1 of 4
2 of 4
The spice level in the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp at Pairings Bistro & Wine Bar is perfect.
3 of 4
A steamed, 10-ounce cold water lobster tail with all the trimmings is a steal at $25.95.
4 of 4
Knives and forks on bare tables? Don't make us do it...
Hot Spot
Bistro Bliss
Keep your eye on Pairings Bistro & Wine Bar (formerly Pairings Wine & Dessert Bar), an impressive behind-the-scenes (literally) newcomer. Tucked back into the Colonnade Center along Manchester Avenue in Des Peres, Chef Rob Beasley launched a new lunch menu this week, to be followed by new dinner menu next week, and a Sunday Brunch menu soon after that. We got a chance to sample Beasley’s New Orleans BBQ shrimp, carrot cake, and flatbread (with Surryano ham, Gala apples, caramelized onion, blue cheese, and balsamic). He hit all of them way of out of the park. Alas, Pairings is closed until Tuesday, September 2. We can wait…but it won’t be easy. 1131 Colonnade Center, 314-821-5455, pairingswinebarstl.com
Insider Tips
Starry Eyed
It’s going to be a busy weekend at Starr’s in Richmond Heights. On top of the regular menu at Bud’s Grill and Smokehouse (inside Starr’s), there’s grass-fed beef meatloaf; a Wild Salmon Stir Fry (“in my opinion, the best way to eat wild salmon,” says Starr); Halibut Fish and Chips (“because I’m the only guy crazy enough to use this good of a fish”); and a return of the Lobster Fest (a 10-ounce steamed Maine lobster tail, local sweet corn, potato cake, and a glass of wine or salad, for $26.95 (“nobody’s crazy enough to do that either”). And, there’s no corkage fee on wines over $25 bought next door at the wine shop. Lunacy reigns…and it’s delicious. 1135 S. Big Bend, 314-781-2345, starrsstl.com
MicroRant
Utensil Conundrum
So you finish your first course and are instructed to “just keep your knife and fork.” But alas, there is no bread plate, nor any other receptacle on which to place them. Are we supposed to roll them back up into our napkin, perhaps, or maybe stick ‘em business side up into our water glass? Or figure out a way to unobtrusively hold them in our mitts until the next course arrives? Surely we’re not to place the soiled utensils onto what’s likely a soiled table… We shouldn’t. We couldn’t. Ahh, but most of the time we do.
