Pat Eby

4 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Pat Eby

The fire Mary Lou and Rick Ponder hold in their hearts for the Victorian era shines bright in the 1886 Second Empire Victorian home they purchased in 2005. From the chandeliers overhead to the floors below, their curated selections of furniture and art fill this grand home. St. Louis native Rick Ponder knew Lafayette Square because he painted in its stately homes in his younger years, which gave him an appreciation for the finer things from that long-ago period.

4 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Pat Eby

Mother Nature cast her spell on artist Matt Faupel when he was a child. Her beauty drives his life and art to this day. His furniture, home décor, wall art and lighting begin with a hunt for downed or damaged wood, which he rescues — driftwood from flood piles and wood from trees downed in partner parks, cemeteries and private properties. “When I was little our house was surrounded by forest. We lived in between Arnold and Fenton, and it wasn’t built up back then.

2 months ago | stlmag.com | George Mahe |Iain Shaw |Pat Eby |Melissa Meinzer

What are some foods you ate as a kid that you haven’t eaten in years? —Lynn V., St. Louis For me, it’s bologna. Two slices of cold bologna, with yellow mustard, on white bread, cut precisely in half, and lovingly placed by my mom into more grade school lunch boxes than I care to remember. I never cared for it much. But when she would make us barbecued bologna at home—cooked and curled in an iron skillet until the sauce just started to caramelize—man, that was some good eating.

2 months ago | stlmag.com | Iain Shaw |Pat Eby |Melissa Meinzer |George Mahe

JaNerra Carson-Slaughter plans to open soul food restaurant Karsyn’s Soule’ in the former Gringo space downtown (635 Washington). Carson-Slaughter, who operated the original location in Fairview Heights from 2021–2023, hopes to open the new restaurant in early May. The Menu Carson-Slaughter describes the menu as “soul food/comfort food.” The menu will be built around three core items: chicken wings, pork chops, and catfish.

2 months ago | stlmag.com | Pat Eby

The Breakfast Corner (5213 Hampton) recently opened in St. Louis Hills. It marks the latest culinary addition to the area, with the recent openings of Dewey’s Pizza and El Michoacano Fruteria Y Neveria, as well as the announced relocation of . The Breakfast Corner owners Steve Rasnic, Nicole Gawrys, and Cassie Bucio transformed a long-shuttered former medical building into the restaurant, which is open daily from 7 a.m.–2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch.