Busy As a Bee

I've just finished reading The Hive by Bee Wilson and am suddenly fascinated by bees. I picked the book up on a whim and found it amazing. The book focuses on the history of how humans have interacted with bees. How we've used the hive as inspiration in work and politics. How honey and ideas of love have been intertwined throughout history. And of course how honey has changed the world. Halfway through the book I had to go down to the kitchen to grab a teaspoon of honey. And I've been doing that daily since I finished the book.

Bees have been compared to everything from monarchies, republics, anarchies, and nurseries. If that seems contradictory, it is. I just saw an ad on TV for Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey which uses a rebellious male bee as its mascot. For centuries humans thought that the bees were ruled by a king who sent his soldiers out to do battle and gather provisions. Aristotle once said that bees had to be ruled by a male because no one would ever give weapons to females. Of course now we know that the hive is ruled by one true female. Workers are undeveloped females and drones (the males) are really only there to eat honey for a short bit of time, mate, and then die in the process. Like the Praying Mantis, the male bee doesn't survive his encounter. After mating season ends the surviving drones will be starved.

Bees are one of the only untamed creatures that provide food for humans. And bees have never been tamed. They can and do swarm at any time, fleeing from a hive where things aren't right to find a colony which is better. The flowers surrounding a hive will flavor the honey. Tastes can run anywhere from divine lavender honey to the rather gritty and foul rapeseed honey. An apiary out on New York just discovered that its honey was turning red. The bees were visiting the maraschino cherry factory next door for the sugary red syrup. I can only imagine what that honey tastes like. Now I'm fascinated by the idea of tasting as many types of honey as I can. Mostly I've only had clover honey. Now I'm ready for something more exotic.

The thing that really shocked me though while reading this book was the number of mistaken assumptions about bees. Up until the 1700s it was believed that bees sprang from a dead oxen prepared in a special way. Bees, who hate the smell of decay, were supposed to spontaneously generate from oxen. This wasn't just a superstition. It was practiced. It was also believed that bees (being chaste of all sex) could tell someone who wasn't. It was common practice for intended brides to be sent through an apiary. If she emerged unscathed, she was a virgin. If she was stung, well...the wedding was off. During the times of the crusades it was believed that bees would fight in wars for the good of heart. I can't think of another creature that is so iconic, and so misunderstood. Beehives are the icons of industry even today. I'm just starting to notice how often bees pop up in advertising or in products for sale.

This was a fascinating book and I'm suddenly really excited about the idea of trying more honey. I'm also growing more and more excited about the idea of someday keeping bees myself. I've been reading accounts of beekeepers, looking at video of apiaries, and of course trying honey. I know it won't happen for a long long time. But suddenly I'm excited about the idea of bees. And learning more about these amazing creatures.

Eatin' in St. Louie

That was supposed to be a play on Meet Me in St. Louis, but I'm not sure how well it worked. Oh well. I just got back from St. Louis about an hour ago. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are expecting in June so Jeff and I made the short drive down to attend a baby shower. I'm rather excited for them. They are both very happy about the baby and, if the volume of presents is any indication, this will be one spoiled little boy. It was fantastic to see everyone. I spent only a bit of time with the mom-to-be and my other sister-in-law but got to spend a ton of time with my in-laws. We played dominos and talked and of course ate.

Jeff and I travel a lot but there are very few places where we have so many must-eat foods. St. Louis has some amazing eating, even for a vegetarian like me. So without further ado, here are Jeff's or my top 10 foods you must try in St. Louis. Note that since both Jeff and I contributed this will be a mix of vegetarian and meatatarian fare.

10. White Castles. I know that there are White Castles all over the country but this one of the only places where we ever seem to get them. Both Jeff and I are Castle fans. I've found you either love them or hate them passionately. There is no middle ground with White Castles.

9. Chiliman Chili is also national but we can't seem to find it anywhere but St. Louis. We pick up a case every trip we make. I'm not normally a fan of canned chili but this stuff is good, particularly over macaroni noodles.

8. Fried Pickles at J. Bucks. Having spent years listening to Jack Buck announce the Cardinals games I knew I had to try the restaurant named after him. And after trying their fried pickles, I knew I'd be back. Jeff will argue but those are some of the most amazing pickles I've ever had (Jeff hates pickles so he'd argue no matter what).

7. Vess Cream Soda. Where else can you find a syrupy sweet, bright pink beverage that I would go crazy for. Vess is a local soda company that makes one of the most interesting and tasty cream sodas around. They have tons of other flavors but Jeff and I used to fight over the cream soda. Another one of those things we grab a case of most trips.

6. Toasted Ravioli. This St. Louis tradition is always meat filled (rather than the more common cheese-filled) which is why it is Jeff's favorite meal.

5. The Pasta House. I was introduced to their salad long before I ate at the restaurant and from that first taste I was hooked. This St. Louis company has everything from sandwiches to rich pastas. Although I've eaten my fair share of meals on The Hill (the Italian district), the Pasta House is a great go-to meal.

4. Gerbers at Ruma's. Ruma's Deli makes the best Gerber sandwich in town. A Gerber is a St. Louis tradition. You take garlic bread, add thinly-sliced ham, mound on Provel cheese, bake, and then dash with Paprika. It's one of the few sandwiches where I break my vegetarian fast to have a bite of ham and cheese goodness.

3. Imo's. We had to get pizza this weekend. Like Fox's in Chicago I have certain pizzas that I crave. Imo's uses Provel cheese on their square-cut thin crust pies to make the perfect balance of cheese and crust. Add their cheese covered house salad with the celery seed dressing and I'm in heaven. My only worry is about saving some for anyone else.

2. To be honest almost anything with Provel makes my list. This St. Louis based cheese was created specifically for Imo's Pizza and has spread throughout the city. It is a mixture of swiss, cheddar, and provolone and is quite possibly one of the greatest things ever. Our local grocery store has just started carrying it (on request) and we buy a carton at least once every two weeks. Mmmmm

1. And last but not least...Ted Drewes. If I had access to this iconic ice cream stand on a regular basis, I would weigh well over 300 pounds. I'm addicted. Ted Drewes is a frozen custard stand on the old Route 66 that specializes in Concretes (think Blizzard but only better). Their Apple Pie concrete (with apples and pie crust and whipped cream) is my downfall, my Kryptonite. I am powerless to stop myself from eating it. We didn't get a chance to go this past trip but I'm sure we'll go down after the baby is born.

The typical nighttime crowd at Ted Drewes

Like any top 10 list, I'm sure that there will be disagreements. I didn't even mention the world-famous St. Louis style barbeque. I didn't talk about all the fantastic restaurants on The Hill. I was told that there is a pretzel place down by the Anheuser-Busch brewery that I would love. I've eaten some amazing meals in St. Louis. These are just the ones that instantly come to mind when the great city is mentioned. We travel down to visit really, but we also make the trek for the food.