January 2022

the Supremes

Restaurants are recreating the Crunchwrap Supreme, like 12oh7's crunchywrap, p. 34

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St. Louis, MO 63103 January 2022

contents JA N UA RY 2 02 2

editors' picks

features

7 EAT THIS

18

Coconut chiffon cake at Sugaree Baking Co.

by michelle volansky 9 HIT LIST 5 new places to try this month

by lauren healey, meera nagarajan, adam rothbarth and liz wolfson 12 DRINK THIS

ONES TO WATCH

Food and drink pros with promise by julie cohen, adam rothbarth and stacy schweizer 34

THE SUPREMES

Restaurants are innovating in the Crunchwrap space by meera nagarajan and liz wolfson

last bite 40 WHAT I DO Noah Offenkrantz of Find Your Farmer

by liz wolfson 42 LANDMARK

Tune in to St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 FM this month when Sauce joins St. Louis on the Air.

The Piccadilly at Manhattan

by adam rothbarth

COVER DETAILS THE SUPREMES The crunchywrap from 12oh7, a vegan pop-up, p. 34 PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

2020 Montevecchio Bianco and Rosso Italian Field Blends

by glenn bardgett 14 TO CORK OR UNCORK The ins and outs of bringing your own wine to restaurants

by julie cohen 16 IN THE KNOW

Upshot Coffee at Beets & Bones, p. 9

Place & Time

PHOTO BY LAUREN HEALEY

by liz wolfson

January 2022

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

Eat This The coconut chiffon cake from Sugaree Baking Co. has three towering layers of fluffy perfection.

Light-as-a-feather sheets of creamy chiffon cake are sandwiched between whipped cream frosting that’s simultaneously rich and airy. A generous coating of sweet, shredded coconut adds texture and makes this treat look like it came out of a Nancy Meyers dream kitchen.

PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

Sugaree Baking Co., 1242 Tamm Ave., St. Louis, 314.645.5496, sugareebaking.com

January 2022

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

hit list

5 new places to try this month

PHOTOS BY LAUREN HEALEY

BEETS & BONES Beets & Bones joins a growing number of nutrition-focused restaurants in St. Louis. The avocado toast on chewy sourdough from The Edgewood Baker is one of the best in town with roasted corn and poblano peppers, feta, marinated tomato and micro herbs. The smoky, slightly spicy Texicano Bowl is a hearty and savory salad with spiced walnut “taco meat,” sweet potato, vegetables like kale and red bell pepper, black beans and candied jalapenos. We love the wide assortment of fresh, cold-pressed fruit and veggie juices with fun names like New Age Gatorade, a blend of celery, apple, lemon and limes juices flavored with ginger, cilantro and turmeric.

8401 Maryland Ave., Clayton, 314.925.8722, beetsbonesjuice.com

January 2022

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

HIT LIST p. 2 of 3

WILD CRUSH WINE BARN Wild Crush Wine Barn gives upscale barn energy to diners’ delight. A wine preservation and dispensing system called WineStation is your bartender, housing 24 bottles of wine. Load up a card with $25 or more and use it to select and dispense your wine. With 2-ounce, 4-ounce and 6-ounce pours, you can commit to a full glass of a wine you’re familiar with, sample a couple or just dip your toe with an expensive bottle by getting a taste.

The food menu is pared down with a simple meat and cheese charcuterie board, a veggie board or a selection of flatbreads. The manchego and artichoke flatbread was a perfect cheesy bite with a glass of zinfandel.

13360 Clayton Road, Town & Country, 314.392.9594, winecrushstl.com

PLATYPUS Platypus is a new cocktail concept from two of St. Louis’ most revered bartenders, Meredith Barry and Tony Saputo. Occupying the former U.R.B. space in the Grove, Platypus offers a concise list of rotating cocktails, a solid beer list and all the tools to make whatever classic drinks you desire.

The Dude! Where’s My Shirt?, which features scotch, mezcal, barrel-aged gin, honey, bitters and lime cordial, is smoky and bright, a perfect coldevening sip. Bar food classics like crispy tofu and popcorn chicken (both served atop toasted bread and delicious pickles) and Fuddruckersreminiscent (in a good way) hand-cut French fries make it a place you’ll want to hang out for a while; an array of spectacular sauces, like agave mustard and sweet chile, will have you searching for more things to dip.

4501 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.359.2293, drinkplatypus.com

PIPERS TEA & COFFEE The first St. Louis location of the Paducah, Kentucky-based business features the company’s single-origin and blended teas and coffees. The hushed, light-filled space feels miles away from the traffic of Kingshighway Boulevard zipping just outside the storefront windows.

Espresso drinks can be ordered plain or enhanced with house-made syrups in flavors like butter-caramel and honey-cinnamon; tea-based drinks like matcha lemonade and chai lattes are also available.

Currently, food options are mostly sweets – La Beaume macarons, pastries by Whisk and gluten-free baker Mason Cooksey – but in midJanuary, the menu will expand to include avocado toast, ricotta toast and more.

Niche Food Group is at it again, this time in the quaint yet upscale former home of Cafe Osage, sharing a space with Bowood Farms. The avocado toast brings a bold mix of flavors with pickled sweet chile, fresh mint and parsley, and a dry spice blend with parsley, thyme, nutritional yeast and citrus zests. The dry aged burger is juicy and flavorful with Marcoot Farms’ Tipsy Cheddar, pickled shallot and a savory-sweet caramelized onion aioli on a well-buttered bun served alongside perfectly crispy battered fries. And the seasonal gimlet with spiced pear, lime and gin truly tastes like the holidays.

3701 S. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, cupofpipers.com

4605 Olive St., St. Louis, 314.454.6868, bowoodbyniche.com

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PHOTOS BY MICHELLE VOLANSKY

BOWOOD BY NICHE

January 2022

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

DRINK THIS This pair of blends from the Chalmers Family Estate in Victoria, Australia, features complicated-yet-exciting blends of lesser-known grape varieties.

The 2020 Montevecchio Bianco Italian Field Blend is 50% Vermentino with five other Italian varietals. Featuring fresh acidity, it’s ready for breakfast, lunch or watching TV. The crisp Rosso Italian Field Blend is 55% Aglianico, also with five others; it’s full of juicy, fruity flavors.

Your toasted ravioli is waiting for this one.

Glenn Bardgett is wine director at Annie Gunn’s and a member of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board.

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

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TO UNCORK or not TO UNCORK T h e i n s a n d o u t s o f b r i n g i n g yo u r o w n w i n e t o r e s ta u r a n t s by j u l i e c o h e n / / i l l u s t r at i o n by v i d h ya n aga r a j a n

In theory, to buy a bottle of wine, bring it to a restaurant that already serves wine and then pay an extra fee simply to have it uncorked sounds a bit counterintuitive. Yet, if done right, it can make a night out feel extra special.

Here are some considerations and best practices when deciding whether to bring your own wine.

January 2022

First things first: Call the restaurant in advance and ask if bringing your own wine is permitted.

If so, ask how much the restaurant charges for corkage. Paying a corkage fee means you now have permission to BYOW, and, in turn, the restaurant is supposed to treat your bottle the same as if you ordered it there – the server should bring glassware, uncork the bottle, put the bottle on ice if needed, and pour and refill glasses. In St. Louis, we have found corkage fees to run between $15 and $25, which, compared to other cities, is very reasonable.

Once the corkage fee is established, consider if you have a special bottle you want to bring – and make sure it’s not already on the wine list.

If you are bringing your own bottle, generally the assumption is that it has meaning to you. This doesn’t

mean it has to be super expensive or rare, but it does means that the restaurant isn’t looking for you to show up with that case of Two Buck Chuck that you bought in bulk during lockdown.

Next, take a look at the restaurant’s wine list to see if it even makes sense to pay the corkage fee.

From a dollars-and-cents standpoint, understanding the restaurant’s wine markup helps with this decision. Typically, industrywide markups run around two-andhalf to three times the wholesale cost of the wine. (For example, if a wine costs $20 wholesale, it will probably sell for $30 retail, and then a restaurant will charge around $50 to $60.) If you are simply trying to save money, buying a bottle for $30 and then paying $25 to uncork it isn’t going to save you anything if the restaurant is marking its wine up by industry standards.

Some reasons not to BYOW:

Many restaurants have spent a lot of time and money curating an interesting and thoughtful wine list that highlights both a diversity of winemakers and winemaking techniques that also complements the restaurant’s food. If a restaurant’s staff is knowledgeable and can afford you the time, it can be fun to learn about those wines. In that case, there simply might not be a good dupe you can bring to that restaurant, nor will you want there to be.

While the wine bottle markup can feel annoying for the restaurant diner (particularly if you’ve seen the same bottle retail for half the price), for many restaurants, liquor sales help keep them afloat. In a way, to overpay for a bottle of wine is part of the social contract of dining out: You want someone to cook for you and serve you, and the way that can happen, so the restaurant is still able to pay rent, buy ingredients and pay its staff, is in part by charging more than the wine costs at the store. To us, this feels fair.

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E D I T O R S ' P I C K S

IN THE KNOW &

T I M E

In November, longtime industry pros Chris Bork, Caitlin Franz and Joe Mooney debuted Place & Time, an intimate private dining experience held at a different location each month. For each event, the trio collaborates on a menu inspired by the sensory memory of a particular location, like Paris in the 1920s or Tudor England. Rather than period-specific recreations, diners can expect modern, elevated takes on dishes and drinks that are inspired as much by movies and novels as historical research.

The January and February dinners are already sold out, but check the series’ Instagram page for announcements regarding ticket sales for future events.

clockwise from top: a dish from place & time; from left, founders chris bork, caitlin franz and joe mooney; a dinner in full swing

IMAGES COURTESY OF SPENCER PERNIKOFF FOR PLACE & TIME

P L A C E

Instagram: @_placeandtime_

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PA RTN ER CON TEN T

T YLER L AY TON TWISTED TREE STEAKHOUSE + T W I S T E D TAV E R N S T L Name: Tyler Layton Restaurant: Twisted Tree Steakhouse and Twisted Tavern STL Position: Chef Married? Kids? Married.

We have two kids – just had our second baby.

January September 2022 2020

Where are you originally from? STL

What's your signature dish? Filet risotto.

What was your first restaurant job?

Technically IHOP then Citizen Kane's Steak House.

Name three kitchen tools you can't live without: Knife, skillet, tongs

What's your favorite meal to cook? Brunch – check out our Breakfast Board at both Twisted Tree and Twisted Tavern.

A fun fact about you: I'm a hockey-loving, bourbondrinking chef.

Twisted Tree Steakhouse 10701 Watson Rd, St. Louis twistedtreesteakhouse.com

Twisted Tavern STL 3606 W Outer Rd, Arnold twistedtavernstl.com

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ONES TO WATCH FOOD AND DRINK PROS WITH PROMISE

BY JULIE COHEN, ADAM ROTHBARTH AND STACY SCHWEIZER // PHOTOS BY GREG RANNELLS

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GENERAL MANAGER, BOWOOD BY NICHE

SAVAN NAH

THOMAS AGE: 32

WHY WATCH HER: SHE’S A FRONT-OF-HOUSE ROCKSTAR.

Savannah Thomas hates the cold. This makes sense, seeing as she’d never lived anywhere but Southern California before moving to St. Louis. She moved to the city in October 2019 to serve as the food and beverage assistant manager at the Four Seasons Hotel - St. Louis.

As it turned out, the bitter cold of Thomas’ first Midwestern winter was the least of her worries.

Like much of the nation’s restaurant industry, once the pandemic hit, Thomas spent nearly a year in and out of furlough. During one of her furloughs, Niche Food Group co-owner Gerard Craft asked her to help manage Pastaria. Craft knew Thomas from Cinder House, his restaurant at the Four Seasons, and already considered her “an absolute rockstar” of the front of the house. “She has a pretty even temperament but is very hands-on and leads by example,” Craft explained.

“She has a really strong work

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ethic and a great attitude about everything, and it rubs off on the staff.” When he finalized plans to open Bowood by Niche shortly after, he knew exactly who he wanted to be general manager.

To move from an assistant manager position to GM — in the Niche Food Group no less — seems like a nobrainer. But Thomas was happy with the Four Seasons.

She appreciated the way they trained, treated and compensated their employees.

She also loved the rush it afforded her; she had aided in opening three new restaurants at the Four Seasons’ Westlake Village property in Los Angeles and helped a former Four Seasons colleague open a fourth. She had also gained a reputation as an expert in helping turn around struggling restaurants.

“My favorite is starting at a restaurant where things are wonky and people are unhappy,” Thomas said, describing what most

would consider a worst-case scenario. “You get to tear everything apart and rebuild it again. You get to see what brings out the fire in people, to help them find the fire they lost,” she said.

Yet there was more to the Bowood job than a promotion, Thomas realized. A much-loved local gem shuttered and then reopened by a vastly different ownership group? How could Thomas retain the heart and soul of an institution she had never even gotten to visit before it closed? What could she change, and what needed to stay the same in order to honor the restaurant’s loyal customers? This reopening landed right in Thomas’ wheelhouse.

And then, of course, there was the space. A perpetually cold Angeleno was being asked to GM a restaurant situated quite literally inside a greenhouse. “It was like a fairy tale first walking in there,” Thomas said. “How could I say no?” – JC

January 2022

S O U S C H E F, F A R M H A U S

WHY WATCH HIM: HE’S TURNED THE WORLD INTO A CLASSROOM.

AGE: 24

DI LLON

WITTE

A chef gets out of culinary school and jumps around from restaurant to restaurant, building his profile, until he finally finds the right spot. There he thrives, until he opens his own super-hyped restaurant, and it soars.

We’ve all heard that story – but it isn’t Dillon Witte’s.

In fact, his is very much the opposite.

Witte probably didn’t think when he was mowing lawns eight years ago that he would become a chef.

And he likely didn’t predict while pushing a lawnmower down the street one day that James Beard AwardJanuary 2022

nominated chef Kevin Willmann would ask him to mow the grass in front of his restaurant, Farmhaus.

And, later, when he applied to be a dishwasher at the restaurant, he surely didn’t expect that he’d end up cooking there for years, eventually becoming Willmann’s sous chef. But here we are.

Before Farmhaus, Witte had only made food at home. “I would always cook for my friends, and I’d make breakfast for my sister when I was little,” he said. Now, he’s done everything at Farmhaus from garde manger to the

hot line to expo. “I like butchery right now, and tempering chocolate and making bon bons,” he said.

“I do it on the side, around the holidays, as a gift.” He’s learned to think seasonally; in the spring, he looks forward to getting green onions so he can char them for ricotta to make ravioli.

In other parts of the year, he’s making empanadas with braised beef, ancho peppers and guajillo chiles.

This past July, Witte went to France and worked at Table by Le Calabash in Yzeures-sur-Creus.

Recently, he’s been learning how to make peri peri shrimp and fish collars.

“It’s hard to speak enough about the raw talent, the natural ability,” said Farmhaus owner and executive chef Kevin Willmann. “Some people just have it. Dillon’s always just had it.” Willmann remembers fondly his first meeting with Witte over that lawnmower, and said that moving Witte from dish to the kitchen was an easy decision. “The biggest thing we noticed, even back then, is how intuitive he is. When someone’s paying attention, you can throw anything at them.

The more we threw at him, the better he did with it.”

Now, Witte’s an indispensable part of Farmhaus’ small team. “I don’t know if we can do this if either of us are not here,” Willmann said. “I don’t want to do it without him.” Fortunately for Willmann, his protégé isn’t looking too far ahead – he’s never even searched for other cooking jobs because he’s so happy at Farmhaus. “I definitely want to be my own boss one day, or open my own restaurant. I don’t really have that idea yet,” Witte said. But if the past eight years are any indication, it’ll probably come to him eventually. – AR

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CAM E

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E RON HARRISON J U N I O R S O U S C H E F, T H E L U C K Y A C C O M P L I C E

AGE: 22 HE’S COOL, CALM AND QUICKLY CLIMBING THE RANKS.

If 12-year-old Cameron Harrison could see himself now, he’d be pretty stoked.

In just 10 years, he’s gone from a kid who wanted to be a chef in middle school, cooking Blue Apron meals at home, to the junior sous in one of the city’s hottest kitchens.

Harrison got his first food job at Kounter Kulture, working his way up from dishwasher and prep cook to the farmers market, catering and eventually the line, all while getting his culinary degree. Chef Michael Miller and sous chef Sean Martin infinitely advanced his skills, and within three years, he was rearing to try fine dining.

In 2019, Harrison had the chance to check out Shift, the Fox Park hotspot known for serving ambitiously good food, on the restaurant’s first anniversary. “After eating

January 2022

at Shift, I knew I wanted to work under chef [and owner] Logan [Ely],” Harrison explained.

“The fact that it wasn’t your traditional fine dining restaurant with cloth tables [and] soft white noise music in the background compelled me even more.” He began staging at Shift, but when the pandemic hit and the restaurant temporarily closed, Ely brought him down the street to his new restaurant, The Lucky Accomplice.

Within a year, Harrison had worked every station, including the pass, quickly making his way to junior sous. In that role, he’s organizing tickets, firing dishes and running quality control for every plate that leaves the kitchen. “That’s a big ask of a 22-year-old cook,” Ely noted. “But he rises to the occasion.

Whatever I’ll ask of him,

he’ll rise to the occasion.”

That same year, The Lucky Accomplice racked in accolades as one of the best new restaurants of the year.

“The nights or hour that I’m not on the pass, those compliments are all for him,” Ely said.

Harrison said his experience has grown three-fold at The Lucky Accomplice, thanks to Ely’s hands-off teaching style. But to Ely, it’s Harrison’s temperament as much as his skill that sets him apart. “Everybody has tempers,” Ely said. “In kitchens, it’s kind of OK to let your temper get the best of you sometimes – and he never [does]. He’s constantly focusing on getting shit done, getting the job done properly and learning and growing. He’s just focused on his job and career. He’s awesome dude, and he’ll continue to be.” – SS

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AGE: 27 LINE COOK AND SUSHI CHEF

WHY WATCH HER: SHE RESPECTS INGREDIENTS AND COOKS WITH INTEGRITY.

EUG E N E

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“When I was growing up, my mom made a lot of Korean food,” said Eugene Kolb. “That’s how she taught me about our culture and how we stayed connected to it.” Living in L.A. when she was younger, Kolb would go to the markets and restaurants of Koreatown, where she found a strong representation of KoreanAmerican culture. But living in St. Louis, Kolb sometimes has to get creative when recreating the dishes of her youth. “I have to be more proactive,” she said. “I have to learn about it, what the ingredients are, how I can find them. If I want to live that again and I can’t find a dish out here, then I have to find out how to source those ingredients so I can eat it and share it with other people.”

In her home cooking, Kolb loves using and making traditional dishes and components like kimchi, gochujang and jjigae (a Korean stew) and searches for ingredients locally whenever possible; but sometimes, she has to outsource. “One of the dishes I’m really fond of in Korean cooking involves raw crabs, and it’s a specific type of crab, and sometimes it’s hard to find,” she said.

“I’m hoping to learn more about the industry so I can get better at sourcing it, so I’m not calling around to H-Marts. There are some things I simply don’t know how to do.” Unlike a lot of young chefs, Kolb acknowledges her blind spots, viewing them as learning opportunities. They push her to work harder.

“I think she has a great attitude. She cares and has really great integrity in the kitchen,” said Nick Bognar, chef-owner of Indo, where Kolb has been working January 2022

for about six months.

Before that, she was at Shift with chef Logan Ely. “She makes little mistakes, and when you’re learning a new kitchen, there are little things here and there that you’re going to have to fix,” Bognar added. “She’s never going to act like she knows everything. She’s not going to try to hide it. The integrity part is a little more rare than it used to be.”

Kolb’s favorite part of her work at Indo, besides the restaurant’s culture and the camaraderie its workers share, has been learning the sushi station; there, she’s uncovering a new world of technique and preparation.

“It’s a lot of respect for the person on the other end that’s receiving that bite and respect for the fish and the knife,” she said. “A lot of times when you’re working in a kitchen, it’s fast, fast, fast. With sushi, your steps are very intentional.”

Intentional seems, overall, to be a very good way to describe Kolb’s engagement with cooking.

For now, she aims to be at Indo for a while to absorb everything she can and figure out what her own style is. As for the future, she’s being thoughtful about it. “You kind of start daydreaming about what you want to give back to cooking, what you want to see in the community,” she said. “I think what resonates most is touching on my Korean roots because that’s been one of the most meaningful food journeys I’ve had in terms of understanding what it is culturally, what that means for me, being a KoreanAmerican.” With such powerful drive, intention and will to learn, it seems Kolb has her work cut out for her. – AR saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 25

AGE: 36

E X E C U T I V E S O U S C H E F, J U N I P E R

WHY WATCH HIM: HE’S UPPING THE GAME FOR THE LOCAL SOUTHERN FOOD SCENE.

DAN I E P

“I’m a Southern boy,” said Daniel Poss. “I’m born in Birmingham and was in Nashville since I was 3. Southern food is in my blood.” After moving to St. Louis in 2017 and marrying his wife, Ashley Poss, he has been tearing through the Southern food circuit, trying to master the game.

He worked with Rick Lewis and helped him open Grace Meat + Three in 2017; now, he’s executive sous chef under Matt Daughaday at Jon Perkins’ lauded Juniper.

At Juniper, Poss has found somewhere he can continue growing and learning, while also having the latitude to experiment and start making his mark. “We’re sort of geared toward Charleston low-country cuisine, so yes, it’s Southern food, but it’s a different region. It’s pushed

me, and I’ve been able to learn something brand new,” he explained.

The learning isn’t just happening on Poss’ side.

“He definitely nerds out about the history and detail of the food, and he definitely has a lot more in-depth knowledge about a lot of ingredients I haven’t personally worked with,” said Daughaday, who feels that Poss has brought a lot of information and drive to the team. “From the first time I sat down with him, I got this gut feeling that he was on the same plane as me in terms of thinking about food, what our goals were, what we wanted to get out of food. Everything he was saying was clicking with me as far as what my goals were for Juniper.”

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Charleston low country makes sense for Poss, as his idols are mainly from the South, including James Beard Award-winner Sean Brock. “I did a stint at [Brock’s restaurant] Husk,” Poss explained. “I worked in that building before it was Husk, when it was Andrew Chadwick’s. That house, that building, I’ve spent a lot of time in.” Now, Poss looks to incorporate those experiences into his work at Juniper. “Pickling, preserving, fermenting, butchering … what I’m doing at Juniper, it’s never been done before.” Juniper was already great, but with Poss’ fresh set of eyes, it can only get better.

Poss is focused on his job, but also looks to the future.

“I’m a man of faith, so

whatever God’s plan is, is God’s plan,” he explained.

“But for me, Juniper is probably going to be the last place that I work for somebody. I’m going to be here for a while, but when it comes time to move on, my dream is to own something of my own.” Based on his pedigree, one would think it would be a new Southern restaurant, but Poss himself isn’t sure of that yet. “That concept changes daily,” he said, laughing.

“His take on Southern food is definitely more refined and more polished,” Daughaday added, “and if he ever gets an opportunity to do that, it would be an amazing place and something unique to St. Louis.” Whatever it will be, we’re here for it. – AR

January 2022

L OSS January 2022

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he New Year is always a great time to set your intentions for the future. Whether you’re looking for some delicious, nutrient-rich food and drinks, a healthy medicine alternative or some self-care at a spa, these local businesses will help you reach your goals.

FRESH THYME MARKET AT CITY FOUNDRY STL

photo courtesy of fresh thyme May 2019 January 2022

Get a fresh start to your year at Fresh Thyme Market!

Proudly located at City Foundry STL, Fresh Thyme is your new neighborhood grocery store. They’re focused on bringing fresh, affordable and local products to Midtown St. Louis and beyond. You’ll love the full grocery selection, meat and deli counters, as well as the extensive natural and organic options. Be sure to visit the in-store café, home to Iron Drop, which features artisanal scratch-made biscuits and carefully curated craft roasted coffee menus, and Ace Sushi with delicious sushi made fresh daily, hot food options and boba tea. Check out the $5 sushi rolls every Thursday. saucemagazine.comI SAUCE I SAUCEMAGAZINE MAGAZINEI 29 I3 saucemagazine.com

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Whole Foods Market, Dierbergs, Straubs and Fresh Thyme. mykaruna.com

Fresh Thyme’s food doesn’t only look, smell and taste good – it’s also good for you. Get all the nutrients you need and all the flavors you crave while supporting trusted partners, brands and farmers. Shop confidently and let your appetite guide the way knowing that every item in the store has been handselected with care.

Stop by the natural living section this January for a sale on vitamins and body care, when you can get 30% off all those items in the store from Jan. 5 to 11 – take advantage of this amazing deal!

3701 Foundry Way, Suite 201, St. Louis, 314.597.4400, freshthymefoundry.com

INDIGO MASSAGE & WELLNESS At Indigo Massage & Wellness, a soothing experience starts as soon as you walk in the door. Clients often tout how relaxing the space is with its gorgeous blue and green décor, defused lighting and pleasant aromas, as well as the comfortable seating and the professionalism of the staff. Choose from a range of services, from therapeutic massages, CBD facials and acupuncture to body wraps and reflexology. Join the Indigo wellness program for a monthly credit for a discounted therapeutic massage; this membership can even be shared with your partner. Plan ahead for Valentine's Day and book a massage or get a couples massage gift card. In addition, all staff members at Indigo are fully vaccinated to help put your worried mind at ease.

1901 Arsenal St., St. Louis; 7200 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.276.9882, indigomassagetherapy.com

FRESH GATHERINGS CAFE + FARM AT SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY Fresh Gatherings Cafe + Farm is a studentrun cafe operated by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics that is open to the public and located on SLU's Medical Campus. The cafe sources from its organic urban farm on campus and from local farmers and growers in Missouri and Illinois.

It is open for breakfast and lunch with a full-service coffee bar. Fan favorites include oat milk lattes, breakfast burritos and croissants, but there are also daily hot lunch specials, grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, soups and baked goods. Fresh Gatherings Cafe + Farm exemplifies SLU’s Jesuit principles in support of development of the whole person. They believe in the value of good food to nourish the mind, body and spirit. The leading program in nutrition and culinary arts allows students to combine their two passions into a career.

3404 Rutger St., St. Louis, freshgatheringscafe.com, @freshgatherings, @slunutrition1818

FULFILL FOOD & BEVERAGES Dr. Angela Zeng’s belief that “food is better medicine” prompted her to develop a line of great tasting, functional juices and smoothies using whole plant ingredients.

She hopes to inspire customers' awareness of the possibilities of integrative and holistic medicine. From her delicious Karuna smoothies to her Karviva ACE Sport drinks and new Karviva Unwined alcohol-free wine alternative, each beverage is inspired by ancient wisdom and backed by modern science. The company’s wellness beverages offer a vast array of product benefits ranging from restoration of digestive and immune health with prebiotics and antioxidants to delivering clean protein and providing sustained energy. The drinks can be found in local stores including Schnucks,

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In addition to nutrition, self-care is crucial for a healthy lifestyle.

JANE DISPENSARY Jane Dispensary is a medical cannabis boutique on the Delmar Loop that provides a sophisticated experience while educating the public and helping to remove the stigma of cannabis, which can be an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. Marijuana has a plethora of health benefits and particularly helps with inflammation – both in the general population and for those with inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and many more.

When aiming to reduce inflammation with cannabis, it’s imperative to choose a product with a high CBD to THC ratio as CBD is the most effective anti-inflammatory cannabinoid. Stop by the Jane storefront to speak with a cannabis consultant to find the best products to meet your needs.

6662 Delmar Blvd., University City, janedispensary.com

LONA’S LIL EATS If you enjoy Asian soul food with a flare but want to indulge in a healthy manner, Lona’s Lil Eats’ homestyle meals are light yet satisfying and keep your body fueled all day long. There are plenty of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, and customization is encouraged. Sauces – which range from sweet or savory to sour or spicy – provide full-bodied flavors, and any entree can be made into a salad if you’re trying to work May 2019 January 2022

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more veggies into your diet. Plus, everything is made fresh with no preservatives or MSG. To up your antioxidant intake, complete your meal with the vast selection of teas, from green and white to oolong and black.

2199 California Ave., St. Louis, 314.925.1888, lonaslileats.com

ROOTBERRY Instead of setting impossible goals loaded with sacrifice and compromise, how about you just “eat more plants more often?”

Rootberry is St. Louis’ new plant-powered food company that features a rotating menu of chef- and nutritionist-developed entrees, shareables and desserts that are ready to eat or heat in minutes. Get well with these restaurant-quality, nutrient dense meals such as Rootberry’s shepherd's pie, winter squash risotto, Aztec enchiladas, tikka masala and more. And, while Rootberry offers salads, they are totally unexpected like Spring Roll In A Bowl or the soy-ginger superfood salad. The best part? Rootberry is available for delivery to your home or office. Visit their website, choose what sounds good to you, select your delivery day and time, and enjoy. (No subscription required, BTW.) You can also find it in the prepared foods section in the deli of all Dierbergs Markets. Rootberry is a local company making delicious food that’s not just good for you – it’s good for the planet

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too. So don’t worry about being vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian this year – simply enjoy eating great food … that just happens to be 100% plant-based.

St. Louis, rootberry.com

SOURCE JUICERY Finding healthy options outside the city can sometimes be a challenge, but Source Juicery lets you enjoy the convenience of clean eating on the go. And with the pandemic still surging, there’s never been a better time to focus on staying healthy.

Source offers a plethora of nutritious graband-go options, from cold-pressed juice and wellness shots to nut milks, smoothies, salads and breakfast staples like oats and parfaits. Try a one- to three-day juice cleanse with the option to add meal packs or protein packs like grilled chicken and power bites. All items are gluten-free, and there are many vegan options too. Source offers an easy online ordering system with curbside pickup or contactless home delivery to the Edwardsville area. Walk-in ordering is also welcome.

228 N. Main St., Edwardsville, 618.650.9080, sourcejuicery.com

TERRABIS Terrabis is a medical cannabis dispensary in O’Fallon, Hazelwood, Creve Coeur,

Springfield and Kansas City. Did you know a research study on cannabis and physical activity was published in Frontiers in Public Health? It found that 80% of cannabis consumers mix cannabis and exercise. 78% say it increases enjoyment.

70% say it boosts recovery, and 52% say it motivates them to exercise. Healthy living and supporting an active lifestyle is everything we’re about. The name Terrabis combines the word Terra, which stands for Planet Earth, and the word Bis, which are the last three letters of their favorite plant, cannabis. Together, Terrabis stands for a healthy planet and represents their adventurous spirit. They encourage you to #ExploreMore of the outdoors, as well as their products, to live a healthier and happier life.

Multiple locations. terrabis.co @terrabis_hq

THE HEALING HAMSA When it comes to healthy lifestyles, selfcare is a vital aspect that should not fall to the wayside. The Healing Hamsa is a place where medical aesthetics meet magical experiences with treatments ranging from a variety of facials and chemical peels to microneedling and beyond. Wellness weekends, private events and couples experiences are also available, and the Healing Hamsa is extremely proud to

be inclusive and prides itself on the continuing education to serve clients of all ethnic backgrounds. In addition, the spa provides robes, cozy slippers and bottomless beverages while you wait for your treatment(s) to begin. So next time you’re needing a little extra self-care, come check out this business built on high-end experiences and an emphasis on being able to retreat and relax.

4400 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis, 314.450.8399, healinghamsa.com

THE PASTA HOUSE CO. The Pasta House Co. has long been synonymous with Italian food in St. Louis as it’s celebrating 48 years in business, but did you know the home of the golden toasted ravioli also has a variety of healthy options? From an assortment of salads and vegetable-forward dishes like eggplant parmigiano to an entire gluten-free menu, Pasta House aims to offer something for everyone. Try a family meal starting at just $29.99 and includes pasta, their famous salad, toasted ravioli and bread and butter.

At Pasta House, you can dine in, order takeout for curbside pickup, or even get delivery. For larger parties, inquire about catering options.

Multiple locations, pastahouse.com January 2022 May 2019

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e h T

Supre

opposite page: from left, terror tacos co-owner brian roash and chef and co-owner bradley roach; from top, the seitanic bbq crunchy wrap and the terror tofu crunchy wrap at terror tacos

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emes Come see about these

The Crunchwrap is a brilliant marriage of contrasts: The soft chew of flour tortilla and crunch of crisp, corn tortilla and shredded iceberg lettuce are perfectly complemented by the creaminess of refried beans and melted cheese and acidic sauce. We’ve been thrilled to see versions of this drive-thru delicacy pop up at local restaurants around town; innovations in the Crunchwrap space seem especially common at spots with robust plant-based menus, where quality ingredients and unique twists like house-made sauces make this beloved item even more special.

By M e e r a N ag a r a j a n a n d L i z W o l f s o n // p h o t o s by i z a i a h j o h n s o n January 2022

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the crunchywrap from 12oh7

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assembling 12oh7’s crunchywrap

Seoul Tac o

get it!

Fans of Seoul Taco will love their newest menu item, the munchwrap seoulpreme. A flour tortilla gets layered with creamy refried beans, spicy kimchi, jack-cheddar cheese, a crispy corn tortilla and your choice of protein (we’re partial to the tofu).

It gets folded up and griddled so that the tortilla is toasty and crisp. A side of their beloved Seoul sauce adds another layer of mild heat.

Multiple locations, seoultaco.com

T e r r o r Tac o s

The crunchy wraps at Terror Tacos are a vegan dream. They have seven options, all loaded with veggies like peppers, onions and red cabbage. We loved how saucy they were, whether topped with salsa, sour cream or guacamole. Choose the crunchy wrap that matches your personality: Maybe you’re a tofu terror with cilantro-lime tofu, black beans, fajita veggies and sour cream, or perhaps the chorizo mango with chorizo seitan, pineapple-mango salsa and cilantro rice is the one for you. Whichever wrap you order, you’re guaranteed a generous pile of crushed tortilla chips tucked inside that adds tons of crunch and texture in every bite.

12oh7

The crunchywrap from vegan pop-up 12oh7 is the choice for Crunchwrap purists, since it reminded us the most of Taco Bell. House-made vegan chorizo and spicy cheese sauce, black beans, a crispy corn tortilla, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and onion are piled high onto a flour tortilla. The whole thing then gets folded up and grilled. What really hits the fast food flavor note is the taco sauce – a crucial component – which tastes exactly like mild taco sauce poured straight from the packet.

12oh7eats.com

3191 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314.260.9996, terrortacos.com

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Medical marijuana may be a healthy alternative to other treatments

BY L AU R E N H E A LE Y

“As we all know, oftentimes medical marijuana can be a substitute for a pharmaceutical drug, many of which are not healthy for you. A lot are habitforming and have extreme side effects such as painkillers like opioids, antidepressants and all kinds of different stuff like that,” said Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Marijuana Dispensary, whose name is inspired by the Hippocratic oath taken by physicians that essentially states they will provide the best care possible.

“Physicians may have good intentions when prescribing these things, but they oftentimes end up causing long-term problems like addiction or even liver problems from taking too many pills.”

Cannabis is a healthy alternative to many of these pharmaceuticals in that it isn’t habit-forming and doesn’t have the same toxic effects as some of those prescription drugs, according to Rinella.

“In my own personal experience, cannabis really saved my life,” he said. “I had Lyme disease and was in a wheelchair.

Physicians prescribed me narcotics that

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were extremely habit-forming and had bad potential side effects like heart attack and stroke – you name it. While cannabis does have some side effects, none are nearly as frightening as the ones with pharmaceuticals. At the end of the day, the painkillers were just making me stoned and weren’t really benefiting me. I couldn’t function at a high level.”

Then, Rinella was reintroduced to cannabis. “It didn’t cure me, but it gave me the opportunity to get the rest I needed to heal, and I was able to function at a much higher level than with the painkillers, which made me wake up foggy every day,” he said. “With cannabis, I can consume it at night and wake up with a clear head.”

Cannabis is a particularly effective treatment for people who need help with pain management, as well as those with sleep disorders or anxiety; however, “there are hundreds of conditions that it treats,” Rinella said.

If you’re concerned with the possible negative effects from smoking marijuana, Rinella suggests consuming cannabis via edibles, tinctures or topicals, though he pointed out that a couple tokes of cannabis is a far cry from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. He also stressed the importance of getting your cannabis from a medical dispensary rather than the black market.

“Every piece of cannabis in our dispensary goes through rigorous testing for pesticides, heavy metals and more,” he

said. “There’s not a cigarette on the market that would pass these tests. In fact, most produce in grocery stores wouldn’t even pass. It’s about the cleanest consumable product on the market.”

Missouri is currently on track to end 2021 with over 180,000 registered patients. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has reported five consecutive months of substantial sales growth and expects more than $200 million in sales by the end of 2021.

Hippos Marijuana Dispensary recently debuted its Chesterfield Valley location at 17409-G Chesterfield Airport Road next door to Espinos Mexican Restaurant. If you’re curious about medical marijuana or would like to apply for your medical marijuana card, stop by the storefront or visit hipposcannabis.com. Qualified patients can shop in-person or online with a valid medical marijuana card. Hippos offers smoking accessories, apparel, CBD and other limited-edition items in addition to its marijuana products like flower (dried bud), edibles (like gummies and suckers), pre-rolls (aka joints), beverages, concentrates, disposable pens and tinctures. Menu is refreshed weekly.

This advertisement is intended only for Missouri medical marijuana patients.

Medical decisions should not be made based on advertising. Consult a physician on the benefits and risks of particular medical marijuana products.

January 2022

PHOTO COURTESY OF HIPPOS

When choosing the best medication for your particular ailment, you may be wondering if the pills you were prescribed are truly your best treatment plan or if a more natural option like medical marijuana could help. Never be afraid to get a second opinion. While there are many sicknesses that absolutely need certain pharmaceutical treatments, other maladies could possibly be better managed and/or treated with cannabis.

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L A S T B I T E // W H AT I D O

from left, find your farmer co-founder spencer stewart and ceo noah offenkrantz

NOAH OFFENKRANTZ CEO, FIND YOUR FARMER

Find Your Farmer is an online grocery store and delivery service sourcing products from local, ethical farms and artisans. CEO Noah Offenkrantz has a sense of humor about his lofty job title: “It’s kind of a fake title, to be completely honest,” he said, laughing. “I wear a lot of hats, and I go by CEO primarily because I’m the main one kind of directing the trajectory of the company, where we’re heading and what vision we’re striving for.” Here, Offenkrantz details what that vision entails and his many hats at Find Your Farmer. – Liz Wolfson

“Our basic premise is: People order through our platform, the farms

“We have a delivery day, which is Wednesday, and people order throughout

the week up until Monday at noon. Then we send out basically all of our orders to farms and artisans, they deliver to our facility on Tuesday, and we sort everything into insulated cooler bags and be the last mile of delivery.”

“On a week-to-week basis, I have a lot of different responsibilities.

I’m the one that’s communicating with different farms and artisans, basically figuring out what products they have on a weekly basis, which products are no longer available and then updating the site accordingly.”

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“I do all the pictures and descriptions for the site and help

with the website design. I do the social media outreach. I do on-boarding of new vendors, finding different farms and artisans that match what we’re looking for in people, which is sustainability, being local, having extremely strong commitment to quality, having just awesome, delicious products.”

“On a weekly basis, I’m also sorting produce and doing the last mile delivery, cleaning our bags and cleaning

our facility alongside Spencer Stewart, one of the other co-founders. All the outreach to different publications and different organic marketing; we go door-to-door.”

“Every week we’re onboarding one to two new vendors, building out our

products on our site. I’m really excited, we’re going to have Katie’s Pizza on the site soon, and we’re going to have Hungry Planet.”

“There are a lot of different definitions of local. Some people

have defined a local food shed as 150 miles, some people define it as 300 miles. We try to source everything from within Missouri and Illinois, except for when it’s not available, and then we’ll look elsewhere.”

“We definitely are looking for sustainability in our farmers. But

the big thing for us is really transparency and trying to ensure that the people of St. Louis really know how their food is being produced.”

“I think it’s just so crazy that we continue to rely on this grocery store model where you just have no idea

where the produce is coming from, you have no idea who is the person behind it, you have no idea of the practices that were used.”

“I love the people on both sides. I

love working with farmers and artisans. It’s really a partnership, because we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if they weren’t there. And obviously, we’re helping to move their products a little bit. And I love that dynamic. I love reaching out to new people and developing our sourcing strategy.”

“I also love the customers. We have

just the absolutely the best customer base. … I just love delivering to someone and seeing them at the door.”

January 2022

PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA HAROLD

and artisans deliver to us, and then we deliver it to different households in St. Louis.”

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L A S T B I T E // L A N D M A R K

THE PICCADILLY AT MANHATTAN ADAM ROTHBARTH

this page, from top: piccadilly at manhattan; from left, maggie collida, nick collida and molly cooper; opposite page: the chicken pot pie at the piccadilly at manhattan

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So, you wouldn’t know from looking at The Piccadilly at Manhattan that the Collida family is in its fourth generation of ownership. The building might not tell you that they likely took it over in the 1920s, and that Nick is actually unclear about exactly how or when his grandfather bought the restaurant. And you definitely wouldn’t know about the stories Nick’s heard about the restaurant being involved in the bootleg whiskey game during Prohibition. No, it just looks like a nice restaurant that serves good food.

January 2022

PHOTOS BY DAVID KOVALUK

When we talk about restaurants that have been around for a long time, menus that have never changed, customers that have been visiting for half a century, it all starts to seem like an eternal party. But we rarely hear about owners’ monumental efforts to keep those institutions’ infrastructures not only functional but also looking good. “This building is from 1901, and when we took it over, it was in poor repair,” said Nick Collida, who co-owns The Piccadilly at Manhattan alongside his wife, Maggie Collida, and his daughter, Molly Cooper. “Everything was kind of run down. The electric was old, the plumbing was old. Everything was old.” They went all-in on a renovation in the mid-’00s that included new drywall, windows, floors and pretty much everything else in between.

“My joke is – if it’s even a joke – is that the restaurant was good for 100 years, and now it’s good for another 100,” Nick said. “We’re in good shape.”

And that’s perfectly fine, because people love the food. “Probably, it’s best described as classic American comfort food,” Molly explained.

“Potpies, meatloaf, fried chicken … things like grandma used to make.”

Specials include smoked spare ribs and pot roast, while the customer favorites are the fried fish sandwich and the chicken potpie. But her parents love the chicken and the burger. “My dad is a fried chicken lover. He always says that would be his last meal,” she said, laughing.

“My mom, she’s been addicted to the cheeseburgers. They’re really simple, classic smashburgers, but they’re just so good.”

At The Piccadilly at Manhattan, the walls may get updated and the floors might be new, but some things never change. “Customers can’t move on from the things they love,” Molly said, pointing out that some patrons are so devoted to their favorite dishes that, year after year, they never order anything else. “You know what you’re craving, and that’s why you’re coming here,” she said. For her, the restaurant’s longevity is about continuity more than anything; and for the Collida family, that continuity comes in staying attentive and remaining part of the community.

“Myself and my husband, we live in the neighborhood. My parents live in the neighborhood. We take care of the restaurant like a business, but we also take care of it like it’s our home.”

For a family that’s been there almost a century, it pretty much is.

7201 Piccadilly Ave., St. Louis, 314.646.0016, thepiccadilly.com January 2022

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