Courtesy Juniper
Bacon Fat Fried Cornbread with chicken liver mousse, maple-sorghum molasses syrup and thyme. (Can you guess who's now running the kitchen at Juniper?)
INSIDER TIP
Daughaday + Damn Fine Whiskey
Courtesy Juniper
If you haven't visited Juniper recently, here are three reasons why you should. Last Friday, one of the town’s more accomplished chefs clocked in as exec chef. Matt Daughaday (formerly with Reeds American Table and Taste) is currently taking the culinary pulse via specials (two are pictured above and below) and then plans to roll out a menu menu based on his findings. Then salute the culinary coup at a complimentary bourbon tasting on January 21, from 5–7 p.m. where Dan Gardner from Four Roses Bourbon will sample a variety of his company’s distills, including this year’s Small Batch Select, an offering not yet available (but that can be pre-ordered at the event). Guests can also sign up for Juniper’s A Damn Fine Whiskey Club, which is currently pouring Whistle Pig Boss Hog and Jim Beam Distiller’s Masterpiece. 4101 Laclede, 314-329-7696.
Courtesy Juniper
A weekend special at Juniper: Matt Daughaday's crispy trout with Austrian winter peas, corn bread purée, and mushroom/country ham velouté
Drone photo courtesy Taco Buddha
HOT SPOTS
Good Karma at Taco Buddha
Courtesy Taco Buddha
Taco Buddha's Taco of the Month for January: Char Siu (Chinese BBQ) Pork with jalapeño-pineapple salsa, green onion, and red cabbage.
It probably didn’t hurt that the temperature was in the 50s for the indoor/mostly outdoor New Year’s Day party at Taco Buddha, but it likely wouldn’t have mattered. With the patio expanded and covered, business has been gangbusters, no matter the weather. The secret’s out on the breakfast tacos and the especial migas (with mesquite-smoked burnt ends) during the day on weekends, when the beverage menu is just as robust as the food offerings. Another pro tip: Breakfast Buddha Boxes (with packages of a dozen pre-wrapped tacos) are becoming more popular, though they must typically be ordered in advance with a four-box minimum; on Fridays, however, the minimum order is one box, which but must be ordered on Thursday. 7405 Pershing, 314-502-9951.
MICRORANT
Loud Swearers in Restaurants
Deagreez/iStock/Getty Images Plus
I suppose this diatribe could apply to loud swearers in general, but it’s especially unnerving in a restaurant situation (and gets more aggravating as the environs get more lavish). If you must engage in malediction, may we suggest using your museum voice, just for the offending word? The effect is the same and maybe even more so as your tablemates think, Did he say what I thought he just said? And no one else will hear it. The best way to address a loud swearer is the same as any other instance of overmodulation: Discretely inform restaurant management. Save the neck-craning and eyebrow-raising for another time, and don’t engage the vulgarian, lest you’re prepared for an even higher decibel level.
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