March 2018 Feast Magazine by Feast Magazine

inspired local Food Culture | M i dw e st

feastmagazine.com |

march 2018

P. 6 8

MIDWEST mexican cuisine goes coastal P. 8 2

making mole with tello carreรณn P. 9 0

6 agua fresca refreshing

cocktails

g e t a ta s t e of paradise

at Paleterias Tropicana on p. 75

Discover innovative dishes and classic favorites. A steakhouse mixed with Italian ﬂair, serving the ﬁnest steaks, seafood and Italian cuisine. Featuring a large selection of international wines and champagnes. Enjoy complimentary Valet Parking. Reservations encouraged. Call 636.940.4471 or visit StCharles.Ameristar.com.

presents

Sundays & Mondays only

From the deepest cellar in the State and the greatest wine list in St. Louis

for only

Great Wines

price is per bottle - no returns - limited supply with food puchase only

2000 Château Cantemerle, Haut-M Méd 2001 Château Cantemerle , Hauut-t-Méd 1999 Château Sociando Mallet , Haaut-Méd 2001 Château Pottensac, Méd 2001 Château Poujeaux , M Moulis-en-Méd 1999 Château Caruadees de Lafite, Pauill 1999 Château C Clerc Milon , Pauill Duhart Milon , Pauill 9202 Clayton Road St. Louis, Missouri 63124 2001 Château D 1999 Château Hau aut Bages Libéral , Pauill 314.567.9100 1999 C hââteau Haut-Batailley, Pauill HOURS: 2001 C Château Haut-Batailley, Pauill Dinner Mon – Sat 6p-9p | Sun 5p-8p 1995 Domaine de Gartieux, Pauill 1 2000 C Château Clos du Marquis , Saint -Juli info@todayattruffles.com 20004 Château Clos du Marquis , Saint -Jul

WORTH WORK THE

Making great wine requires both time and dedication. From cultivation and tending their vineyards to harvesting and fermenting their grapes. Missouri winemakers pour countless hours of hard work into every bottle they create. Why such devotion? Because Missouri winemakers are proud of the quality and reputation of their locally-made and nationally recognized wines. They know that like crafting an exceptional wine, some things in life are worth the work. 4

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march 2018

m i s s o u r i w i n e .o rg

lo ca l ch ef s

& b e e ri t s spir

awa r d winni w i n en g

l i v ei c mus

Be a vip

Your VIP ticket includes: Beer & BBQ on the Terrace | VIP After Party | VIP Swag Bag

visit feastmagazine.com/events for more details

sponsored by: Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

Join our Cocktail Club and enjoy 20% OFF our 150 cocktail list.* Save 10% on all retail purchases! *Member price $8, retail price $10.

Crafted to unleash your WILD side! www.SanctuariaSTL.com/Cocktail-Club/ SANCTUARIASTL.COM • 4198 MANCHESTER AVE., ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 • 314.535.9700 • 

margaritas,tacos, fresh Salsa bar...

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Lunch served Tues - Sun, 11am - 3pm Diablitos Cantina is now located at Sanctuaria, in the Grove!

DIABLITOSCANTINA.COM • 4198 MANCHESTER AVE., ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 • 314.535.9700 • 

Local, Fresh, From Scratch EXPERIENCE VENTANA Coffeehouse, Café, Bakery & Bar Brunch served Sat & Sun, 8am - 2pm CAFEVENTANA.COM • 3919 WEST PINE BLVD., ST. LOUIS, MO 63108 • 314.531.7500 • 

Discover Nature Fishing!

With nearly a million fishing permits sold in the state annually, fish rank high in the hearts and kitchens of many Missourians. Trout stocked in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cold streams draws fly-fishers from near and far. In fact, Missouri is one of the top five trout-fishing spots in the nation. To learn more, visit mdc.mo.gov/discoverfishing.

Discover

Nature

Missouri "crab" cakes Makes 8 or 9 two-inch cakes

1 cup trout (leftover from a previous grilling) 1 cup breadcrumbs 4 tablespoons freshly grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese 2 green onions, chopped finely 1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped cilantro or parsley 1 heaping teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot red pepper Juice of one small, fresh lemon 1 egg A few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Fresh mixed salad greens Fresh Citrus-Vinaigrette Dressing Mix trout well with Âź cup of the breadcrumbs and the next seven ingredients (through salt and pepper). Mixture will be moist. Form into 2-inch patties. Dip patties in remaining crumbs and compress all over. Fry in butter over medium heat, cooking until bottom side is golden brown. Carefully turn and brown the other side. Toss salad greens with small amount of vinaigrette dressing. Place on small oval dishes and top with three cakes.

fresh citrus-vinaigrette dressing Extra-virgin olive oil Citrus juice (lemon, orange or grapefruit) Fresh garlic, finely chopped Salt and pepper Mix approximately three parts oil to one part juice. Add a touch of garlic and whisk. Season to taste with salt and pepper and whisk again. To test, dip a piece of lettuce in the dressing and amend to suit your taste.

Find more wild recipes in Cooking Wild in Missouri. Order yours at mdcnatureshop.com.

Inspired Local Food Culture

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experience spirits from mid-missouri’s premier craft distillery locally made spirits well crafted cocktails

open tuesday - saturday 4:00 pm - 10:00 pm 210 St. James Street, Suite D Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 777-6768

Have BBQ. Will Travel. CATERING SERVICES FOR ANY OCCASION Corporate Lunches Corporate Events Seminars Weddings Birthdays Graduations

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march 2018

from the staff

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from the PUBLIsher

| 14 |

dIgItaL content

| 16 |

feast tv

Next Mex What’s online this month Testing, testing

dIne

68 75

catch the wave with regional mexican cuisine on the rise in cities across the u.S., the midwest is seeing an uptick in the authentic coastal fare of Veracruz, Nayarit and beyond.

paradise on a stick

in Kansas City, Paleterias Tropicana is building an ice-cream empire.

| 20 |

on trend

| 22 |

where we’re dInIng

| 23 |

one on one

| 24 |

one on one

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In season

| 27 |

one on one

Octopus

Louie, Meatball District, Vele Carmen and Jose Morales of Tortilleria El Patrón Joe Bichelmeyer of Bichelmeyer Meats Mustard greens Joel Castillo of Salina’s 2

drInk

82 90

holy mole

Acclaimed St. Louis chef Tello Carreón gives local diners a taste of the rich, complex sauce he grew up watching his family prepare in his native Guanajuato, mexico.

¡ViVa Frescas!

Brighten up spring days with refreshing aguas frescas, served straight-up or as the foundation for cooling cocktails.

| 32 |

on trend

| 33 |

one on one

| 34 |

where we’re drInkIng

| 35 |

one on one

| 36 |

the mIx

| 37 |

on the sheLf

Agave spirits Brian Rooney of BKS Artisan Ales Parlor, Pirate’s Bone, 4 By 4 Brewing Co.

Kyle Kohlmorgen of Wellspent Brewing Co. Piña Chelada What to drink this month

shoP

| 42 |

shoP here

| 42 |

get thIs gadget

| 44 |

one on one

| 44 |

cULInary LIBrary

| 46 |

shoP here

| 46|

artIsan ProdUcts

Mac’s Local Buys A portable cheese melter and a Spanish cazuela Marissa Gencarelli of Yoli Tortilleria Nopalito by Gonzalo Guzmán with Stacy Adimando Red Kitchen Tamales Hacienda tortilla chips and 5Gen salsa

cook

| 52 | | 54 |

TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO OF TELLO CArrEÓN’S mole verde con pollo (P. 82) By judd dEmALiNE COVEr PHOTO OF PiSTACHiO PALETAS FrOm PALETEriAS TrOPiCANA iN KANSAS CiTy (P. 75) By wiLLiAm HESS

heaLthy aPPetIte

Three-bean taco soup mystery shoPPer

Chayote

| 56 |

qUIck fIx

| 58 |

sweet Ideas

Lentil-quinoa-Swiss chard salad with avocado and lime vinaigrette Coconut-lime tres leches

Volume 9

| Issue 3 | March 2018

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, st. louis region

Jennifer Tilman, jtilman@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1205 account Manager, Kansas city region

Pete Nicklin, pnicklin@feastmagazine.com, 785.431.8025 sPecial Projects editor

Bethany Christo, bchristo@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1244

eDITORIal senior editor

Liz Miller, editor@feastmagazine.com Managing editor

Nancy Stiles, nstiles@feastmagazine.com digital editor

Heather Riske, web@feastmagazine.com Kansas city contributing editor

Jenny Vergara st. louis contributing editor

Mabel Suen editorial intern

Lauren Smith fact checKer

Danielle Lacey Proofreader

In this month’s episode of Feast TV, I explore how pop ups allow chefs to test the waters before launching a new restaurant. In St. Louis, chef Rob Connoley (pictured second from the left with his sous chef, Justin Bell, and Frank McGinty, who organizes the dinner series) held a This Is Not A Restaurant dinner to play with some of the flavors he plans to feature at Bulrush, his upcoming foraging concept.

publisher’s letter

think most of us can agree that Mexican food is delicious, even if what many of us think of as Mexican cuisine is actually Tex-Mex, the wonderfully cheesy, spicy, beefy dishes that reflect a cultural mash-up from communities along the Texas-Mexico border.

Mary Mack contributing Writers

Christy Augustin, Shanley Cox, Gabrielle DeMichele, Kristen Doyle, Ana Elliott, Natalie Gallagher, Lisa Waterman Gray, Rose Hansen, Hilary Hedges, Brandon and Ryan Nickelson, Jackson Roman, Jenn Tosatto, Jessica Vaughn, Shannon Weber

aRT

art director

Alexandrea Povis, apovis@feastmagazine.com Production designer

Jacklyn Meyer, jmeyer@feastmagazine.com contributing PhotograPhers

Zach Bauman, Justine Bursoni, Julia Calleo, Sherrie Castellano, Shanley Cox, Ashley Deck, Amber Deery, Judd Demaline, Kristen Doyle, Ana Elliott, William Hess, Matt Larison, Aaron Ottis, Anna Petrow, Jonathan Pollack, Jennifer Silverberg, Mabel Suen

FeasT TV

producer: Catherine Neville production partner: Tybee Studios

DIsTRIbUTIOn To distribute Feast Magazine at your place of business, please contact Thomas Norton for St. Louis, Jefferson City, Columbia, Rolla and Springfield at TNorton@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 © 2010-2018 by Feast Magazine™. All rights reserved. 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

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march 2018

As managing editor Nancy Stiles notes in her feature, Catch the Wave (p. 68), by 1991, salsa had eclipsed ketchup as our most favored condiment, and in recent years, tacos have exploded in popularity and prevalence. Even with our unabashed and unwavering love of Mexican food, a new wave of south-of-the-border flavor is flooding the U.S. Regional Mexican cuisine is on the rise, bringing new awareness to the diversity and breadth of dishes native to the country’s various states. Just like every other country that enjoys a variety of topographical and environmental conditions that produce a range of local ingredients, in Mexico, you’ll find a very different approach to cooking in various corners of the country, from the Yucatán Peninsula to the northern states of Sonora, Chihuahua and Zacatecas. Considering our increasing appetite for more authentic and unique regional Mexican flavors, we’re focusing our March issue on this nationwide trend and taking a look at how it’s reflected in our food culture in the Midwest. Nancy’s feature explores the rise in coastal Mexican cuisine and seafood-focused restaurants like Jarocho Pescados y Marsicos in Kansas City, Kansas, and Missouri, that are cooking from, among others, Veracruz traditions.

On p. 82, digital editor Heather Riske dives into mole, the complex sauce that most of us associate with chocolate. Heather sat down with chef Tello Carreón to talk about his childhood in Guanajuato, Mexico, and how his grandmother’s cooking influenced his work today. Tello is well-known for the moles he created during his tenure at Nixta in St. Louis, and he’s recently announced a new pop-up dinner series and catering service, further expanding the footprint of regional Mexican food in the St. Louis area. Perhaps my favorite story in this issue, though, is writer Natalie Gallagher’s profile of the family behind Paleterias Tropicana in Kansas City on p. 75. I had the opportunity to get to know José Luis Valdez and his family when I was on location for the new season of Feast TV, which hits regional PBS stations in May. José and his wife, Lucia Fonseca, have built a mini empire based on the ice cream and fruit pops that he grew up with in Michoacán. They are simple, vibrant and delicious, much like the other Mexican flavors that are popping up thanks to our collective desire for an authentic taste of the vast and varied cuisines of Mexico.

Until next time,

Catherine Neville

03.18 natalie gallagher Kansas City, Writer “I loved diving into the world of paletas for this issue. José Luis Valdez and his family are some of the warmest people I’ve met, and learning about the rise of their ice-cream empire gave me all the feels. Getting to see the factory, the ambition and heart that Valdez pours into the business made me feel great about sharing his story with a broader audience. I’ve driven out of my way for the lime-cucumber agua fresca before, and I hope this story inspires others to do the same.” (Paradise on a Stick, p. 75)

sherrie castellano St. Louis, Writer and Photographer “I love the idea of a winter cocktail that combines a bright and tart seasonal cider and warming liquor, like Square One Brewery & Distillery’s Blue Agave spirit. Square One is doing really creative things right now with their hand-crafted spirits: Its distillers use local and natural ingredients to produce high-quality spirits that are unique and full of flavor. I’m really looking forward to patio season, when I can cozy up on Square One’s inviting courtyard patio, which I think is Lafayette Square’s best-kept secret.” (On Trend, p. 32 )

ashley deck Kansas City, Photographer “With a recent move from San Diego to Kansas City, I’m on the hunt for Latin-inspired food. From octopus to tamales, these two spots were super photogenic. Shooting with chef Carlos [Falcon] at Jarocho South was a blast. He knows how to plate his seafood, and travels everywhere from San Diego to Japan to find the right oysters, octopus – you name it. Alejandra de la Fuente at Red Tamale Kitchen is a doll. Photographing her at the [Lenexa] Public Market was a dream; I had a lot of room to play – and eat!” (Shop Here, p. 46; Catch the Wave, p. 70)

jessica vaughn Columbia, Missouri, Writer “During a time when acceptance of immigrants and refugees is being challenged, sharing the story of Tortilleria El Patrón feels right. Jose and Carmen Morales, who originally hail from Juarez, Mexico, are introducing themselves to Columbians through their culinary heritage. The family created something that was missing in their lives – freshly made tortillas – and decided to share it with others. Turns out, lots of Columbians (including myself) found out it had been missing from their lives, too. When you pick up a bag of fresh tortillas or take a bite of a burrito from the shop, you’re tasting some of the same flavors – oftentimes the same dishes – the Morales family cooks at home, and that their ancestors cooked for generations. Columbia is getting to know the Morales family and their home country through the flavors of Tortilleria El Patrón; I think that’s a really wonderful and powerful way to introduce yourself.” (One on One, p. 23)

SEASONAL DRINKS:

TURKISH LATTE House-made cardamom and cinnamon syrup combined with espresso 700 and whole milk

GOLDEN MILK TEA Firepot Breakfast Tea, steamed soy milk, turmeric, agave, and a dusting of cocoa and cinnamon #followthegoat

Inspired Local Food Culture

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We’re mixing things up!

2/243/2

COMO

HARVESTERS

3/13/4

Third-annual WaldO Week Sat., Feb. 24 to Fri., March 2; participating locations in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City; 816.286.4523; waldokc.org

The third-annual Waldo Week is a weeklong celebration of one of Kansas City’s oldest neighborhoods. From Gregory Boulevard to 85th Street, participating Waldo restaurants, stores and services are offering 25 percent off select merchandise and services if you mention Waldo Week during this once-a-year event.

True/false film fesT Thu., March 1 to Sun., March 4; pass prices vary and start at $35; throughout downtown Columbia, Missouri; 573.442.TRUE (8783); truefalse.org

True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri, is a four-day celebration of nonfiction cinema featuring live music, art installations, food and drink, and even a parade. Passes are on sale now, and ticket reservations can be made online.

Announcing our new event location: ARROWHEAD STADIUM! Thursday, April 19, 2018 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Eat, drink and feed many! Enjoy samples of food, wine, beer and cocktails from more than 60 of Kansas City’s beﬆ reﬆaurants and beverage purveyors, all while helping put food on the plates of hungry families in our community.

Use promo code FEAST1 for $10 oﬀ each ticket purchased at www.forkscorkskc.com!

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

STL

3/21

Grand OpeninG Of The BlOOm’s Café Wed., March 21, 10am; free; The Bloom Café, 5200 Oakland Ave., Kings Oak, St. Louis, thebloom.cafe

The Bloom Café is a social enterprise program of Paraquad that will feature a job-training program for people with disabilities in addition to a fresh take on casual dining. The public is invited to the grand opening, which will begin with a program at 10am to commemorate the new beginning.

STL

3/29

SchnuckS cookS: LentiL-Quinoa-SwiSS chard SaLad Thu., March 29, 6 to 9pm; $45; Schnucks Cooks Cooking School, 12332 Manchester Road,

Chefs’ garage sale saturday, april 14 | 9:00am - 2:00pm

St. Louis; 314.909.1704; schnuckscooks.com

Kitchen Wares, Utensils & Dishes, Linens, Furniture, Small Appliances, Cookbooks & More

In this class you’ll learn how to make warming and flavorful tortilla soup from scratch. You’ll also learn how to stew fresh berries to top your favorite vanilla bean ice cream.

sale is free &

open to the public

preview party {Preview is a ticketed event}

friday, april 13 6:00pm - 9:00pm tickets include Delish Food & Cool Drinks Local Purveyor Samples gift basket raffle

STL

5/6

Event Location: Parker’s Table | 7118 Oakland Ave. | St. Louis, MO 63117 Get Preview Tickets: www.midwestfarmersmarkets.org or 314.913.6632 Proceeds Benefit: Farmers Market Chef Events & Culinary Programs MAFM is a 501 c(3) NonProfit Organization

AT CAFFETTERIA, WE BELIEVE

taSte & toaSt Sun., May 6, 2 to 5pm, VIP after-party 5:30 to 7pm; $35, $75 VIP; Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, 999 N. Second St., Downtown, St. Louis; 314.475.1244; tixtoparty.com/e/taste-toast-2018

You’re invited to the fourth-annual celebration of Midwest wine! Sample award-winning wines from across the region paired with dishes from top area restaurants. Enjoy free pours from the region’s best wineries, breweries and distilleries and food samples from some of the area’s best restaurants, as well as live music. This year, Taste & Toast will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Downtown St. Louis. We’ve upgraded the VIP experience with Beer & BBQ on the Terrace and a VIP lounge during the main event, as well as a poolside party afterward.

EATING IS AN ART FORM.

THE SHOPS OF

PRAIRIE VILLAGE

25 ON THE MALL

CaffetteriaModernCafe.com

Inspired Local Food Culture

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this month on

feastmagazine.com the feed

SPECIaL gIVEaWay

PhoTograPhy by STarboard & PorT crEaTivE

We’re giving away two tickets to Taste & Toast, our annual Midwest wine social, on Sun., May 6. Just head to the Promotions section at feastmagazine.com for all the details.

CB Social House is now Social on Patton. The Springfield, Missouri, favorite rebranded with a short but sweet menu featuring steak, salmon, deviled eggs and more, plus a chef’s table experience.

PhoTograPhy by MabEl SuEn

St. Louis has no shortage of great tacos, from classic carnitas and al pastor to Korean-inspired bulgogi tacos. Fittingly, there’s even a pork-steak taco. We’ve rounded up our eight favorite spots for tacos, from swanky new restaurants to classic taquerias, at feastmagazine.com.

St. Louis’ first food truck food court is now open. At Court Louie in Tower Grove South, you’ll find a handful of food trucks serving up Greek gyros, Philly cheesesteaks, street tacos and farm-to-table fare in a shared space.

PhoTograPhy by Evan Sung

PHOTOgraPHy By y jjOnaTHan OnaTH na an gayman naTH

KC Kansas City diners can soon enjoy their very own ShackBurgers and crinkle-cut fries: The popular national chain Shake Shack plans to open a location on Country Club Plaza this fall.

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

Mexican Fare. California Flair. in st. louis Voted Best mexican

ARD

2017

missiontacojoint.com

St. Charles

Streets of St. Charles

St. Louis

Delmar Loop • Historic Soulard • Central West End

Kansas City

East Crossroads Inspired Local Food Culture

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The restaurant business is risky. In fact, just about 60 percent of restaurants fail in the first three years. In order mitigate some of that risk, restaurateurs focus a huge amount of time and energy ensuring everything has been vetted, tested and tried. In this episode we explore some of the most innovative ways our region’s best chefs are playing with their food. Throughout the episode, you’ll join Cat Neville in a multi-course pop-up experience and watch how the dinner comes together and then unfolds over an evening.

At The Antler Room in Kansas City, Nicholas and Leslie Goellner held a series of pop ups to refine their menu and build awareness before opening their doors in 2016.

Rob Connoley and sous chef Justin Bell presented a foraged feast as part of the This Is Not A Restaurant series in St. Louis to promote the upcoming Bulrush.

Feast TV stopped by Vicia in St. Louis, checking in with Michael and Tara Gallina as they opened the doors to their now nationally lauded restaurant.

feast tv is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors:

Missouri Wines supports the more than 125 wineries operating in the state and is focused on promoting the industry’s growth and vitality.

feastmagazine.com

With a focus on sustainability and great design, IKEA is your destination for affordable, innovative and high-quality kitchen products.

march 2018

Kaldi’s Coffee is dedicated to creating a memorable coffee experience for customers and guests via sustainable practices and education.

Ole Tyme Produce provides some of the finest produce in the St. Louis region, serving restaurants, hotels, food service and catering companies.

The Raphael Hotel is Feast’s official hotel, offering luxury accommodations and dining near Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

Uniquely Kansas City Experiences Landmark Historic Hotel & Iconic Country Club Plaza Curated Packages & Romantic Getaways Modern Cuisine Daily & Friday Tastings with Chef Joe In St. Louis, tune into the Nine Network (Channel 9) to watch Feast TV Mondays at 9:30pm.

Live KC Jazz Nightly & Weekend Jazz Brunch

In Kansas City, watch Feast TV on KCPT (Channel 19) Sundays at 8am and 6:30pm.

325 Ward Parkway I Country Club Plaza I 816.756.3800

KMOS engage

educate

entertain

Historic Hotels of America raphaelkc.com I chazontheplaza.com

LAKE OF THE OZARKS

You can watch Feast TV throughout mid-Missouri on KMOS (Channel 6) Saturdays at 10am.

Feast TV airs in the southern Illinois region on WSIU (Channel 8) Saturdays at noon and Mondays at 12:30pm.

MAKE IT A PART OF YOUR 2018 SUMMER Check mylaketv.com to watch Feast TV in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

COMO 90 | CHARTER 197 MYLAKETV.COM | ROKU SERVING LAKE OF THE OZARKS AND MISSOURI Inspired Local Food Culture

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Housemade INTRODUCING OUR

RIGATONI BOLOGNESE

We start with housemade rigatoni, using fresh toasted cracked black pepper in our pasta dough. Served over our savory, slow braised bolognese, made with ribeye, local G&W sausage, fresh garlic and San Marzano tomatoes, finished with pecorino cheese. ENJOY FOR LUNCH OR DINNER. Complimentary Valet Parking. 18

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march 2018

saint louie

Snag a seat at Louie in Clayton, Missouri, for Matt McGuire's take on rustic Italian on p. 22. photography by jacklyn meyer

miga modern cuisine

octopus Octopus is within arm’s reach at these local restaurants. Written by liz miller

PhotograPhy by justine bursoni

CHAMPAiGN, il. although james Kim has only been sushi chef at Miga Modern Cuisine in Champaign, illinois, since september, his playful and vibrant plates are already gaining buzz. in november, miga was named one of the top 10 Diner’s Choice winners for best sushi restaurant in illinois by opentable users – the only restaurant outside of the Chicago area to make the list. in addition to an array of fresh nigiri, sashimi, and sushi and specialty rolls, Kim offers a menu of Chef’s Creations that allow him to flex his creativity. one of his favorites is the octopus carpaccio, which he makes by first boiling whole octopus and then very thinly slicing the meat. he serves the carpaccio with cucumber and red onion with garlic-yuzu sauce topped with salmon roe and microgreens. “octopus lovers really enjoy it; it’s something different and the dish has great flavors," Kim says. he artfully plates the octopus, layering it on a sleek white oblong platter and topping it with the other, more colorful, ingredients, as well as edible flowers. “it’s beautiful, served in one long line, with lots of color,” he says.

301 N. Neil St., Champaign, Illinois, miga-restaurant.com

oCtoPus has been on restaurant menus for years, yet it’s only been in the past few that the eight-limbed cephalopods have slid into the spotlight. whether poached, braised or fried, octopus lends itself to an array of cuisines: italian, japanese, mexican and more.

nixta

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

story

st. louis. the pulpo, or octopus, is one of the most popular items on the menu at Nixta in st. louis, according to proprietor ben Poremba. the dish has earned national praise, as well; Bon Appétit senior editor julia Kramer even dubbed the pulpo the best octopus she’d eaten all year. it's poached in olive oil with lots of aromatics – coriander, mustard seeds, cloves, thyme, garlic, citrus peel, star anise – and then flash fried before it’s tossed in a spice mixture of coriander, sea salt, black pepper, pink peppercorn and sal de gusano, a salt blended with ground worms. “the worms shouldn’t scare anybody. they’re kind of tangy; they add almost a citrusy note,” Poremba says. “People think of octopus as rubbery, and this is anything but; it’s fork-tender.” the dish is completed with fried potatoes, roasted peppers and mole almendrado, which is made with a base of almonds.

PRAiRiE VillAGE, Ks. Carl thorne-thomsen, chef-owner of

1621 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, nixtastl.com

3931 W. 69th Terrace, Prairie Village, Kansas, storykc.com

Story in Prairie Village, Kansas, almost always has an octopus dish on his menu. “We use young octopus – small octopus – and poach them for about 10 minutes at a really low temperature in some olive oil with seasoning, and then we very quickly sauté them,” thorne-thomsen says of his typical preparation. this fall, he paired seared octopus with hazelnuts, radish, celery root and a sunchoke purée. “in the past we’ve done an artichoke purée, and i got into the midwestern spirit of sunchokes,” he says. “We boil the sunchokes with garlic and just purée them with cream. it’s just a light swipe of flavor on the plate. the rest of the dish is almost like a relish or a salsa, with a brunoise of celery root and watermelon radish.” Keep an eye out for what thorne-thomsen pairs with octopus this spring.

Gerard’s Restaurant Rich in Culinary Tradition Proudly Serving St. Louis for 23 Years

Specializing in fresh fish for Lent

Made To oRdeR  Steaks  Pasta  Oysters  Fresh Fish Colonnade Center 1153 Colonnade Center | Des Peres 314-821-7977 | stlgerards.net

a call to arms

Hungry for more? These eight restaurants also serve excellent octopus dishes. SGF At Leslie’s Mexican Café & Bakery in Springfield, Missouri, octopus and shrimp ceviche is topped with onions, tomatoes, jalapeños and cilantro and served with corn tostadas.

STL The charred octopus at The Preston inside the Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta Hotel in St. Louis is served with a sunchoke purée, brown-butter gnocchi and a smoked paprika vinaigrette. KC Grilled baby octopus appears on the menu at Jarocho’s locations in Kansas City, Kansas, and south Kansas City. You’ll also find it under the house specialties in two Turn to p. 6 8 places: sautéed Spanish octopus to learn mor e about with onions and garlic, and sautéed the Veracru z-style Spanish octopus in squid ink. seafood serv ed at Jarocho. STL A Veracruz-style octopus is served at Público in University City, Missouri, accented with chorizo and paprika.

Downtown St. Louis 14 Beers on tap

photography by mabel suen

KC The Antler Room in Kansas City flavors octopus with curry spice and pairs it with bitter greens, almonds, pickled onion and papadum, a thin, crisp Indian and Sri Lankan flatbread.

Tues-Sunday Dinner, Saturday & Sunday Brunch 2101 Chouteau Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103 | 314.241.4677

KC Chef Michael Smith offers octopus simply wood-fired and served with fingerling potatoes, olives and chiles at Extra Virgin in Kansas City. COMO Start a meal at Kampai Alley in Columbia, Missouri, with the cold octopus salad with bamboo shoots and mountain fern before moving on to octopus nigiri. KC Affäre in Kansas City makes a take on bacon with octopus, served as part of its shareable seafood board alongside seared scallops, tempura-fried shrimp and a smoked-salmon spread with horseradish-potato purée, aïoli and flatbread.

Inspired Local Food Culture

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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.

Vele written by JaCKSon roMan photography by Matt LariSon

SPRINGFIELD, IL. Vele draws its name from the

italian word for “blank canvas,” yet the experience it offers is anything but nondescript. in the heart of downtown Springfield, illinois, Vele serves an elevated coastal italian menu highlighting seafood and fresh produce. the interior, outfitted with mid-century modern furniture, owes its inspiration to co-owner nichole Sperry, a creative manager and graphic designer. executive chef and co-owner Justin richardson’s menu begins with a raw bar; shareable small plates follow, including new Zealand lamb herbed frites with truffle aïoli, a lamb demi-glace and cherry wine reduction. For the main event, try the seafood spaghetti with p.e.i. scallops, king crab, squid-ink pasta, crab velouté and Fresno chiles, or the crab-crusted alaskan halibut with tarragon-garlic cream sugo, lump crab and asparagus. 534 E. Monroe St., Springfield, Illinois, velerestaurant.com

louie written by heather riSKe

photography by JaCKLyn Meyer

CLAYTON, MO. Matt Mcguire is an alum of some of St. Louis’ best

restaurants, so it’s no surprise that Louie – an homage to his beloved King Louie’s – is one of the hottest tables in town. Located in Clayton, Missouri, in a sleek DeMun space outfitted with striking large-format floral wallpaper, the neighborhood trattoria focuses on rustic italian-inspired fare. grab a bar seat in front of the wood-burning oven and start your dinner by scooping up dollops of white-bean hummus with freshly baked hearth bread before moving on to cauliflower fritto with mint aïoli or the broccolini pizza, a kitchen favorite. Don’t leave without trying the plump butternut squash agnolotti or roman gnocco, a dish similar to lasagna, with mashed potatoes, pork ragu, béchamel and pecorino romano. there’s a lengthy selection of italian wine and a short but sweet list of cocktails; go classic with the Manhattan nero (with a healthy dose of amaro Sfumato) or try something new with the negroni Sbagliato, which subs in prosecco for the traditional gin. 706 DeMun Ave., Clayton, Missouri, louiedemun.com

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march 2018

Meatball District written by Jenny Vergara photography by anna petrow

KANSAS CITY. Last year, John Schuppan left

his life as an online entrepreneur to pursue a new career as a restaurateur. after purchasing Meatball District on west 39th Street in Kansas City, he spent time giving the space a muchneeded makeover, reworking every aspect of the business – except the name, which he decided to keep because it was tied to the original liquor license. the expansive new menu features Southern dishes and reimagined italian favorites, developed by executive chef travis

Meeks, formerly of Jarocho pescados y Mariscos and Kearney Culinary academy. try the indulgent fried lasagna, stuffed with meatballs, deep fried and topped with pepperoni bologonese and gouda cheese. and don’t miss the Southern-inspired Faidell’s Fried Chicken sandwich with asian slaw, a spicy white barbecue sauce and a house blend of gouda, gruyère, parmesan and asiago cheeses. the bar at Meatball District is still a hot spot, offering speedy cocktails, a small and accessible wine selection and local craft beers on tap. 1806 W. 39th St., Kansas City, Missouri, facebook.com/meatballdistrict

popbite in thePint pub

n eO O

q&A

for a

carmen & jose morales

and a

2620 S Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65804 (417) 864-6994 | farmersgastropub.com

owners, tortilleria el patrón Written by Jessica Vaughn

PhotograPhy by aaron ottis

COLUMBIA, MO. Last spring, carmen and Jose Morales began sharing a taste of their home cooking at Tortilleria El Patrón, columbia, Missouri’s first fresh tortilla shop. they roll out hundreds of scratch-made flour and corn tortillas per day and serve up traditional Mexican food for carryout. the Morales family moved to columbia from Juarez, Mexico, nearly 20 years ago, and the flavors of Juarez seep into everything cooked in el Patrón’s kitchen. the menu is a medley of authentic Latin cuisine including cow-tongue tacos, menudo, gorditas and tamales. in 2018, the family expects to grow even more as the business adds a new commercial kitchen next door. stock up on tortillas or try them at columbia restaurants including root cellar, boss taco, Just Jeff’s and Walnut street tap + Kitchen.

Why did you want to open a tortilleria in Columbia? the plan was just to make just a few tortillas to try them out, just to see how it would work. We basically went and bought a flour tortilla machine; then all of a sudden, word started spreading, people started liking them, and we thought, “Well, maybe this is it – maybe this is what we should be doing.” once we started working on the flour tortillas, people started asking about the corn tortillas. We didn’t know anything about corn tortillas except how to eat ‘em, so we went and bought the corn tortilla machine and took a two-hour course with the owner of a tortilla shop in Mexico. –Jose Morales Tell us about your menu. We make more traditional Mexican food, something that you wouldn’t find anywhere else

Meet Our Winemaker Cory Kunkle our winemaker has deep-rooted ties with Hidden LakeWinery.He started in 2009 as a cellar worker learning the basics.His desire for learning to craft great wine led him down the path to attendingVESTA’s Wine and Grape Program for two years attending classes at prestigious colleges all over the country and in 2014 was promoted to head winemaker. His love is equally shared for making white and red wine but truly loves to experiment to try and improve his wine.Since being winemaker he has won many awards and would like to invite you to come try some of his award winning wine

Our winemaking began in 2004 and is influenced by the German heritage of the farming families who settled this part of Illinois. We have been told of several wineries that flourished here prior to the Prohibition. At Hidden Lake Winery, our goal is to offer a variety of wines that will satisfy many different palates. Our wines are produced with locally-grown fruit and bottled here in our cellar.

hiddenlakewinery.com - Winery Open 7 Days a Week! Winery•Dining•event Center•Cabin rentals

10580 Wellen Rd | Aviston, IL 62216 | 618-228-9111

COMING SOON

[nearby]. Just about any restaurant

here makes fajitas or chimichangas, but whenever it comes to a menudo, flautas – also called taquitos – and corn gorditas, you can find those here. It’s definitely something Columbia hasn’t tried yet. –J.M.

Where do your recipes come from? the flour tortilla recipe comes from my mother-in-law and my mom. it’s a family recipe. –Carmen Morales as far as the corn tortilla, it’s just corn flour and water, and that’s it. We try to keep it all natural: no preservatives or anything like that. –J.M. What else makes your tortillas so special? you can definitely taste the difference between fresh tortillas and others. We may not have the shelf life of other companies, where you can let them sit for two or three months, but then again, a lot of those tortillas sit in a warehouse for two to three weeks before they ship them out. We don’t do that: our tortillas are made fresh daily. –J.M. 711H Vandiver Drive, Columbia, Missouri, facebook.com/tortilleria-el-patron--736781046478696

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joe bichelmeyer co-owner, bichelmeyer meats Written By Jenny Vergara

q&A

PhotograPhy By amBer deery

KANSAS CITY, KS. Walk into Bichelmeyer Meats in Kansas City, Kansas, and it’s hard not to be impressed. the family-run butcher shop not only offers an incredible selection of fresh beef, pork and poultry, it also shares friendly expertise and earnest customer service in every interaction. that’s something that the current owners, brothers Jim and Joe Bichelmeyer, would say came from their father, John, who started the shop in 1946. he called it “the comeback sauce” – that extra level of service that keeps people loyal and coming back for more. With housemade chorizo sitting in the case next to traditional Polish sausages, the meat case literally represents the melting pot of customers that frequent the much-loved butcher shop. Some customers just come on Saturdays for the fantastic selection of mexican street tacos, sold for just $3 a piece with fillings such as smoked pork and beef tongue.

What’s the history behind Bichelmeyer Meats? our family has been butchering meat for over five generations in Kansas City. mathias Bichelmeyer, a professional butcher, came to Kansas City, Kansas, in 1880 from Fussen, germany, to work in the meat processing plants in the historic Stockyards district in the West Bottoms. his son george Bichelmeyer opened our first family meat market in Kansas City in 1906, and his son, John F. Bichelmeyer, was my father, and he founded Bichelmeyer meats in 1946. then my brother and i came into the business in 1976. today, it’s owned and operated by me and my brother, Jim, and [my son], matt Bichelmeyer. How do you source your meat? We pride ourselves in being able to offer the finest quality meat at a fair price. to do that, we must maintain control of the entire process, so we raise our own angus beef on our family ranch near Williamsburg, Kansas, which we then process, dry-age and sell in our retail shop along with other locally raised cows and hogs we purchase from neighboring farmers. Tell us about the role Bichelmeyer’s plays in Kansas City’s barbecue scene. Bichelmeyer meats supplies meat to many of the top competitors who compete at the american royal World Series of Barbecue, and during the american royal our store is hopping with special orders. Why did you start serving tacos? it was actually my son matt’s idea. the idea was to provide an inexpensive treat for people to purchase while they waited in line on our busiest day of the week. now, it’s a family affair, with the mothers, wives or girlfriends of our employees coming in to cook, with their kids helping out. Customers love it, and our employees love having their families here on Saturdays. We

offer Mexican street tacos for $3 a piece that can be filled al pastor (pork steak and pineapple), carne asada (beef steak), buche (hog maws), barbacoa (steamed brisket or beef cheek), carnitas (pulled pork), chuleta (smoked pork chops), lengua (tongue), pollo (chicken) or discada (a mix of grilled meats). once you have your tacos, you can visit the salsa bar to top them with anything you choose. additionally, we sell quesadillas, chicharrón and tamales on Saturdays until we sell out. 704 Cheyenne Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, bichelmeyermeatskc.com

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573.775.5999 meramecmusictheatre.com Inspired Local Food Culture

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IN SEASON: JANuARY ThROugh ApRIL

mustard greens Mustard greens are not actually related to mustard seeds; they're leafy greens named for their strong horseradish or mustardlike flavor. The robust vegetable, native to India, pairs well with rich meats, citrus and vinegar. Written by nancy StileS

Webster House KANSAS CITY. at Webster House in Kansas city’s crossroads arts District, executive chef brandon Winn uses mustard greens in several applications. Winn prefers frilly mustard greens, which look more like frisee, over flat mustard greens, which are more similar to kale. you’ll see them as an unexpected vegetable on the cold-smoked dry-aged rib eye with mushrooms. “On the steak plate, it’s for a little bit of heat, because there’s foie gras butter; it cuts through all the earthiness on that plate," Winn says. He also uses raw mustard greens dressed in lemon oil on a maple-glazed butternut squash tart with fresh cheese, maple soubise, sherry gastrique, black pepper walnuts and beets. For flat mustard greens, he suggests treating them like kale or broccoli rabe and sautéing them with just a few simple ingredients. “i like chile flake on them, and finish them with vinegar because it cuts through the acridness,” Winn says. “Sliced garlic, chile flakes and whatever vinegar you’re privy to – i’m a big sherry vinegar fan, personally.”

1644 Wyandotte St., Kansas City, Missouri, websterhousekc.com

ramen tei BALLWIN, MO. Pickled mustard greens are a common ingredient in the classic spicy northern thai soup khao soi. at Ramen Tei in ballwin, Missouri, executive chef nick bognar takes cues from his thai grandmother, who makes her red curry paste by hand with a mortar and pestle, and gives the dish some Japanese influence with the broth. ramen tei makes red curry paste with spices – garlic, coriander, cumin, dried and fresh thai chiles – as well as fish sauce and coconut milk. the curry paste is reduced with the chicken stock used for the restaurant’s shoyu ramen and finished with coconut milk. it’s served with smoked chicken, noodles, red onion, fried crispy wontons, cilantro, house-roasted chile oil and pickled mustard greens. “it’s the signature, unique khao soi condiment, because you don’t eat it with much, especially in thai cooking,” bognar says. “it doesn’t show up super often, but it’s always with khao soi.” the whole greens are pickled in white vinegar and fish sauce and are lightly fermented. “We do it simple like that because we don’t want it to be a complex pickle,” he says. “it’s just supposed to be super high acid, pickled and sour. those are good after they sit for a really long time.”

14027 Manchester Road, Ballwin, Missouri, ramen.teistl.com

Hank cHarcuterie LAWRENCE, KS. Hank Charcuterie in lawrence, Kansas, may be

all about meat, but that doesn’t mean chef-owner Vaughn Good skips the greens. He uses mustard greens in several preparations, such as gumbo z’herbes with andouille sausage and carolina gold rice, a dish traditionally served on Maundy thursday, the thursday before easter. last year, Hank charcuterie featured Good’s take on spinach-artichoke dip, made with collards, mustard greens, local aged cheddar and grilled asparagus. His potato-leek soup also makes good use of mustard greens: Good calls it a warm version of vichyssoise, which he pairs with grilled bread and a mustard green pesto. “there are a lot of varieties of mustard greens: Some are spicier, some are bitter, some have more of a horseradish flavor,” Good says. “this variety allows [them] to be used in various dishes, as you can find a mustard green to fit the flavor profile you need.” 1900 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas, hankmeats.com

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

n eO O

q&A

joel castillo co-owner, salina’s 2

Story and photography by Mabel Suen

ST. LOUIS. the bevo neighborhood of St. louis is quickly becoming a hot spot for authentic Mexican cuisine. Salina’s 2 debuted in august, featuring an entirely new, extensive menu of Mexican-american favorites and original dishes as well as a host of authentic Mexican fare. the original Salina’s opened in 1992 in Chesterfield, Missouri; this iteration of the concept comes from co-owners Shirley Walla and Joel Castillo, who is a native of tamaulipas, Mexico. Castillo prides himself on making everything from scratch, including frying tortilla shells to order for his crispy tacos. each meal begins with complimentary chips and housemade bean dip. dishes inspired by family recipes from Castillo’s mother and grandmother include everything from tacos and menudo to tortas and fried whole tilapia.

Why did you decide to open a second location of Salina’s? We’re trying to attract a younger crowd at the new location with great drinks and karaoke on Friday and Saturday until 1:30am. It’s so popular that we started doing it on Sundays, too. We’re also able to host a lot of huge parties here for groups of 50 to 80 people with decorations and desserts. Tell us about the new menu. We offer taco salads, chimichangas, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas and fajitas, and then we have things like tripe, menudo, al pastor and barbacoa, tortas and whole fried tilapia that americans might not be as familiar with. What have been the crowd favorites

so far? One of the biggest sellers are tacos such as tripe, carne asada and al pastor. Another favorite is steak with shrimp. We serve all our tacos with toreados (grilled peppers), grilled onions and hot sauce. Combination platters have also been very

popular for trying different things like enchiladas, burritos and tamales. What’s your personal favorite menu item? My very favorite is the torta. It’s like a Mexican sub. It’s enough to satisfy one person and comes with french fries, too. We use melted cheese plus queso fresco, lettuce, tomato, peppers and avocado. the carnitas are very good on it; it’s very tender and juicy. What do you think about Bevo being a new center for Mexican restaurants in St. Louis? I’m very pleased and hope there will be even more Mexican, Spanish or latin businesses. there’s a very high population of Mexicans in the area as well as people from honduras, el Salvador, guatemala, peru and Colombia. We’re partnering with restaurants including Mariscos el gato and Mariachi’s II and are talking about calling this area El Molino, or “the Mill,” to make it a center for Mexican places like Cherokee Street. 4601 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, facebook.com/salinas-2-155913798319972

“Classic Italian Food. Authentic and made with care.”

± Dan B.

“I had my wedding dinner celebration at Favazza’s. Everything was amazing and the staff was great! ”

± Chloe A.

“Perfect night on the patio! Music, fresh sunflowers at every table and a garden lining a beautiful mural. We’ll definitely be back! ”

± Jess S.

5201 Southwest Street, St. Louis, MO | Favazzas.com Inspired Local Food Culture

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Regional RestauRant guide 4 Hands Brewing Co. 1220 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 314.436.1559 4handsbrewery.com

Cafe Cusco 234 E. Commercial St. Springfield, MO 417.868.8088 cafecusco.com

Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard 10035 Edg-Clif Drive Potosi, MO 573.438.4741 edg-clif.com

Hidden Lake Winery 10580 Wellen Road Aviston, IL 618.228.9111 hiddenlakewinery.com

21st Street Brewers Bar 2017 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.6969 21stbrew.com

Café Ventana 3919 W. Pine Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.531.7500 cafeventana.com

Eleven Eleven Mississippi 1111 Mississippi Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.9999 1111-m.com

House of Chow 2101 W. Broadway Columbia, MO 573.445.8800 houseofchow-como.com

Asian Cafe Bar & Grill 1260 Bryan Road O’Fallon, MO 636.272.4429 asiancafebg.com

Caffetteria 25 on the Mall Prairie Village, KS 816.756.2300 caffetteriakc.com  Coming soon!

Farmers Gastropub 2620 S. Glenstone Ave. Springfield, MO 417.864.6994 farmersgastropub.com

Il Lazzarone 412 Delaware St. 1628 Frederick Ave. Kansas City, MO | St. Joseph, MO 816.541.3695 | 816.273.0582 illazzarone.org

Aya Sofia 6671 Chippewa St. St. Louis, MO 314.645.9919 ayasofiacuisine.com

Charleville Brewing Co. & Tavern 2101 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.4677 charlevillebeer.com

Farm to You Market Cafe 5025 Old Highway 100 Washington, MO 844.682.2266 farmtoyoumarket.com

Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. multiple locations kaldiscoffee.com

Beast Craft BBQ Co. 20 S. Belt W Belleville, IL 618.257.9000 beastcraftbbq.com

Chaz on the Plaza at the Raphael Hotel 325 Ward Parkway Kansas City, MO 816.802.2152 raphaelkc.com

Favazza’s on The Hill 5201 Southwest Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.772.4454 favazzas.com

Lenexa Public Market 8750 Penrose Lane Lenexa, KS 913.477.7516 lenexapublicmarket.com

Bella Vino Wine Bar & Tapas 325 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.3434 bellavinowinebarstl.com

Cork & Barrel Chop House and Spirits 7337 Mexico Road St. Peters, MO 636.387.7030 corkandbarrel.com

Fratelli’s Ristorante 2061 Zumbehl Road St. Charles, MO 636.949.9005 fratellisristorante.com

Lucas Park Grille 1234 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.7770 lucasparkgrille.com

Bissell Mansion Restaurant & Dinner Theatre 4426 Randall Place St. Louis, MO 314.533.9830 bissellmansiontheatre.com

DD Mau Vietnamese Eatery 11982 Dorsett Road Maryland Heights, MO 314.942.2300 ddmaustl.com

Gallagher’s 114 W. Mill St. Waterloo, IL 618.939.9933 gallagherswaterloo.com

Mai Lee 8396 Musick Memorial Drive Brentwood, MO 314.645.2835 maileestl.com

Bloom Café by Paraquad 5200 Oakland Ave. St. Louis, MO thebloom.cafe  Coming soon!

Diablitos Cantina 4198 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.535.9700 diablitoscantina.com

Gerard’s Restaurant 1153 Colonnade Center Des Peres, MO 314.821.7977 stlgerards.net

Mission Taco Joint multiple locations missiontacojoint.com

The Blue Owl 6116 Second St. Kimmswick, MO 636.464.3128 theblueowl.com

Duke’s 2001 Menard St. St. Louis, MO 314.833.6686 dukesinsoulard.com

Gezellig 4191 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.833.5532 gezelligstl.com

The Mixx multiple locations mixxingitup.com

Bluestem 900 Westport Road Kansas City, MO 816.561.1101 bluestemkc.com

Eckert’s Country Restaurant 951 S. Green Mount Road Belleville, IL 618.233.0513 ext. 3 eckerts.com/country-restaurant

Hendricks BBQ 1200 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.8600 hendricksbbq.com

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march 2018

SGF

Mother’s Brewing Co. 215 S. Grant Ave. Springfield, MO 417.862.0423 mothersbrewing.com

We encourage you to visit any of these

The Muddled Pig Gastropub 2733 Sutton Blvd. Maplewood, MO 314.781.4607 themuddledpig.com

fine establishments as proud supporters of Feast Magazine. From fine dining to fast casual to wineries and breweries, there is an array of experiences to choose

Nudo 11423 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.274.8046 nudohousestl.com

O’Dowd’s 4742 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO 816.561.2700 odowdskc.com

Original Springs Hotel Restaurant 506 N. Hanover St. Okawville, IL 618.243.5458 theoriginalspringshotel.com

from, so support and eat local!

BY REGION: Smitty’s Garage 8811 State Line Road Kansas City, MO 816.731.1455 eatatthegarage.com

Must Try

: The Big G is a Smitty’s spin on a classic burger with two patties (one cooked fried-onion style), pickles, onion, special sauce and American cheese.

PW Pizza 2017 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.7799 pwpizza.com

Stone Hill Winery 1110 Stone Hill Highway Hermann, MO 573.486.2221 stonehillwinery.com

Ruth’s Chris Steak House 1 N. Brentwood Blvd. #150 315 Chestnut St. Clayton, MO | St. Louis, MO 314.783.9900 | 314.259.3200 ruthschris.com

Texas de Brazil 1137 Saint Louis Galleria St. Richmond Heights, MO 314.352.8800 texasdebrazil.com

Rye 10551 Mission Road | 4646 JC Nichols Parkway Leawood, KS | Kansas City, MO 913.642.5800 | 816.541.3382 ryekc.com

Trattoria Giuseppe 5442 Old State Route 21 Imperial, MO 636.942.2405 trattoria-giuseppe.com

St. Louis St. Charles County Kansas City Columbia, Missouri Springfield, Missouri Mid-Missouri and Southern Missouri Southern Illinois Winery and Vineyard Brewery

Visit Sanctuaria 4198 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.535.9700 sanctuariastl.com

Truffles and Butchery 9202 Clayton Road St. Louis, MO 314.567.9100 todayattruffles.com

Schlafly Bottleworks 7260 Southwest Ave. Maplewood, MO 314.241.2337 schlafly.com

Vin de Set 2017 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.8989 vindeset.com

Schlafly Tap Room 2100 Locust St. St. Louis, MO 314.241.2337 schlafly.com

Weber Grill Restaurant 1147 St. Louis Galleria St. Richmond Heights, MO 314.930.3838 webergrillrestaurant.com

Feastmagazine.com to view the regional restaurant guide and read more about some of the places listed here.

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW NEW VENUE WITH MORE SPACE! Explore the Science Center after hours while tasting from 50 of the best restaurants in town featured in Ian Froeb’s STL100 List! ~ Live Music by DJ Nune

MARCH 14, 2018 @ ST. LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER

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All trademarks are the property of their respective owners • EFFEN® Vodka, 100% neutral spirits distilled from wheat grain, 40% alc./vol. and Flavored Vodkas, Distilled from Grain, 37.5% alc./vol. © 2017 EFFEN Import Company, Chicago, IL • Jim Beam® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 40% Alc./Vol. ©2017 James B. Beam Distilling Co., Clermont, KY • Maker's Mark® and Maker's 46® Bourbon Whisky, 45 and 47% Alc./Vol. ©2017 Maker's Mark Distillery, Inc., Loretto, KY.

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march 2018

gotta horchata

Sip housemade horchata at Pirate's Bone in Kansas City on p. 34. photography by anna petrow

local agave

spirits

Despite the fact that the U.S. is the number-one consumer of tequila in the world, spirits made from the agave plant aren’t often produced locally. Written by nancy stiles

PhotograPhy by sherrie castellano

mi rancho tequila KANSAS CITY, KS. Michael J. Dean-Trago spent more than 10 years researching and developing Mi Rancho Tequila, which is distilled and bottled in Jalisco, Mexico, before launching in October 2016. Dean-Trago was born in Mexico but grew up in Kansas, and he wanted a product that straddled both sides of his heritage and was still a tequila. “The true artists are the chemists; they’re chemical engineers,” he says, pointing to his own chemist, Hector Davalos Abbad, who has worked in the tequila industry for 47 years. “The tequila we have has a taste that's very clean and pure, with strong agave flavors,” Dean-Trago says. He prefers the silver tequila – Mi Rancho also makes añejo (aged) and reposado (rested) – in a classic Paloma. “That’s the cocktail of tequila people in the industry,” he says. “The Paloma is truly a Mexican drink. It’s refreshing and not heavy or hard.”

miranchotequila.com

similar to designations like champagne and bordeaux, tequila can only be called tequila if it’s made in a specific region of mexico; now, local distillers are finally making their own AgAve SPiRiTS both here and south of the border.

mean mule distilling co. KANSAS CITY. Almost 40 percent of cocktail sales in

the U.S. are tequila- or agave-based, yet there are only a handful of agave distilleries in the country – most are based in Mexico. “It’s crazy to me that no one [here] has jumped on that market,” says Jeff Evans, head distiller at Mean Mule Distilling Co. in Kansas City. “We really have a love for most products that come out of Mexico – tequilas, mezcals – so we wanted to take a stab at doing it ourselves.” Mean Mule’s Silver Agave American Spirit is distilled from 100-percent blue agave; Evans removes the spirit’s heads and tails during distillation, which leaves a clean and smooth product. “We allow our yeast to esterify, so you get a lot of pineapple and citrus just from the spirit itself,” he says. “Because we’ve isolated a very clean product, what you get are some beautiful flavors.” meanmuledistilling.co

spirits of st. louis ST. LOUIS. At Spirits of St. Louis, the distilling arm of

Apple Ciderita with Spirits of St. Louis Agave Blue, Grand Marnier, apple cider and rimmed with cinnamon sugar

Square One Brewery & Distillery in St. Louis’ Lafayette Square, owner Steve Neukomm didn’t know how complicated making an agave spirit would be. It was one of the first products he put out 10 years ago, and there wasn’t much information out there for new distillers. His agave nectar distributor relayed questions and problems to a distiller in Mexico, who helped the team through the process. Eventually, Spirits of St. Louis had a crystal – clear – agave and a reposado, aged for at least six weeks; currently, only the reposado is in production and is available at the tasting room. “In ours, you can taste more of the agave nectar,” Neukomm says. “A lot of the agave products coming into the U.S. are blended. You’re going to find [ours] has a more full body and is a more full-flavored tequila.” 1727 Park Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, spiritsofstlouisdistillery.com

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march 2018

N eo o

q&A

Hermann, Missouri

brian rooney co-founder, bks artisan ales Written by Pete Dulin

PhotograPhy by amber Deery

KANSAS CITY. Co-founders brian and mary rooney officially opened BKS Artisan Ales last December and drew an immediate following in the community. bKS, shorthand for Kansas City’s brookside neighborhood, had lines out the door on its soft-opening dates for limited beer releases last fall. inspired by out-of-market beers from well-regarded craft breweries that the rooneys enjoy, the couple strive to produce beer of a similar caliber. later this year, bKS is launching a barrel-aging sour program, as well as an open-air fermenter on its tasting room's patio.

Tell us about your brewing background. mary and i started homebrewing about eight years ago. all good things take time, effort and dedication. We spiraled down a path of obsession during that time. What’s your vision for BKS? the idea is to make quality styles of beer that we love drinking, and that our family, friends, neighbors and beer fans can easily appreciate. Changing our tap list [often] and creating beers that bend styles and traditional flavor profiles make us different. everything we sell is fresh and direct from our brewery to the customer. What beers best represent BKS’ style? hoppy, belgian, english and american stout – our beers generally exist in those areas. you can expect something from each of those styles when you’re in our taproom. You use Oddly Correct coffee beans in the Rockhill & Locust English Mild Ale and other beers. How did that collaboration develop? We met gregory [Kolsto] and mike [Schroeder] from oddly Correct through mutual beerdrinking friends. We immediately got into creating coffee and beer collaborations that bend the common pairing of coffee [and] stout beer. What was the inspiration for your session sour beers, such as Cucumber Margarita? it came from being on vacation in tropical locations that have the worst

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beer ever. That

frustration turned to inspiration for our Vacation Island series of vacation beverage-themed sour beers. In March, we’ll probably have some variant of the Vacation Island Margarita, such as strawberry, passion fruit or cucumber. What’s the

plan for your barrel-aging sour beer program? our second floor will provide 1,800 square feet for barrel aging beer. in this space, we intend to have multiple mini-foeders and [use] red and white wine barrels to age many types of sour beers. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the inset patio facing 63rd Street. this area will allow us to use a koelschip – essentially an open-air fermenter – to create spontaneously fermented ales from wild microbes in the air around the brookside neighborhood. 633 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Missouri, bksartisanales.com

Family Owned • Locally Grown Purchase at local retailers or online stonehillwinery.com • 800-909-9463 Inspired Local Food Culture

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where we’re drinking Check out what we’re sipping at bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries and coffee shops.

Pirate’s bone Written by Jenny Vergara

photography by anna petroW

kaNSaS cIty. Mexico City native Zaid Consuegra recently celebrated the third

anniversary of Pirate’s Bone, his vegan coffee shop and restaurant located off the beaten path near east brookside in Kansas City. he started pirate’s bone with just $2,000 and a coffee maker he bought at a local garage sale, but Consuegra’s business quickly grew. today, customers flock to pirate's bone for his delicious vegan riffs on latin-inspired coffee drinks, made with beans sourced from across latin america. Consuegra makes his

own oat and rice milk (aka horchata) in house for use in specialty drinks like his popular dirty horchata. Made the traditional way – without milk or cream – he combines rice milk, cinnamon and vanilla, and adds a double shot of espresso to make it “dirty.” Mexican cold brew is another favorite, featuring warming Mexican spices and organic raw cane sugar, topped with a shot of oat milk and served over ice. recently, pirate’s bone expanded its menu to include food, serving a selection of vegan breakfast and lunch dishes like waffles, layered veggie sandwiches and pozole made with jackfruit instead of pork. 645 E. 59th St., Kansas City, Missouri, piratesbonecoffee.com

Parlor Story and photography by Mabel Suen

St. LOUIS. the grove neighborhood in St. louis has a new bar and arcade: Parlor debuted in december, featuring a variety of amusements alongside a full bar serving cocktails, beer and wine. the interior is chock-full of custom neon signs, classic pop-culture posters, taxidermy and hand-painted murals, plus 14 arcade games, four pinball machines, three Skee-ball lanes and a pool table. From the bar, choose from eight beers on draft and plenty more canned and bottled. Canned wine and seven house cocktails are also available. try the la louisiane with high West double rye, bénédictine, Carpano antica sweet vermouth and bitters; parlor’s Cup with pimm’s, St. george gin, genepy, cucumber, lime, passion fruit and Vess; or a gin bucket for four served in a trophy with broker’s gin, vermouth, sugar, vanilla, lime, Vess and bitters.

4170 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, parlorstl.com

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march 2018

4 by 4 brewing Co. Story and photography by ana elliott

SPRINGFIELD, MO. 4 By 4 Brewing Co. – named for the four owners and their four

wives – recently opened its doors in Springfield, Missouri. the brewery is currently offering 10 original brews, plus five blended options. beer-lovers will find a wide variety of options here, including some easy-drinking golden ales and a light coffee beer called Java the Kolsch. “our biggest surprise to customers is the black ipa, because you’re mixing the hop-bitter finish with a roastier, nuttier feel up front,” says co-owner derek Shimeall. “they’re getting a taste of almost two styles of beer in one. i think it'll be one of our staples; you can’t find a beer quite like this anywhere else.” the tasting room is an ideal place to cap off a day of hiking or biking, situated just a stone’s throw away from Sequiota park. With charging outlets, board games and self-serve water and popcorn, 4 by 4 offers a family-friendly atmosphere. 2811 E. Galloway St., Springfield, Missouri, 4by4brewingcompany.com

n eO O

q&A

kyle kohlmorgen brewer and co-owner, wellspent brewing co. Written by HeatHer riske

PHotograPHy by j. Pollack PHotograPHy

ST. LOUIS. a few years ago, kyle kohlmorgen, an engineer by trade and homebrewer by hobby, jotted down a list of values that guided him as a brewer. those tenets – persistence, celebration and balance – soon became the mission statement for his own brewery. last month, kohlmorgen and his wife, angela, opened Wellspent Brewing Co. in st. louis’ Midtown neighborhood. inside the brewery, guests will find his simple credo emblazoned on one wall, reminding anyone who visits that kohlmorgen’s work at Wellspent is just getting started.

What attracted you to the Midtown neighborhood? i love the city of st. louis, and i wanted to be in the city. Midtown’s just great. We’re in a nice little corner of breweries, so we can walk to center ice [brewery] and Urban chestnut [brewing co.] and the schlafly taproom. it’s a nice place to come on saturday and spend your afternoon drinking beer at different breweries all within walking distance. We kind of stumbled upon the building and fell in love. Tell us about Wellspent’s beer. We like to call it yeast-driven beer. it’s beer that’s inspired by a trip we took to brussels, and also my german heritage. My passion in brewing has always been mixed-fermentation and sour beer, so we’ve rented this space across from our patio to house barrels, and we’ll start releasing a lot of those beers over the next year. What are mixed-fermentation beers? My wife always tells me the same thing: “People stop listening when you say mixedfermentation.” technically, it means using yeast other than traditional beer yeast. For us, we use our house mixture of yeast and bacteria that

WE GET BY WITH A L I L’ H E L P

FROMOUR FRIENDS.

creates different flavors than are generally seen or tasted in beer. A long

time ago, I built up these different mixed cultures that I keep around, kind of like a kombucha SCOBY or sourdough starter, that we keep going from beer to beer. i’ve had these for four or five years, so we’re going to incorporate that

into our barrel-aged beers to get a flavor that’s pretty unique to us. We use similar processes as lambic producers in brussels do, but we wouldn’t call it a lambic because it’s an appellation, kind of like champagne. We have three base beers – a wheat-heavy blonde, a bigger reddish beer and a very strong, tart saison style – that we then blend and add fruits or spices to. What beers are you most excited to share with customers? People have asked if we have a flagship, and we really don’t – if we ever do, our customers will determine that. My favorite beers that we make are generally lower in alcohol but very high in flavor. they’re balanced and have a lot of complexity. We have a beer we call buck that’s a 3.5 percent abV saison made with a pretty good portion of buckwheat and then some cool hops that aren’t typically used in iPas. i love making that beer, and i love drinking that beer. 2917 Olive St., St. Louis, Missouri, wellspentbeer.com

GO MIDWEST! PROOF POSITIVE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO HIT THE COASTS FOR AN ASSERTIVE IPA. THE BIG PINE AND CITRUS CHARACTER OF AMERICAN HOPS STAND PROUDLY ATOP A SOLID MALT BACKBONE. GO RUNNING FOR ITS SHELTER.

WWW.MOTHERSBREWING.COM Inspired Local Food Culture

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SToRy, REcIpE and phoTogRaphy by ShanlEy cox

Piña Chelada Tajín is a Mexican spice blend of lime, sea salt and chiles. You can find it in international grocery stores. SERVES | 1 |

Tajín, for rim 1 lime wedge 4 oz fresh pineapple juice 2 oz fresh lime juice Mexican lager 1 sprig fresh basil, for garnish 1 pineapple wedge, for garnish

| preparation | In a small, shallow dish, pour Tajín in an even layer. Rub rim of a highball glass with lime wedge, then dip rim into dish to salt. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine pineapple and lime juice and shake; strain into salt-rimmed glass. Top with beer and garnish basil and pineapple. Serve.

Easily crafted and undeniably refreshing, a Chelada is the ultimate drink for spring days.

Piña Chelada Similar to the Michelada, a beer cocktail with tomato juice and spices, a Chelada is a stripped-down rendition featuring lime juice, Mexican lager and a salted rim for a savory finish. This version gets a boost of flavor from pineapple, fresh basil and Tajín seasoning. The result is sweet, tropical and tart – like a beerbased take on Tiki. Make it your go-to drink when you’re in the mood for something light and low-proof. Shanley Cox is a writer and photographer and owner of Shanley Cox Creative, a Kansas City-based content studio.

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march 2018

on The shelf : march PIcks

WINE

Peruvian Dining

in SpringField MO holy-FielD VineyarD & Winery’S amitié written by Hilary Hedges

Voted Best Wine Store Selection

Provenance: basehor, Kansas PaIrIngs: shrimp diablo • Smoked salmon • Thai curry

Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery recently took home top honors at the Jefferson Cup invitational wine Competition with its off-dry traminette-based wine, amitié. this was the ninth Jefferson Cup for Holy-Field, which is the oldest winery in Kansas. Amitié is the French word for “friendship;” owner Michelle Meyer picked the name because of the friendships that form from sharing wine, and this wine’s appeal to a variety of tastes. Fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks to retain a genuine fruit-forward profile, amitié is bursting with floral aromas and juicy fruit flavors such as pineapple, peach and green apple. it’s bright and crisp with hints of spice and a smooth, clean finish. amitié is available at the Holy-Field tasting room and at several retailers in Kansas. 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 director of sales and marketing and assistant winemaker at Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City.

BEER

More than 1,000 wines 234 East Commercial St, Springfield, MO 417.868.8088 | www.cafecusco.com

Hungry for MORE? Stay on top of the local food scene with our free weekly enewsletter. Subscribe now at

feastmagazine.com, CiVil liFe BreWing Co.’S ameriCan BroWn ale written by ryan niCKelson

sTyle: brown ale (4.8% abV) PaIrIngs: Aged Gouda • Spicy curry • Flourless chocolate cake

and you’ll get fresh content delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

wine | spirits Beer | Cheese | gifts 1701 Baltimore Ave. Kansas City, MO 64108 info@cellarratwine.com 816-221-9463

the beer Judge Certification Program defines style 19C: american brown ale with very specific guidelines. the american brown ale from Civil Life Brewing Co. in st. louis nails every single one, such as malt-rich aromas of chocolate, caramel and toast, medium to moderately high malty and sweet flavors that reinforce the aromatics, and a medium- to full-bodied mouthfeel that washes crisply over the palate. this beer is arguably one of the best examples of 19C brewed in america today; it's an added bonus that it's now sold in cans. thecivillife.com Brothers Brandon and Ryan Nickelson are available to help with beer picks and pairing recommendations at their store, Craft Beer Cellar, a craft beer shop in Clayton, Missouri, with an upcoming location in South City. To learn more, visit craftbeercellar.com/clayton.

SPIRIT

Wheat State DiStilling’S Wheat VoDka written by Jenn tosatto

Provenance: wichita, Kansas (40% abV) Try IT: in a stirred Martini with an orange twist

Founded in 2013, Wheat State Distilling is wichita, Kansas’ first legal distillery. its focus is field-to-bottle spirits; it even has a tracker on its website where you can enter the batch number on the bottle, and it will tell you exactly how your spirit was made. wheat state’s vodka is a fine example of the best use of local Kansas grains. the mash bill is 55 percent wheat and 45 percent corn, resulting in a very smooth, silky mouthfeel with a slight hint of wheat on the nose and palate. it’s that rich mouthfeel that makes it really shine in a classic Martini. save your olives: an orange twist gives it the perfect finishing touch. wheatstatedistilling.com You can find Jenn Tosatto running the bar at Mission Taco Joint's Kansas City location. She also loves donating her skills to many charity events around the city, as well as working private events. Inspired Local Food Culture

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PROMOTION PROMOTION

PROMOTION

The

GourmeT The KiTchen GourmeT KiTchen

Living& Living& Cooking Cooking

Trendy touches, dramatic details and creative color choices can turn your kitchen into a haven at home. written by bethany christo

STreAmLined deSign STL

Trends come and go, but the move toward transitional and contemporary design in the STL kitchen has been steadily growing for several years and now holds a solid lead with homeowners seeking a change Trends come and go, but the in style. According move to a recent toward transitional and study by Houzz and confirmed design in the contemporary by the local expertskitchen at has been steadily BECk/ALLEn CABinETRY , growing for several years and cleaner lines and sophisticated now holds a solid lead with finishes, like the gray stain and seeking a change homeowners aluminum doors seen in this in style. According to a recent recently completed butler’s study by Houzz and confirmed pantry in St. Louis, by arethe here to experts at local stay. beckallencabinetry.com BECk/ALLEn CABinETRY, cleaner lines and sophisticated finishes, like the gray stain and aluminum doors seen in this recently completed butler’s pantry in St. Louis, are here to stay. beckallencabinetry.com

STreAmLined deSign

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march 2018

sgf

Trendy touches, dramatic details and creative color choices can turn your kitchen into a haven at home.

HoT CoLor And TeCH

written by bethany christo

The hottest trends in appliances revolve around color choices, says Judy Bilyeu, corporate marketing director at METRo APPLiAnCES & MoRE in Springfield and Joplin, missouri. “Slate, black stainless and sunset bronze are just a few of the new colors on the market,” she says. She adds kitchen-appliance technology has seen a boon recently, as well, with the capability to turn the oven on and start the dishwasher with the MO sgf touch of a phone or a voice command. in spring, homeowners should start thinking about upgrading outdoor space: in addition options, this can around now include dishwasher, The hottest trendstoingrill appliances revolve color achoices, says Judy Bilyeu, metroappliancesandmore.com ice machine, refrigerator, beer marketing tap and more. corporate director at METRo APPLiAnCES & MoRE in Springfield and

HoT CoLor And TeCH

Joplin, missouri. “Slate, black stainless and sunset bronze are just a few of the new colors on the market,” she says. She adds kitchen-appliance technology has seen a boon recently, as well, with the capability to turn the oven on and start the dishwasher with the touch of a phone or a voice command. in spring, homeowners should start thinking about upgrading outdoor space: in addition to grill options, this can now include a dishwasher, ice machine, refrigerator, beer tap and more. metroappliancesandmore.com

PROMOTION PROMOTION STL

HiT THe

LiGHTs

in its 50 years in business, st. Louis-based METRO LIGHTING has seen STL many innovations and technologies emerge in the field of home lighting. For the kitchen, general manager Matt in its 50 years in business, Gagnepain says the st. Louis-based METRO high-tech undercabinet LIGHTING has seen many lighting and switchinnovations system and technologies from adorne eliminates emerge in the field of home clutter. He adds that there’sFor the kitchen, lighting. never too much light in general manager Matt a kitchen: “do it right up Gagnepain says the front, and you’ll never high-tech undercabinet regret it.” Layers oflighting lightingand switch system are especially important from adorne eliminates in the kitchen, fromclutter. Led He adds that there’s in-cabinet accent lights never too much light in in glass-front cabinets to a kitchen: “do it right up warm, inviting lights overand theyou’ll never front, dining area and island and regret it.” Layers of lighting pendant lights over the sink. are especially important metrolightingcenters.com in the kitchen, from Led

HiT THe

LiGHTs

in-cabinet accent lights in glass-front cabinets to warm, inviting lights over the dining area and island and pendant lights over the sink. metrolightingcenters.com

PROMOTION suBWaY cOncePT subway tiles are cropping up everywhere, from the most fashionable kitchen backsplashes to the walls of the new York underground – stl for good reason. aside from being sturdy and versatile, subway tiles are cropping the classic and stylish up everywhere, from the “The overall trend that i’m seeing in the st. Louis area is open design of subway tiles can most fashionable kitchen shelving replacing some of the wall cabinets,” says Julie Baum be transformed with myriad backsplashes to the walls of of BAUMHOUSE DESIGN , on the latest in kitchen designs. colors and finishes, from the new York underground – for stl finishes for perimeter cabinets and She’s also seen mixed mirrored metallic to cheery good reason. aside from being islands and painting the upper cabinets a different color than yellow, or laid in patterns to sturdy and versatile, the classic the base cabinets. cabinet colors are trending toward darker add intrigue. You can also and stylish design of subway paint, like black, darker grays ortrend navythat bluei’m (her personal add interest to your subway “The overall seeing in the st. Louis area is open tiles can be transformed with favorite) mixed with the white or lighter color cabinets. “clean says Julie Baum tile through classic beveling shelving replacing some of the wall cabinets,” myriad colors and finishes, from and sleek countersofare what everyoneDESIGN wants – no clutter,” or through an antique white BAUMHOUSE , on the latest in kitchen designs. mirrored metallic to cheery she says, adding that small appliances are often hidden in finish to fit spaces of all kinds. She’s also seen mixed finishes for perimeter cabinets and yellow, or laid in patterns to a cabinet with rollout shelf trays or in a strategically placed islands and painting the upper cabinets a different color than add intrigue. You can also add appliance garage so don’t impede countertop thethey base cabinets. cabinet colorsuse. are trending toward darker interest to your subway tile baumhousedesign.com paint, like black, darker grays or navy blue (her personal through classic beveling or favorite) mixed with the white or lighter color cabinets. “clean through an antique white finish and sleek counters are what everyone wants – no clutter,” to fit spaces of all kinds. she says, adding that small appliances are often hidden in a cabinet with rollout shelf trays or in a strategically placed stl appliance garage so they don’t impede countertop use. baumhousedesign.com como

suBWaY cOncePT

cLuTTeRFRee, cLean and sLeek

FORM and FuncTiOn

although a kitchen sink and faucet can add a subtle yet striking impact tostl the design of a kitchen, it more importantly como must be practical, durable and perform daily tasks seamlessly. although a kitchen sink and KC right When choosing the sink and faucet can add a subtle yet BATH, faucet at FERGUSON striking impact to the design of KITCHEN & LIGHTING a kitchen, it more importantly GALLERY, which has locations must be practical, durable and across Missouri, the team perform recommends looking for daily ones tasks that seamlessly. When choosing “will work well, withstand years the right sink and BATH, faucet at FERGUSON of daily use and look good doing

FORM and FuncTiOn

cOLOR TRends

KITCHEN Your kitchen’s color palette so often depends on the it.” Visiting the showroom and& LIGHTING , which has locations GALLERY design and style of the rest of your home. One easy perusing the range of sinks, from across Missouri, the team way to make a statement is to select a signature color durable to elegant to functional, recommends for your kitchen. The 2018 Pantone color of the Year is helpful, as is bringing in a looking for ones that “will work was announced in January – ultra Violet – which could color swatch, backsplash, well, withstand years of daily use and be a trendy and vibrant option. The hue is described as faucet-hole measurements andlook good doing Your kitchen’s color palette so often depends on the it.” Visiting the showroom and a dramatic, provocative blue-based purple that evokes spout preferences. For example, design and style of the rest of your home. One easy perusing the range of sinks, from originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking – definitely a straight spout might be cheaper, way to make a statement is to select a signature durable to elegant not neutral. consider kitchen counter appliances like but it makes it harder to fill big pots,to functional, color for your kitchen. The 2018 Pantone color of is helpful, is bringing in a an espresso maker or stand mixer, or start small with and high-arc spouts might as splash the Year was announced in January – ultra Violet – color swatch, backsplash, glassware, dinnerware and/or table linens. in shallow sinks. ferguson.com which could be a trendy and vibrant option. The hue faucet-hole measurements and is described as a dramatic, provocative blue-based spout preferences. For example, purple that evokes originality, ingenuity and visionary a straight spout might be cheaper, thinking – definitely not neutral. Consider kitchen but it makes it harder to fill big pots, counter appliances like an espresso maker or stand and high-arc spouts might splash STL mixer, or start small with glassware, dinnerware in shallow sinks. ferguson.com and/or table linens. Outdoor kitchens are becoming a more commonly

cOLOR TRends

Take iT OuTside

beading adds subtle sparkle

requested amenity during new construction, as well as during a backyard remodel. according to Rick Forshaw Jr. at FORSHAW in st. Louis, integrating a patio cover or roof enables installation of flush ceiling heaters soSTL that you can enjoy the space from early spring all the way through late fall. “We’ve kitchens are becoming found that when Outdoor customers are starting a larger a more commonly requested amenity during new construction, as well as project, adding some small amenities like heaters during remodel.cost,” according to Rick Forshaw creates lots of value for aa backyard small incremental FORSHA W in st. Louis, integrating a patio cover Jr. at he says. Top customer requests for outdoor kitchens or roof enables installation of flush ceiling heaters include gas grills, ceramic charcoal smokers, so that can enjoy the spaceand from early spring outdoor refrigeration andyou undercounter storage all the way through late fall. “We’ve found that when trash disposal. forshaws.com customers are starting a larger project, adding some small amenities like heaters creates lots of value for a small incremental cost,” he says. Top customer requests for outdoor kitchens include gas grills, ceramic charcoal smokers, outdoor refrigeration and undercounter storage and trash disposal. forshaws.com

beading adds subtle sparkle

Take iT OuTside

Inspired Local Food Culture

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march 2018

all ears

Find homegrown corn tortillas at Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City on p. 44. photography by amber deery

Mac’s LocaL Buys WriTTen by liz Miller

phoTogrAphy by jAcklyn Meyer

ST. LOUIS. before opening Mac’s Local Buys in the clayton/Tamm neighborhood last year, chris Mckenzie was well known in St. louis for his cSA of the same name. The brick-and-mortar shop allows you to browse an expanded inventory of the same local products, from fresh loaves of sourdough and naturally leavened country loaf by Mr. Meowski’s and joey Vitale, respectively; grass-fed beef from rain crow ranch in Doniphan, Missouri; poultry and eggs from buttonwood Farm in california, Missouri; vegetables from Such and Such Farm in De Soto, Missouri, and Side lot Farms in benton park; and pork from Meadowlark Farm, in cuba, Missouri. There are plenty of shelf-stable local items to complement the fresh, including core + rind’s vegan cashew cheesy Sauce; buttermilk biscuit mix from juniper chef john perkins; honey from robin’s honey co. in St. charles, Missouri; and pasta from Midwest pasta co. The market also features lovely pieces of functional pottery by justin leszcz of yellowTree, indulgent whipped body butters from butter love by l.c. and stylish crocheted scarves and “beer mittens” (a glove/ koozie hybrid) by DottieQ.

in addition to Mckenzie’s long-standing relationships with local farmers and producers through his cSA and now retail store, he also cooks with many of the same fresh ingredients at Mac’s local eats, the excellent burger joint he opened inside Tamm Avenue grill next door to the shop. 1221 Tamm Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, 314.479.8155, macslocalbuys.com

WriTTen by nAncy STileS

uncommon goods’ portable cheese melt utensil

williams sonoma classic cazuela

hot, creamy raclette scraped right onto your plate is all the rage at restaurants; melt that and other cheese at home with this portable cheese melter. The cheese is heated with three tea-light candles ]in just four minutes, and the fold-up design makes it easy to pack for picnics or camping trips.

A traditional terracotta cazuela is a must-have for authentic Spanish and Mexican cooking. (Turn to p. 82 for mole recipes you can make in a cazuela.) This version by Williams Sonoma is made in Spain by a company that’s been turning out cazuelas since 1821. The heat-retaining terracotta is oven- and grill-safe, works beautifully on the stove and will keep your food sizzling even after it hits the table.

For more information or to purchase the melt utensil, visit uncommongoods.com. phoTo courTeSy uncoMMon gooDS

For more information or to purchase the cazuela, visit williams-sonoma.com. phoTo courTeSy WilliAMS SonoMA

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

Grand Opening

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locally and family owned We focus on quality and service. We service both major chains as well as independent restaurants, schools, daycares, hospitals, nursing homes, and convenience stores. Our company was founded on produce and dairy, but have since broadened our lines and have expanded in to meats, bread, frozen goods, paper products, and chemicals.

9910 Page Avenue Saint Louis , MO. 63132 (314) 426-1300 moorefooddist.com

edited by bethany christo | photography courtesy caffetteria and the mixx

Vibrant Flavors Coming Soon

Opening this month, Caffetteria is introducing thoughtful recipes made with love to The Shops of Prairie Village in Kansas. Caffetteria’s mission is to share real food and real moments with your family, friends and community. The menu features fresh ingredients with wholesome options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as beer, wine and specialty cocktails. Caffetteria blends its real-food philosophy with an eclectic, fast-casual dining experience. You’re welcome to watch your meal prepared from scratch in the open kitchen and then dine in the café, or choose from the many grab-and-go options from the marketplace.

Spring Specialty Salads Sister concept to Caffetteria is The Mixx, with Kansas City-area locations in the Country Club Plaza, Power & Light District and Overland Park, Kansas. The Mixx is known for its array of healthy, bright and flavorful salads and sandwiches that can be enhanced with more than 50 “Mixx-In” ingredients. This spring, try the Thai Salmon Salad, made with grilled Atlantic salmon, julienne carrots, English cucumbers, edamame, black sesame seeds, wild field greens and napa cabbage that’s tossed with housemade vinaigrette and topped with Thai chile sauce. Packed with vegetables and healthy greens, this specialty salad is a light and delicious option for spring. Caffetteria | 25 on the Mall | Prairie Village, Kansas 816.756.2300 | caffetteriakc.com The Mixx | multiple locations | mixxingitup.com Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

Nopalito

marissa gencarelli

N eo o

Written By Jackson roman

q&A

co-owner, yoli tortilleria WrITTeN bY LISA WATerMAN GrAY

pHoToGrApHY bY AMber deerY

KANSAS CITY. When Kansas City native and University of Kansas student Mark Gencarelli met Sonora, Mexico, native and University of Arizona student Marissa Tapia Burr during a semester in Italy, little did they know that marriage, children and a thriving business would follow. In 2015 they begin making tortillas as KCMEX Tortilleria, now called Yoli Tortilleria. Steeping non-GMO, organic corn kernels for hours, the couple rinses and finely grinds them, using no chemical additives or salt to make their tortillas.

Why did you recently change your company’s name? Yoli comes from the Aztec word “to live.” For us, it’s a way of life – reliving those experiences we’ve had when eating amazing food. Why did you want to open a tortilleria? We had been going back and forth to Mexico and we missed the tortillas – especially corn tortillas – after every visit. The big thing that makes our tortillas different is they’re not made from masa flour: We buy Midwestern non-GMO corn and do the traditional nixtamalization process, where we cook the corn in water and slaked lime then stone grind it to make fresh masa. We use very simple ingredients, which means you have to do a really good job making [the tortillas]. Our oven produces about 3,000 per hour. How did you learn to make tortillas? In L.A. we worked with Guillermo Campbell of Campbell Machine Shop. He was building our equipment and wanted to make sure we were well trained. He took us to his own tortilleria where his head tortillero, don Simon, taught us the process. We spent long weekends working under don Simon’s direction. Then he had me grind corn and monitor oven temperature. Mark focused on how

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

to run and fix equipment. He really learned how to create a consistent product. At the end of our trips, we were doing pretty well producing tortillas in L.A. But when we returned to Kansas City, we understood how [local] water properties affect tortillas – you have to adjust flame, speed and moisture. The type of corn makes a difference too. What has the customer response been like? We’ve had amazing responses from local chefs who focus on quality and freshness. We’re especially thankful to chef Patrick Ryan [of Port Fonda] who, early on, was so excited about what we were doing and understood the labor that went into producing the ultimate tortilla. We are also in Genessee Royale Bistro and Brewery Emperial; we greatly admire Bill Crooks and chef Alex Staab at Chicken N Pickle, [who use our tortillas,] for the types of creations they do. We’ve been at Local Pig since November, and home delivery through Shatto Milk Co. and Happy Food Co. What’s next for the company? We only make tortillas [right] now. We’ll continue to create unique items that exemplify authentic Mexican cuisine. In January we started doing a taco recipe each week as we launched our blog. It’s a huge undertaking to ensure we have unique recipes, but I think it will be fun. We’ll also introduce more retail outlets in early summer. 2828 Guinotte Ave., Kansas City, Missouri, facebook.com/kcmextortilleria

Hard work and mastery of traditional mexican flavors have lead Gonzalo Guzmán on an improbable journey from dishwasher to 35-year-old chef and co-owner of perhaps san Francisco’s hottest mexican spot, nopalito. in his new cookbook Nopalito: a Mexican Kitchen, written with stacy adimando, he shares not only recipes from his acclaimed kitchen, but delightfully unpretentious insight into his love affair with masa, chiles and the other ingredients and techniques that define mexican cooking. the book is divided into Background and Basics, small Plates, Big Plates, Drinks and Desserts and nopalito salsas. recipes are preceded by brief introductory paragraphs explaining the dish’s origin and role in the local cuisine, as well as a few helpful hints to keep in mind before starting prep. the accompanying pictures are striking, vivid and sure to induce anticipatory hunger. start with ceviche Nayarita de camarón, a basic shrimp ceviche with lime juice, red onion, serrano chiles, cucumbers and carrots, then move on to tacos de cochinita, with pork marinated in Guzmán’s recado rojo recipe. by Gonzalo Guzmán with Stacy Adimando, tenspeedpress.com

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Spring is an ideal time of the year to host events and festivals for foodies to enjoy. In this special advertising section, you can profile your upcoming event, with a focus on events that highlight wine, beer and food. PR OM OT ION

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ma r c h 2 018

Red Kitchen tamales WrItten By Jenny VerGArA pHotoGrApHy By ASHLey DeCK

LENEXa, Ks. Red Kitchen Tamales originally opened as a once-a-week tamale shop inside Lenexa public Market in Lenexa, Kansas, but as word spread about its Mexican-style street food, chef-owner Alejandra de la Fuente was able to quit her day job and open a full-time stand in the market. Visit early, as she starts slinging her exceptional breakfast burritos at 7:30am, six days a week. Stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs, potato, cheese and your choice of chorizo, sausage or bacon, the tortillas are from Caramelo’s, made locally in Lawrence; she also offers chilaquiles with salsa verde, shredded chicken, Mexican crema and cheese on Sundays. For lunch, depending on the day, de la Fuente is either serving her namesake tamales filled with pork, chicken or vegetables, or offering burritos and tortas, such as a chicken Milanesa sandwich on crusty telera rolls, griddled and stuffed with beans, avocado, onion, tomato, and house-pickled carrots and jalapeños. red Kitchen tamales are available tuesdays and Saturdays only, and are sold individually or by the dozen for $20. Don’t miss the newest offering, a unique dessert tamale with strawberry filling offered as a special.

8750 Penrose Lane, Lenexa, Kansas, facebook.com/redkitchentamales

artisan products hacienda tortilla chips rOCK hiLL, MO. Founded in 1968 by

norberto rodriguez, a native of a small town on the yucatán peninsula, Hacienda has established itself as a St. Louis institution in its 50 years in business. Hacienda has a number of noteworthy items on its menu, but perhaps none more iconic than its tortilla chips. thin, crispy and lightly salted, these preservative-free yellow-corn masa chips are famous for spoiling appetites before your entrée even arrives. Hacienda’s tortilla chips, as well as several varieties of its housemade salsa, can be found in more than 100 St. Louis-area retailers including Dierbergs, Schnucks, Shop ’n Save and Straub’s. haciendastl.com pHoto CourteSy HACIenDA MexICAn FooDS

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march 2018

WrItten By JACKSon roMAn

5gen sweet & spicy chunky salsa harrisburg, MO. Based in Harrisburg, Missouri, 5Gen is named for the brand’s ketchup and chili sauce recipes, passed down over five generations of founder Kim Ham-Lanes’ family. Don’t overlook its Sweet & Spicy Chunky Salsa; what began as a hobby has grown into an award-winning business for Ham-Lanes, and the salsa has shared in the success. In 2016, it took second place in the medium salsa category at the World Hot Sauce Awards. 5Gen salsa can be found at several local retailers throughout Missouri, as well as online.

5gensalsa.com pHoto By AAron ottIS

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APRIL 14 – SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

Tickets on sale March 1

Smithsonian A SMITHSONIAN AFFILIATE

Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission is organized by the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibition is made possible by the support of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, Joe Clark, Bruce R. McCaw Family Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, John and Susann Norton, and Gregory D. and Jennifer Walston Johnson. Transportation services for Destination Moon are provided by FedEx.

Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

TRY US FOR YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION! Chi Mangia Bene Vive Bene! “To Eat Well is to Live Well” Proudly Serving Authentic Italian Food in a Family Atmosphere. Birthday, Graduation, Retirement, Corporate Parties! Let Us Cater Your Special Occasion Try Our Party Pans For A Delicious Meal For Any Size Group Prime Rib Dinners the last weekend of every month Now selling our Signature Salad Dressing and Pasta Sauce. Bottled with love by our family for your family. Reservations Recommended, Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Saturday 11am-10pm • Sunday Noon-9pm • Closed Monday

5442 Old Hwy 21• Imperial • 636.942.2405 • trattoria-giuseppe.com

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY BRUNCH OR DINNER! Enjoy Our Award Winning Breakfast Menu With Our Delicious Boozy Breakfast Cocktails & Chef Mehmet's Whole Roasted Lamb. Lunch: Tues-Fri :: Dinner: Tues-Sun :: Sunday Brunch Wine Flights: Tues-Wed :: Happy Hour: Tues-Fri Available for Private Parties and Catering

Turkish Mediterranean Cuisine. Known for our Meze (Small Plates), Lamb Dishes, Fresh Fish and Excellent Wine Selection.

6671 Chippewa Street • St. Louis • 314.645.9919 • ayasofiacuisine.com

Bring this in for $10 off per person “Mayhem in Mayberry”

Welcome to the annual “Miss Mayberry”contest. YOU decide who will walk away with the crown as the contestants are chosen from the audience. They will be judged on beauty, poise, cookin’ skills and a new category this year – hog callin.’ Join Sheriff Andy, Deputy Blarney and Aint Bee for a night of merriment and murder in this interactive comedy mystery served with a 4-course meal to Die for! Call for reservations today at 314-533-9830 Coupon valid through April 29, 2018. Not valid for groups.

Bissell Mansion Dinner Theatre

4426 Randall Place • St. Louis • 314.533.9830 • bissellmansion.com

Destination: Waterloo, Illinois

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march 2018

asian CaFe Bar & Grill auRant in st ChaRles st Re e es am n et Vi d an #1 Chinese

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from our house to yours since 1981

Sun-Thur 11am-9pm Fri-SaT 11am-10pm CloSed 3pm-5pm mon-Fri

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8396 Musick Memorial Dr maileestl.com @maileestl

Now in the Central West End An Oil & Vinegar Emporium Help us to welcome our newest Extra Virgin Olive Oils... Including three big winners at the New York International Olive Oil Competition. Including oils from Italy, Spain, Sicily, Greece and California Shop with us for your gourmet salt, pasta and seasoning needs. NEW for 2018, HEMP SEED PASTA. Limited Quantities Available. Check Website for Class Availability • diolivas.com St. Charles 617 S Main St St Charles, MO 63301 (P) 636.724.8282

Central West End 115 N. Euclid between West Pine and Lindell

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

Since 1893

24 Hrs. A Day, 7 Days A Week Just east of 3400 S. Kingshighway We accept Discover, Visa, Mastercard and American Express

4821 Fairview Ave., St. Louis • 314.832.1555 • zollingerfurniture.com

Farm to You Market

Home of the Happy Pigs

An Evening of Sampling at the Market

Pasture Raised in Washington, MO by the Todd Geisert Family

www.ToadsPigs.com

Farm to You, LLC

Washington, Mo

March 31

Drug Free and

March 8

Todd Geisert Farms

Thursday, March 8th 4:30 to 7:30 Enjoy the tastes of the many fine local products sold at the Market including meat, cheese, beer, wine and spirits

Farm to Table Dinner

Saturday, March 31st at 6:30 5 course Prix Fixe Menu Plus Pairings Reservations required / seating is limited

1-84-Got-Bacon

Www.FarmTOYouMArket.com Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

ChesterďŹ eld 633 Spirit of St. Louis Blvd. 636.519.1611 Maryland Heights 11585 Lackland Rd. 314.677.6713 beckallencabinetry.com

wildly chayote

Bursting with herbal freshness yet still robust and warming, chayote squash mole verde is perfect for early spring. Turn to p. 54 for the recipe. photography by jennifer silverberg

healthy appetite

Three-Bean Taco Soup Story, recipe and photography by KriSten doyle

Three-Bean Taco Soup Why buy taco seasoning when it's so easy to make it yourself at home? This simple homemade spice blend adds warmth and depth to our three-bean soup. To easily make it meat-free, just swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth or stock. ServeS | 6 |

1 ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ 1 1 1 1 1 3 1

tsp ground chile powder tsp garlic powder tsp crushed red pepper flakes tsp dried oregano tsp paprika tsp ground cumin tsp sea salt tsp freshly ground black pepper 15-oz can black beans 15-oz can pinto beans 15-oz can kidney beans cups chicken broth 10-oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus more for garnish 6 Tbsp shredded Cheddar cheese or crumbled queso fresco, divided toasted or fried tortilla strips, for garnish

| preparation | in a small mixing bowl, combine first 8 ingredients and stir. Set aside. in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add black, pinto and kidney beans, including liquid in cans, and stir together with chicken broth, tomatoes with chiles, spice blend and cilantro. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until beans are cooked through and soup is piping hot. ladle soup into 6 serving bowls. top each bowl with 1 tablespoon cheese, then cilantro and tortilla strips. Serve warm.

%PG

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tacos are a family favorite in our house. every so often, though, we like to shake up taco night, and that’s where three-bean taco soup comes in. it’s an ideal fall, winter and early spring alternative to satisfy taco tuesday cravings. the soup is also a cinch to assemble: the convenience of canned beans and other simple ingredients ensures that a nutritious dinner will be on the table in just under 30 minutes. if you’re cooking for fewer than six, pack up your leftovers and enjoy taco soup for lunch the next day – the spices and flavors will only continue to develop and deepen overnight. Kristen Doyle is the creator of award-winning website dineanddish.net. Since early 2006, she has been sharing her favorite recipes, photos and life stories with an ever-growing audience of engaged readers. Beyond her blog, Doyle has expanded her freelance food and travel writing and photography career to include work with major brands as well as providing editorial content and direction for nationwide print publications and websites. Follow her on social media @dineanddish.

Promote one or more of your brands in Feast Magazine’s 2018 Beer Guide. The section will highlight all tastes, textures and aromas of beer. Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your brand in this useful guide for Feast readers.

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Coming in the april issue Call 314-475-1298 for more information Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

yippie chayote!

story and recipe by shannon weber photography by jennifer silverberg

Chayote SquaSh Mole Verde I can’t think of a better way to use chayote than in mole verde. Mole verde bursts with herbal freshness, yet it’s still robust and warming – ideal for chilly spring days. serves

| 4 to 6 |

1 3 12

cup raw unsalted pepitas Tbsp olive oil, divided oz tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roughly chopped ¾ cup sweet yellow onion, roughly chopped 2 medium fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and roughly chopped 1¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves 2 large Swiss chard leaves, torn, thick stems removed 3 cloves garlic, sliced 1 Tbsp dried oregano 2½ tsp fresh thyme leaves 2 tsp kosher salt 3½ cups unsalted chicken stock, divided 2½ lbs chayote squash (3 to 4 squash), peeled, quartered and sliced in ½-inch pieces 1½ cups fresh or frozen corn (thawed if frozen) 8 to 12 8-inch flour or corn tortillas 2 to 3 cups cooked white or brown rice, to serve 1½ cups cooked black beans, to serve 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled

. 82 to Turn to p about re learn mo ole dth of m the brea ic x Me o, sauces in two more including inspired lregiona recipes.

| preparation | in a dry skillet over medium heat, toast pepitas until golden, 5 minutes. transfer to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to a fine powder; set aside. in a dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. add next 9 ingredients and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is fragrant and softened. transfer mixture to the bowl of a blender along with pulverized pepitas and 1 cup stock; blend on high until very smooth. transfer back into dutch oven, add remaining stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until mole has reduced and thickened slightly. add squash and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until fork-tender. while squash simmers, heat remaining oil in a small skillet over high heat; add corn and cook until charred, stirring frequently, 5 to 7 minutes. set aside.

| to serve | heat tortillas for serving. serve rice, beans, tortillas and chayote with mole sauce family-style on a large lipped platter. garnish chayote with charred corn, scallions and queso fresco; serve immediately.

mystery shopper

meet: Chayote What Is It? Chayote is an ancient gourd native to Central Mexico and the Andes Mountains that resembles a pillowy, wrinkled pear. The Aztecs used it from tip to tip, eating the roots and fruit and weaving the vines into strong ropes. Today, you can find chayote all over the world; all it needs is a few hours of good sunlight and some warmth to grow and flourish. It cuts like an apple, crisp and mild, with a pleasing grassy finish and a fresh, lightly herbaceous aroma. What do I do WIth It? Think of chayote like an overweight, slightly hairy

zucchini, dexterous and abounding in both savory and sweet applications. In Latin American countries, locals use it in sweet pies and breads. If you prefer savory, its delicate, malleable flavor is an ideal foil for more commanding flavor profiles in curries, soups or stews. To eat chayote raw, simply peel and slice it thinly into strips or matchsticks and add it to hearty salads or slaw. Always peel chayote before eating, but when you do, use caution: A light substance oozes from the gourd which can cause mild skin irritation. As your resident guinea pig, I peeled it gloveless, and my sensitive skin only briefly felt a little tight and dry afterwards.

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 that the words “I can’t” should never apply to food preparation and that curiosity can lead to wonderful things, in both the kitchen and life.

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ma r c h 2 018

quick fix

story and recipe by Gabrielle deMichele photoGraphy by jennifer silverberG

LentiL-Quinoa-SwiSS Chard SaLad with avoCado and Lime vinaigrette serves | 4 To 6 |

6 1 1 ¾ ½ ½ 1 ½

cups vegetable stock cup lentils, rinsed cup red quinoa, rinsed tsp ground cumin tsp chile powder tsp ground chipotle pepper tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 1 cup olive oil, divided 3 cups cauliflower, sliced into small florets 2 cloves garlic, smashed ½ sweet onion, sliced into half moons 1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed, stalks removed, sliced into 1-inch shreds, divided ½ head red cabbage, sliced into 1-inch pieces, divided ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes) 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 2 avocados, pitted, cut into slices and scooped out 2 limes, sliced into wedges

| preparation | preheat oven to 425°f. in a large saucepan with a lid over medium heat, add stock. bring to a boil and add lentils and quinoa. cook according to package directions. set aside. in a large mixing bowl, combine next 5 ingredients and ½ cup olive oil. toss cauliflower florets, garlic and onion in oil mixture. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until cauliflower takes on some color and onion is tender. remove baking sheet from oven and spread ½ swiss chard and cabbage over cauliflower. roast for 3 to 5 minutes more. remove from oven and transfer to a large serving bowl. toss roasted vegetable mixture with cooked lentils and quinoa and remaining raw swiss chard and cabbage until evenly combined. in a small mixing bowl, combine remaining oil, lime juice and vinegar. drizzle salad with oil mixture and toss; taste and adjust seasoning as desired. evenly distribute among 4 to 6 salad bowls; serve with avocado slices over top and lime wedges on the side.

LentiL-Quinoa-SwiSS Chard SaLad

With AvocAdo And Lime vinAigrette after a long day at the office or a grueling workout, it’s not always easy to motivate ourselves to cook a healthy meal – even if that’s exactly what we’re craving. this warm southwestern-inspired salad offers plenty of what’s good for you in one dish: hearty lentils and red quinoa; flavorful roasted cauliflower, swiss chard and cabbage; and fresh avocado tossed in a bright lime-red wine vinegar dressing. although extremely filling, this sunny salad will leave you feeling light. if you’re cooking for just one or two, pack up your leftovers and enjoy them for lunch throughout the week.

chef’s tip

the Menu

THE cuTTiNG WEDGE. to properly slice a lime into wedges,

• Tortilla Soup With Avocado • Lentil-Quinoa-Swiss Chard Salad • Chicken Quesadillas • Stewed Berries With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

first remove the top and bottom of the fruit. place lime on its flat end and slice in half. slice each half into three equal wedges. remove pith from wedges before squeezing out juice.

get hands-on: Join Feast Magazine and schnucks Cooks Cooking school at 6pm on thu., March 29, at the des Peres, Missouri, location to make the dishes in this month’s menu. tickets are just $45 for a night of cooking, dining and wine. RsVP at nourish. schnucks.com/schnucks-cooks or call 314.909.1704. In this class you’ll learn how to make warming and flavorful tortilla soup from scratch. You’ll also learn how to stew fresh berries to top your favorite vanilla bean ice cream.

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sweet ideas

CoConut-Lime tres LeChes story and recipe by christy augustin photography by jacklyn meyer

CoConut-Lime tres LeChes This recipe calls for six egg yolks and nine egg whites, so be sure to reserve the whites from your six yolks. serves | 12 |

Cake 2½ cups cake flour 2 cups granulated sugar, divided 1½ tsp salt 1½ tsp baking powder 5 oz canola oil 6 egg yolks ½ cup water 2 tsp vanilla extract zest and juice of 1 lime, divided 9 egg whites 1½ tsp cream of tartar assembly 1 13½- to 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 cup whole milk 2 cups heavy cream 1 pinch salt ¼ tsp vanilla extract or dark rum ¼ cup powdered sugar 1 cup toasted coconut flakes, for garnish

| preparation – cake | preheat oven to 375°F. in a large mixing bowl, sift flour, 1¼ cups sugar, salt and baking powder. in a separate bowl, whisk together oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lime juice. in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. add remaining ¾ cup sugar in a slow stream, whipping until medium-stiff peaks form. using a hand-held whisk, mix wet ingredients into dry. using a rubber spatula, stir ¹⁄₃ whipped egg-white mixture into batter. Fold in remaining egg-white mixture in 2 batches. pour batter into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; bake for 25 minutes. cake should be a dark golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in center. allow to cool in pan at room temperature for 45 minutes.

| assembly | With cake still in pan, using a skewer or fork, poke small holes all over cake. in a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3 milks and pour over cake in 2 batches; let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes between pours. cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream, salt, vanilla or rum, powdered sugar and reserved lime zest until soft peaks form. spoon whipped cream over cake and sprinkle with coconut flakes. serve cake in pan.

Pan tres leches, or “three milks bread,” gets its name from its traditional preparation: A sponge cake is soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream, resulting in a light and airy texture with a rich and milky flavor. It’s the perfect marriage of custard and cake. I’ve changed things a bit in this version by swapping out the evaporated milk for coconut milk and throwing in lime zest, which both add vibrant flavor. (Feel free to add a drop or three of rum, as well!) I’ve also replaced the heavy cream with whole milk. I find plain spongecake to be too easy to overmix, and it often deflates, so here we’re making a chiffon cake that’s lightened with whipped egg whites. This cake mirrors the texture of a spongecake, yet with a fail-safe that assures a nice rise in the oven: baking powder. There’s no need to butter your baking pan before pouring in the cake batter – it will actually inhibit a chiffon cake from rising. Plan ahead when making the cake, as it benefits dramatically from an overnight soak in the refrigerator. 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.

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CORPORATE EVENTS

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18 Planning Planningaaparty partyatatyour yourplace placethis thisspring? spring?Enjoying Enjoyingthe the bounty bountyand and freshness ofofthe theseason season isiseasier easier than thanever ever Planning a freshness party at your place this spring? Enjoying the with withthese these catering catering and and party-theme party-theme suggestions suggestions from bounty and freshness of the season is easier thanfrom ever local localspots spotsacross acrossthe the region. region. Whether Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;rehosting hosting with these catering and party-theme suggestions from inin your your backyard, backyard, garden garden ororan anWhether indoor indoorget-together, get-together, local spots across the region. youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hosting we weyour recommend recommend food food and anddrink drink options from fromaavibrant vibrant in backyard, garden or anoptions indoor get-together, beef beef bruschetta bruschettaplatter platter totohand-decorated hand-decorated cakes cakes totoaa we recommend food and drink options from a vibrant refreshing refreshing cocktail cocktail using usingto Missouri-made Missouri-made vodka. vodka. beef bruschetta platter hand-decorated cakes to a refreshing cocktail using Missouri-made vodka.

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Local caterers offer tasty dish, drinkSTLand The Art of Entertaining 8796 Big Bend Blvd. dessert ideas for your Webster Groves, MO spring party. 314.963.9899 theaofe.com

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1. A beef bruschetta tray from The Art of Entertaining is a spring best-seller, with sliced baguettes topped with bistro steak, boursin cheese, basil and Parmesan. 2. The Polynesian Poké Bowl at all-new Caffetteria features healthy veggies, Thai dressings and seared tuna and is a vibrant, light catering option for spring. 3. Enjoy whole pies and specialty cakes to go from Rye’s Country Club Plaza bakeshop for your spring occasion, including Easter and Mother’s Day. 4. The spring flavors at Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard inspired the Starlight Gazer drink, made with its Starlight wine, triple sec and ginger ale. 5. Serving boards complement any occasion and make thoughtful hostess gifts. Try a walnut tasting board or tidbit dish with interchangable ornaments from Christopher's.

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march 2018

promotion 6.

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6. A Parisian-themed event, like this setup from Ces & Judy’s Catering, can be achieved with unique cheese plates, fresh breads and a light, springy color scheme. 7. Try Southern-style catering with global influence from Spiced Just Right, like short-rib wonton tacos topped with Asian coleslaw. 8. Whether you’re planning a small office lunch or big backyard bash, Weber Grill Restaurant is the perfect choice for your next catered event. 9. Having a lawn or garden party? The Salty Dog cocktail is made with DogMaster Distillery vodka, grapefruit juice and grenadine. Serve with a salted rim. 10. Fire up the smoker for barbecue favorites like candied bacon from Beast Craft BBQ Co. – the restaurant also caters smoked turkey, prime brisket, pit beans and more. 11. For a lunch or dinner party, Favazza’s on The Hill's crowd-pleasing authentic Italian cuisine can be catered buffet-style for an easy at-home entertaining option. Inspired Local Food Culture

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| 68 |

catch the wave

With regional Mexican cuisine on the rise in cities across the U.S., the Midwest is seeing an uptick in authentic coastal fare.

| 75 |

paradise on a stick

In Kansas City, Paleterias Tropicana is building an ice-cream empire.

| 82 |

holy mole

Acclaimed St. Louis chef Tello Carreรณn gives diners a taste of the rich, complex sauce he grew up with in his native Guanajuato, Mexico.

| 90 |

ยกViVa Frescas!

Brighten up spring days with refreshing aguas frescas, served straight-up or as the foundation for cooling cocktails. PhoTo of The jUnGLe BIrd CoCKTAIL (P. 91) AT MISSIon TACo joInT BY zACh BAUMAn

hen St. Louis Post-Dispatch restaurant critic Ian Froeb first visited the original location of Mariscos El Gato on Cherokee Street in late 2016, he had no idea what to expect. He was greeted – as is every guest – with a complimentary plate of Nayarit-style ceviche. The restaurant, which focuses on cuisine from the northern Pacific coast of Mexico, serves it with tostada shells and crackers. “On the side, to add to taste, are lime wedges and a blistering salsa verde. There is more to this salsa than heat, though,” he wrote in his review for the Post-Dispatch. “The flavor is verdant and sparkling with citrus, and each time I finished my ceviche, I kept dipping my remaining tostada shells and crackers in it and, when my main dishes arrived, my french fries, too.” Reflecting back on his first meal at Mariscos, Froeb still sings the praises of that Nayarit-style starter. It was incredibly simple, yet unlike anything he’d had in town. “The fish ceviche was certainly an eye-opener,” he says. Such eye-opening flavor is a departure from the Tex-Mex favorites served at so many restaurants across the U.S. “I’ve noticed in the last few years an explosion of people talking about [regional] Mexican cuisine,” Froeb says. “Mariscos El Gato is the perfect example of something that was wholly new and different in the style of the restaurant and specifically the coastal Mexican cuisine.” Interest in and appreciation for regional Mexican cuisine isn’t just a trend in St. Louis – it’s part of a larger wave in the restaurant industry. Froeb points to the opening of renowned Mexico City chef Enrique Olvera’s Cosme in New York City in 2014 as a turning point for regional Mexican food in the U.S. “This was proudly, unapologetically, Mexican cuisine, done by a Mexican chef – not translated, not dumbed down – and people were flocking to it,” he says. “Partly because it was a ‘scene,’ but also because it was great. You see something like Port Fonda come up in Kansas City; you see these seeds start arising of greater interest in Mexican cuisine.” In the 12 years Froeb has been reviewing the St. Louis restaurant scene (first for Riverfront Times and now the Post-Dispatch), he says he’s seen a shift: Where once Tex-Mex restaurants were the most prevalent example of south-of-the-border

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cuisine in town, diners are now seeking out more authentic regional flavors. “There was certainly a knowledge starting to bubble up [a decade ago] that it wasn’t just what we lump together as Tex-Mex or Americanized Mexican food,” Froeb says, “and I think it’s only grown.” Although Tex-Mex standards such as queso dip and fajitas are incredibly popular across the U.S., you won’t likely find them on most menus in Mexico. This fusion of Mexican, Spanish and Texan cuisine is based on Tejano home cooking. In the 19th century, Tejano referred to pre-statehood, Spanish-speaking Texans; British writer Diana Kennedy’s seminal 1972 cookbook The Cuisines of Mexico “drew a line in the sand,” as historians like to say, between “true” Mexican food and Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex is generally identified with beef (a favorite of Texas ranchers), mild Cheddar or processed yellow cheese, flour tortillas and cumin, which traveled to the U.S. by way of England and India, as well as Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands. These ingredients – which are used liberally in Tex-Mex-style tacos, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas – rarely show up on menus in Mexico. On the contrary, in Mexico, you’ll more often find dishes made with pork, corn tortillas, white queso blanco and chiles. According to author, former food critic and Tex-Mex authority Robb Walsh, Tex-Mex as we know it goes back to chili con carne and the “chili queens” of 1880s San Antonio, who had people lining up in open-air plazas for chili and tamales. By the turn of the century, German-born entrepreneur Willie Gebhard invented the mix of dried chiles and spices that many people (erroneously) attribute to Mexico: chile powder. The wave of processed and packaged food in America – as well as fast food – helped spread Mexican cuisine north of the border during the 20th century. In 1991, salsa overtook ketchup as the best-selling condiment in the U.S. Today, Mexican food is the second most popular cuisine in America, with only Chinese ahead of it. Yet like Froeb, diners are increasingly interested in expanding beyond familiar Tex-Mex flavors to get a taste of authentic regional Mexican fare.

PHOTO BY JULIA CALLEO

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“Veracruz-style seafood – that’s where you get your huachinango a la Veracruzana [red snapper], that’s where the shrimp and seafood cocktails originated,” says Gustavo Arellano, former editor-in-chief of OC Weekly and author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. “Seafood from Veracruz, I would argue, is more complex and is more of a chef’s food: It takes longer to prepare and there are more ingredients.” You can find that approach at chef-owner Carlos Falcon’s Jarocho Pescados y Marsicos in Kansas City, Kansas. Falcon hails from Veracruz, a coastal city on the Gulf of Mexico. What makes Veracruz-style seafood stand out are the multicultural influences on the city’s cuisine. Thanks to its bustling port, local ingredients and techniques fuse with those from the Middle East, Spain and the Caribbean. “We have a little bit of everything from Mexico in Veracruz,” Falcon says. “It’s very, very diverse: Gulf shrimp, red snapper, octopus, jackfish, blue crab, oysters – you name it.” At Jarocho, the huachinango a la Veracruzana, or Veracruz-style red snapper, for instance, brings a strong Spanish flavor with capers, garlic, thyme and olives alongside steamed fish. Falcon stresses that some of his dishes are traditional, like the red snapper, and some aren’t, but even in the nontraditional dishes, he and his team always use traditional techniques or ingredients. “We don’t [use] stuff to speed up the process," Falcon says. "No – we respect every single technique in the original recipes, no matter the ingredient or how expensive. We follow the rules when it comes to Mexican techniques.” As Veracruz is well-known for its fresh ceviche, Falcon appropriately serves your choice of shrimp, octopus, blue crab, conch (or all of the above) in a housemade lobster broth with onions, cilantro, olive oil, housemade ketchup and avocado. The Spanish and indigenous flavors of Veracruz are beautifully illustrated in the pulpo encebollado – sautéed Spanish octopus with garlic and onions (pictured left) – as well as the pulpo en su tinta, or octopus in ink (pictured opposite). Here, Spanish octopus is sautéed with garlic, onion, cilantro, oregano and fresh tomatoes and served with octopus and squid ink topped with microgreens.

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The norThern sTaTes of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas are known for beef and are the birthplace of well-known favorites like refried pinto beans and burritos, as well as Mexican cheeses like Chihuahua and queso fresco. A little further south, The norTh Pacific coasT region, which includes Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima, features a wide variety of seafood such as red snapper, marlin, shrimp and octopus, plus most of the world’s tequila production. The souTh Pacific coasT, which encompasses Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, is famous for its seven different Oaxacan moles, as well as native chiles and super-size blandas (corn tortillas).

JAROCHO PHOTOS BY ASHLEY DECK

PICTURED ABOVE: Carlos Falcon, chef-owner of Jarocho Pescados y Mariscos. PICTURED BELOW: The pulpo en su tinta, or octopus in ink.

Falcon’s wife, Sayaka, hails from Okinawa, Japan, so you’ll see a few Japanese influences on Jarocho’s menu, as well, like fried charales (smelt) dipped in rice flour, or his suppliers at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, from which he can get seafood from the ocean to his kitchen in 16 hours. “A lot of people [said] this wasn’t Veracruz cuisine,” Falcon says. “But I tell them it is, because it’s very diverse, especially the city where I’m from. It’s a big, industrial port and people all over the world and all over Mexico come to that city.” It used to be that the best-known seafood joints in Kansas City were Bristol and McCormick & Schmick’s, and none were focused on Mexican food – something Falcon hopes to see change. “I’ve been living in Kansas City for 25 years, and people get tired of the same things. Now with TV shows and social media, time gets shorter, distance gets shorter. We’re exposed to more information, so people are willing to explore a bit more.” Froeb agrees that food media has been a big boost for regional cuisines, including Mexican. “I think back to the food television when I was a kid, watching PBS with my parents in the ’80s,” he says. “It was Julia Child, great chefs and food personalities, but compared to the range of stuff you can learn about now – it’s mind-boggling, in the space of 25 to 30 years, what’s changed. And it reflects in the restaurants that open.”

In Mexico’s southernmost tip, The YucaTán Peninsula (Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán) you’ll find tropical fruits, habanero and lots of achiote, also called annetto seed, a ground spice that’s peppery with a hint of nutmeg. On The Gulf of Mexico, Tabasco and Veracruz are known for Afro-Cuban and Spanish influences – including European herbs and spices like thyme, bay leaves, parsley and cilantro. Veracruz is the native state of the vanilla bean, while Tabasco is known for its eponymous hot sauce, as well as seafood including oysters cooked in-shell over an open flame. The area near the center of Mexico, known as The bajio (Michoacán, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Queretaro), is famous for carnitas, as well as desserts like arroz con leche and cajeta. Street foods, such as barbacoa, tacos and tortas, are especially popular in the remaining cenTral sTaTes of Hidalgo, México, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Distrito Federal, which includes Mexico City.

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At Mariscos El Gato (which has moved to St. Louis’ Bevo neighborhood since Froeb’s review), the eponymous El Gato, or cat, is chef-owner Pedro Diaz, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Nancy. Pedro hails from Guanajuato, a state in central Mexico. While working in Chicago as a teenager, Pedro befriended an older chef who took him under his wing and taught him traditional Nayarit-style cuisine, helping Pedro work his way up to chef. Nayarit is a coastal state on the Pacific Ocean, just north of Jalisco, with nearly 150 miles of coastline, just across the Gulf of California from Baja California. The state of Sinaloa, which is also known for seafood, is to the north. “Sinaloan and Nayarit [seafood] is more straightforward. You have fish tacos, aguachile, tacos gobernador, [which] is basically a shrimp quesadilla,” Arellano says. “Veracruz is night and day compared to Sinaloa and Nayarit seafood.” Pedro calls Nayarit-style food “regular” Mexican seafood: fresh, citrusy, salty and spicy, particularly with the use of chiles de arbol, small, bright red Mexican peppers which Pedro uses in his seasonings. As Froeb reported, each meal at Mariscos El Gato begins with ceviche. It’s more aguachile, which is a spicier version, usually with scallops or shrimp. “It’s this incredibly spicy but cold dish that’s perfect for a summer day, or to wash down with beers,” explains Arellano. That’s why there’s been a trend across Mexico of marisquerias serving Nayarit-style food; it’s sort of like coastal pub grub. “That's been the trend going across Mexican diasporas across the U.S.,” Arellano says. “You don’t have to have Mexicans from Nayarit [in your city] to have a Nayarit-style seafood restaurant.” Nayarit’s most famous dish is pescado zarandeado: Fish (at Mariscos, grey mullet) is butterflied and slowly grilled over mesquite until smoky, buttery and flaky. Pedro also serves a siete mares seafood stew, which Arellano says is as ubiquitous in Mexico as chicken soup is in the U.S. Not all of Pedro’s dishes are traditionally Nayarit, although he always uses the same chiles de arbol seasoning; a house-developed standout is the piña rellena. Half a hollowed-out pineapple is stuffed with shrimp and octopus in a pineapple sauce, topped with cheese and then browned under the broiler. Pedro got the idea for mammoth seafood platters, which feed up to six, when he saw families come in and each order separate entrées. It’s easier for him that way, and although the trays are meant to share, he’s had solo diners eat the whole thing, he and Nancy recall, laughing. “[Sometimes] people coming in, they think they’re coming to Red Lobster,” Nancy jokes. “They’re like, ‘Hey, can we get some cocktail sauce?’ No, that’s not familiar in Nayarit. I didn’t even know what cocktail sauce was! We tell them [Mariscos] is a little bit spicier, a little saltier – it’s the style. A lot of people are surprised at how different we are when they get here.” A few months ago, a diner from Kansas City posted a video on Facebook of the mega platter, which features mussels, shrimp, crab legs, prawns, octopus, red snapper and lump crab meat. It went viral, with more than 130,000 shares and 8 million views; as a result, the Diazes say they have had people driving in from Kansas City to try their food. “Those hole-in-the-wall places [used to be] you knew a guy who knew a guy that knew a place where they did real tacos al pastor,” Froeb says. “Now you find the places that have real tacos al pastor, and [suddenly] there’s 25 Yelp reviews and lines out the door. Once you’ve had really good food of any tradition, whether it be Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese – anything that’s outside of what your own background is – it just makes you want to try more. It becomes addictive.”

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PICTURED ABOVE: Pedro Diaz, chef-owner of Mariscos El Gato.

Diners at Mariscos certainly seem addicted to Pedro’s cooking, with plenty of regulars visiting alongside those from out of town. “He’s very shocked how people are reacting to his food,” Nancy says. “He never thought he’d see that." He’s definitely seen an uptick in interest in regional Mexican cuisine; Pedro says he’s doing almost double the business he was in their original location. The couple first opened Mariscos El Gato on Cherokee Street in August 2016, but moved to Bevo last year; their former business partner still operates the original location. The restaurant joined a spate of Mexican spots that have recently opened in Bevo, including Mariachi’s II, Salina’s 2 and Mi Lindo Michoacán. “There’s a big Mexican community in south St. Louis,” Nancy says. “And since [Gravois Avenue] is a busy street, a lot of people drive [by]. Pedro would like to have a Cinco de Mayo festival like on Cherokee and join all of us together.” Pedro says that although his cooking style is Nayarit, he’ll make seafood in whatever style a customer requests. Sinaloan customers, for example, like a lot of tomato juice in their seafood. “You don’t have to go to the beach in Mexico or the coast,” Pedro says. “You can find it here." jarochokc.com facebook.com/mariscoselgato01

mariscos el gato PHoto BY JUlia calleo

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iN GOOD with

FROM CALCIUM TO PHOSPHOROUS, YOGURT HAS PLENTY OF POSITIVES WITH DR. YIN CAO

assistant professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine

Yogurt has been the darling of the dairy aisle for years now, and a glimpse at its nutrition label reveals why: It is packed with ingredients that help keep your body healthy and strong. Calcium is among yogurt’s most vital nutrients. It’s a boost for teeth, bones and muscles, and it goes a long way in reducing the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Yogurt is also a surprisingly good source of protein Ð particularly Greek yogurt, which has twice as much protein as traditional yogurt. In a country like ours that adores red meat to a sometimes unhealthy extent, Greek yogurt is a way to consume protein without a grill with burgers and steaks. Protein is also satiating, which leads to less snacking and fewer calories consumed overall. Keeping weight in check is one of the most important ways to reduce the risk of many types of cancers, including breast and colon. Maintaining a proper weight also lowers the risk of heart disease, cholesterol and diabetes. Greek yogurt not your thing? Traditional yogurt has a lot going for it, too. “Yogurt is high in B vitamins and the minerals potassium and phosphorous,” says Dr. Yin Cao, an assistant professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. “B vitamins provide our bodies with energy, and potassium and phosphorous help us maintain blood pressure, metabolism and healthy bones.”

Yogurt is known for containing probiotics Ð live bacteria (such as yeast) that are thought to be good for general health. It wasn’t very long ago that “probiotics” was a term known mostly by scientists and registered dieticians. These days it’s a word that pops up everywhere Ð no wonder people are curious about what probiotics actually do. “There are a growing number of studies about the consequences of yogurt, but it’s to tease out the of each kind of probiotic,” says Dr. Cao, “but more and more studies about microbiomes are taking place. It is research that scientists and non-scientists are both really interested in.” In general, evidence suggests that yogurt containing probiotics can elevate the immune and digestive too. systems, and it might help reduce While yogurt’s advantages are many, it’s important to keep in mind its potential downsides. “Remember that add sugar and oring, yogurt manufacturers A lot of yogurt which can minimize the health comes in nice ors, but sugar isn’t great for health, so that needs to be considered,” Dr. Cao says. “To get the most from your yogurt, make sure to look for kinds made with natural ingredients,” she advises. Plain yogurt also makes a great for mixing in your favorite fruit, your day nuts or granola. It’s a tailor-made way to kick – and pack in plenty of good-for-you nutrients to boot.

FRUIT SKEWERS WITH YOGURT DIP SKEWERS:

2 clementines peeled and cut into 8 segments 1 cup fresh strawberries, cut into halves

1 cup grapes 1 large banana 8 6-inch skewers

DIP:

1 1

From Siteman Cancer Center’s The Healthy Holiday Cookbook

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cup plain, fat-free yogurt tablespoon honey teaspoon ground cinnamon

| | Place equal amounts of fruits onto each skewer. Mix all yogurt, honey cinnamon for dip. Serve skewers with dip on the side.

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SAY YES TO YOGURT

ALMOND YOGURT Though almond milk only accounts for about 5 percent of all milk consumed in the United States, it is by far this country’s favorite cow’s milk stand-in. Almond milk has experienced a growth of more than 250 percent since the start of this decade, so it makes sense that almond yogurt’s popularity has followed close behind. Made with almond milk and live bacteria cultures, this yogurt is high in vitamin E, calcium and , and it has a pleasantly sweet, or.

AUSTRALIAN YOGHURT When it comes to texture, Australian yogurt (yoghurt to the locals) has a neutrality that’s more commonly associated with Switzerland. Like traditional yogurt, this kind is strained as it’s made, but its body is more substantial. That’s because whole milk gives it a thick, rich texture – but not quite to the extent of Greek yogurt. Australian yogurt is famously creamy, and honey is added to further enhance its luxurious taste. There’s a reason this kind is also known as “gourmet yoghurt” Down Under.

GOAT MILK YOGURT Fans of tart and creamy goat cheese will much to like in goat milk yogurt, as will people who are lactose intolerant or have cow’s milk allergies. Because goat milk tends to be thinner than cow’s milk, the texture will also be quite erent from traditional yogurt. In fact, some types of goat milk yogurt are so thin they are easier to drink than they are to eat with a spoon. But what this it makes up for in character. With yogurt lacks in or that’s earthy, funky and all its own, goat milk a yogurt is worth a try.

GREEK YOGURT The erences between Greek yogurt and traditional yogurt are vast. Greek yogurt is thicker, creamier and tangier than traditional yogurt. The erence lies over in how each is made. Greek yogurt is what’s regular yogurt has been strained through a cloth, a process that removes most of the lactose and liquid whey. It’s a perfect base for all sorts of dips, dressings, still, Greek yogurt sauces and even marinades. has twice as much protein and half the sodium and carbohydrates as traditional yogurt, and it’s a healthy swap for ingredients like , cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in baking and cooking.

SOY YOGURT Yogurt’s common denominators are fermented milk and the addition of active cultures – the organisms that keep your gut happily humming along. Replace traditional yogurt’s cow milk with soy milk, water and sugar, and the result is soy yogurt: a non-dairy product that’s usually suitable for vegan diets. But be sure to check the label. Vegan yogurts will be clearly as such. It’s also a good idea to see if the brand has been f with essential nutrients, like calcium or vitamin D, both of which promote bone health.

Tropicana's 48 paleta flavors range from the traditional – strawberry, chocolate, vanilla – to those made with tropical fruit. There’s a creamy pistachio flecked with ground nuts; an off-white guanabana; a golden mango with bite-sized fruit pieces; rice-studded horchata and sweet-and-sour tamarind with chiles. These flavors are pervasive in paleta and ice cream shops in Michoacán. (In small lettering beneath the Tropicana logo, the phrase estilo Michoacán – “Michoacán style” – is highlighted.) You’ll find shops with similar names and taglines, not just in Michoacán, but throughout Mexico and pockets of the U.S. – such is the esteem for that state’s sweet history. The ingredients used to make paletas are simple – just fresh fruit, a little granulated white sugar and water or soft-serve ice-cream mix – and they’re all made, Valdez says, with products imported from Mexico and using traditional Michoacán recipes. He says the flavors are either designed to offer patrons a little slice of home or a taste of something vibrant and new.

ma ng och i le

ma ng o

Valdez is a slight, wiry man with boundless energy. He sits in one of the slender booths at the Tropicana in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood, a rack of fresh fruit piled high up against the wall behind him. He's beaming and waving at guests who pop in the shop to say hello and purchase sweet treats.

mangoneada

There are now five Tropicana locations in Missouri and Kansas. The Westside shop on Southwest Boulevard is the original, founded in 2004. It’s a small space squeezed into a row of Hispanic-owned and -focused businesses, but what Tropicana lacks in square footage it makes up for in abounding flavor. Aside from the large freezer stocked with a rainbow of paletas, there are an additional two freezers packed with 12 rotating ice cream and sorbet flavors, all influenced by Michoacán classics such as tequila and pine nut. There’s also the Tres Marias, where three scoops of any ice cream flavor combination are piled into a waffle-cone bowl and drenched in chocolate and strawberry syrups, then topped with multicolored sprinkles. It’s enough to make your inner 5-year-old – or the actual one eagerly grasping your hand – squeal with joy.

Tres Marias

“Part of our job is to offer our guests a variety, especially with exotic fruits like mango, kiwi, papaya,” Valdez says. “The recipes are all from Michoacán, which is a very tropical state – and the most famous states for paletas. In Hispanic culture, we identify with those [tropical-fruit] flavors, because in our country, those are the flavors we’re tasting every day.” The goods don’t end with ice cream. The menu also features fresh-squeezed juices; fruit “cocktails,” where sweet slices of mango, jicama and melon are dusted with Tajín (a chile-and-lime seasoning powder); yogurt smoothies called Tropishakes with energy boosts; and aguas frescas made with fresh fruit juice, water and a little sugar. In 2014, Tropicana launched Freshata, a branded line of horchatas. The company also serves from-scratch churros, elote (creamy, cheesy corn on the cob) and tortas. And, as any Tropicana aficionado will fiercely tell you, there’s nothing quite as spectacular as the signature mangoneada. Fonseca developed her own take on the spoonable or slurpable mango sorbet drink, layered with Tajín, tamarindo (housemade tamarind pulp) and chamoy sauce. The sauce is another special import: Traditionally made from dried, salted ume plums, its thick texture and sweet-sour-spice profile make it a ubiquitous Mexican condiment, used liberally in desserts and savory snacks. If that sounds like a lot of items, it’s because it is. And the plan, according to Valdez, is to grow bigger still.

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The Westside Tropicana that greets guests today is not the business that Valdez started nearly 15 years ago. Back then, instead of TV screens displaying the shop’s extensive menu, there was a simple handwritten whiteboard featuring the three flavors – strawberry, mango and chocolate – and prices.

churros

“We had people coming in and saying, ‘What are you guys selling? I can’t read it,’” Valdez says with a laugh. “We didn’t have the budget to buy a huge sign for our menu. We didn’t have a budget for anything.” Not even, Valdez says, for storefront signage. “People would cross our business outside without even looking in,” he says – a marked difference from the out-the-door lines Tropicana experiences today during the warm spring and summer months. “Sometimes, we needed to go outside eating an ice cream or a pop, and people would ask us where we got that, and we’d say, ‘Here! Right here! We sell it, come in!’”

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At the time, that “we” was Valdez, his wife and his two young daughters, Jennifer, 9, and Lucero, 5. The family had moved to Kansas City from Chicago in 2004, the same year they opened the Westside location. It was important to the couple to ground their business in a growing market, Valdez says, rather than one already saturated with similar paleterias, like Chicago. Both Valdez and Fonseca immigrated to Chicago in 1989, although separately – he from Mexico City, she from Mazatlán – and met while enrolled in English-language programs. Each worked in the service industry in Chicago; Valdez spent 12 years in the back and front of house at chef Rick Tramonto’s celebrated TRU Restaurant. “There I learned from [Tramonto’s] passion, technique and knowledge,” Valdez says. “He really inspired me to one day, sooner or later, have a restaurant or our own business.” Fonseca had some experience working in paleterias in Mexico, and opening Tropicana was her idea. She and Valdez researched recipes, ice-pop machines and markets across the country, including Austin, Texas, and Atlanta. They settled on Kansas City, where census data showed a burgeoning Hispanic population, the cost of living was affordable and, back then, there wasn’t a single paleteria in town. Kansas City, they thought, would be a place where they could grow with the community.

PICTURED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: José Luis Valdez, Lucia Fonseca, and Jennifer and Lucero Valdez

“At the beginning, those years were hard. I remember situations where we didn’t have the budget, and I almost threw in the towel a couple times,” Valdez says. “We didn’t have experience. We were new to the city; we didn’t know anyone. We just had the passion to make something. Where we are now… We’re grateful. We say ''valio la pena' – it was worth it. But at the beginning, sometimes we cried.” Valdez points behind him, to the restroom at the rear of the shop. “I remember sometimes going inside that restroom and thinking, ‘Oh my God, what am I doing? I put my family here.’ I cried, and after I got out, my wife would say ‘Are you OK?’ And I would say ‘of course it’s OK!’ Because I knew if I cried in front of my wife, she’d cry too, and we’d give up.”

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Today, the Tropicana empire includes a second location on Prescott Plaza in Kansas City, Kansas, which opened in 2009. Two years later, a franchise location debuted in Wichita, Kansas (and relocated to a larger building in March 2016). In 2012, another franchise opened in Olathe, Kansas, and in July 2017, a third debuted inside the Health and Education Building at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The franchises have been opened by longtime employees – people whom Valdez trained and trusts.

“We didn’t have experience. We were new to the city; we didn’t know anyone. We just had the passion to make something. Where we are now… We’re grateful. We say 'valio la pena'– it was worth it." -José Luis Valdez

“He takes people who’ve worked with us and shown their dedication, and he’s given them the opportunity to open up their own business,” says his daughter Jennifer, now 24. “He teaches them, gives them the tools and treats them like family.” Family is the crux of Tropicana: Fonseca works out of the Prescott Plaza location, and she’s at the head of all recipe development for the company. The famed mangoneada is her adapted recipe, and so are the decadent churros and tamales. Nineteen-year-old Lucero is her mom’s “mini-me,” helping manage the books and run errands. Jennifer is her dad’s right hand, helping him manage factory operations and orders. Both daughters still pull shifts at the shops, too – something Jennifer doesn’t think will ever stop happening. “I didn’t really have a childhood,” she says with a laugh, half joking. “I would always be working at the shops and be there with my parents. It was all about my family and the business, but I don’t regret anything. That’s made me who I am today.” One day, Jennifer says, she’d like to open a business of her own – and thanks to her parents, she’s equipped for the challenge. “I feel like what we have is amazing,” she says. “I don’t know what I’d do without my parents. They’ve guided me through the right path. They’re my backbone.” A tattoo on Jennifer’s wrist – an outline of three paletas similar to the design of the pop on Tropicana's logo – matches her dad’s. Each family member has one in a different color, like marks of a tribe.

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aw b er

it w y r r e b w a s tr

m a e r c

p is ta ch io

Tropicana paletas seem to be everywhere in the area: An additional 85 retailers in Missouri and Kansas City stock them, from Hispanic mercados to the Kansas City Zoo to the Kansas City T-Bones Stadium, where the minor-league team plays ball. Growth means more paletas, and with his new factory in Roeland Park, Kansas, Valdez is ready to meet the increased demand. Just like his shops, the factory is an explosion of color and activity. Valdez still has the same ice-pop machine he brought up from Guadalajara 15 years ago – it’s a sturdy-looking metal box about the size of an industrial refrigerator. It has a few odd dents here and there, a result of its transportation across borders and from store to store. “This machine [was] made by hand in Mexico,” Valdez says. “Here in the U.S., they don’t do it like this anymore. The technology has changed. But this is our concept – authentic – so we want to do some things the old-fashioned, old-school way.” To make pops with the machine, liquefied, puréed fruit is poured into stainless steel pop molds. Wooden sticks are placed in each mold and crates of molds are moved through the machine by hand, with workers manually tracking the time until the paletas are ready to move to the next step; each mold takes about 20 minutes. (This is much preferable, Jennifer says, to the early days, when she and her sister did everything individually and by hand – the most old-school way.) The machine can crank out around 16,000 paletas a week. Next to it sits a newer, Brazilian-made machine, sleeker and a little larger – it has an automatic timer and can make 16,000 paletas a day, with each mold only taking about seven minutes. Valdez says he doesn’t need to make 16,000 pops a day, though – at least not right now. Today’s business only requires about 18,000 paletas a week (including delivery to all franchise and retail locations), and production goes down to half of that in the winter months. But there will be a day – soon, he hopes – that both machines will be kept busy. There are an additional four ice-cream machines in the new factory: one from Mexico, which is used only for sorbet; two made in the U.S., which can produce 10 gallons of ice cream each at a time; and a brand-new one from Brazil, which yields 30 gallons at a time. Valdez needs around 320 gallons a week for all Tropicana locations, and deliveries are made daily.

……

In the back of the factory, beyond the dry-storage piles of pistachios and imported Mexican vanilla and cinnamon, behind the cooler chock-full of fresh fruit and the freezer packed with crates of ice-cream buckets and paletas, there’s a row of six neon-colored pushcarts bearing Paleterias Tropicana’s sunny logo. The carts are rented out for birthday parties, business functions, festivals and events. On top of one cart, there’s a lime-green box with a strap attached; Valdez slings it across his shoulders. It’s for vending at sporting events, he says, so that spectators can holler for a paleta just like they would a lemonade or bag of popcorn. Is the company currently using the vending boxes at any stadiums around town? No, Valdez says, grinning. Not yet. But he’s ready for the opportunity. When he was just 7 years old, Valdez started his first job: selling ice pops from a pushcart not so unlike the ones lining his factory. Today, at 46, he muses on the full-circle nature of his career, glancing around the colorful walls of his Westside shop. “We’ve worked every single day because we wanted to succeed and we believed in this business, and in the U.S.,” he says. “Every day, I say thank you to this country and to God for giving me the opportunity to build a business with my family.” All of the sudden, Valdez springs up from his seat at the slender booth. A customer has caught his attention – a man at the counter asking about the pistachio ice cream. “Oh, you have to try it,” Valdez says. “And the pine nut – that’s my favorite. It has a nice smoky flavor.” Generous samples ensue, and the customer extends his hand toward Valdez for a shake. “Are you the owner?” he asks. “Every time I come here, I feel like I’m in paradise.” Paradise – that word resonates with Valdez. “When you hear that, it gives you this powerful feeling,” he says. “It makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing.” Valdez smiles – actually, he hasn’t stopped smiling all day. “People ask me why I look so young, have energy and always smile,” he continues. “It’s because I love what I do. This job makes me feel young.” multiple locations, facebook.com/paleteriastropicana18st

Inspired Local Food Culture

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march 2018

Acclaimed St. Louis chef Tello Carreón gives local diners a taste of the rich, complex sauce he grew up watching his family prepare in his native Guanajuato, Mexico. Written by Heather Riske Photography by Judd Demaline

Tello Carreón has always been a curious cook . Growing up in Guanajuato, Mexico, he loved to watch his mother and grandmother in the kitchen. When they’d prepare different variations of mole sauce, he’d watch them grind seeds and nuts by hand with a metate (a porous, three-legged version of a molcajete, or mortar). The process is deceptively simple: Add a little liquid and then grind, grind, grind. If you’re not careful, though, your nails may end up in the stone with those seeds. “The first time I tried it, boom! I smushed pretty much all my fingers in there,” Carreón recalls with a laugh. That childhood curiosity is still a hallmark of Carreón’s cooking today. After arriving in St. Louis to visit his brother and attend college, he worked his way through local restaurants from Caliente Cafe to Casa Gallardo to Café Provencal. He’s best known, however, for his work at Nixta, where he seamlessly blended Mediterranean flavors with those from his native Guanajuato. After helping owner Ben Poremba – who Carreón previously worked for as chef de cuisine at Poremba’s nearby Elaia – develop the concept, his bold cooking quickly earned raves from both local and national critics alike. Nixta was even named the ninthbest new restaurant in the country by Bon Appétit. Yet Carreón departed the restaurant this past October, saying that he felt it was time to move on. Carreón’s undaunted approach is perhaps best illustrated in the multi-layered mole-based dishes he introduced at Nixta. Brisket, for instance, is braised in the thick, rich, coffee- and chocolate-infused Mole Negro de Abuelita Concepcion sauce. The showstopping grilled pulpo (octopus) – which Bon Appétit senior editor Julia Kramer named the best she ate all year – is served in a bath of nutty mole almendrado. In a 3½-star review, St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Ian Froeb dubbed Nixta “one of the most exciting and best restaurants to open in St. Louis in recent years,” noting that – when compared to run-of-the-mill American Tex-Mex restaurants – Carreón’s cooking is “like turning on a 4K flat-screen after a lifetime of UHF stations on a tube TV.”

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Regarding mole, Carreón wants diners to get one thing straight: It's so much more than the intensely chocolatey sauce known to many Americans. Such sauces are likely derivatives of traditional mole poblano, which features chocolate in addition to the requisite chiles, nuts, seeds and spices. Made famous in Puebla, it’s now the national dish of Mexico. When done right, the dark red or brown sauce is thick, rich, spicy, sweet and only slightly chocolate-tinged. Carreón says many versions served in the U.S. are overly chocolatey – the result of people adding the chocolate when they add the peppers. Carreón believes the chocolate should be added last, and that cooks should taste their mole and add chocolate as needed to balance out the spicy, bitter or acidic flavors. To that end, true mole is all about balance; most recipes call for around 20 to 40 different ingredients, with some incorporating upwards of 100. Recipes vary from village to village and family to family, but, according to American chef Rick Bayless, who specializes in traditional Mexican cooking, mole ingredients can generally be grouped into five categories: Chiles (typically ancho, chilaca, poblano and pasilla) are essential, in addition to sour (tomatillos), sweet (dried fruits, chocolate or sugar), spices and thickening (nuts, seeds, toasted bread or tortillas) ingredients. Carreón’s signature Mole Negro de Abuelita Concepcion is inspired by – and named for – his 94-year-old maternal grandmother, Ascensión Figueroa, but it’s not exactly the same recipe. Instead, Carreón remade the dish entirely from memory. As a chef, he considers one of his greatest talents to be duplicating recipes from memory – in this case, memories of his mother and abuelita cooking mole when he was a kid. “I never follow recipes,” he says. “I don’t copy from books. My plating and the composition of a dish is [from] my brain alone. I might have to do a dish several times until I come to what I’m comfortable with, but that’s my creation.” Carreón made about seven different batches of the mole before he was confident that his stood up to his abuelita’s. He was even able to test the two side by side, as his mother shipped him a small sample of the mole via FedEx. “I was pretty darn close,” he says. “The flavor, the texture of my version – it was scary close.” His mole negro is rich – yet not heavy – and simultaneously light and earthy with a smooth texture. It’s complex, featuring distinguishable layers of chocolate, acid, pepper, nuts, natural sweeteners (like dates or fresh pomegranate seeds), different types of toasted dried corn and chickpeas. Carreón says that grinding all those spices and nuts in a traditional metate lends the sauce an earthiness that is absent when using a blender. Like mole poblano, Carreón’s mole negro uses chocolate, in addition to cloves, cinnamon and cumin, yet it differs from his abuelita’s in a few ways. Instead of the traditional plantains (which he says can sometimes give the sauce an almost cloying sweetness), his mole is sweetened with Medjool dates, which also give the sauce a glossy shine. He also adds sweet, tart pomegranate molasses – his mother has a pomegranate tree in the backyard of their family home – to balance out the dish.

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march 2018

ril

mole

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ma a mole

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In addition to the darker, thicker poblano and negro moles, other styles found across Mexico include rojo (red), amarillo (yellow), verde (green) and almendrado (almond). More acidic than other moles, mole verde gets its signature color from fresh herbs, extra pepitas (pumpkin seeds), cilantro, tomatillos and jalapeños. Mole amarillo, meanwhile, lacks sweeteners like dried fruit or chocolate, making it a bit spicier. At home, Carreón prepares his mole in a traditional cazuela, a heavy-bottomed clay pot that imbues the sauce with even more flavor. “The hard work is about grinding, toasting, grinding and roasting all of the ingredients and then grinding them into a paste,” he says. Stock – usually vegetable or chicken – is then added to the paste and simmered until it reaches the desired thickness (Carreón likens the process to using a sourdough starter to make a loaf of bread). His family typically makes their mole a bit thicker – not too pliable or thin, but still easy to scoop up with a fresh tortilla. Cooking times vary by style: Mole verde takes about 30 to 45 minutes, while the added complexity of mole negro – which often includes up to 130 ingredients – results in a longer preparation and cook time of at least several hours, or sometimes up to a day.

including using nopales (tender cactus leaves) in a Mexican ratatouille or adding fennel fronds to black bean salsa. “I’m pretty crazy when it comes to ingredients,” he says. “My mother was like, ‘Whoa! What are you doing?’ But you have to bring the flavors to the next level. I don’t settle for plain. I like to play with flavors; I think you have to go beyond what you’re accustomed to tasting.”

"The hard work is

about grinding, toasting, grinding and roasting all of the ingredients and then grinding them into a paste," Carreón says.

In December, Carreón traveled home to Guanajuato to visit his family – including his abuelita – for what he describes as a bit of a “mole party.” The family spent time in the kitchen together cooking different types of mole and trading recipes and techniques. At first, Carreón says his mother was aghast at some of the unconventional ingredients he throws into his recipes,

Carreón says that growing up watching his mother and abuelita in the kitchen – including getting in trouble for trying to touch hot skillets and pots – helped him associate the kitchen with good aromas and good vibes. “[My grandmother] said that your food will taste the way you feel,” he says. “If you feel angry, your food is not good. You have to have a good ambiance in the restaurant or in your kitchen.” To that end, Carreón hopes his cooking will bring back fond memories for diners. Once, while he was in the kitchen at Nixta, an elderly woman told him that his mole reminded her of when she was a child and her mother cooked the dish for her. Such memories are hard to come by, she said, so she planned to come back frequently. “That’s what I want,” he says. “That’s what makes me happy. That’s what gives me goose bumps.”

Carreón is still in touch with the woman, whom he nicknamed Teresita; he even bought her a gift when he was last in Mexico. For Christmas, Teresita’s daughter gave her mother a framed photo of Teresita and Carreón. Inspired Local Food Culture

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“I have thousands of ideas and I just want to put them on the plate. [Initially], I was afraid of presenting these flavors, but now I know people want to explore different flavors and learn how a simple dish can have so much flavor in it. More than anything, that’s what makes me happy – to know that they welcome this kind of cuisine.” -Tello Carreón

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march 2018

and diners might not have to wait long for more of carreón’s inspired cooking: The chef is currently working to open a restaurant of his own in st. louis, with catering and pop-up events planned in the meantime. He considers his recent trip home R&d for his upcoming restaurant; in addition to perfecting his mole recipes with his family, he also played around with heirloom varieties of corn grown by his father. He was particularly intrigued by a nutty, mildly sweet deep purple corn that he hopes to grow in the st. louis area in partnership with a local farmer. “i have thousands of ideas and i just want to put them on the plate,” he says. “[initially], i was afraid of presenting these flavors, but now i know people want to explore different flavors and learn how a simple dish can have so much flavor in it. More than anything, that’s what makes me happy – to know that they welcome this kind of cuisine.” Here, carreón shares two of his recipes for regional styles of mole:

Mole Verde con Pollo Preparing the mole in the same pot as the chicken imbues the sauce with extra flavor, but you can also skip the chicken and prepare the sauce by itself; simply omit the chicken. The mole yield varies depending on desired thickness; extra mole can be refrigerated for up to six days, or frozen for up to one month. Carreón estimates that the prep and cook time combined is about 1½ hours. Recipe by Tello caRReón yields | 6 to 8 cups mole sauce | seRves | 4 portions of chicken

2 2 6 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 4 8 1 3 2

More acidic than other styles of mole, this mole verde gets its striking green color from fresh herbs, extra pepitas, cilantro, tomatillos and avocado. Many traditional mole recipes incorporate beer, but Carreón prefers the smoky flavor of mezcal or tequila. Here, the mole is served with chicken, although Carreón says it also complements fish and huevos ahogados, or eggs drowned in salsa.

serrano peppers poblano peppers Tbsp olive oil, divided Tbsp pepitas, plus more for garnish Tbsp sesame seeds tsp coriander seeds Tbsp cumin seeds lb husked tomatillos (reserve husks for charring) avocado, halved, pitted and peeled bunch cilantro, minced, divided garlic cloves, roughly chopped tsp fenugreek cups chicken stock, divided salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste chicken legs large yellow onion, small dice oz mezcal or tequila, to deglaze pan Tbsp Mexican chocolate, grated or shaved sour cream or plain yogurt, to serve

| preparation | preheat oven to 450°F. in a large bowl, toss whole peppers with 3 tablespoons oil. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast until darkened, about 20 minutes. peel peppers and remove and discard seeds and veins. in a saucepan over high heat, toast pepitas, sesame, coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant. let cool; grind in a spice grinder. in the bowl of a blender or food processor, purée roasted peppers, tomatillos, avocado, half of minced cilantro, garlic, fenugreek and 2 cups chicken stock. add salt to taste. in a heavy-bottomed pot or cast-iron dutch oven over medium heat, heat remaining oil. season chicken legs with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown. add onion and cook until translucent. add ground spices and cook about 2 minutes more over medium heat, stirring constantly. add mezcal or tequila, puréed tomatillo mixture and remaining chicken stock and bring to a boil. add chocolate and remaining cilantro. simmer for about 1 hour, until chicken is tender and sauce has thickened. For best results, cover pot with parchment paper and braise in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and baste chicken with mole, repeating every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes (leaving uncovered). serve hot with sour cream or yogurt and toasted pepitas as garnish. Inspired Local Food Culture

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Mole Negro The following is an abbreviated recipe for mole negro (which can often include up to 130 different ingredients) with fewer ingredients and a shorter prep time. Carreรณn estimates the recipe takes around two hours to prepare, with a one-hour cook time for the paste and an additional one hour for the mole. He notes that dried chiles have the tendency to have some dust attached, so clean them using a damp paper towel or cloth prior to making the mole paste.

To increase the flavor complexity of this mole, add any of the following: cooked avocado leaves, sunflower seeds, chipotles, smoked paprika, different types of chocolate (such as Mexican chocolate, 85-percent dark chocolate and 100-percent unsweetened cocoa powder), celery, carrots, blue-corn masa, a variety of toasted corn, fresh pomegranate seeds, roasted pumpkin or roasted winter squash. The key is to balance the earthy, nutty, sweet, salty and acidic flavors. (Pomegranate molasses and dried avocado leaves can be found at most international grocery stores.)

Recipe by Tello caRReón yields | 6 to 8 cups mole sauce before thinning with stock |

mole paste 2 oz dried chile mulato 2 oz dried chile pasilla 4 oz dried chile chilhuacle negro 8 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil, divided 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock, plus more as needed 1 large onion, quartered 3 to 4 4-oz tomatillos, whole 2 large ripe tomatoes 4 garlic cloves ¼ cup chopped pecans ¼ cup whole, unbleached almonds 2 Tbsp unsalted peanuts (optional) ½ cup stale bread, crushed (challah is ideal) 6 blue-corn tortillas 5 whole cloves 5 whole allspice berries 1 stick Mexican cinnamon ¼ tsp fresh ground nutmeg 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 Tbsp fennel seeds 1 Tbsp coriander seeds ¼ cup pepitas 3 Tbsp sesame seeds 2 Tbsp raisins 10 Medjool dates, pitted 1 Tbsp fresh Mexican oregano, minced 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced 6 oz dark chocolate 6 Tbsp pomegranate molasses salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste mole sauce mole paste (recipe below) pomegranate molasses, to taste low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock, to taste dark chocolate, to taste

| preparation – mole paste | set oven to broil. on rimmed sheet trays, arrange dried chiles and broil for 1 minute on each side until slightly blistered. Remove chiles from oven and let cool about 2 minutes. cut chiles lengthwise and remove and discard stems. Toast seeds and veins in a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons oil until completely blackened but not burned. set aside. in a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat stock and add cleaned chiles to soak. in a cast-iron skillet over high heat, cook onion, tomatillos, tomatoes and garlic until blackened. Remove and add mixture to chicken stock. preheat oven to 400ºF. in a skillet over medium heat, add nuts, bread and tortillas and toast until almost dark. Remove and set aside. in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, toast cloves, allspice berries, Mexican cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin, fennel and coriander seeds until fragrant. let cool. in a spice grinder, add toasted spices, nuts, pepitas and sesame seeds and grind into a fine powder. in a large pot over high heat, add remaining 6 tablespoons oil and sauté raisins, dates, Mexican oregano, ginger and thyme for about 5 minutes. add cooked onions, tomatillos and tomatoes and toasted bread and toasted ground nut, spice and seed powder. Reduce heat to medium and cook 2 minutes more. add chile mixture, chocolate and pomegranate molasses and season to taste with salt and pepper. add extra stock as needed. simmer for 1 hour. in the bowl of a blender or food processor, purée mixture in small batches until smooth. Remove each batch into an oversized container so you can mix thoroughly. paste can be stored for up to 6 days in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 1 month and later thinned into a sauce.

| preparation – mole sauce | in a stockpot over medium heat, add paste and more pomegranate molasses, stock and chocolate to taste or as needed to thin sauce. serve with duck, pork or beef.

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vivaFrescas frescas!!

Brighten up spring days with refreshing aguas frescas, served straight-up or as the foundation for cooling cocktails. WRITTEN BY ROSE HANSEN

PiĂąa agua Fresca

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march 2018

ade with just puréed fruit, water, a little sugar and sometimes herbs, flowers or seeds, aguas frescas offer a vibrant pop of fresh flavor.

jungle bird cocktail Kyle Harlan uses simple syrup made with turbinado sugar for this drink; turbinado syrup is just simple syrup made with raw sugar instead of granulated sugar. He says use a 1:1 ratio to mimic the house syrups at Mission Taco Joint when making the syrup at home.

“The goal is to have the most naturally tasting product possible, so go very light with the sugar,” says Kyle Harlan, beverage director at Mission Taco Joint in St. Louis. “It’s intended to cut the bitterness of fruit that may be a little unripe, not to create a sugary syrup.”

RecIpe BY KYLe HARLAn pHoTo BY zAcH BAuMAn SeRveS | 1 |

Although aguas frescas are terrific sans booze, adding a shot of rum, vodka, mezcal or tequila takes them from refreshing daytime sippers to cooling cocktails. We caught up with five local bartenders who regularly make agua fresca cocktails at work to learn how to make fun takes on frescas and fresca cocktails at home.

1½ ½ 1½ ½ ½

oz dark rum oz Campari oz piña agua fresca (recipe to left) oz fresh lime juice oz turbinado syrup

| preparation | combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake for 30 seconds. pour into a double rocks glass and serve.

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jungle bird cocktail

Piña agua Fresca “If you’re a DIYer, then you get a sense of pride and accomplishment from making aguas frescas yourself. Cocktails seem to have more depth of flavor when made with aguas frescas over canned or bottled juice that has added sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and I’ve always enjoyed the gratification I get from customers when they talk about how crisp or clean these drinks taste.” –Kyle Harlan, beverage director, Mission Taco Joint in St. Louis RecIpe BY KYLe HARLAn pHoTo BY zAcH BAuMAn SeRveS | 1 |

1 1

pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 2-inch pieces quart water granulated sugar, to taste ice

| preparation | In the bowl of a blender, add pineapple and water and blend to a fine pulp. over a large bowl, strain pulp using a fine-mesh strainer; use a spoon to apply pressure to pulp, extracting as much juice as possible. Strain a second time through a piece of cheesecloth, wringing to ensure total extraction. Reserve liquid and discard solids. Sweeten juice with sugar, to taste, and serve over ice. Will keep up to 2 weeks in refrigerator. Inspired Local Food Culture

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coconut AguA FrescA The evaporated coconut sugar for the syrup in this agua fresca can be purchased at specialty markets and grocery stores. Recipe by pRopRietoR ben poRemba and baR manageR Lucas Ramsey of nixta and baR Limón in st. Louis photo by juLia caLLeo seRves | 4 |

CoConut Syrup ½ cup water ½ cup evaporated coconut sugar 1 lime peel 1 cup coconut milk 3 cinnamon sticks CoConut AguA FreSCA ice ½ cup coconut syrup (recipe below) 1½ cup seltzer water

| preparation – coconut syrup | in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately. steep for 1 hour; discard cinnamon. Will keep for 1 week in refrigerator.

| preparation – coconut agua fresca | fill a glass with ice. add syrup and seltzer water to glass and stir. serve.

coconut AguA FrescA

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PAssion Fruit-DreAmsicle AguA FrescA cocktAil

nixtastl.com Passion Fruit-Dreamsicle agua Fresca cocktail In this cocktail, agave syrup and seltzer water are used in place of the more traditional sugar and water. Bar Limón suggests using Codigo Tequila Rosa, a tequila aged in spent Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels, to add extra depth of flavor to the cocktail. Recipe by pRopRietoR ben poRemba and baR manageR Lucas Ramsey of nixta and baR Limón in st. Louis seRves | 4 |

1½ ½ ¼ 1 1 1½

cups unsweetened passion fruit juice cup fresh orange juice tsp vanilla extract Tbsp agave syrup oz tequila cups seltzer water ice 1 tsp whipped cream, for garnish 1 tsp orange twist, for garnish

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| preparation | combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing tin; add seltzer water and stir. fill a glass with ice and add cocktail; garnish with whipped cream and orange twist and serve.

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£ stored properly in the refrigerator, most homemade aguas frescas will keep for up to two weeks.

Lavender Fresca-vodka Lemonade The citrus-flavored vodka in this recipe is optional; simply omit for a refreshing, booze-free agua fresca. Recipe by bRian Wilson, aRea diRectoR of opeRations, UnfoRked in kansas city photo by zach baUman seRves | 10 |

ender Frescavo Lav dk

1¹⁄₃ ¹⁄₃ 1 1 2 12½

cups granulated sugar cup dried lavender gallon warm water, divided cup honey cups fresh lemon juice oz citrus-flavored vodka, divided ice

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| preparation | in a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, lavender and a ½ gallon of warm water and bring to a boil. Remove immediately and let steep 30 minutes. in a large mixing bowl, combine honey, lemon juice and remaining warm water. strain into steeped lavender-sugar mixture. Refrigerate until chilled; will keep 5 days in refrigerator. divide 1¼ ounces vodka in 12 12-ounce glasses over ice. top with lavender fresca and serve.

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.com

melon Fresca “Growing up in Texas, aguas frescas were something my family and I used to get at grocery stores and make frequently. For me, it’s the nostalgia that sparks my interest and makes me want to share them.” – Crystal Dominguez, catering and front-of-house manager, Room 38 Restaurant & Lounge in Columbia, Missouri Dominguez recommends rimming a Martini glass in a mixture of habanero salt and pure bourbon sugar for this cocktail. You can find the salt and sugar at specialty grocery stores. She uses Ketel One vodka and Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge in the recipe; to enjoy sans alcohol, simply omit. Recipe by cRystal Dominguez photo by aaRon ottis seRves | 1 |

AguA de Melon (Yields enough for 4 to 5 drinks) 5 cups cantaloupe, sliced into 1-inch cubes 2 oz simple syrup 3 cups water juice of ½ a lime Melon FrescA 1½ oz vodka ½ oz fresh lime juice ½ oz triple sec 3 oz agua de melon (recipe below) ice 1 lemon wedge, for garnish 1 mint sprig, for garnish

| preparation – agua de melon | in the bowl of a blender, add first 3 ingredients and blend into a fine pulp. strain through a fine-mesh strainer; reserve liquid and discard solids. add lime juice. Will keep 1 week in refrigerator.

room-38

st. gallagher

| preparation – agua de sandia |

If you don't want to try your hand at infusing rum, Dominguez recommends using Bacardi Strawberry Daiquiri rum. Recipe by cRystal Dominguez seRves | 1 |

AguA de sAndiA (Yields enough for 4 to 5 drinks) 5 cups watermelon, sliced into 1-inch cubes 1½ oz simple syrup 3 cups water strAwberry-rhubArb ruM (Yields 3 bottles) 3 bottles rum 1 cup fresh rhubarb, roughly chopped 2½ cups fresh strawberries, roughly chopped

in the bowl of a blender, add all ingredients and blend well. strain mixture through a piece of cheesecloth or using a fine-mesh strainer; reserve liquid and discard solids. Will keep 1 week in refrigerator.

| preparation – strawberry-rhubarb rum | in a large container, add all ingredients and let infuse in refrigerator for 2 weeks. Rum will keep in refrigerator for about 1 week.

| preparation – st. gallagher | in a pint or collins glass, add st-germain and rum and stir well. top with agua de sandia to taste and garnish with watermelon wedge; serve.

st. gAllAgher ½ oz St-Germain 1 oz strawberry-rhubarb rum (recipe below) agua de sandia (recipe below) watermelon wedge, for garnish

| preparation – melon fresca | in a mixing tin, combine all ingredients except lemon wedge and mint sprig and shake well. salt rim of 1 martini glass and strain drink over ice. garnish with lemon wedge and mint sprig and serve.

st. gallagher

melon Fresca

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march 2018

AguA verde MArgAritA With CilAntro-Mint liMeAde Although it’s called Limeade at Port Fonda, the combination of sugar, water, fresh juice and herbs in this cocktail follows the agua-fresca framework. Recipe by patRick Ryan, chef-owneR, poRt fonda in kansas city and LawRence, kansas

portfonda.com

photo by zach bauman seRves | 4 |

AguA de JAMAiCA

Cilantro-Mint liMeade ¼ cup granulated sugar 4 cups hot water, divided ¼ cup fresh lime juice zest of 1 lime

“This recipe makes a tart version of agua de Jamaica. Feel free to stir in more sugar, if that appeals to you.” –Patrick Ryan Look for dried hibiscus flowers at specialty grocery stores or online.

agua verde Margarita 2 cups cilantro-mint limeade (recipe below) 1 cup tequila or mezcal ¼ cup triple sec ice 4 lime wedges 4 mint sprigs, for garnish 4 cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Recipe by patRick Ryan seRves | 6 |

| preparation – cilantro-mint limeade | in a small bowl, combine sugar and 2 cups hot water; stir. allow to cool. add lime juice and zest and remaining water and stir well; allow to cool. will keep for 1 week in refrigerator. | preparation – agua verde margarita | combine all ingredients except garnishes in a mixing tin and stir. salt the rims of 4 margarita glasses and evenly divide liquid in each over ice. Garnish with lime, mint and cilantro; serve.

1½ quarts plus 3 cups water, divided 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers, plus more for garnish 1¼ cups granulated sugar

| preparation | in a medium stainless steel saucepan with a lid over medium heat, bring 1½ quarts water to a boil. add dried hibiscus flowers and sugar. stir for 1 minute or until liquid returns to a boil and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 1 to 2 hours. strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl; use a muddler or spoon to press on mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. discard solids. transfer liquid to a large container, add remaining water and stir well. store covered in the refrigerator in a noncorrosive container; will keep for 1 week.

| to serve | divide about 10 ounces agua de Jamaica among 6 12-ounce glasses over ice. Garnish with dried hibiscus flowers and serve.

AguA verde MArgAritA With CilAntro-Mint liMeAde AguA de JAMAiCA

Inspired Local Food Culture

ma r c h 2 018

Ethan Edwards never imagined he’d run a restaurant for a living. When he accepted the position as general manager at Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe in Springfield, Missouri, he was only one class away from completing his master’s degree in history. Ultimately, his passion for history influenced his decision to take over Gailey’s; he simply couldn’t say no when given the opportunity to run an establishment that’s been open since the 1930s. Gailey’s has evolved considerably over the years, and today it’s a beloved breakfast spot. Here, Edwards shares where he likes to dine and drink when he’s off the clock. –Jackson Roman

with Ethan Edwards general manager,

gailey’s breakfast cafe

photo by ana elliott

ImagIne you have one entIre day to dedIcate to dInIng out In SprIngfIeld. Where Would you grab breakfaSt, lunch and dInner, and What Would you be orderIng at each Spot?

early bIrd breakfaSt pub

druff’S

If I’m not eating at Gailey’s, I’d go to Early Bird Breakfast Pub, and I’ll order anything off of the Bird’s Nest menu. For lunch, Druff’s downtown is amazing. It’s a grilled cheese specialty place; the last time I was there I had this Italian grilled cheese with marinara, and it was fantastic. Grilled cheese, hot soup and cold beer – you can’t beat it. For dinner, I like Civil Kitchen a lot. I like their take on chicken and waffles, but I think I’d go with the pork belly tacos.

cIvIl kItchen

What’S your favorIte drInk, and Where In SprIngfIeld are you orderIng It? I’m usually more of a beer guy, but my favorite cocktail is an Irish Cognitive from MudLounge. It’s basically Jameson and Bailey’s chilled with espresso. It’s what I get when I go out but I really didn’t feel like going out, and somebody talked me into it. If I drink an Irish Cognitive, it might be a mood-changer for me, and suddenly I’m much more fun to be around. What’S currently your favorIte meal at a local reStaurant?

Who In the local reStaurant Scene InSpIreS you?

Scotch & Soda

PhoToGraPhy CourTESy INSTaGraM uSErS

I’m a sucker for Italian food, so I’d have to go with either the seafood pasta at Nonna’s or the baked mostaccioli at Bambinos Cafe.

“I think what the guys at Scotch & Soda are doing is just awesome; I love what they’ve got going on. they’ve got several places around town, but Scotch & Soda is one of the coolest. the atmosphere there is just great.“ mudlounge

I think what the guys at Scotch & Soda are doing is just awesome; I love what they’ve got going on. They’ve got several places around town, but Scotch & Soda is one of the coolest. The atmosphere there is just great. What’S your go-to SpecIalty market, grocer or farmerS’ market – and What are you buyIng there? My wife and I usually go to Farmers Park farmers’ market on the Southeast side of town. We get a little bit of everything there – a lot of produce.

feastmagazine.com

march 2018

nonna’S bambInoS cafe

farmerS park

Inspired Local Food Culture

j u ne 2 017

PINEAPPLE

FRESH CORED

DAILY Get delicious pineapple cored in-store daily by our Produce teammates. Fresh, easy and ready to go!

feastmagazine.com

jun e 2 0 1 7

March 2018 Feast Magazine

Articles inside

Lentil-Quinoa-Swiss Chard Salad With Avocado And Lime vinaigrette