A St Louis Trip

January 12, 2008

Our day started with a trip to Bon Vivant Wine, a Columbia, Illinois beer and wine shop I learned about via STL Hops. From Columbia to Columbia. An eating and drinking trip. An hour and forty minute trek to pick up some beer? No big deal when we can get some Jolly Pumpkin, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Victory and Dogfish Head. Andrew, the owner, was kind enough to throw in a Lagunitas Sirius and a Founders Pale Ale as appreciation. Much obliged. Bon Vivant is a nice little shop in what looked like – we didn’t stay long – a quaint town.

Then we headed towards South Grand in St. Louis to eat at Lemongrass. One of many Vietnamese restaruants near St. Louis University, Lemongrass is a pleasant little place. The owner fiddled with the TV while we ate. Someone near us was discussing her SAT scores (seems she scored a 600 in math). We enjoyed noodles and bun as well as Vietnamese coffee. South Grand is an interesting strip that runs from areas reminiscent of Detroit to a hipster strip of places to eat. Jenny admired the homes on the side street where we parked. “It’s like All in the Family,” she said. “They have no yard,” I said. A group of kids came out of one of the homes and yelled “Merry Christmas!” over and over. In the restaurant, I had The Cars’ “Shake it Up” in my head for no reason. I still do.

And finally, Whole Foods, yuppie mecca, crowded with the suburban-urban. Twice we’ve been there, and twice I want to go to the REI next door. Too bad I spent clothes money on beer. The area around Brentwood was blocked off by construction and no signage as to how to get around it in order to reach the strip mall where Whole Foods is located. A line of cars ran into the “closed road” section, followed each other around the neighborhood of windy streets only to end up at a dead end. Then it was battle of the three point turn. We, indeed, were among the blind leading the blind.

What can you say about Whole Foods? When I lived in an area that had three Whole Foods within driving distance, I hardly went. Now that I live two hours away from one, we treat it like a pilgrimage. What special “things” can we buy that we can’t in Columbia? You’d think we live in the middle of Burkina Faso (no offense to Burkina Faso readers). Two hours away, two hours, and scarcity is our measuring stick of consumer pleasure or pleasure in general.

That is one reason why I say “there is no capitalism.” A free market would allow for the sale of goods in any number of areas. The reason we cannot buy certain goods close to home is often because of the very “un-free” market called state regulated distribution. The owner of Bon Vivant, however, makes out. He gets my money. So do the owners of places in California, Chicago, and Oregon who take advantage of this missed up system and ship beer. The owner of a place in Columbia, Missouri does not get my money. The local economy is wrongly affected by the rules created by the local economy. The products are obviously available; they are not rare. The problem is that distribution has not reached this area for various reasons. Some of those reasons are due to state governmental interference. Some are due to the protection of certain monopolies. Here I sound very Libertarian. I’m not. I am just someone who likes to leave the banal world of work and debt, obligations and pettiness by drinking craft beer and fine food. Distribution issues prevent me from doing so in my home town.

Posted in St Louis, Vietnamese, Whole Foods, beer