Ann Lemons Pollack

  • Brunch: Gooseberries

     There are still some of us around that remember the Class of '72, the restaurants opening the year that changed St. Louis dining forever. One of those prescient restaurants was Duff's. And if one of the folks who recall those days walks into Gooseberries like I did recently, they, too, would be taken back to

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  • Donuts!

    Free Donuts (their spelling, not mine) on Friday at Jazz at the Bistro. Fifteen different providers with offerings. I'm one of the judges. Drop by when you get up or on your way to work or even on your way to bed. 

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  • Threepenny Opera

     Okay, show of hands, please. How many of us know nothing about "Threepenny Opera" except Bobby Darin singing "Mack The Knife"? (You count if you didn't know the song came from that show but remember it anyway.) The opening number from New Line Theatre's production of the show will make even diehard Darin fans –

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  • Circus Flora

     There's no comparable experience in St. Louis to Circus Flora. The tent is up, the band is in place and children of all ages are wiggling in their seats ready for the show. This is the 29th edition of the small European-style spectacle that's so intimate that when the show is over, the performers are

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  • Two Cents Plain

    Oh, the stories this place could tell. Or Jack Carl could tell if he'd chosen to. Both in its Gaslight Square and downtown incarnations, there was just something about it…. That was Jack Carl's Two Cents Plain

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  • Coming Soon!

    Attention, ice cream aficionados. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams will be opening in the Central West End on June 4. And there's free ice cream that day. (Added bonus: The first 50 people will get a free mug.) We don't know if she'll have her Gooey Butter Cake ice cream available then (but she should!), but

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  • Antony and Cleopatra

     Harbingers of the season in St. Louis: Ted Drewes begins selling Christmas trees. Opening day for the Cardinals. Shakespeare Festival St. Louis opens. This year's offering, "Antony and Cleopatra" opened Friday night on one of the most beatific opening evenings I recall, and I've only missed two of them. Most of us looked at the

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  • Publico

     Perhaps the word to describe Publico is "locaMex". Just inside the front door of the very modern interior, not a sombrero in sight, thank goodness, is a chalkboard with the local suppliers contributing to that evening's dinner. However it isn't quite Mexican either – certainly not in the Tex-Mexican sense we still automatically think of,

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  • Taco Circus

     There's probably nothing that warms an old, careworn heart of a food writer more than finding a good little neighborhood spot. Those high-end spots with a PR person and aspirations to make the Wine Spectator list? All very nice, to be sure, but it's a whole different set of expectations for an eater, whether professional

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  • Sunset 44

    Are the chicken wars of St. Louis over, or will this prove to be a long-term argument like pizza and barbecue? I certainly hope so. An ongoing discussion of good food has no downside to it. And here's a nod in the direction of the pleasures of cold fried chicken, too.  Here's a link to

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