Flavors of St. Louis

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to visit St. Louis. I ran the Half-Marathon with Mr. Smith and his brother and had a wonderful time enjoying the 90 degree weekend full of sun.

St. Louis doesn't always have the nicest reputation, and much like Detroit it has seen its better days. But St. Louis, like Detroit, still has its hidden gems, and on a spring weekend where the trees and flowers were blooming, the roadways were lined with green, and I could wear shorts with the windows rolled down I must say St. Louis really shined.

As always, my favorite part of a vacation is trying out some really good food, and this vacation did not disappoint. The moment we walked off the plane, Mr. Smith already had our evening plans in line, which I totally appreciated. We dropped our things off at his apartment, freshened up with some deodorant (planes just have stinky, sweaty air), and took off to the Central West End, a cultural mecca near downtown St. Louis.

The Central West End is full of restaurants, bars, and an overall urban vibe that seems to excel as the sun goes down. In the warmth of the April night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Pi, a local pizza restaruant. Pi has some amazing pizzas, both deep dish and thin crust. The pizzas have been featured on numerous eating shows and the President himself wanted this pizza at the White House. And it was good.

We had a few tasty deep dishes and a thin crust to fill up our large party (more than just Mr. Smith and his brother) and it certainly did fill us up. My favorite part of the deep dishes, and arguably the most important part, is the tomato sauce that covered the toppings. The sauce had thick chunky tomatoes mixed in with delicious seasonings and a wonderful crust. The sauce truly makes the pizza and Pi did it right. What's more is the atmosphere in Pi is something I just haven't been used to in the barren restaurants of Detroit. The place was alive and full of ambiance and fun. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and the street was teeming with people even as the night wore on.

Saturday gave way to my favorite meal of the weekend at a place called Winslow's Home. If you're ever taken the Art and Architecture History class at Western Michigan University, than you know that Winslow's Home is a play off of artist Winslow Homer, an American artist known for his landscapes. The restaurant was a combination general store and restaurant, but don't think Cracker Barrel, think awesome local establishment.

Winslow's Home is a wonderful restaurant that also has its own farm. The restaurant uses the farm to raise crops, cattle, and other foods to be used in their cooking. Everything is fresh, real, and tastes phenominal. What's even cooler about the restaurant is that the tables are simply mixed in the general store so while you're waiting for your food you can browse the eccentric wares and mixture of cheeses, meats, and wines. I even found a book about how to make your own cheese!

If the restaurant experience was awesome, the food was divine. I had a wonderful omlette, potatoes, and orange juice, which seems very simple, but was so much more than simple. The eggs were the freshest I've ever had, the flavors were so incredibly delicious, and the potatoes were cooked to absolute perfection with the finest of seasonings. It was the kind of food that you didn't want to scarf down. It was the kind of food that you couldn't help but enjoy every savory bite. And the orange juice was equally outstanding. Behind the check-out counter was a large orange squeezer with a small hole at the top to put oranges in. At the bottom of this machine was a small spigot. If you follow the logic, this orange juice was freshly squeezed and tasted like you were literally drinking an orange. Before I even tasted it I knew we wanted a carafe.

The portions didn't look big, but it didn't matter. After eating food that good, you were full and completely satisfied. The only problem was that we wanted more. The other meals that day were still quite good, but they were masked by the amazing meal we had in the morning. So I'll skip to the Sunday meal after our race.

All three of us had a great race. In 90 degree heat and beating sun, we all finished within minutes of one another near the 2 hour mark. Despite a crowded course and blazing heat, we all did well. But all that running and heat makes a man hungry, so we ventured to a small restaurant near Busch Stadium. The Broadway Oyster Bar was one of the few places open, but full of life. The restaurant is in a generally open setting which was so wonderful in the heat of the day. It transported us into the Louisiana Bayou (or what I picture the bayou to be like) and gave us a menu full of wonderful cajun flavors. I ordered a grinder and was pleased to see the best grinder I've seen. I'm used to grinders with two halves of bread filled with some warm meat in between. Apparently, I've never eaten a real grinder. A grinder is half a baguette hollowed out and filled with amazing treats. Mine was full of andoullie sausage, cajun spices, and wonderful cheeses that made an amazing complement to cajun fries and wonderful water.

Every meal we ate in St. Louis was wonderful. I firmly believe that one of the best parts of travel and maybe even life is finding some great meals to write about. Nothing beats eating something so delicious that you can't stop thinking about it and savor every bite you take. Having a meal you can share with another and have some great times and funny stories told is what family and community is all about. We are so consumed with our busy lives that we allow ourselves to be satisfied with fast food and microwave meals. But if you think about it, your favorite memories with food probably involve good, real meals that took longer than 5 minutes to prepare and eat. If you'll excuse me, I'm a little hungry now.