grand south grand / frontenac | Journalists across the metro have covered the debut and/or demise of countless eateries, but only I can tell you of the demise of one dear to my stomach and the resurrection of another within the last month: RIP, Canyon Café at Plaza Frontenac, and welcome back with a wide-open mouth to classic Persian cuisine at the Gin Room, formerly Café Natasha, 3200 South Grand Blvd., just southeast of Tower Grove Park! Café Natasha was founded in 2001 by Hamishe Bahrami and her late husband, Behshid, and named after their daughter, Natasha. Hamishe came out of retirement and is again cooking and presenting her Persian dishes at the Gin Room, working alongside Natasha as a mother-daughter team. When I lived in Tower Grove East from 2010 to 2015, it was a favorite walk-to culinary destination that I introduced to many friends and my second wife, Cate, with great enthusiasm. Shish kebab, ooh la la! Once I became a U. City resident with a salmon aficionado for my better half, Canyon Café was a short hop from Delmar to the Plaza Frontenac for her frequent must-have: the lemon salmon. The half-pound bacon cheeseburger from there was more than enough to satisfy my incessant urge for a big hunk of charbroiled beef, its bun baked with shreds of jalapeno and other hot peppers right inside, like nothing else east of New Mexico. Alas, the torches outside the restaurant had been extinguished for good as of Jan. 25.
the metro
Scrolling social media doesn’t have to be a major time-suck. These days, you could make some easy money. Keeping tabs on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok could net you a nifty roll of $100 bills, and if you’re paying attention and can move fast, you could grab a handful of this cold, hard cash through Cash Stash STL, which is continuing to run frequent scavenger-hunt style cash drops around the metro. Instagram posts show active stashes as recently as Jan. 21, encouraging people to tag the account when they find them. But you have to be plugged into the process, because if you’re trying to make a grab after somebody else has already picked it up, you’re toast. Until the next drop, that is. As the late Bill Sr. used to say, “Too soon old, too late smart.” In this case, if you’re too slow, you’re too late. He could have appreciated something like ‘Too dang slow, much more poor.’ Dad was a Luddite. He only used his cellphone to make or receive calls. The only thing he managed to do with his iPad was drop it. Although texting was right at his fingertips, its utility was beyond his grasp. He eventually wrapped his head around email, but had no patience for any other computer features that yield useful info instantaneously. Alas: He had a pretty quick mind, but it never truly adapted to the Information Age. Honestly, yours truly is still catching up. Until I found out about it online—I’ll fess up, while doomscrolling—I had no idea that Facebook and TikTok videos were showing live and recently completed hunts, including multiple stash drops around town sponsored by local businesses and law firms. If you’ve ever driven on area interstates, you know that beaucoup lawyers market their services on billboards. Meanwhile, some others have found that the cash drops in planters or wherever are less expensive and more direct. Talk about word of mouth: If you score, you’re likely to crow about it to however many friends you have, live or virtual. Cash Stash STL maintains active social accounts, especially on TikTok and Instagram, where they regularly post hints, teaser videos and ‘stash is live’ announcements. So, you could be a winner, too, dear readers.
the delmar loop
Pin-Up Bowl, the eclectic, eight-lane bowling alley and lounge in the Delmar Loop, has new owners: St. Louis radio personality and touring musician Moon Valjean—co-host of the Rizzuto Show on 105.7 The Point—has joined restaurant partners Ben Strake and Rick DeStefane of Tamm Avenue Bar and other fine establishments in acquiring the 23-year-old venue from the indefatigable Joe Edwards. Valjean is looking forward to parlaying his significant musical background and network to develop more collaborations with Pin-Up Bowl and the community. “As a proud St. Louisan, I wouldn’t be where I am today without Joe Edwards, the Pageant and everything the Edwards family has done for artists and people like me in this city,” said Valjean. “My career was shaped inside Joe’s venues.” Patrons can enjoy the same great bar program and tempting pizzas, sandwiches and appetizers at 6191 Delmar, where night owls can expect a rock ’n’ rolling good time seven days a week until 3 a.m. As with Edwards establishments Blueberry Hill and the Moonrise Hotel, multiple display cases pep up the place; this destination is chock-full of bowling artifacts and 1940s pin-up-girl memorabilia.
notable neighbors
ladue
Everywhere she goes, she spreads joy. Some have said she leaves sparkles. From personal experience, this writer will tell you that if you spend only a few minutes with her, your facial muscles will ache from all that smiling. “Movement has just been something that’s been ingrained in me since I was a kid,” says Laura Dunlop, and as the mother of three young hockey players—Beau (10), Blake (7) and Drew (5)—her three bears, one can only imagine. Well, she’s also just qualified for another Boston marathon. And the Dunlop clan’s 3 Bears Granola has been up and running since September. “The business accidentally started,” she says with a chuckle, with ‘Papa Bear,’ her husband Connor, providing elbow grease in the family kitchen alongside his wife and their three boys. They now stir and spoon up the crunchy goodness in a commercial kitchen with her parents, Paul and Terri, her dad now as CFO. Obviously, she hit the ground running right after her happy accident. Her marketing plan largely consists of restaurants and other businesses contacting her because they’d like to have bags available for their clientele. Call it word-of-mouth with a little something extra that’s put 3 Bears on shelves at Palm Health, Annie Gunn’s and other notable establishments. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried the Chocolate & Cherry variety: gluten-free oats, dark chocolate chips, dried cherries, coconut sugar, pecans and cashews. Other varieties have such select ingredients as pistachios, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and goji berries. (Try them all…) Laura Dunlop is one of those women of whom it has probably been said many times: “She’s never met a stranger.” With Pilates instructor and Lululemon manager also on her resume, it’s a sure thing. She still teaches classic Pilates several days a week. When she started, there was much to learn, and unlearn. “My mentor told me I was doing a sit-up wrong!” she exclaims. Today she knows the subtle differences between feedback and coaching. And it’s all good. She passes on another pearl: “You’re only as old as your spine is young.” As for Lululemon, she led the store at Plaza Frontenac and also opened the store on Fifth Avenue in NYC. You’re not a customer at Lululemon: “You’re a guest,” she emphasizes. An associate posted near the front door may be the ‘director of first impressions,’ unofficially. But everyone on staff is an ‘educator.’ Not a day goes by that Dunlop isn’t learning something or sharing her wisdom, either one-on-one or in groups, often corporate. She was busy learning the fine art of pugilism when she met Connor at Sweat, a boxing gym in town. “He knew how hard I could hit, which is a great way to meet your husband,” she says. Well, he also knows how fleet on her feet she is: Laura runs about 50 miles a week. And if you haven’t guessed, she’s overwhelmingly positive. We could all take to heart three of her favorite words—concepts, actually: Love. Joy. Abundance. Their values were always top of mind when she concentrated on looking inward last summer. Her mindset certainly beats the alternative. She pauses and exhales. “There’s so much heaviness in the world today.” For such much more than a delicious, healthy snack, check out 3bearsgranola.com.
