Ann Lemons Pollack

  • Paul Mineo’s Trattoria

      Over the years, West Port Plaza has been the location of lots (and lots) of restaurants. Everything from ice cream shops to Japanese food with a view has been available at one time or another. Paul Mineo’s Trattoria, owned by the second generation of the well-known local restaurant family, opened there last winter, providing

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  • This Week’s Wines November 9, 2008

    Think outside the box, they tell us, and there are good things about the advice, although it is not the be-all and end-all response to all problems. After all, if Dracula had not thought inside the box how to get outside the box, think how many writers and actors would never have had the chance

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  • Cafe Ventana

    Café Ventana’s web site talks about it as having a French Quarter style. And that’s not just because beignets are available — oh yes, and excellent, too. Located on the first floor of an old house (although happily wheelchair accessible) just west of the St. Louis U. campus, it has an easy-going feel that fits

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  • Election Cake

    Next Tuesday, we’re both working the polls, serving as election judges. We began doing this four years ago, and while it’s exhausting, we both love it. It’s exciting seeing people of all types and sizes  and ages coming out to perform what we think is a near-religious act, participating in their country’s essential action. Because

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  • West End Grill & Pub

    Theater buffs already have discovered the West End Grill & Pub. It’s right next door to the Gaslight Theater, a couple of blocks south of the late, lamented and never-to-be-replicated Gaslight Square. In fact, a double door connects pub and theater, so the elements are not a factor. At intermission, theatergoers use the pub as

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  • Bobo Noodle House

    Small and stylish is the immediate impression at Bobo Noodle, tucked into a New York-narrow space in a new building across the street from the campus of Washington University. Zoe Houk who’s been opening and running restaurants around town for more years than her looks would have anyone believe, has created a spot that blends

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  • The Original Pancake House

    Our friends know we’re not much on chain restaurants. But we try not to be narrow-minded, and when we find an exception to the boredom of corporate food, we speak right up. And speaking of “up,” it’s time to rise and shine to have breakfast, or brunch, or breakfast-for-lunch, at the Original Pancake House. The

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  • What To Do With A Chuck Roast

    The days dwindle down, and so do the budgets. Not only is the weather cooler and the dark coming earlier, but all of us also seem more interested in saving our pennies. Cooking at home, of course, is one of the best ways to do that, but there are lots of folks who are just

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  • Eau Bistro

     Eau is a real dining room. You know–the old-fashioned concept that came before “the dining experience,” Broadway set designers providing interior decor, and servers in costumes. It’s spacious, with high ceilings and large C-shaped booths that are slightly elevated to give a better view of the room. And these days, it’s fairly quiet, as restaurants

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  • Kitchenware

    Cost Plus World Market and I go way back to my first trip to San Francisco, when it was a higgledy-piggledy warren of assorted interesting, inexpensive stuff. At that point, it was like an immense version of Pier One. Nowadays Pier One has decided to compete with Pottery Barn, another store that began at what

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