Courtesy Balaban's
Balaban's managing partner Brian Underwood and friends
HOT SPOT
Balaban’s for Wine
One of the few restaurants in town with an in-house wine shop, Balaban’s boasts what others can’t: a long-standing, curated “library cellar” containing special and older vintages, including bottles that have never been marked up over the years. Each year, the cellar wines are replaced on a bottle-by-bottle basis—meeting managing partner Brian Underwood’s standards for quality, drinkability, and longevity—permitting a continuing selection that matures as the years go by. Just this week, Balaban’s restaurant once again received the coveted Best of Award of Excellence for 2019 from Wine Spectator, considered one of the world’s authorities on wine.
To mark the occasion, for the next two weeks (through July 20), customers receive 10% off selected Wine Spectator reviewed wines (both by the drink and by the bottle). Of note is that 200 of the cellar’s 4,600 bottles retail for $20 or less, and that the restaurant’s wine list is priced with minimal markup (i.e., close to retail prices). For in-restaurant consumption, corkage on any bottle is a mere $8. The wine term “easy-drinking” just took on a whole new meaning. 1772 Clarkson, 636-449-6700.
Photo by George Mahe
At Nora's, the Hangover Club (smoked turkey, genoa salami, provolone, bacon, and country mustard served hot on a hoagie) is $8.49 with a side.
INSIDER TIP
More Local Sandwich Shops
Photo by Byron Kerman
While we have no qualms with the convenience and familiarity of chain sandwich joints, the many independent shops in St. Louis should stay top of mind. At 10-year old Nora’s in Dogtown (1136 Tamm), where the number of sandwiches (20) roughly equals the number of seats, the meats are still smoked in house. Play Beat the Clock every Tuesday and Wednesday from 5–8 p.m., when the price of your sandwich is the exact time you order it—so arrive early! At Vinnie’s Italian Beef and Gyros (3208 Ivanhoe), you’ll never regret ordering the namesakes, a mammoth, knife-and-fork–required Italian beef sandwich with mild house-made giardiniera or the gyro with pita grilled in meat drippings. The mandatory capper is the pinwheel-shaped baklava (pictured at right). .
MICRORANT
No Crowd Control Stanchions
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Fast and fast-casual restaurant owners with limited queueing areas, take note: While we normally object to being shuttled into a human maze, we concede that ropes and stanchions do keep waiting diners in proper order and line jumpers at bay (as well as those who employ the ol’ chat-and-cut maneuver). Recently, on an insanely hot and humid day, we welcomed the contrivance as it prevented an otherwise jumbled line from streaming out the door, into the steamy elements.
Follow George on Twitter @stlmag_dining and feel free to send him Tidbits at gmahe@stlmag.com. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
