By Penny Zimmerman-Wills

[OCT. 26, 2000]  St. Louis is a city of many faces. From the Hill’s rich Italian heritage to the Victorian splendor of Lafayette Square, this city offers a variety of distinct neighborhoods to explore and enjoy.

[click here for Part 2, featuring the Soulard and Benton Park area and the Central West End]

Grand, South Grand and
Tower Grove Park

(From downtown St. Louis, take I-64 west to the Grand exit and continue south on Grand.)

This ethnically diverse neighborhood which continues on six blocks of South Grand is the best place to go for authentic Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese food. There are many small, quaint restaurants, grocery stores, boutiques and vintage clothing stores, plus a large corner antique store that’s like a blast back to the land of Donna Reed, selling just about everything you can remember from the 1950s.

Annual events include a Chinese New Year celebration in February, a house tour in April and Grand Festival of Nations in August. The Tower Grove Park, with ornate bandstands and whimsical gazebos, is a Victorian walking park and one of only four urban parks in the country designated as a national historic landmark.

For outstanding Vietnamese food, try Pho Grand. Until recently, this restaurant was housed in a tiny, nondescript building but developed a loyal following for its calamari red curry with coconut milk and rice flour crepes. Its new home, next door at 3195 S. Grand, is much larger and features an understated, elegant decor with softly glazed beige walls sporting framed Vietnamese art. The only problem you will have is deciding what to order from the extensive menu. There are more than 30 soups alone, but if you’re feeling adventuresome, try the udon noodle soup with pig’s feet or the special egg noodle soup with roasted duck leg, shitake mushrooms and vegetables. The fresh, steamed rice-paper spring rolls shouldn’t be missed, and the fresh French-roast chicory coffee served with sweetened milk over ice is a divine way to soothe your tongue after indulging in tofu with hot chilies and lemon grass.

Lafayette Square

(From downtown St. Louis, take Market Street west to Jefferson Avenue south and turn east on Park.)

The first time I visited this section of the city was to attend the annual house and garden tour in June and was enchanted by the lovely Victorian homes and intricately designed small garden spaces. Known as the "Victorian Heart of St. Louis," its center feature is Lafayette Park, established in 1836 as the first public park west of the Mississippi River. The neighborhood’s "painted ladies" surround the park and became the city’s first historic district in 1972. Enjoy a leisurely walk around the park to get the best view of the French Second Empire town houses, sandstone row houses and beautifully decorated Victorian homes.

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Webster Groves

(Fifteen minutes from downtown St. Louis; take I-44 west to Elm north.)

This historic community features the 1857 Hawken House, once owned by inventors of the rifle that mountain men and explorers took to the western frontier. The community’s massive oak, maple and elm trees have earned it Tree City USA awards, and more than 300 houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Those facts alone are impressive enough, but wait until you dive into a piece of blueberry butter cake at Cravings, a bakery and restaurant worth making the trip for. Located at 8149 Big Bend, the tiny eatery serves a tantalizing array of lunch and dinner menu items, including oven-dried tomato and goat cheese tart, zucchini umbria, and fresh salmon with mango chutney, but it’s the end of the meal that’s special here. Cravings, which also offers custom-made desserts and wedding cakes, can’t be beat for lime-blueberry tart, chocolate mousse cake or caramel ganache tart — just a few of the mouth-watering concoctions served to local residents and tourists lucky enough to discover it. If you love pumpkin pie during the holidays, Cravings’ version of a layered pumpkin mousse pie in a walnut crust (available in November only) will make you rethink that traditional specimen made from pumpkin and spice from a can. The restaurant’s decor is like eye candy, with its purple ceiling, yellow striped walls and bold modern art on the walls — not to mention the scrumptious desserts lining the glass case in the front of the store.

If you are really hungry, try the Big Sky Cafe, at 47 S. Old Orchard, where big bowls of mashed potatoes are served constantly. There are weekly saucer nights, when portions are downsized, allowing you to try more items. Not only is the food good, but the eclectic atmosphere is entertaining. Where else can you eat dinner while gazing at a wall-sized mosaic featuring barnyard animals one step away from being impaled on a giant fork? It may change your order from red meat to salad.

Last but not least, it’s impossible to mention food and St. Louis in the same sentence without making note of the granddaddy of them all — Tony’s. Located at 410 Market St., the most famous restaurant in town has earned its reputation as a five-star AAA restaurant because of its food and amazing attention to service. Lobster Albanello, a portion of lobster tail sautéed and served in a mushroom sauce, may be a signature dish, but the veal chop topped with truffle sauce comes in at a close second. It’s expensive, but you will feel pampered and won’t be hungry for quite a while. But for my money, if it’s simply good food you’re after, there are too many other options to try in town.

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

By Penny Zimmerman-Wills

[OCT. 25, 2000]  St. Louis is a city of many faces. From the Hill’s rich Italian heritage to the Victorian splendor of Lafayette Square, this city offers a variety of distinct neighborhoods to explore and enjoy.

Soulard and Benton Park

(From downtown St. Louis, take Broadway south and continue south on Seventh Street to Lafayette.)

Though probably most known for the loud blues resonating from its brick buildings, the lively Soulard neighborhood was named for Antoine Soulard, a Frenchmen who surveyed colonial St. Louis for the King of Spain. Soulard was the original owner of the land just minutes south of the Arch. This is a more gritty part of the city, with music clubs, pubs and open patio dining. An annual Bastille Day celebration in July, a week-long Mardi Gras party in February and holiday parlor tours of historic homes in December are among the area’s most popular annual events. The Soulard Market, since opening in 1778, has been the centerpiece of the neighborhood.

My choice for lunch is Norton’s Cafe, located at 808 Geyer Ave. The large, shaded patio is the best place to dine in fair-weather months. There are no menus here; you just choose items, such as burgers and Creole gumbo or pecan-crusted catfish and blackened chicken, from the massive chalkboard propped on the wall. All meals are served with the house specialty, new potatoes with parsley butter. You’ll forget all about french fries. Another plus: It’s open until midnight, seven days a week.

If you’re in the mood for something different, try Yemanja Brasil, at 2900 Missouri. The city’s only Brazilian restaurant, named for a goddess of the sea, is a welcomed change of pace. Seafood is offered in many ways, and many dishes feature coconut, which is a personal favorite. The quaint restaurant is housed in a turn-of-the-century storefront in Benton Park.

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Central West End

(From downtown, take I-64 west of Kingshighway north, or take Metrolink light rail to the Central West End station.)

With its massive stone buildings and beautiful turn-of-the century homes on tree-lined trees, this stately and eclectic neighborhood should definitely be on any list of areas to visit. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which claims the world’s largest collection of mosaic art, anchors the district. Conveniently located near Forest Park, many cultural attractions surround the area, including St. Louis Art Museum, the Science Center, History Museum, Zoo and Fox Theater. You might see luxury sports cars tooling the streets as well as college students on bicycles.

There are more than 50 restaurants in this area, serving everything from hamburgers to upscale Asian food. Cafe Balaban, located at 405 N. Euclid, is one of the most popular destinations in this trendy neighborhood and offers something for everyone: A noisy bar is the place to be seen and meet people, while the enclosed sidewalk cafe offers a place to people-watch, and a formal dining room is the best bet for a romantic dinner for two. The chilled cucumber bisque, smoked Missouri trout, duck with raspberry sauce and herb-encrusted, free-range chicken are highly recommended.

Zoe Pan-Asia Cafe, at 4753 McPherson, is an upscale Asian restaurant decorated with a minimalist frame of mind. It’s famous for grilled meat and fish with unusual sauces, peanut-dusted green beans, and mango sorbet. Try one of the specialty cocktails, because the names are as enticing as the ingredients: Red or Green Dragon, Suzy Wong and Bronze Buddha. Appetizers include chicken harvest rolls with lime cilantro dipping sauce and sushi, while entrees worth noting are wok-seared salt shrimp with mango yogurt sauce and shitake-dusted grouper with carrot-ginger sauce.

(To be continued)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[click here for Part 3]

This part of a continuing series explores the different neighborhoods of St. Louis
and the restaurants there.

By Penny Zimmerman-Wills

[OCT. 24, 2000]  St. Louis is a city of many faces. From the Hill’s rich Italian heritage to the Victorian splendor of Lafayette Square, this city offers a variety of distinct neighborhoods to explore and enjoy.

And tucked away in each historical neighborhood are enough restaurants, outdoor cafes and bakeries to tempt the willpower of many dedicated dieters. St. Louis’ love affair with food was evident when merchants made headlines during the 1904 World’s Fair by inventing iced tea and ice cream cones and making hot dogs and hamburgers so popular. As local residents and tourists have discovered, the city now offers an abundance of ways to tempt your taste buds.

The Hill

(From downtown St. Louis, take I-64 west to Kingshighway south and turn west on Shaw.)

There’s no better place to begin a tour of St. Louis neighborhoods than the Hill, where small bakeries, groceries and restaurants serving up equal portions of Old World charm and homemade spaghetti mingle with rows of tiny brick bungalows on narrow streets. The 15-block area looks similar to when it was settled in the early 1900s by Italian immigrants.

Fireplugs are painted in traditional green, white and red colors of Italy, and colorful banners waving in the breeze set a boundary for the neighborhood. A statute symbolizing Italian immigrants stands at a busy street corner. Signs advertising bocce ball are painted on the sides of corner brick watering holes, where elderly women feel just as welcome as their grandsons. These symbols aren’t for the benefits of tourists; they signify the history and traditions of the people who live and work there. If there’s any doubt, just step inside one of the locally operated grocery stores, where fresh pepperoni, cheeses and olives fill food cases, and pizzelle cookies, fresh spices and homemade pasta sit on the shelves next to religious symbols and candles. I love shopping at the tiny Italian markets and make an effort to stock up on olive oil, pine nuts, organic tomato sauce and other Italian staples during my visits there.

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You really can’t go wrong in choosing a place for a good Italian dinner in this section of town, but there are a few places that stand out from the pack. Favazza’s is a favorite among local residents, and the decor is as authentic and homespun as the food. Located at 5201 Southwest Ave. at Marconi, the restaurant’s brick walls, dark wood paneling and stained glass windows all add to the homey atmosphere, and the pasta, veal and steak entrees are all excellent.

Giovanni’s, located at 5201 Shaw, another favorite among families and senior citizens, offers old-fashioned, classic Italian dishes, but be prepared for a long wait for a table. Repeat customers can often expect a two-hour wait even at 5:30 p.m., but you’ll forget all about the inconvenience after the first bite of bow-tie pasta with smoked salmon in a alfredo sauce and garlic-encrusted broiled tomatoes.

Trattoria Marcella, at 3600 Watson, serves rustic Italian cuisine and pleases the palate with its lobster risoto and ever-changing selection of fresh ravioli. Be sure to call ahead for reservations.

(To be continued)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[click here for Part 2]

St. Louis calendar of events for November and December 2000

Nov. 19:  Holiday Champagne Stroll, Clayton Row Antiques, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (314) 725-2622

Nov. 20-26:  Annual Festival of Trees, The Scottish Rite Cathedral. Unique display of over more than 200 decorated Christmas trees, wreaths and centerpieces, arts and crafts area for children, holiday boutique, gingerbread village, live entertainment, Victorian teas and more. (314) 432-6200.Nov. 23:  Mid-America Holiday Parade, downtown. Floats, bands, carriages, equestrian units and Santa Claus kick off the holiday season. (314) 286-4086.

Nov. 24-Dec. 23:  Christmas Traditions, historic Main Street, St. Charles, Mo. Holiday festivities include yule log burning, caroling and Santas on weekends. Shopping and dining Wednesdays and Fridays until 9 p.m. (636) 946-7776 or (800) 366-2427.

Nov. 24-26:  Annual Polka Festival, Regal Riverfront Hotel Grand Ballroom. Three days of polka music. (314) 846-8906.

Dec. 7-8:  Tower Grove House candlelight tours, Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove House. The elegance and romance of a 19th century English Christmas in Henry Shaw's country home, decorated for the holidays in traditional Victorian splendor. Advance reservations required. (314) 577-5150.

Dec. 30:  Kwanzaa: Festival of the First Fruits, at Missouri Botanical Garden, Ridgway Center. A celebration of the African American culture. Kwanzaa is a Swahili term meaning "first fruits," and a Kwanzaa ceremony highlights a day of storytelling, craft and jewelry workshops, and authentic African drumming and choral performances. Time to be announced. (314) 577-5141

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