Love Leads to Kirkwood Kaldi's Marriage Proposal

The story of a couple that allowed love to blossom at a local coffee shop—all the way up to a marriage proposal.

Crushed Red Replacing Pazzo's in Kirkwood Station Plaza

Pazzo's pizza, the third occupant of that space, closed last week. The new pizzeria will be coming in April.

Maybe the fourth time's a charm for the seemingly snakebit site at the southern end of Kirkwood Station Plaza. It's been a Johnny Rockets, it's been a La Salsa and until last week, it was a Pazzo's pizzeria—opened for only about 15 months. St. Louis Magazine reported that Pazzo's last service was Saturday. It is also reporting that Crushed Red Urban Bake & Chop Shop, a pizza/salad/sandwich spot that has so far had a successful run in Clayton, will be taking over the space at 140 S. Kirkwood Road, anchoring the southern end of the strip that includes Bar Louie, Kaldi's and the relatively new Pickleman's. Crushed Red is expected to open in April, according to the magazine, and it may be the second of three to open; a Central West End …

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Business Spotlight

Kaldi's and Pi Flavor New Sodas

Fitz’s Coffee Cola is made using all natural pure cane sugar and Kaldi’s brewed espresso coffee.

Fitz’s Bottling Company has partnered with two local businesses to create two new Premium soda products: Fitz’s Coffee Cola made exclusively with Kaldi’s Coffee and Fitz’s Ginger Beer made in partnership with Pi Pizzeria. Fitz’s Coffee Cola was developed in close collaboration over the past year, and was introduced to rave reviews at a recent St. Louis Caffeine Crawl. A team from Pi met with Fitz’s over the same period, ‘to nail’ a flavor profile best described as a 'spicy ginger beer.’   Fitz’s is a craft-soda microbrewery and restaurant located in the historic Delmar Loop in University City. In addition to its famous Root Beer, Fitz’s produces and bottles other premium sodas including old-fashioned Cream Soda, Orange Pop, Grape Pop, and …

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Food Fight

Poll: Vote for Best Brunch in Mid-County

You have until 5 p.m. Friday to vote in our Readers' Choice poll.

The votes are in! We asked Patch readers for your favorite Mid-County brunch spots and got some great spots for our favorite weekend meal. We read your comments on Patch, as well as comments posted to our Patch Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Here are your choices: Square One Brewery in Lafayette Square and GC Brewery in Creve Coeur also were nominated; however, neither are in Mid-County. Thank you to all those who nominated your favorite local establishments in Part 1 of this Food Fight. Now it's time to pick a winner. Readers have until 5 p.m. Friday to vote for their favorite spot, and we'll announce the winner Saturday morning. Be sure to cast your vote below, and as always, happy eating and drinking!

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Coffee Culture: Kaldi's Teaches Art of Tasting

Monthly "cuppings" at Kaldi's Coffee House in Kirkwood offer a connoisseur's experience.

Last week, I joined Kirkwood baristas Matt Meiners, John Halloran and Scott Kernes as Meiners, a lead barista, educated us about six coffees offered at Kaldi’s Coffee House in Kirkwood through a sophisticated form of coffee tasting called a cupping.  The Contenders: The Taste Ground coffee was poured into cups. After we conducted a dry sniff of the grounds, Meiners poured boiling water in the cups, let the coffee steep and then, after skimming off the top layer of coffee, we tasted in slurps. Meiners instructed us to look for sweetness, brightness, acidity, tartness and palate balance. He also explained how a good coffee “opens up” as it cools to room temperature and reveals different flavors. Recommendations: For those looking for classic…

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