I am returned to New Orleans once again. 11:58 PM

Another fantastic trip back home; a feeling of belonging that bores further into my skull. Sigh.

As regular readers of this blog know, when I return home, I hit up all those restaurants, etc. that opened up in my absence. I also, this time, was able to get to some I had never been to despite being fixtures of the St. Louis dining scene. Lacking money, I must thank my newly minted lawyer-brother for some of these meals. Thanks Josh!

As far as oldies-but-goodies, I went to both Modesto (the Hill) and Yemanja Brasil (Benton Park). Both are colorful and lively dining experiences. I would have to say, though, that Modesto provided some of the best food I've experienced in quite a while. Try the chicken croquettes! We must have had seven tapas portions of food that were all excellent. I give Yemanja more marks on its ambiance, which is as lively and festive as Copacabana.

I returned to a couple places, too--The Wedge (Bates/Virginia), Hodak's (a Benton Park classic), Hartford Community Coffee (Tower Grove South), Three Monkeys (Tower Grove South), Murdoch Perk (Southampton), and Pi (East Loop), to name a few.

I was extremely pleased to finally experience Urban Eats (Dutchtown), at Meramec and Virginia. I had a flatbread pizza that was extremely fresh and delectable. The place is a step up, for sure, in the decor department as well, especially compared to previous attempts at tackling the space. I would highly recommend this place if your desire is quick, relatively inexpensive, healthy food. Plus, you can overlook the sidewalk activities of a very urban neighborhood as you dine. As it turned out, I ran into 25th Ward Alderman candidate Shane Cohn and had a brief conversation with him at the establishment as well. I wished him luck in his campaign. He, like Steve Patterson of Urban Review St. Louis, who ran and lost in this same Ward against Dorothy Kirner, supports term limits for alderpersons. I could not agree more that this is a huge issue in St. Louis governance. [Wow...Urban Eats became surprisingly political].

Triumph Grill in Midtown/Grand Center is a superb addition to the neighborhood's growing repertoire of eateries (though I've still not been to The U or Pappy's, both having earned critical acclaim). I stayed somewhat conservative with my food choice (old fashioned fish and chips), but our party ordered an appetizer sampler that was simply delicious. Flash-fried asparagus with a soy-based dipping sauce? Count me in!

BoBo Noodle House (Skinker-DeBaliviere) was a pleasant surprise as well. Its ultra-contemporary/Euro design is surprisingly rare in St. Louis and is welcome in my opinion. I forget the name of my dish, but it contained beef and, go figure, noodles. Spicy and wonderfully tasty.

SweetArt in Shaw (on 39th) opened on the 26th, so I was actually able to make it to this highly anticipated spot. A husband and wife duo, painter and baker, respectively, have turned a vacant storefront facing the beautiful St. Margaret of Scotland Church into an urbanite's paradise. Within easy walking distance of thousands of Shaw residents and scores of visitors to the Garden is this pleasant bakery (which, of course, serves coffee). I tried the red velvet cupcake (all natural, by the way)--and it did not disappoint.

What's next on my list when I return?

Velocity Cafe and Cyclery (DeBaliviere Place)

Fritanga (Nicaraguan, on Jefferson near Russell)

One of the Mexican restaurants on Cherokee (...I've never been. I know. Shame. Anyone have recommendations?)

Taft Street Restaurant (Bosnian, in my parents' neighborhood, Bevo)

Also, I snapped a couple more pictures that I have yet to dump onto Skyscraperpage, and so may just make them Dotage exclusives. I was able to walk the length of the Macklind Avenue Business District and snap a bunch of photographs, so look forward to that post coming soon!

Thanks, all. My New Year's resolution is to post more often while I have a lull in my workload.

Happy New Year!

[Linkage to come soon...]

A brief, but enjoyable trip back to St. Louis 11:37 AM

I took the train in on Wednesday, leaving at 1:45 p.m. from New Orleans. I arrived in Carbondale, Illinois at 3 a.m. on Thursday morning.

I left at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night. So, when I say brief, I mean brief.

That doesn't mean I can be kept from urban/small business exploration in my short time.

Here are some random observations and experiences--

• I went, finally, to Local Harvest Cafe for some breakfast. I ordered a pretty basic eggs and bacon type sandwich, but felt good about it since they support local farmers with everything on their menu. Oh yeah, and it was yummy! I'll have to return for lunch the next time I'm in town. Decor-wise, I was totally impressed. It's everything a cafe should be. Intimate, cozy, inviting...the tin ceilings were amazing and I loved the artwork (which paid homage to the building's historical commercial tenant (heating and cooling, I believe?)).


• The city looked extraordinary clean in most parts. Keep up the good work not littering, guys.


• I took my mom, aunt, and older brother to Murdoch Perk for some coffee because we were in that neighborhood doing some shopping (Nature's Aglow, people, I told you it was a wonderful place for gifts!). Let me just tell you upfront: I had the best hummus that I've ever had in my life at Murdoch Perk. Go NOW if you want creamy, somewhat spicy, delicious hummus, along with warm, soft, ever so slightly crisp pitas. Yummy.


• I went to the Wedge on Bates and Virginia. It's a nice space and it's got good pizza. I didn't check the upstairs out, but it looked like they had a pretty good business for being so new. My mother loved the pizza so much she ordered one to go for later.


• I also checked out Sasha's on Shaw, the new wine bar. The long storefront literally glows from the street with all of the lighting in the place. Like many wine bars, it's a perfect place to go if you want to both have some drinks and some conversation (no overly loud soundtrack in the background). The place is essentially split into two halves--one is non-smoking too! I'm actually not a wine person, and so opted for a vodka drink, which was excellent. It looks like their menu includes pizzas and light fare to accompany the wine. There's also a beautiful garden in the front of the building with outdoor seating. Just a word of advice: if you go, don't try to pry the front gate open to get in the place! The entrance is located at the southwest corner of the building! Overall, I was totally impressed. The place brings a wonderful vibe to Shaw.

That's all for now. It's finals week, and I have a 15-20 page paper, a presentation, and a final all due by Tuesday. Wish me luck!

I am thankful for... 12:07 PM

It's a bit late, I know, to be spouting off uplifting Thanksgiving messages.

But I am thankful for strip retail centers with rear parking.

That is why the new retail center at Chippewa and Lindenwood (west of Hampton Avenue) just doesn't bother me. Sure, it likely won't house any local retail (UrbanSTL forumers report that it's a future AT&T store-Qdoba combo).

But, walk, drive, bike, scoot, or Metro by this somewhat autocentric portion of Chippewa and take a look at the effects of placing parking in the rear. The squat, one-story, sparely designed commercial building becomes something of an urban building, despite the odds.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of, well, anything from my brief return to St. Louis for the holiday. Regardless, check it out for yourself. It's truly a St. Louis first. (On a sidenote, I wonder how the residents along Lindenwood feel about visible surface parking from their front yards. Even though the parking technically faces the alley, some street trees or shrubbery should be planted to make this less visually disruptive to the quaintness of the adjacent residential neighborhood).

By the way, this blog will probably be pretty scant in posting until Tuesday, Dec. 9th--my final class of this long, long, difficult, time-consuming semester.

Nevertheless, I will have more on my return home later for you.

Back from St. Louis 4:33 PM

What a greet weekend and another nice trip back to St. Louis.

I made it over to the Stable on Cherokee for some pizza, but that was my only experience at a brand new place. I did hit up perennial favorites Sameem's on South Grand and Blues City Deli in Benton Park. All were excellent. The Stable's space is particularly impressive.

One of my favorite parts was giving one of my mother's friends a tour of the whole city (but mostly north--she's from and still lives in South City). She doesn't leave her neighborhood too often and told my mom she'd like to go driving around and see the city when I got back in to town.

It was a great experience for all involved.

One moment of humor came when Mom tried to pretend that she knew the St. Louis history I was spouting off.

As we passed the Blairmont-owned former Schnucks site near Cass just north of downtown, I began to explain what the Kerry Patch was before I was interrupted by Mom.

Mom: Oh, I know what that is!

Friend: What is it, then?

Mom: It's when...a patch of people...came down to St. Louis...from Kerry, Indiana!

She said it so proudly, as if she'd really gotten it correct. Kerry, Indiana! Hah...there's a Gary, but is there a Kerry?

More on my trip back later. As always, forgive me for the hiatus from posting when I make my returns home.

What a trip! 12:23 PM

I am back in the City of New Orleans.

My more than a week in St. Louis brought me to a couple new restaurants and such: you already heard about Onesto. In addition to that South Side pizza parlor, I went to Pi in the East Loop and tried Bridge and Tunnel downtown.

I visited old favorites like Hodak's and Crown Candy.

Besides eating (of which there was a lot), I just drove around, taking in the change and the unchanged.

The Tudor Building on Washington looked amazing. It's a very tangible sign of downtown's push westward. Some day Downtown West and Midtown will enjoy a seamless blend.

The 14th Street Mall project appears to chug along. But something is missing. What was demolished? I can't remember.

The general life and lushness of the city brought me to a positive realm not typically spoken of on this blog. Each time I visit St. Louis I am reminded of why it is I am so in love with it. It truly is a dusty attic with treasures being rediscovered by the day.

Even when I learned that the Preservation Board had approved the demolitions of the historic home on Lindell (on SLU's campus) and a series of irreplaceable warehouses on the riverfront--I couldn't let it sour my mood as KMOX launched a series of Blairmont stories.

There's an exciting, scary flux going on in this city. We are reaching a point that we must finally come up with a new identity for the city. Not as a fallen World's Fair era beauty, not as a wannabe Chicago, not as an even slower to change KC, and not as the city with the wholehearted embrace of urban renewal. We need to be something much more forward looking.

[Linkage and general post beautification to come; computer is acting up]