On The Road

  • Ann Lemons Pollack: A Well-Seasoned Life

    Never a shrinking violet, Ann moved between many different worlds during her 76 years.

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  • Appreciation: A Buffet of Ann Lemons Pollack’s Writing

    With the passing of Ann Lemons Pollack in April and preparations underway for the July 24 celebration of her life, we’ve been enjoying re-discovering some of her early writings. Tucked onto dusty bookshelves and archived in old wine boxes, we’ve found dozens of dog-eared hard copies and tear sheets of her old writings, largely lost

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  • Ci Siamo

    A recent fast trip to New York had some great results:  https://www.stlmag.com/dining/st-louis-native-danny-meyer-opens-ci-saimo-in-new-york-city/

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  • New Mexico, Part 2

    One of the evenings in Santa Fe began with a stop at the Gruet Winery Tasting Room in the historic Hotel St. Francis. (If you want to sound knowledgeable , Gruet is pronounced Gru-AY, in the French manner.) The Gruet family is from the Champagne-Ardenne region of France; they came to New Mexico in 1984

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  • New Mexico: On the Road, part 1

    It’s taken me decades to get back to New Mexico. I was there briefly as a young teenager – first trip without the parents!! – and always wanted more time than a few hours in places like Taos, Santa Fe and what I learned was called the High Road between the two cities. This year,

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  • On the Road: LC’s in Kansas City

    I was just on 107.3, Radio Arts Foundation, talking about food, and I mentioned that I had been in Kansas City earlier this week. This is my favorite hole in the wall there, although, as I admit, I have a soft spot for the lamb ribs at Jack’s Stack – the place whose name I

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  • How Much Did That Beer Cost?

    St. Louisans never seemed to begrudge Gussie Busch his luxuries. There was seemingly even a quiet pride in them, especially when they involved taking good care of the baseball team. Then the Belzilians came and we all think differently now.  Here's a story where some of their profits are going. Has anyone you know been

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  • Pescadero, CA: Duarte’s Tavern

    Years ago, Joe and I stopped for lunch at an oyster shack north of San Francisco. It was a quiet autumn weekday. Only one other couple were there enjoying the oysters and the weather. Eventually, the woman asked me where we were from and a pleasant, brief chat ensued. They lived just north of Los

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  • On the Road: Potatoes in New York City

    It’s no secret that I’m pretty crabby on the subject of morning potatoes. The last place I expected to find platonic antemeridianal spuds was New York City. But there they were, smiling and waving at me from a plate across the street from the Whitney Museum, in an eatery with the unlikely name of Bubby’s.

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  • Suburban Baltimore: Conrad’s Crabs

    Folks don’t dress up for seafood in Baltimore. There, as in New Orleans, it’s an ordinary part of everyday life, not something that calls for nice shoes and something a step up from a t-shirt. Sure, there are fancier spots, but there are also neighborhood hangouts and restaurants folks say their parents took them to

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