n e w r o ot s f o r r e f u g e e s
fa r m i n g f r o m t h e g r o u n d u p
c r ac k i n g i n to t h e m a r k e t
GROWING GLOBAL
RAISING THE ROOF
DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
Inspired Local Food Culture | M i d w e s t
Get a taste of St. Louis’ first urban rooftop farm on p. 84
feastmagazine.com |
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It’s a deliciously versatile hybrid grape that delivers a wide range of flavors for every season. From debonair dry wines to delectably sweet dessert wines, the Vignoles is a grape of many possibilities with a penchant to please. Plus, Missouri Vignoles are some of the most awarded wines in the “Show Me” State. So, take my advice and prepare to have your breath taken away with any of the wines Missouri has crafted for you.
MissouriWine .org | #MeetMoWines
Inspired Local Food Culture
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L A N I O T NA
2016 DONUTS
ENJOY DONUTS FROM
STRANGE DONUTS
LIVE ROCK SHOW FROM
SPACEFACE
featuring a member of the FLAMING LIPS
GOOD EATS with
Mission Taco Joint AND Southern DONUT DAY BEER from
4 Hands Brewing Co. ICED COFFEE from
Kaldi’s Coffee DJ SETS by
Billy Brown & Drace! 6
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#STRANGEDONUTDAY
FRIDAY JUNE 3 6-10 PM AT THE
KALDI’S COFFEE ROASTING PLANT ( 3983 Gratiot Ave. )
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Inspired Local Food Culture | M i dw e st
FEATURES
JUNE 2016 from the staff | 10 |
| 41 |
We talk to pig farmer Todd Geisert about his new market in Washington, Missouri, and visit an organic farmers’ market in Kansas City. We also taste-test a colorful, floral chocolate bark from a bakery in Parkville, Missouri.
froM the PUBLisher
Freshen up.
| 12 |
digitaL content
What’s online this month.
| 14 |
feast tv
A look at the cheese episode.
| 19 |
dine This month, we visit three restaurants, including a Kansas City spot dedicated to banh mi, and learn about the benefits of bee pollen. In our monthly travel piece, Road Trip, writer Denise Kruse visits Conway, Arkansas, and shares where to dine, drink and stay this month during the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s 10th anniversary season.
shoP
| 51 |
cook
| 52 | heaLthy aPPetite
64 72
Dig into a creamy chia-seed bowl perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack or even as dessert.
| 54 | Mystery shoPPer Buy it and try it: filfel chuma.
| 56 | MenU oPtions Make your own crêpes for classic salmon coulibiac.
79
a not-so-secret garden The Wine Cellar & Bistro in Columbia, Missouri, finds vibrant flavor through love of soil.
growing global
New Roots for Refugees connects refugees in Kansas City, Kansas, to their past and helps build their future through farming.
duck, duck, goose
Blue Heron Farm in Marshfield, Missouri, is cracking into the local market with its duck, goose and chicken eggs.
| 58 | sweet ideas | 31 |
drink We head to Hannibal, Missouri, to visit a brewery inspired by one of the state’s most famous authors. In his monthly column, The Mix, Matt Seiter makes the most of seasonal produce with berry shrubs, and in On Trend, we sip Peruvian pisco in three warm-weather cocktails.
Pastry chef Chrisy Augustin’s brown butter cobbler recipe upgrades one of her favorite summer dishes.
COveR PHOTO OF eDAMAMe RISOTTO AND TeA-SMOKeD FIve-MINUTe FARM eGG By CHeF BeRNIe Lee OF HIRO ASIAN KITCHeN FROM THe SPRING HARveST DINNeR AT URBAN HARveST STL’S FOOD ROOF (P. 84) By jONATHAN GAyMAN TABLe OF CONTeNTS PHOTO OF BLUe HeRON FARM DUCKS (P. 79) By jeNNIFeR SILveRBeRG
84
raising the roof
Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t the only things taking root at Urban Harvest STL’s rooftop farms in Downtown St. Louis.
Magazine Volume 7
| Issue 6 | June 2016
Vice President of Niche Publishing, Publisher of Feast Magazine Catherine Neville, publisher@feastmagazine.com SALES Director of Sales Angie Henshaw ahenshaw@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1298 Account Manager Jennifer Tilman jtilman@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1205 EDITORIAL Senior Editor Liz Miller, editor@feastmagazine.com Managing Editor Nancy Stiles, nstiles@feastmagazine.com Associate Editor Bethany Christo, bchristo@feastmagazine.com Digital Editor Heather Riske, web@feastmagazine.com Kansas City Contributing Editor Jenny Vergara St. Louis Contributing Editor Mabel Suen Editorial Intern Daniel Puma Proofreader Christine Wilmes Contributing Writers Christy Augustin, Ettie Berneking, Sherrie Castellano, Scott Drake, April Fleming, Nina Mukerjee Furstenau, Hilary Hedges, Nadia Imafidon, Valeria Turturro Klamm, Denise Kruse, Brandon and Ryan Nickelson, Lauren Rutherford, Matt Seiter, Matt Sorrell, Shannon Weber ART Art Director Alexandrea Povis, apovis@feastmagazine.com Production Designer Jacklyn Meyer, jmeyer@feastmagazine.com Contributing Photographers Zach Bauman, Sherrie Castellano, Judd Demaline, April Fleming, Jonathan Gayman, Jacklyn Meyer, Aaron Ottis, Jonathan Pollack, Jennifer Silverberg, Christopher Smith, Starboard & Port Creative, Mabel Suen, Landon Vonderschmidt, Cheryl Waller FEAST TV
new exhibit
opens june 18
producer: Catherine Neville production partner: Tybee Studios
CONTACT US Feast Media, 8811 Ladue Road, Suite D, Ladue, MO 63124 314.475.1244, feastmagazine.com DISTRIbUTION To distribute Feast Magazine at your place of business, please contact Jeff Moore for St. Louis, Jefferson City and Columbia at jmoore@post-dispatch.com and Jason Green for Kansas City at distribution@pds-kc.com. Feast Magazine does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Submissions will not be returned. All contents are copyright Š 2010-2016 by Feast Magazine™. All rights reserved.
dig deeper at slsc.org/grow 8
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Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents, without the prior written permission of the publisher, is strictly prohibited. Produced by the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, LLC
C
contributors
06.16
ome in today and discover your new favorite cafe!
We e of offer an array of: • speciality pastries • sandwiches • bubble tea • cold brew • gelato • ice parfaits and more!
jonathan gayman
The fusion of cultures results in a unique menu that can only be found at “Caffe’ Bene”
St. Louis, Photographer Jonathan is a commercial photographer based in St. Louis with a focus on food, beverage and product photography. His keen eye for light and composition fuels thoughtful and inspired photography, whether he is shooting in St. Louis, Chicago, New York or on location around the country. Jonathan is a regular contributor to many food publications including Feast, and his work has appeared in national and global publications including advertisements, marketing materials and annual reports for some of the nation’s top businesses. For more than eight years, Jonathan has been bringing his unique photographic perspective to clients all over the country.
2144 E Republic Rd, Suite A132 • Springfield, MO 65804 • (417) 501-1014 Hours: Monday - Thursday 7am-10pm • Friday & Saturday 7am - 11pm • Sunday 8am to 5pm
AWARD-WINNING WINES
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nina mukerjee furstenau Columbia, Missouri, Writer Nina Mukerjee Furstenau developed a passion for great flavors, for fresh ingredients and for the ways cultures entwine over food through her experiences in the Peace Corps, lifelong travels and family life. She is fascinated with food – its history and connection to land as well as people – and the flavors of a region. There’s nothing she likes better than finding good writing rooted in the knowledge of agriculture and the hands it takes to feed us. Well, that, and long walks with dogs. She is the author of the award-winning food memoir, Biting Through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland, and Savor Missouri: River Hills Country Food and Wine, and teaches food and wine journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Science and Agricultural Journalism Program.
Chaumette.com
Ste. Genevieve, MO
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zach bauman Kansas City, Photographer Zach grew up in small-town Kansas but has called Kansas City home for nearly five years. His photography can be seen in a variety of different publications and ranges from food to concert photography and everything in between. When not out shooting a concert or dining around Kansas City, he is probably at home listening to records and possibly drinking some whiskey. If you care to keep up on his work, you can check out his Twitter at @zachbphotograph.
Hand Crafted Coffees Importing Fine Coffees from 20 Countries denise kruse St. Louis, Writer A freelance writer and compulsive dinner-party hostess, Denise began testing her culinary prowess as a 4-year-old sneaking into the kitchen to make ramen noodles on the stove. Chicago-born and raised, she is Midwestern to her core. Denise followed the gravitational pull back to the middle of the country twice, once after her roots ran south to Arkansas, where she developed a palate for Waffle House and barbecue, and again after moving west to San Francisco, where she managed private events for a Michelin-starred restaurant and once chased a guy with a churro cart down Pier 39. An alum of Chicago magazine’s dining editorial team, she ate her way through the city until her heart led her to St. Louis, where she now lives with her husband and two kids.
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publisher’s letter
FeAst eVeNts
i love the cover image art director alex povis chose for this month’s issue, which is focused on farming.
A highlight of shooting the current season of Feast TV was my chat with Baetje Farms’ Veronica Baetje about the dairy’s award-winning cheeses. Watch the cheese episode to meet her and those amazing goats.
The photo shows Bernie Lee, the chef-owner of Hiro Asian Kitchen in Downtown St. Louis, holding a dish he created for a pop-up dinner at Urban Harvest STL, a rooftop farm and community garden. That dish – a springy risotto – was made almost entirely with ingredients grown on the elevated farm. Turn to p. 84 for digital editor Heather Riske’s in-depth look at how Urban Harvest STL is changing the city’s landscape.
As we see with Urban Harvest STL, farms can be an instrument for connecting communities, and this is also the case at New Roots for Refugees in Kansas City, Kansas. In her feature, Growing Global (p. 72), writer April Fleming explores how this nonprofit is keeping newly transplanted refugees connected to one another as they work to learn Midwest-specific farming techniques, leading them to one day establish their own farms. Farms can also be places of inspiration, as is the case in Columbia, Missouri, at The Wine Cellar Garden Project (p. 64). The husband-and-wife team behind The Wine Cellar & Bistro invites curious customers to the certified-organic farm at their home for Saturday morning classes followed by a big, home-cooked meal. The Cyrs’ project is reconnecting people to the land and spurring many to plant gardens of their own. I’m also trying to find an excuse to visit Blue Heron Farm in Marshfield, Missouri, where British ex-pats James and Jennie Boosey are raising chickens, ducks and geese on a rural expanse (p. 79). The couple planted their roots in the Ozarks and are changing what people think of when they hear the word “egg.” Customers as well as chefs in and around Springfield, Missouri, are loving the flavor and versatility of the Booseys’ eggs, folding them into baked goods and frying them up with duck-confit hash. Growers are nurturing more than sprouts these days. Farms might seem to be the last place where you’d find culinary and social innovation, but take a closer look and you’ll be surprised. It’s not just chefs who are playing with what we eat. Our farmers are setting the pace and helping to shape the flavor of our region.
stl
st. louis uncorked Fri., June 3, 5 to 11pm and Sat., June 4, 3 to 11pm; Market Street and Tucker Boulevard in Downtown St. Louis; free; y98.cbslocal.com
One of the largest and most popular annual Downtown St. Louis festivals is back! Free to attend and now entering its eighth year, St. Louis Uncorked – The First Sip of Summer features national recording artists Rachel Platten, Nick Fradiani, Ingrid Michaelson and We the Kings in addition to dozens of wines, spirits and local food selections. stl
strange Donuts’ National Donut Day Fri., June 3, 6 to 10pm; Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co.; 3983 Gratiot St., St. Louis, Missouri; $12; strangedonuts. bazaarpass.com/products/national-donut-day-2016
Enjoy donuts from Strange Donuts and coffee from Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. Guests will also enjoy an exclusive 4 Hands Brewing Co. #StrangeDonutDay beer, and food from Mission Taco Joint and Southern, all available for purchase. Hosted with DJs Billy Brown and Drace, the event will also feature a special live performance from Space Face, a member of The Flaming Lips. stl
Chefs Cook real Challenge Sat., June 11 and Wed., June 22; Tower Grove and Schlafly farmers’ markets; facebook.com/ ChefsCookReal
On June 11 at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market, chef Matt Galati from The Dam battles chef Jedidiah Borga from Local Harvest. On June 22, chef KT Ayers from Schlafly Bottleworks goes up against chef Ryan McDonald from Byrd & Barrel at the Schlafly Farmers Market. Watch chefs create dishes, sample them and then choose your favorite. KC
Feast of Fountains: A Food truck Fest Thu., June 16, 5:30 to 7:30pm; The National WWI Museum and Memorial/North Lawn; feastmagazine.com/events
stl
stl
Join us for a food truck event each month from May to September in one of Kansas City’s beautiful parks. We’ll highlight prominent fountains throughout the city while guests enjoy food from some of Kansas City’s most popular food trucks.
Feast TV taste & see: pizza & beer Fri., June 17, 7pm; Public Media Commons; $15; ninenet.org
Watch Feast TV segments and enjoy presentations and samples from chefs and artisans featured on the show. Come and indulge in this perfect pairing and satisfy your cravings for ooey-gooey pizza and creative craft beer. Calzones and pizza pies along with cured meats and fantastic brews will be on offer at this event. stl
schnucks Cooks: salmon Coulibiac Wed., June 22, 6 to 9pm; Schnucks Cooks Cooking School; $40; schnuckscooks.com or 314.909.1704
Join us in the kitchen and learn to make cheese gougères, mixed salad with lemon vinaigrette, salmon coulibiac and lemon-curd cupcakes with cream-cheese frosting. In this class you’ll learn how to prepare French staples including cheese gougères and crêpes (used in salmon coulibiac).
Until next time, stl
Cloud 9 beer launch event Sat., June 25, 7 to 10pm; Public Media Commons; $100; ninenet.org/ninebeer
Get a first sip of the new Nine Network beer produced with 4 Hands Brewing Co. and Feast. Tickets include a Nine Network membership, food, beverages, live music and a gift pack of the beer.
Catherine Neville publisher@feastmagazine.com
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@cat_neville
@cat_neville
I WIsh I KneW...
what to make for father’s day
Written by Daniel Puma
bold bacon burgers. The hamburger, an American classic with a million-and-one variations. For dad, aim for a burger with big bold flavors that draw on classic flavor. Mix ground beef with salt, black pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, chopped green onions and cooked, diced Applewoodsmoked bacon. The bacon provides texture and delectable pork and smoke notes throughout. Serve on your favorite bun topped with heirloom tomatoes, lettuce and grilled onions. st. louis-style pork steak. It seems like every St. Louis family has its version
NOW OPEN!
of the iconic pork steak. Brine the meat beforehand for an easy way to raise your pork steak’s profile: The salt opens up cell walls allowing for additional moisture to be absorbed, which will keep your steak incredibly juicy throughout the grilling process while also highlighting the natural flavor of the pork.
TICKETS START AT $25
grilled pizza. Most home cooks don’t
have access to restaurant-style pizza ovens, so your backyard grill is usually the best option for emulating a similar level of heat. Make or buy pizza dough and grill it on one side on welloiled grates until set. Flip it over onto a tray and top the grilled side with sauce, cheese and additional ingredients. Slide it all back onto the grill until it’s cooked through for a smoky flavor and crispy crust.
OPENS OPENS MAY 28 28 MAY
grilled corn salad. This fresh summer-perfect salad is the ideal accompaniment to steak or burgers for Father’s Day dinner. Grill seasoned corn on the cob until char marks begin to show and corn is tender. Carefully cut corn kernels off of cobs and toss with fresh peas, cooked and chopped bacon and diced celery, carrots and onion. Dress salad with an herbed vinaigrette and surround with grilled tomato wedges and avocado slices for a refreshing start to any meal. grilled fruit salad. Fruit salads don’t have to be a syrupy mess of overly sweet fruit bordering on dessert. Grill watermelon slices, halved nectarines and halved peaches until caramelized and grill marks have appeared. Slice and arrange grilled fruit on a plate with fresh burrata or goat cheese and arugula, then add a drizzle of honey and balsamic reduction to bring it all together.
OPENS JUNE 5
caipirinha. Brazil’s national cocktail,
the Caipirinha, is a refreshing, invigorating and not-too-sweet drink to beat the summer heat. Simply muddle limes and brown sugar together, top with ice and Cachaça, a Brazilian spirit distilled from sugarcane juice. Change it up with some grapefruit juice, muddled ginger or papaya purée for a summer sipper worthy of Father’s Day or even an Olympics watch-party.
9811 S. 40 Drive, St. Louis, MO 63124 310 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64112 St. Louis: 314-587-2433 KC: 816-627-0100 Check out our upcoming public cooking classes at lecole.edu
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Ce nte r Stage JUNE JUNE 21 21 ONLY ONLY
For more information, visit ExperienceOpera.org or call (314) 961-0644. Inspired Local Food Culture
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DIGITAL CONTENT
hungry for more?
feastmagazine.com
connect with us daily:
thE fEEd: StL
PhoToGraPhy By JaCKlyN Meyer
Element executive chef Josh Charles has debuted a new, globally inspired menu at the St. Louis restaurant, featuring dishes like black bean arancini and scallop crudo with Granny Smith apples, ginger, sesame seeds and cilantro.
fACEbook. Get a look at food-and-drink events across the region (like Taste & Toast at Majorette in Maplewood, Missouri) at facebook.com/feastmag.
tWIttEr. Follow @feastmag for a sneak peek
of upcoming recipes, like our Feast eats guide to summer grilling with Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions.
PhoToGraPhy By JeNNiFer SilVerBerG PhoToGraPhy CourTeSy @WiThFooDaNDloVe
PhoToGraPhy By aNa PierCe
PIntErESt. Make the most of summer produce (like jalapeño-watermelon, cucumber-mint, or garlic scape and tomato gazpacho) on our Vegetarian board at pinterest.com/feastmag.
thE fEEd: mId-mo Druff’s opened last month in Springfield, Missouri, serving up gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches with creative ingredients like house pimento cheese, balsamic-strawberry reduction and pineapple.
TasTe & see
morE on thE fEEd: Keep up with what’s happening in the region’s food-and-drink scene by visiting our daily updated news blog, The Feed, at feastmagazine.com/the-feed. We recently shared Goetz Brewing Co.’s plans to reopen in St. Joseph, Missouri, and a sneak peek at Nourish Café & Market in Columbia, Missouri. SPECIAL GIVEAWAY: Win a pair of tickets to Feast TV Taste & See: Pizza & Beer on Fri., June 17. Just head
to the Promotions section at feastmagazine.com for all the details.
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InStAGrAm. hashtag your local food-and-drink photos with #feastgram for a chance to see them in Feast! Details on p. 90. Follow us @feastmag.
Watch our videos and Feast TV.
youtube.com/FeastMagazine
We are so much more than your typical butcher shop. Freshness that satisfies. fresh soups & sandwiches ice creams & sorbets artisan salumi & cheese unique accoutrements homemade breads & pastries daily prepared meals and much more...
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FEAST TV
meet wilbur the pig when we visit cool cow creamery and see how a father-son duo is crafting delicious, complex, old world-style gouda on a historic farm with deep german roots.
TV
in this episode, artisan cheesemakers invite you onto their farms and into their dairies where fresh milk is made into a range of cheeses, from tangy fresh chèvre to funky, fabulous aged bloomy rind cheeses. we head to southern illinois to meet the family behind marcoot jersey creamery and stop by another jersey-cow operation at cool cow creamery in owensville, missouri. in bloomsdale, missouri, we see how award-winning goat cheeses are made at baetje farms, and then it’s off the farm and into the kitchen with host cat neville, who will show you how to make ricotta at home as well as cheese-filled fresh pasta, highlighting the cheese’s delicate flavors.
host cat neville shows you how easy it is to make fresh ricotta-filled ravioli at home. she pairs the delicate pasta with a crisp, floral vidal blanc from baltimore bend vineyard.
at marcoot jersey creamery, the seventh generation of marcoots is reinventing the family’s farm, transforming it from a commodity dairy to an award-winning creamery.
feast tv is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors: Missouri Wines
WhoLe Foods Market
L’ écoLe cuLinaire
Missouri Wines supports the more than 125 wineries operating in the state and is focused on promoting the industry’s growth and vitality.
Feast TV is proud to feature Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value line of products. Pick up ingredients at the Whole Foods locations in the St. Louis area.
In St. Louis and Kansas City, L’École Culinaire offers high-quality culinary education from basic culinary skills to careers in management.
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the raphaeL hoteL
neW seasons spa and saLon
The Raphael Hotel is Feast’s official hotel, offering luxury accommodations and dining near Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.
New Seasons Spa and Salon in south St. Louis County offers a full range of spa services and is the official salon of Feast TV.
WATCH FEAST ON THESE NETWORKS
Made-from-scratch menu of gourmet pastries, sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and more. Enjoy a fresh variety of nearly 50 loose leaf teas.
W I N E R Y 2125 State 157, Edwardsville www.teaspoonscafe.com | 618.655.9595
In St. Louis, tune into the Nine Network (Channel 9) to watch Feast TV Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30pm. Airdates will vary during Nine’s June pledge drive.
Come for the Wine. Experience the Ambiance. Return for the Friendships. Wild Sun Winery¼ where the outside world ends and serenity begins. 4830 Pioneer Road, Hillsboro, MO 63050 636-797-8686 | www.wildsunwinery.com
In Kansas City, watch Feast TV on KCPT (Channel 19) Sundays at 5:30pm. Airdates will vary during KCPT’s June pledge drive, so check local listings.
Look as purrrfect as Cat
FREE HAIRCUT & STYLE
You can watch Feast TV throughout mid-Missouri on KMOS (Channel 6) Thursdays at 8pm and Saturdays at 4:30pm.
when you purchase a color service
(Up to a $50 value)
Feast TV will air in the southern Illinois region on WSIU (Channel 8) every Monday at 12:30pm.
Present this ad to claim your savings! Expires 6/30/16 New clients only. Not valid on Saturdays featured on
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Make Father’s Day Delicious! Show Dad just how special he really is this Father’s Day with vomFASS. Discover delightful and destinctive gifts as you explore our wide variety of premium products from all over the world. As always, you can sample any of our products before you buy to ensure that your gift will be perfect! For the Best Dads in the World: • Rare Cask Aged Spirits for the Scotch and Whiskey Lover • Exquisite and Fun Liqueurs for Summer Cocktails • The Freshest Culinary Oils and Finest Balsamic Vinegars • NEW Mustards and Delectable Deli Items for the Gourmet • Boutique Wines for the Connoisseur
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Gallagher© s Restaurant Serving the best fried chicken, house-ground burgers and premium steaks for over a decade! 2016 Ian Froeb's Selected STL Top 100 Restaurant in St. Louis 2015 & 2016 Voted #1 BEST FRIED CHICKEN by St. Louis Post-Dispatch & RFT Readers 114 W. Mill St. • Waterloo, IL • 618.939.9933 • gallagherswaterloo.com 16
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on trend
get buzzed on p. 20 photography by jonathan gayman
trending now: Bee Pollen
on trend
Written by bethany Christo PhotograPhy by Jonathan gayman
Gathered by bees and packed on their hind legs to feed their young, bee pollen is touted for its high protein content. It adds a floral crunch or earthy touch to yogurt, salad dressings and soups – find it in health-food stores and at farmers’ markets. ks
waffles
lAwrenCe, KS. Blue, purple, green, yellow and orange granules top the raspberry- and coriander-infused cream waffle at The Waffle Iron, which holds monthly pop ups in Lawrence, Kansas. Owner Sam Donnell wanted to evoke the whimsical nostalgia of sprinkles without actually using them. His solution? Multicolored, wildflower bee-pollen granules sourced from Kansas-based Snow’s Honey & Produce. Donnell likens the crunchy garnish to “a really good macadamia nut – so buttery and nutty,” and also tops the waffle with Fruity Pebbles. “I love the juxtaposition of natural and artificial,” he says. The Waffle Iron’s “secret-recipe” buttermilk waffles topped with whipped lemon curd and a blueberry sauce often get a sprinkling of bee pollen, too. Donnell was introduced to the ingredient to combat allergies five years ago while working on a California farm, but he doesn’t see it used anywhere else in Lawrence. “There are people who come in because they hear the wheat we use comes from 1½ miles away, which appeals to them,” he says. “For them, bee pollen isn’t a trend. But it’s one of the most asked about things on the menu; many people have no concept of what it’s going to taste like before they try our waffle.”
The Waffle Iron, instagram.com/thewaffleiron
mo
tuile
stl
CAPe girArdeAU, Mo. A few years ago, a
health-junkie cook working with Celebrations Restaurant executive chef DeWayne Schaaf ordered bee pollen online to combat allergies. Schaaf wondered what it tasted like and decided to play around with it on the tasting menu at the dinner-only restaurant in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. “It’s so mild, so I tend to do it with lighter dishes that are fairly simple and only four, five bites to really get the most out of it,” he says. His favorite past applications include a salad with bee-pollen vinaigrette, tempura-fried dandelion blooms, wilted greens, chèvre, tarragon and a drizzle of local honey, and in a peach panna cotta with elderflower anglaise and bee-pollen tuile. “I almost exclusively use it with pairings because its earthiness pairs well with wines with a brisk acidity or a hefeweizen,” he adds. Schaaf’s been able to source bee pollen locally from the area farmers’ market, but it’s hit or miss whether beekeepers will have it from week to week. This summer, he’s considering pairing it with the fruity funkiness of ripe apricot in a dessert, adding crunch to a carrot-cake muffin and even using it as a bittering agent in a dandelion-bee pollen beer.
UniVerSitY CitY, Mo. “Honestly, bee pollen was trendy 20 years ago,” says Frida’s Deli co-owner Natasha Kwan. It makes sense then that the University City, Missouri, vegetarian café, known for its friendliness toward all diets, has included the ingredient in its Immune Booster smoothie since opening in 2012. “People are obsessed,” Kwan says of bee pollen. “There’s a spike in the spring; we’ll sell that drink three times over the other ones when allergy season hits – which is basically all spring and summer.” In the deep purple-blue smoothie, bee-pollen powder is blended with strawberries, blueberries, coconut water, Brazil nuts and raw honey from a local beekeeper for a double-whammy punch against allergy symptoms. “The combination of bee pollen and Brazil nuts is amazing for your immune system,” Kwan says. “Then you have blueberries and strawberries for antioxidants, and the coconut water is very hydrating and has a ton of potassium. One drink isn’t going to solve everything, but it’s great for giving you energy to get you through.”
Celebrations Restaurant, 615 Bellevue St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 573.334.8330, celebrations-restaurant.com
Frida’s Deli, 622 North and South Road, University City, Missouri, 314.727.6500, fridasdeli.com
bee-pollen vinaigrette ReCIPe By DeWAyNe SCHAAF, exeCUTIve CHeF, CeLeBRATIONS ReSTAURANT
Yields | 6 tablespoons (10 to 12 servings) | 1 3 1 ¼ 1 ½ 1 ½
tsp Arbequina extra virgin olive oil Tbsp olive oil tsp finely diced shallots tsp agave nectar Tbsp malt vinegar Tbsp lemon juice tsp chopped parsley tsp bee pollen, half whole, half ground pinch salt pinch white pepper
mend We recom honeY ’S w o Sn Ce & ProdU n out bee polle game, of Burlin Kansas.
| Preparation | In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. For this high-acid vinaigrette, Schaaf recommends 2 teaspoons per serving, dressed lightly on greens and drizzled around plate.
%PG
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where we’re dining From new restaurants to renewed menus, our staff and contributors share their picks for where we’re dining this month.
boundary
stl written by nanCy StiLeS
ST. LOUIS. executive chef rex hale and the
KC
with orange-buttermilk ice cream. hale says boundary reminds him of a larger version of the Cheshire’s popular lounge, Fox & hound Sports tavern, which hopefully makes the restaurant more approachable as a gathering place rather than just for special occasions. boundary also now has a raw bar, a selection of craft cocktails and a wine list featuring nearly 100 bottles. “busy, fun, people enjoying themselves, having a great time – in my mind, that’s what dining is about nowadays,” hale says.
PhotograPhy by JaCKLyn Meyer
team at the Cheshire inn have transformed its former fine-dining spot, the restaurant at the Cheshire, into Boundary. the name references its location, which is technically in the City of St. Louis, but the hotel property crosses into the county and is bordered by Clayton across the street and richmond heights once you step out the front door. the menu encourages sharing and conversation with plates like sea scallops with roasted green-garlic wild greens, asparagus and smoked-bacon risotto; gluten-free honey-pepper fried heritage chicken and fennel shoestring fries; and local rhubarb crisp
Boundary, 7036 Clayton Ave., Hi-Pointe, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.932.7818, boundary-stl.com
bun mee phan
Como
written by Jenny Vergara
PhotograPhy by aPriL FLeMing
next, pick your favorite base: in addition to the standard French baguette, bun Mee Phan offers options including a fry-bread bun called banh tieu, similar to a yeast donut; over steamed rice or noodles; wrapped up as spring rolls; or like tacos in warm tortillas. all items come topped with fresh cilantro, cucumbers, jalapeños, pickled carrots, daikon radish and onion. add a side of shrimp spring rolls or grab fresh bubble tea in flavors like lychee, durian fruit, taro and avocado. Bun Mee Phan, 4244 N. Oak Trafficway, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.599.6603, facebook.com/bun.mee.phan 22
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PhotograPhy by aaron ottiS
KANSAS CITY. Jimmy Phan and Kaylee nguyen opened Bun Mee Phan, Kansas City’s first restaurant dedicated to banh mi, in March and are already delivering one of the city’s best versions of the Vietnamese street-food staple. try the classic sandwich or build your own from nine protein options and six different preparation styles, including burgers, tacos and wraps. Choose from grilled or steamed pork, caramelized pork belly, Chinese barbecued pork, beef curry, lemongrass chicken, lemongrass tofu, fried tilapia or the traditional combination of cold cuts and steamed pork.
flyover written by Lauren rutherFord
COLUMBIA, MO. to some, the Midwest
isn’t much more than flyover territory, but adam wells-Morgan and dan dethrow aim to turn that moniker on its head. FlyOver, the duo’s new concept in Columbia, Missouri, will offer elevated comfort food served family-style when it opens this month with wells-Morgan as executive chef and dethrow as beverage director. “we’re really trying to establish a sense of belonging and community – like the way the people in the Midwest make you feel when you’re here,” wells-Morgan says.
Menu items cooked in a wood-fired oven and a robust craft cocktail program will be the eatery’s signatures. the seasonally rotating menu will offer dishes such as a house pork steak (pictured above left), a wood-fired, sous vide pork shoulder steak served with baby kale, arugula, pickled peaches and toasted walnuts drizzled with bay laurel-infused olive oil. Flyover plans to serve dinner as well as late-night eats. dethrow drew inspiration for the drink menu from Kansas City favorites Ça Va and Julep Cocktail Club, plus popular new york and San Francisco bars, and Flyover will offer Columbia’s first sparkling wine on tap. FlyOver, 212 E. Green Meadows Road #9, Columbia, Missouri, 573.825.6036, flyovercomo.com
one on one
KC
mickey priolo contributor, soil collective WrItten by bethany ChrIsto
KANSAS CITY. next year,
photography by zach bauman
Kansas City is going to have its first 100-percent local, 100-percent in-season restaurant: soil. Until then, chefs Mickey Priolo (pictured center), rick Mullins (left) and Calvin Davis have developed a local network, Soil Collective, to bolster the community through food. they hope to acquire a building in town to act as a test kitchen for soil and its monthly dinner series (the next is at Powell Gardens on July 10), which features 100-percent locally made and sourced ingredients. as part of its wider, multifaceted mission, soil Collective also organizes residential and restaurant composting efforts and repurposes blemished food that would be trashed otherwise. How is Soil Collective building a stronger community? the way I see it, there’s nothing more personal than breaking bread with somebody and enjoying a meal. the primary goals are to get a group of people together to cut down food waste and educate the next generation, but at its core it’s building a stronger community, using food as its vehicle. one of the end games of the whole thing is to start a restaurant in a year or so. a lot of people claim local, but in Kansas City, no one is 100-percent in season, 100-percent local. that’s a theory we’d like to test – can we sustain a restaurant like this year-round? We want people to enjoy and discuss what Missouri has to offer. a lot of people don’t understand the history and depth of this region and why people settled here originally – it’s such a beautiful and bountiful place. If we can dig into what naturally grows here and not put a spin on it, then maybe we can help redefine what Midwestern cuisine is. but we’re going to have to have a ton of stuff preserved – be it canned, jarred, frozen or pickled. How did you learn about the issues surrounding food waste? Last winter, I did a two-month internship at noma in Copenhagen, [Denmark,] where it’s a huge focus, and I currently work for a hotel. being around banquets and high-volume restaurants, it just really got to me that it seemed perfectly normal for restaurants to throw away all this food at the end of the night. I started to Cryovac these items, and every few days I’d take it to homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters. the amount of the food was enormous – I’m talking 80 to 100 pounds in just a few weeks. Are there things people can start doing at home to help? I think a lot of people who read this understand buying local, but I’d recommend going one step further: Get to know local. Develop relationships with people; talk to chefs; talk to farmers at the market; stay in touch. Knowing people is part of the way we build up support. I’d also say to slow down a little bit. We’re all so busy and fast-paced, but if we could be a little more thoughtful in the way we eat, it’ll make us more thoughtful in the way we act. We don’t fight for our survival anymore, and we have it easy nowadays compared to other people on this planet and compared to our ancestors. It’s good to reflect on that as often as we can and put that energy back out into the world. Why host your upcoming dinner at Powell Gardens? Its gardeners and farmers really geek out on local heirloom stuff and weird plants and flowers, and we thrive off that passion. they’ve been so much fun to work with; they’re always surprising us with new stuff they’re working on. as a chef, you have an important role – you’re serving someone food, and that’s an extreme act of love. there is a huge network of people involved in what we eat. I’d love for the whole state of Missouri to dig deep into our history and who we are as a state. Soil Collective, soilcollective.com
French country charm
with a
Tuscan Feel Family-owned vineyard
Nestled amidst the picturesque, rolling hills of De Soto, Missouri Tasting Room Outdoor courtyard patio with deck A charming, intimate winery experience with first-class amenities Restaurant now open serving lunch and by reservation only Thursday night dinner
a PerFect Wedding Venue Booking For 2016 and 2017 like us on FaceBook
Located just 45 minutes south of St. Louis 12237 Peter Moore Ln | De Soto,MO, 63020 lachancevineyards.com Inspired Local Food Culture
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destination: Conway, arkansas
road trip
WRITTEn By dEnISE kRUSE
This June, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre in Conway, Arkansas, celebrates its 10th anniversary season, marking the occasion with performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story and a one-hour family-friendly adaptation of Twelfth Night. It’s anticipated to be the nationally acclaimed theater’s biggest season yet. Conway is only about 40 minutes from Little Rock, and both destinations offer quality eats, drinks and Southern hospitality.
sleep
eat
Capital Hotel
Mike’s Place
The historic 1870s Capital Hotel seamlessly marries luxury and Southern hospitality. Situated in the River Market district, the hotel is within easy walking distance to downtown Little Rock’s main stretch of restaurants and bars. Be sure to check out the local farm-fresh produce at the Little Rock Farmers’ Market, held on Tuesdays through July and Saturdays through September in the open-air pavilions down the street.
In the heart of Conway, Mike’s Place was one of the first restaurants to introduce fine dining and a full bar to the dry county. More than a decade later, Mike’s continues to be a preeminent destination for decadent, Creole-style dining. Cheesy dip is an Arkansas staple, and Mike’s creamy spinach version is a must-try.
111 W. Markham st., Little Rock, 501.374.7474, capitalhotel.com
PHOTO COuRTEsy MiKE’s PLACE
808 Front st., Conway, 501.269.6453, mikesplaceconway.com
Central Arkansas’ first boutique hotel, The Burgundy Hotel, features 49 luxury and four Presidential suites, with easy access to both downtown Little Rock and Conway. Even room service has a special touch – its on-site Table 28 restaurant makes all of its fine-dining dishes available in your room. The restaurant’s 27 tables serve modern American cuisine with a gentle Southern twang in a sleek, elegant environment; it’s named for the 28th table, which serves a reservations-only, six-course custom menu.
PHOTO COuRTEsy LiTTLE ROCK COnvEnTiOn & visiTORs BuREAu
Big Dam Bridge
Big dam Bridge is the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge in the country that has never been used by motor vehicles or trains. The 20-mile bridge, built in 2006, spans the Arkansas River and Murray Lock and dam between Little Rock and north Little Rock. 7600 Rebsamen Park Road, Little Rock, 501.340.6800, bigdambridge.com
Zaza’s Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co. With locations in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood and The Village at Hendrix, Conway’s take on a mixed-use development, Zaza’s Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co. features southern-Italian specialties like thin crust, wood-fired pizzas and gelato. Zaza’s partners with local farmers to ensure its pizzas and salads contain the freshest ingredients possible.
The Burgundy Hotel
1501 Merrill Drive, Little Rock, 501.224.8051, theburgundyhotel.com
local gems
1050 Ellis Ave. #110, Conway, 501.336.9292; 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd. #100, Little Rock, 501.661.9292; zazapizzaandsalad.com
South on Main
PHOTO COuRTEsy LiTTLE ROCK COnvEnTiOn & visiTORs BuREAu
South on Main offers upscale Southern fare in a comfortable, inviting atmosphere that doubles as a performance space. An innovative and unpretentious menu makes it nearly impossible to settle on just one or two items – bring a group, order generously and plan to share, all while catching performances from local musicians, film screenings, literary readings and more on the main stage.
This award-winning bed-and-breakfast, housed in Little Rock’s historic Hornibrook Mansion, was built in 1888 solely with materials sourced from within the state of Arkansas. Ultramodern amenities are nestled within The Empress’ nostalgic Victorian setting, like private-spa suites featuring hydromassage showers with steam and aromatherapy. 2120 Louisiana st., Little Rock, 501.374.7966, theempress.com
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feastmagazine.com
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newly revitalized downtown Conway is a can’t-miss on any trip to Arkansas. Coffee shops, restaurants, antique stores and locally owned boutiques surround the outdoor live music venue, Simon Park, in the heart of historic downtown.
Pinnacle Mountain State Park With sweeping vistas rising more than 1,000 feet above the Arkansas River Valley, Little Rock’s Pinnacle Mountain State Park is a destination for hiking enthusiasts of all ability levels. Two main trails, known as the “easy side” and “hard side,” snake up both sides of Pinnacle Mountain.
PHOTO COuRTEsy LiTTLE ROCK COnvEnTiOn
The Empress of Little Rock
Downtown Conway
downtownconway.org
1304 s. Main st., Little Rock, 501.244.9660, southonmain.com & visiTORs BuREAu
PHOTO COuRTEsy LiTTLE ROCK COnvEnTiOn & visiTORs BuREAu
Skye’s Little Bistro The recently opened Skye’s Little Bistro fuses modern Southern food with a cozy European atmosphere. Ingredients are locally sourced and rotate seasonally, with traditional bistro fare like croque monsieur and duck confit. Check out the charcuterie boards from around the world, plus an Arkansas board that features fried catfish strips, pork shoulder torchon, sweet cornbread and more. Bonus: Wine tastings are built into the price of the boards. 405 E. Third st., Little Rock, 501.791.6700, facebook.com/skyeslittlebistro PHOTO COuRTEsy sKyE’s LiTTLE BisTRO
11901 Pinnacle valley Road, Little Rock, 501.868.5806, arkansasstateparks.com/ pinnaclemountain PHOTO COuRTEsy LiTTLE ROCK COnvEnTiOn & visiTORs BuREAu
one on one
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james forbes co-founder, good life growing WrItten By HeatHer rIske
ST. LOUIS. James Forbes (pictured left) has always wanted to do
photography by judd demaline
something in north st. Louis. While working in health and human services with his brother, Bobby (center), and their friend Matt stoyanov, he noticed how much blighted, vacant land was available in the area. But it wasn’t until they were watching a Doomsday Preppers episode about aquaponics that they started experimenting with building their own growing systems. aquaponic and hydroponic systems are designed to grow plants on any type of property, including a decaying plot of land in the Vandeventer neighborhood – a food desert of the second-highest severity. Good Life Growing launched in October 2014 and now has two plots totaling 45,000 square feet. the farm uses hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic systems as well as traditional plots to grow fruits and vegetables like kale, romaine, apples, peaches and pears. this year, Good Life is doubling its crop to 50 varieties of produce with a focus on what’s most in demand in the community, including squash, potatoes and turnips. With an eye on combating urban decay and food insecurity, they’ve helped to bring the north st. Louis neighborhood back to life. Why was it important for the farm to be in the Vandeventer neighborhood? We started there because the property was affordable – there are around 1,700 vacant lots and 1,200 vacant buildings in the area – but what’s given us the confidence to expand instead of moving somewhere else is the support. the people definitely got behind the movement. People ask all the time if we have to worry about theft, vandalism, break-ins or violence, and I always tell them no. as soon as we started working, random people from the neighborhood would pull over and get out and help. and from our side, it’s a food desert that gets swept under the rug in st. Louis – the closest grocery is about an hour round-trip bus ride, so people who live in the area have really limited options. Where can we find your produce? right now, about 50 percent of everything we grow goes back into the neighborhood – we supply Bridge of Hope, a church in the area, with a good amount of produce, and we’ll soon be launching a produce stand in partnership with BJC HealthCare. We sell the rest to local restaurants including retreat Gastropub and Vin de set, as well as at City Greens Market and at our stand at the soulard Farmers Market, so we can raise more revenue to put more back into the community. How is Good Life working with the community? We’re working with a lot of youth groups, including the Ferguson youth Initiative and the sweet Potato Project. the st. Louis agency on training and employment has a youth program where they hire kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, and they’ve placed around 30 with us. We do a lot of work with kids from the neighborhood through our partnership with Bridge of Hope – a lot of local kids will just walk down to the farm to help out after school. Good Life Growing, 4057 Evans Ave., Vandeventer, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.482.2433, goodlifegrowing.com
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MAY TO jUNe: peAS
IN SEASON
WRITTEN BY NANCY STILES
Peas add color and snap to early summer dishes, which is why chefs ditch the frozen and canned versions for fresh-from-the-garden varieties paired with bright ingredients.
Kc
mac ‘n’ cheese
KANSAS CITY. The build-your-own mac ‘n’ cheese at Beer Kitchen in Kansas
City’s Westport neighborhood first appeared on the menu at McCoy’s Public House, its sister restaurant, nearly two decades ago. Back then, people were surprised to see the comfort food side presented as an entrée. At Beer Kitchen, managing partner Mark Kelpe says peas are one of the most popular add-ins for the build-your-own dish these days. “They’re really delicious and add a nice textural contrast to the jumbo elbow shells,” he says. “They’re a great source of vitamin K, vitamin B1, phosphorus and [folic acid].” They also show up in a side with shiitakes and truffle butter, Kelpe’s grown-up alternative to the frozen peas you probably pushed around your plate as a kid. As for McCoy’s mac ‘n’ cheese, you can still find peas in its Mac Daddy with applewood-smoked bacon, two scoops of Merkt’s sharp Cheddar cheese spread and a focaccia crust. “Growing up, my mother’s culinary repertoire was limited, but she had three or four dishes she made really well, and mac ‘n’ cheese was one of them,” Kelpe says. “I took her recipe and tried to turn it into a more modern dish over the years.” Beer Kitchen, 435 Westport Road, Westport, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.389.4180, beerkitchenkc.com
como
pesto
COLUMBIA, MO. Sweet-pea pesto tops the lamb sliders at 44 Stone Public House in Columbia, Missouri, along with pickled red onion and cucumber-buttermilk dressing. Chef Kiel Herman calls it a “pseudo-pesto” thanks to the addition of sweet peas to basil, mint and nuts. The pesto doesn’t overpower the sliders; it adds a little sweetness that plays well with the garlic, ginger and other spices in the lamb. “It gives you a little bit of color – it’s nice, vibrant and green and makes a well-rounded balance for the dish as a whole,” Herman says. You’ll also find his puréed take on classic mushy peas to accompany bangers and mash, and he’s done a play on succotash with sweet peas, bacon and walnuts, too. The kitchen at 44 Stone uses in-season and local produce as much as possible, based on what’s available. “Peas are one of those things that as a child, we steer away from because they’re coming from a can or are far overcooked,” Herman says. “But if they’re done fresh and they’re done with a little bit of love, they’re bright green, they snap and they have a delicious flavor.”
44 Stone Public House, 3910 Peachtree Drive, Columbia, Missouri, 573.443.2726, 44stonepub.com
stl
farm fresh
ST. LOUIS. Executive chef Ray Wiley is in a unique position at Nathalie’s in
“[At home], I would caramelize some onions in butter and add peas, and then if you have truffle oil, finish it with that and do a little shaved Parmesan or pecorino Romano.” – Mark Kelpe, managing partner, Beer Kitchen
Nathalie’s, 4356 Lindell Blvd., Central West End, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.533.1580, nathaliesstl.com 26
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATNOWA/ISTOCK
CHeF’S TIp
the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis: He gets truly farm-to-table ingredients from owner Nathalie Pettus’ Overlook Farm in Clarksville, Missouri. Wiley uses puréed English peas and puréed carrots as a colorful pair to accompany the restaurant’s Red Wattle pork chop, which is pan-seared and topped with crispy shallots and a honey-whole grain mustard sauce. The pigs, like the peas and carrots, are raised at Overlook Farm. He also features julienned snow peas in a slaw with tilapia cakes; the fish are – you guessed it – also raised at Overlook. This spring, the tilapia dish took on an Asian flavor profile with the addition of ginger, baby bok choy, toasted sesame seeds, ponzu mayo and a sesame vinaigrette. “When [peas] are in season, they’re delicious,” Wiley says. “It’s funny – I hated them as a kid, but as I cooked and experimented with different things, they worked really well.”
one on one
stl
paul hamilton
co-owner, hamilton hospitality and hamilton farms WrItten By VaLerIa turturro KLamm
ST. LOUIS. ten thousand pounds
photography by j. pollack photography
of produce – that’s how much yield Paul Hamilton hopes to get out of his commercial garden this year. In 2013, Hamilton and his wife, Wendy, purchased an empty 2½-acre parking lot and turned a ¼-acre of it into a commercial urban garden. Hamilton Farms’ garden is located across the street from Vin de Set in St. Louis’ Lafayette Square, one of several restaurants owned by the couple. How did you start your restaurants’ garden? We started off a few years ago when a woman representing aeroponic towers approached us. We’re on a roof [at Vin de Set], so the towers don’t take up much space, and they use less water than a traditional growing system. By exposing the roots to air, aeroponic systems speed up the growing process and are proven to grow food quicker than hydroponic or traditional gardening. We bought a few of them to grow herbs, and [we] put them out in the open so people could see them. once I figured it out, it worked pretty darn well. How did you transform the parking lot into an urban garden? after removing the torn-up asphalt and adding soil and compost, we put in six planting beds and started growing root vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beets and more. underneath the asphalt was all rock, so the drainage was almost too good. Last year I converted the tower-garden system from 16 towers, seven pots high, into a commercial tower system of 20 towers, 11 pots high. I can do 1,000 plants now. all the towers are hooked up to water and fill automatically; all the nutrients come from one source. I gravitated to growing lettuces, Swiss chard, kale, sorrel and leafy herbs in the tower gardens because they were easy to pick and clean; last year we harvested 5,000 pounds of produce total with the tower system and traditional gardening. this year I put in a drip-irrigation system and planted 750 tomato plants, 1,000 greens and 600 peppers, as well as hundreds of other fruit and vegetable plants including green beans, squash, parsnips, cantaloupe and more, all using [seeds from missouri’s] Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. How have the menus at your restaurants been impacted by the garden? We use a lot more greens on the menus now. there is a tuscan kale salad we’ve started doing at Vin de Set, eleven eleven mississippi and PW Pizza. one of the things we’ve focused on is planting things that cost more, things less easily available and different, [like] watercress and sorrel. We made a sorrel pesto and worked it into a sauce for summer, fall and winter because it was growing so fast. In october and november, the tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, so we pick them before the last frost for pickling or fried green tomato specials. What’s new this year at the garden? up until this year, it was just me and my chefs helping in the garden. now I’ve hired an official gardener, and he’ll keep better track of our yields. Because it is an urban setting, we have to optimize the space we have. I’m also planning to buy some city Land reutilization authority lots [parcels of vacant or donated lots owned by the city] in the nearby Gate District to put a commercial greenhouse, where the towers would grow year-round and be able to produce 75 percent of our restaurants’ produce and greens. Vin de Set, 2017 Chouteau Ave., Lafayette Square, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.241.8989, vindeset.com
2016 TRIPS TO ORIGIN Over the course of 2016, we will be traveling around the world, visiting farms, selecting top lots, and learning more from our producer partners. By strengthening our relationships with our producers and communities, we can ensure the quality of your coffee for years to come.
EL SALVADOR january MYANMAR february HONDURAS march BRAZIL july COLOMBIA august HAWAII september ETHIOPIA november RWANDA november
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Regional RestauRant guide As proud supporters of Feast Magazine, we encourage you to visit any of these fine establishments. From fine dining to fast casual to local wineries, there are an array of experiences to choose from, so support and eat local!
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4 Hands Brewing Co. 1220 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 314.436.1559 4handsbrewery.com
Bissell Mansion Restaurant & Dinner Theatre 4426 Randall Place St. Louis, MO 314.533.9830 bissellmansiontheatre.com
Corner Restaurant 4059 Broadway Blvd. Kansas City, MO 816.931.4401 thecornerkc.com
400 Olive 400 Olive St. St. Louis, MO 314.436.0002 400olive.com
Brix on 66 at Belmont Vineyards 5870 Old Route 66 Leasburg, MO 573.885.7156 belmontvineyards.com
Diablito’s 3761 Laclede Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.644.4430 diablitoscantina.com
612 Kitchen & Cocktails 612 W. Woodbine Ave. Kirkwood, MO 314.965.2003 612kitchenandcocktails.com
Café Sebastienne at Kemper Museum 4420 Warwick Blvd. Kansas City, MO 816.561.7740 kemperart.org
Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard 10035 Edg-Clif Drive Potosi, MO 573.438.4741 edg-clif.com
Aerie’s Winery 600 Timber Ridge Drive Grafton, IL 618.786.7477 aerieswinery.com
Café Ventana 3919 W. Pine Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.531.7500 cafeventana.com
Fratelli’s Ristorante 2061 Zumbehl Road St. Charles, MO 636.949.9005 fratellisristorante.com
Andria’s Restaurant 6805 Old Collinsville Road O’Fallon, IL 618.632.4866 andrias.com
Caffe Bene 2144 E. Republic Road Springfield, MO 417.501.1014 caffebeneusa.com
Gallagher’s Restaurant 114 W. Mill St. Waterloo, IL 618.939.9933 gallagherswaterloo.com
Aya Sofia 6671 Chippewa St. St. Louis, MO 314.645.9919 ayasofiacuisine.com
Castelli’s Restaurant at 255 3400 Fosterburg Road Alton, IL 618.462.4620 castellis255.com
Grapevine Grill at Chaumette Winery 24345 State Route WW Ste. Genevieve, MO 573.747.1000 chaumette.com
Balducci Vineyards 6601 Highway 94 S Augusta, MO 636.482.8466 balducciswineryandrestaurant.com
Charlie Hooper’s 12 W. 63rd St. Kansas City, MO 816.361.8841 charliehoopers.com
Grimm’s Tree Brewing 1029 Thiebes Road Labadie, MO 314.566.9346 grimmstreebrewing.com
Bella Vino Wine Bar & Tapas 325 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.3434 bellavinowinebarstl.com
Chaz on the Plaza at the Raphael Hotel 325 Ward Parkway Kansas City, MO 816.802.2152 raphaelkc.com
Hendricks BBQ 1200 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.8600 hendricksbbq.com
Best Regards Bakery & Café 6759 W. 119th St. Overland Park, KS 913.912.7238 makethemsmile.com
Citizen Kane’s Steak House 133 W. Clinton Place Kirkwood, MO 314.965.9005 citizenkanes.com
Kaldi’s Coffee multiple locations kaldiscoffee.com
Bier Station 120 E. Gregory Blvd. Kansas City, MO 816.548.3870 bierstation.com
Cleveland-Heath 106 N. Main St. Edwardsville, IL 618.307.4830 clevelandheath.com
King & I 3157 S. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.771.1777 kingandistl.com
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KlondikeCafé atMontelleVineyard 201 Montelle Drive at MO Hwy 94 Augusta, MO 636.228.4464 montelle.com
Prasino 1520 S. Fifth St. St. Charles, MO 636.277.0202 prasinostcharles.com
The Jacobson 2050 Central St. Kansas City, MO 816.423.2888 thejacobsonkc.com
LaChance Vineyards 12237 Peter Moore Lane De Soto, MO 636.586.2777 lachancevineyards.com
Ravanelli’s Restaurant 3 American Village 26 Collinsport Drive Granite City, IL | Collinsville, IL 618.877.8000 | 618.343.9000 ravanellis.com
The J Bar 10401 S. Ridgeview Road Olathe, KS 913.353.9335 the-jbar.com
La Cosecha Coffee Roasters 7360 Manchester Road Maplewood, MO 314.440.0337 lacosechacoffee.com
Retreat Gastropub 6 N Sarah St. St. Louis, MO 314.261.4497 retreatgastropub.com
The Muddled Pig Gastropub 2733 Sutton Blvd. Maplewood, MO 314.781.4607 themuddledpig.com
Lews Grill and Bar 7539 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 816.444.8080 lewsgrillandbar.com
Röbller Vineyard & Winery 275 Robller Vineyard Road New Haven, MO 573.237.3986 robllerwines.com
The Well 7421 Broadway St. Kansas City, MO 816.361.1700 waldowell.com
Lucky Brewgrille 5401 Johnson Drive Mission, KS 913.403.8571 luckybrewgrille.com
Sanctuaria 4198 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.535.9700 sanctuariastl.com
Tortillaria 8 S. Euclid Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.361.4443 tortillaria.net
Mai Lee 8396 Musick Memorial Drive Brentwood, MO 314.645.2835 maileestl.com
Schlafly Tap Room and Schlafly Bottleworks multiple locations schlafly.com
Truffles and Butchery 9202 Clayton Road St. Louis, MO 314.567.9100 todayattruffles.com
Milagro Modern Mexican 20 Allen Ave. #130 St. Louis, MO 314.962.4300
St. Louis Kolache 1300 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.938.5656 stlkolache.com
Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. 3229 Washington Ave. | 4465 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.222.0143 urbanchestnut.com
Mission Taco Joint 6235 Delmar Blvd. | 908 Lafayette Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.932.5430 | 314.858.8226 missiontacojoint.com
Stone Hill Winery 1110 Stone Hill Highway Hermann, MO 573.486.2221 stonehillwinery.com
Vox Vineyards 19310 NW Farley Hampton Road #3 Kansas City, MO 816.354.4903 voxvineyards.com
Noboleis Vineyards & Winery 100 Hemsath Road Augusta, MO 636.482.4500 noboleisvineyards.com
Strange Donuts multiple locations strangedonuts.com
Wild Sun Winery 4830 Pioneer Road Hillsboro, MO 636.797.8686 wildsunwinery.com
Olympia Kebob House and Taverna 1543 McCausland Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.781.1299 olympiakebobandtaverna.com
Teaspoons Café 2125 S. State Route 157 Edwardsville, IL 618.655.9595 teaspoonscafe.com
key:
Winery
Illinois
St. Louis
St. Charles County
Missouri
Kansas City Inspired Local Food Culture
Columbia 29
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HOP SAVE THE
IN THE CITY
SEPTEMBER
DATE 17
Edg-Clif celebrates 5 years of making award wining wines and introduces Craft Beers! WWW.EDG-CLIF.COM • POTOSI, MO
/schlaflybeer
@schlafly @schlaflybeer
Wineries
Wanted! Feast wants to feature your winery in the FeASt FooD + Drink GuiDe Your Products About Your Winery Where to Purchase
Contact Angie Henshaw, Director of Sales, for more information. 314-475-1298 | ahenshaw@feastmagazine.com
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Visit diolivas.com for Upcoming Cooking Classes.
An Oil & Vinegar Emporium Di Olivas brings you about 2 dozen of the world' s freshest olive oils and about 2 dozen varieties of balsamic vinegar. We are St. Louis' and St. Charles' only Olive Oil stores recommended by the author of today' s most recognized book about Olive Oil ª Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oilº Tom Mueller. Shop with us for your gourmet salt, pasta, sugar, and seasoning needs as well as olive oil based skin care items Bring in this ad for a FREE 100ml bottle of Olive Oil with an in-store purchase of $75.00 or more! (FM0616) Not to be combined with any other offer.
West County Center • 314.909.1171 • 617 South Main Street • St. Charles • 636.724.8282 • diolivas.com 30
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where we’re drinking
throw back spicy summer sips on p. 34 PHOTOGRAPHy by mAbel suen
TRENdINg NOw: PIscO
on trend
Written by nancy StileS PhotograPhy by Starboard & Port creative
A Peruvian brandy made by distilling wine to a high proof, pisco is making appearances on summer cocktail menus thanks to its floral top notes and versatile flavor profile.
stl
peru libre
sT. LOuIs. at Mission Taco Joint, which has three St. louis-area
locations and one in the works in Kansas city, bar manager Kyle harlan has offered six different pisco cocktails since the flagship opened in 2013. this year, he’s created a play on the cuba libre, the Peru libre, that uses pisco instead of rum. “We like the depth the pisco brings, whereas a lot of your white rums fall flat,” harlan says. “Pisco brings this bright, floral accent to it and really livens up cocktails.” Mission’s pisco cocktails are usually twists on classics; past iterations have included an island iced tea based on its long island counterpart, a Pisco-lada instead of a piña colada and its most popular, the Pisco burro, modeled after the Moscow Mule. “it’s just such a bright spirit that is easy to accentuate,” he says. “Pisco’s such a great base to start with – it’s easy to come up with something pretty neat.” Mission Taco Joint, multiple locations, missiontacojoint.com
kc
ONLINE EXTRA
Visit feastmagazine.com for The Hummingbird recipe.
the hummingbird
KANsAs cITY. Whiskey is usually the focus at Julep Cocktail Club in Kansas city. but in the summer, co-owner beau Williams loves the chance to use pisco. the hummingbird is his riff on Pisco Punch (reportedly the first-ever pisco cocktail), made with pineapple-infused Pisco Portón, ginger simple syrup, fresh lemon juice and rosemary, debuting this month. “there are a variety of styles that give you different profiles and directions you can go in,” he says. “Pisco Portón is really beautiful stuff – definitely drink alone-style pisco.” Pisco Punch has its roots in 19th-century San Francisco, and Williams loves its connection to american history and westward expansion. “People don’t [usually] know how it became a sought-after spirit; it faded into obscurity and is now back on the scene in a big way,” he says. “it’s become a bit of a curiosity for people, and that’s where it starts.”
Julep Cocktail Club, 4141 Pennsylvania Ave. #104, Westport, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.216.7000, julepkc.com
mo
classic sour
sPRINgfIELd, MO. the first pisco cocktail might have come out
of california, but the second – the Pisco Sour – came from an american bartender in lima, Peru, in the 1920s. in Springfield, Missouri, Joseph gidman has a whole section of Pisco Sours on the drink menu at his 3-year-old Peruvian spot, Cafe Cusco. gidman’s traditional Pisco Sour uses capel, a white pisco, with sugar, lime juice, egg white, a little agave to make it even smoother and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. “it’s kind of Peru’s answer to the Margarita,” gidman says. “i think the slight sweetness of it helps with the spiciness and saltiness of Peruvian food. People like the frothiness on top, especially when you smell the cinnamon first and then get the tang and sweetness of the lime juice and sugar.” also, be sure to try the Filthy Fisherman, which mixes the Pisco Sour with juice from cafe cusco’s ceviche, or the Pisco Poison, which adds a shot of local moonshine from copper run distillery that’s infused inhouse with local raspberries, orange peel, clove and cinnamon. Cafe Cusco, 234 E. Commercial St., Springfield, Missouri, 417.868.8088, cafecusco.com %PG
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one on one
Ks
kate brubacher
co-owner, the myers hotel bar WrItten by nadIa ImaFIdon
TONGANOXIE, KS. In december,
Kate brubacher and her husband, Jesse, opened The Myers Hotel Bar in tonganoxie, Kansas. as the former bar manager of Lawrence, Kansas, speakeasy John brown’s Underground – where she played a huge role in its business development – brubacher understood the amount of work that went into crafting a bar concept from start to finish. but this time, the project was entirely her baby. the first step was securing the space of her dreams – a former historic hotel she’d happened upon years earlier on one of her Sunday drives.
photography by zach bauman
Why did you decide to open your own bar? about six months into working at John brown’s, I realized I had bit off more than I could chew. they had asked me to develop the concept, but really running it, with 80-hour work weeks, was throwing off my family and work balance. Seven days a week with two young kids? It didn’t work… or it wasn’t going to work long term. but it was a good professional move for me, and I needed – at that time – some outside validation. It gave me a confidence boost knowing I could manage almost 20 people and was a stepping stone to having my own place. What sets The Myers Hotel Bar apart? making it a family place is a big intention. I think we’ll see more of our families show up this summer. Parents might drop their kids off at the pool across the street, and I’ll have daytime hours we’ll call adult Swim. We’ll do movies on the patio, bonfires, wienie roasts, all of it. I just hope people can get over their preconceived ideas about being seen at bars with children. What’s your favorite drink on the menu right now? the bramble. It’s a seasonal drink with house-infused black currant vodka, egg white, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup and a dash of Colorado-based dram apothecary’s citrus medica bitters. they use wild-foraged Colorado herbs and are really conscientious about where they source ingredients. the bitters’ earthy floral note balances with the tartness of the lemon and black currant. What’s next? [I used to be] a contractor – tearing out toilets, nothing glamorous, a lot of dirty work. So my car for years was this 1971 Ford F-250. and when Jesse and I got married, the only thing he asked [was] if he could drill a hole in the side of my truck, dismantle his Kegerator and install it on my truck. He hooked the lines up to the keg and served beer off the side of my truck. It was a major testosterone-fueled thing, like, “you want truck beer? Let’s have some truck beer.” this summer, we will have yard-truck beer, and I’ll keep the kegs rotating. bring blankets, dogs, friends, picnics, lawn chairs. I really want it to be a slower pace. Just relax. The Myers Hotel Bar, 220 S. Main St., Tonganoxie, Kansas, 785.840.6764, themyershotel. com/myers-hotel-bar
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where we’re drinking Check out what we’re sipping at bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries and coffee shops. stl
gaslight Story and PhotograPhy by Mabel Suen
st. louis. bar-goers have a new destination for food,
drinks and live music at a recently renovated space on the hill. Gaslight, an homage to St. louis’ midcentury gaslight Square entertainment district, aims to delight its patrons with three components: a full bar, latin american-inspired eats and an in-house recording studio so visitors can watch musicians record live. guests can get a glimpse into the studio via an expansive window, while a live audio feed provides the soundtrack for sipping spirits. Cha Cha Chow provides food via a walk-up counter, which patrons can take to go or enjoy in the bar. the bar’s cocktail program features several drinks named after late, great gaslight Square establishments: the Smokey Joe, for instance, is a sweet, savory, spicy and smoky ode to the bar of the same name, made with bourbon, mezcal, habanero syrup, peach, basil and bittermens’ ‘elemakule tiki bitters – a harmonious combination befitting the artsy environs. Gaslight, 4916 Shaw Ave., The Hill, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.496.0628, gaslightstl.com
kc wineworks KANsAs CitY. On April 1, urban winery KC Wineworks opened its 5,500-square-foot tasting room, event space and production facility in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District. The tasting room’s gear-shaped cherry-wood bar was custom-built to allow people to congregate around it without feeling crowded. Here, you can try five 1-ounce wine pours for $7, or
KC
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WriTTeN by JeNNy VergArA
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pHOTOgrApHy by CHriSTOpHer SMiTH
purchase anything by the glass or bottle to enjoy at the tasting room or at home. Charcuterie plates from The Sundry are also available to pair with your wine. KC Wineworks’ current lineup includes Chardonel, Traminette, Valvin Muscat, Chambourcin, Norton and Maréchal Foch, a French hybrid grape, as well as red and
white blends and a hard cider made from locally sourced Jonathan apples. Owners James and Lindsay Lowery, winemaker and marketing and tasting room manager, respectively, planted grapes on 4 acres of family land in Macon, Missouri, back in 2002. Those vines now supply KC Wineworks, along with grapes sourced from other Missouri vineyards as
needed, for the 1,100 cases of wine bottled in its 2014 vintage. Look out for a sparkling rosé and a blanc de blancs, which the Lowerys hope to release in early 2017. KC Wineworks, 1829 Mcgee St., Crossroads arts district, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.256.4608, kcwineworks.com
mark twain brewing co. written by Daniel Puma
|
PhotograPhy by cheryl waller
HANNIBAL, MO. across the street from Samuel clemens’ childhood home in hannibal, missouri, is the aptly named Mark Twain Brewing Co. husband-and wife brewers Dave alley and cat golden quit their jobs in tennessee to apprentice with maryland heights-based o’Fallon brewery, and eventually landed the brewing gig at mark twain. they produce five brews year-round, plus a handful of seasonals and special releases. the beer names reference twain’s work, including huck Finn’s habanero apricot wheat, halley’s blueberry Saison, King arthur’s court imperial iPa and clemens’ Kölsch.
the brewery is housed in an old Ford model t manufacturing facility – the current grain elevator was used to move vehicles between floors – and many pieces throughout are made of reclaimed wood and materials sourced from torn-down Victorian homes. the first floor features a bar and restaurant while the upstairs features a second bar and balcony, which overlooks twain’s beloved mississippi river. all of the brewery’s current beers can be found on tap, in addition to a few missouri-focused guest taps. you’ll also want to try the beer cheese burger, a ½-pound burger topped with house-smoked pulled pork, beer-cheese dip and crispy onion “tanglers” served open-faced on texas toast, perhaps while revisiting The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain Brewing Co., 422 N. Main St., Hannibal, Missouri, 573.406.1300, marktwainbrewery.com
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summerfest june 18th experience our sunset with great Wine, music and friends. live music 1pm til 8:30pm starts at 4:30 $5 per person entry fee
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the mix
strawberry shrub mojito Summer is the best time of the year to stock up on delicious, in-season fruits and vegetables, and there are numerous ways to use every last bit, whether through pickling, making jams or infusing spirits. each of these classic preservation methods have made a comeback in the past few years, as have shrubs, a combination of vinegar sweetened with sugar and the ripest fruits of the season. the procedure for making a shrub is simple; there are a few
ways to do it, including hot and cold methods. i prefer the cold method, as the fruit flavors are fresher and linger a bit longer; the hot method produces a great shrub, too. the simplest way to use a shrub is to add club soda; it’s a refreshing drink that’s low in calories for hot summer days. i recommend a 3-1 blend of club soda to shrub, over ice in a tall glass. For cocktails, the simplest drink is a 3-1 blend of sparkling wine to shrub. here, i use a strawberry shrub to make a seasonal twist on the classic Mojito.
Story and recipeS by Matt Seiter photography by Jonathan gayMan
Cold-Method Berry Shrub yields | 1½ to 2 cups |
1 1 1
cup berries, halved or quartered depending on size cup granulated sugar cup vinegar (red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar are recommended)
| Preparation | in a medium bowl, Matt Seiter is co-founder of the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG)’s St. Louis chapter, a member of the national board for the USBG’s MA program, author of the dive bar of cocktail bars, bartender at BC’s Kitchen, and a bar and restaurant consultant.
combine berries and sugar until berries are evenly coated. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. once berries are macerated, strain off solids through a fine-mesh strainer. gently press berries to extract as much juice as possible. discard solids. add vinegar, stir to combine and funnel mixture into a glass bottle. there might be some residual sugar, but it will eventually dissolve. refrigerate until needed.
Hot-Method Berry Shrub yields | 1½ to 2 cups |
1 1 1
cup berries, halved or quartered depending on size cup vinegar (see recommended above) cup granulated sugar
| Preparation | place berries in a glass jar. in a medium saucepot, heat vinegar, but do not boil. pour heated vinegar into fruit-filled jar. cover jar with a lid and let sit at room temperature until fruit has lost most of its color, 3 to 5 days. Strain off solids into a medium saucepot and add sugar. bring to medium heat, but do not boil, and cook until all sugar has dissolved. Strain shrub back into glass jar and keep refrigerated.
Strawberry Shrub Mojito serves | 1 |
7 to 9 1½ 1 2 to 3
Bartender’s tip: As time
goes on, the flavor of the shrub will change: It will become a little less acidic, and the fruit flavor will mellow. Be sure to taste your shrub before mixing it into drinks – you might need to adjust ingredients based on its changing flavor profile. Always use glass containers to store shrubs, as plastic can impart flavor into the liquid.
fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish oz Bayou Silver Rum oz berry shrub (recipes above) crushed ice, divided oz club soda, plus more as needed
| Preparation | place mint leaves in the bottom of a collins glass. Lightly press with a muddler to release oils; add rum and hot- or cold-method shrub. Fill glass halfway with crushed ice and stir. add club soda and fill remainder of glass with crushed ice. Stir again and top off with more club soda if needed. garnish with mint sprig and serve.
on the shelf : june picks
WINE
holy-FielD VineyarD & winery’s nV ValVin MusCat
one on one
stl
dan pabst
specialty coffee consultant, ronnoco coffee co. WrItten By DanIeL Puma
written by Hilary HeDGeS
provenance: basehor, Kansas pairings: Spicy Asian dishes • Cured meats • Caprese salad
Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery’s Valvin Muscat took home a Jefferson Cup in 2013 and 2015 and a double gold at the 2016 Finger lakes international wine Competition. Finished with 3-percent residual sugar, it’s an off-dry wine with a nice, full mouthfeel. it has deep floral aromas and is loaded with bold flavors of candied fruit, orange blossom and ripe melon. Holy-Field’s Valvin Muscat is available at its tasting room in basehor, Kansas. Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery, 913.724.9463, holyfieldwinery.com Hilary Hedges is a former newsie whose passion for wine led her out of the newsroom and into the cellar. She is currently the director of sales and marketing and assistant winemaker at Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City’s West Bottoms.
BEER
olD Bakery Beer Co.’s Citrus wheat written by branDon niCKelSon
style: american wheat with citrus (4.7% abV) pairings: barbecue
american wheat beers are sometimes considered the least-exciting option in the craft beer world, yet every once in a while, there’s a truly great one that rekindles our love for the style. Old Bakery Beer Co. in alton, illinois, has done just that with its Citrus wheat. light and refreshing, this one is an instant summer classic, with lemon peel, orange peel, coriander and chamomile. this simple combination creates a spectacular brew that will be a hit at outdoor parties this summer. Old Bakery Beer Co., 618.463.1470, oldbakerybeer.com Brothers Brandon and Ryan Nickelson are available to help with beer picks and pairing recommendations at their store, Craft Beer Cellar, the only all-craft beer shop in the St. Louis area. Craft Beer Cellar is located at 8113 Maryland Ave. in Clayton, Missouri. To learn more, call 314.222.2444 or visit craftbeercellar.com/clayton.
SPIRIT
Crown Valley Brewing & Distilling Co.’s washtuB gin written by Matt Sorrell
provenance: Ste. Genevieve, Missouri (40% abV) try it: this spirit makes the base for a fine gin and tonic.
Crown Valley Brewing & Distilling Co., 573.756.9700, crownvalleybrewing.com When he’s not writing, Matt Sorrell can be found slinging drinks at Planter’s House in St. Louis’ Lafayette Square or bartending at events around town with his wife, Beth, for their company, Cocktails Are Go.
Purchase exposition, better known as the 1904 World’s Fair, where the coffee company’s founders, brothers J.P. and James J. O’Connor, first experienced imported coffee beans roasted over a gas flame. ronnoco – O’Connor spelled backward – has been roasting, brewing and expanding its way into coffee shops, offices and convenience stores ever since. more than a century after it began, its 100 percent arabica-bean coffee is sold in more than 20 states. the importance of adapting to the evolving coffee scene is not lost on ronnoco, which brought on specialty coffee consultant Dan Pabst last fall. What is your role with Ronnoco? I work in business development and innovations. my role is largely split into two categories, training and education being one part and innovation being the other. training and education is about sharing my knowledge of coffee with everybody. We do a lot of support for our customers, anything I can do to help a coffee business. [this] could just be making recommendations on recipes, providing staff training and education [or] menu development. What are your thoughts on the collaborative coffee community in St. Louis? We talk about that a lot in the coffee business. the right approach is a rising tide lifts all boats; the idea is as a collective, we all try to make the coffee scene better in the community. We could compete directly with all of the other independent [businesses], but really, it’s about competing with the people who aren’t drinking coffee – how do we turn everybody to coffee and just raise the level of the coffee game across the board? How does Ronnoco fit into the third-wave coffee movement? If we think of the third-wave [coffee movement] as trying to treat coffee as an artisanal food product and adhering to the strictest of quality standards, our goal and my challenge is, how do I take that quality and make it available in the larger food service market? We don’t make any compromises on quality; it’s just simplifying it and implementing a system that’s most effective. What’s next for the company? How do we create easy solutions for our customers? For a lot of our customers, coffee is just one component [of what] they are doing. the more we can handle that for them and ensure they have a great coffee program without [them] having to be 100 percent involved, [the better]. On the innovation side, it’s how do we treat coffee and create new and exciting ways to introduce people to coffee? Any tips for people brewing at home? the water has to be the right temperature: 195°F to 205°F. the vast majority of automatic coffeemakers for home use don’t get the water up to that temperature. the coffee-to-water ratio is also really important. When you want to change the flavor of your coffee, [to] make it stronger or weaker, you don’t want to change the ratio of coffee to water – you want to change the grind size.
pHotoGrapHy by JuDD DeMaline
this is Crown Valley Brewing & Distilling Co.’s latest entry in the spirits market, which debuted in april. Don’t let the name fool you – washtub Gin isn’t a lowbrow homemade spirit. Distilled from grapes from Crown Valley’s Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, vineyards, it’s a softer distillate, in the mold of the new western style. Master distiller Scott eckl says he was definitely going for something other than the usual juniper-heavy london dry style. this gin is crafted with 10-plus botanicals, including lavender, chamomile and rose hips, giving it a nose that’s redolent of spring flowers and candied citrus peel, plus a bit of sweetness up front on the palate.
ST. LOUIS. Ronnoco Coffee Co. has been in St. Louis since the Louisiana
Ronnoco Coffee Co., 618 S. Boyle Ave., Central West End, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.371.5050, ronocco.com
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Nursery Crimes! Interactive Comedy Murder Mystery
Remember the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall? Fairytale Land isn' t as sweet and innocent as our parents led us to believe. Well, today, we are all grown up! And now we find out the truth about Humpty Dumpty. He didn' t fall off that wall, he was pushed! Was it the Fairy God Mother? How ` bout Little Red Riding Hood? Or did the Huntsman or Little Jack Horner want him crushed? Help us find out what turned this nursery rhyme into a Nursery Crime while you enjoy a 4-course meal to Die for! Who knows? The killer might even be YOU! Call for reservations today at 314-533-9830 Bring this ad in for $10 off per person Valid through June 2016 Not valid for groups
Bissell Mansion Dinner Theatre
4426 Randall Place • St. Louis • 314.533.9830 • bissellmansion.com
TRY OUR NEW LINE OF MARGARITAS! MANGO | HIBISCUS | STRAWBERRY | POMEGRANATE Yum Seafood; calamari, shrimps, scallops, and mussels served with red and green onions, cilantro with our special thai-style vinaigrette. Hibiscus Margarita; Partron Silver Tequila, fresh lime juice and hibiscus nector shaken and served over ice with a salted rim.
$3 Appetizers Until 6 pm. 3155 South Grand | St. Louis, MO. 63118 | 314.771.1777 | www.kingandistl.com
Furniture Repaired, Furniture Refinished 5 Year Workmanship Guarantee Quality Craftsmanship • Refinishing • Reupholstery Antique Restoration Repair • Custom Made Draperies Custom Made Furniture • New Furniture • Antiques Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm Appointments & Service Available 24 Hrs. A Day, 7 Days A Week
Since 1893
Just east of 3400 S. Kingshighway We accept Discover, Visa, Mastercard and American Express
4821 Fairview Ave., St. Louis • 314.832.1555 • zollingerfurniture.com 38
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buffet
Five Courses of farm-fresh gourmet fare, June 19, 2016 | 6-9pm sure to put a smile on any Dad’s face, for Tickets & Details: only 45 dollars. http://fathersdaybuffet.bpt.me www.SanctuariaSTL.com | /SanctuariaSTL | @SanctuariaTapas (314) 535-9700 | 4198 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110
¡Vaya con Diablitos!
four course gourmet dinner | 6:30pm | June 21, 2016
Four mouth-watering courses of fresh regional cuisine from south of the border are calling your name. secure your spot now. Tickets & details:
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314.644.4430 | 3761 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108 /Diablitos.Cantina | @DiablitosCantin | diablitos_cantina Inspired Local Food Culture
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Located in the heart of Kansas City, Waldo is a walkable, bikeable neighborhood filled with everything from boutiques to bakeries and day spas to nightlife.
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shop here
hold a jam session on p. 48 PHOTOGRAPHy by cHeRyl wAlleR
shop here
KC
kc organics and natural market written by Jenny Vergara | photography by margaret martinez
KANsAs CITY. Kansas City has many wonderful farmers’ markets to visit during the growing season, including organic markets like the KC Organics and Natural Market, which specializes in produce, meat, eggs and dairy from farmers who all avoid conventional fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics (the market is also fair-trade). KC organics is hosted every Saturday morning from 8am to 12:30pm through october in peaceful minor park in south Kansas City.
you can find specialty- and heritage-breed meat, local honey, organic mushrooms, edible flowers, artisan breads, pies and more depending on the season. in addition to the food for sale, handmade, organic bars of soap and body-care products are on offer, as are wood crafts, candles and natural-stone custom jewelry. KC organics also hosts the occasional chefs’ demo, which includes samples and recipes to take home, as well as live music from local musicians. KC Organics and Natural Market, 1235 E. Red Bridge Road, Mission Lake, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.444.3663, kcorganics.com
ArTIsAN produCT
mo
singing prairie farms’ roam sticks wRittEN By DaNiEL PuMa
LA PLATA, MO. Roam Sticks are 100-percent pork goodness, ideal for an
on-the-go snack or afternoon pick-me-up. it starts with pasture-raised pigs that are free to roam and fed a diet of non-GMO grain and fresh produce at Singing Prairie Farms in La Plata, Missouri, south of Kirksville. the Roam Sticks are also free of GMOs, MSG and preservatives and are packed with omega-3 fatty acids. its hickory-smoked pork with uncured bacon flavor features just a bit of maple sugar to accent and highlight the natural pork taste without being too sweet. the snacks are available at City Greens Market, Local Harvest Grocery and Lucky’s Markets in the St. Louis area; Clovers Natural Market and Lucky’s Market in Columbia, Missouri; Howard’s Grocery, Cafe and Catering in Kansas City, or online at roamsticks.net. Singing Prairie Farms, 660.988.8551, roamsticks.net 42
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get this gadget
prodyne fruit infusion natural fruit flavor pitcher
Photo courteSy Prodyne
written by nancy ancy StileS
take ake full advantage of all the fresh fruit available this month by flavoring your beverages with Prodyne’s fruit-infusion pitcher. Simply slice lemons and fill the center rod for lemon water, try combinations like jalapeño-peach and strawberry-basil, or make your own raspberry iced tea. the he water can be refilled without having to add new fruit, too. For more info or to purchase the infusion pitcher, visit prodyne.com.
get this gadget
mastrad herb scissors written by nancy StileS
whether you grow your own herbs, pick them out at the farmers’ market or grab a bunch at the grocery store, June is the ideal time to incorporate these fresh and flavorful plants into your cooking. mastrad’s five-blade herb scissors save you the time of chopping bunches of cilantro, basil or parsley and cut quickly and evenly. the handle also includes an herb stripper for dill, rosemary, tarragon and more, and the storage holder is magnetic so you can keep the scissors within arms’ reach. For more information or to purchase the herb scissors, visit mastrad-paris.us. Photo courteSy maStrad
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one on one
stl
aaron and agi groff co-owners, sucrose
Story and photography by Mabel Suen
ST. CHARLES, MO. the science of sweets reigns supreme at Sucrose, a bakery and café that opened in March in St. Charles, Missouri. the concept is a relocation and rebranding of the previously established 4 Seasons bakery, with a common purpose: making all-natural, artisan pastries from scratch. Co-owners aaron and agi groff met while studying baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of america in new york, eventually relocating to the St. louis area. Since 2005, the husband-and-wife duo has been sating sweet tooths with their european-style confections, including desserts highlighting agi’s german heritage. the groffs got their start at St. louis-area farmers’ markets, serving from-scratch specialties such as tea cookies, tarts and cakes. In 2010, they opened their flagship St. Charles shop while raising their newborn daughter, alina, or “lini,” who was, ironically, born with a gluten intolerance. after nearly six years in the petite 660-square-foot space, the groffs expanded into a new home to bake and share their goods that’s bigger and better than ever.
Why did you change the location and name? We needed more space, first and foremost. our concept was to have a more contemporary bakery. We wanted to separate ourselves from other “4 Seasons” businesses and also play with the fact that baking is a science. –Aaron Groff What are some of your favorite German treats on the menu? the german cherry cheesecake is made with greek yogurt instead of a cream-cheese base and is a lot lighter and tangier than american-style cheesecake. during the Christmas season, we have lots of traditional german Christmas cookies like linzer, lebkuchen and vanillekipferl, which are vanilla crescents. –Agi Groff What is your daughter’s gluten-free go-to? French macarons – we call them “lini cookies.” We always have at least a half-dozen kinds around and like to get creative with flavors like hibiscus-rose, chocolate-hazelnut and chai latte. We also have gluten-free individual cakes, cookies and cupcakes at Sucrose. –Aaron What’s new in the larger space? before, we just had carryout; now, we have [seating] for 14. We now have a full espresso bar and blueprint Coffee. Crème brûlée was also added recently, and we’re putting out more savory pastries like galettes. For now, we’re happy sticking with the nice menu we have while just getting comfortable in the kitchen and keeping up with production. –Aaron Sucrose, 700 S. Fifth St., St. Charles, Missouri, 314.288.9176, sucrosebakerystl.com
%PG
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culinary library
2016-2017 Tony Award® Winning Season
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Superfood SnackS written by bethany Christo
Los angeles-based chef Julie Morris takes the hardest part of any diet – snacks – and makes them healthy, relatively inexpensive and easy to prepare at home in her new cookbook, Superfood Snacks. Morris is about more than just eating healthy – she demonstrates how to pack as many nutrients and as much energy as possible into our in-between meals, while still making snacks tasty enough to satisfy cravings. she includes handfultype treats like candied hemp-seed clusters; spoonables such as mango-chia pudding; to-go snacks including mocha-hazelnut energy bites with instant coffee or açaí- and mint-stuffed dates; and, of course, a sweet (and still nutritious) section filled with lavender graham crackers (pictured below), jalapeño popsicles and oatmeal-maca cookies. “superfood boosts” spotlighted throughout offer ways to enhance a recipe’s nutritional power even further, and the pantry section outlines the necessities needed for healthy snacking. by Julie Morris juliemorris.net
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SHOp Here
mo
farm to you market Written by bethany Christo | PhotograPhy by Cheryl Waller
WASHINGTON, MO. Fifth-generation pig farmer todd geisert and
his wife, Katie, opened Farm to You Market in april in Washington, Missouri, as a place for locals to pick up groceries, all sourced from within 200 miles. shelves are filled with fresh fruits and veggies, milk, freshly baked bread from Companion baking Co. and great harvest bread Co., cheese (try homestead Creamery’s smokehouse Cheddar), grains and, of course, meat. geisert’s pork products, including brats, smoked kielbasa, pork burgers and baby-back ribs, as well as other local farmers’ wares like boeckmann Family Farm’s Mangalitsa pork and grass-fed beef, are sold fresh. those looking to round out their trip can pick up stringbean Coffee Co. beans, excel bottling Co. sodas, frozen Dogtown Pizzas, hammons Products Co.’s black walnuts, and myriad canned and preserved goods. geisert is particularly proud of the salted caramel-honey ice cream from giofre apiaries, which incorporates his bacon. Within the market, 40-seat the barn yard Cafe serves seasonal daily sandwiches, soups, salads, Companion cheesecakes and more. Patio seating is also available out front, overlooking planters made from repurposed highway guardrails that grow fresh basil, thyme, rosemary and other herbs for purchase. “nothing is going to waste here; everything is recycled,” geisert says. “We’ll never throw food away – at the very least, we can feed it to the pigs.” Just a ½-mile down the road from geisert’s hog farm, Farm to you Market also features a rentable commercial kitchen and a massive distribution center to ship todd geisert Farms products to its 70-plus retail and restaurant partners. look for a monthly dinner series with st. louis-area chefs – the next features grapeseed’s ben anderson on June 7 – and an online store coming this winter. Farm to You Market, 5025 Old Highway 100, Washington, Missouri, 844.682.2266, farmtoyoumarket.com
ArTISAN prOducT
KC
the french bee bakery’s bouquet bark Written bY Daniel PuMa
PhotograPhy Courtesy the FrenCh bee baKery
PARKVILLE, MO. The French Bee Bakery owner tracy torres calls
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her bouquet bark “springtime in chocolate.” House-tempered couverture white chocolate is sprinkled with a blend of edible petals and fragrant herbs, including rosebuds, house-sugared violets, chamomile buds, lavender and pistachios. Made at the bakery in Parkville, Missouri, just north of Kansas City, the chocolate is rich with a smooth texture, while floral notes, particularly the lavender, linger on the palate. it’s all rounded out with the hint of salt and nuttiness from the pistachios. in addition to the French bee bakery, bouquet bark is available at nell Hill’s briarcliff and Shackelford botanical Designs in Kansas City and Florilegium in Weston, Missouri. The French Bee Bakery, 404 East St., Parkville, Missouri, 816.673.0117, thefrenchbeebakery.com
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healthy appetite seeds the day on p. 52 photography by sherrie castellano
healthy appetite
Chamomile-honey Chia Bowls
SToRy, RECIpE AnD phoToGRAphy by ShERRIE CASTELLAno
As the weather warms up, more raw foods find their way into my diet, and chia bowls become my go-to breakfast, snack and light dessert. Chia bowls are rich, decadent and require such little effort they practically prepare themselves. When you combine chia seeds with liquid, they expand into a gelatinous substance, and when you combine just the right ratio, a pudding consistency forms. I’m partial to chia for its flavor and versatility, as well as its nutritional value. The seeds are packed with protein, essential heathy omega-3 fats and fiber. Each serving of this chamomile-honey chia bowl delivers an impressive 10 grams of protein.
Chia bowls are transformative – chameleonlike, really. Flavor combinations are limitless, but some of my favorites are spiced raisin-cardamom (Raisins are underrated, don’t you think?), an energizing matcha mixture for a super-antioxidant punch or tea-infused, like the one we’re making here. This chia bowl combines honey with mellow chamomile, making it pleasantly sweet but not overly so. And although any chamomile tea will work well in this recipe, I prefer St. Louis-based ReTrailer Tea Co.’s Karma Chamomileon. It’s a mix of mint, citrus and chamomile with notes of jasmine and lemongrass, and can be purchased online at theretrailer.com.
Sherrie Castellano is a health coach, photographer and private chef based in St. Louis. She writes and photographs the seasonally inspired vegetarian and gluten-free food blog With Food + Love. She has contributed work to Driftless Magazine, Vegetarian Times, Go Gluten-Free Magazine, Food52 and Urban Outfitters, among others. You can find her hanging with her aviation-enthusiast husband sipping Earl Grey tea, green juice and/or bourbon.
Chamomile-Honey Chia Bowls Serves | 4 | 1½ cups unsweetened almond milk 1 cup chamomile tea, cooled to room temperature 1 Tbsp raw honey ½ tsp vanilla extract 1⁄8 tsp sea salt ½ cup chia seeds Use any combination of the following for garnish:
seasonal fruit edible flowers honey granola bee pollen
| Preparation | In a
turn to p. to learn more about bee pollen!
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large bowl, whisk together almond milk, tea, honey, vanilla and salt until honey has dissolved. Add chia seeds and stir until combined. Let rest for 3 minutes and then stir again. Either divide mixture into 4 glass pots or pour into 1 large Mason jar, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
| To Serve | Transfer chia to 4 separate bowls and top with your choice of garnishes. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
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mystery shopper
FilFel chuma seeking: spice-loving companion up for new adventures in exotic locales. Must like it hot. What Is It?
Filfel chuma (also known as pilpelchuma) is a condiment common in libyan-jewish and israeli cuisines. Made with dried and powdered peppers, heaps of garlic and a few other spices held together with oil, the mixture lies somewhere between a sauce and a paste. as you’d guess, filfel chuma is fiery and pungent, filled with flavor that comes at you from all directions. it’s relatively unknown in western cultures, where exotic condiments like tunisian harissa or Korean gochujang have only recently made waves, but thanks to the increasing popularity of israeli and Middle-eastern fare, this beautiful pepper paste is poised to take center stage. (learn more about harissa and gochujang, previously spotlighted in this column, at feastmagazine.com.) What Do I Do WIth It?
any hot condiment – when used correctly – is more versatile than you’d think, and filfel chuma is no exception. Use it to infuse spice into meats as a marinade, add it to yogurt or hummus for a quick dip for vegetables or falafel, or thin it
story and recipe by shannon Weber photography by jennifer silverberg
out with a squeeze of lemon to make a simple salad dressing. add a few spoonfuls to heat up soups and stews or toss it with roasted vegetables: it’s exceptional on asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. add a dollop to grilled fish for a kick or to scrambled eggs – and once you’ve had it on crispy roasted potatoes, you’ll never go back. filfel chuma excels in its malleability. not only can you control the heat depending on how much you use, but making it yourself allows you full customization. although it can be found at international markets, it’s easy to make at home, and doing so yields a vastly superior product; it’s worth the effort and lasts just as long in your refrigerator as the store-bought variety. because fresh garlic – especially the amount we’re using in the following recipe – can be abrasive to the palate and overpower a dish, this recipe for filfel chuma employs roasted garlic in its base. it softens the blow a bit, but you still get abundant heat from all the chiles. roasting garlic is easy, and it will fill your house with a sultry aroma; throw as many heads as you want in the oven and spread the leftover cloves onto bread or crackers.
Shannon Weber is the creator, author and photographer behind the award-winning blog aperiodictableblog.com, and her work has appeared on websites such as bon appétit, Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. She is a self-taught baker and cook who believes the words “I can’t” should never apply to food preparation and that curiosity can lead to wonderful things, in both the kitchen and in life.
Roasted Garlic Filfel Chuma Unlike the store-bought variety, from-scratch filfel chuma doesn’t require a special trip to an international market – just a few simple ingredients that are probably already hanging out in your pantry. Yields | ¾ cup | 2
heads garlic (remove exterior papery skin, leaving head intact with cloves connected) 2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil 1 dried ancho chile pepper hot water 1 Tbsp whole cumin seeds 1 Tbsp whole caraway seeds 2 Tbsp ground sweet paprika 1 Tbsp Hungarian hot paprika 1¼ tsp kosher salt 3 to 3½ oz grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)
| Preparation | preheat oven to 400°f. slice ¼ inch off the top of garlic heads to expose garlic inside and place each on a length of aluminum foil. drizzle both heads with olive oil, wrap with foil and place on baking sheet. transfer to oven and roast for 40 minutes until cloves are fragrant and tender when knife is inserted. set aside to cool. While garlic cooks, place ancho chile in a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside to rehydrate, 30 minutes. drain and slice in half to remove seeds from chile. set aside. add cumin and caraway seeds to a medium-sized stainless steel skillet. turn heat to medium and toast seeds, stirring frequently, until fragrant. grind using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until powdery. remove 15 cloves from cooled roasted garlic heads and place in a food processor, then add rehydrated ancho chile, ground cumin and caraway, both paprikas and salt; pulse a few seconds to break down ingredients. With the motor running, stream in grapeseed oil until mixture is the consistency of a thick sauce. transfer to a lidded jar and cover with a little oil to prevent spoilage. Use immediately or store in refrigerator.
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menu options
Salmon CoulibiaC
SToRy ANd RECIpE AdApTATIoN By SCoTT dRAkE pHoTogRApHy By JENNIFER SILvERBERg
James Beard once described salmon coulibiac as one of the most unusual dishes he ever encountered, and I’m not about to argue with him. Coulibiac is the French adaptation of a traditional Russian dish, kulebiaka, wherein a flavorful mixture of salmon, rice, mushrooms, shallots, hard-boiled eggs and dill are baked inside a pastry crust. The crust is classically made with brioche dough or puff pastry, although modern adaptions often also include another French staple, crêpes.
Culinaire, now the world’s culinary standard. Escoffier’s recipe for coulibiac de saumon calls for “ordinary brioche paste without sugar” to be used for the crust. In 1978, Julia Child shared her “choulibiac” adaption of the recipe in Bon Appétit, which calls for one giant crêpe and pâte à choux, a light pastry dough. I first learned how to make the following version of salmon coulibiac in the mid-1970s while working at a country club in St. Louis.
salmon coulibiac
Legend goes that Auguste Escoffier, the father of French cooking, learned to prepare traditional kulebiaka while cooking for Russian naval officers at his uncle’s Restaurant Français in Nice, France, who were looking for a taste of home. He included the recipe in his cookbook, Le Guide
In Beard’s recipe, he describes salmon coulibiac as “… wonderful for buffet services, for it slices well and is easy to eat with a fork.” Take a page from Beard’s book and serve salmon coulibiac buffet-style at your next breakfast or brunch alongside a summery salad.
SALMOn COULIBIAC 3 to 4 lbs skin-on salmon fillets
chef’s tips SIDE OF SAUCE. Salmon coulibiac is best when served with
BAKE AHEAD. This dish can be made ahead of time and
a classic French sauce. I recommend mousseline, which is made with a base of hollandaise sauce and whipped cream.
frozen, unbaked, until ready to use. Simply defrost it in the refrigerator and bake according to the directions.
the menu • Cheese Gougères • Mixed Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette • Salmon Coulibiac • Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
LEArn MOrE. In this class you’ll learn how to prepare French staples including cheese gougères and crêpes (used in the salmon coulibiac). you’ll also learn how to make slightly tart lemon curd cupcakes with rich cream cheese frosting.
get hands-on: Join Feast Magazine and schnucks Cooks Cooking school on Wed., June 22, at 6pm at the des Peres, Missouri, location, to make the dishes in this month’s menu. tickets are just $40 for a night of cooking, dining and wine. RsVP at schnuckscooks.com or call 314.909.1704.
Serves | 8 | CrêpES
1⁄8 1⁄8 3 2 1½
1 1½ 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 ½ ½ 2 2 1 1
cup all-purpose flour tsp salt eggs Tbsp melted butter cups milk
sachet with 3 Tbsp pickling spice juice of 2 lemons cups basmati rice cups fish stock onion, finely chopped tsp cumin tsp coriander tsp cardamom bay leaf Tbsp chopped parsley hard-boiled eggs, diced lb mushrooms, diced and sautéed lb spinach, diced and sautéed tsp dill tsp kosher salt tsp freshly ground black pepper package puff pastry (2 sheets) melted butter (for brushing pan) egg wash
| preparation – crêpes | In a large bowl, sift flour and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well. Add melted butter. gradually stir in milk and mix until the consistency of thin cream. Let batter rest for 30 minutes before using. Heat an 8-inch crêpe pan over medium-high heat. When hot, grease and pour a little crêpe batter into pan, tilting and rotating so batter coats evenly. Cook crêpe until light brown on 1 side; flip and lightly brown other side. Repeat 11 times; keep warm.
| preparation – salmon coulibiac | preheat oven to 375°F. In a baking dish, add enough salted water to cover fish. Add sachet and lemon juice. poach in oven, allowing 10 minutes per inch of salmon thickness. once cool, remove skin and set aside. Cook rice according to package directions with next 6 ingredients. In a large bowl, mix cooked rice with next 7 ingredients. Set aside. Roll puff pastry into large rectangles. Transfer 1 sheet to a parchment paper-lined pan brushed with butter. Add 4 crêpes on top, then half of rice mixture, then 4 more crêpes, a salmon fillet, 1 crêpe and remaining rice. Add remaining crêpes; cover with second pastry sheet. Seal with egg wash and roll edges, overlapping as you go. Brush with more egg wash and bake for 45 minutes. Serve.
TV
WATCH IT ON THESE NETWORKS
In St. Louis, tune into the Nine Network (Channel 9) to watch Feast TV Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30pm. Airdates will vary during Nine’s June pledge drive.
Dads Craft Beer!
In Kansas City, watch Feast TV on KCPT (Channel 19) Sundays at 5:30pm. Airdates will vary during KCPT’s June pledge drive, so check local listings.
You can watch Feast TV throughout mid-Missouri on KMOS (Channel 6) Thursdays at 8pm and Saturdays at 4:30pm.
Feast TV will air in the southern Illinois region on WSIU (Channel 8) every Monday at 12:30pm.
Artisan cheesemakers invite you onto their farms and into their dairies where fresh milk is made into a range of cheeses, from tangy fresh chevre to funky, fabulous aged bloomy rind cheeses. We head to southern Illinois to meet the family behind Marcoot Jersey Creamery and stop by another Jersey-cow operation at Cool Cow Creamery in Owensville. In Bloomsdale, we see how award-winning goat cheeses are made and then it’s off the farm and into the kitchen with host Cat Neville, who will show you how to make ricotta at home and then make cheese-filled fresh pasta, highlighting the fresh cheese’s delicate flavors.
feast tv is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors:
We’ve got all of your favorite craft beers including impressive choices brewed right here in St. Louis! Our team of experts takes great care in curating our beer selection from seasonal brews to special releases.
For a list of our Certified Beer Servers, visit schnucks.com And, follow Certified Beer Server Chris Wong @SpiritsSipsSuds and Certified Cicerone® Chris Kline @SchnucksBeerGuy!
©2016 Schnucks
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sweet ideas
Brown Butter CoBBler Cobbler is one of the simplest summer desserts: just top fresh fruit with a batter and bake it. Although it’s easy to make, for me, cobbler is a lot more complex, evoking rich childhood memories spent running barefoot in the yard, eating strawberries dipped in sugar and playing games with all the neighborhood kids well past dusk. As adults, we often yearn for those carefree days when summer break never seemed to end and homemade sweets were well-earned treats. At my bakery, I love to use pastry chef-driven tricks and
sTOry And reCIpe by ChrIsTy AugusTIn phOTOgrAphy by Cheryl WAller
make them accessible to home cooks. One of our best-kept secrets is browning butter before adding it to a recipe. The French call it beurre noisette, which translates to hazelnut butter, due to the nutty aroma and flavor that’s created by toasting the milk solids in butter. In the following recipe, brown butter adds a depth of flavor not usually found in cobblers. Another tip: If you make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to a week, you can speed up the preparation process when you’re ready to bake and serve your cobbler.
Christy Augustin has had a lifelong love affair with all things sweet. After working as a pastry chef in New Orleans and St. Louis, she opened Pint Size Bakery & Coffee in St. Louis’ Lindenwood Park in 2012. She calls herself the baker of all things good and evil. Learn more at pintsizebakery.com.
Brown Butter Cobbler This brown butter batter can also be used as a tart filling, and it’s one of the special-order options at my shop, Pint Size Bakery. Prebake a 9-inch tart shell or six individual tart shells, line the bottom with slices of banana or berries and pour batter over the top to fill before baking. Serves | 4 to 6 | ½ cup unsalted butter 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional) pinch kosher salt 1 cup granulated sugar, divided 2 eggs ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour 3 cups fresh berries or sliced stone fruit 2 Tbsp raw or Demerara sugar
| Preparation | preheat oven to 350°F. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add butter and vanilla bean, if using. Melt butter, swirling pan occasionally, until bubbling subsides and it turns golden brown, emits a nutty aroma and toasted bits appear, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. scrape brown butter into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for 20 minutes. remove vanilla bean and discard. In a medium bowl, whisk salt and ¾ cup granulated sugar into butter, then whisk in eggs. sift flour over top of bowl and stir to combine. set aside. In a separate bowl, combine fruit with remaining ¼ cup sugar and toss lightly. place fruit into 8-inch square baking dish or 9-inch pie plate. spoon brown butter batter on top and sprinkle with raw or demerara sugar. bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until fruit juices have thickened and bubbled and cobbler is puffed and golden brown. serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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from the harvest to your cup Supporting farmers with a fair wage
visit our coffee bar and roastery
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| 64 |
a not-so-secret garden
| 72 |
growing global
| 79 |
duck, duck, goose
| 84 |
raising the roof
The Wine Cellar & Bistro in Columbia, Missouri, finds vibrant flavor through love of soil. New Roots for Refugees connects refugees in Kansas City, Kansas, to their past and helps build their future through farming and food production. Blue Heron Farm in Marshfield, Missouri, is cracking into the local market with duck, goose and chicken eggs. Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t the only things taking root at Urban Harvest STL’s rooftop farms in Downtown St. Louis.
NopaLeS aT jUNipeR gaRDeNS TRaiNiNg FaRM iN KaNSaS CiTy (p. 72) pHoTogRapHy By LaNDoN voNDeRSCHMiDT
a
noT-so-seCreT
garden
The Wine Cellar & BisTro in ColumBia, missouri, finds viBranT flavor Through love of soil.
Written by nina Mukerjee Furstenau PhotograPhy by aaron ottis
W
hen trying to reassemble the pieces of the American food story, step back a bit to the unprocessed foods unearthed from the healthy soil of pre-World War II America. That taste. That’s where this begins. Before I knew much about the care and synergy of organic gardening, before I got in my car and drove outside of Columbia, Missouri, to find this particular plot, before I booked a seat at the table or worried over the state of my work shoes, Craig and Sarah Cyr of The Wine Cellar & Bistro in Columbia were simply people whose cooking and wine choices, respectively, I had always enjoyed. Many people, in fact, are finding good reasons to drive the short distance outside of Columbia and dig in their dirt. They are drawn by The Wine Cellar Garden Project at the certified-organic, 15-acre farm that is Craig and Sarah’s homeplace. More, they are drawn by the solace of breaking soil with their fingers, sprinkling seeds, witnessing birth and death and season.
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Striding up to the 5,625-square-foot main garden, newcomers arrive expectant. But the energy near the beds is steady, unhurried, and no rushing is needed. Snippets of conversation carry over the clear Saturday morning air.
“My German roots,” another says and shrugs.
“This is what we want to do for our lives, for our kids,” Sarah says. There is a conviction to her words and the sense of an evolving goal. Sarah, a sommelier, whose offerings at The Wine Cellar have been recognized by Wine Spectator every year since 2005, and a lawyer by training, now spends more and more of her time with the Garden Project.
Others, men and women wearing comfortable shoes, notably as worn as my own, are watching the action or tossing straw over just-planted seeds.
“I’m always amazed that 13 rows of garden produced about 2,500 pounds of food [last year],” she says. “There’s such a sense of satisfaction seeing it all get used.”
“Some of us are born with pads on our fingers that need to contact dirt,” a gardener says as she sprinkles a palmful of seeds down a row.
opposed to constantly tilling your garden. Soil looks like this in nature.” She’s referring to the garden’s intact crust of earth, not tilled wholesale, and the cover crops that shelter the rows not yet planted for the season.
The Cyrs now partner with the CCUA on the Garden Project classes, which take participants from the beginning to end of “So, this is the beginning of spring,” Sarah The Cyrs decided to start the Garden Project an entire growing season. Classes focus on says, and the words feel like triumph. over a bottle of wine on the 10th anniversary hands-on gardening experience, gardening lectures by experts from the CCUA, organic of their restaurant. “Craig wanted to have People stand a little straighter and smile. and biodynamic discussions with Sarah, a more time in the garden, and he wanted to grow the things he wanted to cook, especially farm-inspired lunch prepared by Craig and a With 14 Saturday mornings devoted to seasonal organic wine pairing by Sarah. these heirloom varieties,” Sarah says. Plus, the Garden Project from March through perhaps stemming from her background in October this year, visitors have a chance “We’ve inspired a lot of people to open law, Sarah appreciates big ideas. to experience several shifts in season community gardens or gardens in town,” from the ground up. This is how it used to Craig says. “It’s definitely helped motivate “We wanted to put more focus on people be for many in preprocessed America, and working to make good, clean, healthy food,” people to grow their own food.” it’s pivotal for the Cyrs. she says. “We wanted to help drive that.” There’s an aroma at the Garden Project, “We started it to open up a dialogue, to too, a sweet compost-and-herb scent that It’s easy to see the draw once you taste the show people how to grow organically and touches at memory. Yes, some small kernel fruits of the land. After much attention to how we use farm-fresh ingredients at the inside you says, this is what I knew. soil health, planting companion plants to restaurant,” Craig says. “We look forward deter pests, learning about compost tea to seeing the same faces – and new faces – to boost growth, and other changes to the The Cyrs’ garden plot sits on a hill at every class, and the sense of community land and their approach, the Cyrs’ farm was overlooking a lake. There is an asparagus and connections we make with diners.” bed, an elderberry row, and peach, apple and certified organic in 2015. There is pleasure, cherry trees branching out in various spots Sarah says, in the flavor of food raised well No ordiNary dirt nearby. Sarah plants horseradish, nettles, and in having living, biodynamic soil that It might be rare to truly connect with the wild onions, comfrey and borage under the supports great-tasting plants. seasons for some people, but Craig and fruit trees to draw away pests. The soil is Sarah find that relationship fundamental. deep and dark, and the plot looks robust “It’s not your garden of the ’60s or ’70s,” In 2013, the Cyrs added the Garden Project says Carrie Hargrove, director of urban even in early spring. to their restaurant, The Wine Cellar & farming for the Columbia Center for Urban Bistro, to supply fresh, local food to its “The more diverse your garden,” Hargrove Agriculture (CCUA) and Garden Project kitchen. Now, guests arrive at the Cyrs’ says, “the more stable and self-sufficient guest lecturer. “We are starting to realize not-so-secret garden to share their love of that reducing tillage can create a healthier it is. The basis of growing sustainably is good food and connection to the earth. respecting the soil.” ecosystem for soil microorganisms as
For the Cyrs, this means always looking ahead. “It’s an act of patience,” Sarah says. “There is immediate gratification but not as much as [you get] using a fast-acting fertilizer.” The Garden Project was one of eight Missouri farms certified as organic last year by Quality Certification Services (QCS), a national certification organization. In total, there are 372 farms or processing facilities certified as organic in the state. “Some [applicants] stop for one of two reasons,” says Ramkrishnan Balasubramanian, chief operating officer of QCS. “[The farmer] ends up applying a material that is prohibited because it’s [his or her] first time going through the process. Or, they stop their certification because of economic reasons combined with paperwork.” While the Garden Project farm was going through its certification process, the Cyrs were not able to officially call anything from their farm organic, though the required practices were already in place. After three years, the farm’s certification was official. This makes The Wine Cellar & Bistro the only Missouri restaurant with its own certified-organic farm, to the best of Balasubramanian’s knowledge. But it’s the food that makes the Garden Project complete. “It’s really hard to ignore,” Hargrove says. Rich, tantalizing aromas from the farm kitchen waft out over the Garden Project group as she speaks about compost. Inspired Local Food Culture
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Farm to Fork
In town, the Cyrs’ restaurant creates yet another companionable atmosphere: cozy, relaxed and sophisticated without being formal. Barrel tops, emblazoned with winery names, adorn and warm the walls. Bottles are showcased throughout the space. At this particular moment in the life of Craig’s kitchen, a large stone mortar and pestle sits on a stainless steel table at the ready. Craig is combining ingredients for a sauce, and it’s easy to be mesmerized by the thick roll of golden honey cascading off his ladle. It’s a deceptively slow pour. Like the activity here, there’s a sense of underlying drive. “This is pretty calm,” he says. “I mean, it’s Tuesday.” Craig’s eyes are unruffled when he says this. He stops pouring, picks up a spatula and twirls it between his palms. I am reminded that in his younger days Craig played competitive tennis but now channels his energy into synchronizing the kitchen and dining experience. He turns to finish pouring the beautiful northern Missouri honey into tomato paste, adds kombucha, leans over the concoction and flicks in ground cloves. “I’m messing around with different fermented foods for health benefits,” he says. This particular day, there are fermented redbud flowers on the restaurant’s seared tuna dish, along with Garden Project chickweed made into salsa verde. “Not even weeds are safe from my husband,” Sarah had mentioned at the farm. The Wine Cellar doors swing open. “OK guys, we have a four, four, a three, a three, a six, a three and two twos,” says a waiter listing off the tables of people now in the restaurant. “Welcome to Tuesday!” Craig, still quiet and unhurried, turns to his sauce saying, “Who would have thought?”
Back at the ranch
Word has spread about The Wine Cellar & Bistro and its farm roots. The Cyrs are connecting as much to how Americans ate in the 1940s. Many crave those flavors again. Sharmini Rogers, a longtime resident of Columbia, has come to the Garden Project’s bimonthly Saturday morning classes three or four times a year since they began in 2013 and started volunteering in the kitchen with Craig this year. “It’s very much a family affair sort of thing,” Rogers says. “So, if we come early for class, we help bring things out [to the tables].” At a Saturday morning class, a few volunteers help in the garden while the kitchen begins to hum. “What is nice,” Rogers says, “is that parts of the meal – things like the vinaigrette – are things Craig has pickled and preserved from the garden last summer.”
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The Cyrs’ two children, Mae, 6, and Boone, 5, help, as well. “Boone and Mae helped pick mint leaves, and decorated the dessert,” says Rogers, reflecting on a March Saturday morning. “At the Garden Project,” Craig says, “I come up with meals from what I can get immediately out of the garden.” That simple truth is what connects the whole day. The rest of the atmosphere arises directly from the Cyrs. “There’s nothing pretentious about Craig’s kitchen,” Rogers says. “It’s very striking to me that the things in his kitchen are what even cooks like me are familiar with.” Craig, who grew up with grandparents who kept a huge garden and served family meals, lets that influence how he and Sarah live today. “They preserved and canned,” he says. “They were doing what that generation was doing, and I was around that growing up.”
“there’s nothing pretentious aBout craig’s kitchen. it’s very striking to me that the things in his kitchen are what even cooks like me are Familiar with.” -sharmini rogers garden project participant
Rogers plans to sign up for about six Saturdays this year. “I love, love, love it when they bring out the food for the tables and Sarah stands there with her wine [of choice] overlooking the lake,” Rogers says. “It’s just an experience. And the chickens are a nice touch, too.” The lunch at the Garden Project on this day started with braised local pork shoulder stew with miso, carrots, parsnips, cabbage, Champagne and apples; roasted spaghetti squash; garlic and rosemary cremini; grilled local bread with smoked trout, redbud pickles and spinach; and kale salad with huckleberry vinaigrette. For dessert, a fresh and subtly sweet gooseberry-apple-rhubarb crumble was topped with banana semifreddo. The feast is complemented by Sarah’s chosen organic wine, a Sangiovese-Merlot blend. The Missouri air mingling with the aroma of freshly cooked food; the tables set outside, weather permitting; the Cyrs’ farm dog, Xela, perhaps barking – it’s all sublime and savory and a scene that doesn’t have to be from the past any longer. The Wine Cellar & Bistro, 505 Cherry St., Columbia, Missouri, 573.442.7281, winecellarbistro.com
pictured top left: Participants of The Wine Cellar Garden Project enjoy a meal at the farm. pictured bottom left: Chef
Craig Cyr prepares dinner.
pictured below: Seared tuna with fermented redbud flowers by chef Craig Cyr.
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the wine cellar & bistro r ec i p es BraiSed pork Shoulder with appleS, CaBBage and CarrotS Serves | 6 | 1 ¼
4 1 6 1 ½ 6 2 ½ ¼ 2 ½
boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes cup fresh thyme sea salt and freshly ground black pepper cups sparkling wine, divided canola oil or pork lard, for searing yellow onion, medium dice carrots, medium dice bunch celery, medium dice cup sliced garlic apples, medium dice quarts chicken or pork stock cup apple cider vinegar cup miso paste bay leaves head cabbage, 1-inch dice
| Preparation | In a large bowl, combine pork with thyme, salt, pepper and 2 cups sparkling wine and marinate, covered, overnight or for at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 325°F. Drain pork from marinade. In a saucepan on high, add oil and sear pork until brown. Transfer to a large rectangular pan with 2-inch sides. Set aside.
Spring ChiCkweed SalSa Verde
heirloom tomato gazpaCho with ginger
Yields | 3 cups |
Serves | 6 |
2 1 ½ ½ 2 1⁄8 ¼ ½ ½
cups chickweed (including stems) cup cilantro cup mint cup oregano cloves garlic cup lime juice cup apple cider vinegar cup olive oil cup canola sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
| Preparation | In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve with fish, chicken or roasted sweet potatoes.
ChiCkweed peSto Yields | 4 cups | 2 4 4 ½ ½
cups toasted almonds cups chickweed cups stemmed and torn kale cup mint leaves juice of 4 lemons cup olive oil, plus more to taste sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
| Preparation | In a blender, process almonds. Add greens and continue processing until smooth. Add lemon juice and olive oil to achieve a medium-runny consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 68
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2 2 1 1 3 ¼ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ¼
lbs heirloom tomatoes (cores removed, large dice) or whole cherry tomatoes medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and large dice summer squash, seeded and large dice bell pepper, stem, seeds and ribs removed, large dice cloves garlic, minced red onion, large dice lb kale, stems removed and roughly chopped bunch cilantro, large stems removed and roughly chopped cup minced mint jalapeño, stem, seeds and ribs removed, small dice cup peeled and minced ginger root cup balsamic vinegar cup extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper herb-baked croutons (to serve) fresh mint (to serve)
| Preparation | In a large nonreactive mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Pulse in food processor or blender to medium-chunky consistency and transfer to another bowl. Finish seasoning to taste. Garnish with herb-baked croutons and fresh mint. Serve chilled.
the wine Cellar garden projeCt
2016 ClaSS
schedule The Wine Cellar & Bistro partners with the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) to grow a certified-organic garden for the restaurant at the Cyrs’ farm. The classes take guests from the beginning to end of an entire growing season through hands-on gardening experience, a gardening lecture by CCUA, an organic and biodynamic discussion with sommelier Sarah Cyr, a garden-inspired lunch prepared by chef Craig Cyr and a seasonal organic wine pairing by Sarah. Classes run from 10am to 1pm. To learn more, visit columbiaurbanag.org/the-winecellar-gardening-project. JUne 18. Gardening Structures, Staking, Cages, A-Frames and Others for Support and Shade Learn how to put out tomato cages and stake them.
In a frying pan on medium-high, add diced vegetables and brown slightly. Add garlic and diced apples and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with remaining sparkling wine, then add stock and apple cider vinegar. Continue to simmer until liquid reduces by half, then bring to a boil. Whisk in miso paste. Scoop out mixed vegetables and transfer to pan with pork, then add bay leaves. Add miso broth to just cover mixture. Cover with parchment as well as foil. Bake for 1½ hours. Add cabbage. Cover and return to oven until fork-tender, or another 1½ hours. Cool in liquid and discard bay leaves. Serve.
JUly 9. Insects and Integrated Pest Management; Creating an ecosystem with Insects, Birds and Mammals; Pest Potions Learn how to make and spray insecticidal soap.
Saffron-BraiSed turnipS and radiSheS
AUG. 20. Harvesting Techniques and Food Safety; Seed Storage, Collection, Cataloging Learn how to harvest vegetables and save and store heirloom seeds.
Serves | 6 | ¼ 1 ¼ 1 1⁄8 2 1
1 1 2 to 3
lb butter red onion, medium dice cup minced garlic bay leaf cup minced thyme lbs turnips, peeled and large dice lb radishes, quartered or halved depending on size (should be same size as turnips) Tbsp honey tsp saffron threads sea salt cups vegetable stock freshly ground black pepper
| Preparation | In a large pot over medium heat, add first five ingredients and sauté until tender. Add next four ingredients, mix well and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, making sure not to caramelize. Season liberally with salt. Add stock and cook until tender but not mushy. Juices will reduce almost to a glaze consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste; spread out on sheet pan to cool.
JUly 23. Garden Upkeep, Weeding Benefits, Techniques and Tools, Feeding Learn how to weed, prune tomato plants and feed plants. AUG. 6. Planning and Planting Fall Gardens Learn how to plant fall seeds.
SePT. 10. Growing and Harvesting Herbs, Preserving and Using Herbs Learn how to properly harvest and preserve herbs, plus a demo on how to make vinegars and herb butters. SePT. 24. Winterizing your Garden, Part One; Planting Seeds and Cover Crops for Winter, Hoop Gardening for Winter Learn how to plant seeds for winter. OCT. 1. Winterizing your Garden, Part Two; Cleaning Up, Feeding and Amending Soil, Covering and Mulching Beds Learn how to clean and mulch beds. OCT. 9. Sunday, 4 to 8pm - Garden Project Party! Free for class attendees who have signed up for 11 or more classes; $35 for guests. Includes a glass of organic wine and seasonal hors d’oeuvres.
pictured left: Spring chickweed
salsa verde.
pictured below: Saffron-braised
turnips and radishes.
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taste & see
TV
Join us June 17th for the second event of the season
DAte:
Third Friday of each month
time:
7:00 – 10:00
Venue:
Public Media Commons between Nine Network and St. Louis Public Radio
ticketS:
$15
taste & see 2016 schedule June 17
Pizza & Brew
July 15
BBQ and Spirits
Aug 19
Breakfast for Dinner
Sept 16
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arely a mile north of Kansas City, Kansas, lies one of the area’s best-kept food secrets: A lush and beautiful 9-acre garden tended by farmers from vastly different walks of life. Several women and children tread through rows of crops wearing traditional thanaka paste on their faces – a thin, pale yellow paint applied in captivating designs, a custom traditional to Burmese women. On the east end of the farm, other women are working in vibrant Somali Bantu dresses, while on the border of the west edge, Bhutanese men check their transplants and weed their gardens. Different languages and dialects crisscross the landscape, and children happily run and play among ¼-acre plots, where vegetables such as bitter melon and chin baung, more common to Southeast Asia, are farmed alongside carrots and tomatoes. The Downtown skyline hovers in the distance. This is Juniper Gardens Training Farm, home to New Roots for Refugees. The city has become a resettlement area for refugees, with a high concentration of people from Myanmar (formerly Burma, a name which many of the refugees in Kansas City prefer) and Bhutan. After fleeing their homes, refugees who have resettled into secondary countries end up in refugee camps (for example, many people from Myanmar end up in camps in Thailand). While living in the camps, international organizations usually begin the long process of determining whether or not refugees can return to their home countries. If they can’t, most often due to abuse or persecution, then the same organizations seek asylum for them in a third country, such as Germany, Hungary, Italy or Sweden.
WRITTeN By ApRIl FleMING
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pHOTOGRApHy By lANDON vONDeRSCHMIDT
In the U.S., depending on the state, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement works with local or state organizations to settle displaced individuals or families. The process typically takes years, sometimes decades.
PIctured: A New Roots for Refugees class at Juniper Gardens Training Farm in Kansas City, Kansas.
In Kansas City, Catholic Charities most often resettles “U.S.-tie cases,” or people who already have familial ties to the community. Jewish Vocational Services or Della Lamb Community Services typically handle “free cases” on the Missouri side of the city, according to Meredith Walrafen, program coordinator of New Roots for Refugees at Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. Whether refugees are able to travel to their new homes with their families or alone, each case presents different challenges, both for the individuals involved and for the organizations that assist them. Many refugees have experienced long-term trauma or acute stress and are in need of counseling. Others might be very physically ill. New Roots has become a critical bridge for many refugees in the Kansas City area, offering a connection from their old homes to their new ones through work and food. The four-year urban farming-training program’s current incarnation is the result of a decade-long partnership between Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas and Cultivate Kansas City. Catholic Charities offers related services for up to five years, including employment services, English classes and cultural orientation opportunities for the resettled refugees, and Cultivate KC is an entrepreneurially oriented urban-agriculture organization that promotes urban farming using organic practices as a way to engender environmental sustainability and community stability. The two organizations began combining efforts for New Roots after a request from a group of Somali Bantu refugee women. “A lot of times refugee women are not able to attend all of the classes and cultural-integration events that happen [through Catholic Charities] because [they are] in charge of childcare,” Walrafen explains. “[The Somali women] said, ‘We’re feeling kind of isolated, and we would like to have a garden.’” To that end, Catholic Charities began working with refugee women to establish a small garden at its former headquarters, the now-closed St. Benedict’s Catholic Church on Ninth Street in Kansas City, Kansas. The women grew and harvested produce there for about a year before Catholic Charities staff determined that professional agricultural experience – with a focus on climate and weather conditions in the Midwest – was needed to grow operations. “We realized we had no institutional agricultural knowledge… we also realized there was more potential than just a community garden space,” Walrafen says. “It can be an income generator and a work space.” Staff also recognized that there was an opportunity for
farmers to cultivate vegetables from home that were difficult to find in Kansas City, and in a place where the comforts of home are scarce, these things become extremely important. Cultivate KC seemed like a natural partner, and the two groups have been operating New Roots together ever since. “We were the perfect partners to help start farm businesses,” says Alicia Ellingsworth, program manager at Juniper Gardens Training Farm and New Roots farming mentor. “Cultivate is such an entrepreneur-oriented organization… many of [the refugees] come as farmers, some of them for generations, but [being new here], they don’t know the climate… they don’t know American customers and a lot of them don’t know English. We help with techniques and connections that way, as well as with financial and business management.” In 2008, the Wyandotte County office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agreed to lease New Roots its current 9 acres of land at essentially no cost. The acreage had previously been a part of the sprawling Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority, the oldest and largest public-housing development in the state. Many of the housing project’s two-story buildings, made of red brick with yellow siding, still stand, although they’ve been empty for years. Today, farmers are selected based on past farming experience or their enthusiasm for the work. Weekly workshops focus on topics ranging from learning about local weather patterns, growing fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse, operating farm equipment, obtaining organic certification, wholesaling produce, setting up tax IDs to collect and pay sales taxes, and navigating the paperwork required to sell at local farmers’ markets. At first it’s a lot for the new farmers to take in, especially when you consider the circumstances that brought them to the U.S. and the challenges they face with assimilating to a new city and culture. New Roots gives these men and women the knowledge, skills and confidence to start over, whether they are familiar with farming or not. The program also gives refugees another connection to their native homes through the food they grow. Farmers are encouraged to plant crops that are familiar to Midwestern palates as well as staples from their home countries that might be difficult to find in the area. Winged beans, chin baung (Burmese sorrel), bitter melon (or bitter cucumber or balsamic pear), tatsoi (a salad green with a rich mustard flavor) and Thai chiles are among the crops popular with farmers who are just starting to break through at market. Inspired Local Food Culture
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Last year, New Roots farmers collectively pulled in $108,000 in revenue from sales at market, wholesale and through New Roots’ CSA program. Currently 13 of the program’s graduates are farming in the community, nine of them on their own land and the rest on leased land or in community garden spaces. If you count graduate totals in those sales, the number jumps to $178,000. “Really, farming is something you can’t fully learn even over 20 years,” Ellingsworth says. “We give them four years to get their feet wet, to learn English and to have some guidance, workshops and field walks, as well as help getting to market. We offer a lot of opportunity, and people can take what opportunities suit them.” In the time since the original group of farmers and employees sopped through the muddy beginnings of the Juniper Gardens farm, grading and refining the land, the New Roots program itself has evolved into an innovative, four-year “farming college,” which offers mentoring and workshops to 16 farmers per year. Ellingsworth’s years of experience as a farm manager – including six years of managing Cultivate KC’s Gibbs Road Farm and five years as assistant farm manager at a biodynamic farm in Indiana – have well prepared her to mentor New Roots farmers. She and the farm’s longtime site manager, Sam Davis, alongside Walrafen, manage monthly volunteer events and CSA matchups, as well as vital weekly workshops for the farmers.
During a recent workshop, farmers (some with children in tow) begin their day sitting at picnic tables outside the Juniper Gardens greenhouse for a morning meeting. The group is segmented by language so each person can hear their respective translator. On this day, there are four: Nepalese, Burmese and Karen and Chin dialects (the latter are Burmese dialects). Ellingsworth begins the meeting by checking in with farmers about what they’ll need for their weekly markets: baskets, rubber bands, plastic bags, a tablecloth, signs and flyers. They discuss how, with the help of signs and their farming books – which include displays, names and descriptions of all of their vegetables – they can begin to overcome the language barrier that exists between the farmers and their customers. At the mention of the language barrier, several farmers nod knowingly. Communication is often a source of frustration and anxiety for many of them, particularly those just starting out in the program. One new farmer, originally from Burma, explains through his interpreter that he wants to be open to new people (something Ellingsworth strongly encourages), but he just doesn’t know how due to the language barrier. Not deterred, Ellingsworth and Walrafen encourage him to continue attending his English classes and to keep practicing. It will come, she explains. “Keep trying,” she says. After the meeting, the group moves into Juniper Gardens’ lush greenhouse for a workshop. Each farmer has a long table where he or she can grow seedlings, both for planting and for selling at market. Ellingsworth picks up a plastic flat, lined with young sprouts, and shows it to the group. “Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this one?” she asks. “And it’s okay – mine would look like this – but what is wrong here?” The farmers look at the flat and then at one another for a moment, before someone speaks up. “Too crowded,” says a woman standing next to Ellingsworth, who nods heartily in agreement. “Yes,” she says. “When there are this many, they can’t get all the water and nutrients that they need. It’s time to pot up!” Potting up, she explains, is the process of taking the tiny sprouts and splitting them into larger containers. After Ellingsworth demonstrates potting up with the help of third-year farmer SiSi Cho, site manager Sam Davis gently reminds the group not to overuse water, as it cuts into the budget for the rest of the program, including other supplies farmers might need. Students learn new and more advanced skills each week, accumulating knowledge for their futures as independent farmers.
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One of New Roots’ most recent success stories is in Tula Regmi, a farmer originally from Bhutan, who is in his fourth and final year of the program. Regmi is one of many thousands of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese who were forcibly exiled from Bhutan in the 1990s. Regmi and his family lived in a refugee camp in Nepal for 20 years before he was approved to seek asylum in the U.S. He is a slight man with a warm, weather-worn face. He sometimes wears a traditional Nepali dhaka topi, a colorful brimless cap that resembles a fez without the tassel, and nods knowingly as he speaks. His journey to the New Roots program has been a difficult one. “I am very happy to be in the U.S. because I can go everywhere, whenever I want,” he says. “I can work. But in the camp I couldn’t go where I liked. We could not work… it’s like a prison.” He remembers the date that his family came to America: Jan. 20, 2012. Regmi suffered from numerous health problems when he arrived that required immediate surgeries on his stomach, ears and nose. Catholic Charities helped him navigate the medical system and the subsequent bills. It took him six months to recover, but as his health returned, he began volunteering at Juniper Gardens. The work made him feel connected to home – while in Bhutan and in the refugee camp, Regmi farmed. He soon joined New Roots as a student. He says that the changing seasons were among the most difficult things for him to adjust to during that first year. “The first year was very difficult because in Bhutan I did the work in a different way,” he says. “The seasons were different, and the weather was different… in Nepal where I lived, the cold is only about [50°F]. There, in winter, you can grow peppers, long beans, and they will grow back next year. But here, you cannot do that. You plant every year.” Regmi explains that in his time with New Roots, he’s learned how to talk with customers and how American customers differ from those in Nepal. “In Nepal, people come and shop for what they need,” he says. “Here in the market, I have learned to design the table... and if I talk to the customer politely, like, ‘Hello, how are you,’ they will come to you.” He smiles while explaining his plans to buy a few acres of land to farm on his own once he graduates from the program. He recently purchased a house, and he brings his children to the farm with him to also learn how to farm. He repeats often that he is happy to be here.
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New Roots not only connects farmers to their old and new homes through food, but also through community. Juniper Gardens will be participating in the Urban Grown Tour from June 25 to 26, a self-guided tour of 30 urban farms organized by Cultivate KC. Volunteers are also encouraged to come work at the farms on the first and second Saturday of each month or to participate in the program’s CSA, which pairs members with individual farmers. Members can then choose the produce they want to buy at their farmer’s particular farmers’ market each week. Tula Regmi, for example, operates a stand at the Waldo Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 6:30pm. “Be open to new experiences and to meeting new people,” Ellingsworth says of New Roots’ volunteer program. “Meeting new people is work; volunteers require patience,
but it ends with people helping one another.” Just as Regmi has found a new home in America through New Roots, Ellingsworth says she strives to position all of the program’s farmers to embed themselves into the community and to ultimately make the community their own. “[We want Kansas City] to see refugees as active, important members of the community,” she says. “[They are] growing our food. How can you be more important than to be someone who grows food for the community? That’s one of the things we keep telling our farmers – remember who you are. We want them to remember who they are and the value of what they are growing.”
For more information about New Roots for Refugees, visit newrootsforrefugees.blogspot.com. For more information about Cultivate Kansas City, visit cultivatekc.org. For more information about the Urban Grown Tour, visit cultivatekc.org/urbangrowntour. Inspired Local Food Culture
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How an egg farm in tHe missouri ozarks is cracking into tHe local market
Written by ettie berneking PhotograPhy by Jennifer Silverberg
Standing over a cast-iron skillet, James boosey waits for a large egg with a bright orange yolk to crisp up around the edges. “these cook differently than regular chicken eggs,” he says. “they get crispy in a better way, and the flavor is more intense.” that’s because they aren’t chicken eggs: these are duck eggs. nearly double the size of a chicken egg, porcelain-white duck eggs were hard to find at farmers’ markets in the Missouri ozarks before the booseys moved to town. hailing from the U.k., where duck eggs are a household staple, James grew up scrambling, poaching, soft-boiling and frying duck eggs each morning. When he and his wife, Jennie, relocated to Marshfield, Missouri, they couldn’t find their breakfast favorite anywhere. that void in the market gave them an idea. three years later, James and Jennie now run blue heron farm, where they raise around 300 adult chickens, 61 geese (50 of which were added last month) and, of course, ducks – around 240 at last count. on an average morning on the booseys’ farm, you’ll see ducks roaming the fields and swimming in the small spring-fed pond on their land. it’s a familiar sight for James but a rare one to behold in most of the Midwest. Inspired Local Food Culture
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Before opening Blue Heron in 2015, the Booseys originally planned to start a farm in the Pacific Northwest, but the cost of farmland was too expensive. That’s when they began looking at properties in the Midwest, where prices were good and land was even better.
gutters lined up on the ground. “These are really cheap and much easier to clean and maintain,” he says.
Scurrying past his feet, tan chickens and plump Muscovy ducks, raised for their meat, rush past in an effort to beat the geese to the piles of grain. Up ahead, three barns surrounded by “I was skeptical about the region [at an English-style yard are home to the first],” James says of moving to the farm’s chickens, ducks and geese. During Midwest. “[But] if we had been in Seattle, none of this would be as unique.” daylight hours the birds have unrestricted access to the 50-acre farm and are free to roam the surrounding pasture, creeks and When the couple came across 50 acres woodland including the 2-acre spring-fed for sale in Marshfield with a pond and pond. Around dusk, the birds head to the several small barns, they packed their gated areas in front of the barns before things. They quickly settled into their being gently herded inside. new home with a brood of chickens and a flock of geese and ducks, and Blue “You’ll want to stand back,” says James, Heron was in business. heading toward the chicken barn. Once the doors are opened, a stampede of EGG Hunt hungry birds rush past him, and he At 7am, as the sun just barely creeps heads inside. Through the haze of dust over the horizon, orange-beaked geese and hay, colorful chicken eggs can be honk noisily at James as he empties seen resting on top of the ground cover, bags of feed into adapted plastic rain
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and James quickly gathers armloads of them – some are bright white, others toffee brown or pale blue. The coveted baby blues are laid by the Araucana chicken and its derivative breeds, the Ameraucana and the appropriately nicknamed Easter Egger. The color of the eggshell doesn’t alter the flavor of the yolk inside, but James says colorful eggs draw more customers, which is why this month he’s adding around 100 Welsummer chickens to his flock. These plump birds lay eggs with a rich, chocolate-brown hue. His brood of chickens also includes Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Jersey Giants and Cinnamon Queens. Next door in the duck coop, the larger white duck eggs are harder to find. “ The problem with ducks is they have big, flippy-floppy feet,” James says as he digs into the bed of soft straw and wood shavings. “They use
their feet to bury their eggs.” Sure enough, James pushes back a mound of shavings to reveal three large duck eggs. Despite the game of hide-and-seek, he can gather 30-dozen eggs in just 10 to 20 minutes. That high yield is thanks to the two breeds of ducks he raises at Blue Heron: Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell. The Khaki Campbell is an efficient bird to rival any farm chicken (these ducks can lay 300 eggs a year as opposed to the average egg-laying hen, which might lay 260), but the Indian Runner isn’t far behind – it can lay up to 180 eggs each year. As its name suggests, these ducks run rather than waddle. With soft white feathers, bright orange beaks and upright postures, the Indian Runners are easy to spot among the sea of birds gathered around the feeders on the farm. Once his trays are filled with eggs, James heads back inside to wash, sort and pack his haul for market.
above: indian runner ducks make their way to the pond bottom right: james boosey holds a khaki campbell duck
Complying with state law, James and Jennie inspect each egg before washing and storing them in the fridge. They are careful to keep the bloom intact, which is the wet coating surrounding the egg, which protects it from bacteria. Eggs are then sorted by size to be graded, packed into labeled cartons and then stored in a refrigerator below 45°F. The entire process can be done in one day, and Blue Heron’s eggs are never more than four days old once they reach market. James opens one fridge to reveal towers of packaged chicken, duck and goose eggs. Grabbing a carton of each, he pulls the fridge door closed and heads into the kitchen. Eggs Your WaY Fried, poached or scrambled, the Booseys know how to enjoy their eggs. James’ favorite ways to use those giant goose eggs is in fresh pasta dough or soft-boiled
with “soldiers” – toasted strips of bread, which he says with British aplomb – to dunk in the rich, creamy yolk. With one of the pale blue Ameraucana chicken eggs in hand, James cracks the fragile shell against his cast-iron skillet. The deep orange yolk sits up tall and is easier to split – usually a sign of freshness. “An old trick was to feed chickens chile peppers to turn their yolks red,” James says. “It’s a bit of a myth that a deep orange yolk means you have a healthy egg. It can be faked.” The chicken eggs at Blue Heron range in yolk color from intense orange to lighter yellow – it depends on the year and the bird’s diet. Because the birds have access to pasture, unlike chickens raised on industrial farms, they eat insects, frogs, tadpoles, even rodents and snakes, making their yolks a deep tangerine.
Sprinkled with salt and pepper, the Ameraucana egg has a much richer flavor than its store-bought counterpart. Even the larger yolk, cooked over easy, is thicker and creamier. The same is true for Blue Heron’s duck eggs. Broken into the cast iron, the translucent membrane surrounding the tall orange yolk starts to bubble and crisp up. The egg yolk to whites ratio is much different than a chicken egg, with the yolk much larger and the whites more translucent until cooked. “People don’t like that gloop,” James says. “They’re easily weirded out.” But with a sprinkle of salt, the duck egg is ready, and then it’s time to crack open a goose egg. Blue Heron goose eggs are enormous and retail at $3 for a single egg or two for $5. It takes several notches in the shell before James can crack the egg open. What spills out is almost all yolk. “I think
what’s interesting is people buy these originally as a novelty,” James says. “Then they discover how delicious they are.” The goose egg has a much lighter and smoother flavor than chicken or duck eggs. “Nothing compares to these,” James says as he reaches for a spoon and ladles up the pool of creamy yolk that spreads across the plate. Although Blue Heron has only been in business for two seasons, the farm is doing well – and part of that success is thanks to its full range of offerings. Inside the Booseys’ home, which is now used as dedicated growing space, metal scaffolding holds racks of microgreens, mini vegetables and microherbs just centimeters high. As Jennie heads out the door, she grabs a tray of bright green wheatgrass that will end up in Hy-Vee and MaMa Jean’s Natural Market stores around Springfield, Missouri. Inspired Local Food Culture
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above: muscovy ducks top right: geese at blue heron farm
James is hoping that the tiny indoor farm will help Blue Heron further carve out its niche in the Ozarks. After working in restaurants for years, James knows how quickly herbs and greens perish once cut, so by delivering live young shoots to chefs, he and Jennie want to help them reduce waste and extend their greens’ shelf life. Each soft carpet of microgreens, including young pea shoots, parsley, chives or mixed herbs, can be cut as needed, and the rest of the tray can then be put back in a cooler to keep them fresh.
interest and educate them about the flavors of these ingredients and how to cook with them – and it’s working.
years ago [before the domestication of chickens], which is what convinced me to start using duck eggs.”
The Booseys supply their eggs to several other restaurants around town, including The Golden Girl Rum Club, Farmers Gastropub and Metropolitan Farmer. And as of this year, MaMa Jean’s Natural Market stores have started selling Blue Heron duck eggs – making them the first grocer in the Ozarks to sell duck eggs.
Hampshire folds the large and fattier duck yolks into cakes in place of chicken egg yolks for a richer and moister texture, and uses them in the restaurant’s crème brûlée and crème caramel. He also crowns its kale and mushroom risotto with poached duck eggs.
A few shelves over, a tray of Genovese microbasil is headed to The Order at Hotel Vandivort in Springfield, and farther down, pots of edible flowers and low-growing sorrel are still being experimented with, along with trays of hibiscus and 2-inch-long mini carrots.
“It’s not easy to convince people to buy local eggs,” James says. The price can seem steep at $4 for a half-dozen duck eggs, and customers are unfamiliar with the flavor, but luckily, chefs have been happily scooping up the eggs – no one more so than chef-owner Andy Hampshire of Farmers Gastropub.
James and Jennie face the same challenge with their pallets of microgreens and edible flowers as they do with duck and goose eggs: They have to hook customers’
“I think everyone is so used to chicken eggs that they are scared of any other egg,” British-born Hampshire says. “But the French used duck eggs for baking
One of the most popular ways Farmers Gastropub is serving the large, flavorful eggs is in a crispy, pork-encased British favorite: the Scotch egg. And down the road, Metropolitan Farmer plates a duck egg and duck confit hash for brunch. CraCking into the Market For the past year, James and Jennie have hauled their microgreens and microherbs, as well as dozens of chicken and duck eggs to the Farmers Market of the Ozarks in Springfield each Saturday. Chicken eggs are still the best-seller (nearly 100 dozen
are sold at the market each week), and although duck eggs are gaining momentum, only about 20 half-dozen are sold each week. James isn’t deterred, though. Farmers Gastropub is now exclusively buying duck eggs from the Booseys, which is great news for the couple as they watch local interest in duck eggs slowly grow. “Honestly, I’m thrilled,” James says, looking out over the birds roaming on his land. “I don’t want to be cliché about this, but I think it’s important to embrace food in all its diversity. And at the end of the day, I just like ducks.” With that, James hauls his small blue canoe down to the pond to round up the last of the Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell ducks that are happily bobbing up and down at the water’s edge. Blue Heron Farm, 3783 State Highway J, Marshfield, Missouri, 417.425.4264, facebook.com/blueheronfarmmo Inspired Local Food Culture
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Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t the only things taking root at Urban Harvest stL’s rooftop farm in Downtown St. Louis. WRITTen By HeATHeR RISke PHoTogRAPHy By JonATHAn gAyMAn
p close, it looks like any other farm. Rows of greens sprout in plots of soil, bright-purple bell peppers hang from stalks in raised garden beds and juicy tomatoes grow on the vine. Leafy green bushels of kale poke their way out of hydroponic towers. A handful of chickens nose around a wire coop. In a small gray greenhouse near the back of the property, arugula, peas, radishes and microgreens bud in neatly organized rows. The crops are familiar, but the farm is hardly garden-variety. Look past the rows of leafy greens, and you’ll spot The Dome at America’s Center looming in the distance; just beyond the rows of purple peppers, the City Museum’s rooftop Ferris wheel catches your eye. Located on top of the two-story W-Ave Storage building at the corner of 14th Street and Convention Plaza in Downtown St. Louis, Urban Harvest STL’s Food Roof is the city’s first urban rooftop farm. But up on the roof, there’s a lot more than just fresh vegetables growing.
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The Food Roof is a years-in-the-making project from Urban Harvest STL’s executive director, Mary Ostafi, who moved to St. Louis in early 2010 to work at global architecture firm HOK. As part of leading a sustainable lifestyle, Ostafi wanted to be able to walk to work – HOK’s headquarters are just two blocks from The Gateway Arch – so she moved right into the heart of Downtown. She soon realized, though, that there wasn’t much green space available in the neighborhood to grow her own fruits or vegetables. “I had this desire to start growing food in this neighborhood,” Ostafi says. “I started talking to people and found out a lot of people had a similar interest – soon, I found myself leading this initiative to start growing food Downtown.” Ostafi’s plans soon blossomed into developing a community garden Downtown. In 2011, she set up a community meeting to gauge interest – 60 people showed up just from seeing the lone flyer in Culinaria, A Schnucks Market. During the meeting, residents tossed around even grander ideas about urban food production, and the group decided to incorporate into a nonprofit. Urban Harvest STL was then formed around a common goal: establishing a Downtown community garden where residents could grow their own fresh produce, with the hope to expand on that idea in the future. Over the next year, the waiting list for Urban Harvest’s community garden plots grew just as fast as the garden itself. But because green space is hard to come by Downtown, the group struggled to find a long-term lease, bouncing around to
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several different locations including the Koken Manufacturing Co. property and a temporary stint on the top deck of the Railway Exchange Building’s parking garage. In 2012, they decided to look up. “We’ve concentrated on Downtown because that’s where we see the opportunity,” Ostafi says. “We’re reimagining the urban landscape to leverage the millions of square feet of unused roof space for local food production, which feeds our community.” The Food Roof was the first of its kind Downtown – Ostafi initially became interested in integrated urban agriculture while studying for a master’s degree in strategic leadership toward sustainability in Sweden. At the time, rooftop farming was gaining traction in larger cities across the nation, and she saw how the unconventional approach could promote sustainability in addition to creating jobs and better access to fresh food in often-neglected neighborhoods. She sought advice from rooftop farmers around the country, including a few in New York and Chicago. It took a while for Urban Harvest to find the right rooftop: The farm needed a flat roof with full sun exposure and easy access. Ostafi also needed to analyze the structure of the building to be sure it could withstand an added 40 tons of soil onto its rooftop. A structural engineer analyzed the pounds per square foot, and a green roofer and agronomist developed a special soil blend that would meet that specification (the blend also has a nutrient content that allows food to grow on a green roof system). Ostafi says the structural analysis was the biggest deciding factor: As a trained
architect, she knew that reinforcing the structure of an existing building isn’t exactly a viable economic option. In 2014, Urban Harvest lucked out with the storage facility at the corner of Convention Plaza/Delmar Boulevard and 14th Street – the building was designed to be four stories higher than the actual build out. Equally important is the building’s location. The Food Roof lies just north of the “Delmar Divide,” the invisible north-south dividing line that runs along Delmar and has historically split St. Louis socioeconomically and racially. Ostafi hopes the Food Roof can be a catalyst for revitalization in the neighborhood by providing hands-on education for growing food, as well as direct access to affordable fresh produce through a pay-what-you-can model for its community garden plots. “Some people pay nothing at all due to their economic situation and others pay more than expected so it all evens out,” Ostafi says. “In the end we find this is a fair approach and enables anyone in the neighborhood to participate in the community garden and learn how to grow food in a collaborative environment for themselves and their families.” Once the building was secured, construction started on the 9,000-square-foot roof immediately, wrapping up last June. At that point, Ostafi and her team – Urban Harvest is entirely made up of volunteers, aside from Ostafi and the farm manager – started planting crops. Because of the limitations of a rooftop farm, Urban Harvest has to grow food in a more efficient way, using several farming methods in addition to just simple
rows. Fruits and vegetables are grown primarily in fields on top of a green roof system, as well as in several hydroponic towers, raised beds, Smart Pot planters and multiple types of containers. The green roof system itself is made up of several different layers, including a retention board that allows the farm to capture up to 2½ inches of stormwater across the entire rooftop. The roof mitigates up to 17,000 gallons of water per storm event, which not only diverts it from Downtown’s sewer system but also cuts the farm’s irrigation use nearly in half. Compared to a traditional farm with access to rich and abundant soil, the Food Roof has to take water efficiency and storm management more seriously. It also promotes other environmental benefits such as reducing energy costs and the “urban heat island effect,” where hardscapes and human activity increase the temperature of metropolitan areas. During the roof’s first harvest season, the farm yielded around 62 different varieties of plants – mostly vegetables, as well as a few fruits, herbs and some flowers to attract pollinators and insects. Ostafi and crew compared which vegetables grew best in which application – because the Food Roof has a limited soil depth of 8 inches, plants with a deep tap root like kale didn’t do well in soil but thrived in tower gardens. Other leafy greens did well in tower gardens, too, with access to a constant source of water for steady hydration. The Food Roof is a pilot program of sorts; Ostafi sees it as a model to learn what works to inform future growing seasons for Urban Harvest as well as other future rooftop farms.
CLOUD 9 Beer Launch Event Public Media Commons June 25 at 7:00 p.m.
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Enjoy live music, videos on the big screens, food and the first tastes of the new limited-release Nine Network beer — Cloud 9. It’s a 5.5% American Pale Ale combining raspberry, lime and vanilla. Cloud 9 was created by a group of passionate Nine Network members. And, it was named by nearly 3,000 participants in a social media campaign.
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Included with tickets to the launch event are a Nine Network membership, a gift pack of three 22 oz. bottles and a branded mason jar.
Tickets and information at nineNet.org/ninebeer
M-Sat 9am-7pm • Sun 10am-4pm Inspired Local Food Culture
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This spring’s harvest began with root vegetables including radishes, beets, carrots and turnips. The Food Roof’s greenhouse bloomed seedlings in the spring until they could be transplanted onto the farm. This month, Urban Harvest started transitioning to heat-loving plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and squash. Throughout the year, its farmers also grow a variety of greens, from lettuce to mustard to kale and collards. In all, the Food Roof almost doubled last year’s numbers, with around 100 varieties of plants growing this season. Urban Harvest dug even deeper this year, introducing 20,000 honeybees in May and a chicken coop in April – and not just for fresh honey and eggs. The chickens eat harmful insects and pests, scraps and compost, and also produce fertilizer for the farm. And with the growing worldwide concern that pesticides and herbicides are causing honeybees to die out, Urban Harvest wanted to create a safe, healthy habitat for the pollinators. “We’re building a resilient ecosystem and enhancing biodiversity on our rooftop in Downtown St. Louis,” Ostafi says. “In order to do that, we need to grow a variety of plants, and we need to focus plants on attracting beneficial insects and pollinators like bees. At the same time, we are creating safe spaces for them to live and thrive. It’s kind of a full-circle approach to farming: We’re trying to integrate and leverage nature as much as possible so it’s a mutually beneficial situation for all of us.”
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That philosophy extends throughout the entire growing process. The majority of the food grown on the roof travels just a few blocks over to St. Patrick Center, one of the state’s largest providers of employment, housing and health services for the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless. The donated produce is used on the menu at McMurphy’s Café at St. Patrick Center, the lunch spot that opened inside the center in 2014 to give its clients hands-on food-service experience. Any leftover produce is donated to St. Patrick’s multifaceted food-service program, which feeds more than 400 people a day. “It’s exciting to be able to keep everything in the neighborhood,” says Karen Leverenz, president of the board of directors at St. Patrick Center and one of Urban Harvest’s initial community gardeners. “At the farm, you’re working side by side with your neighbors and getting to know them. Plus, we can turn around and sell that fresh produce that’s grown right Downtown to help with the buying power at the café, and it’s also a great training tool for our clients.” The community garden is still an integral part of Urban Harvest, too – around 15 percent of the food on the rooftop is grown and consumed by people who live in the neighborhood. The remaining food 88
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is sourced by local restaurants, including Hiro Asian Kitchen, Mango Peruvian Cuisine and A² The GFCF Cafe & Restaurant, all Downtown, as well as Retreat Gastropub in the Central West End.
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Bernie Lee of Hiro Asian Kitchen was the first chef to source the Food Roof’s produce, and in May, he hosted the farm’s first rooftop-to-table dinner. Diners sat just feet from where most of the ingredients were grown. Menu items included beet hummus with fresh and pickled farm vegetables and a spring microgreen spread; edamame risotto with a tea-smoked five-minute farm egg; and tuna tataki with radish salad and citrus ponzu. Next month, Salt + Smoke pitmaster Haley Riley will pair brisket, pulled pork and ribs with seasonal vegetables from the farm for a summer harvest dinner on the roof. “In Downtown St. Louis, it’s rare to have the opportunity to see where your food originates,” Lee says. “When I heard about Mary’s endeavor, she caught my attention immediately. I appreciate her passion and the principles she stands by with her work.” The dinners are designed to highlight the Food Roof’s produce, of course, but also its role as a community hub. In addition to providing fresh produce to those who need it the most, Ostafi sees the Food Roof as a platform to educate and empower community members to get engaged with the local food system. Urban Harvest frequently invites residents to visit the roof, whether through attending a dinner, educational workshop, sunset or sunrise yoga class, or even just dropping in for a tour. This year, the group is partnering with the University of Missouri Extension to provide nutrition and gardening education during field trips for students, as well. The success of the Food Roof has allowed Urban Harvest to invest in a second rooftop. The new farm is located at 21 O’Fallon Street atop the Wm. A. Kerr Foundation building, also Downtown.
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spring harvest dinner: hiro asian kitchen CHEF BERNIE LEE PREPARED A SPRING MENU ON MAy 12 SHOWCASING THE vIBRANT PRODUCE GROWN AT URBAN HARvEST STL’S FOOD ROOF. 1. secret garden // BEET HUMMUS, FRESH AND PICKLED FARM vEGETABLES, AND SPRING MICROGREEN SPREAD 2. Bird nest // EDAMAME RISOTTO WITH A TEA-SMOKED FIvE-MINUTE FARM EGG 3. spring Blossoms // TUNA tataki WITH RADISH SALAD AND CITRUS PONzU 4. sweet dream // CORNBREAD PUDDING By COMPANION WITH BOOzy ICE CREAM By CLEMENTINE’S NAUGHTy AND NICE CREAMERy
At 6,000 square feet, the new space is smaller than the first and was previously home to a garden of sedum, a large flowering plant. Produce was transferred onto the roof this spring, and the farm has been up and running since May. Ostafi hopes this will be the first of many satellite food roofs. “We hope to be able to inspire people through our farm and our different growing systems to start growing their own food, to think about where their food comes from and hopefully become more engaged in the local food system,” Ostafi says. “If you can grow food on a rooftop in Downtown St. Louis, you can grow it anywhere.” Urban Harvest STL Food Roof, 1335 Convention Plaza, Downtown, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.810.6770, urbanharveststl.org Inspired Local Food Culture
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ALL MIXED UP. Summer is bursting with fresh produce, and cocktails are a bright and refreshing way to make the most of what’s at market. This month, we invited our Instagram followers to share photos of summer cocktails – made using local spirits, fresh fruit, housemade bitters or shrubs – by using the hashtag #feastgram. Discover why pisco, a Peruvian brandy, is popping up on summer cocktail menus on p. 32. Then, flip to p. 33 for a taste of the creative seasonal cocktails Kate Brubacher is crafting at The Myers Hotel Bar in Tonganoxie, Kansas, and turn to p. 36 to learn how to use in-season fruit to make your own strawberry shrub mojito.
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| 1 | mallory ubbelohde @m_ubb Blueberry-ginger Margarita + a radish tattoo because today was great. | 2 | taco republic @eattacorepublic It’s a beautiful day for a Mexico Mule on the patio! #MexicoMule #Cocktails | 3 | charl @chomn13 Mint Julep (at the Eclipse Bar at the Moonrise Hotel).
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| 4 | lion’s tooth dandelion liqueur @lionstoothliqueur Punch up your weekend with some Lion’s Tooth Dandy Sangria. | 5 | jessica vaughn @jessicaemarie Another delicious drink from last night’s @BlueBellFarmMO garden dinner! The Horsefeather cocktail. | 6 | michael @bakingwhiskey Prairie Bronze cocktail in a bottle; bronze fennel-infused Yzaguirre Blanco Reserva, Tresmontaine Tabacal Rancio, kombucha, carbonated in a bottle at @TheRiegerKC.
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| 7 | emily @agirlinfoodland Vieux Carre @TheLibertineSTL. #CraftCocktails |5|
| 8 | meredith schulte
@mmschulte Watermelon-habenero Margarita (with Kansas City Canning Co. shrub).
| 9 | sam + adam @livelocalstl There’s something so springy about cocktails that come with flowers. Springy and delicious @Element_STL. | 10 | tracy coble @tracycoble What time on Friday is it acceptable to start drinking? I mean it has fruit, so it’s healthy.
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Want to see your photos in the July issue of Feast?
Next month, we want to see the burgers you’re flipping on the grill and ordering at local restaurants, from diner-style smashed burgers to custom-blend patties loaded with creative toppings. To submit your photos for consideration, simply include the hashtag #feastgram and tag @feastmag on your Instagram photos beginning Wed., June 1.
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PHOTOgRAPHY COuRTESY INSTAgRAM uSERS
#feastgram
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Feast Magazine is hosting a food truck event of each month in one of Kansas City’s beautiful parks. We’ll highlight prominent fountains throughout the city, while guests enjoy food from some of the city’s most popular food trucks.
0 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. :3 5 6 1 e N jU y, a D S r thU PartICIPatINg FOOD trUCkS ON jUNe 16 Cheeesy Pop’s Crave
Beauty of the Bistro El Tenedor
Monk’s Roast Beef Bochi
Ohana’s Shaved Ice Coffee Cake KC
Feast oF Fountains schedule - 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. thursday, July 14: Northland Fountain in Gorman Park thursday, august 11: Spirit of Freedom Fountain thursday, september 8: The Concourse Fountain in Kessler Park
receive a free mist twst with every food purchase
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ting Benefit y of it C the ins founta n. io t f o u n da
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