Turning the Tables

Chicagoans Eating in St. Louis? – The Weekend Report Story #1: According to Mike Emerson, owner of Pappy’s Smokehouse, BBQ junkies from “as far away as Wildwood” have made the trek to Midtown to partake in whatever addictive magic dust he puts in that dry-rub. Apparently on Friday, the Wildwood record was shattered. When a lunch customer commented to Emerson “and it was most certainly worth the drive,” Emerson asked the duo where they had driven from. “We’d been reading about this place for months…so we left Chicago at 7:00 this morning to eat lunch here and now we’re driving back.” Impressed? Read on. Story #2: On Saturday, another slightly-higher-viz Chicagoan was in town speaking to a record crowd (conservatively estimated at 80,000) on the Arch grounds. Long-time and active Barack Obama supporter Chris Sommers, owner of pizza restaurant Pi, had previously contacted the Obama advance team, saying he’d be honored to provide the crew with some post-visit nourishment. The team accepted Sommers’ offer and 5 pizzas were delivered downtown. Several hours later, Sommers’ cell phone rang: “Mr. Sommers? Please hold a moment.” After a pause: “Chris, this is Barack Obama. I just wanted to tell you that was the best pizza I have ever eaten—and I’m from Chicago. And thank you also for all your hard work and campaign support.” When I passed along the pizza story to Mike Emerson late Saturday afternoon, and suggested he send some real ‘cue to Kansas City (the next campaign stop) with Mr. Obama, he told me that wasn’t possible: the huge crowds downtown on Saturday had run Pappy’s completely out of food. – George Mahe