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the cabbage sal ad at indo, p. 34

DOPE SAL ADS October I SAUCE S T.2021 L O U I S ’ I N D E P E N D E N T C U L I N A R Y A U T H O R I T Y // S A U C E M A G A Z I N E . C O M //saucemagazine.com FR E E, OCTO B E RMAGAZINE 2 0 21 I 1

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OCTOBER 2021 • VOLUME 21, ISSUE 8 Allyson Mace Air hockey Meera Nagarajan Liz Wolfson Lauren Healey Adam Rothbarth Julie Cohen Shuffleboard. Or, if they have it, NBA Jam. Meera Nagarajan Michelle Volansky Julie Cohen, Meena Viswanathan Darts!

Heather Hughes Huff Jonathan Gayman, Virginia Harold, Izaiah Johnson, David Kovaluk, Meera Nagarajan, Adam Rothbarth, Carmen Troesser, All that games Michelle Volansky that were CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Meera Nagarajan, Michael Renner, in my dad’s bar, including Adam Rothbarth, Carmen Troesser, the original, Meena Viswanathan, Michelle Volansky, frustratingly slow Liz Wolfson Pong.

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Allyson Mace ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Angie Rosenberg EVENTS COORDINATOR Amy Hyde LISTINGS EDITOR Amy Hyde Capcom Bowling — I INTERNS Blakely Gibeaut, Lilley Holloran, Rin Hubbard, used to play on a bar Moriah Lotsoff, Ellie Margulis, Natalie league, and I’m not too shabby!

Mechem, Nick Messina, Emily Talkow PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR DIGITAL EDITOR STAFF WRITER EDIBLE WEEKEND EDITOR ART DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER CONTRIBUTING EDITORS COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

What’s your favorite bar game?

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St. Louis, MO 63103 October 2021

contents O C TO B E R 2 02 1

editors' picks

features

9 EAT THIS

24

Steamed veggie dumplings at Thai 202

WELCOME TO FERRYLAND by carmen troesser

by meera nagarajan

34

10 THE LIGHT STUFF

Six restaurants where you can reliably find an excellent salad, no matter the season. by adam rothbarth

Piquette isn’t wine, but you can find the tart, low-ABV beverage in wine shops and even some restaurants’ wine lists.

by adam rothbarth 15 11 REASONS WE LOVE PINK GALLEON BILLIARDS AND GAMES by michelle volansky

DOPE SALADS

COVER DETAILS (MORE) DOPE SALADS Learn what makes Indo’s cabbage salad so dope at p. 34.

PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

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

43

MEZCAL MOMENT by adam rothbarth

Smokin’ Jacket at Bait, p. 43

review 17 TASTE OF PERSIA by michael renner

last bite 48 WHAT I DO Dr. Harley Hammerman of Lost Tables and Lost Dishes

by liz wolfson 50 LANDMARK Yen Ching

PHOTO BY DAVID KOVALUK

by adam rothbarth 54 STUFF TO DO by meena viswanathan

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Eat This The steamed veggie dumplings at Thai 202 are like little gifts. Minced cabbage, mushroom, carrot and herbs are folded inside chewy dough and steamed.

The results are pillowy, doughnut-shaped dumplings dressed with a little sesame oil, crispy fried garlic and chopped scallions. The final flourish is a rich and savory black soy sauce vinaigrette spiked with chiles that’s served alongside.

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

PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

Thai 202, 235 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.367.2002, Facebook: Thai 202

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

the light stuff b y A d a m R o t h b a r t h // p h o t o b y j o n at h a n g ay m a n

Made from the skins and other material left over from pressing grapes for wine, piquette is usually lighter and more tart than wine with lower alcohol content and a bit of fizz. Though not technically wine, piquettes are often found in wine shops and even on some restaurants’ wine lists. They’re a bit controversial: Some wine experts have called them the next White Claw, while others find them overhyped.

But most agree that piquettes are baller with pizza, spicy food, light snacks and salads. Plus, since they’re low-ABV, they’re perfectly sessionable. So whether you’re chilling in the park, cozying up by the fire or just jamming something easy while cooking dinner, piquette is the right choice. You can always get to the heavier stuff later.

Here are a few bottles (and a can) that you can pick up.

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Old Westminster Winery – Take it Easy Even if you’re like The Dude in The Big Lebowski and “hate the fuckin’ Eagles,” you’ll probably love this bottle named after one of their most chill hits.

Combining chambourcin rosé, piquette blanc and piquette rouge, this funky, pleasant bottle fulfills its promise by encouraging you to take it easy.

Cork & Rind, 555 First Capitol Drive, St. Charles, 636.896.4404, corkandrind.com

Old Westminster Winery – Skin Contact Piquette

Troon Vineyard Piquette Methode Ancestrale This fresh, fun and fruity piquette is made using the traditional method for producing sparkling wine, meaning it’s bottled before its fermentation is done. At a recent dinner party, it was a serious crowd-pleaser.

The Wine and Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.447.9463, wineandcheeseplace.com

Field Recordings – Tang

This canned piquette from Old Westminster is a little sour in the best way with notes of raspberry and plum. Plus, it’s portable.

Field Recordings’ sparkling wines are generally next level, and Tang, a sparkling piquette, is one of their best. Chenin blanc, Albariño and pinot gris grapes blend for an airy, citrusy, melon-tinged beverage that will bowl you over every time.

Cork & Rind

The Wine and Cheese Place

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

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11 REASONS WE LOVE

PINK

GALLEON BILLIARDS AND GAMES

What if Pirates of the Caribbean was a Miami Vice nightclub?

What if you took a hit of acid and went to a beachside dive bar in Cocoa Beach, Florida?

What if an airbrushed T-shirt was a physical place?

The possible analogies are endless and still, you cannot possibly overstate just how wild it is inside the Pink Galleon in Creve Coeur. by October 2021

michelle

volansky

//

photos

by

david

kovaluk

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

1 The space is a feast for the eyes with rock-nroll artist Rick “Fitz” Fitzpatrick’s hand-painted pirate- and mermaid-themed murals as far as the eye can see.

2 Pink pool tables!

3 $10 domestic pitchers served with frosty mugs; October 2021

or get them for $8 during happy hour, 4 to 7 p.m.

Monday to Friday and all day Sunday.

4 Take this as a compliment or a warning: Pink Galleon is a smoker’s paradise. You can even find ashtrays in the bathrooms.

eight ball in its mouth.

Really.

6 Get 10 or more friends together for the Famous $8 Party Package. $8 per person gets you unlimited free pool, table tennis, darts, a round of drinks and a nacho bar.

5

7

The gigantic, 20 foot shark suspended from the ceiling, clutching an

Put your name on the list two doors down at Wudon BBQ Korean

Restaurant and pass the time peoplewatching with a pitcher of beer; it’s a perfect Saturday night combo.

8 Pool is free all night on Mondays and Wednesdays.

9 In what can only be described as an art installation, a lifesize flock of seagulls dot

the ceiling overhead.

10 We prefer to celebrate our shuffleboard wins with hot baskets of crispy onion rings. The kitchen serves a long list

of bar food’s greatest hits until midnight Monday through Saturday and until 10:30 p.m. on Sundays.

11 Take home a strip from the classic photo

booth as a souvenir. For only $3, who could resist?

Pink Galleon Billiards and Games, 1243 Castillons Arcade Plaza, Creve Coeur, 314.514.0100, pinkgalleon.com

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review Sauce reviews are conducted anonymously.

taste of persia

BY MICHAEL RENNER // PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA HAROLD

From educated professional to dishwasher to successful restaurateur: It’s a familiar story for many emigres who have fled their countries of origin due to war, oppressive regimes, dangerous political situations, or just to start over in new a country. And it never ceases to amaze.

Mohammad and Sofiya Abdolrezagh

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TASTE OF PERSIA p. 2 of 4

Mohammad and Sofiya Abdolrezagh opened Taste of Persia in 2019 amid South Grand Boulevard’s stretch of multicultural eateries. The couple’s journey began in two different countries that they left a decade apart, before they met in Russia, fell in love, married and eventually settled in St. Louis.

Mohammad, a slender, energetic man of 64, fled Tehran for Vancouver in 1985, leaving behind a bloody war between Iran and Iraq. In Iran, he was an electrical engineer for a gas and pipeline company, but with professional opportunities nonexistent in Vancouver, he got a job as a dishwasher in a Persian restaurant. Six months later, he owned half the buisness.

“I learned very fast,” he explained. That education put him on track to own restaurants for the next 36 years.

Fast forward to around 1998.

Mohammad had moved to Moscow where he managed the Russian end of his brother’s trading company.

Sofiya was there too, living with her family as illegal refugees after escaping Afghanistan’s civil war; they had left in 1995, one year before the Taliban took control of Kabul the first time. With her brother serving as a general in the Afghan military and Sofiya attending university and working as a journalist, she knew their lives were in jeopardy.

“If they saw us, they would kill us,” she said. “When I heard they were coming, at 2 o’clock in the morning, my sisters, my brothers, we leave everything, all our life… Oh my God, it was too much havoc.”

Clockwise from top: naan, aash, gormeh sabzi and kashke bademjan

Mohammad and Sofiya Abdolrezagh

Sofiya never thought she’d see the Taliban regain control of Kabul. “I’m scared really bad for the people there,” she said. Fortunately, she no longer has any family living in Afghanistan. “I’ve never been back, even when my friends wanted me to visit.”

have no choice, we should go together.’ We landed in New York and after a couple days they sent us to St. Louis because she had a brother here.”

She and her family lived in Moscow for 12 years and were never accepted as “official” refugees by the Russian government. Mohammad recalled: “Five years of applying through the U.N., she said she was finally approved to move to the U.S., [and asked me] ‘So, what you want to do?’ I said, ‘I

Three months later, he had his own restaurant, Grand Mediterranean Kabob Cafe. After that, around 2008, the Abdolrezaghs bought Hot and Sour in Chesterfield, a popular Chinese eatery where he added Persian and Indian dishes to the menu. But the grind took its toll on the couple, and they sold five years later. “That was too much, basically seven days a week, morning and night. We were burned out,” he said.

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He drove a cab for St. Louis County Cab, sometimes 18 hours a day, before deciding to get back into the restaurant business. After working out a deal with the owner of Baida Moroccan Restaurant (now Terror Tacos) to enclose part of the building’s space, Abdolrezagh did his own renovations to open Taste of Persia in April 2019. A year later, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the restaurant industry.

“The beginning was great. After the pandemic hit, business dropped, but we just continue,” he said.

With business picking up, he knows the restaurant will be back to pre-pandemic levels. “Most people, October 2021

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NEW AND NOTABLE p. 3 of 4

they don’t know about Persian food until they try it. When they try, they come back, back, back, and they bring lots of people,” he said with a smile.

It’s that smile and graciousness that makes Mohammad’s front-of-house style as appealing as the homestyle cooking he and Sofiya dish out from the cramped kitchen. The menu combines Iranian recipes – some from Mohammad’s mother, others from his previous Persian restaurant experiences – with a few Afghan dishes, courtesy of Sofiya, like qabeli rice, sheer berenj (rice pudding), and the country’s national dish, lamb shank (qabeli pilau). Like her husband, she had no cooking or restaurant experience when she left her country. “I learned cooking by watching my mom.

She was the best cook in my family. Oh my God, she made everything perfect and amazing,” Sofiya recalled.

Taste of Persia sticks to the basics. You can’t go wrong with hummus as an appetizer, but start with a bowl of aash, a rich, thick soup packed with noodles, garbanzo beans, lentils, spices, dried mint and yogurt for a touch of creaminess.

What was delicious in summer will become comforting when winter arrives.

Shirazi salad, though, was the perfect summer dish to cleanse the palate: a bright, fresh, crunchy combination of onion, cucumber and tomato in an oilfree house dressing. If you’re going to eat naan, you may as well have it with an order of kashke bademjan, a warm eggplant dip topped with thick stripes of yogurt and a hint of cumin that I liked better than any baba ghanoush.

Upon Mohammad’s recommendation, I can now also recommend the deliciously savory ghormeh sabzi, composed of slow-cooked beef, kidney beans, spinach and several green herbs. What the menu didn’t convey was the addition of house-preserved lemons and barberries (a pomegranate-like fruit), both adding unexpected zingy sour notes, balancing the stew’s richness.

Of course, there are kebabs. Lamb, ground beef, beef tenderloin, chicken: Mohammad Abdolrezagh has

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Chicken tikka masala

taste of persia Falafel

Where 3189 ½ S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314.349.1315, tasteofpersia. business.site Don’t-Miss Dishes Aash, kashke bademjan, gormeh sabzi, any kebab

practically built his restaurant career on skewered grilled meat. As you would expect, they are top sellers at Taste of Persia. Marinated for 24 hours in lemon juice, garlic and pepper, any of them are a great choice, but splurge on one of the king platters for the best variety: four juicy kebabs accompanied by grilled tomatoes and basmati rice simply dressed with butter and saffron (qabeli, biryani and zereshk rice options are worth the upcharge).

Like many Middle Eastern restaurants, Taste of Persia serves a taste of India, which may seem like a strange intersection. But Abdolrezagh said he’s always had Indian food on his menus because “Americans love it, and they are bestsellers – amazing.” Here, butter

chicken and chicken tikka masala are popular, with the former marinated in ginger, garlic and curry spices and simmered in a creamy tomato and butter sauce for a mildly sweet flavor.

Taste of Persia is a true family operation, with Sofiya and Mohammad cooking; their son, Ahmad Abdolrezagh, assisting where needed; and their daughter, Ghazaleah Abdolrezagh, handling all the management, financial, marketing and social media aspects of the business.

Mohammad, always the restaurateur, aims for a bigger place, one with a much larger kitchen. In the meantime, back in the small kitchen, there are kebabs to grill and meat to marinate for the next day.

Vibe Simply decorated, relaxed and cozy dining room with inside seating for about 40, plus sidewalk dining, weather permitting Entree Prices $16 to $43 When Tue. to Thu. – 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun. – 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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PARTNER CONTENT

HOW B EING HAPPY AN D TAKING NAM ES CAN ARTFU LLY WORK HAN D IN HAN D

BY J U L I E CO H E N

A S K ANYO N E : C H E F P ETE R S L AY I S TH E HAP P I E ST MAN I N H I S KITC H E N .

AC TUALLY, H E J U ST M I G HT B E TH E HAP P I E ST G U Y I N ALL O F FO U R S E A SO N S H OTE L ST. LO U I S .

think about that and how I don't want my cooks to ever feel that way."

To keep both his energy and his positivity high, Slay works out every morning and eats clean. With his busy schedule, in order to do so, he meal preps in advance and avoids refined carbs. One thing he will never skimp on, though, is spice. "If I'm not sweating, it's not good," he said.

You might say, “Sure, he just got a huge promotion, moving from his role as sous chef at Cinder House to chef de cuisine.” But no; Peter Slay's happiness is a hard-earned art form, and nothing about it is on accident.

As for changes happening on Cinder House's menu, Slay is only making small tweaks here and there since he and Consulting Chef Gerard Craft redid the menu just last year. "I'm a firm believ-er in if it's not broke, don't fix it," he said.

As the chef de cuisine of Cinder House, Chef Slay's daily mission is for everyone to think he is the happiest man in the room, for like any great leader, he knows happiness and satisfaction starts at the top.

When Slay does make changes though, he loves to look to old cookbooks from South America and then add his own creating spins. Some such dishes that exemplify this is Cinder House's jumbo scallops, served with a Peruvian huancaína sauce and coconut quinoa granola, and the Portuguese orange piri chicken, which is topped with a spicy orange glaze and served on Brazili-an style manioc polenta.

Being chef de cuisine for a luxury hotel is more than just cooking for the restaurant. Chef de cui-sine means also overseeing room service. And bar service. And pool service. And the spa cafe. And don't forget the private parties and events. It's a big job for Chef Slay, but it's also a big job for his staff, and that he understands.

One reason this is so important to Slay is that he has personally experienced both negative and positive restaurant environments.

While learning and improving can happen anywhere, he feels pretty confident a positive and encouraging environment is the way to go.

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Before starting at Cinder House as sous chef in 2018, Slay spent years working in various kitch-ens settings — from barbecue to catering to worldrenowned fine dining. Locally, in his early days, Slay was mentored by Chefs Kevin Nashan, Josh Galliano and Cary McDowell before moving to New

York City to work within celebrity chef Daniel Boulud's restaurant empire at some of his restaurants in New York and Boston.

As for the future of Cinder House and the rest of the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis eating and drinking entities, with Peter Slay steering and Gerard Craft overseeing, it looks like only great things are on the horizon.

While some of the kitchens were incredible, at some, Slay admits, "I was terrified to go to work some days. I

"I'm very ambitious right now," said Slay.

"I want Cinder House to be the best restaurant in town."

October 2021

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS ST. LOUIS

“Chef Craft has always encouraged creativity in menu development," Slay said. "And I plan to continue that tradition, encouraging our entire team to contribute."

Slay also understands how hard the last 18 months have been on all of us, but restaurant workers in particular. This gives him even more reason to maintain a positive attitude and for that energy to carry itself into the working environment for everyone on staff.

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Welcome to

Ferryland

story and photos by carmen troesser

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Opposte page: The Brussels Ferry makes its way across the Illinois River between Calhoun and Jersey Counties.

A seafood boil is whisked to a table at Grafton Oyster Bar. October 2021

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have just enough space to appreciate the other’s special qualities but recognize their differences. Calhoun County is the older of the two; established in 1825, she’s a tad shy and enjoys watching the world from her antique wavy glass windows.

Surrounded by water on three sides, she’s breathtakingly beautiful and well aware of her unique features. Her five municipalities – Hardin, Kampsville, Batchtown, Brussels and Hamburg – are connected by narrow roads that don’t quite welcome hoards of travelers with wide thoroughfares but reward with vistas that rival Tuscany in the fall. It’s a place to get lost and wander down farmers’ driveways to ask directions. When you finally do reach the end of the road, it likely ends at the water’s edge where you’ll wait for the ferry to take you away.

From Calhoun, the Brussels Ferry introduces you to younger and more energetic Jersey County and her most lively attribute, Grafton. After a tranquil day on the quiet side of river, she can be a bit of a shock but is welcoming nonetheless.

She’s vivacious, unapologetic and not ashamed of how much she wants you there. The mile-long stretch along Route 100 pulls you in to eat, sleep or party until there’s no hint of crickets ringing in your ears. But Jersey Co. also knows that it takes more than a party to bring people in, so she takes cues from her older sibling and has her own quiet hamlets, back roads and orchards. You may need to fight some crowds sometimes, but that’s how she likes it. ith fall’s arrival comes a yen for gourds, the rustle of dried corn stalks, and bucolic spots to admire the changing foliage and soak in the sun’s shortened rays. Illinois’ Calhoun and Jersey Counties, located just an hour from downtown St. Louis, make for ideal autumn day trip destinations. From the moment

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you pull onto the ferry, roll the windows down and shut off your car engine, your worries are left on the shore; you’re weightless and drifting. There’s nothing to do but take in the views, which are especially beautiful if you’re lucky enough to catch the ferry at sunset. The road ahead calls, but here between

the riverbanks, for just a few minutes, time stands still. When the ferry docks, you’re deposited into a world of farm stands, rolling riverside landscapes and roadside eateries.

Divided by the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers, the two counties are like sisters who

So, to visit only one of these riverside counties is perfectly fine. But by floating back and forth between them, you’ll get to know two areas that are genetically similar but whose personalities differ and complement each other in the best of ways – although they’d never admit it.

October 2021

Opposite page: Apples are ready for picking at Eckert’s Family Farm.

This page, clockwise from top: Beasley Fish in Grafton serves up fresh, river-caught buffalo fish and catfish.

The village of Elsah, tucked into the limestone cliffs on the River Road between Grafton and Alton, was the first village in the U.S. to be listed in its entirety on the National Register of Historic Places. Inns, shops and historic attractions line the streets of this former riverboat stop. The Green Tree Inn provides the perfect place to rest. Co-owner Connie Davis cooks up treats to her guests’ tastes and dietary guidelines, while her husband, Gary, entertains with his knowledge and humorous takes on Elsah and surrounding areas.

Fresh-picked plums are set out at Odelehr’s Roadside Market in Brussels.

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Clockwise, from top: The Historic Wittmond Hotel in Brussels was established as a stage coach stop in 1847 by Conrad Wittmond. The hotel is popular with roadtrippers like these bikers being photographed by Kate Burch, Wittmond’s great-granddaughter who occasionally helps out at the family business. Meals at the hotel are served family style, and in the autumn, reservations are recommended. // Pears are in season at Odelehr’s Roadside Market in Brussels. // Brad Hagen, far right, the owner of the The Grafton Oyster Bar, boils up shrimp, corn and crab legs at his Cajun-Creole restaurant, which floats on the Mississippi River in the Grafton marina. Fresh Blue Point oysters can be enjoyed on a bar overlooking the water. // Long-time employee Kathy Arnold of Jerseyville has many hands on deck, with four of her children working alongside her at the restaurant. // Oysters at The Grafton Oyster Bar. // Opposite page: A seafood boil at The Grafton Oyster Bar.

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Opposite page: Calhoun County’s vistas turn golden in the fall, with drifting white clouds continuously changing the layers of the rolling landscape.

This page, clockwise from bottom left: Jane and Fred Herter’s barn is graced with one of almost 90 “barn quilts” – enormous, colorful paintings of quilt blocks that can be viewed from a distance – in Calhoun County. Jane served on the committee that started the project in 2008, whose objective was to promote agrotourism in the county without sacrificing its natural beauty, in which residents take great pride. Jane described the experience of riding the ferry to Calhoun: “You literally feel that whatever’s on your mind sinks into the river when you float across. You’re passive in a way that it’s impossible to be anywhere else. It’s nice to be carried that way once in a while.”

Ethan Mackenberg, 9, hunts for freshwater mussels along the Illinois River in Hardin.

Pumpkins abound at Odelehr’s Roadside Market in Brussels.

Getting there:

Three ferries service Calhoun and Jersey Counties: the Brussels Ferry, which travels between the town of Grafton and Calhoun County; the Golden Eagle Ferry, which travels between St. Charles and the town of Golden Eagle in Calhoun County; and the seasonal Grafton Ferry, which travels between St. Charles and Grafton during the spring and summer months.

Brussels Ferry 16211 State Highway 100 W, Grafton, 618.786.3636, Facebook: Brussels Ferry

Golden Eagle Ferry Ferry Road, 618.535.5759, Facebook: Calhoun Ferry Company

Grafton Ferry Route 100, Grafton, 800.258.6645

Grafton Oyster Bar 215 Water St., Grafton, 618.786.3000, graftonoysterbar.com

Eckert’s Grafton Farm 20995 Eckert Orchard Road, Grafton, 800. 745.0513, eckerts.com/grafton-farm

The Green Tree Inn of Elsah 15 Mill St., Elsah, 618.374.2821, greentreeinnelsah.com

Odelehr’s Roadside Market Illinois River Road, Brussels, 618.883.2265, Facebook: Odelehr’s Roadside Market

Historic Wittmond Hotel 166 E. Main St., Brussels, 618.883.2345, Facebook: Wittmond Hotel

Self-Guided Tour of Calhoun County Barn Quilt Trail samg.bz/BarnQuiltTrail

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PARTNER CONTENT

Stop and smell the flower Follow all your senses to choose the perfect medical marijuana strain

BY L AU R E N H E A LE Y

like the way a strain smells, it’s probably not the best option for you,” said Laura “Lobo” Conley, general manager of Swade’s Delmar Loop location. “Strains higher in citrusy scents are going to provide more energizing effects while the diesel scents are more calming.”

“A lot of people base their decisions on THC potency, but this is a flawed and outdated way of looking at this plant,” explained Morgan McGoverncultivation manager at the Sinse Cannabis production facility on Cherokee Street. “People sometimes get tripped up because they’ll see a strain with 15% THC that looks and smells phenomenal, but they’ll choose a different strain that doesn’t look or smell as good because it has a higher THC percentage. People on the THC chase end up missing out on this entire world of cannabis. The strains I underestimate are usually the ones I end up liking the most.”

Unlike many dispensaries, Swade provides terpene data for each strain in order of dominance, and the experts at each dispensary can help you determine which terpene profiles will best suit you. At each location’s bud bar, you can view the cannabis under bright lights, read about its cannabinoid and terpene content, and smell the flower to determine what appeals to your senses.

While the THC content does play a part in the way a strain makes you feel, the effects are more determined by terpenes, which are scent molecules found in cannabis, as well as other plants.

Swade dispensary with five locations across the St. Louis area, currently offers over 30 strains of Sinse cannabis, each with unique terpene profiles.

“Aromas that are pleasing to your palate tend to provide the optimal effects you’re looking for; if you don’t

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Swade also has mastered a highly involved harvesting process to perfectly preserve the terpenes, as well as coveted cannabinoids like THC and CBD. “In order to maximize the preservation of terpenes, it’s crucial to have the exact right amount of dryness when harvesting,” McGovern said. “If you dry too quickly, you get that hay smell where it doesn’t smell like cannabis anymore. And if you take too long to dry, you get that mildew-y, wet dog smell. There’s a sweet spot to dry just fast enough, but it’s a fine line maintaining that terpene profile.”

At the Sinse cultivation facilities, once plants are cut down, they are hung up to dry as whole plants, rather than cut into individual branches, allowing

for the highest quality buds possible.

“Missouri is very humid, so you have to watch it carefully. If it takes too long to dry, you risk it molding,” McGovern said. “In our curing room, we keep it around 60% humidity and 65 degrees.

Plants should take about 14 days to be at optimal dryness. We’ve definitely got the harvesting process down to a science.”

For more information, visit swadecannabis.com.

This advertisement is intended only for Missouri medical marijuana patients.

Swade Dispensary Locations THE GROVE 4108 Manchester Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110 DELMAR LOOP 6166 Delmar Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63112

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS ST. LOUIS

When selecting the best strain of medical marijuana flower to meet your needs, there are several factors at play.

THC content has long been considered of paramount importance; however, the terpene profile should perhaps be of even more significant consideration.

CHEROKEE STREET 2316 Cherokee Street St. Louis, MO 63118 ST. PETERS 146 Jungermann Road St. Peters, MO 63376 ELLISVILLE 16075 Manchester Road Ellisville, MO 63011

October 2021

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dope

(more)

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saLads While researching our first Dope Salads list in 2019, we learned that restaurants’ salad selections can be unpredictable. Whether it’s because of the availability of transient produce like gorgeous tomatoes or ultra-fresh asparagus or because of the whimsicality of a chef who loves to change it up, sometimes menus change unexpectedly.

Here are six places where you can reliably find an excellent salad, no matter the season.

BY ADAM ROTHBARTH // PHOTOS BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

October 2021

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Indo

There are a lot of reasons to go to Indo – basically every menu item is a reason.

Among the best of them is the cabbage salad, which is funky, sweet and savory at the same time. With tamarind dressing and candied peanuts, it brings an encompassing flavor that will make you temporarily forget your imminent sushi feast. Indo occasionally offers seasonal salads, like a sugar snap pea salad with sweet soy vinaigrette, but the cabbage salad is immutable.

Tree House

It doesn’t matter whether you like Brussels sprouts; here, they’re the irresistibly crispy star of an exceptional starter. Mingling with red and green cabbage, shallot and herbs, the Brussels dance in a sea of crunchy bitterness that finds perfect balance with the dish’s jalapeno-sweet chile vinaigrette. Keep the spoon handy, because you’ll be scooping up every last drop from the bowl.

The Lucky Accomplice

At some restaurants, you’ll find a great salad that checks all the boxes; at The Lucky Accomplice, you might sit down for a meal and end up asking, “What even is a salad, really?” An heirloom tomato with tomato dashi dish left us moderately sure we’d eaten a salad; the marinated green tomato and turnip with dill and ricotta, not so much. They’ve also featured a deconstructed version of a Caesar salad with bonito and anchovy that took us for a ride. Whatever they’re experimenting with when you visit, you’ll be glad you tried it.

Continued on p. 38.

October 2021

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Winslow’s Table

Winslow’s Table’s salad situation is very tight. As a seasonal, farm-to-tablestyle restaurant, their menu changes frequently, but they nearly always have a grain salad with marinated wheat berries, fresh veggies and a vegan herb pesto, as well as some kind of seasonal salad; whether it’s heirloom tomatoes or green beans, it’s always delicious. Like any good veggie-forward restaurant, Winslow’s dressings – usually vinaigrettes – are spectacular. We can’t guarantee what you’ll find there, but we can say it’ll probably be great.

Knead Bakehouse and Provisions

Knead is a perennial office favorite, and for good reason – their salad options change so frequently that we can barely keep up. One week it may be asparagus and greens, the next a Lyonnaise tribute. A recent bacon and roasted onion salad with crunchy rosemary buckwheat and tangy Bakehouse dressing blew us away. Knead may be known for its incredible bread and doughnuts and dependable cafe sandwiches, but salads are the sleeper heroes of the savory menu.

Noto

Noto’s staple salads are dependable – and dependably stellar. The Noto house salad features mixed greens, artichokes, peppers, olives, pecorino and creamy Italian dressing. It’s divine. You can fill up on bread before dinner, but we’ll eat a whole house salad as an appetizer and then reach for the other standards.

Noto’s seasonal salads are just as great; a recent citrus salad with arugula, radicchio, blood orange, grapefruit, pistachio, ricotta salata and honey vinaigrette was the sour-bitter-bright starter of our dreams (which are in Italian, of course).

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Winslow’s Table 7213 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314.725.7559, winslowstable.com Knead Bakehouse and Provisions 3467 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 314.376.4361, kneadbakehouse.com Indo 1641D Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.899.9333, indo-stl.com Tree House 3177 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314.696.2100, treehousestl.com The Lucky Accomplice 2501 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314.354.6100, theluckyaccomplice.com

October 2021

Noto 5105 Westwood Drive, St. Peters, 636.317.1143, notopizza.com

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October 2021

cal

mez

moment

Smokin’ Jacket at Bait

BY ADAM October 2021

ROTHBARTH

//

PHOTOS

BY

DAV I D

KOVA L U K saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 43

Tequila's beloved sister spirit, mezcal, has been slowly entering the chat at local restaurants and bars to great success over the past decade or so. While tequila is made from agave steamed in ovens, mezcal is roasted in pits, giving it a smokier, earthier flavor. Because of its complexity, mezcal can be super versatile, adding depth to any cocktail it touches; it tends to flourish most alongside citrus, sweet and spicy components.

Whether it’s the star of a drink, part of a split-base cocktail or sipped neat, mezcal is a rich spirit worth exploring. And there’s plenty of it to try.

Some might trace mezcal’s rise in popularity in the United States to 2007, when bartender Phil Ward debuted the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned, which combined tequila, mezcal, agave nectar, Angostura bitters and orange peel, at New York City cocktail mecca Death & Co. “Nobody had thought to cast it in a supporting role until Phil – and this opened the gates to countless exciting, more evenly balanced recipes,” the bar’s book, Death & Co: Classic Modern Cocktails, explains.

Planter’s House co-owner Ted Kilgore corraborated Ward’s role in popularizing mezcal with American bartenders, pointing out that after inventing the drink, Ward went on to open New York’s first agave-specific

Mezcal cocktails to try

cocktail bar, Mayahuel. If you’re interested in Ward’s creation and haven’t tried one, look for it on the menu at Planter’s House; a version made with mole bitters is also available at Taste.

“Demand for mezcal and tequila are going up and up and up,” said Randi Kranz, bartender at Mission Taco Joint. She said that people are increasingly interested in trying mezcal, both in cocktails and neat. “We seem to get a lot of people that are at the dipping-their-toe-in stage when they’re sitting at the bar. Eventually, they become regulars,” she observed.

Kranz has noticed even in liquor stores that mezcal has become more popular, with many more options now available than there were five or six years ago.

“I send everyone to the Wine and Cheese Place on Forsyth in Clayton,” which has great prices and over 20 brands available, she said. But you can find mezcal in most liquor stores and bottle shops, from Intoxicology and Clayton Winehouse to Randall’s Wines & Spirits and Cork & Rind.

There are a lot of varieties of mezcal, and they all lend different flavors to cocktails. “I tend to enjoy

agave nectar, sal de gusano 25 The Boulevard, Richmond Heights, 314.297.7207, mezcalerialaschupacabres.com

James and the Spicy Peach | Frazer’s: serrano chile-infused mezcal, genepy des alpes, peach liqueur, fresh lemon 1811 Pestalozzi St., St. Louis, 314.773.8646, frazersgoodeats.com

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned | Taste: Milagro Reposado tequila, mezcal, agave, mole bitters 4584 Laclede Ave., St. Louis, 314.361.1200, tastebarstl.com

El Toluache | Mezcaleria Las Chupacabres: Mezcal joven, blood orange, lemon juice,

Fantastic Mr. Fox | The Golden Hoosier: Redwood Empire bourbon-rye blend, simple

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syrup, mole bitters, Banhez Pechuga de Pavo mezcal mist, smoked sage, orange peel 3707 S. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, 314.354.8044, thegoldenhoosier.com Jalapeno Margarita | The Royale Food and Spirits: jalapeno-infused mezcal, Agavero, lime, orange, simple syrup, sugar 3132 S. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, 314.772.3600, theroyale.com

more complex mezcals that have more unique flavors, which you’re going to get from the wild agave strains,” Kranz stated. One of her favorites, Tepeztate, grows on the sides of cliffs in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Michoacan. For cocktails, Kranz likes to use mezcals made from Espadin agave, which are the most approachable. For a stirred, booze-forward cocktail, an ensemble mezcal, containing a blend of agave strains (much like a blended wine) works best. Because of the layered flavor profiles that come from the different agaves, “You’re getting a cocktail in a bottle right off the bat,” Kranz explained.

Mezcal is an incredibly flexible spirit, and you can explore it in a lot of tasty cocktails around town. Find mezcal infused with serrano chiles at Frazer’s, jalapeño at The Royale Food and Spirits, and corn at Planter’s House; mixed with fruit juice and amaro at Lazy Tiger; and even turned into a mist at The Golden Hoosier. It soars against grilled pineapple at Bait.

Here are some drinks to check out that showcase mezcal’s versatility.

Smokin’ Jacket | Bait: Banhez mezcal, lemon juice, grilled pineapple, serrano chile syrup 4239 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314.405.2797, baitstl.com Muerte en Oaxaca | El Burro Loco: Mezcal joven, premium orange liqueur, house-made citrus blend, red wine, sal de gusano, roasted orange 1101 Lucas Ave., St. Louis, 314.833.3211; 313 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.224.5371, elburroloco.net

Lazy Tiger | Lazy Tiger: El Yope Espadin mezcal, orange shrub, honey, serrano chile, Tajin, lime 210 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.925.8888, lazytigerstl.com Too Hot to Hoot | Planter’s House: corn-infused Banhez mezcal, Ancho verde, lime, agave, ghost pepper tincture 1000 Mississippi Ave., St. Louis, 314.696.2603, plantershousestl.com October 2021

James and the Spicy Peach at Frazer’s

Mezcal Moment?

October 2021

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PARTNER CONTENT

'TIS THE SEASON FOR

COMFORT FOOD

When the temperatures begin to drop and the holidays start to loom, our cravings for rich, delicious comforts go through the roof. Here are 10 tasty treats perfect for this - or any - season.

photo by SW Louis

CARAMEL BRIOCHE BREAD PUDDING WITH CHERRY BOURBON SAUCE

CREOLE CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE GUMBO

SOUTHERN FIREBIRD CHICKEN SANDWICH

With a gooey, chewy middle and crispy, browned edges, this dessert gives you the best of both worlds. Served with a sweet, buttery, syrupy caramel sauce with a hint of bourbon flavor. Paired with light, fluffy whipped cream and it's a dessert you'll find yourself craving in every season.

This isn’t the gumbo you’ll find in fancy New Orleans restaurants, this is the gumbo you’ll fill up on in the smoky bar room past the video poker machines next to the illegal card game. Made with Chef Eric Tirone’s heart and soul and a few tricks he picked up living in New Orleans, one taste and you’ll feel the warm embrace of the Crescent City.

Southern delivers all the comforts of home with classics like fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, greens and mac ‘n cheese. Choose from a variety of sandwiches like the signature Firebird chicken sandwich or catfish po’boy. Finish off your selection with the heat level of your choice.

Cyrano's Café, 603 E Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, cyranos.com

The Parkmoor Drive-In, 220 W Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, theparkmoor.com

Southern, 3108 Olive St, St. Louis, stlsouthern.com

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October 2021

PARTNER CONTENT

SHRIMP AND GRITS Andouille sausage, peppers, onions, okra, hominy and smoked paprika cheddar grits. Turn features this dish every fall when okra is plentiful from Urban Harvest.

Turn, 3224 Locust St, St. Louis, turnstl.com

PINK SQUIRREL SPIRITED SHAKE Made with Creme de Noyaux (pink almond liqueur), Creme de Cacao, and Serendipity’s vanilla ice cream.

ANGRY BIRD Kingside Diner makes a move beyond brunch! Kingside After Dark features creative evening menus with customer favorites such as the Angry Bird (French-cut chicken wings, Belgian waffle, maple-sriracha syrup & green onion) and an extensive beverage menu. Available at the Central West End location, from 4 to 10pm, Wednesday through Saturday.

Kingside Diner, 236 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, kingsidediner.com

Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream, 8130 Big Bend Blvd, St. Louis, serendipity-icecream.com

RICH AND CREAMY PASTA CON BROCCOLI Cavatelli tossed in garlic cream sauce with fresh broccoli, sliced mushrooms, a touch of marinara and Parmigiano cheese.

Pasta House, multiple locations, pastahouse.com

RED CHILE AND CHICKEN POSOLE

LASAGNA

A hearty Southwest soup with chicken, red chile, hominy, and spices. Topped with radish, cilantro, and Monterey Jack cheese. Served with flour tortillas.

Hearty roasted chicken with savory broth and hand-rolled dumplings.

Anthonino's signature lasagna is cooked to order with fresh pasta, ricotta, aged parmigiana, Volpi sausage, mozzarella and housemade bolognese with veal and pork. Served piping hot in a individual pan with crispy edges and a nice crust all the way around.

Taco Buddha, 7405 Pershing Ave, University City, tacobuddha.com

909 Public House, 909 Main Plaza Dr, Wentzville, 909publichouse.com

Anthonino’s Taverna, 2225 Macklind St. Louis, anthoninos.com

October 2021

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

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

“I also have a menu collection –

DR. HARLEY HAMMERMAN

most of that I get from eBay. I look every morning to see what’s online. A lot of times I’ll get a menu and I’ll say, ‘OK, I’ll start researching this,’ and that leads to an article for Lost Tables.”

HISTORIAN, LOST TABLES & LOST DISHES

“Lost Dishes is an outgrowth of Lost Tables. I was doing Lost Tables and

had started a Lost Tables Facebook group to publicize the website. In the Facebook group, people would post, ‘I would like the recipe for this, I would like the recipe for that.’ A lot of those recipes were published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch or the GlobeDemocrat, so I had access to them.”

Dr. Harley Hammerman is the researcher and writer behind websites Lost Tables and Lost Dishes. The twin sites document St. Louis’ shuttered-but-still-beloved restaurants and their signature dishes.

A radiologist by training, Hammerman initially honed his archival skills collecting materials related to playwright Eugene O’Neill, which he documented on a website he built himself. After deciding to sell his collection in 2016, Hammerman found himself starting a new hobby. He decided to look into the history of Golden Fried Chicken Loaf, a restaurant his family frequented when he was a child and whose chicken he remembered fondly.

Over 100 articles later, Hammerman shows no sign of slowing down as he continues to find new establishments to research and share. – Liz Wolfson

“With Lost Tables, I’m compulsive about everything being absolutely

accurate. I research and try to find a date, and if I can’t find, for instance, the date when somebody got married, then I’ll say, ‘By 1932, they were married.’ I use ‘by’ a lot.

That means I know they were married by then, but I won’t guess dates.”

“Lost Dishes is different. The recipes

are accurate. But a recipe website isn’t any fun without photographs. Well, I don’t have photographs of most of these things.

Sometimes I have a photo of the actual printed recipe. I’ve persuaded my wife to make some of the recipes. But for the most part, I look at the recipe and try to figure out how it might have looked, and then I look online for pictures that match that. “

O’Neill collection. I had this collection sitting in my study and no one could see it.

So I decided to put it all online. It started out as a crummy website, and little by little I got better at it. I wouldn’t just put it on there as a laundry list; I would research different items and write about them – it was a pretty robust website.”

Lost Tables, losttables.com; Lost Dishes, lostdishes.com

“I started to look for a home for the [Eugene O’Neill] collection, around

“Dining out has always been important to us. Everybody talks about

that time I started Lost Tables. I sold my collection to Washington University and gave them the website also. That had kept me busy for much of my adult life, so I needed something else to keep me busy, because I don’t play golf. So I think it was sort of natural to take my love of restaurants and turn that into Lost Tables, because I already had the skills I’d acquired through the first website.”

‘Where did you go to high school?’ In the same way, I think restaurants are unique in St. Louis. People are very serious about their restaurants and the history of the restaurants and are dedicated to certain restaurants.”

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“I just start at the beginning and research everything I can about the

restaurant. Sometimes I build the story

around a building, such as Busch’s Grove or Lake Forest Bakery; it’s about the building, and then it tells the story of the custodians who have lived or worked there.”

“Other times it’s about a family.

Like with Pratzel’s Bakery, it’s about the patriarch that started the business and then you follow him and his children and their children in the bakery, and it’s not necessarily about a building because they moved on to other buildings.”

“Sometimes I’ll even fool with the pictures in Photoshop so I can make

them look how I want them to look. If there’s a lot of parsley in it and there’s no parsley in the recipe, I’ll photoshop the parsley out. So while I take no liberties with Lost Tables, I take a lot of liberties with Lost Dishes.”

“For my 70th birthday, my wife surprised me with a Lost Dishes

birthday party. It started with the Maryland crab cakes from Crazy Fish and spinach-feta strudel from Duff’s. They had Balaban’s smoked trout pancake and Portabella’s grilled asparagus and portobello mushroom, and there was Cafe de France’s salmon and Tenderloin Room’s Pepperloin steak and Cyrano’s Cleopatra. It was one of the most spectacular dinners I’ve ever had.”

October 2021

PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA HAROLD

“When I was 50, my kids gave me the domain eoneill.com for my Eugene

October 2021

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

YEN CHING

BY A DA M R OTH BA R TH

1012 S. Brentwood Blvd., Richmond Heights, 314.721.7507, Facebook: Yen Ching Restaurant

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Fortunately, Yen Ching offers something for everyone. Wang said Yen Ching beef is a customer favorite (as well as one of his), and people love the pot stickers and crab Rangoon.

The hot eggplant is a perennial winner.

According to a lot of his customers, Yen Ching’s consistency is the reason they’ve been going for so long – many have been dining there since the restaurant opened in 1974.

The menu has barely changed since Wang’s uncle, John Pei, opened the restaurant. “Some of them are his recipes, some are my brother’s,” Wang said. “[John] came from South Korea – he was a chef there. He had a little restaurant.

But back then, it was a difficult situation.”

When Pei opened Yen Ching in 1974, it was only the second Chinese restaurant in St. Louis, Wang said. Wang and his family moved to St. Louis from China in 1984 when Wang

was 17. He started out working in other area Chinese restaurants like Mandarin House and China Garden before bringing his experience to his uncle’s restaurant in 1988. “I’ve worked every position – kitchen, front-of-house,” Wang recounted with a chuckle.

Now, as Pei thinks about retirement, the Wang brothers have taken over running the restaurant, applying their decades of experience to keeping things going. Closing their doors from last spring until October, they got through the pandemic by offering their food to go, which never waned.

“Carryout is always,” Wang said. With the dining room open again, Yen Ching’s longtime customers have returned to the spot they’ve come to love. “I think we’ve served over 45 years, so the customers know each other for a very long time,” Wang said. “It’s a family type of restaurant – everybody knows everybody here.”

PHOTOS BY DAVID KOVALUK

Americans like to think they know Chinese food. We have our favorite dishes and restaurants; sometimes we have our entire orders dialed in before we even see a menu. And while the best American-Chinese restaurants offer a wide range of excellent dishes, many of those are often adapted from traditional recipes in order to fit our palates. “I like our Sichuan chicken because I personally like spicy dishes,” said Jay Wang, who co-owns Yen Ching with his brother, Jimmy Wang. “To be honest, some of the dishes we have to change up the style to fit local customers because we can’t make it too spicy. It’s not 100% authentic Chinese – we have to slightly change it.” In China, Sichuan chicken dishes occasionally comprise over 90% chiles and 10% or less of chicken, making them – to put it mildly – extremely spicy. For many American diners here in St. Louis, that kind of cooking would be too hardcore.

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L A S T B I T E // S T U F F T O D O

OCTOBER

BY MEENA VISWANATHAN

Brew in the Lou

St. Louis Beer Fest

Apple Butter Festival

Saturday, Oct 9 - 1 to 5 p.m., Francis Park, 5399 Donovan St., St. Louis, 314.200.0797, lesastl.org/2021-brew-in-the-lou/

Saturday, Oct. 16 - 8 to 11 p.m. (VIP access starting at 7 p.m.), St. Louis Science Center, 5050 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, stlouisbeerfest.com

Oct. 30 & 31 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Kimmswick, 636.464.7407, gokimmswick.com/applebutter-festival-kimmswick/

This fundraiser benefiting the Lutheran Elementary Schools Association (LESA) showcases 45 local, regional and national craft breweries, distilleries and wineries.

Enjoy your one-stop beer and food tastings from 4 Hands Brewing Co., Stone Hill Winery, Square One Brewery & Distillery, Lucia’s Pizza, Baetje Farms and more. For admission, purchase a wristband online or at the door, or upgrade to a VIP pass (only 100 available).

More than 120 beers will be on tap at the St. Louis Beer Fest as it takes over the St. Louis Science Center after hours. Here is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to sample seasonal beers from 40 breweries all while strolling through the museum and checking out cool exhibits. Participating breweries include Center Ice Brewery, Six Mile Bridge, Main & Mill Brewing Co. and more. Food sold separately. Proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for admission; tickets (general, designated driver and VIP) are available online only.

Craving apple butter? Both days of the festival, members of the Kimmswick Historical Society gather before dawn to cook apples in a large copper kettle over a fire, preparing the creamy fruit butter to be sealed in jars. Join the festivities and enjoy live entertainment and children’s activities while shopping from nearly 600 food, drink and craft vendors lined up on the streets of Kimmswick. Must-try treats include the pretzel bread sandwich from The Dough Depot and the famous levee-high apple pie from The Blue Owl. The festival is free to attend.

Sauce Magazine’s Harvest Festival

St. Louis VegFest 2021

St. Louis Taco Week

Sunday, Oct. 10 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tower Grove Park, 4501 Southwest Drive, St. Louis, 314.772.8004, harvestfeststl.com

Sunday, Oct. 24 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., World’s Fair Pavilion, Forest Park, 1904 Concourse Drive, St. Louis, 314.833.9946, stlouisvegfest.org

October 17 to 24, participating restaurants, stltacoweek.com

Celebrate the bounty of the season at this year’s Harvest Fest taking place in Tower Grove Park. Grab a bite from one of many restaurants including The Dam, Sister Cities Cajun and Bogart’s Smokehouse. Pick up your drinks from local favorites like 4 Hands Brewing Co., Noboleis Vineyards and more. Also don’t miss out on the opportunity to shop locally made, artisanal food products and handcrafted goods while enjoying live music. Free to the public.

St. Louis VegFest returns to the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park with its all-vegan theme. Pick your plant-based food choices from CC’s Vegan Spot SoulVeganlicious, The Happy Bakery, Dilli Chaat Corner, Royally Baked – Vegan STL and more. Live music from Saucier will entertain visitors while they shop from vendors, and STLVegGirl Caryn Dugan and Dr. Jim Loomis will be back for a cooking demo and lecture presentation. Admission is free.

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Calling all taco lovers! The second annual St. Louis Taco Week sees restaurants across town offering $5 taco specials all week long. Swing by taco spots like Terror Tacos, Taco Buddha and Diego’s Cantina to make every day Taco Tuesday. This is an eat-to-win event; grab your Taco Passports online or from one of many participating restaurants (available Oct. 17) and collect four or more stamps to be entered for a grand prize drawing as well as smaller prizes. denotes a sauce-sponsored event

October 2021

October 2021

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