Local Love: Gramophone

Nestled in a little eclectic area of St. Louis called the Grove is a place called The Gramophone.  About a year ago, The Gramophone closed its doors as a concert venue, remodeled, and reopened as a tavern and sandwich shop.  They specialize in premium subs and an extensive drink list, but what jumped out at me while scrolling through Yelp food pics was this concoction referred to as the "Bloody Island".

It's not your typical "sit down and be served" style service.  Everything is ordered at the bar.  Rickey and I grabbed a table, debated between a few delicious sounding sandwiches, and made our final decisions.  He went with the Reuben while I decided on the Cold Smoked Salmon.  Still unsure of this whole bloody sandwich thingy, I asked the super friendly bartender about it.  He said, "It's called the 'Bloody Island' and you choose half of any sandwich that you want served on top of a Bloody Mary."  SOLD!  Cold Smoked Salmon Bloody Island it was.  While we waited, I felt like a little kid in a candy shop...or, er...sandwich shop.  The anticipation of this Bloody Island was killing me.  There was a pool table, pinball, old school arcade games, fun stuff.  Also, since it was a Saturday, there was an acoustic set playing which was quite enjoyable for a little weekend day outing.

THEN THE BLOODY ISLAND APPEARED:

Garnishes on point and no idea about a plan of attack.

One hell of a bloody sandwich island paradise, if ya ask me.

Since we're all about supporting local, and St. Louis is filled with macro breweries, micro breweries, basically all sorts of places with thirst quenching beers flowing at all times, I thought this Drink Local wall art using the Arch as the draft was so clever!  Nice supporting local touch!

Although I didn't snap a pic of Rickey's Reuben, he mentioned that it was one of the best sandwiches he's had, washed down with a Civil Life Brown Ale as you can see in the photo. #supportlocal

Throughout the neighborhood of the Grove, coffee shops, hair salons, boutiques, restaurants and bars that draw a huge nightlife crowd, so while you're in the area, stay awhile and adventure around.  You could also go on a mini daytime bar crawl like we did.  

What are some of your favorite local sandwich shops?

{whatever wednesday}

{Cool Stuff:   20 Negative Space Photos}

{The breakfast/brunch I would eat every day if I could:  Southwest Diner}

{New Favorite Shopping Website:  ThredUP}

{Etsy Shop Spotlight:  icing101}

{Weekend Things:  The Best $10 or Less Wines for Summer}

{whatever wednesday}

{First Time Visit (and won't be the last):  Salt + Smoke / Pictured - Salt + Smoke Barrel Aged Cocktail}

{Wednesday Wisdom:  Be Your Own Person}

{The Prettiest Pink Macarons:  DIY Flamingo Macarons}

{Dying to know your Unicorn Name?:  Find out here}

My unicorn name is Glitterpuff Sparklepoof...seems fitting.

 {Food For Thought:  Eating Will Never Be The Same}

Weekend Rewind

With it being a high of 18 degrees on this February Thursday, I can't help but reminisce back to a few weekends ago when it was 68 and sunny.  Being unquestionably unreal temperatures for any February day in St. Louis, it couldn't have happened on a better day.  One of my favorite events of the year is the Mardi Gras Beggin' Pet Parade, which takes place in Soulard annually.  Basically, you grab your furry friend, dress them up (if they're willing enough), and head down to the streets of Soulard to watch or walk in the parade, socialize, and watch wiener dog races.  Even if you don't have a furry friend to bring along, attending on it's own makes for a pretty amazing Sunday Funday.

Located in a little, eclectic part of town, known as Cherokee, we started the day with brunch at a restaurant called Yaquis.  Having been informed about the bottomless mimosa special on Sundays, a few friends that frequent this wine bar/ pizza place were gungho for pizza and crepes.  With the weather being pleasantly sunny (and having a furry friend in tow), we situated ourselves at a sidewalk patio table.

Immediately happy to see a little four-legged creature, a server brought out a large bowl of water and Zoey enjoyed unlimited pets, while we enjoyed our unlimited mimosas.  Multiple times, our waiter brought out the bottles of champagne and orange juice to refill our glasses, so it was clear they weren't being stingy with the champagne.  Pineapple was an optional topping on the menu, which I was ecstatic about since not all places have such offerings.  Deciding on pepperoni, pineapple, and jalapeno with eggs sunny side up style, the wood-fired pizza did not disappoint.

After having to park a mile or so away, seeing as we weren't the only ones planning to go to the pet parade on such an enjoyable day, we made our way to Soulard.  Zoey, being the party animal she is, was on a mission to fight the crowds and cut up front to take part in the fun.

After the Soulard excitement, we headed back to Cherokee to a dog-friendly bar, where Zoey and Thin Mint became playful friends.  Every time I leave the house to go to work, the gym, social events, and so on, I receive the puppy-eye guilt trip.  I feel more bars in the Midwest should allow furry friends...After all, drinking with dogs in a bar is better than drinking with the majority of people in a bar.

So needless to say, after a party-filled Doggy Gras of secretly lapping up spilt beer, walking miles, and making new friends, it took a few days for Zoey to overcome her doggy hangover.