Ann Lemons Pollack

  • PM BBQ

    Prejudices are really pretty nasty things. Pre-judging – because that's really what the word means – can eliminate some potentially fine experiences. That's especially true when it comes to food. I don't like artichokes can lead to "Well, that dip you just scarfed down was spinach and artichokes." I once had a brother-in-law who refused

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  • Parker’s Table

    We were always fans of Parker's Table when it was on Maryland, so it shouldn't have taken me so long to drop by its new iteration just south of Clayton Road. There's still the same charming mixture of drinkables, interesting, un-cliched wines and beers, and edibles. Much of Jonathan Parker's stock comes from Italy, so

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  • On The Road: Driving and Drinking in France

    I haven't really meant to create a series of non-St. Louis entries, but the other day I got something from France in the mail. It's been very difficult for the average person to visit French (and German and Italian and…) wineries. Folks with a close relationship with their wine merchant could sometimes set something up

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  • New York: Dim Sum

    Just posted on the St. Louis Magazine blog Relish, this piece is about our favorite Chinatown dim sum spot. If you like St. Louis dim sum but think you keep getting the same choices, this is the spot for you. Huge and busy and open for dim sum 7 days a week, it buzzes with action,

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  • The Mud House

    Antiques, Black Bear Bakery and Mexican food aren't the only things found on Cherokee Street. There's the Mud House, which belies its name in nearly all ways. You can read about it here where I covered it for St. Louis Magazine's Relish.

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  • Noshing in New York

    A fast run to New York City, courtesy of one of those short-notice airfares, and a few casual meals plus one more formal one. That was at Danny Meyer's Maialino, located in the Gramercy Park Hotel, where I broke yet another of the Food Critic Rules: I ate out on Mothers Day. Indeed, I ate

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  • Lorenzo’s Trattoria

    If anyone wants proof St. Louis isn't as stick-in-the-mud as some folks claim, consider Lorenzo's. The moderately upscale restaurant on The Hill does what can only be called Modern Italian. That's in considerable contrast to its neighbors who, except for the Spanish-tabled Modesto, range from Italian delis to black-tie haunts of folks wanting what they've

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  • Atlas Restaurant

    Is the greatest menu compliment "Ahhh! I want everything"? It seems to happen to me, and many of the pals I eat with, at Atlas. If it has changed at all since its sale to Bryan Carr of Pomme, it's become even more the French bistro. And that's a good thing. Clearly a regular stop

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  • A Coming Attraction

    Meeting up with an old pal at the Missouri Botanical Garden, this is what I was greeted with. He's not quite finished yet, and there are a couple of his siblings not quite so far along, but it's clear that the Lantern Festival is going to be something very exciting.   Farther along inside the

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  • Brunch: Three Monkeys

    Remember the old Yogi Berra line, “Nobody goes there any more – it’s too crowded”? I did something I’ve counseled others not to do. I went to a restaurant right after it got a notable review. Three Monkeys brunch was featured in the recent restaurant issue of the Riverfront Times and in a burst of

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