ELIZABETH PEARCE is a cook, writer, speaker, guide, teacher, and Culinary Historian at the Hermann-Grima House in the French Quarter.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend Lee and I took a trip to St. Louis. While I loved the beautiful Beaux Arts architecture, the lush Botanical Garden, and seeing the Cardinals win, the highlight of my trip was the two nights I spent in the dim light of the bar, Sanctuaria, chatting and drinking with two guys who really love what they do for a living: Matt Seiter and Joel Clark.

It was Thursday night, our first real night in town, and Lee and I had put away a hefty pasta meal on The Hill, St. Louis’ oldest Italian neighborhood. Though stuffed and a bit sleepy from our carb overload, we decided to get an after dinner drink. I’d read that Sanctuaria had a spectacular cocktail list, so we headed over with the plan to sit in their courtyard and “have just one drink.” We never made it past the bar.

Joel Clark is my favorite kind of bartender because if you ask him a question about anything to do with drinking, the next thing you know, you are getting the whole story of that ingredient: where it comes from, how it’s made, how it functions in a drink, followed by “Here, go ahead and try my homemade orgeat/falernum/bitters.” He told me Sanctuaria is a place staffed by “passionate geeks,” an apt description of the kind of guy who can spend 20 minutes elucidating the merits of using Pommeau de Normandie in lieu of Calvados in a cocktail. But for all his knowledge, Clark isn’t stuffy at all. Unlike many high end “mixologists,” Clark eschews the bow tie and sleeve garter for a T-shirt and jeans. He arrived in St. Louis in 2005, “a green farm boy,” from Illinois, and worked his way up in the city’s bar world until late 2009 when Matt Seiter called him to offer him a . . .

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Don't be scared off by the giant gothic-looking sign marking Sanctuaria's location in the Grove neighborhood — or by the tag line of "Wild Tapas!" accompanying its name on that marquee. The flavors here may be bold, but the place itself is stylish and urbane. You could take a promising first date here or your most fabulous friend; as long as they like drinking and they like sharing, they'll have fun. As for drinking: The cocktails here really are to die for, with a neatly curated list of interesting concoctions. What separates Sanctuaria from other places with aspirations of mixology, however, is its approachability. Tell your server what kind of booze you like, and they'll guide you toward something worth drinking. We like the "'Princes Real Name": cognac, Aperol and bitters, sweetened with raspberry syrup and tarted up with lemon. It's both complex and utterly drinkable.

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By Sarah Baraba Wed., Sep. 21 2011 at 3:06 PM

Sanctuaria's Joel Clark Creates the Schweddy Ball Fizz Cocktail

​Gut Check tried Schweddy Balls ice cream last week. We found the gimmicky ice cream to be surprisingly tasty!

Meanwhile, the name of the flavor alone has left a bad taste in these ladies' mouths: One Million Moms has started a letter writing campaign and boycott to pressure Ben & Jerry's into stopping distribution of Schweddy Balls. Of course, in its statement, the organization mentions Ben & Jerry's tendency towards "offending customers," citing the "special edition of Chubby Hubby called Hubby Hubby last year which celebrated gay marriage."

Well, ladies. No one's shoving gay ice cream or Schweddy Balls down your throat. In fact, we had to call every store in town and trek 25 miles just to find a pint of the Schweddy stuff. If it's so offensive, don't eat it. More for us.

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Recipe by Christopher Lee, executive chef at Café Ventana, Chuy Arzola’s and Sanctuaria

If there were any drawbacks to being a chef, it’s that people are afraid to cook for you. Maybe not afraid, but definitely intimidated. Personally, I love the fellowship that comes with breaking bread with others, so please, if you have to cook for one of us, relax a little. We will not judge. If anyone knows how much effort goes into cooking a meal it’s the chef.

Recently my wife and I were asked to join some friends at a potluck dinner. The food was amazing and the conversation was excellent. Here’s what I we brought.

Cream of Mushroom Soup
Serves | 10 |

1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrot
2 lbs. crimini or button mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup Madeira
1 26-oz container chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp kosher salt

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