Two Cents’ Worth

  • We Have A Winner

    The St. Louis Media History Foundation has announced the first winner of the Joe Pollack Scholarship. Tabitha Williams is a student at St. Louis University. Joe Holleman has the full scoop on stltoday.com. I know Joe would have been thrilled about this, and for those of you who had the privilege of knowing his marvelous mother,

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  • Hospital Food

    Those of you who know me beyond the world of food know I spent – well, cough, cough, many years working in hospitals and know well the slings and arrows of cafeteria food. I delivered trays to patients, and shared potluck parties with staff on holidays.  And while I admit to nostalgia for the brownies

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  • From Stove to Keyboard

    "I got a million of 'em," Jimmy Durante used to say. Richard Perry probably does, too, when it comes to stories. But St. Louis' first nationally recognized chef and pioneer of the New American cuisine isn't telling his own stories, but another, in a novel about a chef – of course – who finds himself

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  • On Mince Pies

    And so it came to pass that the holidays were upon us, and the foods thereof. In this piece from St. Louis Magazine's food blog Relish, I talk about mince pies and why they're misunderstood. Not making any this year, but maybe in 2014….

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  • How Late Did You Stay Out?

    St. Louis' fondness for nostalgia applies just as much to restaurants as it does to high schools, sports and goofy items on Facebook. Cleaning out Joe's office – and what a job that's proving to be – I found lots of interesting stuff, but one particularly caught my eye. It was a St. Louisan magazine

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  • Candy Is Dandy

    Plenty of press releases cross the desk. Most of them get read and deleted. Some get filed, a few get responses. But once in a while, there's a giggler. Such was the case a few days ago when a release for Mentos candy mints arrived. Specifically, it regarded Mentos Singapore and its new advertising campaign.

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  • Great ice Cream with Missouri Ties

    One of the nice things about the Fancy Food Show was the chance to meet some of the people who produce delicious things that I really like. One of them was Jeni Bauer, of Columbus' Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. We blogged about them a couple of years ago, in fact. Here's a story from Relish about

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  • Circus Flora: The Wizard

    Circus Flora remains irresistible. Even in this age of reality television – and shouldn't that word have quotation marks surrounding it, indicating its dubious accuracy? – an even that brings spectators so close to living, breathing excitement is more than worthwhile. This year's edition sparkles. Titled "The Wizard", the Arthurian theme allows for some splendid

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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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  • The Big Meal

    William Grimes, who was for several years the restaurant critic for the New York Times, has left that beat. But not, to a certain degree, very far; in today's Times he has a story about "The Big Meal", a play that's set in a restaurant about three generations of a family's life. The foodish among

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