a Better Bubbleā„¢

RFT šŸ“°

St. Louis Restaurant Openings and Closings: October 2021

3 years ago


Not only did the month of October see a healthy number of restaurant openings ā€” one reminiscent of pre-pandemic levelsĀ ā€” it also saw an exciting diversity of concepts. Botanica, Commonwealth and Tempus all doubled down on the belief that upscale, full-service dining is alive and well, opening up their dining rooms (Tempus had been carryout only for its first year operations) from Wildwood to Grand Center to the Grove, respectively.ā€¦
Cheryl Baehr

Creole with a Splash of Soul Is a Dream Realized

3 years ago
Just as you cannot fully describe the splendor of seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon to someone who's never had that experience, it's difficult to fully communicate the grandeur of the Creole chicken-and-shrimp nachos at Creole with a Splash of Soul. Less the sort of bar staple you pick up with your hands, these are closer in spirit to Mexican chilaquiles; the seasoned tortilla chips are not a vehicle for shoveling toppings, but rather a base for a mountain of bell peppers, onions, jalapeƱos, juicy hunks of Creole spiced chicken and flawlessly cooked shrimp covered in a sauce somewhere between blackened alfredo and a luscious fondue.ā€¦
Cheryl Baehr

Mission Taco Joint Teams Up With Nonprofit to Raise Money for Foster Children

3 years ago

Mission Taco Joint co-owner Adam Tilford completed his family with the adoption of his son, Mateo, and heā€™s looking to give back once again to an organization close to his familyā€™s heart: The Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition.

The Family First program at Mission Taco Joint (multiple locations including 398 North Euclid Avenue, 314-930-2955) donates $1 for each kidā€™s meal sold. A press release details the coalition works ā€œto create permanency in childrenā€™s lives in foster care and works with the most vulnerable kids to get them placed in a forever home.ā€ The program lasts throughout the month of November, coinciding with National Adoption Month.

ā€œThis is our third year working with Mission Taco Joint for National Adoption Month,ā€ Natasha Leonard, director of external relations at the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition, says in a statement.ā€¦
Jenna Jones

St. Louis County Executive Unveils Plan for Vaccinating Children Against COVID-19

3 years ago

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page says children could receive their COVID-19 shots as early as Saturday.

The FDA recently approved Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children ages five to eleven years old for emergency use. With the final steps of the CDCā€™s approval hopefully happening this week, Page says the county can be ready as early as this weekend.

The county executive says he doesnā€™t believe there will be any need for a mass vaccination site but cautioned that supply might be ā€œtightā€ for a few weeks as the shots open up.ā€¦
Jenna Jones

Andy Cohen and Clementine's Announce ā€˜Peppermint Andyā€™ Collaboration

3 years ago


Clementineā€™s Creamery (multiple locations including 1637 South 18th Street, 314-474-5800) and favorite St. Louis son, Andy Cohen, are launching a new ice cream flavor, and itā€™s available at Clementineā€™s scoop shops starting today.

Named ā€œPeppermint Andy,ā€ the new flavor is a swirly pink peppermint-chocolate mix and itā€™s arriving just in time for the holiday Mariah Carey season. Itā€™s made with Clementine's dairy base, crushed King Leo Peppermint candies, dark chocolate curls and a hint of vanilla.


The new flavor is more than just a new sweet treat, though; itā€™s the first step in a charitable chain.ā€¦
Jaime Lees

Boom of Gunshots Interrupts Press Conference on Gun Violence in St. Louis

3 years ago

St. Louisans often joke about whether a loud boom is "gunshots or fireworks," but there was little guesswork needed to identify the sounds that interrupted St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones on Friday at a press conference as she spoke about gun violence.

Held in Dutchtown, the press conference featured Jones and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.ā€¦
Danny Wicentowski

Go Karts on Ice Experience Is Coming to St. Louis

3 years ago

Driving go karts on a track is fun, but driving go karts on ice sounds even better. Itā€™s called ā€œIce Kartingā€ and it looks fun and slightly dangerous (but in the fun way).

In St. Louis, youā€™ll be able to try it out for yourself soon at Centene Community Ice Center (750 Casino Center Drive, 314-452-2244) in Maryland Heights, right near Riverport.

The ice karting event will include a custom-made ice track, obstacles youā€™ll have to steer around and crazy racing outfits that you can wear so you can ā€œrace around the track in style.ā€


But if racing isnā€™t your thing, theyā€™ll have other ways to entertain yourself on site including curling and hockey shooting.

And did we mention the alcohol?ā€¦
Jaime Lees

Send RFT a Picture of Your Halloween Decorations to Share With St. Louis

3 years ago

When weā€™ve been out driving around lately, weā€™ve noticed that it seems like the Halloween decorations this year are particularly awesome. With more people spending time at home during the pandemic, it looks like St. Louisans have also found more time to make their houses look extra spooky this season.

Weā€™d love to see all of the cool things youā€™ve done to decorate your yard this year.ā€¦
Jaime Lees

Company Hired by Missouri For Medical Marijuana Program Loses $28 Million Lawsuit

3 years ago

A company hired by Missouri officials to help review applications for the state's medical marijuana program has been ordered to pay $28 million to one of the applicants it rejected.

Wise Health Solutions, a joint venture between Oakland, California's Oaksterdam University and Nevada-based regulatory compliance company Veracious Investigative, was awarded a contract by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in August 2019.Ā According to a press release from the company at that time, its purpose was to "review applications for prospective medical cannabis businesses, in anticipation of Missouri's burgeoning medical cannabis industry."

But, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, the heads of at least one company that was passed over for a license believe that the process was unfair. St. Charles-based GMT Consulting, one of many groups who applied to be a part of the state's medical marijuana industry, leveled a lawsuit against Wise Health Solutions, asserting that its methodology in scoring potential participants was flawed, even going so far as to accuse the company of corruption.

The case wound its way into arbitration, and GMT prevailed.ā€¦
Daniel Hill

St. Louis Standards: Sportsman's Park Connects History to Today

3 years ago

James Probstein cannot verify the urban legend that surrounds the chicken wings at his Ladue mainstay, Sportsman's Park (9901 Clayton Road, Ladue; 314-991-3381), but the rumors have been swirling for years. The word on the street is that Jackie Smith, the NFL Hall of Famer and former co-owner of the restaurant (along with James' dad Norman), was the person who brought Buffalo wings to St. Louis when the restaurant opened in the 1970s.ā€¦
Cheryl Baehr

Robhots: A Small Company With a Big Focus on Quality Edibles

3 years ago
The beginnings of Robhots can be traced back to January 2014 in Colorado, out of a need for a quality and consistent edible that was extremely effective. Starting in our rental house, Robhots quickly gained a following and a reputation for a great tasting, consistent gummy.ā€¦
Sponsored by Robhots

Trixie Mattel Has Emergency Surgery in St. Louis

3 years ago

Americaā€™s favorite drag queen, Trixie Mattel, has spent some time in St. Louis these past couple of days recovering from emergency surgery.

The television star, YouTube celebrity, podcast host, makeup entrepreneur, icon and skinny legend was headed into St. Louis for an event at Webster University but an emergency appendix surgery ruined all of those plans.


A Tweet posted last night said that Mattel was recovering at St. Maryā€™s hospital after Mattelā€™s appendix ā€œbasically implodedā€ on the airplane into town. Mattel hadnā€™t felt well lately and this explains it all.


That Tweet has since been removed but you know that Mattel is speaking the truth because this tweet from last night showed Richmond Heights as the location and referenced a Lindsay Lohan clip that is extra funny when one is bored and laid up in a hospital bed because their appendix got turnt.


We reached out for an interview but Mattelā€™s people declined.ā€¦
Jaime Lees