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Chanterelle mushrooms are especially prized, not just for their flavor, but also for their deep golden color.
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The Margherita DOP pizza at The Good Pie.
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"Dorm Room" dinners--where notable, local chefs prepare a 5-course meal using equipment found in a college dorm room--are held sporadically throughout the year at 33 Wine Shop & Bar.
SLM contributor Byron Kerman weighs in regularly on local food events, happenings, and dining news of note. Look for his wit, wisdom, and whimsy every other week both here and in SLM's e-newsletter, On the Burner.
Milkin’, Picklin’and ‘Shroomin’
The rejuvenated Local Harvest Cafe offers some cool food classes in July, including a field-trip caravan to Windcrest Dairy in Trenton, Ill. (July 9); a chanterelle mushroom hunt followed by a tour of Earth Angel Mushrooms in Pacific, Mo. (July 13); a “Quick Pickles” class (July 15); and an elaborate “Grow Your Own Mushrooms” cultivation class in which students enjoy a mushroom-based meal and leave with an oyster-mushroom kit (July 19). Call 314-865-5260 to register.
Kitchen Kulture Kool
Back in college, we used to put a damp bath towel under our dorm room door to be able to safely, um, engage in our favorite pastime. These days, we indulge in another ways, like at 33 Wine Shop & Bar's semi-regular series of Dorm Room Dinners. On July 14, the guest chefs will be Michael Miller and Christine Meyer of Kitchen Kulture, serving "riffs on the late-night meals found at your local gas station." Seatings for the $40 dinner are at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Call 314-231-WINE (9463) to nab a seat. No need to bring a towel.
DOP: Damn Outstanding Pizza
DOP stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta. It refers to food from Italy that passes a set of rigorous tests to make it top-flight, official stuff. At The Good Pie in the U. City Loop, the Margherita DOP pizza starts with that wonderful, chewy dough as a base for the simplest of Margherita sauces, made from straight San Marzano tomatoes pressed through a ricer. Then, dollops of DOP buffalo mozzarella join the party, and finally, leaves of locally grown basil. That’s it – the crust and three ingredients. After 90 seconds in the wood-fired oven (which you should really look inside – it’s hypnotic), it’s done. And this is one Deliciously Orthodox Pie.
