Courtesy Yellowbelly
INSIDER TIP
Yellowbelly Scores a Zero
Dry January just got a little more interesting in St. Louis. Beginning this week, Yellowbelly launched a line of distilled, zero-alcohol beverages based on the island-inspired restaurant’s most popular nonalcoholic drinks. (Future offerings will include non-alcoholic takes on classic cocktails.) By distilling aromatic leaves, fruits, flowers, and other plant materials, co-owner/beverage director Tim Wiggins created a nonalcoholic base with the flavor and mouthfeel of an alcoholic beverage. The initial Zero Gravity Cocktail menu includes Jupiter Juice (with passionfruit, almond, white jasmine, ginger, and citrus), Moon Vacuum (with tamarind, guava, pomegranate, grapefruit, hibiscus, and citrus), as well as a Faux-Groni and a Piña Co-Nada. The cocktails are available for online ordering from Tuesdays through Thursdays and available for pickup every Friday in January. The 16-ounce bottles (enough for four servings) are $20 and can be mixed with hard spirits, which are also available at Yellowbelly. 4659 Lindell, 314-499-1509.
Courtesy STilL 630
HOT SPOT
School Daze at STilL 630
Courtesy STilL 630
While the first thing that caught our eye was the logo of SwineShine, a new spiced apple whisky collaboration from STilL 630 and KSHE-95, we were just as surprised at the announcement of the distillery’s first cocktail class, on January 21. The focus for the initial class is cocktail syrups. Attendees will learn how to create, pair, and use them in concoctions that can be made at home. The evening’s syllabus includes two cocktails, two bottles of syrup, and 20 percent off any bottle purchases made that night. One class will be held between 5:30 and 7 p.m. and the other between 7:15 and 8:45 p.m. Each class is limited to 10 people. The class is $35, and reservations must be made in advance. 1000 S. 4th, 314-513-2275.
MICRORANT
Leaky To-go Orders
Photo by George Mahe
Let’s face it: Some to-go materials are better than others. And while we prefer snap-shut containers especially when sauces are involved, we’re not opposed to a cardboard box, compostable clamshell, Styrofoam, or an aluminum pan with a lid, as long as they’re wrapped as tight as a mummy to prevent leaking. Experience has shown that even when subjected to a minimal amount of jostling, a restless liquid will find its way out of the imperfect container and into the paper bag, which may result with dinner being deposited on the sidewalk. Note to restaurants: A few cents worth of plastic wrap sure beats remaking a meal altogether.
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