The Kingside: A Diner Review

Sooooo….If Only I felt that these had been missed but it is time for an actual DINER REVIEW!  Places open, places close and sometimes they open and close without comment but it shall not be the case with The Kingside Diner.  The Central West End has long been underserved by decent breakfast places.  For most of my extensive adult life you could choose between Koppermans and The Majestic.  Koppermans has always been an interesting choice but with limited seating and a staff that was and is...eclectic in regard to their service (sometimes fabulous, often dismissive) it became harder and harder and once I was denied the pleasures of a bagel and cream cheese with smoked trout (due to celiac) to choose.  The Majestic was of course the classic Greek diner, bustling, average food prepared sometimes carelessly but great ambience and alas, now closed.  You could grab a hotel breakfast at the Chase (pricey) and occasionally other places would offer breakfast service but it was always a half hearted effort.

So there was a need… there is a need and based on my first trip I think The Kingside is going to fill those needs.  Although I generally despise the politics and am suspicious of the motives of Rex Sinquefield (our very own, home grown Koch brother) he has done something very interesting and possibly fascinating with his St. Louis International Chess gambit and the devil, indeed must be paid his due… but do not loose sight of the likelihood that he is indeed the devil….but I digress.

The Kingside is a relentlessly interesting, high quality place to grab a little breakfast.  It sits next to the Chess club in the place formerly operated by Lesters (an interesting gambit for a BBQ sports bar location) and Lester Miller did spend some money on a nice build out, a great deal of which still remains.  High quality lighting, televisions, a full bar and modern bathrooms are part of that legacy.  The place over all is very pleasing to the eye and seems very clean and well maintained.  You could do a business breakfast here or bring out of town guests and be very confident of the choice.  You can also sit at the bar which serves as a de facto counter if you want to dine alone and do not want to take up a table.

I visited on Labor Day and it was quiet but several people were availing themselves to the outdoor seating which seemed perfect on a hazy, holiday Monday.  I would imagine it picks up pretty heavy traffic for brunch and certainly for lunch but, breakfast it our thing here at the Diner Review. My server was very polite and paid good attention though he might have had slight Brit affectations.  I think my wife would have found him charming.  I was seated by the window with a view of the street and sidewalk and watched a lot of dog walkers and morning people putting on the CWE show which is just different than anywhere else in the Lou.  They quickly brought me my iced tea and it was properly brewed and delightful.  The menu for breakfast is ample…

http://www.kingsidediner.com/menu/

...including a Piggies in Blanket Sandwich, Bagels and Lox and Quinoa Pancakes and “Cheddar Drop Biscuits” all of which seemed interesting.   They also sport the:

Kingside Slinger

Hash

chorizo chili, your choice of toast $10

I will definitely give that a try some morning.

But I was there to same my breakfast staple of two eggs over easy, hash browns (crisp) and sausage or bacon. The over easy eggs are always a good test and these were perfect.  Also, their hash browns were shredded (as God ordained for “hash browns”) and properly browned.  The portion was pleasingly small leaving me satisfied but wanting more.  The sausage was frankly like the relatively bland but unobjectionable sausage of the old Majestic (small tear in my eye).  The whole plate was hot and delicious and I think if you can do this meal well it bodes well for the rest of the menu.

I am going to urge you to try this place.  Bring a date, bring a friend and come before the parking on Laclede goes to hell (so come early).  There is a paid lot next store but it increases the breakfast cost dramatically.  Tip well and become a regular, I am considering doing the same.  I think with the quality of food and service and the deep pockets of the owner that this has the possibility of becoming a long St. Louis tradition.  We need more them.

American Music Showcase: Grand Center

Sooooo... those of us old people in the county who have not been paying attention  might want to start.   There are things happening in mid town at Grand Center.  I do not think you can give Father Biondi all the kudos for this but it certainly would not be happening without the revitalized, re-beautified, re secured SLU Campus.

The anchor of course is still The Fox.  One of the greatest landmarks in St. Louis and we can likely never be grateful enough for the rehabilitation of that building, great shows, beautiful facility, nice mix of entertainment there.  There is of course Powell Symphony Hall which I believe I was taken to once in grade school but other than that can voice no familiarity.  Jazz at the Bistro has soldiered bravely down there for years but with the addition of Kota, the new Dooleys and the City Diner there is some momentum being gathered.  Additionally on the southeastern portion of the area, there is Plush, Field House, Triumph, The Moto-Museum, Hotel Ignacio and Vitos.  It is still dead to the north but heading west you have KETC, and the new home of KWMU and now KDHX is moving in next to the park.  Directly south is the anchor of SLU.  It is starting to look solid.

So we did not have anything to do on Saturday night other than a forced invitation to go get drunk on a porch in Glendale which my wife was not enamored with.  I had read in the paper and then heard on KWMU about the American Music Showcase.  6 band in 5 venues.  Strauss Park kicked it off with the Thin Dimes.  Strauss Park is the little triangle across from the FOX bordered by Jazz St. Louis nd that big ass Baptist Church.  We were able to buy our wrist bands for 10 bucks each.  There were about 40-50 people in the park around 7:30 and we were able to grab a table at Jazz at the Bistro and have a little diner while the Thin Dimes did a nice country set with electric and acoustic and a nice female vocalist. It was a little loud.  Some people rode up on bikes and some people came with dogs and there was a nice mix of people.  The food was also good at the Bistro.  Urban Chestnut had a little stand giving away some samples with your admission and selling a few local brews.

We moved from there to a place I had never noticed before, the Hotel Ignacio.  I do not know what the rooms look like but they appear to be affiliated with (connected to? owned by?) the Trimph Grill/Moto Museum people.  We grabbed a cocktail at the hotel bar and found a cushy lobby chair to share and had the most pleasant surprise of the night with Beth Bombara.  She has a sweet voice and a nice little combo with a bass player and another guy who plays lap steel and then occasionally picks up the trombone to play a little as well and together.... a sweet sound.  I bought one of her Eps and will definitely go see her play again.  High point of the night.  Support local music, blah, blah, blah.

The Thin Dimes in the park at twighlight.

From there we walked up to Vitos and passed on the band playing outdoors there... no seating, before ending the night at Dooleys to see the Bottoms Up Blues Gang.  Everybody loves these guys.  I did not.  Dooleys basement seemed like it had potential to be a nice venue but... we had a drink and bailed. Still, it was an awesome night.

Soo... Grand Center, big potential.  Go out and check it out.  You also should check out the Thin Dimes and Beth Bombara.  Good music that makes you smile... it don't get much better.

This was a strong message from Dooley's bathroom.

Jeff Mangum at The Sheldon

Sooooo... it all comes down to guns, the guy from Notre Dame, Lance Armstrong and the budget, and Newtown and getting your own AR-15 to live in this dangerous, DANGEROUS country we live in...except it does not have to be.  There is always live music.

The other night I had the opportunity to go to a show at the Sheldon with my son Jon.  It is a blessing to do something you really like and when you can do it with your son it is even more better.  The show we went to see was Jeff Mangum who was the genius behind the seminal indie band Neutral Milk Hotel.  Magnum and the band were working the scene when they broke in 1998 with the seminal “Aeroplane Over The See” and it’s creepy beautiful “King of carrot Flowers”.  This kind of reminds me that radio was already dead even before the millenium.  Anyway the album was huge for indy rock and garnered critical acclaim when Mangum broke up the band and if lore is correct had a nervous breakdown.

If you listen to his music you would not be surprised.  He has a wailing voice with a sustain that is creepy when he carries the notes out.  It is just all angst and suffering and everything that made that brief, beutiful advent of indie such a heartnreaking thing... anyway... The Sheldon is a beautiful venue.  I think I have been there three or four times.  I saw garrison Keilor read poetry there and I saw someone do a Billie Holliday revue there which was cool and I think my son Patrick must have sang there or auditioned there or we went to see a play there or something.  Anyway, very cool venue.  Bathrooms are far from where you watch the show but comfortable seat and great site lines.  I do not know how many it seats but it cannot be more than 300.  It has a full bar attached next door in the gallery which is nice but again, a little walk for an old man.

And I am an old man.  the crowd for this show was trying as hard as anyone in St. louis can try to be hipster chic and cool.  It was interesting for an old man but ⅔ of the men had beards and when I say “beards” I dont mean david Ducovny “oh I forgot to shave have sex with me” beards but real beards.  Grizzly Adams (oops dating myself) bee hive type beards.  Seriously ⅔ of the crowd.  I had never seen such a thing.  I would say average age was about 32 and the crowd was pleasant and excited to see a hero.  The opening band was “The Tall Firs” and they were pretty cool.  two guys with electric guitars and it was kind of melodic.  they both sang like “The Crash test Dummies” with these deep mumbling lines but the songs and the guitars were excellent and I will check them out further on Spottify.

Mangum came on after a brief intermission and the crowd literally (for such a subdued venue) went wild.  One of the nice things about the Sheldon for an old man is the seating for everyone and the site lines, and the cocktails which you can bring in.  It is very much classy theatre with a nice stage with wooden panelling looking like a church (which I believe it was).  he walked out and sat down.  People hollered songs and he was pleasant and dismissive.  The cool thing about a show like this is that it is a guy with a limited but brilliant body of work, just coming out and playing to his fans.  He could sell more tickets at a bigger place (this was sold out) but the idea is just to deliver product, an event, a personal connection, and he does.  He started out right away with songs from “Aeroplane” and the crowd sang with him.  he apologized for being in bad voice and was taking hits from an inhaler and water bottle. He played “King of Carrot Flowers Part I” and had the crowd singing and then invited folks to come up closer.  No one (it being St. Louis) really wants to be dick and block other peoples view but when people did not move he chided them... and then they came.  We were in the balcony but about 40 people came up and either sat right in front or actually sat on the stage with him.  it was cool.  And all of them knew the words... to every song.  I remember being a fan like that and having a passion like that.  but barely.

This is the new model.  People of a certain age who have put out some quality music have the opportunity to continue to give their fans something of value, at a decent price and continue to make a living.  I don’t know whether Mangum is still writing anything but what he did is so famous and so meaningful to their audience that the opportunity to sit 5 feet away from his while he plays and sings, and they sing along.  It is creating these type of experiences that is the future survival.  Finding ways to connect that have nothing to do with record companies, or radio or selling albums or, god forbid, coming to play the local casino.  Mangum and the Tall Firs, with the help of a great local venue made memories.  Sometimes life is not about the 24 hour news cycle, and the stupidest athletes and guns and the budget.  Sometimes is can be about music and... pure joy.