TourCWE's CWE Confidential

Gramophone

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:49:15 GMT

Art Meets Sandwiches

The Gramophone gives dive bar vibes and yeah, it started out as a live music venue in 2008 but don't get cringy - the only thing you're here to pick up is one of the most creative sandwich masterpieces you'll find anywhere in The Lou.

My go-to? I love the weekly specials and get big-time FOMO if I miss an entire week. Seasonally in November, they usually put an entire Thanksgiving dinner on bread at some point and I'm fogging up the window waiting for the doors to open.

The worst sandwich? There isn't one. Seriously, this place is a no-miss.

Straub's Market - Neighborhood Gem

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:35:33 GMT

Preparing great recipes so CWE'ers don't have to since 1949.

Popsy Straub started Straub's Markets in 1901 in Webster Groves, delivering groceries by horsedrawn carriage at the beginning. Today, they have four perfectly sized neighborhood markets in four great neighborhoods around St. Louis.

The CWE got one in 1949, and it's been a consistently faithful savior to the oh-no-i-forgot-to-prepare-something crowd ever since. Of course they are a full service grocery with all the food items you'd ever need, but their prepared foods are the stuff of legend and set Straub's apart from every other grocer in town.

The dominant presence in Straub's prepared food case? Chicken salad. A closely-held recipe since 1979, Straub's sells over 41 tons of chicken salad a year and it's legendary.

Luckily this lady doesn't have to make it all in her kitchen anymore.

PRO TIP: I'm 100% certain that Straub's chicken salad on a Red-Hot Riplet will be served in Heaven.

Oh yeah - not o nly does the Straub's bakery make a great Gooey Butter Cake, but they also are the final purveyor of Miss Hullings Split Layer Cake , a nearly-forgotten legend of bygone St. Louis.

OG of the CWE Renaissance: Dressel's Public House

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:16:31 GMT

Where CWE history and culinary legends collide.

In the 70's, a handful of hippies and visionaries decided the CWE needed a breath of life, and they delivered. You don't have to be a CWE old timer to remember Duff's, Kopperman's, Llewellyn's, and the Balaban derivatives that were gone well before COVID.

Luckily, we still have one remaining "OG" establishment: Dressel's Public House . In 1980, the fascinating Jon Dressel opened Dressel's in the likeness of pubs he had enjoyed during his extensive time in Wales - places where folks could discuss things like art, music, and literature while enjoying food and drink of the highest quality. When his son Ben took over 20 years ago, he elevated this identity as Dressel's menu evolved to include now-legendary items like the Porchetta Louie. Provel cheese, pepperoncini, AND citrus-herb roasted pork? Yeah, sign me up.

Watch Guy Fieri tell Dressel's executive chef to tear up the rest of the menu (2:55) after trying the Porchetta Louie.

Jon Dressel passed in 2024. On my historical tours, I refer to him as the world's only St. Louis-born Welsh poet. He was a lot more than that, as beautifully captured by Ben's memoir that prefaces his last posthumously-published book of poetry.

Oh yeah, Ben also brews amazing beers at Dressel's in-house Rock & Horse Brewery - every one of them is unique and delicious!

TourCWE Obsession of the Month: Havana's Cuisine

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:41:44 GMT

And we're not the only ones obsessed...

Scan the Google reviews of Tamara Landeiro's Havana's Cuisine in the CWE and you'll see that Havana's has earned OMG's nationwide from travelers to the Gateway City.

Our favorite? The Cuban sandwich is insane - bread shipped in from a renowned Tampa bakery and perfectly roasted pork and...just everything.

Empanada fan? Yeah, try those too (OMG!) and a little fried yucca for unique treat.

The Google reviews are right - everything on the menu is AMAZING and deserves a detour from wherever you are.

But more than that, the Landeiros' story is a gutsy one that (lucky for us) follows this family's journey from Cuba to St. Louis to bestow upon us the lovingly prepared Cuban yumminess that we now feature in our St. Louis food tours and picnics. Many thanks to the St. Louis Chess Club for drawing the Landeiros' here to support the prodigious talent of Tamara's daughter, a Women's Grandmaster and world-ranked competitor. Read more about their journey at Sauce Magazine and St. Louis Magazine .

OMG in the CWE: Curated Amazingness!

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:13:20 GMT

Now you too can have "what she's having"...

When Trina and I started doing these tours, our most common guests were St. Louis visitors interested in the unique flavors of the area. And we understand that assignment - we don't let them leave town without learning about (and trying!) t-ravs (IYKYK), gooey butter cake, provel cheese, Red Hot Riplets, and more.

But all our local friends said the same thing - "I'd love to take your tour but don't feed me t-ravs!" The problem of success for much of St. Louis' unique cuisine is that St. Louisans get it served to them all. the. time.

Enter our "OMG in the CWE" menu - Best of the Best nibbles from around the Central West End and the Grove. Pull your socks on tight, because these flavors are gonna blow em right off your feet - no matter where you went to high school!

The Perfect St. Louis Food Tour

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:12:34 GMT

Even James Beard would have enjoyed t-ravs...

When Trina and I set out to take the best parts of the food tours we've enjoyed elsewhere, we realized we had an embarrassment of riches when it came to which dishes and restaurants to choose. Not only that, but we quickly realized that while the history and architecture would be of interest to tourists and locals alike, the food might be another matter.

So we decided upon two distinct menus for our food tours;

Our "Iconic Flavors of STL" tour featuring all sorts of STL-isms that you just won't find elsewhere - think provel cheese and t-ravs and gooey butter and all the stuff a visitor to St. Louis just won't find anywhere else once they've left.
Our newly-introduced "OMG in the CWE" menu, for tourists and locals alike that want to see the architecture and hear the stories, but are more interested in the "OMG that's good!" flavors that will blow your socks off no matter where you're from.

Coming soon, we'll be offering each of these as a PICNIC in Forest Park! Whether an art museum/zoo date or a night at the Muny, we'll deliver an expertly curated + basketed meal complete with all the accoutrements of the perfect picnic.