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What I’ve enjoyed recently …
All Saints, this new Minneapolis
hot spot sports in innovative yet
approachable menu. Cocktails
are amazing too!
222 East Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis MN 55414Favorite Places, Barcelona
Favorite Places, Bourgogne
Favorite Places, California
Favorite Places, New York
Favorite Places, Paris
Favorite Places, Provence
Favorite Places, Twin Cities
Favorite Links
- Alice Medrich
- Andrew Zimmern
- Artisan Bread in Fine Minutes a Day
- Baking Obsession
- Cannelle et Vanille
- Chocolate & Zucchini
- Curious Cook
- David Lebovitz
- David Schmit Photography
- Dorie Greenspan
- Eat the Love, Sweets for the Mouth and Mind
- Eat Well Guide
- eatwild
- Farmette
- Gale Gand
- HiP Paris Blog
- Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
- Le Pétrin
- Nick Malgieri
- Not Without Salt
- On Rue Tatin
- Paris Breakfasts
- Purple Pitchfork
- Raghaven Iyer
- Robin Asbell
- Sake Story
- Slow Food
- Smitten Kitchen
- Steamy Kitchen Modern Asia
- Suvir Saran
- The Daily Meal
- The Paris Kitchen
- The Perennial Plate
- These Peas are Hollow
- Wedge Community Co-op
- White on Rice Couple
- Zoë Bakes
Headed to Points South
You have to love a tailwind when you’re at 30,000 feet; it often puts you at your destination earlier than anticipated. Recently for us, it meant landing in Saint Louis a half hour ahead of schedule. After grabbing our luggage and boarding one of those lovely shuttle buses for a ride to Hertz, we found our Toyota was waiting for us. I was a little hesitant riding in a Camry due to all the recent publicity about unexpected acceleration, but we survived the car and Jon’s aka JT’s driving (just kidding, he actually does quite well.). For the most part, Hertz Never Lost (which I often refer to as Ever Lost for the amount of time sitting on the side of the road, trying to make sense of where “Madge” was taking us) directed us where we needed to go including Festus, Potosi, and Crystal Lake Park, all the big cities around Saint Louis.
According to our green-behind-the-gills waiter, there wasn’t a lemon in the house. I wondered how there could be no lemons when every glass I saw had a wedge. Reluctantly, we conceded and limes were squeezed. The next ingredient was simple syrup. “Simple what?” we were asked. You know — equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil, simmer until sugar dissolves, and then cool. They had all the necessary alcohol in the house, so we were in good shape there, it was just a matter of making the simple syrup and squeezing (in our case) some limes.
I have to say that after the 15 minute wait, the outcome was not horrible, but not great, either. Most disappointing was the fact that it came out in a miniature lowball glass. It did have a sugared rim, but also had floating in it an eighth of a lime. The size of the lime wedge would have been more suited as part of a bowl of freshly-made guacamole. I was grateful for the valiant effort and I hope that the bartender was inspired to keep experimenting.
I won’t go into details about the menu, but feel free to check out their website. I will say they can accommodate a large crowd and were attentive to our group of 11 people the night we were there for dinner.
After dinner, Jon and I headed to Bad Dog Bar & Grill for some country western dancing. I was beginning to wonder if Missouri was really part of the south, as there was a seeming lack of southern hospitality, i.e. not one soul said hello. Although I’m Mr. Introvert, I made the first move and asked the line dance instructor for a spin around the floor. Shortly afterwards, however, Missouri’s southern hospitality was redeemed as new friends Robb and Greg said hello to us. With the hour getting later and later, we said our goodbyes and headed south to Festus to visit Jon’s parents.
Saturday’s drive south to Potosi was lovely as we traveled through the rolling hills of southeast Missouri. We were headed to Boo’s Market for lunch and a mini high school reunion with Jon’s classmates. Then we returned to Festus for dinner with JT’s parents and niece at the Country Café.
Sunday, we enjoyed a delightful lunch with Jon’s family which included an unbelievable array of desserts including an Angel Food Cake, Coconut Cream Pie, a Four Layer Dessert and Jon’s favorite Lemon Ice Box Pudding.
The point of all this rambling is that I’ve heard for years, mainly from JT, how much there is to see and do in Saint Louis. There’s supposed to be some fantastic food in the fair city to our south. It will definitely require a trip back, if not two or three, to see and eat our way through the gateway to the west. Then there is always the ride up the arch. Maybe we’ll do that before lunch.