On of my oldest friends, Clare, is coming to stay with me this weekend. I can’t wait! The last time she was here was the summer of ‘06 and Jeff and I hosted a party, grilled outside, and went swimming in the lake.

If you lived here back then, do you remember that? Everyone swimming in the lakes?

Lake swimming was a BLAST! Since the pool opened I haven’t seen anyone in the lakes…and I miss it! It was so much fun! It was on the first real hot day of summer and it was the first time we saw anyone out in the lake just swimming around. They were lounging on huge rafts and were just soaking up the sun.

Immediately, Jeff and I bee-lined to Target to get a raft of our own. Not realizing that we needed a shop-vac or some other kind of electric inflator, Jeff spend a solid hour trying to blow this 4 person sized raft up so we could go swimming the lake. Luckily Tony, our very helpful neighbor, brought out his shop vac and helped out Jeff before he started turning blue.

With my swimsuit and flip-flops on we carried our raft to the lake to join the other “locals”. It was like being on a float trip without the hassle of camping, packing up the car, or driving anywhere. We tied our rafts up to our friends, dropped the nicely packed cooler into the water and floated there for hours on end.

Thinking about it more makes me miss it even more.

I love our pools too! Shire Lane is incredible! Before I was knocked up the lazy river was my Saturday morning relief from Friday night and I’ve proudly expressed my excitement about the Blue Agave, but there is just something about jumping in the lakes that makes me feel like a kid who just started summer break.

And so everyone knows, today is Jeff’s birthday!!!

Happy birthday, Honey. Have fun with your friends at the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend. Don’t drink too many rum buckets and fall off the boat/wave runner. Don’t come back with a staph infection (that lake is so nasty).

Have fun!

I have 30 more days to go until the due date!!!

I’m not really counting down days, pregnancy hasn’t been that bad. It’s really easy to get through when there are so many distractions.

A couple times a week Jeff and I walk up to the Organic Farm to check on our plot rentals…did I mention we got a second plot? My pregger brain is definitely failing me.
In case I haven’t mentioned it before, we decided we needed to get another plot. Onions, carrots, tomatoes, peas, spinach, bell peppers, hot peppers, and lettuce weren’t enough. We needed another bed for more carrots, more peas, more tomatoes, but mostly for squash, pie pumpkins, and watermelon.

Who doesn’t love a watermelon? I mean it’s like juicy sugar!

Most evenings I hang out at the Blue Agave. No one told me water was the only comfortable position a pregnant person could be in! Seriously, going up there every night has been like going on vacation for two hours every night. Because Jeff coaches a strength and conditioning camp during the day he has no complaints heading up to the pool for a few hours to just chill. We’re still talking about how happy we are that we decided to join this year.

Yes, we’ll have a baby and won’t be able to up there together as much, but Jeff brought up a good point: While I’m on maternity leave, he’ll eventually go back to work full time when school starts (he’s a teacher) and when he gets home he said it would be a great time to give me an hour or so to relax and head up to the pool while he takes care of the baby.

I’m not going to disagree with him.

Also, because our parents live so close, they’ve already offered to babysit for a couple hours when we want them to. We thought a perfect date night would be to head to the Blue Agave to hang out for a bit then go to Beatnik’s for dinner and call it a night. It’ll be awesome that we can have a fun date night inside New Town!

Of course, we’ll leave (once and a while…we LOVE checking out new restaurants) NT, but while the lil’ cupcake is only a couple months old we’ll probably want to stick close to home.

Well, I have to go clean my house. One of my best friends is coming to visit this weekend. She distinctly asked if I still lived in Pleasantville. It’s been since the summer of ’06 that’s she’s been at my house. I’m kind of excited to show her around. I thought I was “green” with my organic garden, compost container in the back yard, and cloth diapers in the closet, but her Peace Corp, tree hugging lifestyle puts me to shame.

And just in case you didn’t know…

This Saturday is the Reggae Festival!!! It my favorite festival of all. I just wish there was a beer tasting before hand…and I wasn’t pregger for it…

Lately I feel like my weekends are completely consumed by New Town.

I’m not refering to this being a bad thing…it’s just that there’s a lot going on and the convenience of not having to leave the neighborhood to socialize is extremely appealing. To be able to walk home (because i’m pregnant and exhausted or not pregnant and unable to drive) or switch up venues without hailing a cab or drive across town pretty much makes up my decision on where I want to spend my evenings.

This week however, I did manage to leave the neighbor…for a while.

Thursday night Jeff and I went out with his family for his brother’s birthday. We went to Premier on Second Street in St. Charles.

Have you been there yet?

Okay, the place looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but it’s one of the very few fine dining placing in the Chuck!

AND

It’s BYOB with NO corking fee!!! Too bad I couldn’t indulge on the vino, but everyone else at the table had a good time. They have chicken, steak, fish, and pasta dishes and the two best desserts I’ve had in a LOOOOOONG time.

And believe me, I know a good dessert when I have one.

Friday night Jeff and I went out with friends who live in Maplewood. I love that area of the city…lots of local restaurants (Um…Monarch? YUM!) and they have a fun party scene – Jive & Wail. I made it out a little past midnight…I was proud.

What?

I’m seven weeks away from popping out a kid. I think just leaving the house at times is an accomplishement. Making it out past midnight is as fulfilling as finishing a marathon!

Anyway, I digress…

Saturday I spend most of the day on the New Town Organic Farm. Luckily they didn’t have to suffer through too much damage from Friday night’s storm.

Because Jeff was working all day I walked through the barbecue contest for a little while to check it all out. Tony, the person who organized the whole thing, did an awesome job! There were a ton of people hanging out, live music being preformed at the amphitheater, and of course, BBQ!

Later that night Jeff took me out to dinner at Beatniks and then we walked over to the Bistro to watch our friends play volleyball.

Just a sober observation…when volleyball refs are drinking beer out of pitchers while refereeing a game…they make some pretty stupid calls. (I’m being nice…what I really want to say is: They make some pretty f*ing drunk mistakes and maybe drinking while your “working” shouldn’t be allowed…just saying).

Sunday Jeff and I got up bright and early. Grabbed some breakfast at Crooked Tree and headed to Worm’s Way for some organic compost for the farm.

Believe it or not, we purchased a second plot. I’m going to have more produce than I know what to do with, but the very thought of me growing my own watermelon and eating as much of it as I can handle is making my mouth water as I type (or maybe it’s the pretzels I’ve been snacking on for the last hour).

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week. I’m in KC this week…my last week of travel for work until October!!!

Whew!

Jeff and I have been incredibly busy the last several weeks. For starters sand volleyball is in full swing. Jeff somehow ended up on two leagues this year (Monday & Wednesday). If I wasn’t eggo wasn’t prego, I’d be right there playing with him.

There’s always fall league.

Saturday we spent almost the entire day working on our plot at the NT Organic Farm. I’m so excited about growing our own vegetables. We planted onions, 6 varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, green beans, strawberries, spinach, peas, green bell peppers, hot peppers, and a zucchini plant (all purchased at the farm). We’ve walked up there every day since Saturday to see how things are coming along. I’m most excited about the vegetables we started from seeds!

This summer will be a learning experience for us, so as long as we don’t kill the entire crop, I’ll be more than happy. I plan on attending a couple of workshops this summer to learn more about organic gardening. Maybe I’ll become an expert, who knows!

Just in case you weren’t aware, Sugar Grove Mercantile is now open Saturday from 6am – 2pm, Tuesday & Thursday from 4pm – 7pm. They’re selling flowering plants, flowers, vegetable seedlings, and Meyer’s products.

Hours for plot renters are Wed – Fri: 6AM – 9AM & 2PM – 6PM, Sat: 6AM – 6PM, Sun: 1P.M.-5P.M.

After we worked in the farm all day with our friends Tim and Christy we all headed up to Beatnik’s for a late lunch. We showed up in our “farm” attire (read: not necessarily clean workout clothes and slightly muddy shoes). Mel, the owner, was great…coincidentally we were all wearing some type of NT gear. I felt pretty silly, but the “pick your patty” aka “build your own burger” took away all embarrassment.

We decided it would be fun to have to NT night so later that evening we went up to the Bistro for dinner and then went up to the wine bar for a drink. I thoroughly enjoyed by root beer. Really. (feel the sarcasm!)

Sunday morning I met my mom for breakfast to celebrate Mother’s Day and was incredibly surprised when I got home to see both Tim and Christy (she’s pregger too) working on our landscaping!!!

Our landscaping needed some serious help. Grass had overgrown the flower beds and I knew waking up on Sunday morning I had a full day of weed picking ahead of me. I really wasn’t looking forward to it, but there were my neighbors helping me out!!!

I couldn’t believe it.

I still can’t believe it!

Talk about the best people to live next to. My neighbors/friends help me with yard work. In what other neighborhood on the planet do your neighbors help you with yard work? It’s the second worst job to picking up dog poop!

Anyway, Tim and Jeff knocked out weeding, planting new flowers, and mulching in a few hours what I thought would be to two day job. Honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful to Tim and Christy for helping us out.

T&C – a gormet meal is coming your way!!!

There is way more exciting things coming up:

Southern Living’s New Town article

New Town Business interview with Heather from It Boutique & More

Having a fitness center less than 4 blocks away from my house really forces me to come up with some pathetic excuses not to work.

Usually the gym wins.

It’s an amenity New Town offers which many of us take advantage of but hardly appreciate all New Town Fitness has to offer. This week I was lucky enough to sit down with Rochelle Simmer, the manager at New Town Fitness, to discuss the changes happening at the gym, new summer programs lined up, and the NEW facility!!!

You took over management of NT Fitness in October. What are some of the changes you’ve made since you’ve been on the team?

I pretty much came in and cleaned house. When you walk into a workout facility it has to encompass a healthy lifestyle. It has to look like and be a physical gym.

What separates New Town Fitness from other gyms in the area?

I am a Cross Fit certified trainer and no commercial or chain gyms are allowed to be Cross fit affiliates. That’s how we separate out ourselves. We’ve added rings, sandbags, tire flipping, kettle bells, 14 feet of pull up bars. This is what makes New Town Fitness unique and above the rest.

What are some of your goals being the manager of NT Fitness?

My main goal is to get people to know about New Town and everything New Town has to offer. Most people don’t know this, but you don’t have to be a NT resident to be a member of NTF. We’re open to EVERYONE. There are no cults here. We don’t even have kool-aid!

This weekend we’re performing our first annual spring showcase. It’s an hour before the Blue concert begins. We’ll have a booth open from 3pm – 5pm to answer any questions and/or sign up to become a NT Fitness member and show is from 5-6. It’s going to offer information on all of the classes we offer. Each class is going to put on a 10 minute show. It’ll catch everyone’s attention.

There’s never a dull moment!

I have a lot of friends who come up here for personal training. Their results have been incredible.

All the business has been referrals. New Town Fitness now has 5 trainers, with some of the trainers bringing in clients that are not residents to New Town. Our business comes from 100% referrals. It’s the the most rewarding part.

My baby is due in July and I have every intention to start personal training as soon as possible because all of my friends who come here look outstanding!

Personal training is great for someone who hasn’t worked out before and or someone who isn’t familiar with certain types of lifts and moves. One of my favorite classes are the Cross Fit group classes. It’s great because you’re challenging yourself but you have additional motivation because there are other people in the classes.

When do those classes start?

They’ve already begun.

They’re available M-F 6am -7am; M & W: 7a-8am; W8-9am, Tu & Th 6pm-7pm. I’m definitely happy to add more classes, but there need to be two or more people for it to be a group class. The more people the more classes.

With the summer approaching, do you have any fun outdoor activities set up for members?

YES! Right now we are signing little grommets up for Kidz CrossFit Summer Sessions. I think it’s perfect because children will already have the endurance, flexibility, and technique we all wish we had as adults. It’s going to be the same as adult Cross Fit but it will be designed for children and taught to them in a fun environment.

It’s a NT summer camp for kids!!!

Every Tuesday & Thursday from 9am – 2pm. There will be two age groups: Six – Nine and ten – fourteen.

There will be three classes running through out the day.

How many weeks is the camp going to be offered?

Eight weeks!

Parents can sign up kids for all three sessions per day or just one. The portion for New Town Fitness will be $240 for 8 weeks. Pricing is all separate. If they do all three they get a discount. It’s Daycare for kids on Tuesdays & Thursdays for the entire summer!

The biggest event NT Fitness has ever hosted is the upcoming Fit Games? Are you excited?

The main reason they wanted to the games here is because I love New Town and I want to get people out here to experience New Town. We’re getting people from all over St. Louis. With 4 of them NT residents. We will have NT business’s with booths up at the event.  We even have companies sponsoring the event! Advocare, Redbull, Mr. Goodcents, and The Tan Company. A lot of the NT business are putting together goody bags for all of the contestants.

The winning team (6 participants) will all to receive a free month membership and $2600 of personal training and specialty classes.

Driving through New Town I’ve seen signs for tennis and basketball courts. When are those going to be ready?

I don’t know when it’s going to be ready, but I would say (hopefully) before end of summer. You have to be a NT Fitness member (and 14+) to utilize the courts. All of the fitness centers I have worked at –for the past 13 years- have been run this way.

The larger facility is on the way too! However there are no set plans on when it’s going to break ground. It’s all ready to go we’re just waiting for the city to approve a few details.

What is the new facility going to offer?

Of course will still have elliptical machines, treadmills, stationary bikes, weight machines, and free weights, but we’ll have Lockers and showers, a CrossFit zone, kidz fit zone, and Group Fit zone. We’ll also have 1000 sq feet to work out outside!

With no other gyms having an outside area to work with, it makes it unique that we can offer this and no other club can.

It’s going to be a Quanza hut style building –It’s really big with 25 ft ceilings it has huge garage that will open up to the outside. I can’t wait!

Hopefully in a month we will get our CrossFit affiliation to become CrossFit New Town.

CrossFit seems really important to you and the facility. What is it all about?

“CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.”

Who are the types of people in New Town CrossFit would attract?

EVERYONE! Kids, teenagers, Mothers…I have even have grandmothers! It’s completely custom designed for each person. Both an intense athlete and someone at the age of 70 or obese could be doing the same work out but at a completely different level that is designed and modified just for that person.

To be active at NT Fitness do have to be a part of a CrossFit class?

Absolutely not!
We offer over ten specialty classes like, Jui-jitsu, ballet, yoga, boot camp, Rep Reebok, fencing. NT Fitness is for every age group of athletic ability. Someone can just come in to run on a treadmill or do specialty work for physical rehab and just need to use the machines.
We really are for everyone!

You also host a bunch of competitions for NT Fitness members.

Oh yeah! We did a Biggest Loser competition in the beginning of the year and had huge results!!! It’s free to all members and it’s a great way to be held accountable for working out. It’s great for people who can’t afford a trainer and it offers flexibility with schedules.

We’re doing it four times a year.

When does the next session start?

MAY 4st. It’s just a couple of days away. People are already signed up!

What do they need to do?

Just come into NT Fitness and sign up. It’s that easy.

If you can accomplish one thing being the manager of New Town Fitness, what would it be?

It’s to establish awareness of health and fitness to everyone who walks into this gym. It can be a person coming in to the gym to walk on the treadmill or for a CrossFit class; I want them to walk away with more knowledge on how to be more fit. I want to provide them with the best material possible to help them attain their personal goals.

We have over 60 people who walk in and out of our doors everyday. That’s huge for a small neighborhood business. I love to get feedback and comments from people because this gym is for them. I’m doing this to make the members of NT Fitness happy.

Don’t forget tomorrow is Organic Farm plot rentals from 6am – 12 noon. Bring a cash or check!

Also, and how could you forget is Beer Tasting at Domain Street Wine Bar and the Blue Festival. Don’t miss out…I’ll be pouring the beer!!!

This weekend was both extremely eventful and completely relaxing. You’ve got to love rainy Sundays with nothing to do!

Miniature Donkeys and Cattle

On Saturday morning Jeff and I headed to the NT Organic Farm to learn about their plot rentals. Several weeks ago Jeff went to an organic garden workshop at Schlafly Bottleworks because he wanted to learn more about sustainable farming. For weeks he’s been talking about starting our own vegetable garden in our backyard and planned on starting it this weekend, but when we found out about the crop rentals we decided to check it out first before we decided to uproot our backyard.

Thank goodness we did!

Jeff and I felt the cost of renting vegetable beds was extremely cheap. The soil and materials alone to make our own vegetable garden would have cost us a lot more for the exact same size as the NT Organic Farm. Immediately, we turned to each other and said “Let’s do it”. 

So, next Saturday at 6am, I’ll be in line at the farm waiting to sign the contract for my plot rental.  Of course, Jeff and I have NO idea how to grow vegetables nor do we have any idea how to do it organically –A MUST at the organic farm.

Even the seeds have to be organic! – Where do you find organic seeds???

No worries, the NT Organic Farm sells them as well as seedlings ready for transplanting. 

In order to educate ourselves as much as we can this week before we can start planting seeds and plants we picked up the book How to Grow More Vegetables: (And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons.  It’s all about how to organically grow a vegetable garden. It’s everything from compost to fertilizer, how to space apart plants, when to transplant certain plants, how to rotate crops, what vegetables grow well next to each other, and organic methods of getting rid of pests. It was very helpful and I read it in a day.

Cattle on Farm

The other thing I was impressed with at the farm was I got to see all the new ANIMALS!!! I knew the farm had purchased some animals but I did not know exactly how many!

Baby goat hiding in a tub

They have goats, pot bellied pigs, miniature donkeys, cattle, and of course chickens.

But they have over 20 goats! TWENTY!!!

Lots of Goats

After we left the farm we were driving through New Town (yes we drove down the street because it was raining and we were leaving right away to run errands) and we discussed how amazing it is that we’re going to have an organic farm down the street with farm animals!

Alice Waters and Michael Pollan would be jealous. I’m not kidding. This is everything they hope for!

We started talking about our son (due in July) and about how incredible it’s going to be raising him in a community that can offer the freshest food available and where he can see and learn about farm animals.

Seriously. Who gets to do this???

I grew up in Wisconsin and was a member of the 4-H (oh my god – I can’t believe I just admitted that) and I NEVER had the opportunity to walk -literally- down the street to an organic farm with farm animals. The only time I ever saw a farm animal was at the state fair or Grant’s Farm and here will be my son  growing up knowing exactly what a pot bellied pig is, how goats can climb up fences, and that miniature donkeys aren’t miniature everywhere.

Baby pigs and their adopted dad

Jeff and I kind of felt euphoric driving through town knowing that we couldn’t have hand picked a better place for us to start our family.

 

We’ve all dreamed it – walking into our favorite restaurant/watering hole and everyone knowing your name. That’s exactly what the manager and new chef at New Town’s Brick House Bistro are trying to create. In November the former Ruskin O’Brien’s turned management over to Alex Redfern, a New Town resident, and professional chef, Michael Fortner.  If you haven’t noticed the changes (honestly, how could you not?) you’re missing out on one of the best establishments in New Town. 

 

This week I was privy to sit down with Alex and Chef and discuss the changes implemented in the Bistro, the goals of the venue, and their place in New Town.

 

At the end of the last year the Ruskin O’Brien’s changed management, got a new chef, and basically transformed into the new Brick House Bistro. What was the cause of the change and what is the Bistro all about?

 

Chef: Bistro is defined as an establishment that has a down home feel. Traditionally it’s healthier slow cooked food. We deviated a little bit from that because no one wants to eat stew in the heat of July.

 

So if your food doesn’t necessarily embody slow cooked food, typical of bistros, what is it?

 

Chef- Easy, our food is Fast, Fresh, & Healthy. Of course, we still have the fried bar food for kids and the late night drinker, but for the most part the menu has taken on a lighter approach with fresher, lighter foods –lots of fish and fresh salads…you don’t leave here feeling you like you have to take a nap.

 

Alex: If I could sum up our food in one word it would be “dynamic”. We’re not going to have the same cuisine as “corporate” restaurants. We want to keep the menu fresh, change it for the customer and get them excited about what we’re offering on our menu. We always want to change our menu items. We always want to keep it new and exciting.

 

 

 

Chef, you have an interesting culinary background. You auditioned for Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen, were the executive chef at Nelly’s restaurant Sky Box, before that you were NY at Lucky Strike entertainment, and  the corporate chef at Morton’s for all US locations and Hong Kong. What brought you to New Town?

 

Chef: Oh yeah, I auditioned for Hell’s Kitchen. Thank God I didn’t make it!

 

I literally wanted to start over. After so many years in this business everything I’ve ever been involved with has been high profile. I was constantly moving. I would be in Phoenix for four months and then LA and back to the east coast. My wife is originally from here and wanted to come back. We had our first child and wanted to settle down – finally grow some roots. I’ve never worked at a small restaurant I wanted to chance to start fresh…It was either, start a new career or start with a small restaurant, slow down, and take that small restaurant and make it hugely successful. New Town gave me the opportunity to do what I love and spend time with my family.

 

Sounds like it’s pretty in line with New Town values.

 

Alex, you’ve taken on a lot of responsibilities since you first joined last fall. What are some of the things that have changed since you’ve been in charge?

 

Alex: Oh, just about everything. (Both Chef and Alex start laughing) It would take me 15 minutes to answer that question.

 

Chef: That’s a true statement! He took it from being a frat house to a neighborhood gathering place which Ruskin’s couldn’t do. It’s finally the place it was supposed to be. You can come here, have dinner, drink wine, drink a beer, and leave with money in your pocket.

 

Alex: The Bistro is a fair balance of entertainment and relaxation. You can come up here one night with your family and have dinner and the next night drink some beers with friends and watch some volleyball.

 

Chef: As far as menu items go, when I first got here everything was frozen or processed food. Now 98% is fresh and it’ll get even better when we’re able to purchase all of our ingredients from the New Town Organic Farm. It’ll be just as fresh, but the best of the best!

 

We are trying to go as local as we possibly can with our menu items and ingredients. When the organic farm is up and running we plan on getting all of our produce from them, so we’re trying to help out local business and providing our customers with the best possible food. We’re even going to start carrying Schlafly beer!

 

Right now everyone gets the same ingredients from the same place; it’s what you do with it that makes you stand out. It’s a sense of pride.

 

 

So you’re telling me all the changes at the Brick House Bistro have been a collaborative effort?

 

Alex: Yes! I would say WE changed it.

 

Alex, you mentioned volleyball earlier. Rumor on the street is the Brick House Bistro has the largest number of volleyball leagues in the STL volleyball organization. Is this true?

 

Chef laughs and starts nodding his head.

 

Alex: There are 115 teams for spring league and summer league is about filled up. Right now it’s at about 130 teams signed up for summer. It’s a very exciting time for the Bistro and being partnered with STL volleyball. Its great getting more people than just New Town residents to join and letting people experience what New Town has to offer and to show them this is a destination.

 

You have to be pumped! Since this establishment is no longer a “pub” what is the Bistro doing this summer to prepare for such large crowds?

 

Alex: The atmosphere we’re going for is a Coney Island feel.

 

Chef: We’re going to be opening up an outdoor grill which is going to be making hot dogs, brats, chicken skewers, and turkey burgers. Most importantly everything on the menu will be $3 or under.

 

Alex: I’m excited about the Dynamite Dog.

 

I’ve never heard of it…what’s a Dynamite Dog?

 

Chef: Its’ Cream cheese and caramelized onions.

 

Where did you get that idea?

 

Chef: It has so many names across the country but it was Alex’s favorite hotdog from his college days at Missouri State.

 

Alex: This guy from Seattle sold them at Missouri State and there used to lines of people (late night crowd) waiting for these hot dogs. I thought with fun volleyball leagues, it might be a good item to serve.

 

You’ve talked about an outside bar this year? Is it just going to beer like last year?

 

Chef: No. No. No. The outside bar will be a damn near full bar!!!

 

We’re going to have everything -more or less. We’ll be featuring UV Vodka and Monster energy drink and we’ll be increasing the standing room availability outside with standing tables.

 

Alex: The difference between this year and last year is people will be able to drink and play volleyball simultaneously. We strategically placed the tables next to the fence so people can reach over and grab their drinks while they’re playing. That’s something you couldn’t do last year.

 

Chef: Another thing we’re changing is the number of servers outside.

 

Alex: We’re going to be staffed out the ass! (Laughter erupts)

 

Chef: All the servers will have hand held point of sales machines (see: they take debit and credit cards).

 

Alex: That was an issue last year. People and servers had to come inside to pay their tab. This year it’ll be a lot easier when every server has a machine and people won’t have to worry about carrying cash.

 

That’s something I am very guilty of.  Other changes I noticed right away are on the inside. You have shorter tables, table cloths, cloth napkins, and less beer signage. Who are you trying to attract?

 

Chef: We changed the inside to accommodate families, but we’re trying to attract everyone! What we’re really trying to do is not exclude anyone. Especially with STL Volleyball we’ll never lose the burger or French fries (they might be purple, but we won’t lose them), but we’re trying to appeal to a broader audience and not just the drinker.

 

I see that you have sports and news on your televisions. No more aquariums and log fires?

 

Chef: We forgot to feed the fish (chuckles).

 

Alex: No, really we changed it to sports and news not to intimidate the customers. We want it to be a fun entertaining environment.  

You must have a favorite item on the menu.

 

Alex: (without skipping a beat) Sunrise Chicken. The most popular item on the menu is the chicken club – grilled chicken with applewood smoked bacon and smoked Gouda. 

 

Chef: My natural response is “everything” – it’s my menu! However, my favorite dishes are the specials. Those happen on a whim.  Its great when you can wake up in the morning and say “This is what I feel like eating today” so I go into the restaurant and make it for everyone. 

 

How often does Brick House Bistro have specials?

 

Chef: It varies. Right now it’s only time to time based on traffic flow. You’ll see more of them in the summer. It will increase with the opening of the organic farm. I can walk over there in the morning, see what they have, and create a dish based solely on what’s available. It’s a huge growing trend in food and it offers the customer the freshest food possible …it’s what every chef wants. It offers creativity and the chance to create something new. There is definitely a driving passion behind all of my dishes.

 

 

With all of the changes implemented at the Bistro and both of you working toward making it the best neighborhood gathering place in New Town, what is your most important goal?

 

Chef: My goal is to make each and every person in here smile – that’s part of the deal. 

 

Alex – I’m really excited about people enjoying the new environment and knowing my customers are going to have fun because they know they’re being taken care of.

 

A couple weeks ago my husband Jeff told me he was asked to be on a New Town Fit Games team. I had no idea what he was talking about but my hormonal response was to wonder why no one asked me to be on a team.

Who cares that I’m pregnant?  It’s called FIT games. I’m Fit!!!

Or so I thought.

Then he explained it to me. For the first time, New Town Fitness is hosting it’s own Fit Games.

The games consist of:
tire flipping (Hhmm… The only time I ever touched a tire was when I had a flat and called a friend for help)
tire ladder (what is it with the tires?)
sand bag dragging & carrying (there are no floods in New Town)
cone drills (I think I can do this one. I’m wicked on some rollerblades – pre-belly bump)
push ups (The bent knee ones, right?)
wall‐climb (There has to be a rope or something to hold on to. Only spider man can climb walls)
jumping jacks (sweet – a five year old can do jumping jacks)sprinting (thank goodness it’s not distance)
hurdles (puts a small kink in the sprinting)
belly‐crawls (and I’m out)

I maybe “fit” for a prego girl, but I’m not “fit” for this.

The games look like a blast and even though I can’t physically do them (I’ll be 8 months pregnant!) I’m really excited for Jeff’s team and the amount of excitement surrounding the games. It’s a great opportunity for NT residents and visitors alike to experience a different part of New Town and what the business here can provide to the community.

Rochelle, the New Town Fitness manager, put the whole thing together and even has a team of Marines!

I am slightly intimidated by Rochelle’s intense workouts (by intimidated I mean: I know she’s going to kick my butt), but I’m also in awe at how incredibly fabulous all of her clients look (I’m not kidding!). She doesn’t know it yet, but after the baby is born, I’m hiring Rochelle to get me back in shape.

Rochelle, if you read this, please be kind to me.

The New Town Fit Games are on May 31st starting at 10am. Please check them out and support your friends!

not my personal photo

Community.

It’s was New Town is all about. It’s building a new community where we help each other out and the place we live in. A great example was Saturday morning. A New Town resident, Julia, had a great idea to initiate a New Town Clean Up. Fliers went up in the mail room, e-mails were sent out from board members, and I have to say I was pretty impressed by the turn out.

Over 35 New Town families gathered around the amphitheater to pick up the Beatnik’s t-shirts, trash bags, and gloves then headed to their designated area of NT to clean up. But what I was impressed by the most was NT residents who didn’t officially sign up for the clean outside with trash bags helping out.

But I will say 99%  of trash I picked up was cigarette butts.

Disgusting.

I’m six months pregnant picking up nasty cigarette butts. There are trash cans every 5 feet in NT.  Save a pregnant girl from picking up your trash and throw it away yourself.

My area of NT to clean was between the new Benick’s restaurant and the New Town church. Half way through cleaning a mother and her small daughter started helping me pick up trash. They decided since they didn’t make it to the sign up on time they would just  pick up all the trash they saw on their walk to the park.

I thought it was just an incredible example of how much people care about this neighborhood.

I heard from a very reliable source today that New Town is hosting the most STLvolleyball leagues this summer!

It’s only the second year!!!

Our team had a blast last year. It was definitely a highlight to my summer. My friend Tim signed us up this year for Wednesday nights…it was one of the only nights that had available spots.  Seriously, I didn’t know that many people played volleyball in the Chuck. I’m a little bummed out and slightly relieved I’m not playing this year.

I think my stomach would get in the way.

Frist, I’m not the best player. Jeff actually told me I needed to practice!

Secondly, I wanted to play for fun. It wasn’t fun for some of the other players who were hungry to win.  (roughly translated: took it too seriously).

Thirdly, and most important,  I had black and blue girly bits from a knee in the wrong place during the fall league.  I don’t believe my fetus would appreciate it’s path to the real world to getting damaged.

But I won’t miss out! I’m an amazing cheerleader.

Cheerleader = drinking iced tea and hanging out with the other non-players –thank you, Christy!

BUT!!!

I can’t leave out the best part!

So, if you didn’t know Ruskin O’Brien is now the Brickhouse Bistro. One would wonder if the Bistro would want a bunch of sand covered volleyball players tracking through their restaurant and the answer is:

You don’t have to worry about it!

The new manager at BHB,  is setting up a full service OUTSIDE BAR!!! You can get all of you drinks (Grape Bombs included)  you want at the outdoor bar. The bistro is also going to have an outdoor grill to serve up burgers, hot-dogs, and other pub favorites.

And even better…

They’ll have an entire wait staff dedicated to the outside patio.

League starts the week of April 14th. If you’re interested in signing up a team, go to www.stlvolleyball.com.