Chew In The Lou

One might think that with Missouri being long distances from the nearest ocean, that good seafood is hard to come by in St. Louis.  Well, that's not the case!  (and no, we are not pulling it out of the muddy Mississippi either!).  There are some stellar seafood restaurants and chefs in town, including our guest, Chef Heidi Skye Hamamura, owner of Taberu.  Oh, it's also Lent in St. Louis, so, FISH FRY SEASON!

Surprise! It's a double podcast drop day here at Chew In The Lou!  We figured if we are going to debut our new "A Delicious Day In Your Neighborhood" feature, and start with Kirkwood, it's only fitting that we drop a Webster Groves episode at the same time!  Give these episodes a listen, and then head over to Chew In The Lou on social media and tell us what we missed!  

In a new feature on our podcast, Lydia and Joe once a month will be talking about a local St. Louis neighborhood, and highlighting some of the long term food pillars, heavyweights, hidden gems, and up-and-coming establishments in that neighborhood's food scene.  Welcome to "A Delicious Day In Your Neighborhood".  First stop?  Kirkwood.  

Lydia and Joe look back on some of their more loving and memorable Valentine's Day meals, including in Joe's case when he screwed up the first Valentine's Day with the woman who would luckily stick around and become his wife.  This all leads up to a creamy and sweet conversation all about chocolate with master chocolatier Brian Pelletier of Kakao Chocolate, who finally answers the question for us: Is white chocolate really chocolate?

Have you given up on your New Year's resolution?  Yeah, us too.  Maybe it's because you set out to a goal to NEVER do something, as opposed to setting a goal of trying to do MORE of something, like trying more plant-based foods in 2022.  Let's explore that topic, with local plant-based eating expert Caryn Dugan, aka, STL Veg Girl!

Many folks across the St. Louis region kick off the new year with food related resolutions.  Eating healthier, cooking at home more, or cutting out alcohol in the month of January.  To explore this trend of "Dry January" a little more, we stopped in for a visit at The Mocktail Lounge on Main Street in St. Charles to try a few non-alcoholic libations.  Instead, what we got was a tremendously human story about recovery, motivation, and community.  Of course we sampled some tremendously fancy and fun mocktails too...

As we wrap up 2021 and look forward to 2022, we recap some of the top food news of the St. Louis region this year, and maybe some of 2020 as well because let's be honest, it's all sort of a blur right?  The pandemic has its hands in lots of this.  We pour out a drink for some favorite restaurants we lost, examine some trends emerging, and highlight some new kids on the block doing great things.  

Come along with us, as we take a stroll down Main Street St. Charles, all decked out for a traditional holiday celebration.  We eat some great food, talk to some awesome people, and soak in all the holiday cheer we can in this enclave of historical holiday happiness that is just over the the river and through the casinos.  

We've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty, and it's time to do some merry-making for the holidays.  What are some cool foodie gifts you can pick up for those you love?  And what about throwing a holiday party?  We need tips!  Luckily Simon Lehrer, Cheese Monger from Parker's Table in Richmond Heights, joins us to chat cheese and holiday party planning.  

We know it's coming.  It's not a surprise.  As food people we tend to get stressed out about it every year, and yet, we still love it.  It's time for Super Bowl of holiday gatherings. Get your roasters and carving boards ready, because it's TURKEY TIME St. Louis.  

We are a city of division sometimes, and lately it seems that those divisions are driving us further and further apart from each other.  When it comes to food though, sometimes the further apart things seem, the better the flavor can get!  So today, we are exploring those food dichotomies.  Those polar opposites that prove that in the end, food really CAN heal all divisions.   Who better than to chat with during this episode, then Tamara Keefe, the owner of an ice creamery known for creating frozen treats that are both "naughty & nice" at the same time!  

It's the final episode of 2021 in our "what's in season" series of the podcast.  We are pulling the final fruits of our labor out of our gardens, and cooking up some great food around town featuring squash and pumpkins galore.  

It is Oktoberfest season around St. Louis, and we are busting at the seams with beers, pretzels, and brats from across the region.  We'll discuss how the roots of the St. Louis beer culture are founded in the simplest of things, the local water supply.  Lastly, we will have a major announcement during our interview with Jeremy Danner of 4 Hands Brewing Company, who have partnered with Nine PBS to create Unmute Yourself, a special lager designed by our viewers.  

Fall has descended upon St. Louis in a glorious way, and with it comes the apple harvest around town.  You can always buy apples at the grocery store year round, but this time of year, apples are EVERYWHERE. How can you get in on the apple fun? What kinds of apples should you buy? What do you do with all those apples?  Well, we know one guy, Russ John of Brick River Cider Company in downtown St. Louis, who turns them into alcohol, and in this episode, we will learn about his process for creating local cider.  How 'bout them apples!

You really can make a solid lunch out of fitting all sorts of things between two pieces of sliced bread. But how did lunch become a meal that sometimes is just a sandwich on the go? And where in St. Louis do YOU go to grab a great lunch sandwich?  

Sometimes, making really delicious food at home boils down to just buying the best ingredients, and right now, backyard gardens and farmers markets have some produce that are at their peak in the St. Louis region.  Let's talk about what's in season, where to find it, and what to cook with it. Find related content, like recipes from this episode, at chewinthelou.org/podcasts.

In this very first episode of the Chew In The Lou podcast from Nine PBS, hosts Lydia Gwin and Joe Prosperi start us off with the basics.  How did we get here, and where are we going?  What was the journey we took to become the foodies that we are today, and how does that impact the food we eat tomorrow around St. Louis?