Short Orders

[ST. LOUIS STANDARDS]

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

If fans of the longtime Brentwood burger institution Carl’s Drive-In have any worries about the restaurant being sold, they need only look to David Kraemer’s first official act as its new owner.

“We’re going back to Frank’s recipe for the grilled onions,” Kraemer says. “If you asked for grilled onions anytime in the past six years, you would’ve gotten sautéed onions browned on the grill. However, the way they used to do it — and it’s so good it’s a game changer — is that they used to smash diced onions into the burger, then flip it. So when it cooked, the flavor really got in there. When it’s cooked right like that, it’s amazing. Apparently they got a lot of blowback when the old owner took that away because he didn’t like them like that, so we know that everyone will be excited. We’re taking things as far back as they will go and as original as original gets.”

Though Kraemer has only owned Carl’s Drive-In for a few weeks, he already understands the responsibility that comes with the purchase of such a storied restaurant. That historical weight is something he felt long before he ever considered buying it in fact, it was the main reason he wanted to own the diner in the first place. Having grown up in Wildwood, Kraemer had only gone to Carl’s a handful of times until about six years ago, when he moved to Kirkwood and started patronizing the place three or four times a week. As he became a regular, he got to know the story of the place — how it was built as an automobile ser-

vice station in , became a hot dog stand in the early s, was established by Carl Meyer as Carl’s Drive in in and had a good run under its second owner, Frank Cunetto, from 6 through 2 .

However, it wasn’t just the facts of the history that moved him it was seeing how the diner’s story lived in the hearts of the generations of regular guests who see it as more than a place to grab a cheeseburger and fries.

“What’s great is the generations of people from Brentwood who come here,” Kraemer says. “There are kids who come up riding their bikes and old-timers too. Some of the old guys come in talking about when Carl was here, and that was 62 years ago. There’s just so much history here.” n his time coming to the restaurant as a patron and now as an owner, Kraemer has pieced together parts of that history. Some of it involves stories of Meyer, the original owner, who came to the place because his family delivered meat to its original culinary iteration as a hot-dog stand. Under his tenure, he turned the spot from carhop and pickup window service to an enclosed, air condi-

tioned space with seating for sixteen patrons and, most notably, obtained the restaurant’s famous root beer recipe. According to Kraemer, rumor has it the recipe is an original World’s Fair formula that became so popular at Carl’s that people associated with Dr. Pepper sent in scientists undercover to create knockoffs of the beverage.

Most of what Kraemer has come to know, however, centers around the drive in’s second owner, Cunetto, a larger-than-life personality who cultivated the restaurant’s reputation as the quintessential nostalgic burger joint. More than just an owner, Cunetto was an ever present figure at Carl’s, flipping burgers from open to close and making the diner’s famous root beer himself. Because he was always there, he got to know everyone who came in as if they were family when he sold the restau-

rant to longtime customer Mike Franklin in 2 , that legacy continued thanks to veteran employees Kelly, Pam and Lisa, who have each worked at Carl’s for more than two decades.

“Those gals pour their hearts and souls into this place,” Kraemer says. “They’ve been running it for years and really keep it alive — collectively, they have been there longer than the business has been around. They’ve watched so many people who come in here grow up and now bring in their kids, and they know all of their orders. They really put a lot of dedication into knowing you. The place wouldn’t be anything without them.”

With Kelly, Pam and Lisa by his side, Kraemer hopes that he can continue that legacy, and he is adamant that he has no desire to change what makes Carl’s so special. With a background in the homebuilding and contracting business, Kramer plans on doing a remodel of the space — not a full-gut rehab by any means, but a project he describes as a “facelift” of the interior and exterior. His hope is that the work will be more about restoring the restaurant to its past glory than modernizing it, and, to that end, he says he is insistent on keeping the old charm and feel of the space. ne noticeable change he plans

on instituting, however, is opening up on Sundays, something customers have been begging to happen for decades. Though he’s still working out the details, he hopes to launch the new hours once the work to the building is done as a way to reintroduce the restaurant to the community that has made it what it is — one that he is thrilled to now be a part of in this new capacity.

“We’re not open on Mondays, so I was sitting there one Monday and just looking around thinking how cra y it is that own this special place,” Kraemer says. “ ’m still pinching myself. ’ve already had someone ask to buy it for more than I paid for it. If it was about the money, I would have taken it, but this is not about the money.” n

[DRINKS]

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Six years ago, Todd Brutcher started selling his wildly popular sangria in frozen mix form and received such a great response, he was eventually able to quit bartending to go all-in on his drink mixers brand, Southside Alchemy. Now, Brutcher is building upon his creation with his new shelf-stable sangria offerings, which will make the drink available to a much broader audience.

“Getting the sangria mix shelf-stable was the next logical step,” Brutcher explained in a press release announcing the new product. “I’d get emails and DMs from people in St. Charles, West County and Chesterfield asking what stores the mix was in because they couldn’t make it to the farmers market. Now, I can focus on getting it in stores.”

Brutcher’s road to sangria greatness began twelve years ago, when he developed a cult following for the boozy beverage as a bartender at Onesto Pizza & Trattoria. When he arrived, the bar was serving sangria, but it was just the typical mix of fruit soaked in wine with a little sugar. The chef and owner was the one in charge of making the mix, but he eventually passed it on to his servers and bartenders; whoever had the time would make it, so there wasn’t much consistency to the product.

When Brutcher’s friend Jen came on staff, she took over the task of making Onesto’s sangria, and the extra care she put into it paid off in a far superior product. Her secret was to cook the fruit before she soaked it to bring out bigger, juicier flavors. People took notice, and the sangria became one of the restaurant’s most popular drinks — so popular, that when Brutcher found out at the last minute that Jen would not be able to make it one night, he panicked.

“Jen was going over to work at Mad Tomato, and I thought I had her one more day,” Brutcher recalls. “I needed her to make the sangria, and when I found out she was already gone, I didn’t know what to do. I panicked and stuck a bunch of measuring cups into sugar with no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how much wine or sugar she added, but I knew that she cooked the fruit, so I followed what I remembered from watching her and came up with my own recipe for it. People really responded.”

Brutcher, who credits Jen as the catalyst and inspiration for his mix, became

[THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL]

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

When Eric Moore first signed his lease for the space that would become the second location of Boardwalk

(multiple locations including 4348 Telegraph Road, Oakville; 314-9391079) in 2 , he didn’t anticipate it taking so long to open. Now, after two plus years, a pandemic, e uipment delays and a renegotiated lease and expansion before even serving his first customer, he’s thrilled to finally welcome guests to a brand new spot in the heart of south St. Louis County.

The new Boardwalk Waffles ce Cream opened on Saturday, September in akville, serving up the Jersey Shore inspired treats guests have come to know and love from his original location in Maplewood. As Moore explains, he had anticipated that there would be a good amount of interest in his restaurant from people in the surrounding neighborhoods, but the magnitude of the initial response was pleasantly overwhelming.

“We opened on Saturday at noon, and there was a line 2 yards long that started that morning at a.m. and didn’t end until we closed [Tuesday] night,” Moore says. “The numbers were through the roof. never expected such a warm welcome from akville.”

The reception he received for the second location was proof that Moore’s plans for Boardwalk Waffles ce Cream are on the right track. Not long after opening the Maplewood store in 2 7, he reali ed that this was a brand he could expand, and made moves to do so, beginning with relocating his original store to a larger spot. From there, he secured the South County spot, as well as one in Soulard, which is slated to open in five or so weeks, and another in Grand Center, which is still under construction.

As for the newly opened akville location, Moore is offering the same menu as the Maplewood store, including Boardwalk’s signature ice cream filled waffle sandwiches, waffle sundaes called Wachos, waffle cones, shakes and waffle bowls. ce cream flavors, made by the ce Cream Factory, rotate regularly current options include chocolate chip cookie dough, black walnut, peanut butter blast and pumpkin spice. Moore has yet to launch brunch at the new spot, though that may come in the future. He also teases that, should business keep going the way it did this past weekend, he may add boo y beverages and live music in the future. n the meantime, Moore is just thrilled to finally be open and serving a little bit of joy to the South County community, hoping that he can keep the momentum going and reali e his vision for Boardwalk Waffles ce Cream as a national brand.

“My brother was telling me that if could be successful in akville, it would be a test case to see if could cross brand to different neighborhoods,” Moore says. “Next up is Soulard, then Grand Center, and after that ’m eyeing West County and alley Park. f can be successful in all of those different neighborhoods, then feel am much more closer to going nationwide.”

The akville Boardwalk ce Cream Waffles is open from Sunday through Thursday from noon until p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon until p.m. Click through for more photos of the new space. n

so well known for both his sangria and Bloody Marys at Onesto that his regulars would often ask him if he would ever consider bottling and selling them. While working a subsequent job at the Copper Pig, he began playing around with that idea when a coworker offered him the opportunity to start selling his wares at a pop-up winter market.

He was so amazed at the response he got to both his sangria (which he was selling frozen at the time) and Bloody Mary Mix that he decided to make his business official. After a few years of hard work, he officially launched his company, Southside Alchemy, in 2019.

Since then, Brutcher has enjoyed great success by selling his products at area farmers markets, pop-up shops and a handful of specialty stores around town. He’s even received numerous accolades for his mixes, including gold medal awards for his Bloody Mary mix at an international Bloody Mary competition. However, now that he has found a way to make his sangria mix shelf-stable, he feels that he is on the cusp of taking his business to the next level.

Brutcher hopes that the two-year shelf life of his sangria mix will allow him to begin selling more broadly in stores; currently, the product is available at Edibles & Essentials, Southside Wine & Spirits and LeGrand’s. He is also in talks with Craft Republic and Fox River Dairy, two distributors, that will help him get the mix in more stores, which will expand his reach. For now, he is currently offering only the Paradise Plum mix, but he is getting ready to launch raspberry-mango soon and plans to have more flavors added to the mix as soon as he has the capacity to do so.

As for how to enjoy the Paradise Plum mix, Brutcher suggests putting the entire jar into a large carafe, then filling it with an entire 750ml bottle of wine. Though he encourages people to be creative, he’s found that Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc work best for white wine enthusiasts, while those who want to drink red wine should stick with something light, like a Pinot Noir.

“Honestly, if it was me, I’d just add Franzia, because it changes the taste of the wine anyway,” Brutcher says. “Any bottle over $10 is wasting your money.” n