The Friday Edit
A weekly rundown of the people, places and things I've been loving recently.
At Feast, one of my favorite things to write each week was my Dine & Drink column, which focused on restaurants, bars and sometimes pop-ups and the farmers’ market. Here, we’ll expand on that by talking about food, drink, artisans, media, and life. What gets us all from one week to the next, you’ll find right here — maybe you’ll find something new to love.
Dinner at No Ordinary Rabbit
My dear friend Samantha drives into St. Louis twice a year from Santa Fe, and before her work kicked off for the week, she wanted to get dinner somewhere gorgeous but unfussy. I knew just the place: No Ordinary Rabbit in Botanical Heights.
We talk at length about the importance of an experience when you go out to eat, and NOR delivers on all fronts: warmly lit interior, luxurious food that begs you to share, and drinks galore — even for both of us non-drinkers. If you’ve never been, now’s the time: the fall menu is one of the best. I always suggest ordering to share: we ordered the red pepper walnut dip to start, the short rib, gnocchi and harissa mac n’ cheese to share, and although we resisted dessert, the budino won in the end.
Forest & Meadow’s chaga chai + cacao bitters
Such & Such Farm’s Occult Night Market this year was the best one yet, and my favorite purchase of the evening was Forest & Meadow’s chaga chai and cacao bitters. An herbal tea made with cinnamon bark, chaga mushrooms, warming spices and a little black pepper, the small-batch tea is delicious and supports your immune system, which we could all use right now. Add the cacao bitters to the chai for a little complexity. If you’re looking for a host gift for Thanksgiving, this would make a lovely one.
Colin, my tattoo artist (Apache Colin)
It’s my second year with Colin Nesahkluah at Castle Tattoo (a private studio in CWE), and I get a lot of compliments every time I get work done with him. He deserves it: he’s a true artist, and my experience has been amazing start to finish. The most recent round added some magnolias the half-sleeve I started last year, and he did an incredible job. If you’re interested — and I know a lot of you are — he’ll be at a few pop-up events this season around STL, and he’s booking custom work for December right now. Follow him on Instagram to comb through his body of work, check out his flash offerings and get more information on where he’ll be next.
The new seasonals and standards at Side Project Pizza
I totally flaked on making dinner this past Halloween night — rough day. Thankfully, one of my neighbors is Side Project Pizza, and it was the best excuse to try their seasonal pie. You won’t want to miss them: The Squash pizza — butternut squash, ricotta, mozzarella, sausage, caramelized onions, candied pecans and sage — is fall on a crust. Also notable was the newish Street Taco pizza, with verde sauce, mozzarella, crispy pork, radish, diced onion, limes and fresh cilantro. Pairs well with leftover Halloween candy.
The fall color right now
We’re in Peak Week right now thanks to the weather finally getting it right, and you should be outside enjoying the view. Hard to ignore how picture perfect Forest Park is in these moments: find a way to get there before all that beauty falls to the ground. If that sounds dramatic … I can’t argue. Get out there.
Golfing with Chefs
Bob Brazell launched something I wish I had thought of: the Golfing with Chefs video series. In it, Brazell invites some of our favorite chefs out for a round of golf and a chat about food, music and life, ultimately landing in the chef’s restaurant for more talking over a meal. It’s a fantastic watch: Brazell hung with Steven Pursley of Menya Rui in the inaugural episode, and he’s hanging with the legendary Mike Emerson of Pappy’s Smokehouse in the next. It’s as addictive as a late-night bag of hot chips, I promise you.
Lunch at Noodle Story
I had lunch at Noodle Story a few weeks back after a chat with Mainlander owners and dear friends Blake Askew and Gordon Chen. Max Bredenkoetter and I went and now I can’t stop thinking about it, both as a restaurant and as an example of how very good food options are gaining ground in The Loop. The restaurant doesn’t have an Instagram, but does have a steady stream of customers; if you’re looking for a new place to try that’s solidly delicious, this is a good one to consider.
Sneak Peek | Next Week
We’re going to talk about where to get your hands on boiled peanuts in STL (my new favorite snack from my new favorite Zach), Check in with Natalie and Kyle to see how Skald Bakery’s move to the brick-and-mortar is going, and maybe get to another Art of the Playlist.
In other news, the Big Dig continues: next week I’ll be adding the larger features I’ve worked on over the years to the “Portfolio” section. All the big stories, all of you, all right here. Until then, thanks to all of you: you’ve been amazing with your support, pledges and love.
xoxo,
S
New fave series for sure!!!!!!! Love it!!!!! Thank you Shannon ❤️❤️❤️❤️