Sunday, April 29, 2012

NOIR AT THE BAR APRIL 28 2012

This flyer was drawn by Meshuggah barista and chef Liam.  If you want a Cafe du Monde made right, order it from Liam.

 Liam is an artist, writer, and Noir afficianado as well.  


 A femme fatale takes a drink of beer as Les Edgerton reads from his book The Bitch.


These three below are the other readers (and part of the audience): Cortright McMeel, David James Keaton, Erik Lundy, but Lupe is back posting and has forgotten now. She will try to fix this later, and much apologies!  She remembers the stories! That is what is important!  http://store.subbooks.com/event/noir-bar-april-28






Friday, April 20, 2012

RECORD STORE DAY APRIL 21, 2012

Record Store Day is always a great day in The Loop, thanks to Vintage Vinyl!!!!

http://www.vintagevinyl.com/




Thursday, April 12, 2012

THREE KINGS PUB AND 19TH ANNUAL DINING OUT FOR LIFE

Lupe loves the Three Kings pub!!!! They are the best thing to happen to the Loop for a long time! (Lupe admits to being most familiar with their Late Night Menu. But they are great for dinner if you are more of an early bird than Lupe. ;o)

And on the 26th they will be part of the Dining Out For Life In St. Louis! 25% of all proceeds to benefit St. Louis effort to assist those with AIDS!

Delicious dinner and worthy cause, and all in the Loop!!!

Three Kings Public House on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

READING IS SEXY

So World Book night is coming, and there are many events planned in the Loop and around St. Louis. Subby is having a pick up party on Tuesday, April 17th, and a flash mob downtown is planned for World Book Night during the day. (12:30 on the April 23.)

http://store.subbooks.com/event/world-book-night-pick-party-april-17

PS-- Subby does sell the "Reading is Sexy" t-shirts. http://store.subbooks.com/reading-sexy-t-shirt

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

LIVING IN THE LOOP

The best place to buy household items, especially for dorm room living, is Family Dollar.  Either on Delmar east of the Metro stop, or over on Olive at Midland.

$5 lamps and rugs. $3 laundry baskets. Cheap toilet paper, cleaning supplies, organizers and sheets and towels, and even clothing.  Some food, too, but it's not a bad idea to be a little suspicious of the food. (Check the expiry.)  Your wallet won't feel the pinch at Family Dollar. And nothing you will be sad to part with at the end of the semester.

All holiday and party items, household decorations, and small hostess gifts can be found at Dollar Tree next to Schnucks.  They are heavy on the toys, plastic flowers, greeting cards, etc.  They are fun to just browse when you only have a few dollars.

Both the laundromats at Vernon and Kingsland** and Vernon/Balson and Midland are 24 hours.  Not just for laundry, but if you need a soda pop or trashy snack food from the vending machine.

The Check cashing place over at Olive and Kingsland is the best place to pay your Boost mobile bill.  Unlike the on-line site and Boost mobile dealers, they are really just $45 (or $50-- Lupe has a discount).  They don't charge service fees.  They are also cheaper to cash a check than Schnucks.

Even though Washington University has done a survey that what the Loop really needs to be a viable neighbourhood for its' student body is a medium sized grocery store (and a huge strip mall, sadly), the closest major store is still Schnucks on Olive. (If you want imported or specialty food, or a selection of organic or locally grown,  you have to go their Ladue or Clayton stores. The Olive Schnucks is mainstream middle America. )

EDIT: THEY ARE CLOSED: Shur Sav Warehouse Foods on Olive is where mostly black folks shop. It is cheaper than Schnucks. Carnivores have reported to Lupe that Pete's has the best meat.  You buy liquor from a counter at one end of the store, but they do have a large selection. (This is the real reason that many business owners in the Loop oppose Pete's and don't promote it.  There is a very big campaign among members of the Loop Special Business District to make sure that if you are going to get drunk in the Loop you are going to do it in a bar. )

This is a great blog review of Pete's Shur Sav by another blogger. From the Loop you can just walk down the Path that goes from behind the Chuck Berry statue and it will take you all the way to Vernon and the Shur Sav parking lot will be right across the street.

(Pete's is actually a longer walk for Lupe than Schnucks. Truthfully what Lupe would like is a Trader Joe's in the Loop. BTW, the Trader Joe's on Olive is less crowded, has a better selection, and is much easier to access via public transportation.  You really walk around a lot of back alley's and parking lots with no sidewalks or lighting to get from the train or bus to that Brentwood location.)

Of course, the Loop Farmer's Market  is the best place to get your fruits and vegetables.  Only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday though!

Smoothie King for supplements and healthy snacks, and Al-Tarboush for pita bread, tabouli, hummos, garlic sauce and nectars and juices. Lupe buys her baguettes at Panera, but honestly only because there is no other bakery to choose from, other than Schnucks La Brea bakery "french bread."  It is the lesser of two evils.

All of these places are safe to walk to at night. In fact there are usually a lot of people out walking on Vernon, Olive, Kingsland, and, of course, Delmar.  The violence and shootings that you hear about are random and not really part of the neighbourhood.  Often gang related. It really doesn't overlap like the media would have you believe.  Lupe walks everywhere, even after dark. Lupe has noticed that people that come from larger cities, either nationally or internationally, do not find University City bothersome.

If you do not feel safe walking around in University City at night is it possible you are not used to walking in an urban environment? There is crime, but it is not that prevalent. Use common sense, be aware of your surroundings.

 Lupe encountered more panhandlers in Beverly Hills than she does in the Loop. Or by the campus of USC, where a bachelor's degree costs $250,000. (Wash. U is still under $100K and pretty damn close academically.)

Come to think of it, the most virulent panhandlers she ever encountered were in Paris, on the Champs Elysees.  (Bosnian women, newly arrived from their war torn country back in 2000.) One woman followed her for a block, even crossing the street, shouting at Lupe for money.

See you in the Loop!

** Regarding the laundromat at Vernon and Kingsland.  They are the same as the old laundromat that used to be where Q-doba Mexican food is.  They are nice and new and all big machines.  However, Lupe finds the owners somewhat offensive.  They, all white men, actually said to their African-American employees during the first Obama campaign for presidency that "If he gets elected someone will shoot him."  Lupe has no proof, but she believes her friend that worked there, and so she goes to the other laundromat now.

Monday, April 9, 2012

MESHUGGAH CAFE DU MONDE

Lupe needed to quit drinking so much coffee. She decided the best way to do this was to cut the coffee with something else, so she switched to the chicory/coffee blend Cafe Du Monde.

It turns out that chicory coffee is even BETTER than regular coffee, and better than Meshuggah's Honey Vanilla Latte! So Lupe is not suffering any withdrawals.

Meshuggah has some nice new sturdy, square tables outside where you can sit and drink it and enjoy some fine people watching.

See you in the Loop!!!

Meshuggah
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/28/321517/restaurant/St-Louis/The-Delmar-Loop/Meshuggah-Coffee-House-University-City

Meshuggah is the new host of Noir At The Bar.  The next N@B features Les Edgerton and more, so mark your calendars for April 28th at Meshuggah.  Hosted by Subby.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

AL TARBOUSH REVISITED

Lupe added this "Edit" to her original http://delmarloop.blogspot.com/2010/03/al-tarboush-deli.html

Edit: 2012 Update: And a snack that one of the sisters (it is a family business, all the sisters are wonderful!) gave Lupe a snack suggestion of triangles of pita with a spread of garlic sauce and then hummus, toasted in the toaster oven for a minute.  Trying not to eat all the bread and both containers of garlic sauce and hummus is a challenge!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

LOOP FARMER'S MARKET: LOST AND FOUND...

Lost and Found, and...
Saturday afternoon, almost sold out.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/long-acres-farm-saint-louis

314.863.2418
Open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8-4.