROFUTURISM VITAL Damon Davis puts the “discipline” in “multi-disciplinary artist.” There’s no other way to quantify his reach, his work ethic and his vision in making art, music and film. After making waves as part of the hip-hop duo Scriptz ’N Screwz five years ago, Davis used his skills as a community builder and genre eraser to spearhead the FarFetched collective, a coalition of like-minded musicians heavy on experimentation and in love with collaboration.

But it wasn’t until this year’s LOA that Davis began releasing music under his own name. On the three-part album, whose first two “acts” have been issued online, Davis shows not only his musical pantheism but his interest and fluency in science fiction. Davis’ narrative warps and weaves across space and time, using some Creole mysticism borrowed from his mother’s Louisiana upbringing.

For the East St. Louis native, though, the album cycle is a piece of his belief in Afrofuturism and the idea of what he calls “alternative blackness.”

“Black people do not get the oppor tunity to indulge in the future; the writers of sci-fi don’t seem to think that we’ll make it there,” Davis told RF T earlier this year. “I think it’s important for creatives to take back that idea of the future. You can make up your own world or country or city and live outside of this system that has been destroying you from day one.”

Like the best sci-fi writers, Davis’ Afrofuturism serves as a here-and-now commentary rather than as a form of escapism. His and Sabaah Folayan’s upcoming documentary on Ferguson and its aftermath, Whose Streets, aims to address the region’s racial divide in real enough terms. But with his LOA series, Davis spans space and time to tell his story. He’s not looking at the way things are; he’s looking at the way they could be. It’s an insightful reverie that may tell us more about our city’s problems than any nonfiction work ever could.

– Christian Schaeffer 92

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Mvstermind’s view of St. Louis isn’t one the chamber of commerce would endorse, but he comes by it honestly. | JERMARCO BRITTON.

BECAUSE NO ONE DOES COVER BANDS LIKE US Many chart-topping bands can only dream of selling out shows and playing for crowds of thousands, yet a St. Louis-based cover band has done all that and more for nearly two decades. El Monstero, a tribute to the music of Pink Floyd, is one of many ridiculously talented cover bands that call St. Louis home. Its weeklong run at the Pageant every December has become tradition, with nearly every show a sellout.

And this August the band played a 32-song set for a crowd of more than 20,000 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

It’s not just the music that has garnered El Monstero’s massive following; it’s every aspect of its performances. Each show is full of expertly crafted visuals and theatrics that take attendees on a trip back to a time when psychedelic music was just beginning to take off.

El Monstero band members Mark Quinn, Jimmy Griffin and John Pessoni also compose part of Celebration Day, another top-notch cover band that pays tribute to Led Zeppelin. And the talent doesn’t stop there. Witness the talents of FatPocket, the RFT Music Award winner in the Cover Band category this year. Known for bringing the party, FatPocket plays high-energy covers of everything from ‘60s music to current Top 40. Catch them everywhere from Jammin’ at the Zoo to the Trainwreck Saloon — or go see Bullseye Womprats, the St. Louis Big Band, Dance Floor Riot or many, many more. Yes, they’re all cover bands, and they’re all consistently a good time. Give in to the fun.

– Natalie Rao

BECAUSE MVSTERMIND’S ‘MALI MOOLAH’ IS SHOWING ST. LOUIS TO THE WORLD Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin is hardly the first hip-hop artist to rap about money — talking up your bankroll is part of the game — but on this year’s single “Mali Moolah,” Mvstermind deployed his characteristic frankness to talk up the struggles of getting paid. As an artist whose mind is usually attuned to a higher calling, he settles on something more than dollar signs: “I knew my worth since birth / I don’t need no money.”

The song is a stunner on its own, but the accompanying video is a personal and expansive view of the artist and his environment. The clip offers both a birdseye and on-the-street view of St. Louis, but it’s not one likely to be used by the regional tourism board. We follow Austin from the city’s urban core — the Moolah Theatre on Lindell, a payday loan joint on Jefferson, a Save A Lot parking lot — to grand vistas of a greened-over flood plain and an early-spring reverie on a riverbank. Director Louis Quatorze captures the vastness of these landscapes with quick, immersive cuts and drone-assisted overviews, but Austin stays in the center of the frame, his clear, piercing eyes locked on yours. The video’s emotional payoff finds the rapper in his childhood home, now vacant, blown-out and on the verge of collapse.

The local hip-hop community has been keyed into Mvstermind and his MME crew for a few years, but it was no small victory that the “Mali Moolah” video introduced the wider world to Austin’s slice of STL when it was broadcast on June 3 on the channel BET Jams. Even if it was only for four minutes, Mvstermind’s vision and talent filled TV screens coast to coast.

– Christian Schaeffer Continued on pg 94

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75 REASONS Continued from pg 93

Bo Dean wowed the basement crowd at S.L.U.M. Fest 2016. | STEVE TRUESDELL

BECAUSE WE’RE HOME TO THE BIGGEST UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP FESTIVAL IN THE MIDWEST In a 2011 interview with Riverfront Times, S.L.U.M. Fest co-founder John Harrington was concise when asked about his goals for the then-fledgling festival. “In the long-term, I’d like to grow it out to a three- or four-day event, with panel discussions and guest speakers, something people come from all over to see,” he said. “Something like a Scribble Jam or SXSW, but here in St. Louis.”

In its seventh iteration this June, the St. Louis Underground Music Festival moved closer to that goal than ever, with the festivities stretched to cover an entire weekend. Friday brought a pre-party at Cicero’s; Sunday saw an “Artist Appreciation Day” cookout at Blank Space. Saturday’s twelve hours of hip-hop was the main event, with more than 70 performers filling 2720’s stages with music all day long.

Since getting its start as a local hip-hop showcase in 2010, S.L.U.M. Fest has continuously grown, now including out-oftown artists on its roster and even adding a second annual event, the S.L.U.M. Fest Hip-Hop Awards, to the calendar.

S.L.U.M. Fest isn’t just about the emcees and deejays, though — as was the case with Cincinnati’s much-missed Scribble Jam festival, the event’s organizers recognize that hip-hop comprises four elements, with breakdancers and graffiti artists performing and competing as well.

At this point the festival is truly the largest of its kind in the entire Midwest, a who’s-who of local and regional underground acts — and it has nowhere to go but up.

– Daniel Hill 94

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BECAUSE KSHE’S SUNDAYS ACHIEVE CLASSIC ROCK NIRVANA Time has a way of changing everything in subtle, nigh unnoticeable ways. Playgrounds are smaller, your pants are tighter and KSHE-95’s Sweetmeat is old enough to need the dreaded annual proctologist visit. The station’s format has changed slightly, too, or at least it has from the standpoint of whatever your idea of KSHE’s heyday is. You’re still going to hear Pink Floyd at some point during the day, and probably a little ELO, but you’ll also hear the Struts and Green Day. But Sunday is for the older crowd. The long-running KSHE Klassics program on 94.7 FM is still going strong, and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon features cuts by the greats (Todd Rundgren), the legends (Budgie’s “Sky High Percentage” is legendary. Fight me) and the “who the hell was that,” like Tucky Buzzard and Pousette-Dart Band. And every now and then you’ll catch the Outlaws in full flight, honking down the highway through “Breaker-Breaker,” the sweetest piece of country-fried rock Hughie Thomasson ever wrote.

You’re gonna spend the next couple hours flipping through your own vinyl trying to find Lady in Waiting, but that’s not a bad Sunday.

If you’re lucky, maybe it shows up on the Seventh Day, the Sunday night staple. The format is simple: Seven solid classic records are played straight through back-to-back, with commercial breaks between the A and B sides. Favazz replaced Radio Rich Dalton in March 2015, and he mixes in a few more modern classics than some listeners are comfortable with — Pearl Jam’s Vs. is still kinda young, no? — but Rush’s ball-busting namesake debut and Head East’s Flat as a Pancake chasing Stevie Nicks’ The Wild Heart is a pretty good prescription for coming down from the weekend.

– Paul Friswold

BECAUSE THIS YEAR WE PUT THE ‘LOU’ BACK IN LOUFEST After a lackluster showing in 2015 (Billy Idol? Seriously?), LouFest came roaring back in full force this year with a diverse lineup that far better represents the city from which the fest takes its name. Now back in local hands — Austin-based event production company C3 Presents, which largely took control of the fest from 2013 to 2015, was involved in only an advisory capacity this year — LouFest once again felt vibrant and fun, with seven St. Louis-based acts given prime afternoon slots on the roster. Scores of local food vendors added to the St. Louis flavor, and the outof-town artists on the bill seemed carefully selected with the city’s demographics in mind. St. Louis natives Rich Toma and Mike Van Hee of Listen Live Entertainment proved the festival is in more-than-capable hands.

It’s now beget a sort of spinoff as well: LouFest founder Brian Cohen, also a St. Louis native, decamped earlier this year to found the three-day Murmuration Festival, held for the first time this year on the weekend of September 23 on the Cortex grounds. Two great September festivals? Every city should be so lucky.

– Daniel Hill

The iLLPHONiCS did the local scene proud at LouFest. | STEVE TRUESDELL

BECAUSE ST. LOUIS’ METAL SCENE IS FOR THE DOGS If you spent any time at all in the sprawling Maplewood complex that houses Encapsulated Records prior to April, you probably met Nora, the label’s unofficial mascot.

Energetic and friendly, the black terrier mix was hard to miss, excitedly wandering up to get attention from the musicians making use of Encapsulated’s dedicated practice spaces, lounging on the sectional couch in the building’s main room or just hanging out during recording sessions.

“She was extremely friendly and just wanted to be with you the whole time, from the first minute I got her,” explains Encapsulated label head Mike Jones. “Super chill, relaxed, awesome dog.”

Nora came to be a part of Jones’ life through Stray Rescue of St. Louis after being fostered by Rick Giordano, guitarist/vocalist of St. Louis metal act the Lion’s Daughter (and occasional RFT contributor).

Giordano inherited the dog from Stray Rescue after the young couple who’d initially adopted her suffered from buyer’s remorse. The hyperactive pup had apparently accidentally knocked down their toddler a few times.

“She was wound the fuck up and playful and fun,” Giordano recalls. “‘Yeah, she’s gonna knock your kid down, you fucking idiots. And also thank you, because now I get to hang out with this dog.’”

A few days of fostering turned into six months. Then Jones stepped in. His previous dog had recently passed away, and Giordano wanted to move Nora into a permanent home. Encapsulated seemed like an ideal fit.

“There was never a shortage of people to hang out with or play with and I could go see her whenever,” Giordano says. “So really it was a perfect situation.”

Jones picked Nora up in December 2011, four months before Encapsulated officially opened for business. She settled into her new life as a record label mascot quickly.

“She was greeting people at the door, she was always just kinda hanging out, checking everyone out, and just wanted to be pet by everyone,” Jones says.

“She was a sweetie,” agrees Fister singer/bassist Kenny Snarzyk, whose band practices and records at Encapsulated. “Any time you would go sit on a couch there she would jump up and put her head in your lap. She was beautiful.”

Nora was generally well-behaved, but if she was outside and spotted an animal, all bets were off. One of Encapsulated’s neighbors raised chickens, and Nora took a few of them down throughout the years, despite Jones’ best efforts.

On the morning of April 18, Nora’s killer instincts got the better of her. Jones had gotten some coffee and took Nora outside, their usual routine. The two were outdoors for about a half an hour when he called her back in.

She started coming right away — but then she saw the rabbit.

Nora took off after the furry creature. Jones heard cars coming — in an instant, he knew this wasn’t going to be good.

“And I just heard this thud, and it was a really loud thud,” Jones explains. “And I knew instantly what happened.”

A car had hit Nora full-force. Jones ran to the accident and found his dog strug-

gling to get off the pavement. He scooped her up in his arms, and as he ran to his vehicle to take her to an animal hospital, she took two final breaths before going limp.

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Giordano had held his first benefit show for Stray Rescue in 2010 — a comedy show at Fubar that raised roughly $1,000. He held another benefit at the Ready Room in 2014, which also served as a release show for the Lion’s Daughter’s split release with Memphis’ Nights Like These. All proceeds were donated; that show raised $2,006.

He decided that the perfect tribute to Nora’s life would be a metal show, a fundraiser for Stay Rescue. Like Nora herself, it ended up being larger than life.

On Saturday, September 3, Nora Fest overtook both stages at Fubar, with nearly a dozen metal/punk bands donating their time and talent to the cause. A massive raffle included everything from a Fister test press to a vibrator (courtesy of Hustler Hollywood) to some bottles of Jeppson’s Malort (widely considered one of the most vile alcoholic concoctions on the planet). All proceeds were to be donated to Stray Rescue, and attendees gave generously.

Also available at the show was a Nora Fest compilation CD assembled specifically for the cause, with 25 local bands each contributing a cover of a classic punk or metal song. Participants included Everything Went Black, Bruiser Queen, the Humanoids and of course the Lion’s Daughter. On the cover of the CD is a picture of a black terrier mix, familiar to many, but sporting an unfamiliar snarl for the photo.

“Rick tried to find the most metal picture of her possible,” Jones laughs.

In all, the efforts raised $2,937, every dollar handed directly to Stray Rescue.

It can seem odd, in a way, that a group of metalheads would be so concerned with the plight of dogs. As a rule, the genre doesn’t tend to view mankind itself with much sympathy.

“If you were to take everything that heavy metal is about and you personified it into one person I would say that person would be pretty misanthropic, yeah,” Snarzyk says. “Mankind is horrible as a whole — you get too many of us together and we’re gonna do terrible things.”

Yet when man’s best friend needed them, the metal community was there.

Asked why, Snarzyk responds with a chuckle.

“There’s many ways you can look at it. I mean, the stupid way to look at it is, well, dogs are wolves, and wolves are tight,” he laughs.

Giordano has his own theory.

“It seems like a lot of what would get a person into something like punk rock or metal or whatever usually stems from some anger, and that anger usually is caused by people, you know?” he says. “Your parents shit on you, or people at school did, or your teachers were dicks, cops pushed you around — whatever happened that pissed you off and made you get into more aggressive styles of music.

“I don’t know that anybody has a story where they’re like, ‘Yeah man, my life was great and my parents were cool and then I had this fucking dog that chased me home from school one day and I went out and bought a Black Flag record and now I’m just fucking pissed off and fuck dogs. But people are OK.’ “Like, I don’t know,” he says. “That doesn’t really happen.”

– Daniel Hill

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Readers made selections in 50 categories, crowning everything from the city’s Best Neighborhood to its Best Non-Beef Burger.

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Arts & Entertainment BEST MUSEUM

ST. LOUIS ART MUSEUM 1 FINE ARTS DRIVE, 314-721-0072

This gem of a museum in Forest Park is our readers’ pick for the city’s best, and it’s easy to see why. The gorgeous Cass Gilbertdesigned building holds a wealth of cultural treasures, from Turkish rugs and an Egyptian mummy to the world’s largest Max Beckmann collection. The price to view all the wonders in its standing collection? Absolutely free.

BEST ART GALLERY MAD ART GALLERY

BEST DANCE COMPANY MADCO

WWW.MADCODANCE.COM

The company in residence at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Modern American Dance Co. has become a local favorite for its exuberant performances and striking choreography.

The company boasts that 30,000 people saw its work last year — no wonder MadCo finished first in our readers poll.

This Soulard gallery is more than just a home to contemporary art and performance. It’s also an event space, which hosts concerts, plays and benefits. Oh, and did we mention you can get married here? Readers love its flexibility, accessibility and red-bricked good looks.

BEST COMEDY CLUB THE FUNNY BONE

614 W. PORT PLAZA, MARYLAND HEIGHTS; 314-469-6692

Newer clubs may have entered the St. Louis market, but readers say this Westport Plaza comedy mecca is still going strong after twenty years. Open mic night on Tuesdays lets amateurs try their hand at making audiences laugh, while headliners such as Pauly Shore and Rachel Feinstein pack them in later in the week. Hit that funny bone and prepare to LOL.

The Fox Theatre: Readers’ pick for Best Theater. | FLICKR/ PHILIP LEARA

BEST THEATER COMPANY THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS

2727 S. 12TH STREET, 314-771-8230

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130 EDGAR ROAD, WEBSTER GROVES; 314-968-4925

The Rep celebrates its golden anniversary this year, and its brilliant season opener, Follies, shows not only that it has what it takes — it’s as good as it’s ever been. Artistic Director Steven Woolf will guide the company through shows including Until the Flood, All My Sons and Million Dollar Quartet. RFT readers simply can’t wait.

BEST THEATER THE FOX THEATRE

5 2 7 N . G R A N D B O U L E VA R D , 3 1 4 - 5 3 4 - 1 6 7 8

A former movie palace, the Fox truly is fabulous, with a gloriously ornate “Siamese Byzantine” décor and a surplus of terrific programming.

Readers come for the magnificent surroundings,

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but this year they’ll stay for Fun Home, Finding Neverland or a host of other recent Broadway hits scheduled to play right here in St. Louis.

BEST TV JOURNALIST CHARLIE MARLOW FOX-2

A sports reporter and anchor at St. Louis’ KTVI (Fox-2) for more than eight years, readers say Charlie Marlow is that rare man who combines TV-ready good looks with a genuine sense of humor. Don’t believe them? Check out his Twitter feed @CharlieMarlow_, where the Toledo native shows he’s both funny and smart, 140 characters at a time.

BEST RADIO MORNING SHOW

THE RIZZUTO SHOW, 105.7 THE POINT The merry band of talkers who bring St. Louis the Rizzuto Show — Rizzuto, Patrico, Burton and

105.7 the Point: Its morning show was voted No. 1. | IDEA MEDIA PRODUCTIONS

Moon — are beloved by RFT readers for their irreverent humor and dude-friendly banter.

From “are they real or are they fake?” to the Craigslist “freak of the week,” listeners to the Point morning show love what they’re hearing.

BEST AM TALK SHOW

THE CHARLIE BRENNAN SHOW KMOX (1120 AM)

In an era when many AM talkers sound like angry buffoons, readers find MO s Charlie Brennan a breath of fresh air: He’s a thoughtful guy who knows how to ask a good question and keep the conversation smart. From 8:30 a.m. to a.m. five days a wee , he and co host ebbie Monterrey show listeners how it’s done — and prove why they’ve been winning these types of contests for more than two decades.

BEST RADIO STATION THEROOTSFM.COM

OURMUSICALROOTS.NET/

A St. Louis-based station that streams online, TheRoots.FM boasts a team of radio veterans who take their jobs seriously — and a truly passionate group of loyal listeners. See what all our readers’ excitement is about by tuning in for some classic rock … or maybe even invest in a membership.

BEST ST. LOUISAN TO FOLLOW ON TWIT TER MATT SEBEK @MATTSEBEK

Matt Sebek, the sports-loving entrepreneur behind JoeSportsFan.com and the mobile apps Cast and Rookies, is the voice behind a Twitter feed that’s almost perfectly pitched. Funny without trying too hard, smart without being overly self-aggrandizing, it’s what everyone on Twitter aspires to, but few ever achieve. “Tons of people in Los Angeles right now getting texts, ‘Hey, you wanna go to this Rams gam? Got a stack of tickets from work,’” he tweeted after the Rams opener. nd yes, we LOLed.

Bars & Clubs

Planter’s House: Best Cocktails. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG

BEST BAR

HOWARDS IN SOULARD 2732 S. 13TH STREET, 314-349-2850

One of the newer bars in oulard is also one of the friendliest, with a good-time vibe that’s open to young and old, black and white, gay and straight. Owner udith oward boo s good music, serves good food and keeps the drinks coming. No wonder readers voted it the city’s best.

BEST PL ACE TO SING KARAOKE DOUBLE D’S

1740 S. BRENTWOOD BOULEVARD, BRENTWOOD; 314-961-5646

Howards in Soulard: Best Bar. | MABEL SUEN

Forget all those places with a microphone tucked in the corner and an annoying host braying to a bored bar. ouble s is the place to go if you’re serious about your karaoke career. With karaoke every night, readers say you simply can’t go wrong.

the line into snobbery. It’s a great place to learn more about that varietal you were interested in trying … or just have drinks with dinner.

BEST COCKTAILS

BEST BEER SELECTION

1000 MISSISSIPPI AVENUE, 314-696-2603

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 1711 S. 9TH STREET, 314-621-4333

PLANTER’S HOUSE

Both the critics and RFT readers agree: There’s no finer spot for coc tails than Ted ilgore s stylish bar in Lafayette Square. Choose from the extensive list, which includes both classics and newer creations, or just tell them a bit about what you like and watch them whip it up for you. Cheers.

BEST WINE BAR SASHA’S ON SHAW

4069 SHAW AVENUE, 314-771-7274

ITAP

There’s no better bar for beer lovers than iTap. Readers love bellying up to the bar at the Chesterfield flagship or its busy spinoffs in the Central West End, Columbia and Soulard and checking out the draft options, which are both many and ever-changing. Curious what’s on tap at each location on any given night? Check out the webcam pointed at the current lineup.

BEST MARTINI

This cozy wine bar in the city’s Shaw FAMOUS BAR neighborhood is beloved by both readers and 5213 CHIPPEWA STREET, 314-832-2211 critics for good reason — it’s got a great wine list Readers love this classic bar on the edge and knowledgeable servers, yet it never crosses of the Southampton Continued on pg 98 riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016 RIVERFRONT TIMES 97

READERS CHOICE Continued from pg 97

John D. McGurk’s: Readers’ choice for Best Irish Pub, and Best Bartender too. | RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF

The Pageant: Best Music Venue. | FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN

neighborhood, and you don’t have to be a regular to see why. The drinks are made with precision but served without snobbery; the space is welcoming and warm without being overly fancy. The martinis? Perfection in a glass.

BEST MARGARITA

HACIENDA MEXICAN RESTAURANT

BEST SPORTS BAR

HOT SHOTS SPORTS BAR & GRILL MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, INCLUDING 4021 UNION ROAD, 314-416-8516

Readers love watching the game at Hot Shots, which in its 25 years of operation has grown to include close to a dozen St. Louis-area locations. Basic bar eats will keep you fueled up for pool, darts or just catching an NFL game on the big-screen TVs.

9748 MANCHESTER ROAD, ROCK HILL; 314-962-7100

Open since 1968, this Rock Hill institution is known both for its cheery patio and excellent margaritas. Even top-shelf options won’t top $10. Get them frozen or on the rocks, with rand Marnier or as a beer rita you ll find no judgment here.

BEST IRISH PUB JOHN D. MCGURK’S

1200 RUSSELL BOULEVARD, 314-776-8309

This sprawling Soulard bar has the best patio in town and a friendly vibe that will take you right back to the Old Country. With Irish eats and often an Irish musician or two performing, it’s the best of Ireland in the heart of St. Louis — and a perennial pick from our readers in numerous categories.

BEST GAY BAR JUST JOHN’S

BEST NEW BAR DUKE’S

2001 MENARD STREET, 314-833-6686

This Soulard newcomer is nothing fancy or fussy, just a good solid spot to enjoy a beer or watch the game. Readers voted it the best new bar because they enjoy its friendly attitude and no-frills charm.

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BEST 3 A.M. BAR BAR 101

1724 S. BROADWAY, 314-621-5400

Where to go on the south side when it’s closing time everywhere else? Bar 101 has sand volleyball during the day, but late at night and early in the morning, readers say it’s the best place to be. Enjoy affordable drinks and a fun crew until it really is quitting time.

BEST BARTENDER LUCKY MCATEER JOHN D. MCGURK’S

BEST LOCAL BREWERY SCHLAFLY

WWW.SCHLAFLY.COM

chlafly dared to ta e on nheuser usch long before that company was even on InBev’s radar — and that bold action and some excellent brews have earned it the city’s eternal gratitude.

With more than 50 different styles of beers now brewed annually, chlafly is a growing regional player, but one that’s still committed to its local roots, just the way it ought to be.

4112 MANCHESTER AVENUE, 314-371-1333

Whether you drink here, dance here or just want to ogle the eye candy, you’ll always have a good time. Just John’s has been voted the city’s best gay bar so many times, we should probably just retire the category. Come see what all the fuss is about in the heart of the Grove.

city’s very best dive — a low-key place where the drinks are cheap and the pours are strong.

That might be a state legislator on the barstool next to you or it might be the local drunk. Either is good company once you’re a few drinks in.

BEST DIVE BAR CAT’S MEOW

2600 S. 11TH STREET, 314-776-8617

This Soulard dive, owned by the family of lderman en Ortmann, isn t ust another place for a drink in a neighborhood with tons of options. Our readers also consider it the

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longtime bartender at the city s best rish pub, Luc y Mc teer may have the best name for such an occupation we’ve heard in a long time — and he also wins our readers’ devotion for his excellent service. He’s not the hottest new bartender in town or the one mixing the fanciest drinks. He’s just a true professional, and in a hard-drinking town, isn’t that what counts?

BEST MUSIC VENUE THE PAGEANT

6161 DELMAR BOULEVARD, 314-726-6161

This all-ages club in the Delmar Loop is our readers’ pick for the best place to see a show, and it’s easy to see why. The Pageant books great talent in a clean, well-run space. The fact that Steve’s Hot Dogs has set up shop on the premises? wonderful bonus to what was already a clear choice for best music venue.

Forest Park: Readers named it the area’s Best Park. (Duh.) | FLICKR/ PATRICK GIBLIN

BEST DANCE CLUB THAXTON SPEAKEASY

1009 OLIVE STREET, NO PHONE

Located in the basement of the beautiful Thaxton Building, the Thaxton Speakeasy is the best way to take a trip back in time — and our readers’ choice for best dance club. You can dress up here or even dress 1920s style; just come prepared for a roaring good time.

BEST JAZZ/BLUES

BB’S JAZZ, BLUES AND SOUPS 700 S. BROADWAY, 314-436-5222

Located in the shadow of Busch Stadium in St. Louis’ famous Blues Triangle, BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups is a wonderful spot to see local and touring performers alike. Grab some Cajun and Creole food from the respected kitchen and see why readers consistently vote it one of the city’s best live music spots.

BEST ROCK CLUB OLD ROCK HOUSE

1200 S. 7TH STREET, 314-588-0505

Readers say there’s no better place to see rock & roll than this club on the edge of Soulard.

With its spacious room, friendly bartenders and a calendar that features the likes of Beach Slang, Bob Schneider, Cowboy Mouth, Rusted Root and more (just this year alone!) it’s easy to see why.

publications recognize Forest Park as the best park in the nation: There’s nothing that comes close to its majesty. With 1,371 acres holding everything from a zoo to an ice skating rink, it’s unquestionably one of the very best things in St. Louis.

BEST CITY NEIGHBORHOOD

SOULARD The island of Soulard can be a magical place a gorgeous old neighborhood filled with red brick, cheap bars and friendly locals.

Whether you live here, come here to try the increasingly good restaurant scene or just like to stop by to visit McGurk’s, you probably have a soft spot for Soulard. No wonder readers chose it as the best.

BEST ANTIQUE SHOP EMPORIUM ST. LOUIS

9410 MANCHESTER ROAD, 314-962-7300

This shop on the edge of Webster Groves is a favorite with readers for its reasonable prices and great selection. Whether you’re looking to buy heirloom jewelry or furniture you can t find in a mall, readers says mporium can’t be beat.

BEST FURNITURE STORE EMPORIUM ST. LOUIS

Vintage Vinyl: Best Record Store. | FLICKR/ JANET LACKEY

BEST RECORD STORE VINTAGE VINYL

6610 DELMAR BOULEVARD, UNIVERSITY CITY; 314-721-4096

With both new and used CDs, amazing in-store performances and an incredibly knowledgeable staff, Vintage Vinyl wins awards year after year, with good reason.

Now a solo operation run by Tom “Papa” Ray after Lew Prince decided to move on, intage inyl remains a great place to find that new release you were looking for — or just browse.

BEST CLOTHING STORE PAPER DOLLS

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 7700 DELMAR BOULEVARD, UNIVERSITY CITY; 314-899-0446

This boutique has been on a growth tear, adding a shop in Des Peres this fall to complement the ones in Kirkwood, Ballwin and University City.

There’s a reason they’re loved by readers and savvy shoppers alike; the prices are reasonable and the selection expertly curated.

9410 MANCHESTER ROAD, 314-962-7300

City Life BEST PARK

FOREST PARK There’s a reason even national travel

Also the winner of this year’s Best Antique hop category, mporium couldn t be more different than . The furniture is fully assembled — and more than a few years old. ut the uni ue finds here are definitely worth a trip; no wonder it’s won a top spot in our readers’ choice category for two consecutive years. riverfronttimes.com

BEST GIFT SHOP THE PORCH

1700 S. 9TH STREET, 314-436-0282

A “wine and gift” boutique in Soulard, the Porch has something for just about everyone on your list, from hand-painted goblets to candles to birdfeeders.

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READERS CHOICE Continued from pg 99

Bailey’s Range: Best Burger. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG

Anthonino’s: Readers have selected it as the city’s Best Restaurant. | ERIC FRAZIER

Readers love the brightly colored selection and, yes, that wine selection! Stop by and see what the fuss is about.

BEST JEWELRY STORE PARAMOUNT JEWELERS

7348 MANCHESTER ROAD, MAPLEWOOD; 314-645-1122

This Maplewood shop has been “sparkling in St. Louis since 1946,” and it’s easy to see why.

Readers praise its staffers’ attentive service and custom design. Whether it’s an engagement ring or an heirloom piece that needs updating, Paramount is ready to work with customers.

Food & Drink BEST RESTAURANT ANTHONINO’S

2225 MACKLIND, 314-773-4455

Readers love this Italian-Greek hybrid — it’s a perennial winner in our Best Of issue and our Restaurant Guide as well. Good food, warm service and an inviting atmosphere keep people coming back year after year. A recent revamp of the dining room is just the cherry on top.

BEST NEW CHEF

BEST BOOK STORE LEFT BANK BOOKS

399 S. EUCLID AVENUE, 314-367-6731

This Central West End mainstay has everything you could ever want in a book store: great selection, plenty of cozy corners for wiling away the hours, incredible programming and even a book store cat. Check out new releases upstairs and the great used selection downstairs or just come for an author reading; you’ll see why readers consistently choose it as No. 1.

BEST THRIFT STORE

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BEN WELCH

BIG BABY Q AND SMOKEHOUSE

It’s fitting that Welch, whose six-month-old Big Baby Q and Smokehouse won “Best New Restaurant,” would also win our readers’ nod for “Best New Chef.” A Johnson & Wales graduate, Welch toiled for a series of kitchens needing a hired hand until finally opening a place of his own — and now he’s got lines coming out the door. Remember his name; someday you’ll brag you voted for him.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

GOODWILL

BIG BABY Q AND SMOKEHOUSE

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 3728 MARKET STREET, 314-531-0671

11658 DORSETT ROAD, MARYLAND HEIGHTS; 314-801-8888

This national chain has been finding a new generation of eager customers lately, with expanded offerings of used books and, in some locations, remodeled showrooms to keep things light and bright. Best of all, your purchases help a good cause rofits help people with barriers to employment live fuller, more independent lives.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Sugarfire Smoke House: Best Barbecue. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG

RFT food critic Cheryl Baehr gave this Maryland Heights spot a rave review this summer, and readers agree, calling it the best new spot to open this year in addition to two other top spots in this poll. The tiny barbecue shack serves up expert brisket, smoked chicken wings and pork steak. Delicious.

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BEST L ATE-NIGHT EATS COURTESY DINER

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 1121 HAMPTON AVE, 314- 644-2600

Other greasy spoons in town may boast that they’re fancier, or tinier, or even greasier. But for that classic diner experience without an ounce of fuss, nothing beats Courtesy Diner.

It’s big enough that you can spread out with your newspaper in a booth but friendly enough that you’ll be just as happy elbow-to-elbow at the counter. Order up an omelet and see why readers love it so much.

BEST BRUNCH (TIE)

KATIE’S PIZZA & PASTA OSTERIA 9568 MANCHESTER ROAD, ROCK HILL; 314-942-6555

THREE MONKEYS 3153 MORGAN FORD ROAD, 314-772-9800

Readers’ picks for “Best Brunch” offer two

READERS CHOICE Continued from pg XX

Big Baby Q: Readers voted it Best New Restaurant, Best New Chef and Best Fast-Casual Restaurant. Quite the hat trick! | MABEL SUEN

different, but equally delicious, experiences. At Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria, Katie Collier serves her signature fresh Italian cooking in a strikingly attractive environment. At Three Monkeys, the portions are huge and the vibe totally laidback.

Either way, once you’re sipping on a bloody mary or mimosa, you simply can’t go wrong.

BEST BARBECUE

SUGARFIRE SMOKE HOUSE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 9200 OLIVE BOULEVARD, OLIVETTE; 314-997-2301

Readers love Mike Johnson’s barbecue. They love the flagship in Olivette, they love the new location downtown adjoining the National Blues Museum and they love all the other restaurants in this rapidly growing chain too.

Why? Get a taste of what he’s cooking and we guarantee you won’t ever have to ask again.

BEST BURGER BAILEY’S RANGE

920 OLIVE STREET, 314-241-8121

David Bailey’s stylish burger-and-shake joint packs in diners downtown, with guests feasting on a range (get it?) of clever combinations.

Try the “Hawaii 5-Oh!” with pineapple salsa, candied bacon and jalapeno, or the “Texas Ranger” with poblano peppers, queso and chipotle cream cheese. You’ll see why readers have chosen it as the city’s tastiest.

BEST BURGER (NON-BEEF) FRIDA’S

622 NORTH AND SOUTH ROAD, UNIVERSITY CITY; 314-727-6500

This beloved vegetarian restaurant promises

“no sugar, no butter, no bull.” But while the beef is missing, the burger isn’t — readers love Frida’s veggie burger, which comes topped with tahini-chipotle slaw and tomato on a rye sourdough bun.

meaty wings come slathered in hot, gold, chipotle BBQ, sweet & spicy or honey mustard. Readers say you can’t go wrong with any of the above.

BEST TACOS FORT TACO

BEST BAKERY

JILLY’S CAFE AND CUPCAKE BAR

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 8106 MANCHESTER ROAD, BRENTWOOD; 314-647-2391

8509 DELMAR BLVD, UNIVERSITY CITY; 314-993-5455

It’s not just about the baked goods — at this sunny University City cafe, you can also dine on mac & cheese, soups, salads, sandwiches or quesadillas. But make sure to save room for dessert, because the cupcakes here are truly inspired, with creative toppings and striking good looks. Readers say they’re the best in town.

From one humble drive-through that opened two years ago, this growing t. Louis based chain has big ambitions, and after tasting the small but perfectly executed menu, it’s easy to think world domination is in their grasp. We’ll explain why in two words: puffy tacos. They’re expertly fried and stuffed with fresh fillings, a delicious meal you’ll want to eat again and again.

BEST DESSERTS

BEST PIZZA

603 E. LOCKWOOD AVENUE, WEBSTER GROVES; 314-963-3232

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 1828 WASHINGTON AVENUE, 314-241-6000

CYRANO’S CAFE

IMO’S

Whether you’re on your way to the opera or seeing a film at ebster niversity, you ll want to make time to stop by Cyrano’s — and make it long enough to grab dessert in addition to a quick bite. Desserts include a series of flambees, pastries, ice cream and sorbets. Love the cake or pie you’re eating? Get a full-size version to go.

The “square beyond compare” has earned St. Louis undying devotion, ma ing it a perennial pick in contests like these. If you grew up in St. Louis, you almost certainly love crac er thin pi a slathered with provel and various toppings, then cut into squares instead of slices. What can we say? Love of mo s has been implanted on your brain. Enjoy it!

BEST WINGS

BEST FRIED CHICKEN

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 300 N. EUCLID AVENUE, 314-361-2828

2100 GRAVOIS AVENUE, 314-776-7292

CULPEPPERS GRILL & BAR This local chain has a big following for its reasonable prices, solid bar food and, yes, those delicious wings. Crispy on the outside, these riverfronttimes.com

HODAK’S

This south city landmark brings in hordes of diners eager to chow down on its fried chicken and classic fixings, including french fries and c o l e s l a w. R F T Continued on pg 102

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READERS CHOICE Continued from pg 101 readers have named it their favorite for 25 years running. We can’t stop now!

BEST DOUGHNUTS STRANGE DONUTS

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 2709 SUTTON BOULEVARD, MAPLEWOOD; 314-932-5851

It’s been a year of change for Strange Donuts, which in the last twelve months saw the departure of one of its co-founders and its corporate chef. But one thing hasn’t changed: the affection St. Louis feels for its off-the-wall donuts, which include collaborations with local restaurants and tasty flavors li e red velvet and blueberry cheeseca e.

Stop by and see what the excitement is about.

BEST MEXICAN

HACIENDA MEXICAN RESTAURANT 9748 MANCHESTER ROAD, ROCK HILL; 314-962-7100

Readers love this sprawling Tex-Mex joint in Roc ill, which is nown for both its beautiful patio and its tasty margaritas. it bac , relax and tuc into some chips and salsa and a wet burrito. It’s the house specialty, and it’s been thrilling diners for more than 40 years.

BEST GREEK

OLYMPIA KEBOB HOUSE AND TAVERNA 1543 MCCAUSLAND, 314-781-1299

This homey spot on McCausland has been in business for more than 35 years, drawing diners for its delicious ree cuisine and laidbac atmosphere. Try the flaming cheese, set on fire at your table, for the classic ree experience, or eep things low ey with cheese, olives and lamb. Either way, you’ll leave happy — and full.

BEST ITALIAN

CUNETTO HOUSE OF PASTA 5453 MAGNOLIA AVENUE, 314-781-1135

This old school talian oint on the ill is a readers favorite year after year than s to its generous portions and delicious food. Try the signature “Cardinale” sauce, a creamy decadence that always feels right at home in St. Louis.

BEST INDIAN HAVELI

9720 PAGE AVENUE, 314-423-7300

Readers love this north county Indian restaurant for its delicious renderings of all the classics from the subcontinent — curries, biryanis and vindaloos, all expertly prepared. Not sure what to order? Stop by at lunch and try the buffet. ou ll find a favorite new dish in no time.

BEST KOREAN SEOUL TACO

6665 DELMAR BOULEVARD, 314-863-1148

This spot began as a food truc serving orean 102

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Haveli: Best Indian. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG

Mexican fusion, which should give you some idea of its quote-unquote authenticity. ut while it s not classic orean cuisine on offer at Seoul Taco, what’s being served at this fast-casual spot is utterly delicious — and isn’t that what matters? Once you’ve tried these tacos, you may never go bac to Tex-Mex again.

Mai Lee is readers’ choice for Best Vietnamese. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG

BEST CHINESE WONTON KING

8116 OLIVE BOULEVARD, UNIVERSITY CITY; 314-567-9997

A staple of University City’s China Town, onton ing is well nown for its expansive menu and excellent dim sum.

The ong ong style restaurant has a selection broad enough for a first timer to find something familiar, while still serving the classics of Chinese cuisine. ficionados should chec out the authentic lunch menu, which includes delicacies such as preserved egg and shredded por congee, and the Chef’s Specialties menu and its olden Chrysanthemum Chic en.

BEST VIETNAMESE MAI LEE

396 MUSICK MEMORIAL DR, BRENTWOOD; 314-645-2835

Critics will tell you Mai Lee isn’t just the best Vietnamese in town — it’s one of the best restaurants, period. Even as Chef Qui Tran and his family are gearing up to open a ramen shop, their Brentwood eatery remains at the top of its game, with delicious pho, mouthwatering noodle bowls and expertly grilled meats.

BEST BISTRO

BRASSERIE BY NICHE 4580 LACLEDE AVENUE, 314-454-0600

There may be newer, and fancier, restaurants in Chef Gerard Craft’s stable, but not one as chic as Brasserie by Niche. Dine on bistro classics in a sophisticated atmosphere. Everything

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Lulu’s Local Eatery: Best Vegetarian. | JENNIFER SILVERBERG is expertly done, from the bread and butter that opens the meal to the wine list. And don’t even get us started on that wonderful sidewal dining, perfect for Central West End peoplewatching three seasons a year.

BEST THAI PEARL CAFE

8416 N. LINDBERGH BOULEVARD, FLORISSANT; 314-831-3701

This Florissant restaurant has a complicated pedigree — the chef is from Vietnam, with Chinese heritage. Yet it’s not just readers who say he’s coo ing the best Thai food in town. cott Truong married into a Thai family and mastered their

and adventurous rolls. Pull up a seat at the bar and let the chefs work their magic.

BEST RAMEN VISTA RAMEN

2609 CHEROKEE STREET, 314797-8250

This brand-new spot on Cherokee Street combines the expertise of Chef Chris Bork with 2016’s hottest dish — ramen. The result is a restaurant that critics and readers alike can’t stop raving about. Bork’s ramen isn’t traditional (witness the “pozole ramen,” which combines notes of the classic Mexican stew with the Asian noodle dish), but it is beyond brilliant. And isn’t that what really counts?

THE VINE

This Tower Grove South spot specializes in Lebanese food, and all we can say is lucky us.

The classic Middle-Eastern dishes are all here, served with fresh ba ed flatbreads and warm hospitality. Don’t miss the bakery, which sells perfectly prepared Mediterranean-style treats.

BEST DINER 3139 S. GRAND BOULEVARD, 314-772-6100

Long part of a pair, Tower Grove South’s City Diner is now on its own, having obtained new owners even as its twin sister in Grand Center takes on a new identity as Stage Left Diner.

This fun, retro-themed eatery continues to be a favorite with readers, who come for the shakes and patty melts and adore the meatloaf omelet.

BEST DELI

BLUES CITY DELI The Valenza family has had lines out the door of their Benton Park sandwich shop for years on end, and we can explain why in two simple words: those sandwiches. They are enormous, delicious and utterly deserving of every kudo they get. So go ahead, get in line. Blues City Deli is one experience that’s worth it.

BEST FAST-CASUAL

11658 DORSETT ROAD, MARYLAND HEIGHTS; 314-801-8888

TUCKER’S PLACE

If you long for the days when steakhouses weren’t so stupidly fancy (and expensive), you’ll love the way they do things at Tucker’s Place, a laidback restaurant that happens to serve some truly delicious cuts of meat. With locations in south county, west county and Soulard, Tucker’s draws props from readers for its generous portions and signature lemon-pepper salad dressing. riverfronttimes.com

Coffee Cartel handles coffee drinks, ice cream and even sandwiches with aplomb, keeping the Central West End caffeinated and well-fed even into the wee hours of the morning. And if there’s any better spot for people-watching in the whole damn city we have yet to find it. No wonder readers are vociferous in their praise.

BIG BABY Q AND SMOKEHOUSE

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING 2117 S. 12TH STREET, 314-772-5977

In the all-important sushi category, readers were torn between the sleek perfection of Clayton’s Tani Sushi Bistro and the friendly delights on offer at Cafe Mochi in Tower Grove South. Can’t we say yes to both? The two places speciali e in incredibly fresh fish

COFFEE CARTEL

2 MARYLAND PLAZA, 314-454-0000

2438 MCNAIR, 314-773-8225

CITY DINER

3221 S. GRAND BOULEVARD, 314-773-5000 7726 FORSYTH BOULEVARD, CLAYTON; 314-296-8069

TED DREWES

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, INCLUDING 6726 CHIPPEWA STREET, 314-481-2652

BEST COFFEE SHOP

BEST STEAKHOUSE

TANI SUSHI BISTRO

BEST ICE CREAM

3201 S. GRAND BOULEVARD, 314-300-8215

BEST SUSHI (TIE) CAFE MOCHI

@SEOULTACO

Sometimes, the original is still the best — and Seoul Taco, which kicked off the food truck craze in St. Louis, continues to draw lines of hungry diners wherever it parks. David Choi has built an empire on the back of this truck, with Seoul Taco restaurants now thriving in the Loop; Champaign, Illinois; Chicago; and Columbia, Missouri.

BEST VEGETARIAN

For their pick for the city’s best vegetarian food, readers again turned to the bustling South Grand dining scene, giving the nod to husband-and-wife team Robert Tucker and Lauren Loomis and their stylish plantbased spot, Lulu’s Local Eatery.

Coffee Cartel: Best Coffee. | ERIC FRAZIER Originally a food truck, the restaurant now draws regulars who relish the inventive wraps, dishes, thrilling readers with classic preparations sandwiches, bowls and salads. and some super-spicy options as well.

3171 S. GRAND BOULEVARD, 314-776-0991

SEOUL TACO

It’s one of the very best summer rites in St. Louis — standing in line at Ted Drewes’ Chippewa location to get delicious frozen custard that won’t fall out of a cup, even if you hold it upside-down. But it’s not just nostalgia. itness how fast that line moves, how e cient the workers are. See how much fun everyone in this little microcosm of the city is having.

And, more than anything, taste how delicious those frozen treats can be.

LULU’S LOCAL EATERY

BEST MIDDLE EASTERN

BEST FOOD TRUCK

Ben Welch’s six-month-old barbecue shack is the perfect spot to order a quick bite at lunch, with one caveat — you’ll want to make sure they haven’t run out of food yet. With a growing following, Big Baby Q can’t always give you what you want. But if you’re lucky, you’ll love what you get.

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

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$ 5 104

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D O N A T I O N

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CALENDAR

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WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 5

THURSDAY 0929 Celebration Before there were actual buildings with the express purpose of putting on plays for entertainment purposes, theater had a ritual component. People would gather to celebrate a religious or holy occasion by donning masks, wearing ceremonial clothes and taking on a persona in order to act out the story that made spring arrive, or kept the seas calm for the fishing season, or performed any number of vital functions. Theater was what kept the world spinning in those days.

Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones (creators of The Fantasticks and I Do! I Do!) wanted to return theater to its original, magical state. They devised the musical Celebration as a union of ritual theater and street theater. It tells the story of the naive young man Orphan, who meets and charms the old millionaire William Rosebud Rich at a New Year’s Eve party. Other characters include the beautiful, fame-hungry erotic dancer Angela and the jaded old crank Potemkin.

Together these people will either ring in the new year and recreate the world, or they will fail and life as we know it will grind to a halt. New Line Theatre opens its new season with the premiere performance of Tom Jones’ revised version of Celebration. Performances take place at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (September 29 to October 22) at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www. newlinetheatre.com). Tickets are $15 to $25.

FRIDAY 0930 Arcadia Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia is about mathematics, thermodynamics, determinism, Lord Byron, “the carnal embrace” and hermits. It’s a lot to ask of a play to link those concepts and people together, so Stoppard uses human beings as channels for ideas. Set

New Line Theatre opens its 26th season Thursday with Celebration. | JILL RITTER LINDBERG

BY PAUL FRISWOLD simultaneously in 1809 and the present, Arcadia presents the inhabitants of a country home in both time frames. In the nineteenth century Thomasina Coverly is a teenager with an intuitive grasp of math, nature and physics. Her learned tutor Septimus is her confidant and verbal sparring partner. In the present we see a group of academics whose lines of research converge on the Coverly house. The characters and timelines eventually meet, in ways neither party is aware of. West End Players Guild opens its 106th season with Arcadia. The play is performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (September 30 to October 9) at the Union Avenue Christian Church (733 North Union Boulevard; www.westendplayers. org). Tickets are $20 to $25.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company Dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones has won Tony awards, a MacArthur Genius award and Kennedy Center honors. This week during his visit to St. Louis he’ll receive the Washington University 2016 International Humanities Medal for his lifetime of work in the arts — and then the next day, he gets back to that work with Analogy/Dora: Tramontane at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; www. touhill.org). The piece is based on an interview Jones conducted with Dora Amelan, a French Jewish woman who survived World War

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II while working for a Jewish underground group. Amelan’s life is relived by the dancers, who recreate the key moments in her life through movement, speech and song. Analogy/Dora: Tramontane is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (September 30 and October 1). Tickets are $30 to $50.

SATURDAY 1001 Mr. Midwest Leather Contest Midwest Leather Weekend gives St. Louis’ leather community the opportunity to come together and celebrate the leather lifestyle. Events include Continued on pg 106

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

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CALENDAR Continued from pg 105 A guy and a girl are saved by music in Once. | © JOAN MARCUS

A scene from Analogy/Dora: Tramontane. | PAUL B. GOODE

Planning an event, exhibiting your art or putting on a play? Let us know and we’ll include it in the Night & Day section or publish a listing in the online calendar — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@riverfronttimes.com), fax (314754-6416) or mail (6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63130, 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.

dinners and brunches, seminars on rope play and flogging, and even a leather fashion show that showcases the creations of Jerry Miller. But the big draw is the Mr. Midwest Leather contest. Potential winners must be comfortable wearing leather and representing the local community, both visually and verbally. This year’s Mr. Leather Contest takes place at 11 p.m. tonight at JJ’s Clubhouse (3858 Market Street; www.midwestleatherweekend.com). Admission is $10.

Archon Archon is St. Louis’ longestrunning science fiction and fantasy convention. When it started 40 years ago, the guest of honor was George R.R. Martin, then best-known for his science fiction short stories. How times have changed. Martin is still 106

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slogging his way through A Song of Ice and Fire, while Archon still produces a new convention every fall like clockwork. This year’s Archon takes place Friday through Sunday (September 30 to October 2) at the Gateway Center (1 Gateway Drive, Collinsville, Illinois; www. archonstl.org . The first panel starts at noon Friday and the last gaming session ends at 5 p.m. Sunday. In between those two points in time will come cosplay, fil ing songs about science fiction fantasy performed by fans) and three days worth of panel discussions and seminars on everything from the legacy of Star Trek to cosplay disasters. Single-day admission to Archon is $8 to $45, and weekend passes good for all three days are $75.

Best of Missouri Market This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Best of Missouri Market, your one-stop shop for goods and produce made (and grown) in-state. ou ll find local favorites such as Merb’s Candies and Baetje Farms purveyors of fine goat cheese , as well as new favorites like Across the Board Game (handcrafters of traditional wooden board games) and Ste. Genevieve’s ASL Pewter the husband and wife firm made much of the pewterware for HBO’s

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

John Adams series). Food will of course be available, as well as live music by Paul Nixon, the Dust Covers and Three of a Perfect Pair.

The Best of Missouri Market is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (September 30 to October 2) at the Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard; www.mobot.org).

Admission is $5 to $12.

SUNDAY 1002 Once Neil Young, who is as wise as he is grizzled, once sang that “only love can break your heart.” The musical Once bears out his theory. An Irish busker is on the verge of giving up music after a painful break-up, but a Czech girl persuades him to keep at it. Together “guy” and “girl” (no names are given) work on new songs and slowly put together a band. The hope is that the guy will get a recording contract and move to New York in pursuit of his lost girlfriend, but instead he and the girl find themselves romantically drawn to each other. Once earned eight Tony awards for its delicate love story and catchy songs, which were written by Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard. The musical returns to town for a short run this weekend. Performances take

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place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Sunday (September 30 to October 2) at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; www.fabulousfox.com).

Tickets are $30 to $95.

WEDNESDAY 1005 Young Frankenstein Is Young Frankenstein the best comedy of all time? It’s hard to argue against it. legantly spoofing the long chain of Frankenstein movies while still delivering a solid story is tough to do, but Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder make it look easy.

Wilder portrays young Frederick Frankenstein (it rhymes with “bonkensteen” when he says it) as a sensitive scientist with a latent wildness.

When he inherits the family castle and discovers his grandfather’s scientific notes, his wild side ta es over and he embraces his destiny: He will teach his creation to be a song-anddance man or die trying. Fathom Events presents a one-night-only screening of Young Frankenstein tonight at 7 p.m. at the Wehrenberg Ronnies 20 (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents. com . roo s will introduce the film via a live hook-up from Hollywood.

Tickets are $10 to $12.50.

107

OUT EVERY NIGHT THURSDAY 29

[CRITIC’S PICK]

$7. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

G. LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE: 9 p.m., $30-$35.

Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

THE GAME: 10 p.m., TBA. The Marquee Restaurant & Lounge, 1911 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-436-8889.

MERCHANDISE: w/ Public Memory, Hylidae 9 p.m., $7.

THE MOWGLI’S: w/ Colony House, Dreamers 7 p.m., $16. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

AN UNDER COVER WEEKEND 10: w/ Blackwater ‘64, Miss Molly Simms, Steven Deeds, Ramona eflowered, Old ouls Revival, The

, arious

Hands, The Free Years, Shotgun Abby, Prune, Giant Monsters on The Horizon, The Daisy Ad,

ANDERSON EAST: w/ Brent Cobb 8 p.m., $15-$17.

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

AARON KAMM AND THE ONE DROPS: 10 p.m.,

An Under Cover Weekend 10 7:40 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 29 to October 1.

The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street. $10-$22. 314-5350353.

Ten years is a long time to spend doing anything. When that thing is wrangling and coordinating dozens of local musicians to pay tribute to their favorite acts — as the organizers of An Under Cover Weekend have so expertly done for the last decade — we’re guessing it might feel like an eternity. Thanks to that hard work, though, the production

has become a bona fide St. Louis institution, packing the Firebird for a full weekend of nostalgic musical bliss each fall. Last year saw the event stretch from two days to three for the first time since 2010; this year continues in that fashion with performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Got You Covered: Some standouts to watch for on this year’s lineup include I Actually as Modest Mouse, the Free Years as Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and Ramona Deflowered as Joan Jett.

– Daniel Hill

773-3363.

BMMG 2 YR ANNIVERSARY SHOWCASE: w/ P.R.E.A.C.H. Bates, Darius Hickman, Ackurate, KommonGroundz, Nate Moore, Steve O’Brien, Ox Pimpin 9 p.m., $5. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

DAN VAPID AND THE CHEATS: 7 p.m., $10-$12.

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

EMPIRE GROOVE: w/ Celia 9 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

JASON MARSALIS VIBES QUARTET: 8 p.m., $25$40. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

JAY FARRAR TRIO: 8 p.m., $25-$27.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-7266161.

MY POSSE IN EFFECT: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEASTIE

The Fade, I Actually, Cannon Field, Family Med-

BOYS: 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Ready Room, 4195

icine, Too Deep, The Lonely Mountain String

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

Band 7:40 p.m.; Sep. 30, 7:40 p.m.; Oct. 1, 7:40 p.m., $10-$22. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

p.m.,

OLD DOMINION:

[CRITIC’S PICK]

. allpar

il-

lage, 601 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-345-9481.

Louis, 314-535-0353.

OTTO’S REVENGE ALBUM RELEASE: w/ Since

YOUNG THE GIANT: w/ Ra Ra Riot 8 p.m., $27.50-

Hector Was a Pup, The Guide To Fast Living 8

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

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

314-726-6161.

St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

AN UNDER COVER WEEKEND 10: w/ Blackwater

FRIDAY 30

‘64, Miss Molly Simms, Steven Deeds, Ramona eflowered, Old ouls Revival, The

AVATAR: 6 p.m., $15-$18. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,

, arious

Hands, The Free Years, Shotgun Abby, Prune,

St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

THE HILLSIDE BARONS: w/ the Trophy Mules 9

Giant Monsters on The Horizon, The Daisy Ad,

p.m., free. chlafly Tap Room,

The Fade, I Actually, Cannon Field, Family Med-

Locust t.,

St. Louis, 314-241-2337.

icine, Too Deep, The Lonely Mountain String

THE SAINT JOHNS: 8 p.m., $15-$17. Blueberry

Band Sep. 29, 7:40 p.m.; Sep. 30, 7:40 p.m.; 7:40

Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd.,

p.m., $10-$22. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

University City, 314-727-4444.

Louis, 314-535-0353.

SICK PUPPIES: 8 p.m., $19.50-$22. Pop’s

WANDA SYKES: 8 p.m., $39.75-$75. Peabody

Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis,

Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-

618-274-6720.

241-1888.

STIR: w/ Life Without Wayne 8 p.m., $25-$30.

SUNDAY 2

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

Angel Olson. | AMANDA MARSALIS

THRICE: w/ La Dispute, Nothing, Nowhere 8 p.m., $21-$24. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd.,

The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University

St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Angel Olsen

AN UNDER COVER WEEKEND 10: w/ Blackwater

8 p.m. Friday, September 30.

‘64, Miss Molly Simms, Steven Deeds, Ramona eflowered, Old ouls Revival, The

, arious

Hands, The Free Years, Shotgun Abby, Prune, Giant Monsters on The Horizon, The Daisy Ad, The Fade, I Actually, Cannon Field, Family Medicine, Too Deep, The Lonely Mountain String Band Sep. 29, 7:40 p.m.; 7:40 p.m.; Oct. 1, 7:40 p.m., $10-$22. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

ZOOGMA: 9 p.m., $5-$12. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

SATURDAY 1 7 BRIDGES BAND: mphitheater, Chesterfield.

p.m., free. Chesterfield eterans lace rive,

AGES AND AGES: 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill -

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $15. 314-7733363.

Angel Olsen’s music creates spaces, none of them safe. Even this year’s quasi-hit, “Shut Up Kiss Me,” ricochets off sinister angles, her uncanny, husky voice a Stranger Things screen test.

Though she generates atmosphere to burn — sometimes over synth drones, sometimes over strummy guitar, often over high-drama rhythmic drive — the St. Louis native (now living in North Carolina) is so far from the typical

indie-folk chanteuse that she could be singing in Latin over fife and drum. My Woman, her second full-length album that wasn’t originally a cassette, is an effortlessly stormy, darkly jazzy, keenly minimalist portrait of a soul in heat.

Olsen’s songs will haunt you, and you’ll love them for it.

Narcotics Agent: Best known for his work with Los Hermanos and Little Joy and as the artist behind the theme song to the Netflix series Narcos, Rodrigo Amarante opens the show with sounds drawing on the music of his native Brazil.

– Roy Kasten

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City, 314-727-4444.

CHILD BITE: w/ Troglodyte 7 p.m., $10-$12.

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

(HED)PE: 6 p.m., $15-$18. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 8:30 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

MARTIN SEXTON: 8 p.m., $25-$28. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

MUSHROOMHEAD: w

unflower ead, nsaid

Fate 6 p.m., $15. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

MONDAY 3 BLIND WILLIE & THE BROADWAY COLLECTIVE: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

Continued on pg 108

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107

OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 107 4245 Forest Park Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63108

[CRITIC’S PICK]

2016 FALL ESTATE SALE

Saturday, October 15th 9am to 3pm FREE and Open to the Public!

Preview Night Event Friday, October 14th 6pm to 8pm Tickets: $15

(space is limited - advance purchase recommended)

Signature Cocktails and Light Refreshments With music by Piano Dan

for tickets

call 314-880-5484 or visit www.clubhouseshop.org

Blind Pilot. | Paradigm Talent Agency

Blind Pilot

Five years is not an insignificant amount of time — it’s long enough to get through undergrad with time to spare for a victory lap — but in the quick-hit, flavor-of-the-moment world of modern music, five years might as well be an eternity. So in the time since Blind Pilot’s 2011 LP We Are the Tide, singer and bandleader Israel Nebeker has endured the kind of real-world pain

(romantic loss, a death in the family) that suffuse his band’s folk-leaning arrangements with the same yearning, wisdom and heart that made the sextet a fan-favorite in the first place.

This year’s And Then Like Lions doubles down on the band’s trademark communal, spirited brand of dynamic folk music that, for die-hard fans, was worth the wait.

Quiet Is the New Loud: Foursome Quiet Life, whose new LP Foggy was produced by Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken, will open the show.– Christian Schaeffer

DCLARE: w/ DJ Maximus 8 p.m., $25-$35. The

Olive Blvd, University City, 314-282-5561.

Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis,

KEVIN DEVINE: w/ Zach Sullentrup 8 p.m., $15.

314-833-3929.

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

THE HEAD AND THE HEART: 8 p.m., $40-$48. The

314-773-3363.

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

MARIAN HILL: 8 p.m., $22.50-$25. The Ready

6161.

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

8 p.m. Friday, September 30.

The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Avenue. $18.

314-833-3929.

INTER ARMA: w Call Of The oid

p.m.,

.

RX BANDITS: w/ And So I Watch You From

0353.

Afar 8 p.m., $22-$25. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA: w/ Wyn-

St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

ton Marsalis 8 p.m., $55-$65. The Sheldon, 3648

THE SPILL CANVAS: 7 p.m., $16-$18. The Fire-

Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

bird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

MAROON 5: w/ Tove Lo, R. City 7 p.m., $27.50-

STILL CORNERS: 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill

$123. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St.

- The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., Univer-

Louis, 314-241-1888.

sity City, 314-727-4444.

SLAVES: w/ Outline In Color, Inner Outlines 6 p.m., $16-$18. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis,

WEDNESDAY 5

314-289-9050.

AMX: w/ Cellars 8 p.m., $20-$23. The Ready

TUESDAY 4

108

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SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

833-3929.

The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-

Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314833-3929.

CORINNE BAILEY RAE: w/ Andra Day 8 p.m.,

LANY: w/ Transviolet 8 p.m., $15-$18. Delmar

$30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.

Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-

Louis, 314-726-6161.

6161.

THE DEFEATED COUNTY: 11 p.m., free. Halo

LOCAL NATIVES: 8 p.m., $25-$27.50. The

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

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

1414.

726-6161.

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

MARISSA NADLER: 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway,

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

3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

riverfronttimes.com

SAVAGE LOVE CHEATS

BY DAN SAVAGE

Hey, Dan: I’m a guy, 35, and a cheating piece of shit. I’m engaged to a woman I love, but earlier this year I cheated on her. I have no excuse. She discovered the dating app I used, and we worked through that.

But she doesn’t know that shortly after her discovery, I went ahead and cheated. To my meager, meager credit, I did seek out only women who were looking for NSA hookups. But I quickly came to realize how big of a mistake this was, how much I love my fiancée, and that I’m a shitty person. I see a therapist, and he advised that, if I’m certain this was a one-time thing, and if I’m convinced that I’m happy with my fiancée, I should keep quiet. I shouldn’t burden my fiancée with this knowledge. I’m inclined to agree but, dear God, the guilt. I feel like I’m not the person my fiancée thought I was.

What do I do? Should I just accept this as a lesson learned and keep it to myself? Perhaps there’s selfishness at play here, since I’m trying to make myself feel better, but I’m struggling.

Can’t Personally Overlook Selfishness I’m with your therapist, CPOS — and, hey, it’s nice to see “keep your mouth shut about a one time infidelity ma e the ump from our finer advice columns ear rudence,

ear ugar, avage Love to some of our actual therapists. hile honesty best policy and confession good for the soul get all the positive press, there are times when unburdening yourself is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

The person who confesses may wind up feeling better because at least now they re being honest but the person to whom they’ve confessed can wind up feeling a whole lot worse. ome burdens should be borne not shifted. f your fiancée is going to inevitably find out, C O , better she find out about it from you.

But if the secret can be kept and if living with the guilt motivates you not to cheat again, then you can eep your mouth shut with a semi clear ish conscience.

This advice is not a license for serial adulterers. f you can t be faithful to someone if that s what you discovered when you had the affair then you should extract yourself from the monogamous commitment you ve already made to your fiancée and refrain from ma ing monogamous commitments to anyone else in the future. ut if you honestly believe you can be faithful, C O , you don t have to see yourself as a cheating piece of shit. serial adulterer betrayer liar is a cheating piece of shit someone who cheated once, regrets it, and ma es a good faith, multi decade effort not to do it again is a fallible human being.

Hey, Dan: My boyfriend of five years is a sweet, smart, handsome, loving, supportive, middle-aged, chubby white guy. We have a fulfilling sex life. When we first met, he shared a fantasy he had about watching me get fucked by a black guy. (He knows it’s not something I’m interested in IRL.) I’ve caught him several times posing online as a young, buff, handsome black guy looking for a “snowbunny.”

I call him out on it every time, and it causes huge fights. He says he’ll stop, but he never does. Weighed against all his other good qualities, this isn’t that big of a deal. Clearly he’s not going to meet up with the women he’s chatting with. What makes me sad is that I adore him as he is — I love his big white belly, his bald head and his rosy cheeks. I think I do a good job of communicating this to him. I guess I’m writing to you for some reassurance that I’m doing the right thing by letting this behavior go and also for some insight into why he’s doing it in the first place.

Upset Girlfriend Hates Eroticized Racial Secrets f this isn t that big of a deal, R , why are you calling him out on it? hy are you monitoring his online activities fantasies at all? hat your boyfriend is doing sounds relatively harmless he s pretending to be someone he s not while flirting with other people online who are most li ely

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pretending to be someone they re not. promise you most of the “snowbunnies” he’s chatted with were other men. The world is full of people who en oy pretending to be someone they’re not, from cosplayers pretending to be Captain America or Poison Ivy to creative anachronists pretending to be nights and ladies to onald Trump r. pretending to be a human being. e can t gloss over the racial racist cultural forces that shaped your boyfriend’s kinks, of course, but it s possible to explore those inds of fantasies online or RL without being a racist piece of shit. nd a person can pretend to be someone of another race online because it turns them on without in ecting racial hate into online spaces and or thoughtlessly reinforcing damaging stereotypes about people of other races. ou ve seen your boyfriend s online chats, R , so you re in a better position to udge whether he s exploring his fantasies without ma ing the world a worse place than it already is for actual blac men. f he s being a racist piece of shit online, R , call him out on that. f he isn t, stop policing his fantasies.

Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

SEPTEMBER 28 -OCTOBER 4, 2016

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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100 Employment 105 Career/Training/Schools THE OCEAN CORP. 10840 Rockley Road, Houston, Texas 77099. Train for a new career. *Underwater Welder. Commercial Diver. *NDT/Weld Inspector. Job Placement Assistance.

Financial Aid avail for those who qualify 1.800.321.0298

110 Computer/Technical RAD Application Delivery Specialist (Nestle Regional Globe Office North America, Inc. - St. Louis, MO) Assist bus owners & srvc lines w/ tech skills. F/T. Reqs Bach’s dgr (or frgn equiv) in CS, CE or rel fld & 6 yrs exp in job offered or in SAP tech activities rel to prgrm’g. All stated exp must incl: SAP ABAP & WebDynpro dvlpmnt; printer config in SAP; trbleshoot’g cmplx issues; SAP landscapes & interface strats; dsgn, eval & suggest tech solutions & assist in defin’g functional reqs; coordinat’g wrk b/w functional people & offshore dvlprs; prep’g presentations, brochures & prototypes; train’g audiences incl’g functional analysts, end-users, or other tech analysts in diff tech; & gather’g info that assists vendors in focused imprvmnts. Resumes: J. Buenrostro, Nestle USA, Inc., 800 N. Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203. JobID: ADS-JSA.

120 Drivers/Delivery/Courier

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