SLM contributor Joe Bonwich weighs in on local food events, happenings, and dining news of note. Look for his observations every other week in On the Burner, SLM's dining e-newsletter.
Raising the Roof
Vin De Set’s rooftop, arguably the coolest patio in town, will host a series of bargain prix-fixe dinners starting this Sunday, May 15, and extending throughout the summer. For the Sunday Supper Series, executive chef Ryan Buettner will riff on country French cooking, with a three-course meal for $24.99, plus tax and gratuity. This week: poutine, poached shrimp salad, and lemon-thyme roasted chicken. For reservations, call 314-241-8989.
New Moo For You
In case you did a double-take while passing The Cheshire yesterday: Yes, those really were cows in the parking lot, kicking off a line of private-label dairy products from Rolling Lawns Farms in Greensville, Illinois. The mother-son team of Connie and Michael Turley milk 120 registered Holstein cows every day in a redbrick parlor on the land where family members have farmed for more than a century. (Not coincidentally, Greenville is home to Marcoot Jersey Creamery, another well-rooted family farm that’s bottling the milk.) Rolling Lawns Farms’ product will be distributed by Fox River Dairy, which means you’ll find them at lots of stores around town, along with The Cheshire’s Boundary restaurant and other local eateries.
Bean-to-Barrel Chocolate
Barrel-aging is good—right, beer drinkers? Rick Jordan of Rick Jordan Chocolatier has adapted the concept to his Dominican and Haitian cacao beans, with several projects underway. Beans in a single-malt Scotch barrel and rum barrel will be used for future batches of chocolate. He’s also collaborating with Alpha Brewing Company and StilL630 to create some memorable whiskey. “The idea is that roughly half of the makeup of cacao is cocoa butter, which is essentially a fat,” says Jordan. “And fat is the vessel of flavor.” Also in the pipeline: Arkham’s Finest coffee-chocolate stout, a collaboration with Kuva Coffee and Modern Brewery aged in StilL 630’s barrels.
