by Ethan Johnson
Summer 2004

Time to go home, by way of:

Posh Nosh
8115 Maryland Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 862-1890

Check out this testimonial over at Sauce:

There is this adorable older woman that takes your order with the kindest, most attentive smile. The tables have unlimited pickles in a bucket for heaven's sake!!! The staff is so friendly. It's a great place to break at in a very busy, hectic, traffic infested and often not so friendly Clayton.

That really says it all, in a nutshell, but then, what do you need me for? Let me expound and pontificate:

The above reviewer nails it. I went to Posh Nosh with a heavy heart, because I really was depressed that (to my knowledge) there is no equivalent to Absolutli Goosed in the DFW area. I hope I'm wrong. But anyway, I went to Posh Nosh, and sure enough, there is this ultra kindly woman behind the counter with jet white hair and black glasses, with charming eyes that look like this: ^ ^. More like this: (^)-(^). (Those are the glasses.)

Man, already my heart felt both heavy and light. I mean, this woman had a smile and overall "glow" that was so penetrating it set off the airport security stuff when I walked through that afternoon. I don't even know this woman, and I feel a deep sense of loss that I won't get to see her all that much, if ever (sorry for the mortal thoughts).

I ordered up the Smoked Turkey Club and a cup of Chicken Noodle Soup (see above). I figure, since my cold still wasn't letting go, never mind the staying out until 1:30am at the casino the night before, what better remedy than Chicken Soup?

Well, I'm here to tell you my cold has been defeated. Gonzo. The sandwich was great, the pickles were outstanding, and lunch was a mere $10 considering everything was fresh and hand-made.

Heck yes, I'll be back.

Looking back on the week, I honestly had no idea that St. Louis was such a "food town". Sauce Magazine (and the associated web site) are incredible. I am considering getting a subscription to the paper version just because it has more stuff in it than the web version and it's so well done.

St. Louis needs a lot of work (in so many ways) but I was heartened to find that it's coming along, slow but sure. It's really easy to get bogged down in the negative aspects of the city and surrounding area (heat and humidity notwithstanding) and miss out on what's right with St. Louis. I would like to drag Mar up there on some cheap airfare and show her what she is missing. The places that amazed and impressed me are worth the trip, in my opinion.

And the most important thing is, it gave me an appreciation of everything I am missing out on in the Dallas area. We won't live here forever, but while we're here, why not treat the place like a road trip? Research the interesing holes-in-the-wall and see what lies beyond the highways and main drags? And when we move away, we can do it all over again in the next place.

Thank you, St. Louis, let's do it again sometime! <EM>