Arch Eats

Before they were SLM dining writers and co-hosts of Arch Eats, George and Cheryl spent years in the restaurant industry where they learned the ins and outs of the business and saw just about every kind of customer you could imagine. In this episode, they draw on their combined decades of experience to share their essential dining “Do’s and Don’ts,” a restaurant etiquette 101 crash course ...

Mexican cuisine is having a moment in St. Louis right now, and chef Alex Henry is a major part of that movement. Since opening his City Foundry food stall, Sureste, in 2021 and following up with his outstanding sit-down restaurant, El Molino del Sureste, two years later, Henry has been setting the bar for regional Mexican cuisine. A native of the Yucatán city Mérida, Henry celebrates the region’s cuisine at El M...

Fritters and crullers and long johns, oh my! On this super-sweet episode of Arch Eats, George and Cheryl taste their way through St. Louis’ legendary doughnut scene, celebrating the independent shops that make our city so delicious, one delightful bite at a time. The co-hosts will share some insights on their favorite doughnut haunts, blind taste to determine their top picks, and give listeners a general idea of the depth and...

Soup’s on at Arch Eats central, and George and Cheryl have a crock full of recommendations for where to get a delicious bowl. From the quintessential French onion to their favorite chili, the co-hosts dish on the best soups St. Louis has to offer, as well as which establishments are guaranteed to always have something delicious simmering in a stockpot. Whether the volatile weather has you craving something warm and ...

If your idea of sake has anything to do with shots of warm, rocket-fuel tasting beverage at a hibachi restaurant or sake bombs at the frat house, Darryl Vennard has news for you. For 25 years, the longtime wine and spirits professional has been setting the scene for a sake boom in St. Louis that has really taken off since 2020. In this episode of Arch Eats, George and Cheryl get the inside scoop on this surprisingly ...

Exposed brick, dim lighting, wooden beams, wood stoves and fireplaces. For George and Cheryl, these are the features that make a restaurant the sort of place that you want to tuck into during the dreary doldrums of late winter. St. Louis has an embarrassment of hygge-inducing spots and in this episode, the co-hosts will not only share their picks for the area’s essential cozy restaurants; they will tell you what to order at e...

What will the St. Louis dining scene look like in 2026? In this episode of Arch Eats, co-hosts George Mahe and Cheryl Baehr dust off their crystal balls to predict what, how, and where people will be dining this year. From multi-concept spaces and affordable tasting experiences to soup flights and Ozempic menus, they’re dishing on the dining scene’s next big things and also share what trends they think are on the w...

This year’s look ahead at the St. Louis restaurant scene is filled with anticipation, optimism—and some really big breaking news. In this episode, George and Cheryl look ahead to 2026’s most anticipated restaurants, including two concepts from the Central West End’s most prominent proprietor that are sure to light up the neighborhood, a high-end hookah lounge and restaurant with elevated hospitality, a sopho...

It’s mid-December, which means that it’s time for George and Cheryl to take a look at the year in restaurants. In this episode, the co-hosts chat about their favorite new dining spots for 2025. They’ll cover all the fun additions to the St. Louis food and beverage scene, including a new Italian-inflected amaro bar, an Instagram pizza business-turned brick and mortar, a hotly anticipated restaurant from two pop-up ...

Move over, Mariah! St. Louis has its own Queen of Christmas. George and Cheryl are thrilled to be joined by Julie “Fa La La” Lally, the city’s resident expert on holiday pop-ups, who shares everything you need to know to enjoy these festive fetes. From the first-ever holiday pop-up, Miracle, in 2016 to the brand-new Cocktails and Claws, Julie has been to them all and shares the inside scoop on what makes each one ...

Dubai chocolate and dirty sodas. Truffle fries and tomahawk steaks. It seems like every day there is another food trend coming across our feeds—but are they worth the hype? In this episode, George and Cheryl give their unapologetic thumbs up or thumbs down on some of the biggest food trends over the last few years. And in a rare detour from the way things typically operate at Arch Eats, there’s quite a bit of disag...

This week on Arch Eats, George and Cheryl have some breaking news about one of St. Louis’ most anticipated restaurants. Ever since he first announced his revolving sushi restaurant and ramen bar, Sakatanoya, owner Anthony Wang has been the talk of the town—and for good reason. The forthcoming restaurant, which will soon open in the Delmar Loop, is the most novel place to open in St. Louis in recent memory, and...

Is craft beer dead? If you listen to local beer lovers’ chatter, read recent articles in the national press, or watch with sadness as some of the area’s most beloved craft breweries either close or struggle, you might think the answer is yes. However, SLM’s resident beer expert Jordan Palmer is here to set the record straight. In this episode, Jordan, an Emmy award-winning produc...

Bad lighting and too-loud music. Servers on cellphones and wobbly tables. We all have our restaurant pet peeves—just as restaurants have their gripes about customers. This week, Arch Eats hosts George Mahe and Cheryl Baehr are devoting the entire episode to its most popular segment, the microrant. They’ll good-naturedly dish on restaurants’ biggest offenses and, to keep things even, share what restaurants wish the...

What is the best burger in St. Louis? It’s a question that co-hosts George and Cheryl get asked all the time, and one that is nearly impossible to answer if you consider the number of outstanding choices throughout the metro area. In this episode, they’ll come one step closer to tackling this question by exploring the city’s thick burgers, sharing their love of tried and true classics while uncovering some un...

Cannabis-friendly restaurants. Ozempic menus. Dirty sodas and focaccia sandwiches. These are just a few of the trends George and Cheryl picked up on in St. Louis Magazine’s annual A-List, a celebration of the best of all that the region has to offer. Using this year’s A-List as a jumping off point, the co-hosts shine a light on what they anticipate will come to define eating and drinking in St. Louis in t...

It’s peak peach season in St. Louis, and who better to talk about this most glorious of summertime fruits than our area’s very own peach expert, Chris Eckert? Hot on the heels of Eckert’s Farm’s record peach crop, the seventh-generation southern Illinois farmer dishes about all things peach, including his favorite ways to enjoy the fruit, fun facts, and why some of the old wive’s tales you’v...

It’s peak produce season in St. Louis, and George and Cheryl have been busy scouring the area’s farmers markets for the perfect tomatoes, peaches, and sweet corn. Along the way, they’ve come across some hidden gems that make these markets some of the spots to enjoy the region’s culinary bounty—and they’re letting you in on the secret. From a must-visit new pastry stand at Tower Grove to one of th...

The heat and humidity may be taking your breath away, but they aren’t the only indicators of summer in St. Louis. Everywhere you look, produce aisles, farmers market stands and restaurant tables are brimming with peak-of-the-season ingredients that make you understand why many consider this to be the best time of the year for food. In this episode, hosts George Mahe and Cheryl Baehr scour the menus of some...