Ann Lemons Pollack
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Club Taco
It’s not that no one has done tacos in Kirkwood, even tacos beyond the chains. But no one has gone to the lengths that Club Taco does, spreading options far and wide. There’s not much room in which to spread – it’s a snug interior, some tables, a bar with stools, a shelf facing the
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The Music Man
Has The Music Man, which opened Tuesday night at the Muny, become America’s favorite musical? Possibly. Certainly it must be among the most-performed, including a certain small-town Missouri high school in 1963, where I first saw it. But the score remains fresh and charming, and the zeal and innocence still capture us. This is a
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Dinner and a Show
Eating at the Muny has evolved considerably. My late husband, Joe Pollack, used to look at the then-newly-installed picnic benches and beam, because he had urged their installation in his column in the Post-Dispatch. This year, they've expanded their casual dining options with Cafe One, for sandwiches, salads and pizzas. I had the open-faced ribeye
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Just One Bite: Dominic’s Trattoria
It was a celebratory dinner at Dominic’s Trattoria in Clayton on a weekend evening. Things were busy, a fair amount of table-hopping, and the sound of people enjoying themselves, although the sound level was pretty reasonable. It’s not a place that usually attracts the drink-and-shriek (or bellow) crowd, which always helps on that. The zuppa
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Peacemaker Lobster & Crab
Has it really been two years since Kevin Nashan opened Peacemaker Lobster & Crab? And how have I managed not to get there? Mea culpa, to be sure. The calm white interior is not stark, merely peaceful, with photos of lobster fishermen by Mark Katz, a simple décor but still clearly a cut above the
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Company
Insight Theatre Company has taken on one of the big dogs to kick off its seventh season. Steven Sondheim’s Company, complete with a four-piece orchestra, arrives on a set more complicated than it looks and with a cast of fourteen to sing Sondheim’s work. Sondheim, too, is more complicated that he appears on first being
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42nd Street
How much fun is 42nd Street? Plenty. Certainly theater likes to do shows about itself, both musicals and straight plays, but this must be one of the earliest. It’s based on the 1933 Hollywood film (and a novel that preceded it, which has sunk into oblivion). Producer David Merrick, a native St. Louisan, turned it
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A Better Gingerbread
Do you own a Microplane? That’s the long, file-looking thing that grates all sorts of stuff. I bought one when they first came out and it’s one of the few gizmo-ish things I won’t give up. It’s not essential to make this gingerbread, but it surely does help. And it’s far more efficient than the
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Just One Bite: Riverbend
There seem to be few foods so subject to abuse as the crab cake. It’s certainly not a traditional St. Louis dish, seldom appearing on local menus until perhaps twenty or so years ago. Most of what we see shows crab meat that ends up in shreds (if it didn’t start that way), bready filler
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Flashback: Miss Hulling’s
It's always interesting what restaurants make a lasting impact on our collective memory. One such spot has to be Miss Hulling's downtown cafeteria. There were other locations, but it was the flagship location that held our attention. Here's a little more of a look at it.