Regular AT HOME readers may have recently experienced a Brian Eno-esque “been there, done that” moment from an unlikely source: The Big Black Book.
That prestige-bound publication issues semiannually from Esquire, the venerable men’s-lifestyle magazine, and each edition features a two-page department dubbed “The Resources” (coincidentally enough, also the title, sans the article, of a longstanding department in our own mag). “The Resources” cites Esquire’s recommendations for seven services in six cities—and the cities listed in The Big Black Book for fall 2010 include Delhi, Brussels, Istanbul…and St. Louis.*
Moreover, for dry cleaning here, Esquire recommends Pleats Dry Cleaners (13275 Manchester, 314-779-0171, pleatscleaners.com). Almost a full year ago, of course, AT HOME itself lauded Pleats, which we named a readers’ pick in the category of “Dry Cleaner, Eco-Friendly” in our Nov/Dec 2009 cover feature, “The Best of Everything!” Esquire’s editors apparently have fallen a bit behind in their background reading; we plan to drop them a gentle reproof about that—after taking copious notes on Stacey Grenrock Woods’ latest column, that is.
For a local florist, by the way, The Big Black Book touts Botanicals Design Studio (3014 S. Grand, 314-772-7674,
The other five services listed by Esquire’s editors, with their choices locally, follow: alterations tailor, Daniel Morgan, Tailor (2701 S. Jefferson, 314-664-6366); barber, Blades on Washington (1123 Washington, 314-335-7030, bladesonwashington.com); cobbler, Busy Bee Shoe Repair & Alterations (33 N. Central, 314-725-1016); liquor store, Randall’s (1910 S. Jefferson, 314-865-0199, shoprandalls.com); and watch repair, Kessler Mroz Jewelry (777 Olive, 314-621-0822, kesslermrozjewelry.com).
AT HOME kudos to all of these concerns for earning primo praise on the national level!
Sporting an incongruously plum cover, The Big Black Book for fall contains 190 pages, costs $9.95, and occupies magazine racks in finer booksellers and newsstands throughout the metro area. Why not give it a flip—after you’ve bought our own latest issue, naturally?
*Also included: Nashville and Portland. With all due respect to those two cities, though, they lack the name-dropping glam of Delhi, Brussels, and Istanbul.
