This little shop on the corner has been through many incarnations, just before Stone Spiral it was home to a small theater, but what stands now is a shop and cafe that brings the best in local crafts, performance, and conversation under one roof. On one side of the cafe is a barista stand and traditional coffee house where you can check out live music while you mow through mochas. They anticipate getting a beer and wine license soon, but the chai I had was hands down one of the best in town. On the other side of a large doorway stand shelves of books and magazines available to borrow on the honor system. Flanking the bookshelf on the left is a case filled with bracelets, scarves, and earrings crafted by local artisans that are for sale. To the right of the loaner library is a table made of reclaimed wood shelf full of puzzles, games, and (you will never guess) a tray of View-Masters begging to entertain casual sippers.

Dotted throughout the shop are found art objects on shelves and walls, as well as sculptures made with recycled knobs, findings, and discarded household items. The whole shop has and eclectic and folksy feel, amplified by the music being softly piped over the speakers when a band or open mic night isn't in progress. There is an open mic night that starts in two weeks that invites local poets, slammers, essayists, and musicians to stop in and perform anything they would like from 7pm until 9pm on Wednesday evenings. This Friday, from 5:30pm to 9:00pm there will be live music in exchange for $3 or a canned good.

Stone Spiral one example of the many business built around the idea of social entrepreneurship that are popping in neighborhoods around our city. These businesses aim to improve the community around them in addition to, or as the core of, their business. Because of the communal aspects of their business models, places like Stone Spiral are giving the big boys and super shops a run for their money by competing in a way a huge chain cannot.

Stone Spiral is located at 2500 Sutton Blvd, across from Ryan Hummert Memorial Park. Their normal business hours are Monday through Friday 7am until 8pm, Saturday from 8am until 5pm, and Sunday from 9am until 5pm, with extended hours for musical and open mic events.

The only person I have ever met that doesn't love bacon is a vegetarian, and even she dearly loves "facon." I have seen everything from wallets and i-Phone cases, to dental floss and toothpicks paying homage to the mightiest of pork products. If you want a practical way to sport your fan-dom, and you happen to be accident prone like me, you can use your favorite breakfast meat to protect and heal with die-cut bacon strip bandages.

If there wasn't such a stigma surrounding the artery-clogging properties of butter I am certain there would be a yearly celebration rivaling the likes of any major holiday. Butter is another food, like bacon, that even you will find a (paltry) substitute for if you can't eat it. There are a ton of products out there to help you apply butter to your food with perfection, like the butter spreading stick or the one click butter cutter, but there aren't nearly enough products on the market that celebrate butter for just being butter; few products besides "Love Butter" soap. The handmade soap stick comes shaped and wrapped in a style reminiscent of the most fatty butter stick you can pick up at the grocers, a die hard butter fan's delight.

Then there is chocolate. There are few foods in this world that are more revered or delight in than chocolate. Chocolate is known to be an aphrodisiac, which may account for its wide use in cooking and its connection with the national holiday of romance - St. Valentine's Day. Trying to woo a bacon fan? Three words: bacon-flavored chocolate. This may not be as practical as a bandage or soap, and sure it sounds disgusting, but everyone who I know that has tried it was surprised by how sweet it is when chocolate and bacon have a baby. It's that perfect combination of salt and sugar that pleases so many taste-buds.

While that diet may make you forsake the fatty foods you love, the wonders and weirdness of online retail means never having to shun your obsession altogether.

But what if you're not a fan of turkey? Many times, the main meat of your Turkey Day feast comes out of the oven so dry that you have to empty out the gravy boat in order to choke the turkey down. And there's plenty of people who don't like turkey to begin with. Should they be forced to dine entirely on stuffing and cranberry salad? I think not.

If you're looking for an alternative to turkey this year, try a smoked ham. Not the pre-smoked ham that comes air-sealed and preserved. I'm talking about actually smoking your own ham. My boyfriend and I recently tried out a very simple way to smoke your own ham, and in case you want to follow suit this Thanksgiving, here's what we did:

• We bought a ham at Sams (That sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, doesn't it?). Since there was only two of us, we only bought a small boneless half shank, but depending on how many you're feeding, you can buy a pretty large ham to start out with. If you don't mind spending a little more on your meat, John's Butcher Shopee is local, and it's a great, old fashioned way to cater to specifically to what you're looking for.
• As simple as it sounds, we just made a mixture of honey, brown sugar and cinnamon, and rubbed it into the ham (obviously unwrapped at this point) for a few minutes.
• The smoker is a Brinkmann from Bass Pro, and it has held up really well after repeated use. To prepare the smoker, we simply turned it on and put wet apple wood chips from World Market next to the coils in the smoker. We decided that apple, more than maple or hickory, would best go with how we had already prepared the ham. We had asked around about whether or not to wrap the ham in foil to keep it moist, but the drippings from the ham fell into the drip pan, which then evaporated back up again, so keeping the ham from drying out actually took care of itself.

A little over four hours later, when the meat thermometer read 140-degrees, the ham was done. It was better than any Honey Baked Ham that you could buy at the store, and the fact that we prepared it ourselves made it taste that much better. In fact, I think that I would prefer to eat a ham like that over a Thanksgiving turkey any day. Grandma, are you reading this?

"We've got nothing to hide, so the sauce is on the side." That's the kind of attitude that co-owner Mike Emerson has towards the mouth-watering meats that he and his team dish out at Pappy's Smokehouse.

I can't say enough good things about this place. I love food, and I especially love barbecue, so I've tasted around enough to know that this new place really gets it right. While we were there, we sampled (OK - inhaled!) the chicken, the pulled pork, the beef, the dry-rubbed ribs, the baked beans, the fried corn on the cob, the potato salad, the sweet potato fries, the coleslaw and all three amazing BBQ sauces.

Besides the food, the atmosphere and people there were great. Even in the middle of the afternoon, the kitchen was busy plating dish after dish, including the popular food to-go option. The tunes, which are often live, made me feel like I was in Memphis, and even though it was our first time at Pappy's, everyone from the owner to the regular customers made us feel welcome.

To see more of what this St. Louis gem is really about, click on [tab:trav_video]. But have your car keys ready, because as soon as you see what's cookin', you're going to want to head there asap for lunch.

To find Pappy's follow the amazing aroma that wafts down the streets surrounding the restaurant. If you still need more help finding it, here's a map.

I come from a long line of quail hunters, and with those quail come pheasant. (For those of you who don't know, it's quail season as we speak.) Quail are excellent to eat after simply wrapping them in bacon and throwing them on the grill, but pheasant are a bit more difficult. To me, pheasant have a stronger "gamey" taste, so it takes a bit more work to make this bird taste good. So far, the best recipe that my family and I have come up with is pheasant chowder. Anyone who has ever tried it has ended up begging for the recipe, so don't knock it 'till you try it.

Ingredients to cook the pheasant:

• 1 pheasant
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp of Lowry's seasoned salt
• 2 cans of chicken broth or 1 tbsp of chicken chicken boullon.

Ingredients to make the soup:

• One medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 5 med cucumbers, peeled
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup of light cream or whole milk
• 1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:

Cook dressed pheasant in a slow cooker (4 hrs) or pot (2 hrs) with the poultry seasoning, the seasoned salt and the chicken broth. Let the bird cool, then debone. Cut into small pieces to equal at least 2 cups of meat.

Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add onion, and saute for ten minutes. Add the flour to the sauteed onions until bubbly, then add chicken broth and seasonings. Puree cucumbers in a food processor. Next, add cucumbers, pheasant, uncooked rice, lemon juice and bay leaves to the pot. Bring chowder to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes while stirring often. Turn heat to low and stir in the cream/milk and continue cooking until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Serves six.

Ingredients

1 whole wheat pizza crust
1/2 cup roped Provel - very St. Louis and very awesome
1 package Old World brand pizza sauce
1 cup Three Cheese Blend
1 small can of sliced olives
generous sprinkling of Italian Herb Seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, layer sauce, 3 cheese blend, provel, and olives on pizza crust (don't forget to reserve some of the cheese and put it over the olives!). Sprinkle on the spice. Bake on a pizza stone for 12 minutes - say yummy!

I always keep the basic ingredients on hand, and when buying them I check the labels to make sure there is no high-fructose corn syrup, also known as devil's juice, used. You would be surprised - even some olives are packaged in this unhealthy insanity.

The fancy, schmancy sandwich places serve their purpose, but my eyes get tired reading the overly descriptive menus and I order the exact same sandwich every time. They haven't done much for me either - while I give them an inordinate amount of money for a PB&J or Ham sammy they make me stand in line like a fast food restaurant and have effectively increased lunch prices at just about every midday munch spot. This is why I am a fan of The Blue Elephant in downtown Clayton. In less than thirty minutes you can enjoy a three course lunch for less than ten bucks, and you are seated at a table with a wait staff, too - something rare for a cheap lunch place.

The Blue Elephant, located on Forsyth, is a Thai restaurant that not only gives you a modestly priced lunch or dinner, but also offers a simple and delicious menu that gives a beating to fancy turkey sandwiches. The most popular dishes at Blue Elephant are the three curry dishes - red, green, and yellow - with your choice of proteins. They have a decent list of stir fry dishes and even a few low-carb options for those Atkins hangers on out there. If you are like me and you try to go for healthier carbs, you can substitute brown for white rice on any dish, including the stir fry, for only a buck. Many restaurants that serve foods from the eastern hemisphere add rice to everything but don't offer brown at all, so this is one of the few spots around the city where you can get a stir fry and still keep it relatively healthy.

Lunch service at Blue Elephant attracts the suit and tie crowd because it is so fast for a sit down spot. You are in and out so quickly that you only have to drop a quarter in the meter. Since it isn't exactly fare for a client lunch you get a lot of coworkers going to grab a quick bite together and dishing about everyone they left behind at the office... which can make for some uber interesting eavesdropping. Table for one or table for eight, Blue Elephant is a great alternative to the artisan bread places for fast and delicious lunch on the cheap.

Blue Elephant is located at 7816 Forsyth Ave in Clayton, MO. They are open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11am until 2:30pm, and nightly they are open for dinner from 5pm until 9pm, with extended hours until 10pm on Friday and Saturday.

The laws date back to the 1930s, where saloons and bars used to be used as polling places. I know that the election coverage and non-stop propaganda is pretty painful to watch sometimes, but was it really becoming so depressing that people were getting tipsy before they stood in line for a couple hours to cast their vote? (I voted this morning, and I'm not kidding about the two hours.)

What do you think - Would you drink and vote? Would that really change the outcome of the election anyway? Or is everything so depressing that you aren't going to be able to fill out your ballot without throwing back a couple of cold ones?

As many of you all might know, the 'Bucks is giving away a free brewed coffee just for exercising your civic right. If by some weird, off, insane chance you don't know where one is, here is a list of St. Louis locations:

You can get a sweet, patriotic treat from Kripsy Kreme. Here is a listing of St. Louis area locations:

Stop by McAlister's Deli for lunch and snag a free sweet tea with a regular purchase. Find a McAlister's Deli in the 'Lou:

Ben and Jerry's if offering a free scoop of ice cream. Find your scoop here:

The awesome St. Louis photographer that did all the TRav profile pictures is also giving away a free PhotoShop picture overlay for digital scrap-bookers who voted today here:

Need more coffee? Circle K and Shell gas stations are are giving away a free 16oz coffee to voters today.

Want to rock the vote?  Vintage Vinyl is giving voters 10% off today!

And last, but certainly not least, stop by Chik-Fil-A for a free sandwich! Find your chicken here:

It doesn't matter who you vote for, just vote! If not for the politics, could we convince you to do it for the free lunch?

Bi-Partisan Basics

Order plates, cups, and tablecloths with a patriotic theme from Oriental Trading Company. They also have lights, decorations, and patriotic accessories if you want to send the winners and losers home with parting gifts.

On The Right: John McCain and Sarah Palin's Food & Drink Station

Centerpiece - A stuffed elephant anchoring red helium balloons

Food - Buy or make foods that pay homage to the candidate's states. Some ideas: Baked Alaska, Smoked Salmon Quesadillas, Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas, or Southwest Dipping Sauce

On The Left: Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Food & Drink Station

Centerpiece - A stuffed donkey anchoring blue helium balloons

Food - Consider serving foods  made famous by the candidate's hometowns: Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza, Philly Cheese steak, Soft Pretzels, or Gourmet Popcorn.

Undeclared Libations

Serve red and blue colored cocktails and call them red state/blue state martinis. For red state martinis try this or this, and for blue state martinis try this or this. You should also consider serving Arizona tea - since McCain is from Arizona and Biden is a "tea-totaler" you will be playing to both sides.

I can't think of a better way to put this whole election nastiness behind us, and all of the political craziness is going to leave us with a hangover anyway, so why not enjoy it until the bitter end?

Tuffli's Veggie and Bean Chili (I got this recipe from one of my good friends after she made it for a pumpkin carving party - excellent to serve a smaller group.)

Ingredients

2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 fresh jalapeño, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
28oz can chopped tomatoes with juice
2 zucchinis, cut into 1/2 in cubes
2 (15oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp chopped semi-sweet chocolate
3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño in olive oil over medium-high heat in the bottom of a 4qt pot until onions are tender (about 5 minutes). Add chili powder, cumin, and salt and cook for one minute, continuously stirring. Add tomatoes with juice and zucchini and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Stir in beans and chocolate and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and cook for an additional 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Spiced Bison Chili (This recipe is my own variation after looking through a few different cookbooks; this leaves lots of leftovers and works for a crowd.)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground bison
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 (16 oz) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 (15 oz) cans low sodium tomato sauce
2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp medium grind pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

In a large skillet cook the bison, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain after cooking. Transfer bison to a Dutch oven. Stir in the beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, and all seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and serve.

For both chili recipes it is a must to set out an ultimate fixings bar next to the soup ladle. Some traditional chili toppings are:

• Shredded cheddar or chihuahua cheese
• Oyster crackers
• Chopped onion
• Hot sauce
• Sourdough bread bowls
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped jalapeños
• Sour cream

I have also heard that a traditional Texas chili is one of the best bets for chili, but haven't tried it yet. Maybe that will be this weekend's culinary adventure? Bon appetit cowboys and girls!

1. Crab Rangoon
   Among many other foods like hamburgers, waffle cones, and the hot dog/bun combo, this tasty Chinese food staple was invented at the 1904 World's Fair. Though it has spread throughout the rest of the country it is most commonly found in the Midwest.



2. Pork Steak
   I was really surprised to find out that this outside grilling staple is only found in our fair city. Grill these puppies up and simmer them in Maull's BBQ sauce (another St. Louis original) and you have a little piece of BBQ perfection that can only be found in our backyards.



3. Mayfair Dressing
   This salad dressing was named for and invented at the Mayfair Hotel in downtown St. Louie. The egg-based salad dressing is a bit like a caesar dressing, but many speculate that the difference in this dressing is the addition of champagne. It is said that the recipe is a highly guarded secret, passed down from one chef to another, but lately more restaurants are touting the fact that they offer this salad topper. In any case this dressing is a St. Louis thing though and through.



4. St. Paul Sandwich
   Another Chinese food staple.  People actually began traveling to our city to try this sandwich, made with egg-foo-young, after it was featured in a documentary about sandwiches on PBS. If it was invented in St. Louis, why is it named after a city in Minnesota? One rumor says the sandwich's inventor was from that city. Another says he was devoted to the saint. Even with the mystery surrounding the name it is not disputed that sandwich clearly hails from the city under the Arch.



5. Slinger
   Though there is some contention as to which greasy spoon served the first slinger, there is no mistaking that this heartburn inducing late night diner fare belongs to the 'Lou. Waiters at Tiffany's Diner in Maplewood will tell you that the most slingers consumed in one sitting is a record six - a record begging to be broken, but not recommended if you have to be in a confined space within 24 hours after your attempt.

Take for example bologna. It is a disgusting, processed meat that teen aged babysitters love to use as a torture mechanism (or lunch) for kids in subdivisions everywhere. Solving this epidemic is simple as busting out a bag of potato chips (non-ridged) and ketchup. When making a sandwich layer chips on the bologna and apply ketchup liberally. That, my friends, is the only way you will ever see me eating bologna, period.

Dressing up ice cream can take on a number of forms, all options are pretty good and ice cream doesn't even need toppings to be awesome. But, substitute a powdered chocolate like Quick for chocolate syrup and your bowl is now holding an ice cream masterpiece.

Everyone has their own interesting condiment usage. Mixing, matching, and re-purposing the stock from your fridge door is ok for everyone - not just pregnant ladies. So whip out your hot sauce and douse that pizza slice with pride!

This weekend I tried Giada De Laurentiis's recipe for Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese. For those of you who know Giada, you might not understand my apprehension. For those of you who don't: she is the real purty lady from the Food Network that makes fancy Italian food. Even with the difficulty listing of "easy" my thought was that since she is an uber-chef, of course she thinks it's easy and the chances of me screwing it up were still about 50/50 so I would hedge my bets. I made it, it rocked, and I am craving the leftovers as we speak... read... type... whatever we are doing right now. I thought I would share Giada's awesome recipe since it passed the weeknight dinner test on the very first try: easy to make, easy to remember, and good eatin'.

Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 (10oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped and oil reserved
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup dry white wine (never cook with wine you wouldn't drink)
8 ounces angel hair pasta (I used whole wheat pasta which was delicious)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces fresh goat cheese crumbled
2 tbps. chopped Italian parsley

Directions

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese on top, add the parsley, and stir.

1) You could use your seeds to make Pumpkin Seed Oatmeal Cookies

1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup dried shredded coconut
3/4 cup pumpkins seeds

Preheat your over to 350F. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl medium-sized bowl combine oil, syrup, vanilla, vinegar, and coconut - whisk until emulsified. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Fold in the oats until evenly combined. Drop 1 tbsp of cookie dough onto greased cookie sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet and allow them to cool on a rack.

2) You could roast your seeds and use them to make Pumpkin Seed Brittle that you can freeze and serve as a garnish for Pumpkin Pies

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

In a heavy skillet combine sugar and water and cook over medium-low heat, stirring and combining sugar with a brush dipped in cold water until sugar dissolves. Simmer while tilting a rotating pan (do not stir) until the mixture develops a deep caramel color. Stir in toasted pumpkin seeds, stirring until coated well. Pour the mixture onto a onto a buttered piece of foil and spread it evenly. Allow to cool completely and break into pieces.

As far as defending your pumpkin's honor, there is a rumor that mixing a little cayenne pepper, vegetable oil, and water in a spray bottle and misting it over the pumpkins will ward off evil, furry pumpkin pillagers. As far as bored teenagers? Maybe put up a sign warning: "Those in violation of pumpkin smashing will be subjected to yard work."