Visit Carondelet Bakery! 2:09 PM

This is the second small business spotlight; the first can be found here.

Business: Carondelet Bakery
Category: Bakery/Desserts
Neighborhood: The Patch [In the "Ivory Triangle"]
Location: 7726 Virginia Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111
Contact: 314-638-3519
Hours: ???
Amenable to: sweet tooths, brides- and grooms-to-be, other celebrations
Prices: Contact the bakery to get prices!

At 22, with most of my friends at least a little bit older than that, it's prime time to begin the lifelong journey of marital bliss. June is the "wedding-est" month of the year, after all, and it's almost upon us. Several friends will be getting married soon.


I beseech them, and you, to try out the Carondelet Bakery for wedding cake needs. The small storefront is one of St. Louis's oldest commercial establishments, opened in 1875--when the city of St. Louis was still part of St. Louis County. I'm not saying longevity equals quality, but think of Crown Candy. There is a reason these businesses have weathered downturns and "chain-ification" in their respective markets.

Sure, its siding-clad frontage was probably not a feature of the nineteenth century structure. Even so, the rarity of neighborhood bakeries these days renders this business historic and important to St. Louis and Carondelet/The Patch alike.

I have ordered a de-lish coconut cake from the bakery that was probably the best cake I've ever had in my life. The recipient of the cake echoed my sentiments.

Plus, if you're in the neighborhood and don't want or need a whole cake, there is a variety of other baked goods, including cookies, that you can get on the quick and on the cheap.

Another great thing: it's in a quaint business district (called the Ivory Triangle) that's definitely up and coming. The newly refurbished Ivory Theater in the antebellum St. Boniface Catholic Church's old digs is an architectural gem and it's a block away. The recently opened Ivory Coast Bistro is right across the street.

I recommend walking the streets of the historic and once independent town of Carondelet, now called the Patch, for its delightful hodgepodge of housing (including some 1850s German row houses on Stein, not far from cutesy 1960s bungaloid infill). When you do, stop by the Carondelet Bakery to step in the past and to support local--even if it's just a cookie!

Visit Stellina Pasta. 12:33 AM

For the first of my small business spotlights, I wanted to tell you about Stellina Pasta. First, the facts.

Business: Stellina Pasta
Category: Restaurant
Sub-category: Pasta/Italian
Neighborhood: Lindenwood
Location: 3342 Watson Road., St. Louis, MO 63139
Contact: 314-256-1600
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11am - 9pm
Amenable to: casual dates, a small office lunch outing, organic food freaks, meatlovers and vegetarians alike, basically anything other than a large group of people
Prices: $10-15 per head, post-tip

Stellina Pasta ("little star") is one of the coziest dining spots in St. Louis. I have to admit, its location is not all that exciting to me. Sure the growing presence of "yuppy" types in the Lindenwood/St. Louis Hills area seem to drift in and out, snagging seats with unsuspecting neighbors and generating casual chat like the best of urbanites--but something about its location on Watson (which I usually associate with St. Louis County's much longer stretch of the road of the same name) almost kept me from trying this place out. When I think of new and exciting places to go in the city, Lindenwood (Park) doesn't typically win out.

I'm glad I was extremely hungry one day while traveling down the pedestrian unfriendly Watson highway that is now, in my opinion, home to two destination restaurants: the ever popular Biggie's and Stellina itself.

Stellina, make no mistake, is tiny.



But as you can see, the storefront is adorable. The large window with the counter facing it is great for a person flying solo and wanting to people/car watch. In nice weather, the patio outside adds a lot more seating.

The interior gives off a bit of that pristine and squeaky clean coffeehouse vibe--again, not my favorite, but the intimate scale of the place, which makes it appear all the more busy, is rare in St. Louis and is appreciated in this context.



With the tin ceiling, my imagination has invented the scenario of this building as a former neighborhood grocery store. Maybe I'll do a bit of research.

What about the food and pricing though?

The food, all organic and handmade, is excellent. I have had several iterations of the pasta, all successful to me. The Hog Wild is my favorite sandwich:

Shaved ham, bacon, granny smith apple, white cheddar, sweet hot mustard on peasant bread, served grilled.

But rotating specials and a host of no-meat items make this place amenable to all foodseekers.

Check out the menu here. Prices are definitely reasonable, with each sandwich falling between the 7 and 9 dollar marks. Pasta, as can be expected, is a bit pricier. Portion sizes are not huge, but are completely appropriate and filling. My only complaint, as a Coke/Pepsi addict, is the lack of a fountain--meaning you must pay for each soda can and glass of ice. Oh well. It's probably for the better.

Next time you think pasta, at least for once, don't think the Hill! Come to Lindenwood and try out Stellina. You will not be disappointed.

Small Business Spotlights 12:03 PM

I've given myself a project: documenting my favorite independent, local St. Louis businesses. To me, one of the greatest issues facing St. Louis in its relative renaissance is the need to forge an identity that lifts it beyond its crippling and longstanding civic inferiority complex. No, we're not Chicago, but we can be subversive, hip, ethnic, brazen, trendy, eclectic, down home, Southern, East Coast, Northern, or Gateway-to-Western all the same. And our local businesses (bars, restaurants, retail, etc.) are the key to piecing together the impossibly complex puzzle that is St. Louis. It is their founders' creativity and talents, in great part, that mold our cultural and social landscape--and that set us apart from other cities.

While this post is little more than a memo to self, I hope to catalog the businesses I've been to in St. Louis that I long for being, as I am, 700 miles removed. Maybe you'll meet your new favorite eatery, watering hole, or shop with this feature. That's my hope anyway!