Posts Tagged ‘Harold Blatt’

The best restaurant in town is a good one in which you are known to the owner; the second best is the one that serves consistently good food whether the owner knows you or not. That’s Leon Birnbaum at his new Chez Leon in Clayton all over. Is it a religious experience? Hell no!  We’ve all been bored in church, temple or mosque.  There’s nothing to be boring about. The classic French cuisine bourgeois prepared by chef Colby Erhart or the lounge lizards, who swoon over the interiors, created by Birnbaum and Dan Byrne. “It’s Selkirk chic!,” exclaimed hair stylist-to-the-stars Randall Jones of Larz Salon to his best pal, the stunning Elizabeth Danforth Sankey, heiress to Bill Danforth. “Yes, more urbane than urbane,” added Sanky. She informed the columnist that she and Elizabeth “Lydie” Wallace have bowed an estate jewelry buying and selling firm, Elizabeth’s Estate. A few tongues wagged about Trudy Busch‘s 84th birthday on the day before and that she was much too ill to celebrate. Here ‘n there were Linda and Tony Karakas with Janet and Smith McGehee, who celebrated the birth of triplet grandchildren.  Genya and Jim Human, along with Steve Anstey, were there praising the sales at the Janet McAfee real estate office. . .

Downtown at Tony’s, Kelly and Blues CEO Peter McLoughlin were bullish about the team and he lamented,  “I wish Dave Checketts had bought the Rams.”  Bryan Cave mouthpiece Harold Blatt with his charming Elaine graced a table with Marilyn and Bernard “Bunny” Edison, whose family empire, Edison Bros. Shoes, collapsed under the stewardship of Andy Newman and Martin Sneider, who had been teaching essentials of retailing at WashU (go figure!).  Also at Tony’s, barrister Gerard Carmody and his wife, Susan, with their daughter Ryann, settled down after a retreat at the Four Seasons with his law firm, Carmody MacDonald. . .

Over at Beffa’s there was celebration over the upcoming nupts of Rachel Crocker (Eureka, Mo.’s Byrnes Hills Stables, LLC) and Robert Brake (Brake Landscaping and Lawncare, Inc.) with his uncle, former cop Ed Beffa. . .

And, at the Palladium party house on Fourteenth Street and Park Avenue, a sumptuous feedbag and cocktails were underway, when the columnist arrived to join in the launching of the EcoLifeSTL.com website and the honors awards presented to the City of St. Louis, AmerenUE’s PurePower and Sustainable St. Louis.  They were chosen for significant contributions they make to promote and encourage Green living in the region.  Said Mayor Francis Slay, “The greatest way to recycle in St. Louis is to save historic buildings like the one we’re in tonight.  The Greenest building is one that already exists and also preserves history.”  Cindy Bambini accepted the award on behalf of PurePower,AmerenUE’s voluntary renewable energy program, and she noted, “Currently, there are 6,000 residential and 200 businesses PurePower customers receiving 100 percent of their energy from the five wind farms in our area.” Emmis Broadcasting’s John Beck was front ‘n center getting plaudits on the broadcast chain of stations involvement in promoting the program.  John Weber of Wells Fargo and his soon-to-marry Jennie Logan of KPNT, The Point radio station, chain smoked as Weber joshed about energy, “Before we left the house, I turned on all the lights, left the fridge door open, turned up the heat and turned on the microwave.”

SEE PHOTO GALLERY BELOW COLUMN AND CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

WITH THE POLICE COMMISSION:  St. Louis police commissioner Vince Bommarito, owner of the award-winning Tony’s restaurant downtown and shoo-in candidate for Best Uncle of the Year, now has a public relations agent to deal with the simmering (and sauteing?) controversy swirling around his Mardi Gras Get Our of Jail Free call to a St. Louis police supervisor.  Savvy Peggy Lents, who also reps the Missouri Botanical Garden, is now speaking for him.

Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito was mum as he walked through a hallway at the Renaissance Grand Hotel the other day. He headed straight to the confab of white, middle-age, tweedy men, who vend the brewery’s products. “Carlos gave a boring, off-the-cuff speech that lasted 45 minutes,” grumbled a Floridian, during a break at Pablo Weiss’s Kitchen K, where most drank iced tea or coffee along with Hawaiian chef Bobbi Wasabi‘s new, tantalizing menu.) Another attendee added, “But, we did learn that the company is setting its sights on distributing Jimmy Buffett‘s Margarita Green Tea.” Said a distributor, “We were also told that the company will be supplying us with some new technology – cell phones, that will allow us to take instant orders”. . . Don Ingerson and his employees are now offering “home modification so that people can have easy access in their homes.” Their company, MediEquip, not only sells medical equipment in all their stores, but now offers simulated environments, replete with bedrooms and bathrooms, so that customers can practice using the products “Rather than lose money on the sale of their houses and moving into apartments, they will be able to function properly in their own homes,” said Ingerson. . .Also, Suzanne and Phil Heckmann have bowed Universal Home Modification, which serves people to age in place and not at a nursing facility or assisted living venue. The firm is located at Forum Shop Center in Chesterfield, . .`Then, there’s Jim Blatt, who with Dan April, has launched Mortgage Retention. “We help mortgage originators capitalize on customer retention on existing relationships,” said Blatt. “There has been a lot of weeding out of lower performing mortgage companies and those out-of-business.” Blatt is the son of celebrated photographer Elaine Blatt and Harold Blatt, senior counsel at Bryan Cave, where he practices corporate tax planning and reorganization as well as being a guru for company benefits. . . Sweet tooth? Mike Karandzieff’s Crown Candy Kitchen has dreamed up another, futuristic taste-treat: chocolate and peanut butter-covered pretzels.