I have begun to think that doing a blog is just more work than I imagined. But...I intend to do some traveling pretty soon and I want to take some photos, so I think this is a good place to do that. I hope I will not be as lazy as I have been for the last year or so...anyway I'm on it. I just want to mention that I attended a screening of a movie coming out called, The Grand Budapest Hotel...a Wes Anderson film. Wow. Just blew me away with its whimsy, humor and crazy,wintry scenes. Ralph Fiennes was made for this role. The cast of actors ranged from Harvey Keitel to Adrien Brody. I may not be great at summarizing a plot but let it be noted that my enthusiasm for this film hopefully makes up for that lack. Heartily Recommended. Go see it when it's out and let me know what you think.

I AM SUCH A LAZY GAL...

Look how long it's been since I've entered anything on my little blog. Good Golly!
Well, I just happened to have been so inspired by a couple of new restaurants that I have to blog away about them.

In the Central West End here in St. Louie, there is a lovely little cafe called Green Bean. There's chopped salads there that'll make you wonder why you don't eat salad every day. There's also wine and beer...special wine and beer. Just go eat there. It is a sweet, affordable place.

In Clayton there's Crushed Red. It is a casual, warm and friendly place that also has chopped salads (you choose from many ingredients) in addition to Pizza slices with your choice of ingredients. Beer and wine too...at least I think so. I just had a salad and enjoyed it so-o-o much.

I've been really getting into chopped salads ever since last October when I visited Washington DC. There is a restaurant there called Chopped. Same concept.

So happy we St. Louis folks now have a couple of fun chopped salad places.

Go eat. Go enjoy. Go support. Local folks with lovely restaurants.

VILLAGES-WHAT MAKES ONE?

I've been spending time in the Boston area for a couple of months and I visited a couple of "villages." I visited the lovely Rockport, MA and the larger but still wonderful Newburyport, MA. Both are on the seaside and both have been around for quite some time.

Visiting them made me question what a village is (or should be, maybe)...I noticed that both of these little towns had numerous shops selling items of questionable value to tourists (Rockport, more so). Yes, I know there are tourist towns and that in them one can expect shop after shop filled with bumper stickers, cheap jewelry and shot glasses upon which the town's name is emblazoned.
But what about a real village? Do they exist today?

I'd love to find the one that dwells picturesquely in the back of my mind.

I think a functioning village needs a few basic things. Here are a some of my requirements...you may disagree.

*a school or schools
*a few food stores selling healthy veg, fruit and other 'real' food for making one's food at home
*some healthcare practitioners
*a store or two that sells clothing
*a couple or more cafes or restaurants where people gather for discussions and to have a meal or drink good coffee.
*a bakery
*a newspaper (or the equivalent)...newsletter, weekly happenings mag or the like
*a place that sells all things garden-ish such as seeds, baby chicks, straw and the like
*a place that sells items specific to that particular community (mountain gear if it's a mountain village, surfboards if near a good surfing area)
*a place for artisans to sell and display their wares
*a functioning farmer's market
*a dance hall
*a winery or a place that sells wine/craft beers/liqueurs

I know there's more. Everyone might have his/her own picture of what those things could be.

One thing I do know is that towns and villages seem to be filling up with tanning salons, nail studios and before such extensive internet access, movie rental places.
Those businesses will never be elements of what I think a real functioning village needs to be what I want it to be.

Then again, perhaps I'm living in the past, valuing simplicity and my own interests over so much choice...but then I would, wouldn't I...older folks do that sometimes.

I would love to know if anyone has other or additional things that need to exist in a fully functioning village.

At any rate...how lovely both these spots on the earth were when I visited and how lucky am I to have gotten to visit them.

Visiting them just made me think a bit...that's all.

I'M SO NEGLIGENT

I've been to Boston, Rhode Island and New York City. I love the experiences but forget to write about them.

I've loved Farmhaus restaurant in my neighborhood...been there several times. I have a present for them. I just have to remember to bring it.

I will have to post some photos from my trip out East. Golly was it fun. In Rhode Island while visiting an old friend, I had a "martini" made with St. Germaine liqueur and it was fabulous.

Ate at a great raw foods restaurant in Boston, Prana....I'd eat there weekly if I lived there. Wonderful!

So, on and on....I hope I can bring myself to write about it. It was such fun.

I COULD LIVE IN EDWARDSVILLE...I THINK

After eating at a new restaurant in Edwardsville, Il. I'm pretty sure I could actually live there...well, maybe.

The restaurant is Peel and it is quite an upscale place in design but moderate in price. I had an Italian sandwich that consisted of mozzarella cheese (fresh) artichokes, basil pesto and other delectables. I nearly swooned at the fresh, delicate deliciousness of it. mmmmm...

My friend had a pizza that was probably one of the best I've tasted...ever! They prepare it in an 800 degree wood-fired oven.

Peel is on the outskirts of Edwardsville and is worth any kind of toolin' around drive when you are hungry for lunch or dinner.

Just astonishingly good! Enough said.

WHAT A DINNER I MADE LAST NIGHT.

I forgot to mention my lovely dinner last night:
*portabella with garlic/wine sauce
*asparagus tips.
*salad from my garden with a light balsamic/olive oil dressing.
*steamed artichoke with a orange butter dip.
*crunchy artisan bread

So very, very tasty. I wish I'd taken photos but alas, I did not.

Use your imagination...think of a very good meal...and then you'll have it.

YOUNG PEOPLE CAN BE SO REFRESHING!

Hung around Atomic Cowboy this evening...what a cool place, by the way, and had a pleasant conversation with an intelligent young man.
So nice to know that young folks have great ways of looking at life.

Another thought: My working with the Sapp has been both rewarding and stressful. Most of the people we meet are our teachers whether we want them to be or not.

Ah....everything is but a lesson.

NEW RESTAURANTS I'VE ENJOYED

There are two restaurants in town that I hadn't tried and one very new one. I think the two had been in existence for a while...but I just hadn't been to visit them.

The first is Sweet Arts. It's a bakery/cafe. What a nice little cafe...all vegetarian...on 39th street in the Grand area. I had a tasty veggie burger, so meat-like that half way through consuming it I had to go check with the counter person to make sure it truly was vegetarian. It was. This place also has a cupcake happy hour which I think is a nice touch. Awwww...so cute. : )

The second is Vegadeli. This is a small cafe in a strip mall on Olive Blvd. just off I-64 (Hwy 40) quite far from where I live (boohoo)...but worth the drive. I had a varied menu to choose from with lots of raw food dishes and I chose the mango burger. Just dandy! I enjoyed it with a few nicely roasted potatoes.

The third and very newest restaurant is Farmhaus on Ivanhoe very near where I live. They only offer lunch at this time and it's a "blue plate special" as in days past, where lunch could be fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a salad all for one money. In this case it's ten bucks. I only had their salad (see photo) which they were happy to provide and which I enjoyed. On my second visit I added their green bean casserole...very delish, made with fresh green beans. I think they will soon have tables outdoors and will begin serving dinner. It's very exciting having another good restaurant using fresh veggies and local foods in my neck of the woods.

I wish all these folks much success. I enjoyed eating in each of them.

FARMHAUS RESTAURANT-READY?

I am very excited about a new restaurant opening in my neighborhood. (And trying to forget about plumbing problems I'm having here at the old homeplace grrrrr...)
This new restaurant is not vegetarian, of course, but it does seem like the chef is open to taking care of us when we visit. I hope so.

I want to go with a friend of mine and know they are startin' up lunch this week but don't know exactly when.

One of my favorite things to do is to eat at the bar of a neighborhood restaurant. I have done it for years at Trattoria Marcella. They are in my neighborhood, they are wonderful and I can sit at the bar and know I will be taken care of. They always do that...pretty much without exception.

So...that's what I am hoping for with Farmhaus. I haven't seen their innards yet so I don't know what the bar situation is, etc. It would be nice if that could be an option 'cause I really like doing it...sitting at the bar, listening to the ambient sounds of people out to dinner, chatting with folks sitting near (if it seems the thing to do)...like that. I just enjoy the whole experience.

So, when I make it over to Farmhaus I'll let you know how it is.

Keep in touch if you're reading this.