Top Chef Richard Blais talks Yellowbelly, St. Louis and Midwest food culture
On Point Hospitality owners Travis Howard and Tim Wiggins made waves recently when they announced their partnership with celebrity chef Richard Blais to develop Yellowbelly, their seafood and cocktail concept set to open in September at 4643 Lindell Blvd. in the Central West End. While locals are well aware of St. Louis’ vibrant culinary culture, Blais…
Stop Sucking: St. Louis restaurants join no-straw movement
A sign proclaiming “Straws Suck!” greets patrons entering The Crow’s Nest in Maplewood. “500 million straws are used and discarded every day in the United States alone,” the sign continues. “Single-use plastics like straws are used once, for a few minutes, then last hundreds of years. By 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean.…
New chefs helm the kitchens at West End Grill & Pub and Schlafly Bottleworks
Two veteran local chefs have quietly stepped into leadership roles in popular pub kitchens. Liz Schuster is the new executive chef at West End Grill & Pub, and Bernard Pilon has assumed the same position at Schlafly Bottleworks. Schuster, the chef behind Tenacious Eats, has helmed the kitchen at WEGAP for the past three months.…
Recipe: Sheet Pan Southwest Crunchwrap Supreme
I grew up loving Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme – essentially a convenient way to consume a soft and hard taco simultaneously. This recipe makes one giant Crunchwrap you can cut into several slices. It’s easy to put together and endlessly adaptable to personal preference – feel free to use any ground meat on hand. It…
Sheet Pan Southwest Crunchwrap Supreme
4 to 6 servings
Top 3 vegan pizzas in St. Louis
Some pizzerias think that to appease vegans, they can simply serve slices without cheese or throw a Daiya cheese option on the menu and call it a day. However, like any truly great dish, the best vegan pizzas are conceived from the ground up. The most satisfying plant-based pies are on-menu creations that don’t need…
Pie Hard Pizza eyes brick-and-mortar spot in Waterloo next summer
It’s Christmas in July for fans of Pie Hard Pizza. Co-owners Megan Keefe and Michael Pastor announced plans for a brick-and-mortar location, called Pie Hard Pizza and Custard Co., next summer at 124 W. Mill St. in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. “Before we even started the food truck, this was something we wanted to do,” Keefe…
8 can’t-miss events during St. Louis Craft Beer Week 2018
St. Louis Craft Beer Week starts this Friday, July 27, and my liver is cowering in anticipation for what I am about to put it through. Get your drinking pants on and join St. Louis for 10 days of events dedicated to what this city does best: brew and drink beer. Celebrate landmarks like Exit…
First Look: HopCat in the Delmar Loop
The St. Louis location of HopCat, the Michigan-based brewpub chain, is set to open on Saturday, July 28, at 6315 Delmar Blvd. in University City. HopCat locations are all about showcasing local beers, and the St. Louis version features 80 taps of Missouri beers and ciders, 30 of which are available year-round and another 50…
Chef Cassy Vires takes the reins from Josh Charles at Winslow’s Home
Josh Charles, who took over as executive chef at Winslow’s Home in April, has left the restaurant and has returned to working on his own brand. His last day of service was Saturday, July 20. “Whenever I took on the restaurant job [at Winslow’s] it was all-consuming, so I couldn’t do anything else, and that’s what…
Celebrity chef Richard Blais will develop Yellowbelly menu
The team behind Yellowbelly, the upcoming Central West End seafood- and tiki cocktail restaurant, have announced a key piece of its new concept is in place. Celebrity chef, cookbook author and restaurateur Richard Blais has signed on to develop the Yellowbelly menu and select the restaurant’s executive chef and kitchen crew. Yellowbelly is owned by…
Review: Solera Wine Bar in Alton
Wine culture can come across as intimidating or snobbish, but Solera Wine Bar in downtown Alton offers a relaxed and approachable space for wine lovers and novices alike. The small bar is warm with exposed brick and reclaimed wood walls and large pieces of bright artwork reminiscent of decorative Tuscan tiles. A long, L-shaped bar,…
Porano will close downtown after July 31
Downtown daytime diners will soon have one less lunch option. Chef-owner Gerard Craft released a statement today, July 23, announcing that Porano will close after service on Tuesday, July 31. The news comes just a week after Porano changed course and joined forces with sister restaurant Pastaria to become Porano by Pastaria. In the statement,…
A second Nudo House will open in The Loop
Nudo House is in the midst of celebrating its first year in business in Creve Coeur, and soon fans will have another location of the popular eatery where they can get their Nudo fix. Chef and co-owner Qui Tran has announced he and co-owner Marie-Anne Velasco will open the second Nudo House location at 6105…
Plank Road Pizza owner will open 1798 BBQ in Cottleville
He’s tackled pizza and dessert. Next in line for Andrew Brewer: barbecue. His newest project, 1798 BBQ, will open at 5210 Highway N in Cottleville next spring. “Pizza and barbecue is what we did at home when I was growing up,” Brewer said. “We’re still tinkering with the menu, but it’s mostly going to be…
First Look: My Thai in the Central West End
When Basil Spice owner Somying Fox saw a rental vacancy at 4495 Forest Park Ave., in the Central West End, she jumped at the chance to open My Thai, setting aside her role in the upcoming Maplewood restaurant, Thai Table. In fact, she was so eager to join the bustling neighborhood that it only took…
Pho Long will open second location on South Grand
A staple of Olive Boulevard in University City is poised to make its presence known on another culinary thoroughfare. As reported by St. Louis Magazine, Pho Long will soon open a second location at 2245 S. Grand Ave., the former home of Garden on Grand, which shuttered late last year. Kitchen manager Phuong Nguyen said…
Passport To Peru in St. Louis
The sharp, briny smell of the Pacific Ocean permeates Lima, Peru. Casual cevicherias serve up pisco sours and cold Cusqueña beers alongside bracingly acidic ceviches mellowed out by chunks of sweet potato and giant starchy corn kernels. Around 350 miles southeast, the city of Cuzco is cradled by the Andes Mountains instead of the sea.…
4 classic Peruvian recipes for a taste of Lima
A trip to Global Foods Market in Kirkwood is all you need to bring a little Peru home with ingredients like giant corn and spicy-fruity ají chilies you need to recreate key basic dishes. AguaymentoA Peruvian groundcherry related to the tomatillo, an aguaymento looks like a small yellow tomato and has a sweet, mildly tart…
Review: Knead Bakehouse & Provisions in Lindenwood Park
Simplicity is key at Knead. The bread-slinging Lindenwood Park powerhouse dishes up a smart and imaginative menu of scratch-made soups, salads and sandwiches. Since opening last November, chef-owner A.J. Brown and his kitchen staff have honed their traditional baking skills and rolled out impressive new selections. The cafe is bright and cozy, brimming with customers…
This two-ingredient dulce de leche is the easiest recipe ever
The origin of dulce de leche is a mystery. A distracted Argentine housekeeper may have left a pot of sweet milk on the stove too long. But perhaps she lived in Uruguay. Maybe it was Napoleon’s personal chef – or a handful of his soldiers – who burned their beverages while otherwise occupied on the…
2016 Simonsig Chenin Blanc is the perfect picnic sipper
The 2016 Simonsig Chenin Blanc is what every inexpensive chardonnay wants to be when it grows up. It has a bracing, unoaked acidity that makes your mouth water and honeydew and tropical notes made for outdoor sipping with mild, creamy cheeses or shellfish. A great dry white wine value, it comes from a Stellenbosch winery with…
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Bikes & BBQ will flood Alton Amphitheater for free festival on July 21
Get out of the city to enjoy some of the region’s best barbecue while checking out hundreds of motorcycles at the second annual Bikes & BBQ Festival at the Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 21. Barbecue vendors include local staples like Capitalist Pig, Doc’s Smokehouse and StLouisianaQ food truck,…
Recipe: S’mores Skillet Pie
S’mores are a classic American summer dessert. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate, graham crackers and freshly toasted marshmallows. I used two mini cast-iron skillets to make little s’mores pies, but you can easily put them in one standard cast-iron skillet, too. The marshmallows are crispy yet gooey, the chocolate is luscious and rich,…
3 can’t-miss St. Louis homebrew clubs at Heritage Festival
Y’all know I am an avid supporter of the local beer scene and will shout our awesomeness from a mountaintop (if we had mountaintops anywhere close to here). In that same spirit of celebration, the St. Louis Brewers Guild throws its annual Heritage Festival tomorrow, July 14, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Grand Basin…
First Look: Peel Wood Fired Pizza in Clayton
Peel Wood Fired Pizza will soon serve its signature pies, brews and then some on the Missouri side of the river. The newest location is set to debut Monday, July 16, at 208 S. Meramec Ave., in Clayton. Like the Illinois locations in O’Fallon and Edwardsville, the focus at the Clayton Peel is pizza baked…
First Look: Hamilton’s Urban Steakhouse & Bourbon Bar in Lafayette Square
Hamilton’s Urban Steakhouse & Bourbon Bar opens for business today, July 12. It’s the latest project from Hamilton Hospitality, which owns neighboring Eleven Eleven Mississippi, Vin de Set, PW Pizza, 21st Street Brewers Bar and the Moulin event space. As Sauce reported in April, Hamilton Hospitality and Charleville Brewing Co. & Tavern decided to divide…
Gringo will reopen in downtown St. Louis
A former restaurant resident of the Central West End is getting a new lease on life downtown. Gringo Mexican Restaurant, which closed in 2016, will reopen in the fall in the former home of Robust Wine Bar at 635 Washington Ave., in the MX District. Gringo founder Chris Sommers, who also owns Pi Pizzeria and…
Crush on cachaça with Retreat bar manager Tim Wiggins
Cachaça is imbibed on the regular by millions in Brazil but is mostly known in the states as the main ingredient in the Caipirinha cocktail. Technically a type of rum, cachaça is most definitely its own thing. Like rhum agricole, it’s made with sugarcane juice rather than molasses, giving it a verdant, grassy character. Artisanal…
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Clayton Restaurant Week kicks off July 16
Pace yourself through a three-course dinner during the fifth annual Clayton Restaurant Week Summer Edition from July 16 to 22, and help a good cause when you get the check. Clayton Restaurant Week offers a chance to try 17 of Clayton’s best restaurants, including 801 Fish, C.J. Muggs, Crushed Red, Pastaria and Sardella, among others.…
Picnic like a pro at 9 free outdoor event series in St. Louis
St. Louis summers are made for picnics with free outdoor events almost every evening in July. And while anyone can get takeout and sit on the ground, take your picnic to the next level with alfresco problem solvers and picture-perfect extras. 1. Carondelet Concerts in the ParkSundays in July – Carondelet Park, St. LouisMondays in…
Porano will change name and menu, adding Pastaria dishes
Big changes are coming to Porano Pasta. The downtown fast-casual eatery is eliminating the build-your-own concept and modifying its menu, altering its service model and changing its name to Porano by Pastaria. Niche Food Group chef-owner Gerard Craft said changes go into effect Monday, July 16. “It’s been over two years since we opened, and…
Nippon Tei chef Nick Bognar shares his 6 favorite St. Louis restaurants
Nick Bognar grew up working at his mother Ann Bognar’s restaurants, Nippon Tei and Tei Too, but eventually, he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. Bognar “polished off some of the rough edges” at Uchiko in Austin, then headed to Cincinnati, where he worked at Kaze, then the acclaimed E&O Kitchen as head sushi chef.…
First Look: Living Room South Hampton on Chippewa Street
The new Living Room South Hampton will open tomorrow, Saturday, July 7, at 5760 Chippewa St. Co-owner Nate Larson said the cafe’s second location will “elevate the coffee game.” There will also be a small food menu, including scones, biscuits and cookies prepared at the original Maplewood location. The space, which formerly housed a service station,…
Vista Ramen on Cherokee Street will reconcept
Changes are afoot at Vista Ramen. The folks behind the Cherokee Street eatery announced they will drop “Ramen” from the name and cease making ramen altogether. The change comes on the heels of the recent closure of Mothership, the food service Vista Ramen ran inside Earthbound Beer. Chef-owner Chris Bork said the new concept will…
Review: Sister Cities Cajun in South City
“First, you make a roux” is the classic pronouncement of every Southern cook. After my first two bites of seafood gumbo at Sister Cities, the Cajun restaurant now located on South Broadway, I got the sense that chef and co-owner Travis Parfait takes the declaration seriously. Whether dark and smoky or light and nutty, roux is…
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Saint Louis Art Museum’s Art Hill Film Series kicks off July 13 with food trucks, live music and movies
Pack a blanket and enjoy the outdoors at the Saint Louis Art Museum Art Hill Film Series on Friday evenings from July 13 to Aug. 3. The free, family-friendly event features food trucks at 6 p.m., local live music and DJs at 7 p.m., and a flick at 9 p.m. Food trucks are located in…
First Look: Hiro Poke Co. in The Eatery food hall downtown
Hiro Poke Co., the new restaurant from Bernie Lee of Hiro Asian Kitchen in The Eatery food hall at One Metropolitan Square downtown, is slated to have its grand opening on Monday, July 9. As Sauce reported last month, the Hiro Poke Co. menu is focused on poke, a Hawaiian staple of fresh fish and…
Eat This: Fried Green Tomato BLT at Cork & Barrel Chop House and Spirits
The feelings we have for the fried green tomato BLT on the lunch and brunch menus at Cork & Barrel Chop House and Spirits might seem inappropriate for a sandwich. With toothsome tomato slices coated in crispy fried cornmeal, thick bacon, fresh lettuce, rich pimento cheese and a creamy-spicy-tangy comeback sauce worthy of executive chef Candice…
What I Do: Malou Perez-Nievera
Search YouTube for “Jollibee recipe,” and Malou Perez-Nievera’s online cooking show “Skip to Malou” is among the top results. Her video on the Filipino chain’s wildly popular fried chicken has 2.7 million views and counting. Perez-Nievera has created more than 80 short episodes showing home cooks how to prepare classic Filipino dishes from lechon to…
Blue Box Pizza now open in The Loop in former Doughocracy spot
A new pizza joint has opened in The Loop in the space that previously held now-closed Doughocracy at 6394 Delmar Blvd. Blue Box Pizza had a soft opening on June 9 as its owners await a liquor license and the signage for the storefront to celebrate a grand opening. Co-owner Ben Deloya said the concept…
4 new St. Louis restaurants to try in July
1. Barg Continental Restaurant6417 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 314.338.1234 Barg Continental Restaurant is an education in perfectly executed Afghan cooking. Starters like bolani, a traditional flatbread stuffed with seasoned mashed potatoes and scallions, and sambosas, a thin wonton-like pastry filled with a spiced potato mixture then fried, are both heavenly dipped in the verdant, cilantro-packed…
Bourbon Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding
8 to 10 servings
Chocolate-Covered Dulce de Leche Apricots
4 servings
Mango Peruvian Cuisine’s Solterito de Quinoa
4 servings
Pork Tenderloin with Chili Dulce de Leche Glaze
3 to 4 servings
Sea Salt Dulce de Leche
About 24 ounces
Iced Dulce de Leche Coffee
1 serving
Gastón Acurio’s Leche de Tigre
About 1 cup
Gastón Acurio’s Ceviche
4 servings
