July 2005
July 29, 2005
Back to School Cool
If you have or know a kid headed off to college this fall, outfit them from head to toe in the gear of their chosen alma mater at Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, a national chain with its local outpost at the oddly fascinating Northwest Plaza. (I say "oddly fascinating" because its mix of stores is unfathomable to me, and apparently getting weirder this fall, with the addition of "Seniortown" and "Hip Hop Café"...)
Anyhoo, here's the deal: Steve & Barry's has licensed logowear like tees (short- and long-sleeved), athletic shorts, sweats and more from pretty much any college or university you can think of. Well, except Columbia University. Did I mention that? Don't go there if you are looking for gear from Columbia University. Their book tells them it's a school they carry, but the manager had to break the bad news that Columbia gear won't be in 'til late fall...and then it will probably just be one t-shirt.
In addition to all that jazz, they carry jeans, khakis, lots of what I would consider hoochie mama wear (but I'm probably just jealous 'cause I'd never wear it), and here's the kicker: right now, every single thing in the store is $5.98 or less.
Seriously.
July 20, 2005
Can You Taste It?
Well, it's about time: we've finally joined the bandwagon of our sister cities (including our Northern Nemesis) and gotten our very own "Taste of St. Louis" festival. Slated to take place during the first weekend of October (and the last two regular-season games at Busch Stadium), this food/art/music festival is under the direction of Mike Kociela (of Entertainment St. Louis, Davide Weaver (of Art Dimensions) and K. Sonderegger (of Made You Look advertising).
Nothing against the tastes of Clayton, the CWE and others, but we hope this downtown affair proves to be a hit. Civic pride and all. But when Southern Comfort's in charge of the music, can you really go wrong?
(We know there are those who would say, "Can you really go right?" We will accept that reasonable adults can disagree.)
July 19, 2005
Vegan Week
My fifteen-year-old son and myself will embark on an experiment for seven days beginning this Sunday (July 24). We're going Vegan.
We were jazzed to find Veg Web as a resource for recipes and meal planning. Buying Vegan products may pose an additional challenge, however.
Continue reading "Vegan Week"Road Trip
We were passing through Cuba, Missouri on our way to camp and float the Current River. We spotted a billboard for Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q and became intrigued.
After a weekend of camp food we hit the Hick on the way home and were delighted to discover excellent smoked meats, a fabulous, generous array of side-dishes and four varieties of cobbler. Talk about a lucky roadside find! The decor is adorable, prices are low and the food and sauces are better than (dare I say it) Super Smokers. It's worth the trip.
Continue reading "Road Trip"July 16, 2005
Shut Your Mouth. (On Second Thought, Open It, and Shove In Some Soul Food)
Delighted we are to see a sign for a new tenant on the way for The Restaurant Formerly Known as Mangrove: coming soon is "Sweetie Pie's at The Mangrove."
The original Sweetie Pie's, owned by former Ikette Robbie Montgomery and holding strong in north county, receives raves for its Mississippi-style cooking. Miss Cherry has some people who hail from Mississippi, and she is plumb excited.
July 15, 2005
Coffee for the Journey
Kayak's Coffee, the over-the-top built-out coffee hangout that's proven popular with Wash U kids (and able to sustain the crowds during an insane MetroLink construction phase), is expanding, with its second location slated to open in the new Richmond Heights "lifestyle center" that currently houses Crate & Barrel et al.
Look for the beans to be brewing in August. And boy, we hope their tabletop s'mores make the journey, too...
July 14, 2005
Declaration of Independents?
Tucked into my most recent purchase at Left Bank Books was a red leaflet, with the following text:
"Congratulations! By purchasing this book you have supported:
*A locally-owned (sic) progressive bookstore & its 15 employees including: 3 artists, 3 poets, 2 writers, 1 dancer, 2 single moms, 4 queer people, 1 labor activist -- we could go on.
*A gay-owned printing company.
*A locally-owned (sic again) environmentally responsible office supply company.
*Several dozen activist & cultural organizations to which this bookstore contributes regularly.
The taxes paid by you or this bookstore support the predominantly black St. Louis school system, our roads, sewers, fire & police protection. If you had made this purchase on Amazon, you would have supported...Jeff Bezos."
Aside from a minor quibble -- there are, in fact, probably a few folks working at/supported by your expenditures at Amazon, until they figure out how to replace them all with bookbots -- it's nice to see some gutsy truth in marketing.
We suspect the rabble-rousing influence of BUILD St. Louis.