[chesterfield]
You might want to eat light before visiting Chesterfield and the Taste of St. Louis Sept. 19 through 21, because there will be more to enjoy than you can shake a spatula at. Three days of fun, food and music will be featured in Chesterfield’s Central Park, with Food Network stars Tyler Florence appearing Friday night and Duff Goldman on Saturday night in Chesterfield Amphitheater. Florence has starred in some of the nuttiest shows anywhere on TV, from The Great Food Truck Race to Food Court Wars. Goldman and his team have baked … well, constructed, imaginative cakes for special events that defy comprehension. One wonders how they survive the trip from oven to destination in the delivery van. Big-name musical entertainment is featured Friday and Saturday nights, the former headlining Big Head Todd & the Monsters (they’re great) and the latter with The Urge (they’re epic!) in the spotlight. Plus, there’s fireworks! Chef battles! Food! Drink! And crowds! Tickets are required for amphitheater shows featuring the Food Network stars and big-name bands, but much of the event—now in its 10th year—is free. We were, however, amused by some of the marketing materials that have ‘amphitheater’ misspelled as ‘amphitehater.’ Once a copy editor, always a copy editor…
[eureka]
The TV news story says Dennis Hirsch suffered a heart attack and died while walking in Eureka’s Kircher Park. But he was revived by two bystanders who stayed with him until an ambulance arrived to get him to the ER, where staff stabilized him. In a special ceremony at the hospital, Kircher recently got the chance to acquaint himself with the two men who happened to be at the right place at the right time. Dennis Luther was playing Frisbee golf; Chris Bredahl, a Boy Scout leader, was riding his bicycle. They performed CPR with the help of the 911 dispatcher, and after Hirsch was whisked away, went their separate ways. When each saw the TV news piece about Hirsch wishing to meet the men who saved his life, they reconnected with him. Hirsch most likely would have died were it not for the quick response of his saviors.
[kirkwood]
Do they only come out at night? In the case of a costumed robber of a Walgreens on North Kirkwood Road recently, they came out in the wee hours of the morning. Armed robbery is no joke, but a surveillance image from 2:42 a.m. shows one of three male drugstore robbers all dolled up in a laugh-worthy woman’s outfit that he could have assembled from his grandmother’s closet: blue dress (muu muu?), big red purse, shades and a bad wig. One robber led an employee and the manager on duty from register to register, from which he gathered cash, then he ordered the manager and another employee to stay put in an office, and fled. Meanwhile, other employees had called Kirkwood’s finest, who were patrolling the area anyway. The cops made short work of rounding up the knuckleheads after spying the getaway car and stopping it during a short eastbound chase on Manchester Road to Berry. Two of the three were charged. We hope Grandma doesn’t get her duds back after they’re entered into evidence. She could use a new wardrobe.
[o’fallon]
What goes around, comes around. O’Fallon is considering allowing domesticated birds on residential property. Presently, chickens, ducks and geese are permitted only on agricultural land in the city. We surmise that the residential property in question has been zoned as such for less than 50 years. Same probably goes for commercial concerns such as supermarkets, C-stores and fast-food restaurants. So goes progress. Whatevs. Much of O’Fallon today is a town of big houses, some on big pieces of property. Some consists of big houses on smaller tracts. Other municipalities comprised of smaller residences with properties only fractions of an acre have passed ordinances allowing egglaying hens, including Richmond Heights. Communities that are more spread out, like Creve Coeur, also have given wings up to chickens. (‘So, hey, O’Fallon neighbor—you may think my chickens are annoying, but I’m not fond of your barking dogs and I’m allergic to your cats.’) At any rate, my neighbors in south St. Louis have chickens. I hear them every once in awhile. My son and I think they’re amusing. So go, O’Fallon! Let the birds range free … within your fenced yards and wired coops, anyway.
[olivette]
Restaurateur and chef Mike Johnson is no shrinking violet. The owner of Sugarfire Smokehouse in Olivette next month will open a place specializing in his addictive desserts. One has the no-holds-barred name of Crack Pie; just one bite of Sugarfire pastry chef Carolyn Downs’ sugar pie (with caramelized brown sugar) will give diners an idea of why it was named after the notorious street drug. Many people celebrate Johnson’s decor almost as much as his recipes: Sugarfire Smokehouse has a fun and funky feel. Sugarfire Pie, to open two doors down in the shopping plaza, at 9200 Olive Blvd., will celebrate the ambiance of a bakery from the 1950s. You won’t be able to buy a slice of pie for a nickel, of course, but you should still get your money’s worth from the pies and other desserts cooked up by Downs (also of Cyrano’s fame), not to mention the soft-serve frozen custard the restaurant will offer.
[st. louis]
We’re sure you’ve seen announcements for the ‘first annual’ this or that event, which (alas) never makes a second appearance. Technically, something can’t be called ‘annual’ unless it’s the third time it has reoccurred (in a row), and the Dogtown Street Musicians Festival has hit the magical mark of five straight years. The fifth annual festival is slated for Saturday, Sept. 20, at the corner of Clayton and Tamm avenues in the popular Dogtown neighborhood. Although this neighborhood is known for its raucous St. Patrick’s Day parades, this event is designed to encourage the crowd to get up-close and listen to upward of 30 all-acoustic acts that set up on the sidewalks. Dogtown Historical Society is behind the happening, and all tips go to the respective performers, which have ranged from combos to solo hammereddulcimer players. Musicians will perform from noon to 7 p.m., and admission is free.
[town & country]
Some folks can never get ready too early for the holidays. They’re hard-core, buying gifts on sale this year to put under the tree next year, and saving all the boxes from years past to reuse. And some start baking way before the frost is on the pumpkin. (We’re not talking about fruitcake. People may have been regifting the same one their great-grandmother concocted during the Eisenhower era.) So, we wanted to let you know plenty early about a holiday event put on by our area’s Greek Orthodox community. Ladies and gentlemen, start your salivary glands: St. Nicholas Family Life Center in Town & Country will prepare favorite Greek delicacies both for the true aficionado and the simply curious on Saturday, Nov. 8, to enjoy or take home to put in the freezer for the holidays. We’re talking about baklava,spanakopita, pastitsio—plus any number of other Greek delicacies, pastries and cookies—prepared by the women who make all the food for the Greek Festival every Labor Day weekend in the CWE. So if you missed that, don’t miss this. Guests may also shop at a variety of local holiday boutiques. All proceeds from the annual Grecian Kitchen Holiday Open House will help fund the work of local and national charities supported by St. Nicholas Philoptochos. Opa!
[webster groves]
It’s been called the ‘electric beach,’ but now tanning beds for teens in Webster Groves, and everywhere else in the state, are off-limits unless the youth have parental permission. (In this context, ‘teens’ are younger than 17.) Experts say minors comprise more than half of the people who use tanning beds, and they hope the new law will have a chilling effect on teenagers and the salons that would tan them. What price for turning a teen’s skin golden-brown? Salons would be subject to a $100 fine for the first offense, and $500 for subsequent violations. The law puts the onus on parents, as well. They’d have to sign a one-year release to the salon for their kids to tan. What’s the big deal? The big ‘C,’ of course. Studies have shown that early exposure to UV rays increases the risk of cancer later in life.