Review It!

Review It: How's Dinner at Balducci's?

This week we're asking you, the "Maryland Heights Patch" reader, to review the local Italian restaurant.

Welcome to the “Maryland Heights Town Reviewer!" Every Saturday we’ll select a business in Maryland Heights and ask you, the reader, to give it a review. You can review a business via its directory listing—giving the entity between one and five stars. You can also leave a note explaining why you think this business deserves the rating, good or bad. This week we’re taking a look at a local restaurant that has both pizza and wine: Balducci's Winefest! Review Balducci's Winefest via the restaurant's directory listing. How's the Italian food at Balducci's? How would you describe the restaurant's wine? Are the waiters cordial? Be sure to let us know! Do you own or manage a business in Maryland Heights? Make sure to claim your listing! Click the…

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Rob McLean

2:23 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Eeesh, sounds like an overall hit-or-miss experience.   more ›

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Winefest Sees Hundreds Turn Out for the First Hour

Organizers said Missouri wineries had close to 60 wines to choose from this year.

The Missouri Winefest kicked of Saturday at Westport Plaza with hundreds of people coming within the first hour. This year saw an uptick in the variety of wines availible for purchase, however one less winery participated in the event than in 2011. Kim Thorwegen, campaign coordinator for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, said the event was competing with a grape and wine conference on the same weekend—also held in the St. Louis area. Missouri wineries and local businesses like the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill had vending booths at the event. The Missouri Winefest is set to conclude Feb. 12. The event benefits the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

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Missouri Winefest has High Hopes for Its 26th Year

The event will raise funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Gateway Chapter.

Missouri wine making can be tricky, Regina Ruppert said. Some years locally grown grapes will vary in acidity due to the weather, she said. Ruppert owns Serenity Valley Winery, located in Callaway County. Ruppert doesn’t have to worry about a local vineyard’s crop—her company imports juice from around the world. Serenity Valley Winery will be among the Missouri wineries appearing at the 26th annual Missouri Winefest on Feb. 11 at Westport Plaza. Proceeds from the winefest will benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Gateway Chapter. Fundraising for the cure Debbie Kersting, executive director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society-Gateway Chapter, said the event has been a great fundraiser in previous years. The organization has raised a…

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The Great Escape

The Great Escape: In the Next Room

Get the girls together and give your imagination a buzz with “In the Next Room.”

Imagine a time before electricity. People didn't have washing machines, refrigerators or battery operated toys of any kind. This weekend, join The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis for an evening of reminiscing about how much electricity shocked the nation. Okay, that’s how you’re going to pitch it to the guys. Now that they’re bored, ladies, this weekend it’s time to get the girls together to split a bottle of wine before you all go watch a funny play about vibrators.  In the Next Room or the vibrator play is set in a Victorian doctor’s office. Married women suffering from “hysteria” go in, something noisy and magical happens, then relaxed women come back out. The doctor’s young wife doesn’t understand what’s going on behind closed doors, …

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The Great Escape

Let the Drink Flow at the Missouri Winefest

Leave the kids behind for an afternoon of unwinding with girlfriends and wine.

Leave the kids with your husband and call your girlfriends. This weekend, you’re spending an afternoon at Westport Plaza. The 25th Annual Missouri Wine Festival takes place on both Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. This is a great celebration of Missouri’s award-winning wines where you can sample and compare the best our state has to offer. Twenty dollars gets you a commemorative wine goblet, wine samples, and live music by Tony Viviano. If that’s not enough to lure you out, there’ll be noshes from and to go with all the tasty Missouri wines. Plus, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so your afternoon for the girls is all for a good cause. Because the festival ends at 5 p.m., you and the girls have…

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Missouri Mercantile Brings Local Products to Westport

Missouri Mercantile expanded into a second retail location in Westport just in time for the Christmas season.

Missouri Mercantile expanded into a second retail location in Westport just in time for the Christmas season. “We love it here,” said Cindy Millikin, manager of the Westport Store. “It’s a perfect location. There are a lot of businesses here at Westport, plus with the hotel a lot of people coming to town for business meetings or training or just to visit St. Louis. We get the out of town crowd from that, plus a lot of locals come to Westport for lunch because of all of the restaurants. Then they stay to shop, which is perfect for us.” Millikin started working for Missouri Mercantile almost by accident. “I was a customer. In 2004 they sent out an email asking for some part time help at Christmas. That was six years ago and I’m still here. …

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Celebrate Prohibition Repeal Day in Maryland Heights

Buy alcohol without worry thanks to a law's repeal 77 years ago.

Today marks the 77th anniversary of the U.S. government's repeal of alcohol prohibition laws. You can celebrate with a six pack or glass of wine in Maryland Heights — a city with no shortage of places to buy adult beverages. Check out some of the stores you can buy alcohol thanks to the law's repeal. Quick 1 Quick Stop Quik Trip on Congressional Drive Quik Trip on Dorsett Road D & J Liquor Schnucks Discount Liquor and Cigarettes Prp Wine

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Lunch in 30

Balducci's Winefest

Locally produced wines, excellent sauces, and large, affordable portions make it no surprise every table was taken when we lunched at Balducci's Winefest.

Despite the hand painted sign, Balducci's Winefest is easy to miss from the outside. It's sandwiched between a brewhouse and a coin laundry. The door opens to a rich wood interior leading you downstairs into the basement. I showed up at 11:40 a.m., when there was already a good crowd. By noon, every table in the house was full. This is always a good sign in a restaurant. Balducci's started as a vineyard, and their wines' importance continues today. The basement restaurant space feels like someone with a large wine cellar decided to open a restaurant. The booths are old church pews with numbers so you'll know what isle you're on. I sat on number 12, across from number 7. All around you are posters of wine festivals and a few photos of …

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