St Louis, Boulevard, and Vietnamese

February 23, 2008

Our Saturday trip to St. Louis began at Bahn Mi So 1 on South Grand. At 11:30 AM, we were the second ones there. The small restaurant – and locals correct me – seemed to be run by one person, a very quiet man who took our orders, served our excellent Vietnamese coffee, and made sure Vered got her high chair. The spring rolls tasted very fresh. The beef and noodles was so good and fresh, I forgot to take a picture. Overall, the light food was very tasty and hit the spot after the two hour drive.
Then we took The Cheesmonger Wife’s advice and stopped off at Jay International Food. The sprawling mix of African, Asian, and Middle East foods reminded me of the strip of Asian groceries in Madison Heights, Michigan where little old ladies sit in the back of the store cleaning fish and vegetables.. Only, at Jay’s, I didn’t see any frozen durian. Still, the place was packed with goodies. Frozen snails. Frozen squid heads. Frozen sardines sold in large quantities. Lots of pickle this and that. And other goodies. Palm oil. Palm sugar. If it had “palm,” I was buying. I found a huge bottle of Mam Nem fish sauce. The light brown color of the sauce made me think of severely rotting fish being pressed in outside barrels so that folks like me can season their food. I bought it.

And, of course, we bought beer. This time, I took the advice of another blogger I read, STL Hops, and stopped at The Wine and Cheese Place. I picked up some Big Foot (apparently, no one in Columbia will get it this year), North Coast’s Le Merle, Unibroue 17, Arcadia Hop Rocket, and Gouden Carolus’ Easter Beer, which I have never seen before. And, of course, we played consumer to the max, stopping at Whole Foods. What is a trip to St. Louis without the wife buying goods at Whole Foods?

Then I came home and popped the last of the Boulevard Smoke Stacks I bought last year in KC. Tonight, the Saison. Like most Saisons, it is light, fruity, and pours very golden. It might be easy to classify this one as underwhelming when it is compared with the Double Wide IPA and the Tripel. Still, it is a nice beer, and one I’d buy on a fairly regular basis if it were sold here in town. There is a good taste of the yeast and a pleasant aftertaste. Works well with the leftovers heating up right now…

Posted in Vietnamese, beer