Riverfront Times, May 26, 2021 by Riverfront Times

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MARCH 6-12, 2019

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THE LEDE

S “I want all to know that, with my Iraqi flag, we are Iraqis; we support Palestine. That’s where we came from. That’s all we know. When I was younger, all we knew was that Palestine needed to be free and needed justice.” ALI JABBER, PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE RISE UP WITH PALESTINE MARCH AND RALLY IN THE DELMAR LOOP ON SUNDAY, MAY 16

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MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

leek, Stylish, Clever are adjectives that best describe this custom designed home by Mitchell Wall. Boasting an open, yet completely cozy floor plan; here you’ll find two main floor master bedroom suites each found on opposite ends of the home. One is a perfect guest suite with its private entrance thru a garden area. There is a music room that could be a nursery, second study or a huge and second master bedroom closet in the already amazing suite. The foyer main staircase is an elegant reversed circular. There is a private back staircase to the second floor where you’ll find three suites with private baths, walk-in closets and a large bonus room perfect for a teenagers study room or guests entertaining space. Don’t miss entertaining in the walk-out lower level with second kitchen, Game table area, exercise room and bedroom with full bath. The resort like living continues with a large pool and pool bath, covered stone and paver brick patio, fire pit, pizza oven and built in BBQ. The main kitchen is a cook’s delight.

555 Deer Valley Court St. Albans, Missouri 63073 Price: $1,424,900 House info: 7 Bedrooms, 7.5 Baths, 8,684 Square Feet, year built 2008 Listing Agent Info: Melinda McCarthy | 314.606.2180 | melinda@stalbans.com riverfronttimes.com

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Warming Up

t’s hard to gauge this summer. It’s not the pandemic-free party we were dreaming of last year, but people are cautiously (some of them, anyway) returning to the world. Tons of concerts are on the books, and even if you’re like a lot of us who are still squeamish about eating indoors, St. Louis’ restaurants and bars figured out just about every alternative they could over the past year-plus to keep people safe. This summer just feels better. With that in mind, we tried to create our annual Summer Guide in a way that meets the moment. It’s optimistic and embraces all the fun parts of the season, and it also includes plenty of options if you’re still avoiding the crowds but want to take advantage of the weather. You’ll find something to keep you entertained. So take a look — and get your vaccine, so we can do it up even bigger next year. —Doyle Murphy, editor in chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER

Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy

E D I T O R I A L Digital Editor Jaime Lees Interim Managing Editor Daniel Hill Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Contributors Cheryl Baehr, Eric Berger, Jeannette Cooperman, Mike Fitzgerald, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Theo Welling, Ymani Wince Columnists Thomas Chimchards, Ray Hartmann Editorial Interns Jack Killeen, Riley Mack

Summer Nights Make sure you don’t miss one moonlit moment of the most glorious season of all

A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain

Cover illustration by

SAM WASHBURN

M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Advertising Director Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Chuck Healy Digital Sales Manager Chad Beck Director of Public Relations Brittany Forrest

INSIDE The Lede Hartmann News The Big Mad Feature

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Late Night Eats

St. Louis’ Owl Man

Adventuring After Hours

Arkadin Cinema

See, Shop, Slurp

Actual Music Listings!

Cafe Short Orders Reeferfront Times Savage Love 6

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com N A T I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com S U B S C R I P T I O N S Send address changes to Riverfront Times, 5257 Shaw Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $78/6 months (MO add $4.74 sales tax) and $156/year (MO add $9.48 sales tax) for first class. Allow 6-10 days for standard delivery. www.riverfronttimes.com The Riverfront Times is published weekly by Euclid Media Group | Verified Audit Member Riverfront Times PO Box 179456, St. Louis, MO, 63117 www.riverfronttimes.com General information: 314-754-5966 Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977

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HARTMANN Mark McCloskey Emailing Friendly tidings from a racist lout BY RAY HARTMANN

he “Dear Ray” email got right to the point. The subject line read, “The Fascist BLM mob.” And the outrage poured forth: “We were threatened with our lives, threatened with our house being burned down, threatened with my office being burned down, even our dog’s life was threatened. “My name is Mark McCloskey and I’m proud I can say that when the mob came for me and my wife, we stood our ground. And the scariest part of all? What you saw happen to us could just as easily happen to any of you reading this email today.” Well, only if we decided to play Rambo and terrorize innocent bystanders. And by “terrorize” I’m speaking of the McCloskeys’ tragic fashion choices. The guns they were pointing merely qualified as “menacing.” Now, it was reassuring to learn that I didn’t inadvertently get to be on a first-name basis with this low-life scumbag. No, I received this email last week by landing on McCloskey’s radar as a fellow “conservative.” That’s because I’m a subscriber to the Daily Wire, a right-wing site that sells its list to anyone disgusting enough, apparently. This was nothing more than a piece of garbage-in, garbageout fundraising spam, brought to you by the nice people from garbage. But it did offer a glimpse into how wingnuts talk amongst themselves. The headline didn’t leave any doubt: “URGENT: BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS BROKE DOWN MY GATE AND THREATENED TO BURN MY HOUSE DOWN.” Now, I wasn’t part of the mob that came for Mark and Patricia

McCloskey at their mansion last June 28. Actually, no one was, because no one came for these fools. Just like no one broke their gate down and no one carried anything ammable. (That’s your side that does that, moron.) As we all saw on the videos, a large group of peaceful protesters was just trying to walk past the McCloskeys’ mansion on the way to protest at the home of former St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. No one cared about these losers and their house. Why should they? The protesters were in search of racial justice, not racists. Mark and Patricia McCloskey were the only people doing any threatening that day. They were the ones who waddled out onto their fancy lawn to confront the protesters, pointing lethal firearms at them. Defending one’s home is of course a protected activity. Threatening the lives of innocent people walking by is not. The McCloskeys deserved to be prosecuted by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who didn’t deserve to be forced off the case by the white legal establishment. Interestingly, however, Mark McCloskey’s email even got the part about Gardner wrong. Here’s what millions were told: “When I was charged by the St. Louis County Attorney for exercising my constitutional right to bear arms — I fought back.” Yes, the email didn’t refer to the city “circuit attorney,” rather to the “county attorney.” Not certain what Beth Orwick is doing in this movie, but that’s what the email said. Back to the McCloskeys’ big day, I’m not a fan of protests at people’s homes, on either side of the great political divide. But no one was protesting at these jackasses’ precious domicile. Don’t take my word for it: Dozens of their neighbors signed a public letter denouncing the McCloskeys as the civic embarrassment they are. No one else in the posh neighborhood of beautiful historic mansions seemed threatened by the nonviolent protesters that day. But Mark McCloskey isn’t just any old racist. He’s the one who has parlayed his fifteen minutes of ill-gotten fame into fifteen weeks as a Donald Trump campaign prop and now into fifteen months or more as a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat that Sen. Roy

Scoring a Carlson sound bite on the first day of your campaign is like getting knighted with a tiki torch by Trump. Lots of persecuted white people tipped their hoods to McCloskey. Blunt will be vacating at the end of next year. It takes a special brand of bigot to qualify on the first day as a political candidate — for a browfurrowed sendoff on the top-rated Tucker Carlson “White Supremacy Hour” on the Fox News Channel. And McCloskey got it. “On Tuesday evening I announced LIVE on Tucker Carlson my campaign for the United States Senate. I’ve never run for office before, and as political newcomer [sic], I’m now turning to conservatives like YOU for help.” Scoring a Carlson sound bite on the first day of your campaign is like getting knighted with a tiki torch by Trump. Lots of persecuted white people tipped their hoods to McCloskey. Especially when he told Carlson, “God came knocking on my door disguised as an angry mob.” So don’t sell this guy short. In a battle for the soullessness of the Trumplican Party, it’s political gold to be able to brag, “When the BLM mob came to destroy my home, I stood my ground. … You can count on me to never run, hide or quit when things get heated. I will never stop defending you.” Not sure if that means the McCloskeys are offering to make house calls to others in St. Louis who wish to ward away BLM passersby. Maybe instead of door-todoor fundraising, the McCloskeys will show up to train their shaking weapons at any wandering Black

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person in your neighborhood. As Mark McCloskey warned in his letter, “When the mob begins to march — whether it’s in the suburbs of St. Louis, Portland, OR, or Houston, TX — everyone is fair game, no one is safe from the wrath.” The McCloskeys, of course, don’t live in the suburbs of St. Louis. But they also don’t live on a farm, and his first campaign video shows him in front of one on a tractor. No matter. He’s after the Trump base. Presumably, this personal-injury lawyer from the big city figures he can con the rubes. But he does need to be more careful. One line in the email might not play well: It read, “Let’s be clear: Neither my wife nor I discharged our weapon. Not a single individual was harmed. We became the go-to villains for the cancel-culture left, simply for defending our home.” Didn’t discharge the weapon? It’s not clear how McCloskey would be able to respond if one of his opponents — say, disgraced ex-Governor Eric Greitens — tells the folks he wouldn’t have been afraid to do some shooting on that day. And that he certainly wouldn’t be bragging if he hadn’t. As a political rookie, McCloskey must learn never to look short on testosterone in a GOP primary. More visuals and fewer words will be needed by McCloskey if he’s going to compete on the big stage. But to be fair, that point wasn’t lost on whoever concocted his email fundraising pitch. The email stars that iconic photo of the barefoot McCloskeys in their mustard-stained Brooks Brothers outfits holding dangerous firearms with the dexterity of polar bears. Alongside the photo are these words, as if inscribed in the world’s corniest family photo album: “THIS IS ME DEFENDING MY HOME FROM BLM.” That’s just perfect. These are simply the worst people ever. But I do feel sorry for their dog. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhar tmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on Donnybrook at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on the Nine Network and St. Louis In the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

NEWS

Jail Detainees Sue, Alleging Abuse Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

eople detained in a city jail say corrections officers routinely abused them and others, beating them, shutting off their water in retaliation for the slightest offenses or no offenses at all and stuffing them in enclosed rooms before filling the air with mace to let them “marinate.” Three detainees are now suing the city and nine corrections employees over treatment at the City Justice Center. The downtown jail has been the site of multiple fiery uprisings in the past six months, the result, detainees and their advocates say, of inhumane conditions and unanswered grievances. “I had a corrections officer tell me, We will kill your ass in here.’ Somebody has to do something,” Darnell Rusan, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement released by his attorneys. “People are going to do what you let them do, and I hope that this lawsuit is an attempt to stop that.” Rusan is joined in the suit by Derrick Jones and Jerome Jones. They’re being represented by attorneys from a quartet of organizations ArchCity Defenders, Roderick Solange MacArthur Justice Center, Saint Louis University School of Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars. All three men were locked up at CJC. Jerome Jones was jailed for more than two years before his charges were dismissed. The other two are still there. The suit describes multiple incidents involving corrections officers and their superiors. In one example from February 9, Jerome Jones was hauled into a three-by-five-foot visiting booth and maced for refusing to move from a single cell to a double cell, according to the suit. Lt. Javan Fowlkes, who is a defendant in the suit, allegedly filled the air with mace before they locked Jones in-

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Law enforcement officers appear in the busted windows of the City Justice Center after an uprising in April. | DOYLE MURPHY side for about 25 minutes while the detainee begged for help and tried to suck in fresh air from a crack at the bottom of the door. Even when they let him out, he wasn’t allowed to shower for another day, according to the suit. Water had been shut off in his cell that day, which the men claim happened frequently as a way to punish and control detainees. “To this day, Jerome still experiences respiratory issues which, upon information and belief, are caused by his exposure to excessive mace at CJC,” the suit says. In another incident, Rusan claims he angered a corrections officer during a strip search by asking, “Do you like actually like this job ” In retaliation, Rusan was searched again before Fowlkes maced Rusan’s nude body, fogged the air of a visiting room with even more mace and left him inside for four hours, the suit says. According to jail policies, mace is only to be used as a last resort and not against people who are restrained or otherwise not an active threat, but the three and their advocates claim corrections officers routinely used it without warning to punish detainees. Derrick Jones ran afoul of guards in December 2020 when he asked to be moved to a different cell because he suspected his cell-

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mate had CO ID-19. The suit says guards retaliated by macing him without warning, knocking him down, kicking him in the head and handcuffing him. Fowlkes is then accused of macing him two more times, once there while Jones was handcuffed and again later in a medical unit where Jones was awaiting treatment. “Lt. Fowlkes came to the room, opened the door, sprayed Derrick with mace for a third time, and closed the door, saying, Let him marinate,’” the suit says. Jones then spent the next eight days in solitary confinement without a shower. He is now back in solitary and has been there more than 160 days, the suit says. A city spokesman said they are reviewing the lawsuit. Along with allegations of repeated, gratuitous use of mace, the suit focuses on water access. The city has previously said water has been shut off at times, but only brie y and only when detainees have stopped up toilets and are ooding the units. The suit acknowledges that some detainees have stopped up toilets, but the men insist that’s rarely the reason for water shutoffs. Instead, corrections officers and supervisors will cut access to entire units to punish one or two individuals. Sometimes, whether

men in the units get water has nothing to do with the detainees at all, according to the suit. “If Lt. Fowlkes comes to work angry, he will immediately turn off the water,” the suit says. Cells in the jail have a combination toilet and sink. If jailers shut off water to the toilets, the water for drinking, cleaning up and hydrating microwave foods goes, too. After uprisings, in which detainees escaped their cells by jimmying defective locks and took over entire units, water was shut off for extended periods of time, leaving the men with nothing to drink and toilets that eventually over owed because they couldn’t be ushed, the suit says. Attorneys for the men describe the repeated water shutoffs and constant threats of water shutoffs as a violation of internationally recognized human rights, “as set forth most notably in the Nelson Mandela Rules’” that define minimum standards for prisoners. “I’ve been in here for 6 months. It feels crazy to be without my family,” Derrick Jones said in a statement. “My daughter has been born since I was jailed, and I can’t even hold her yet. I’m tired. I want to speak up and say something. I want to change the future so it doesn’t have to happen to someone else.” n

Missouri Hit With First Medicaid Expansion Lawsuit Written by

RUDI KELLER This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent.

he least surprising lawsuit of the year, to force Missouri to provide Medicaid coverage to 275,000 people eligible under a 2020 initiative petition, was filed last week in Cole County. Filed on behalf of three people who would be eligible for Medicaid coverage on July 1, the lawsuit seeks an order for the Department of Social Services to allow them to enroll and receive the same coverage as current program clients. “The agencies claim that they lack the authority to implement Medicaid expansion because the General Assembly did not include a specific appropriations line item funding services for the newly eligible population,” the lawsuit states. “This position has no merit.” The lawsuit is the expected response to Gov. Mike Parson’s May 13 announcement that he had withdrawn Missouri’s Medicaid plan because lawmakers did not include the $1.9 billion estimated cost in the state budget. The lawsuit argues there is no legal reason to treat people who become eligible July 1 differently from those who are currently eligible. “The DSS appropriations bill does not limit any MO HealthNet funding for coverage of particular categories of eligible individuals,” the lawsuit states. “Nothing in the DSS appropriations bill prevents the agencies from using appropriated funds to cover individuals whose eligibility arises under the constitution.” The legislature has appropriated money for every service pro-

Missouri’s Republican lawmakers refused to fund voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Now, the state is being sued. | DOYLE MURPHY vided by Medicaid, the lawsuit notes, and whether current appropriations are sufficient for everyone is yet to be seen. “The General Assembly cannot predict with certainty the number of individuals who will enroll in MO HealthNet during the next fiscal year or the health needs that those individuals will have during the next fiscal year,” the lawsuit states. “Thus, it is impossible for

the General Assembly to appropriate precisely the amount of funds needed to fund MO HealthNet for the entirety of the next fiscal year.” The trio of plaintiffs in the lawsuit includes Stephanie Doyle, a single mother of three working full-time for $12 an hour who suffers from severe eczema Autumn Stultz, a single mother of one who works part time for minimum wage who has chronic asthma and tonsil

Dad Sentenced for Armed Tirade on School Bus Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

St. Louis County dad who stormed a school bus while carrying a loaded handgun has pleaded guilty to nine felonies. Christian Goodson, 32, of Berkeley was sentenced last week to five years in prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. On February 12, 2020, Goodson saw a student aboard a Ferguson-Florissant school bus fighting with one of his kids and tried to force his way on, according to court records. There were three district employees — a driver and two monitors — on the bus, and they initially tried to stop Goodson, but he pulled out a .45-caliber Hi-Point pistol and smashed a window. Two of the angry dad’s kids were on the bus, which was carrying students to Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center.

Christian Goodson. | ST. LOUIS COUNTY JAIL He then threatened the adults and children and encouraged the kids to fight, Principal Tangie Francwar of the Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center later told parents in a letter. Goodson was quoted in court papers as saying, “You got what you wanted,”

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stones and a history of strokes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and thyroid conditions in her family and Melinda Hille, who has Type 1 diabetes, thyroid disease, pernicious anemia and a precancerous growth on her colon. The legal team for the lawsuit brings together two attorneys who in the past have found themselves at odds over state policy Chuck Continued on pg 12

before he eventually fled with his kids. There were seven other students on the bus. Goodson was later arrested, and Berkeley police seized his Hi-Point handgun, which was loaded. He told detectives he “overreacted” after seeing the student fight. He pleaded to two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child, all felonies, along with two misdemeanors: property damage and fourth-degree assault. He has been locked up since his arrest and will credit for time served toward his five-year sentence. “I want to commend our team that worked hard on this case and secured a plea agreement that will make this defendant pay for this terrible and dangerous error in judgment which could have cost our community a number of precious young lives,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a news release. “I hope others hear of this prison sentence, put down the pistol and keep their composure when dealing with their problems, especially if children are involved.” n

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MEDICAID LAWSUIT Continued from pg 11

Hatfield, former chief of staff to Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon, and Lowell Pearson, former general counsel to Republican Gov. Matt Blunt. The arguments raised by the lawsuit are identical to those identified by attorney Jim Layton in an interview last week with The Independent. Layton, who was the top civil appellate attorney for the Attorney General’s Office for most of his 22 years in state government, said the issue would be decided in state courts and would likely be filed on behalf of people who would be eligible on July 1. Layton, who is not part of the legal team, said he expected the lawsuit to seek an order to compel the state to accept applications for coverage and reimburse hospitals, physicians and other providers for medical services. In that way, he said, the lawsuit makes no demand for a specific appropriation for the expansion population. “If you have a court decision that leads to coverage as the constitution provides and so you run out of money, you would run out of

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money for everybody, not just the expanded population,” he said. The basics of the new eligibility would be coverage for workingage adults who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty guideline, or $17,774 a year for a single person. That is equal to working about 33 hours a week at the state minimum wage of $10.30 per hour. For a household of four, the limit is $36,570, the income of one person working full at $17.58 an hour or two people working a combined 68 hours a week at minimum wage. Under the current Medicaid program, adults without children are not eligible unless they are blind, have another qualifying disability or are pregnant. Before passage of the initiative known as Amendment 2, Missouri was one of 14 states that had not yet expanded Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The law originally made expansion mandatory but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that penalty provisions that made Medicaid an allor-nothing program were unenforceable. Under the terms of the ACA, states pay 10 percent of the cost of expansion and the federal government covers 90 percent. In the traditional Medicaid program,

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Missouri pays about 35 percent of the cost. In his January budget proposal, Parson estimated the total cost of expansion at $1.9 billion, with $130 million from general revenue, $1.65 billion from the federal treasury and the remainder from taxes on medical providers. Layton said he expects the state’s legal arguments in response to the suit to echo those made by opponents during legislative debate. Foes argued that the cost was more than the state could bear long-term. It is more important to reform the program expected to cost more than $12 billion in the coming fiscal year without the expansion population, they said. “If we expand Medicaid without doing that we are simply pouring gasoline on the fire of problems that could come along due to increased spending,” House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, said during a committee debate in March. Opponents also argued that the budget did not have to fund people eligible under Amendment 2 because the initiative petition did not include revenue to pay the cost. There is a provision in the Missouri Constitution stating that initiatives “shall not be used for the

appropriation of money.” “If we want initiatives with appropriations, we need to be honest with the people and say where the money is coming from,” said Rep. David Evans, R-West Plains, said during debate in the House Budget Committee. By refusing expansion, Missouri is giving up a chance to receive about $1.2 billion in federal support for the traditional Medicaid program. The American Rescue Plan passed in March increases the federal share of the traditional program by 5 percent for states that expand Medicaid in the next two years. Amendment 2, in addition to expanding eligibility, also directed the state to “take all actions necessary to maximize federal financial participation in funding medical assistance.” By refusing to provide the coverage, the lawsuit argues, the state is violating that provision. One option for opponents of expansion, if they ultimately lose in court, is to not have a Medicaid program at all, Layton said. “There is no constitutional requirement in the constitution,” he said, “before or after (Amendment 2) that the legislature fund the Medicaid program or fully fund the Medicaid program.” n

THE BIG MAD Searching Al’s foul mouth, China’s inbox and Roy Blunt’s missing backbone Compiled by

DANIEL HILL

elcome back to the Big Mad, the RFT’s weekly roundup of righteous rage! Because we know your time is short and your anger is hot: AL LANGUAGE: In a world where prepared statements are workshopped into bland paste, Al Watkins has thrived as an attorney willing to say wild stuff. And, truly, there is a certain pleasure in the baffled response of a national reporter first encountering Watkins. He has managed to get away with so many “inappropriate” comments, probably because we’re all bored to death. But you know what? What he said in an interview about his client in one of the Jan. 6 insurrection cases is screwed up, even for Watkins. “A lot of these defendants — and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all fucking short-bus people,” Watkins told Talking Points Memo. “These are people with brain damage. They’re fucking retarded. They’re on the spectrum.” Watkins later told the St. Louis PostDispatch he chose language that would “literally make people’s jaws drop in disgust” as a way to get attention for his client’s mental health problems. And, well, bullshit. Watkins glommed onto the most recognizable defendant, the facepaintwearing “Q Shaman,” not to raise awareness of the man’s mental health, but to raise awareness of Al Watkins. ROY VAGUE: Sen. Roy Blunt went on “Fox News Sunday” to talk about the proposal to create a Jan. 6 commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection. So far, Blunt has sided with members of his party who are opposed but can’t quite get their stories straight as to why — a moral low ground for the party of personal responsibility. But Blunt is more adept at his game than most. He’s going with the idea that it’s “too early” for a commission. Fox News’ Chris Wallace wasn’t ready to let that go. He asked Blunt, “Can you honestly say in opposing this commission ... you’re putting country above party?” Missouri’s senior senator had a lot of things to say, but what he didn’t say was “yes.” You might have thought Blunt could find his long-lost backbone as he prepares to leave public office, but

he seems content to sidestep right out the door. He’s the opposite of Al Watkins (see above) when it comes to speaking his mind, but the motives to benefit himself are the same. The biggest difference is no one has to listen to Watkins; Blunt is supposed to speak for us. LOST TIME: People who are locked up are often overlooked. It’s part of the design of pushing our problems out of sight and out of mind. But in a rare turn toward justice and humanity, Missouri legislators were all set to make a change that would undo some of the damage done by a merciless “three strikes” law. Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch’s amendment to a public safety bill would have allowed people serving ridiculously outsized sentences as “prior persistent” drug offenders to finally have their cases reviewed by a parole board. However, lawmakers apparently didn’t check the wording of the final bill before they voted on it. Toalson-Reisch’s amendment had been deleted, apparently by mistake, and with it an opportunity for dozens of people to be treated fairly. They’ll have to wait at least another year for another shot — paying the price for lawmakers’ mistakes. EMAILING CHINA: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent out one of his press releases, announcing “Missouri Attorney General Serves Chinese Communist Party, Wuhan Institute of Virology in COVID-19 Lawsuit.” Pretty grand, huh? A mere thirteen months after suing China over COVID-19, Schmitt’s team has managed to email three of nine defendants. He is still working on serving the other six, including the People’s Republic of China. The federal district court says Missouri will have to go through diplomatic channels for those defendants, the A.G. notes. The State Department charges $2,275 per defendant for that, but Schmitt assures Missouri taxpayers he’s seeking a waiver. This is on top of the hours state staffers have devoted and untold dollars paid to a private vendor for translating documents and tracking down addresses. It’s a complicated process, Schmitt concedes, but he’s dedicated. But here’s a thought: Maybe he didn’t have to look to the other side of the world in search of parties who dropped the ball with COVID-19. Maybe he could look at a former president who sat on information about the severity of the virus as it swept across the country last spring. Or maybe, even closer to home, he could consider the role of a governor who ignored the pleadings of medical experts and healthcare workers for mask mandates or any kind of leadership. Missouri taxpayers wouldn’t even have to pay translators for that investigation. n

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Make sure you don’t miss

one moonlit moment with RFT’s 2021 Summer Guide Welcome to Your St. Louis Summer The small miseries of a Missouri summer add up. That stuck-to-yourseat humidity combines with a heat bores down from above and reects up from the pavement, roasting you from all sides. Who wants to do anything in that But the game changes when the sun drops. St. Louis at night transforms into a place of new possibilities. Baseball under the lights. Patio beers. Outdoor concerts. It’s a new world, but it’s eeting. To help you make sure you don’t waste one moonlit moment, we’ve designed the RFT’s annual Summer Guide to help you plan your strategy. Maybe you’re a wildlife lover, ready to set off in search of an elusive winged wonder or a stretch of open water. Or maybe you’ve been waiting (and waiting and waiting and waiting) for live music to return. Or maybe you know that food tastes better at the end of a long night. We’ve got the tips on events and adventures to fill a season’s worth of after-dark outings. Better get started. It’ll be dark soon. —Doyle Murphy

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THE RFT 2021 SUMMER GUIDE

The New List of Late-Night Eats The landscape has changed, but we’ve identified the new players & old favorites of after-hours dining By CHERYL BAEHR

wo years ago, it seemed as if those ever-present “St. Louis needs more late-night restaurants” prayers were in the process of being answered. Bars were upping their food games, and neighborhoods like South Grand and the Grove appeared poised to meet the demand for post-bar-close food. Pizza by the slice, thoughtful sandwiches, a chicken and fish window these welcome additions to the St. Louis dining landscape gave us real options for after-hours dining beyond the usual albeit beloved greasy spoons. Then COVID-19 hit, turning the dining scene on its head and killing any momentum for a real, late-night dining scene. The whole point of these spots was to serve as places to gather when you wanted to keep the party going but needed to soak up some booze to do so. Once the pandemic put an end to the party, it seemed like the dining public might never again be ready to gather together, elbow to elbow, at 1 a.m. for a slice. However, the restaurant industry is resilient. Though a handful of places have dropped out of the late night game, at least for the time being, several others stand committed to helping us satisfy our after-hours cravings with a little more dignity than rolling through a Jack in the Box drivethrough at 2 a.m. As the dreadful virus eases its grip, hopefully more will join their ranks. But for the time being, we have some pretty good places to turn for a middle-of-the-night snack.

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Ched’s Excellent Adventure riff on the Philly cheesesteak, the pastrami-stuffed Smokey the Beer, and the Manchester Melt, which is a take on the St. Louis classic Gerber sandwich. They’re so good it doesn’t matter what time of day you eat them, but the fact that you can get such sandwich dignity around bar close is a special kind of wonderful.

Courtesy Diner

The Buttery is a stone classic late-niter. | CHRIS ANDOE

Mission Taco Joint

When their dining rooms closed, Mission Taco Joint (multiple locations including 6235 Delmar Boulevard, 314-932-5430) spent the early part of the pandemic making sure we could get to-go cocktails with our takeout food (thanks, Tilford brothers!). Now that the restaurants have reopened, Mission is again helping us eat, drink and be merry, thanks to their latenight happy hour. The Friday and Saturday night event, which was paused the past year, is back, serving $2.50 tacos, $2.50 cans of Tecate, and Tecates with a bour-

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bon or a tequila shot for $5 from 10 p.m. to midnight. Is there a better way to celebrate a return to a semblance of normalcy?

Gramophone

A pioneer of late-night eats in the Grove, Gramophone (4243 Manchester Avenue, 314-531-5700) offers its full sandwich menu until midnight every night of the week except Mondays. And these are no ordinary sandwiches. The musicvenue-turned-sandwich-pub is the gold standard of meals served between bread, offering creatively named delights like the Phil and

You can get your Courtesy Diner (3153 South Kingshighway Boulevard, 314-776-9059) fix at three different locations around town, but there is something extra special about sitting at the counter in the original Kingshighway spot at 3 a.m. with a cup of diner coffee and some hash browns. A 24-hour gathering spot, the place may feel a little less packed and frantic in the middle of the night than it did pre-pandemic, but it still retains the gritty edge that makes it a well-worn St. Louis institution.

Biggie’s

A longtime south St. Louis institution, Biggie’s (3332 Watson Road, 314-781-0060) offers its full menu of good ol’ bar and grill food until 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, including its famous steak sandwich, which pairs a thick, grilled-to-order slab of meat with gooey cheese garlic bread. If you were worried about having trouble falling to sleep, this one will get you to slumberland in no time.

The Lucky Accomplice

Building on the success of his

Chef Logan Ely opened Lucky Accomplice in Fox Park. | MABEL SUEN tasting-menu-focused Shift, Logan Ely’s the Lucky Accomplice (2501 South Jefferson Avenue, 314-3546100) is the sort of neighborhood restaurant you get when you take an extremely talented and creative chef and let him play around with food in a low-key setting. Open until midnight Thursday through Saturday, and still as interesting as its more formal sister concept, this Jefferson Avenue hot spot has a much more low-key vibe with its small plates and cocktails, and even offers a small late-night food and drink menu on Fridays and Saturdays for those who want to keep the conversation going well into the evening.

Uncle Bill’s

When the craving for Half of a Young Spring Chicken comes at 3 a.m., there is only one place to go: Uncle Bill’s Pancake House (3427 South Kingshighway Boulevard, 314-832-1973), the 24-hour south-city mainstay that has been soaking up late-night shenanigans since 1961. Even if the past year has made those boozy nights fewer and farther between, the fact that this bastion of middle-of-thenight breakfast goodness remains unchanged and ready to serve is a source of comfort that the world will begin to turn again.

Michael’s Bar & Grill

A beloved Greek taverna just east of Maplewood’s main drag, Michael’s Bar & Grill (7101 Manchester Avenue, 314-644-2250) has it all: gyros, rack of lamb, burgers, pastitsio, wings, saganaki basically anything your heart could possibly desire. That you can get all of this until 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday puts this cozy restaurant on a must-visit list for those who like to eat their dinners on the late side.

Brasswell

Located inside Rockwell Beer Co., Brasswell’s (1320 South Vandeventer Avenue, 314-256-1657) amazing burgers are a contender for the best in town, regardless of what time of day they’re being consumed. Brought to life by acclaimed chef Gerard Craft, this food window was inspired by the wildly popular burger served at his Central West End French eatery, Brasserie, and ultimately helped change the conversation about brewery food in town. Open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, this is one late-night eat you won’t want to miss. The beignets alone are worth a visit.

Ranoush

Located in the heart of the Central

The Gramophone’s sandwiches are famous among STL musicians for late-night satisfaction. | MABEL SUEN West End, Ranoush (386 North Euclid Avenue, 314-833-4400) keeps its kitchen open until midnight every day except Monday, giving late-night eaters an opportunity to nosh on its delectable Syrian cuisine before turning into a pumpkin. Owned by veteran restaurateur Aboud Alhamid, this delightful restaurant marries the warmth of old family recipes with a stylish atmosphere that is tailormade for its stylish neighborhood.

Blackthorn

This pizza pub may be located in the middle of south St. Louis, but Blackthorn’s (3735 Wyoming Street, 314-776-0534) heart is Chicago through and through, thanks to its signature, deep-dish pizza. This is the best thick, lasagna-like pie you’re going to get this side of Wrigley, and it’s well worth its lengthy cook time. Though hours are currently uid, the kitchen will stay open until roughly 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays sometimes later, depending on business. Make sure to grab a beer and play a game of shu eboard while your pizza cooks; it helps the time pass so much quicker.

The Buttery

This past Christmas, the Buttery (3659 South Grand Boulevard, 314-

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771-4443) caught fire, causing extensive damage to the iconic diner and calling into question whether it would be able to recover. Now, just a couple of months later, the 24-hour spot stands as a symbol of resilience in the face of disaster. Though the restaurant had to rebuild, it somehow managed to keep its worn, gritty vibe that patrons have come to love over its decades in business. If this place can make it through a fire and pandemic in the same year, there is hope for all of us.

Iowa Buffet

If you had to crown one institution as the most south-city spot in town, Iowa Buffet (2727 Winnebago Street, 314-776-8000) would make a good case for the title. For over three decades, this no-frills dive has been serving up cold beer, cheap burgers and conversation to anyone who wanders in. It’s typically filled with quite the cast of characters, but the key to its charm is the small cooktop just behind the bar where your bartender grills up the signature Hankburger while serving up cold ones until 1 a.m. There’s something about seeing that steam rise up over the unironic vintage Stag beer sign that gets you every time.

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Night Flight St. Louis’ Owl Man leads explorers in search of an elusive sight By DANNY WICENTOWSKI Sophie feeding Neil and Lyle is one of many scenes the Owl Man has witnessed. | MARK GLENSHAW

n the hour before sunset, as golden rays streak through Forest Park, its most silent residents can be found. There is a man who searches for them. The Owl Man. His name is Mark Glenshaw. For the last fifteen years, the local naturalist has made the owls of Forest Park not just a part of his daily life, but that of the “owl prowl” groups he leads. Glenshaw doesn’t publicize the location of the owls’ roost. It’s something you have to see for yourself. “I’ve come to respect the ethos of the Show-Me State, and I think of an owl prowl as a group of folks saying, ‘We’re serious. We’re going to spend some time and effort with you,’” he explains. “First, we meet in an area close to the owl territory and go over some instructions. “And then we go out looking for the owls.” Glenshaw, a services manager at Fontbonne University, first became fascinated with the park’s elusive owl population after a chance encounter in 2005. It took him years of nightly park visits to get to know the stealthy predators. Finding the owls takes a kind of detective work. There are dozens of possible roosting spots, and the owls don’t stay in one place for long. Even if you know their rough location, or even the right tree, the summer is a difficult season for owl-spotting. Amid the park’s blossoming branches and foliage-thick territory, finding the birds as they

Mark Glenshaw leads “owl prowls,” through Forest Park. | ROBIN STREET-MORRIS prepare for the night’s hunt is a difficult task one that hinges on knowledge gathered on previous trips. “We start looking based on what the owls have been doing lately,” Glenshaw says. “But we’re also listening for other animals noting the presence of owls. This is especially helpful in the spring and the first half of the summer when a lot of other animals have babies. They’re very concerned about the presence of the owls.” It’s true. Baby animals are perfect owl food. Although the summer foliage adds difficulty to the task of locating the owls, Glenshaw says

it’s rare to end one of his directed tours without spotting one or several. The outings are the product of more than a decade of tracking the owls, and Glenshaw says he leads around 70 every year. But even with the pandemic, as he limited the groups to four, life in the park continued. In February, that included the birth of two owlets, who are growing up before Glenshaw’s eyes. This summer, that means more opportunities than ever to watch owls in the wild. How to start an owl prowl? The first step is emailing Glenshaw, at mglenshaw@gmail.com. (While he says there is “no obligation” for payment, attendees can make voluntary donations to Forest Park Forever. “If so moved, I never say no to gratuities, and I am constantly touched by people’s generosity,” he says.) Once a date is set for the tour, Glenshaw sends a detailed list of instructions, from what to wear based on the weather to things you should definitely not wear particularly apparel resembling fur, as “owls have been known to attack.” Attendees are also prohibited from bringing along their dogs or pets, because, again, owls. Binoculars are a must, and any photography must be accomplished without ash. Generally, the owl prowls last about two hours enough time for Glenshaw to use the day’s remaining

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sunlight to locate his targets while they’re still waking up. “They’re going to be stretching, grooming, just getting ready for the day,” he says of the owls. “We follow them while they’re hunting.” Of course, with the owlets maturing and learning how to y and hunt, there’s more to see than just the brutal side of nature. There’s nurture as well. “This is the first summer since 2015 that we’ve had this joy is seeing the youngsters grow up,” Glenshaw says. “Each ight, each landing, each night, they’re slowly getting better and better, and eventually closer to adulthood.” If all goes well, Glenshaw predicts the owlets will stay with their parents in Forest Park until late summer and early fall. Then, they’ll take ight, leave the park and find a territory of their own. For St. Louis’ Owl Man, the life of Forest Park’s Great Horned Owls is a subject he knows that he’s still learning. Even after more than a decade, he gets to know them a little better with each prowl, each night. “One of the most amazing things to see, whether it’s March or August, is to see the owls y,” he says. “A lot of people have never seen an owl in the wild. It’s so fast. It’s silent. It’s incredibly ethereal. Even now, having seen them y thousands of times, there’s still an element of, ‘I don’t quite believe my own eyes.’”

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THE RFT 2021 SUMMER GUIDE

Hit the Great River Road

Adventuring After Hours

Just across the Mississippi, Thursday nights sparkle all summer By CHRIS ANDOE

St. Louis offers plenty of ways to paddle, cycle or run into the night By DOYLE MURPHY

he rivers are different when the sun goes down. As the heat of Missouri summers recede and the daylight fades, the moon and the first stars take over the show. If you’re lucky enough to be out there, paddle in hand, you’ll see the world transform. “Generally, the water tends to be a lot calmer at night,” says St. Louis adventurer and experienced kayaker Mark Fingerhut. “There’s not a lot of wind. It’s like a glass surface ... ou’re immersed in the sky.” Fingerhut is a veteran of afterhours escapades. He’s competed multiple times in the three-day boat race across the state, called the MR340, and he once kayaked the Missouri River from ellowstone to the Gateway Arch both feats that kept him on the water for many a starry night. Recently, we profiled his 24 Hours from Home Challenge, during which he and nineteen friends set out to see how far their feet could take them from their front doors. That undertaking saw him trekking solo for hours through the dark on a Mississippi River levee. Whether it’s paddling, running or cycling, the addition of moonlight adds a new element.

“It’s not a customary thing to do to be out in the night in the wilderness, so it’s a fun adventure,” says Fingerhut, who has a day job with a software company. He recommends linking up with guides or others who head out to play as the sun goes down. “Safety in numbers,” he says. He’s recently been helping out at Paddle Stop New Haven, a newish outfitter that offers sunset (and morning and day) trips on the Missouri little more than an hour’s drive from St. Louis. For the Mississippi, he also recommends Big Muddy Adventures, which leads a popular “Full Moon Float” to a river island below the Chain of Rocks, where paddlers are treated to dinner cooked over a campfire. If you’re more of a landlubber, St. Louis is filled with nocturnal adventurers. Fingerhut is part of the local chapter of the Hash House Harriers running drinking club that hits the darkened streets on boozy jogs. And he’s a fan of the late-night bike rides that pop up in warmer weather “ ou’re in a pack or maybe 40 to 50 riders, and you’re basically taking over the street.” Those DI moonlight rides tend to wax and wane, but somebody at your local bike shop will know

the latest if you ask nicely. Or you could join the wheeled masses when the Moonlight Ramble returns in August for its 57th witching hour ride. ou can go as big or as small as you like when it comes to afterdark adventuring. And it doesn’t really have to be an adventure at all. A relaxing night on a small, still lake never disappoints. “It’s pretty cool,” Fingerhut says. “ ou can get out and check out the stars.”

or years I’ve made the trek from south St. Louis to Alton and the Great River Road in search of good times and adventure, from ziplining above the bluffs in Grafton to seeing some of the region’s best drag shows at Bubby & Sissy’s. But this summer the Riverbend is pulling out all the stops to encourage many more of you to discover what’s long felt like a secret escape. Every Thursday night from June through September, Alton and Grafton — bookending what I’d argue is the most gorgeous stretch of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway — will be featuring dazzling fireworks on their respective waterfronts. The spectacular light shows will sparkle along the Mississippi in both towns simultaneously starting at 9 p.m. The Light Up the Great River Road 10-minute light show provides a brilliant backdrop to live music and evening Continued on pg 23

The Alton fireworks light up the sky. | COURTESY GREAT RIVERS & ROUTES TOURISM BUREAU

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ALTON

Continued from pg 21

events in both communities. Some of the best regional musicians perform at Alton’s Night Market on Broadway every Thursday evening. From 7 to 10 p.m., vendors and musicians entertain and sell their wares at this popular farmers’ market spinoff. Located in the park adjacent to Jacoby Arts Center (627 East Broadway, Alton, Illinois; 618-462-5222) in downtown Alton, it’s a great place to relax and listen to live music in an outdoor setting. Browse local artists’ work, purchase handcrafted products, or pick up vintage and hip thrift items. The market is free to attend. Regional bands including HOOKiE, Tony & The Saints, the BuzzTones and more will take the stage at the market throughout the summer. The Night Market on Broadway is an ideal spot to enjoy the Alton fireworks, which will shine in the night sky just a few blocks away. For more live music options, head to Fast Eddie’s Bon Air (1530 East Fourth Street, Alton, Illinois, 618-462-5532), the town’s original dive bar, which features cold drinks, cheap food and live music. Or check out The Conservatory (554 East Broadway, Alton, Illinois, 618433-1341), a newly opened live music venue which is filled with music-themed art and up-and-coming musicians. Fifteen miles down the Great River Road, which skirts limestone bluffs right on the Mississippi River, honkytonk country, pop, classic rock, bluegrass and even the sounds of Sinatra roll across downtown Grafton every Thursday night during the summer. Outdoor concerts are held at the Grove Memorial Park as part of Grafton Music in the Park. The annual summer concert program brings the sounds of Jake We-

Better Than a Backyard Movie Night Arkadin Cinema & Bar lights up the night with an intimate outdoor theater

ber and the Lonesome Drifters, the Trilogy Band, Rockabilly Revival and more to the city’s riverfront. Immediately following each concert, the night skies will light up with the fireworks displays which will launch from Lighthouse Park on the river’s edge. Additional live music is available in Grafton every weekend. Check out the Hawg Pit, ride the gondola up the hill to Aerie’s Resort, or watch the sailboats slip by at the Loading Dock for even more musical entertainment. Break up your week and your routine with a short excursion across the bridge. Once you develop a taste for the Riverbend, you’ll find yourself pulled to it time and again.

By JAIME LEES

ne of the coolest things to do outdoors in St. Louis is to see a movie under the stars. There are a couple of places in the metro area where you can enjoy cinema outside, but the Arkadin Cinema & Bar (5228 Gravois Avenue, 314-221-2173) offers a special experience. Unlike visiting a large drive-in, films at the Arkadin are a boutique experience. The theater was originally planned to be an indoor micro-cinema, but COVID-19 changed all of that. Now the owners host films in a tiny parking lot near their location. In order to give everyone space to social distance, crowds are kept small, making all of the screenings super exclusive. The normal movie experience before the pandemic had audiences crammed into dark, crowded spaces, but watching a film hosted by Arkadin feels more like a friendly movie night in your friend’s backyard. This little lot off of Gravois Avenue hosts some very important films, too. From arthouse works to classic blockbusters, fans never know what movie the Arkadin will schedule next. Upcoming

films on the schedule range from Rear Window and Blue Velvet to Written on the Wind and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. These small, intimate screenings do offer some of the comforts of a regular moviegoing experience, though. They have all of your favorite snacks like popcorn and candy available. Owners Sarah Baraba and Keith Watson often surprise guests with an extra little treat, too, like the koozies they gave out at a screening of Repo Man printed with one of Bud’s famous quotes. (“Look at ’em, ordinary fucking people, I hate ’em.”) Another perk of the Arkadin is the booze. The theater worked out a collaboration with a neighboring bar, the Heavy Anchor (5226 Gravois Avenue, 314-352-5226), that makes it easy for guests to grab a cocktail or a beer during the screenings, too. So if you want a casual movie night out under the stars with snacks and booze (without the hassle of trying to get it all set up in your backyard), Arkadin is the place you want to be on these hot summer nights.

The Night Market on Broadway in Alton. | COURTESY GREAT RIVERS & ROUTES TOURISM BUREAU Movie nights are meant to be experienced with a crowd of friends new and old. | VIA ARKADIN/FACEBOOK riverfronttimes.com

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HERE’S WH

MAKE SUMM IN STORES Schnucks - Multiple Locations Dierbergs Markets - Multiple Locations Multiple Locations Total Wine & More -Multiple Dogwood Wine & Spirits 15678 Manchester Rd, Ellisville, MO 63011 Randall’s Wine & Spirits - Multiple Locations Arena Liquor - 1217 Hampton Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139 A1 Liquor - 3336 Pershall Rd, St. Louis, MO 63135 On the Rocks Premium Liquor & Wine 1976 S Old Hwy 94, St Charles, MO 63303 Friar Tuck - Multiple Locations Royals Liquor - Multiple Locations Dirt Cheap - Multiple Locations Discount Wine & Spirits - 3821 Elm St, St Charles, MO 63301

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WHERE WE

MER COUNT RESTAURANTS & BARS Sports & Social - 651 Clark Ave, St. Louis, MO 63102 DB’s Sports Bar - 1615 S Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63104 The Marquee - 1911 Locust St, St. Louis, MO 63103 Ember - 4121 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110 Helen Fitzgerald - 3650 S Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63127 PBR - 601 Clark Ave #202, St. Louis, MO 63102 JP Fields - 15 N Central Ave, Clayton, MO 63105 Mattinglys - 8108 N Lindbergh Blvd, Florissant, MO 63031 Nara Cafe - 1326 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103 Firebirds - 1501 Beale St, St Charles, MO 63303 Hotshots - Multiple locations Traffic Jam - 6 Westbury Dr C, St Charles, MO 63301

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See, Shop, Slurp The summer schedule is already packed with events to keep you entertained Seltzerland Fans of White Claw (and its many boozy bubbly cousins) will be happy to learn that Seltzerland, a festival celebrating hard seltzers, is headed to St. Louis. Seltzerland will go down at the Highlands Golf & Tennis Club (5163 Clayton Avenue) on Saturday, June 12, where attendees are invited to “leisurely walk the course while safely sampling from 50 avors of hard seltzer.” The festival is outdoors and socially distanced, and attendees have to book a “tee time” to keep crowds in check. Visitors are encouraged to wash hands frequently, use hand sanitizer and wear a mask when not sampling. General admission tickets start at $29, and IP tickets (which include extra food and booze) max out at $55, but that actually seems pretty nifty when you consider that you get high-end snacks and more than four dozen samples of hard seltzer out of it. For more information or to buy tickets, visit seltzerland.com. -Jaime Lees

Art, Mimosas and Pancakes Heralded as one of the most beloved art events in the city, Art, Mimosas and Pancakes is back for another year, to be held at Mad Art Gallery (2727 South 12th Street, 314-771-8230) at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 17. Bringing together a few of his favorite things, St. Louis artist and musician Brock Seals created the yearly event in 2015 to celebrate art created at the local level by young creatives, some as young as middle school. It’s an opportunity for talented artists in the area to showcase and profit from their works. “Art, Mimosas and Pancakes was a fun theme to put together that centers around art,” Seals says. “I wanted to create something different from your average art show,

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year, Art, Mimosas and Pancakes is a feel-good summer evening event. It may be a night to socialize for some, and a fashion show for many, but one thing is clear about St. Louis in 2021 Art shows are back. Admission to Art, Mimosas and Pancakes runs from $15 to $30. For tickets and more information, visit the Facebook event page at facebook.com events 746822972649834. -Ymani Wince

Grant’s Farm

Summer is pretty good for animals, too. | KATHERINE JOHNSON/FLICKR and something that people of all ages could come and enjoy.” Each year, AMP boasts a lengthy line of attendees eager to get one of artist Dr. Dan’s famous pancakes or head to the bar for drinks. Art lines the walls, and is exhibited as solo displays in several of the Mad Art Gallery’s former prison cells. And while Seals hopes to garner the same feeling visitors past are familiar with, he notes how important it is to follow CDC and St. Louis city CO ID-19 guidelines. That means no more crammed lines for pancakes this year and operating at 50 percent capacity at the show’s venue. “We’re still following the guidelines,” Seals said. “There will also be balconies and extra rooms open to help spread out the traffic.” Art, Mimosas and Pancakes is another in a series of successful art ventures the artist has touched. Over the last several

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years, Seals has painted murals across the city, including the Delmar Loop, and he’s crafted hundreds of custom pairs of sneakers for clients including Smino and Lance Kendricks, to name just two. His reputation as a gifted lyricist and artist as well as activist continues to keep Seals’ name in conversations among art circles in the city. Events such as AMP magnify Seals’ belief in and dedication to providing accessibility to artists in the area; in recent years, young people have been able to establish artistic identities on their own terms, without the risk of gatekeeping and snooty attitudes within the art world. “AMP is super important, because there aren’t many platforms that our community has, or places to show our artwork,” Seals says. “I don’t charge any commission fee, which is pretty unheard of.” Organically growing year after

Good news for nature (and beer) lovers, Grant’s Farm (10501 Gravois Road, 314-577-2626) is reopening for general admission next week. Starting on Friday, May 28, guests can head back into the site to do those special Grant’s Farm things like feed the goats and look at the Clydesdales again. Visits won’t be exactly like before the pandemic, though, because reservations and some safety precautions are still required. “Social distancing, local maskwearing requirements and other safety guidelines will be observed throughout the park to ensure a safe and pleasurable visit,” Grant’s Farm announced in a press release. The park is offering some allnew experiences on site, too. In addition to the Deer Park Adventure, visitors can also enjoy experiences like the Backstage Animal Adventure and Friday Nights at the Farm, where Chef Sam offers a unique food and beer tasting each week. So if your kids are desperate to feed some goats and ride a carousel or a camel this summer, you can book your visit now. (Pro tip: Book your parking in advance, too.) -Jaime Lees

The Muny As we inch toward normality in St. Louis, it’s always a joy to see

THE RFT 2021 SUMMER GUIDE some of our most beloved institutions come back to life. Last week the Muny (1 Theatre Drive, 314-361-1900) announced its 2021 season lineup, confirming that musical theater will return to Forest Park this summer. The new lineup has been tweaked a bit and things will be a little different out in the crowd this year, but the show must go on, as they say. The season will feature five productions, with the opening date bumped back from July 5 to July 26. The seats will be sold at 60 percent capacity, giving visitors more room to socially distance during the show. Free seats will still be available, but will also be limited to 60 percent capacity. Two previously planned productions have been moved to next year (Sweeney Todd and Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins), but the following five productions are still a go for the 2021 season: Smokey Joe’s Cafe July 26-August 1 The Sound of Music

August 3-9

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | August 12-18 On Your Feet! Chicago

August 21-27

August 30-September 5

isit muny.org for more information about individual tickets, season tickets or new audience guidelines. -Jaime Lees

Trivia Nights St. Louis won’t feel fully like St. Louis again until we’re all sharing bites of Ted Drewes before sweating side by side at a Cardinals game, then heading to a trivia night followed by a late-night dip into the east side. The good news is that we’re well on our way to the St. Louis dream day. Not only is Busch Stadium planning to be open to full capacity next month, but there are other signs of life out there, too. Concerts are being announced, the Muny is back this summer, and there are plenty of trivia nights to look forward to now, too. Trivia nights are as St. Louis as Provel cheese, but they couldn’t happen during the time before vaccines back when sharing snacks and sticking your dirty hand in a shared bowl of chips was forbidden. Now that people have received those sweet, sweet

Beyond Van Gogh lets visitors experience the artist’s paintings in a brand-new way. | VIA BEYOND EXHIBITIONS doses, tables full of shared snacks are back. Amen. Fun trivia nights are starting to be announced for the upcoming months, and some of them even benefit important organizations in town. There are also weekly trivia nights being held now, with some of them even designed in a socially distant manner to help keep you safe. Here’s a small sample if you have a trivia itch that you need to scratch:

Meet Me in St. Louis Trivia Night (5850 Elizabeth Avenue) 6 p.m. Friday, August 27, 2021 This event benefits Safe Connections, an organization that aims to reduce the impact and incidence of relationship violence and sexual assault through education, crisis intervention, counseling and support services. For more information, see the Facebook event page at facebook. com events 521153689249798. Music Trivia at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue) Offered at 6 30 p.m. every Saturday night on an outdoor, socially

distanced patio, the setup allows for four to eight people per table, with a $5 per table fee. Snacks can be brought to the game, but outside drinks aren’t allowed. There are specials on trivia night on Urban Chestnut and 4 Hands tall cans, and reservations are required. For more information, visit offbroadwaystl.com.

Trivia Night at the Handlebar (4127 Manchester Avenue, 314-652-2212) Offered every Thursday night from 7 until 9 p.m., this trivia is free to play, and teams can have up to six people. Trivia takes place in a seated room, and masks are required when not at your table. Beer pitcher specials are available. For more information, visit the Facebook event page at facebook. com events 213691853515098. Charity Trivia Night – With a Twist at Ballpark Village (601 Clark Avenue, 314-797-7530) 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Hosted by drag comedy queen Desire Declyne, this trivia night will raise funds for CARE STL. Tickets are $10 per person, and riverfronttimes.com

participants will receive 25 percent off of all appetizers and various drink specials. Prizes will be awarded following every round, and the winning team gets $100 in gift cards. For more information, visit stlballparkvillage.com. -Jaime Lees

Lemp Brewery Flea Market If retro fashions and housewares are your bag, the Lemp Brewery intage Flea Market will be your favorite place to shop this summer. The ea market is happening once more this summer in the parking lot of the old Lemp Brewery (3500 Lemp Avenue), at the corner of South Broadway and Lemp Avenue, across the street from Off Broadway music venue. More than 30 vendors will be offering their goods on Saturday, June 26, with items like clothing, jewelry, furnishings, records, posters, toys and more included. The sale runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., but all of the pro shoppers know to get there early if you want to bring home the best stuff. (Thrifty shoppers also know to

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

show up late in the day if they’re hoping to luck into a sweet deal, because sometimes vintage vendors would rather sell at a discount than drag all of their stuff home again.) If you want the latest news on the ea market (including updates on possible rain delays, etc.), visit the Facebook event page at facebook. com events 140078054799819 for the most up-to-date information. - Jaime Lees

Beyond Van Gogh Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is coming to St. Louis for a limited engagement.

The exhibit invites visitors inside to experience the works of incent an Gogh in a whole new way. Through the magic of “cutting-edge projection technology,” guests get an opportunity to feel like they’re walking around inside an Gogh’s masterpieces of Post-Impressionism. The experience runs for about an hour and includes more than 300 of an Gogh’s iconic artworks (including Starry Night and Sunflowers) along with his own words set to a symphonic score. Precautions to prevent the spread of CO ID-19 will be taken at the event. The exhibition allows for space of six feet or more

between guests, and face masks are required. Additionally, tickets will be sold for specific times to prevent overcrowding. Guests may bring their wheelchairs or other mobility aids inside, and service animals are welcome as well as babies and strollers. isitors may also take pictures when inside the exhibit, but tripods and video recording are not allowed. Though dates and a location for the event have not yet been announced, the exhibit has been selling out in other cities, so sign up at vangoghstlouis.com to be notified when ticketing information is announced. -Jaime Lees

Actual, Real Listings of Things to Actually Go Do Out in Public! We can hardly believe it either

t was tempting for the more pessimistic among us to think that we might not gather in public ever again. As month after agonizing month of the pandemic wore on, we watched events get rescheduled, then rescheduled again, then finally canceled outright as the uncertainty that COVID-19 brought down on all of us forced public officials and private businesses alike to navigate a maze of public safety measures we’re all looking forward to seeing in the rearview mirror. And while many of those measures remain in place for now, we finally have reason for hope. Each week that goes by sees more concert announcements, more theater groups announcing a return to their regularly scheduled programming, more venues throwing open their doors and inviting the public to spend time with them again. And things are optimistic to the point where even large events are back on the table. Music at the Intersection’s massive 60-act fest scheduled for the middle of September, for example, will see bustling crowds moving about from venue to venue in Grand Center — something that would have been simply unheard of even a few short months ago. In keeping with this new optimistic sentiment, we at the RFT are excited to relaunch our listings section of the paper, which was put on hold for the past fourteen months while we waited out the virus. Read on for a list of the most exciting concerts and events announced so far this summer, and start making plans now — 2021 is already shaping up to be a memorable one. -Daniel Hill (HED)P.E.: W Murder Machine, Ground Control, Powjr72, Tue., Aug. 3, 7 p.m., $20. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. 311: W Iration, Iya Terra, Wed., Sept. 15, 6 p.m., $34.50-$85. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. THE 45: W Sixes High, Catalytic Creator, Brave New World, Fri., June 25, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. AGENT ORANGE: W Bastard Squad, Wed., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ALANIS MORISSETTE: W Garbage, Liz Phair, Sat., Sept. 18, 7 p.m., $66-$311. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

AMERICAN AQUARIUM: W Morgan Wade, Wed., July 14, 8 p.m., $20-$22.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ASHLEY MCBRYDE: W Ray Fulcher, Thu., Sept. 2, 8 p.m., $25. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL: Fri., June 11, 8 p.m., $35$45. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ATOMIC JUNKSHOT: W Into the Blue, Niko, No Point, Sun., July 11, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BARBARO: Fri., May 28, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. BIG FREEDIA: W Too Many ooz, Sun., Sept. 19, 8 p.m., $25-$28. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar

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Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE BIG RIGS: Sat., Aug. 14, 6 30 p.m., free. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. BIG THIEF: Sat., Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $29.50-$32.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BILLY BOB THORNTON AND THE BOXMASTERS: Thu., Aug. 26, 7 30 p.m., $39.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. THE BLACK CROWES: Sat., July 31, 7 30 p.m., $29-$250. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. BLACK PISTOL FIRE: Sat., July 31, 8 p.m., $20$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BLACK PUMAS: W Seratones, Thu., Aug. 5, 9 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BLACKBERRY SMOKE: W The Allman Betts Band, The Wild Feathers, Jaimoe, Tue., Aug. 3, 6 p.m., $30.50-$160.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. BLACKTOP MOJO: Fri., Aug. 20, 7 30 p.m., $16. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BLAKE SHELTON: W Martina McBride, Tracy Byrd, Trace Adkins, Lindsay Ell, Thu., Sept. 23, 7 p.m., TBA. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. BLUES TRAVELER: W JJ Grey Mofro, Sun., Aug. 22, 6 p.m., $30-$60. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. BLUNTS & BLONDES: Fri., Aug. 27, 9 p.m., free. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. BROOKS & DUNN: Fri., Sept. 3, 7 p.m., $53.25-$438. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

BROTHER LEE AND THE LEATHER JACKALS: Sat., June 26, 6 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. BROTHERS OSBORNE: W Travis Denning, Tenille Townes, Thu., Aug. 5, 7 30 p.m., $39.50$94.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. BUCKCHERRY: Sun., June 13, 8 p.m., $30-$59. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. BULLY: Thu., Aug. 26, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. BUMPIN UGLIES: Fri., Aug. 6, 8 p.m., $15-$18. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. THE BURNEY SISTERS: Fri., June 4, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. CEREMONY OF DARKNESS: W Powjr72, DaisyChain, Cyberstein, Sat., June 26, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CHAOS BLOOM EP RELEASE SHOW: W/ RosesHands, Split66, Tanukis, Fri., June 11, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CHAOS COLLECTIVE: W Provoke the Colossus, Tanukis, Close to ero, Sun., July 25, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314289-9050. CHAPEL HART: Sat., Aug. 21, 8 p.m., $20-$40. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. CHRIS RENZEMA: Tue., Sept. 7, 8 p.m., $18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. CHRIS STAPLETON: Thu., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. CITY OF PARKS EP RELEASE CELEBRATION: W/ Isabella, For The City, Freddy D’Angelo, Fri., June 18, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. CLASH OF THE DICKHEADS: W the Lion’s Daughter, Fister, Hell Night, Fri., Aug. 27, 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CLEOPATRICK: W ig Mentality, Ready the Prince, Sun., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. CREED FISHER: Thu., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., $25-$35. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. DANCE GAVIN DANCE: W Animals as Leaders, Eidola, eil Of Maya, Royal Coda, Sun., Sept. 19, 6 30 p.m., $29. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DEAD & COMPANY: Mon., Sept. 13, 7 p.m., $51.50-$789. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. DEF LEGGEND: A TRIBUTE TO DEF LEPPARD: Fri., June 25, 8 p.m., $10-$25. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. DERMOT KENNEDY: Sun., Aug. 8, 8 p.m., $32. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DINOSAUR JR.: W Ryley Walker, Thu., Sept. 16, 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DOMINATION: A TRIBUTE TO PANTERA: W/ Beneath The Remains A Tribute To Sepultura, iller Of Giants A Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne, Sat., June 12, 7 30 p.m., $10-$12. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. DOMINIC CHELI: Tue., Sept. 21, 7 30 p.m., $10$15. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: Wed., Sept. 15, 7 30 p.m., $29.50-$165.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. ELECTRIC SIX: W Matt F Basler, Fri., Aug. 20, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

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ELI YOUNG BAND: Thu., July 15, 6 p.m., TBA. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. FAITHFUL STRAYS: Sun., July 11, 1 30 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. GHOST IN DECAY: W Ending Orion, Chaos Collective, Warheadd, Sat., June 19, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE GODDAMN GALLOWS: Thu., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., $20. Mon., Aug. 30, 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. GRANGER SMITH: Fri., July 2, 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GROUPLOVE: W BLAC STAR IDS, Tue., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., $30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. HALF GALLON AND THE MILK JUGS: W DaisyChain, Pioneer Salesmen, Redwood, Fri., July 23, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HARRY STYLES: Wed., Sept. 15, 8 p.m., $36.50$146.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. HELLZAPOPPIN CIRCUS SIDESHOW REVUE: Sat., July 3, 8 p.m., $20-$40. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HUMANS & STRANGERS: W Pioneer Salesmen, Tyler Samuels Project, Niko, Sun., June 13, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. IMPENDING DOOM: Sat., June 26, 4 30 p.m., $20. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. INIMICAL DRIVE: W Outrun the Fall, Inner Outlines, Sat., July 17, 7 30 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. JAMEY JOHNSON: W Whiskey Myers, Folk Uke, Thu., June 24, 6 30 p.m., $30-$75. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. JASON MRAZ: Wed., Aug. 4, 7 p.m., $36-$49.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. JOE RUSSO’S ALMOST DEAD NIGHT 1: Sat., Aug. 28, 8 p.m., $45-$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JOE RUSSO’S ALMOST DEAD NIGHT 2: Sun., Aug. 29, 8 p.m., $45-$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JON MCLAUGHLIN: W Striking Matches, Thu., Sept. 9, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. JONAS BROTHERS: Tue., Sept. 7, 7 p.m., $79-$709. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. JUDAS PRIEST: W Sabaton, Sat., Sept. 25, 7 30 p.m., $30.50-$175. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. JUKEBOX THE GHOST: Thu., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., $22$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JUSTIN MOORE: W Heath Sanders, Thu., June 24, 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. KODY WEST: W Grady Spencer and the Work, Thu., June 10, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. KOE WETZEL: Fri., June 18, 7 p.m., $35-$100. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. KORN & STAIND: Sun., Sept. 5, 6 30 p.m., $29.50$89.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. LADY A: Sun., Aug. 8, 7 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. LEE BRICE: W Lainey Wilson, Sat., June 12, 6 p.m., $40. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. LEE DEWYZE: W D’Arcy, Sun., Sept. 19, 8 p.m., $20-$70. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504

Big Thief gets their post-COVID snuggle on. | COURTESY PITCH PERFECT PR Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. LIGHTS OVER ARCADIA: W Sonic Candy, Superkick, Superhero Rockstars, Sat., June 12, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. LINDSEY STIRLING: Sat., Aug. 7, 7 p.m., $29.50$270. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. LOUIS THE CHILD: Tue., Aug. 31, 7 p.m., $36-$65. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. LUCERO: W John Henry, Sat., July 31, 7 p.m., $20-$25. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. LUKE BRYAN: Thu., Aug. 19, 7 p.m., $41-$130.75. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. LUXORA EP RELEASE SHOW: W Conman Economy, White Rose, Make our Mark, oung Animals, Sat., July 10, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MAC LETHAL: Sat., Aug. 21, 7 30 p.m., Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MACHINE GUN KELLY: Tue., Sept. 28, 7 30 p.m., $29.50-$49.50. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. MAMMOTH PIANO: W DJ Whiz, Sat., June 5, 7 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MANESS BROTHERS: W DJ Ronnie Wisdom, Sat., June 12, 7 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MARC REBILLET: Sat., Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $25.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. MAROON 5: Wed., Aug. 18, 7 p.m., $64.50$169.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. THE MAVERICKS: Thu., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MEGADETH & LAMB OF GOD: Sun., Sept. 26, 6 p.m., $25-$250. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. MELODY DEN: Sun., June 6, 1 30 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MICHAEL RAY: W Ingrid Andress, Wed., Aug. 25, 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MICHIGAN RATTLERS: Fri., Sept. 3, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MT. JOY & TRAMPLED BY TURTLES: Tue., Sept. 28, 7 p.m., $30-$100. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. NEEDTOBREATHE: Tue., Sept. 7, 7 p.m., $29.95$59.95. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. NEKO CASE: Sun., June 27, 8 p.m., $31-$54. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. NEST: W Thirty Six Red, Grey Flower, Emery uinn, Sun., July 18, 7 30 p.m., $12-$15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. NIKKI GLASER: Sat., Sept. 25, 7 p.m., $49.75$155.75. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. ONE MORE TIME: A TRIBUTE TO DAFT PUNK: Thu., June 17, 8 30 p.m., $20-$50. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. OPEN HIGHWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY 1: W Old Crow Medicine Show, River ittens, Amber Skies, Thu., Aug. 5, 7 p.m., $41. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. OPEN HIGHWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY 2: W/ Marcus ing Band, The Dip, Maness Brothers, atara, Fri., Aug. 6, 7 p.m., $41. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. OPEN HIGHWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY 3: W/ Watchhouse, Sat., Aug. 7, 1 p.m., $41. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. OPEN HIGHWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY 4: W/ Whitey Morgan, Paul Cauthen, Morgan Wade, Flatland Cavalry, Alexandra ay, Western States, Nick Gusman and The Coyotes, Prairie Rehab, Sun., Aug. 8, 1 p.m., $41. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. PARKER MCCOLLUM: W Andrew Jannakos, Thu., July 22, 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. PECOS & THE ROOFTOPS: Thu., Aug. 26, 8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. PETER YARROW & NOEL PAUL STOOKEY: Fri., Sept. 17, 8 p.m., $77.50-$126. The Sheldon, 3648

Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. POI DOG PONDERING: Sat., Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $25$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. POWJR72: W the Pesky Flies, Moon Watching, Fri., July 16, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. PRIMUS: W Wolfmother, Battles, Tue., Sept. 14, 7 p.m., $30.50-$254. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. RANDALL KING: Fri., Sept. 10, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. RECKLESS KELLY: Thu., Sept. 23, 8 p.m., $22-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ROAST WAR CHAMPIONSHIP: Thu., July 29, 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SALTY SLUG: W Fireside, Superhero Rockstars, Half Gallon and the Milk Jugs, Sun., Aug. 8, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SCHOOL OF ROCK: Fri., June 4, 7 p.m., $5. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SCOTTY MCCREERY: W Tenille Arts, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $35-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SECULAR ERA: W Wadis, Moon Watching, Sun., June 20, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SHAVED CAT PROJECT: W Misplaced Religion, Fri., July 2, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 LoCourtesy of Pit Stop STL cust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SIMPLE PLAN & NEW FOUND GLORY: W Lolo, Thu., Sept. 23, 7 30 p.m., $34.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. SISSER: Fri., June 25, 7 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. STEEL PANTHER: W Adelitas Way, Thu., June 3, 6 p.m., $35-$75. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. STEFFINE URKELL: W TP5800, Rudeboyy T-Real, RudeGall Miss Piggy, D’Frynce, Diallo St. Clair Cee-Los, 2Tux, Sat., June 26, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. STORY OF THE YEAR: Thu., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., $25. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314289-9050. W Discrepancies, The Wild Free, Fri., Aug. 20, 8 p.m., $26. Sat., Aug. 21, 8 p.m., $26. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE FOUR HORSEMEN: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO METALLICA: W Conquest A Tribute to the Gods of Metal, Sat., Aug. 14, 8 p.m., $10-$20. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. THEO VON: Fri., Sept. 17, 7 p.m., $25-$55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. TOMMY VEXT: Tue., July 20, 8 p.m., $25-$50. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. TORCHLIGHT PARADE VINYL RELEASE PARTY: W/ Atlas on Fire, C20, Sat., June 5, 7 p.m., $5. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. TORRES: W Ariana and the Rose, Sun., Sept. 19, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. TOWN CARS: W Sandy Beaches, Sat., June 19, 7 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. VOIDGAZER ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: W Defcon, Scuzz, Swamp Lion, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. WILCO & SLEATER-KINNEY: W NNAMD , Fri., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $35. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. WITHIN THE GIANT’S REACH: W Grays Divide, Malus Dextra, Thieves to ings, Sun., Aug. 15, 7 30 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. YARD EAGLE: W Oregon Space Trail of Doom, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. n

SAVE THE DATE!

St. Louis Burger Week is back for its fourth year! Support your local restaurants for St. Louis Burger Week and enjoy $6 burgers all week long! The idea is to get people to embrace the food, and culture of St. Louis while getting them out to eat, drink, and try new places. Navigate your way through the city with our official St. Louis Burger Week passport- will be available online and participating burger week restaurants closer to the event. Grab four or more stamps, submit your information and a picture of your passport, and be entered to win gift cards and an ultimate St. Louis Burger Week prize pack.

JULY 18-25TH, 2021 PRESENTED BY:

MORE BEING ANNOUNCED DAILY!

BURGERWEEKSTLOUIS.COM | FOLLOW US

EAT-RITE

Interested in participating? Contact stlouisburgerweek@citybeat.com riverfronttimes.com

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Beyond Van Gogh Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is coming to St. Louis for a limited engagement.

Actual, Real Listings of Things to Actually Go Do Out in Public! We can hardly believe it either

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. POI DOG PONDERING: Sat., Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $25$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. POWJR72: W the Pesky Flies, Moon Watching, Fri., July 16, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. PRIMUS: W Wolfmother, Battles, Tue., Sept. 14, 7 p.m., $30.50-$254. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. RANDALL KING: Fri., Sept. 10, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. RECKLESS KELLY: Thu., Sept. 23, 8 p.m., $22-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ROAST WAR CHAMPIONSHIP: Thu., July 29, 8 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SALTY SLUG: W Fireside, Superhero Rockstars, Half Gallon and the Milk Jugs, Sun., Aug. 8, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SCHOOL OF ROCK: Fri., June 4, 7 p.m., $5. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SCOTTY MCCREERY: W Tenille Arts, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $35-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SECULAR ERA: W Wadis, Moon Watching, Sun., June 20, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SHAVED CAT PROJECT: W Misplaced Religion, Fri., July 2, 7 30 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SIMPLE PLAN & NEW FOUND GLORY: W Lolo, Thu., Sept. 23, 7 30 p.m., $34.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, 314-423-8500. SISSER: Fri., June 25, 7 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. STEEL PANTHER: W Adelitas Way, Thu., June 3, 6 p.m., $35-$75. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 eterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. STEFFINE URKELL: W TP5800, Rudeboyy T-Real, RudeGall Miss Piggy, D’Frynce, Diallo St. Clair Cee-Los, 2Tux, Sat., June 26, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. STORY OF THE YEAR: Thu., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., $25. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314289-9050. W Discrepancies, The Wild Free, Fri., Aug. 20, 8 p.m., $26. Sat., Aug. 21, 8 p.m., $26. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE FOUR HORSEMEN: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO METALLICA: W Conquest A Tribute to the Gods of Metal, Sat., Aug. 14, 8 p.m., $10-$20. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. THEO VON: Fri., Sept. 17, 7 p.m., $25-$55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. TOMMY VEXT: Tue., July 20, 8 p.m., $25-$50. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. TORCHLIGHT PARADE VINYL RELEASE PARTY: W/ Atlas on Fire, C20, Sat., June 5, 7 p.m., $5. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. TORRES: W Ariana and the Rose, Sun., Sept. 19, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. TOWN CARS: W Sandy Beaches, Sat., June 19, 7 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. VOIDGAZER ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: W Defcon, Scuzz, Swamp Lion, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. WILCO & SLEATER-KINNEY: W NNAMD , Fri., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $35. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244. WITHIN THE GIANT’S REACH: W Grays Divide, Malus Dextra, Thieves to ings, Sun., Aug. 15, 7 30 p.m., $15. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. YARD EAGLE: W Oregon Space Trail of Doom, Fri., July 9, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. n

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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CAFE

[REVIEW]

Pack Your Bags Pastaria Deli & Wine takes your taste buds on a trip to the old country Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Pastaria Deli & Wine 7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-7737755. Tues.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; shop remains open until 7 p.m. (Closed Sunday and Monday.)

ong before the pandemic ground dine-in operations to a halt and upended the way we eat and drink, Gerard Craft wanted to open a deli. Fom an old New York family, he wasn’t interested in recreating the overstuffed pastrami-on-ryes of his youth, but rather the type of Italian-in uenced food counter he fell in love with on his trips to the old country. He looked around for spots, and, a couple of years ago, even considered a space next door to his Clayton restaurant, Pastaria, but nothing seemed to fall into place. Determined to do it right when the timing came together, he shelved the plans and focused on his other endeavors. That deli idea would come up again under decidedly unideal circumstances. As one of the most prominent voices trying to help fellow restaurants navigate the horrendous challenges facing the industry over the last year, Craft was one of the first to close his dining rooms and became a leader in thinking through how businesses could survive on carry-out, takeand-bake meals and to-go beverages. For some of his restaurants, this meant a shift that, while not easy, did not mean completely overhauling the very essence of what they were. For Sardella, his small, Italian-in ected restaurant and wine bar, it was a blow to its identity. Meant to be a cozy spot for sharing small plates and cocktails, there was no way to distill that feeling into a to-go option.

With Pastaria Deli & Wine, Gerard Craft was finally able to create the lunch counter he’d been dreaming of for years. | MABEL SUEN Something had to change. With Sardella closed, it was a nobrainer for Craft to try out his deli idea. Adjacent to Pastaria, the space was tailor-made to complement the popular pizza and pasta spot with carryout-friendly items like sandwiches and salads that could be enjoyed in a park or in the backyard with friends. He and his team got to work trying out recipes, curated an outstanding wine selection and worked with Union Loafers to develop the perfect sandwich bread that would be the basis for most of their offerings. They weren’t going for anything over-the-top — just simple food made from outstanding ingredients that would still allow for people to come together over a meal, albeit in a pandemicfriendly fashion. Craft and his team launched the deli as a pop-up last summer and were blown away by the reception — so much that he realized this was likely a long-term project rather than a temporary adaptation. With surrounding office buildings beginning to slowly come back to life and nothing like it in the area, it made sense that

Executive chef Brian Moxey and sous chef Kris Smith. | MABEL SUEN the deli would only grow — not lose relevance once people started hitting the streets again. After a few months, he decided to make the transformation permanent, shuttering Sardella for good and

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relaunching the space as Pastaria Deli & Wine this past Fall. It’s hard not to lament Sardella’s closure; with the immensely talented Brian Moxey leading

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MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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Roasted turkey sandwich, tuna salad and Kris’s chicken salad. | MABEL SUEN

PASTARIA DELI & WINE Continued from pg 33

the kitchen as executive chef (a title he also holds at Pastaria), the restaurant was putting out incredible food, and felt like it had come into its own as the place Craft envisioned when he opened it in 2016. However, that pain eases the moment you bite into the Sloppy Giuseppe, a spicy, Italian riff on a sloppy Joe. Using the recipe for pork ragu he concocted for Sardella, Moxey layers the saucy meat onto the soft Union Loafers hoagie, then covers it with whipped ricotta and a chili oil drizzle that adds some serious fire to cut through the meat and cheese richness. It’s a stunning homage to the space’s past. The Local Coppa Pork Roast is an equally outstanding hot sandwich. The slow-cooked meat is so succulent you could spread it on a biscuit or in this case, awless Union Loafers bread. Red wine vinegar and peppery arugula punch through the richness, but the dish’s secret is a drizzle of tonnato sauce, an Italian-style fish sauce condiment that adds a whisper of funky umami, turning this from a great roasted pork sandwich into one of the best meals between bread around. Pastaria Deli & Wine’s cold sandwiches are just as delightful. Boldly billing itself as the World’s Best Tuna Salad, the restaurant’s tuna salad sandwich has no delusions of grandeur. Unlike its mayonnaise-bomb American cousins, this Italian-style salad folds confit tuna together with olives, capers, red onions, a tiny bit of aioli and garlic chili vinaigrette. It’s like eating puttanesca sauce in sandwich form. The Kris’ Chicken Salad sand-

wich is another standout. Named for the deli’s sous chef, Kris Smith, the traditionally mayonnaiseheavy salad is restrained in its use of aioli, allowing the avor of the roasted chicken to shine through. Celery, chives, oregano and Castlevetrano olives season the dish, while piquant pepperoncini add a pleasantly surprising, spicy punch. Even a simple caprese sandwich delights thanks to thick-sliced mozzarella, red wine vinegar and an outstanding pesto aioli. And there’s nothing simple about the masterpiece that is the Volpi heritage prosciutto sandwich, piled with buttery cured ham, cultured butter, lemon and spicy giardiniera. Whoever came up with the brilliant idea to pair butter with prosciutto should win a Nobel Prize. Pastaria Deli & Wine also offers a selection of salads (fans of the adjacent Pastaria will be happy to have an additional opportunity to grab its wonderful shaved kale), picnic packs meant to be enjoyed with a bottle of wine by the waterfall down the street at Shaw Park, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, Detroit-style pizzas on Fridays and Saturdays (RIP Porano), and a dish of rosemary, thyme and citrus-marinated Castlevatrano olives that alone make this restaurant’s existence cause to celebrate. Biting into one of those buttery marvels and reveling in the spread of crusty bread, cured meat and wine laid out before you, you’re treated to a transportive trip to the old country — a journey that is one of the instances of pure joy to come out of this challenging year.

Pastaria Deli & Wine World’s Best Tuna ..................................... $12 Sloppy Giuseppe ....................................... $13 Picnic pack ............................................... $12 • Carry-out and curbside only

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MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

HELP WANTED ST. LOUIS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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MAY 12-18, 2021

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SHORT ORDERS

The bakers at Old Town Donuts keep the case stocked 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. | ANDY PAULISSEN

[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]

If It Ain’t Broke Old Town Donuts became a key part of north-county life by never changing what makes it great Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

s a young kid growing up in north St. Louis County, Brad Donovan never expected to win the stepdad lottery and wind up related to the owner of Old Town Donuts. The shop held such a special place in his heart, starting with his and his mother’s tradition of going there every Sunday after mass at Our Lady of Fatima, where she was the music director. His favorite was the classic glazed — something

he’d get much more acquainted with after his mom tied the knot with the shop’s proprietor. “Never in a million years did I think she would marry the owner,” Donovan laughs. “They met through Rotary club and got married when I was seventeen. That’s when I started working there, and I think it speaks to the institution that we are — that we’re a family place. People tell us similar stories all the time about coming here when they were little kids with their grandparents. We all have those memories.” A Florissant institution since 1968, Old Town Donuts is indeed animated with the memories Donovan hears every day from longtime customers who come in to grab a cup of coffee and what many say is the best doughnut in the St. Louis area. Granted, not everyone can say that they are the stepson of owner Keith Took, but family relation isn’t a requirement to feel special at this northcounty mainstay. Every last person who stops in has some type of connection to the place, many of which stretch back to the old days

Old Town Donuts has been using the same recipes since it opened in 1968. | ANDY PAULISSEN when the original owner, Steve Burns, first set up shop. Part of the reason for that connection, Donovan believes, is how little has changed since 1968. Even after Took bought the shop in 1985, the place remained exactly the same as it was under Burns. There’s been little in terms of aes-

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thetic updating; the cream-andblack checkered oor may be a little more worn than it was in the ’60s, and the simple diner tables may have been replaced over the years, but the case, Formica counter and framed awards dotting the walls do not simply evoke an old-

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OLD TOWN DONUTS Continued from pg 37

fashioned doughnut shop; they are the trimmings of the real deal. “We’ve been using the same recipes and ingredients for the entire time,” Donovan says. “We haven’t really changed anything. I was trained by bakers who were trained by Steve, who opened the place. We’ve done it the same way and have been using the same vendors and everything for so long. We try to keep it consistent, which is the key.” Since opening more than five decades ago, Old Town Donuts has been a mainstay of the community as much more than a place to grab sweet treats. The shop is involved in several different organizations

throughout the municipality, and donates to local charities such as Marygrove, which helps teens and young adults who have experienced trauma. However, it’s the role it has of community gathering place that has secured its spot in the hearts of area residents. On any given day — the place is open seven days a week you’ll find grandparents with their grandchildren, people coming to and from work, moms with toddlers meeting up for a bit of respite, and, of course, the ever-changing yet constant group of senior-citizen men who stop in every day for a doughnut, coffee and catchup time with their friends. “Ever since I started, we have this group of retirees that comes in every single morning to sit down, have a coffee and shoot

the breeze,” Donovan says. “It’s their daily routine, and, sadly, it’s always evolving because some of the guys have passed away — we still have World War II vets in the group — but even if it’s not the same guys, it’s always still the same.” Donovan says that he’s had a few requests for changes over the years, but that’s just not in the cards. Though Old Town Donuts never felt pressured to jump on the gourmet-doughnuts bandwagon a few years ago (in fact, he says that business actually improved during that trend), he’s had customers inquire about whether the shop would start serving breakfast or doing sandwiches. As he explains, they’ll be waiting a long time for those changes. “We’re a doughnut shop,” Dono-

[FOOD NEWS]

Tacos 4 Life Is Coming to O’Fallon Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

hen Jacy and Matt Rose first heard about Tacos 4 Life (multiple locations including the forthcoming 2998 Highway K, O’Fallon, Missouri), they weren’t quite sure what to expect. The husband and wife were on a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a family wedding a few years back and were looking for a place to eat when their sisterin-law suggested the Tex-Mex restaurant. Intrigued by its social mission, they thought they’d give it a shot, but when they walked in, they were immediately impressed for reasons beyond its charitable aims. “We were completely blown away when we got there, because we expected it to be a charity,” Matt says. “We were surprised that the atmosphere was so inviting and nice. Also, we’re big foodies, so we couldn’t take the food lightly. It’s so good; the mission wouldn’t be as successful if it didn’t have the food to back it up.” Now, the Roses are about to become more than just customers of Tacos 4 Life when they open the first Missouri location of the small chain in O’Fallon this fall. As they explain, the restaurant’s mission

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Jacy and Matt Rose have been driving their family hours each way to eat at Tacos 4 Life. Soon they will be the ones in charge of the O’Fallon restaurant. | PROVIDED of helping to feed hungry children — not simply the delicious food — is what pushed them to dive into the restaurant business. “The founder [co-founder Austin Samuelson] heard a talk about how every day, 18,000 children pass away from starvation in the world, and that’s preventable,” Matt says. “It’s the most solvable problem in the world; it’s just getting the food to them. They were in the restaurant business, but they had a heart for the mission, and they created great recipes and put experienced and smart people around them.” At Tacos 4 Life, the restaurant donates a meal for every taco sold to the organization Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit that helps feed children around the world. So far, the company has donated 17 million meals in its six years in business — a number that guests

MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2021

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get to watch increase in real time on screens that are visible at the order counter. In addition to its mission, the Roses believe people will be drawn to Tacos 4 Life for the food. The Tex-Mex-in ected restaurant serves puffy fried tacos with creative fillings, such as fried chicken, Korean barbecue, chicken bacon ranch and spicy chorizo topped with creamed corn. Also noteworthy is the brand’s signature queso, which won the 2017 World Cheese Dip Championship. Construction begins on the storefront, which will be located near the intersection of highways K and N, next month, with the goal of an October or November opening. In addition to the Roses’ involvement, the O’Fallon Tacos 4 Life will be run by Andy Kendall, a high school friend of Matt’s and former top-five-ranking general

van says. “We do doughnuts the way we want to do them, and that’s all we want to do.” Still, he doesn’t think that resistance to change is a bad thing. In fact, that sort of staying power — 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 364 days per year — is why Old Town Donuts always has been, and will be for as long as he has his way, an essential part of the Florissant fabric. “I think a big part of it is the reliability of always being here,” Donovan says. “We’re always, always, always open. You want a donut at 3 a.m.? We’re here. You want a cup of coffee in the middle of the night? We’re there for you. I think that has gone a long way to put us in people’s minds when people are in north county.” n

So far, Tacos 4 Life has donated 17 million meals to Feed My Starving Children — a number that guests get to watch increase in real time on screens that are visible at the order counter. manager for Red Robin. The Roses are excited to have a seasoned veteran on board, as this will be their first restaurant venture currently, Matt is a financial planner who owns the local wealth management firm STL Wealth, where he plans to continue even once the restaurant opens. As eager as they are to be jumping into a business with such an important mission, they are just as thrilled to be bringing their favorite restaurant to town — which means they no longer have to road-trip to the next-closest location in Memphis to get their fix. “We’ve been driving four hours a couple of times a year to eat at Tacos 4 Life,” Matt says. “We’ve been telling our kids that we are making the trip to see the Memphis Redbirds play, but, really, we’re going there to eat the food.” n

[DRINKS]

Rockwell Beer Co. Is Opening a Second Location Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

lready a beloved community gathering place, Francis Park is about to get even more popular — and delicious. The south-city park, located in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, will be the site of the forthcoming Rockwell Beer Garden, a food counter, concession stand and outdoor dining and gathering space launched by the craft brewery Rockwell Beer Co. (1320 South Vandeventer Avenue, 314-256-1657). In plans announced last week, Rockwell Beer Co. is in the process of renovating Francis Park’s 1929-era “comfort center” building adjacent to the park’s tennis courts. Opening later this summer, the space is described as a “focal point for community gathering within the park, complete with plenty of outdoor seating, fire pits and an outdoor recreation area.” The new concept builds upon St. Louis’ past beer garden culture, respecting the park’s history as an integral part of St. Louis Hills. “We are obsessed with reinvigorating the longstanding beer garden culture in St.

The new Rockwell Beer Garden will be a community gathering spot in St. Louis Hills’ Francis Park. | COURTESY ROCKWELL BEER CO. Louis, because it provided such a tremendous sense of community to people in our city,” says James Sanders, co-founder of Rockwell Beer Co. “With the tremendous help and support of various St. Louis Hills neighborhood associations, Alderman Tom Oldenberg, and the City of Saint Louis, our Rockwell team is creating a gathering spot in Francis Park that has something for the entire family. As a longtime St. Louis Hills resident, I am especially proud of this accomplishment.” In addition to Rockwell’s beer, the

beer garden will serve wine, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages and food described as “family-friendly fare.” Full-service dining will be available. The concession area is not the only part of the park getting a facelift. The beer garden project coincides with renovations to the Francis Park tennis courts, some of which will be repurposed as pickleball courts. The beer garden will have pickleball equipment for patrons to use. The beer garden will be the second location for Rockwell Beer Co., which opened

[OPENINGS]

Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions Opens in Maplewood Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

he day that St. Louis carnivores have been eagerly awaiting has finally arrived: Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions (2733 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood; 314-647-2567) is now open in its new, larger location in Maplewood. The new Bolyard’s, which is located just a block north of the original location, expands upon the butcher shop’s seven years of serving St. Louisans the best pasture-raised and humanely sourced meat available. Not only do the new digs offer additional seating room — the larger kitchen setup gives owner Chris Bolyard and his team the increased space to offer a rotisserie, retail area, open cutting room and an expanded menu.

Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions is now open in its new and larger location just down the street from the original. | MABEL SUEN And what a menu it is. In addition to the signature sandwiches Bolyard’s has offered for several years — the Tom Tom turkey sandwich and the French-dip-in-

spired Dip, for instance — the expanded menu includes soups and salads, a charcuterie board, burgers and side dishes such as tallow fries. Weekend brunch will

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its brewery and tasting room just east of the Grove in 2018. Known for its familyfriendly, come-as-you-are style, the brand proved to be the perfect fit to bring such a community-oriented space to the park. “It has been a rewarding process to work with the Rockwell team and help them bring the Rockwell experience to Francis Park,” says Oldenberg. “The park is the crown jewel of our neighborhood. Having a new place — with high quality food and drinks — for people of all ages to gather makes the park even more special.” n

also be available, including such items as Bolyard’s famous biscuits and gravy, seasonal quiche and a breakfast hash bowl. The restaurant is also offering a handful of beers, kombucha and Excel sodas. A Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, Bolyard left the line to pursue his passion for whole-animal butchery, opening Bolyard’s in 2014. In announcing the move last October, he noted how thrilled he was that the new shop and restaurant would allow him to do more cooking. “I’m super excited to get back into the kitchen,” Bolyard said. “There are so many ways to utilize the animals we are already working with. This will allow us to showcase whole-animal butchery, and you will be able to see more of that on the menu, which results in less waste, which is a good thing. They just go hand in hand. Having a butcher shop attached to a menu, and not being limited by not having a kitchen, is very exciting for us. There’s a lot of fun things we can do.” The new Bolyard’s will be open seven days a week. Its new hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information and a full menu, visit bolyardsmeat.com. n

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REEFERFRONT TIMES

[DISPENSARY REVIEW]

Tommy Chims Smokes High Profile’s Weed Written by

THOMAS CHIMCHARDS

n the mid-1800s, some 400,000 Americans set out on a 2,170mile trek from Missouri to Oregon in search of their fortunes, braving unforgiving terrain, brutal weather conditions and the threat of dysentery, which was artfully defined for me by my grade-school computer teacher as “when you poop yourself to death.” In those days, it was the prospect of gold in the west that led many to make that arduous journey. But now, with the so-called “Green Rush” sending investors and entrepreneurs all around the globe in search of their slice of the $48 billion-plus the cannabis industry is projected to be worth by 2027, some Oregonians are finding their way back to the Show Me State. Enter High Profile (1416 Harvestowne Industrial Drive, St. Charles; 636-224-6033), the latest addition to St. Charles’ medical marijuana landscape. Opened on May 5 off Route 94, the fresh new dispensary is one part of multistate cannabis company C3 Industries’ retail operation and one of seven dispensaries the brand currently has open across three states. C3, which is now based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, got its start in Portland in 2018 with the opening of a 36,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility for its Cloud Cover Cannabis grow operation. The company has expanded rapidly in the years since, with a second production facility in Webberville, Michigan already in operation and a third in the works in Massachusetts. With all of that travel across the country in pursuit of untold

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riches, I can only assume there must have been a lot of party members who pooped themselves to death along the way. And so, to honor their sacrifice, I figured the least I could do is point my own vehicle westward and go buy myself some weed in St. Chuck. High Profile is housed in an industrial park in the home of a former bank. It’s got teller lanes on the side of the building, which will eventually be used for a drivethrough operation — something I’m a huge fan of, to be sure, but which is currently not in use. Upon walking in the doors you enter a waiting room with midcentury modern furnishings and a black and white motif, with accents provided by wallpaper decked out with the shop’s “High” logo. After handing my ID and medical card to a man waiting behind a desk, I walked with my budtender to the sales oor. Inside, the space is relatively spare, with glass counters on three sides of the room housing the shop’s products, which include apparel and accessories in addition to cannabis. Since it only recently opened, High Profile currently has a somewhat limited selection, and it’s currently stocking Glasshaus-branded ower and Clover-branded prerolls rather than its own Cloud Cover products. My budtender explained that C3 plans to build out its own grow operation in Missouri in the fall, with the first harvest coming sometime next year. On my visit they had Animal Mintz, Chem Scout, Layer Cake, Lemon Haze, Pink Citrus Farmer, Sundae Driver and Wedding Cake ower in stock. I went with an eighth of the Layer Cake ($55) and a pre-roll of Gorilla Glue 4 ($15). High Profile offers a deal for first-time customers wherein you get one pre-roll for only a penny on your first visit, so I made it two Gorilla Glues, knowing well that this was definitely a strain I wanted to get my hands on. The dispensary also has a selection of edibles from Honeybee, Wana, Robhots and Keef, but what caught my eye was a small pill bottle full of “night capsules” labeled Vivid Dreams ($50). After taxes my total came out to $132.35. I took a couple of the capsules almost immediately upon walk-

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At present, High Profile is carrying Glasshaus-branded flower, like this pile of Layer Cake, but by next year they’ll be stocking their own product. | TOMMY CHIMS ing out of the store. The nature of the chronic pain that qualifies me for medical marijuana is as such that crappy weather makes it hurt more, and the day of my visit was a particularly rainy one, so I decided to get things started right away. These capsules come from an indica strain that clocked in at 24.66 percent THC, according to the packaging, and each capsule contains 14.5 milligrams of THC. Boy, did they work wonders. Within an hour of taking two of them my pain began to subside, eventually melting away about as much as it can, and I began to feel some pressure under my eyes and a relaxed, stony feeling in my brain that lasted a couple of hours. Contrary to my expectations based on the nighttime-referencing packaging, I wasn’t laid at by the stuff, and I actually continued to func-

tion nicely throughout the rest of the evening. My only complaint with these is that they kind of take the fun out of cannabis — my preferred method of ingestion is smoking, and if I’m going to take an edible I like when it at least tastes good, like Honeybee’s offerings. Putting pot in pill form eliminates some of the mystique for this seasoned smoker, but I’d bet that there are plenty of people out there who would see the fact that you can just pop a pill and be on your way as a huge plus, especially since they’re so effective with pain. Next up, I dove into the Gorilla Glue pre-roll. Gorilla Glue is a notoriously potent hybrid strain grown by crossing Chem’s Sister, Sour Dubb and Chocolate Diesel, and a winner of multiple Cannabis Cups and even the High Times

S T HIGHER THOU G H From the altered mind of

THOMAS CHIMCHARDS Welcome to Higher Thoughts, wherein ol’ Tommy Chims smokes one strain from this review — in this case, Layer Cake — and then immediately writes whatever comes to mind in the hopes of giving you, dear reader, a clearer picture of its overall mental effects: no rules, no predetermined word counts and, most crucially, no editing. Here we go: IF KID ROCK owned and operated a daycare for cradle-dwelling children it would be called a “kid rockery.” Was that helpful? Who knows! See you next week. Thomas K. Chimchards is RFT’s resident cannabis correspondent and envier of Robert James Ritchie’s ability to live nearly his entire life in a shirtless state. Email him tips at tommy.chim@riverfronttimes.com and follow him on Twitter at @TOMMYCHIMS

High Profile has taken over a former bank for its dispensary. | COURTESY HIGH PROFILE Jamaican World Cup. The halfgram joint had a rich, delicious coffee-and-weed smell when I took it out of its packaging, and it burned clean throughout, delivering a grassy and fuel-like taste that gave way to a sort of saki and black licorice feeling in the back of the throat. Clovr-branded and rated at 19.41 percent THC, I put it out about halfway through, because I was absolutely toasted. I’m talking space-cadet high, with the bags under my eyes weighing a thousand pounds, my chronic pain nicely soothed (this was another rainy day, too, so that’s another huge win) and a blissful forgetfulness that saw me repeatedly wander into rooms in my home and then immediately forget what I went in there for. As it turns out I didn’t need two of these after all — just half of one worked out phenomenally well on two occasions — but I certainly am glad to have another one in my supply. I got into the Layer Cake next. Glasshaus-branded and rated at 17.85 percent THC, the jar boasts uffy, dark green popcorn buds with orange hairs and a dusting of trichomes, and, to use a perhaps confusing but nonetheless accurate descriptor I have employed once before to characterize the smell of a previous strain, it’s got a real “old people house” smell to it. (I’m not totally sure what that means either, but that’s where my head immediately went, and I’m not sure why. Maybe grandma smoked a lot of weed when I was

growing up?) On breakup, the little ower pieces fell easily off the stem and crumbled effortlessly in my fingers without leaving behind any stickiness — no grinder required. On inhale, this strain tastes sweet and grassy, with a fuel-like sensation in the throat and sinuses, and I didn’t find it particularly cough-inducing. I wrote in my notes that it tastes like “sweet furniture, like a nice couch from Goodwill smells when you get it home, but sweetened.” It is possible that this description, even more absurd than the “old people house” one above, came about as a result of my altered state of mind after smoking — I was grinning ear-to-ear and giggly, feeling relaxed and engaged and suitably euphoric, but not couch-locked. What this strain lacks in bag appeal it more than makes up for in effects I’ll definitely be buying more next time I can. As the Missouri medical marijuana industry matures over the coming years, we’re sure to see plenty of these larger, nationally franchised operations trek to town in the hopes of scoring big in the world of cannabis sales. And as High Profile gets its footing and gets its grow operation off the ground, its prices will plummet accordingly, making it a strong competitor in the dispensary world. In other words: The locally based operations may not love it, but the Green Rush has come to Missouri — dysentery be damned. n

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Missouri Drug Offenders Left Out by Legislative Blunder Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

rapped in prison sentences equivalent to those convicted of violent crimes, Missouri’s “prior and persistent” drug offenders have experienced a recent run of high hopes and devastating disappointments. On May 14, the very last day of the Missouri legislative session, what amounted to a clerical error deleted an amendment from a key public safety bill, killing a measure that would have restored parole to potentially dozens of drug offenders. But even before that blunder, legislative and legal attempts to address the plight of drug offenders sentenced under the harsh “three strike” sentencing law have failed — though not before igniting hope for relief, if only brie y. In 2017, the Missouri legislature repealed the “prior and persistent” drug offender statute, which for years had effectively multiplied punishments for prior drug offenders, adding decades to sentences and even barring them from the system of supervised release known as parole. But the repeal was fatally awed, and, in 2020, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that it could not be applied retroactively. “They can’t even give that sentence anymore,” notes Timothy Prosser in an interview from the Southeast Correctional Center, where he’s spent much of the past eighteen years on a life sentence for a meth-related trafficking charge. Even among the extreme sentences produced by the state’s old drug laws, the 60-year-old inmate is an outlier. “I’m the last one,” Prosser says. “The only one to have this life sentence for a non-violent drug case.” In 2016, the RFT profiled Prosser and his startling sentence. As confirmed by the Missouri Depart-

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Timothy Prosser, shown in 2016, is serving a life sentence for drug charges. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI ment of Corrections, he is indeed the only known offender serving a life sentence for drug crimes in a Missouri prison. Prosser was convicted in 2003 for first-degree trafficking, which, brie y, made him a potential beneficiary of Senate Bill 26, which included an amendment restoring parole to some drug offenders who had lost their eligibility with the “prior and persistent” designation. As the RFT first reported last week that the bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support on May 14, but the amendment affecting drug offenders did not. Prosser’s trafficking charge and time-served would have made him eligible for parole under the terms of the amendment, which was written to affect only those charged with first- and seconddegree trafficking. While not the same thing as a guaranteed release, the change would have allowed the offenders to finally have their cases heard by the specialized board which approves parole for thousands every year. The amendment was on track until it wasn’t. Despite the measure crossing the final hurdles into the final bill, somewhere along the line, for reasons still not clear, a Senate “drafter” removed the amendment before the vote. (The amendment sponsor, Republican Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch, says she believes the drafter may have mistakenly interpreted the amendment’s statutory language as an error and deleted it in an overzealous act of caution.) Although it was intended for

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The amendment was on track — until it wasn’t. Despite the measure crossing the final hurdles into the final bill, somewhere along the line, for reasons still not clear, a Senate “drafter” removed the amendment before the vote. the final version of the bill, the amendment had been cut without the knowledge of the House leadership or its sponsor, who found out about the error only days after the vote. “I’m disappointed that it didn’t go through,” Prosser says of the amendment’s erasure. The legislative debacle puts Prosser back at square one. Like others designated as “prior and persistent” offenders, he has spent years submitting clemency

petitions to multiple governors. He’s filed legal motions, all unsuccessful, arguing that the 2017 repeal should apply to old cases as well as the new ones. He’s also been closely following Gov. Mike Parson’s recent commutations. “Pretty much the only hope I have is that he’s looking at my case,” Prosser says. “I have a clemency petition I’m hoping he looks at.” While Parson’s clemency selection process is secretive, the governor has taken a notable interest in the plight of “prior and persistent” drug offenders. Since 2020, Parson has commuted the sentences of nine of them, with his most recent clemency announcement restoring parole to Robert Franklin, who has served fourteen years of a 22-year prison sentence for a marijuana-related trafficking charge. For drug offenders convicted today, there is no need to rely on the governor’s mercy. In 2020, Missouri’s parole board released more than 5,000 people from prison on supervised release. Under the state’s updated, post-2017 criminal code, even prior drug offenders are eligible for parole after serving a longer percentage of their full sentence. But with a life sentence and no parole, there is no percentage Prosser can hit for early release. His sentence will last as long as he does. “Not much has changed here, day after day,” he says. “I just try to work on my case.” Of course, things changed significantly as the pandemic hit Missouri prisons, threatening not just prisoners’ health, but triggering new policies barring visitation and further limiting their connections to the outside world. Prosser, 60, lost more than just visitations. In June, his father succumbed to CO ID-19. It was a fastmoving illness, Prosser says. He never got the opportunity to say goodbye. Prosser may have a uniquely long sentence, but without the amendment previously intended for Senate Bill 26, he’s in the same position as the roughly 230 other offenders saddled with the “prior and persistent” label. Like him, they are still serving no-parole sentences under a law that legislators agree should no longer exist but can’t seem to fix. For Prosser, all that’s left to do is wait — and hope that Parson or next year’s legislative session brings better news. “One thing you learn here, unfortunately, is patience,” he says. n

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SAVAGE LOVE BOTH BARRELS BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I need your advice. My partner of 27 years has been sleeping with my best friend. This has been going on for a year and a half. As far as I knew, we had a monogamous relationship, even if things had gotten stale between us in recent years. And my best friend is everything to me. I confide in him for a lot, including advice on my relationship. We spoke recently about how my partner wasn’t interested in sex. He looked me straight in the eye and said how his partner wasn’t interested in sex either. Little did I know that he was doing my partner. What is weird is that my friend isn’t even close to my partner’s “type.” My friend, however, has turned into an absolute whore in recent years. His partner knows nothing about it. I feel so betrayed by them both. I am gutted. I also fear being alone. I am 56 years old. The four of us did a lot together — Thanksgiving, Christmas, dinners, brunch, everything. I don’t see how we can continue now. What should I do? Going Under Thanks To Extreme Deceit I don’t know what to tell you. If you find what your partner and best friend did over and over again intolerable and unforgiveable, GUTTED, then don’t tolerate or forgive. Burn it all down. Dump your partner of nearly 30 years and cut your best friend out of your life. Then you get to decide if you’re gonna go quietly or if you’re gonna let people know why you ended both these relationships. And if you make your reasons public, GUTTED, which you have every right to do, the details will instantly get back to your best friend’s partner assuming you don’t tell him yourself and your ex-best friend’s relationship will most likely end. Which means when the dust settles … and new leases are signed you and your best friend’s ex will be alone and your then-former partner and your then-former best friend will be free to go public with their relationship.

But you can’t stay with your partner just to prevent that outcome. ou can’t stay in this relationship out of spite. Which is not to say you can’t stay in this relationship. ou could stay if you wanted to and your partner wants to but it’s going to be a very different relationship going forward. ou don’t say much about your relationship other than how long it’s gone on, GUTTED, that things went stale some years back, and how upset you were to discover this affair. But if there’s still good in this relationship and you have reasons to stay other than (or in addition to) not wanting to be alone, GUTTED, then get into couples counseling with your partner. Things will never be the same, GUTTED, but you know what It’s deeply irrational for us to expect things to stay the same as the decades grind on. And having to pretend things are the same puts an avoidable but not easily avoidable strain on our long-term relationships. Because even as both partners know things have changed, acknowledging that fact feels risky because it often involves renegotiating the terms of the relationship (like a monogamous commitment made decades ago). And the longer you’re together, the higher the stakes can seem. So two people don’t talk about what has changed even if both parties know things have changed and some people decide to do what they need to in order to stay married (or partnered) and stay sane. (Where do people get that idea ) Ideally this going and doing contingencies, allowances, carve outs are discussed in advance and agreed to by both parties. But just as often as not, GUTTED, difficult conversations are avoided and affairs begin, and then much more difficult conversations can’t be avoided once affairs are discovered. Finding out you’ve been cheated on can be deeply traumatic. I say “can,” GUTTED, because it’s not true in all cases some people don’t give a shit who their partners are sleeping with after three decades together so long as they come home. It’s not that sex and faithfulness (which is not to be confused with monogamy) aren’t important. They are. They were obviously important to you. It’s just that other things like a

You toss the word “whore” around like it’s a bad thing. It’s not. long history together or a deep-ifnot-passionate intimacy or both can become more important over time, and monogamy, awlessly executed over decades and decades, is not the only way a person can demonstrate faithfulness to a partner. Once you’re in couples counseling assuming your partner is willing to go I would encourage you to squarely face questions like how important sex is to you as an individual now, and how important sex and sexual exclusivity are to you as a couple now. Sexual passion and sexual exclusivity may have defined your relationship at the start, and may have helped you cement your bond. But other things valuable things like familiarity, intimacy and security may have overtaken them in importance. Just because your partner may not be interested in sex with you anymore or sex with you exclusively, GUTTED, doesn’t mean your partner isn’t interested in being your partner anymore. He may still love you, and other things perhaps more important things than sex cement your bond now. Or not. our partner could want out, and the affair was his way of blowing it all up. But if he wants to stay in this relationship too, GUTTED, it would, again, be a different kind of partnership going forward. Perhaps a companionate one, perhaps one with a revived sexual connection. There’s definitely a path forward if you both want to be together. It’s a steep and a rocky path, GUTTED, but it’s one countless other couples have walked together. But navigating it would require a huge effort from both of you, sincere contrition from him, and heroic powers of forgiveness from you. As for your best friend, GUTTED, you should tell that guy to go fuck himself for all eternity. P.S. ou toss the word “whore” around like it’s a bad thing. It’s not. Deceit and betrayal are bad

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things. What your best friend did was bad what your partner did was bad. But whoring around safely, ethically, consensually is a good thing, GUTTED, and a lot of my readers and listeners are looking forward to getting out there and doing some safe, ethical, consensual whoring around once they’re vaccinated. ou may find that a little whoring around yourself whether you’re single soon or not may be just what you need. And, yes, even recently single gay men in their mid-50s can get their whore on. (Put “daddy” in your Instagram bio, GUTTED, and watch the DMs pour in.) Hey, Dan: I would like you to be the referee in a disagreement. I am going out with a lady who insists that tinglehole is two words, as in tingle hole. I, on the other hand, believe it is one word. Like an adjective describing a condition: tinglehole. Since this is your word, Dan, what do you say? Thank you in advance. Words With Friends With Benefits P.S. There is some seriously freaky GGG shit riding on your answer. A few years back you couldn’t watch 30 minutes of basic cable without seeing three ads marketing “tingling” lubes to straight couples. These lubes were touted like they were a revolutionary new way, as one ad put it, “to turn up the heat” on your sex life. eah, no. First of all, I remember seeing bottles of “hot lube” in sex shops and on the nightstands of my first boyfriends back when I came out in the 1980s. And the effect was well, let’s just say that most bottles of hot lube were disposed nearly full. Because while hot lubes do make your hole tingle, it’s true, it’s not like they do the work. A lousy lay with hot lube on his dick is still a lousy lay. And getting hot lube all over your hole doesn’t “enhance the experience,” per , it only makes it more difficult to move on from it it’s impossible to fall asleep after sex be it good or bad when you’ve got a bad case of tinglehole. P.S. It’s my word, I invented it, and I say it’s one word. Enjoy your freaky shit mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savagelovecast.com

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Riverfront Times, May 26, 2021

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