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My husband, Peter, and I frequently bop down to St.
Louis for the day to shop; listen to music; see a film, play, or exhibit;
go to the Missouri Botanical Garden; or just generally mess around. No
matter what else is on our St. Louis agenda, however, we always take
advantage of its wealth of dining options, ranging from an outdoor rib
stand and storefront ethnic eateries to the haute–est of haute cuisine. Though
we’re always on the lookout for new finds, there are places to which
we keep returning. Here are three perennial favorites: Shaw’s Coffee Ltd. (5147 Shaw Ave., 314-771-6920, www.shawscoffee.com), on the Hill,
St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood, is always our first stop unless
we’re going to a farmers’ market, and then it’s our
second stop. Walking in the door, the first things that hit us are the
aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans and the sight of the huge coffee
roaster. Shaw’s owners, Washington University vascular
researchers Walter Boyle and Gail Maher, aren’t typical coffeehouse
owners. They got into the coffee business because of their passion for fine
coffee and their frustration at not being able to find coffee or
coffeehouses in St. Louis that met their standards. Undoubtedly their scientific background helped in the
search for the best green coffee beans and coffee roaster (purchased in
Seattle) and the formulation roasting times and techniques. Shaw’s
isn’t just about great coffee, however. Boyles and Maher have created
a warm, inviting atmosphere with the help of local artists and designers.
There’s even a whimsical touch: The former bank space includes a
vault with table and chairs for those desiring privacy. We buy enough whole-bean coffee to stock our freezer
until our next visit (our favorite, Sumatra, is so aromatic that even when
stored in the trunk it perfumes the inside of our car), our coffee drinks,
and perhaps a breakfast bread or pastry from the small but well-executed
selection. Then we grab a couple of copies of the Riverfront Times (the St. Louis
alternative weekly), settle into comfortable chairs or a sofa, and see
what’s happening. It’s not a big breakfast, but we want to save
room for an early lunch, especially if we’re going to Adriana’s
(5101 Shaw Ave., 314-773-3833), a couple of blocks down the street.
Peter usually lingers over his coffee and RFT while I head next
door to Viviano’s (5139 Shaw Ave., 314-771-5476,
www.shopviviano.com), a 50-plus-year-old Italian family grocery. Then we
may both walk over to Bertarelli Cutlery (1927 Marconi Ave., 314-664-4005,
www.bertarellicutlerly.com) and peruse the excellent selection of knives
and kitchen supplies (though if we’ve brought knives to sharpen, we
drop them off before going to Shaw’s), then head over to
Adriana’s. There are two reasons to plan an early arrival at Adriana’s. The first is
that it’s a St. Louis institution, one of the city’s best-loved
lunch spots. Go early, and you may not have to wait in the line that often
stretches out the door. The second reason is that lunch at Adriana’s
is substantial.
Adriana’s tables and booths are strictly
utilitarian. The tablecloths are plastic, as are the glassware and the
paper-lined baskets that hold the sandwiches. The only other menu items
besides sandwiches are soups, salads, and a few red-sauce pastas. The
reason the restaurant so popular is just that everything’s so good. Over the years I’ve tried many things at
Adriana’s, but I keep coming back to the Sicilian salsiccia sandwich,
the split sausage nestled between Italian vinaigrette-dressed garlic bread
and melted cheese. We usually split an order of the housemade caponata, a
vegetable mélange somewhere between salad and relish. If we’re
going to have a light (perhaps Asian) dinner or just some appetizers before
a concert, we may each get a whole sandwich; otherwise, we share.
Either way, a pleasant stroll is in order to work off
lunch, and there’s no better place to do it than at the Missouri
Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Blvd., 800-642-8842, www.mobot.org). It might not seem that late Midwestern winter is an
ideal time/place to visit a horticultural showplace. The Garden’s
Seiwa-en, the largest traditional Japanese garden in North America, is
beautiful year-round, however, as is the Climatron’s tropical-lowland
rainforest. But it’s the Linnean House, built in 1882, the oldest
continuously operating greenhouse west of the Mississippi, that draws us
back to the Garden this time every year. It’s filled with camellia
trees, their waxy, almost impossibly perfect flowers in full bloom.
Camellias have a gustatory connection, too: One variety, Camellia sinensis, is the source of
all green and black teas. Any differences come not from different plant
varieties but in the way teas are aged, dried, and processed.
Though there are countless dining options in St.
Louis, if forced to choose just one I could return to, I wouldn’t
hesitate a second: It’d be King
Louie’s (3800 Chouteau Ave.,
314-865-3662, www.saucemagazine.com/kinglouies/), a wonderful melding of
great ambiance and outstanding food. Located in the hospitality room of the old Otto F.
Stifel Union Brewery, King Louie’s is a beautiful oasis in an
industrial area. The exterior of the quaint 86-year-old building hints at
the special treat that lies ahead. A glimpse of the interior confirms that
first impression: The warmth of old brick and exposed beams provides a
backdrop for the eclectic art chosen by owner Matt McGuire, a graduate of
Chicago’s Art Institute. There are more visual pleasures in store:
the gorgeous old tiger’s-eye oak bar, one of only 35 in the United
States, and the outdoor kitchen/grill/oven and dining area, easily the most
beautifully landscaped al fresco eating place I’ve visited in the
Midwest. King Louie’s food doesn’t play second
fiddle to the surroundings, offering a similar mix of excitement and
comfort. There are touches of fusion (often Asian and Southwestern), but
they’re complementary, never jarring. Chef Stephen Ciapciak and
McGuire are committed to incorporating local products into their
ever-changing menu; there’s even a printout about the local purveyors
featured on each month’s menu available. Side dishes and
accompaniments to main courses are given as much attention as the main dish
itself; we often order something on the basis of those accompaniments as
much or more than on the main item itself. Servers — including
Springfield native Joe Oder, winner of past IT “Best Waiter” awards — are
knowledgeable and helpful without being servile. (I hate that old-school
bowing-and-scraping stuff.) King Louie’s keeps garnering “Best
Of” awards itself, including Best Outdoor Dining, Best Wine List,
Best Fireside Dining, and Best Restaurant Overall. Clearly, however, the
staffers are not content to rest on their laurels, which is why I’m
more than content to keep going back.
Send questions and comments to Julianne Glatz at
realcuisine@insightbb.com.
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2007.
