Would you like to have a sample?

I have had enough of it and had to talk about, I have 31 years of experience in enjoying samples.  I remember being so young and little and traveling within the old National store with my mother and getting free cookie samples. 

Later on, I remember getting great samples at the Kroger stores, when they still were in st. Louis.  Things like whole candy bars or half of a can of soda or other great things. 

Within the past 5 years, I discovered Costco and Sam's and if you love free food, a Sunday at one of those places is the place to be.  On an average day, at Costco, you can sample some cheeses, some grilled hot dogs, some cut fruit of some sort, watch a demonstration of some great cleaning product or paper towel, try some crackers with salsa, have a drink of fruit drink and then sign up for some Chinese acrobatic show at The Fox.  That is a slow Sunday, I think. 

Now, the reason for this blog is a rant, against See's Candies, which I believe is in a portion of South County mall, in St. Louis.  I went by with my kids, three times and the old bat watching the candy gave samples to everyone but packed them up as we walked by.  So, what is it about me that doesn't allow me to have a candy sample?  Is it because I look young?  Is it because I have kids?  Is it because I dress strange?  Why is it?

I know that if I was the person giving out samples I would want to give them to people who would most likely buy them, but giving a sample to a mom and the 4 teenage girls with her and have them walk in seems like giving me and my kids a sample wouldn't hurt.  The old woman though, just stares at us from over her glasses.  If you give out food samples, don't be racist, sexist or discriminate but offer them to everyone.  Rant finished.

What is St. Louis known for?

While most of our culinary history, the culinary history of the world, is mostly made up of coincidences and synchronicity, there are some things that certain cities or cultures can ultimately agree upon.  Somewhat.

I remember hearing about the history of Buffalo wings. There are four general accepted origins of that type of food and all of them claim to be first and none of them will back down.  Similar and dissimilar to this, St. Louis has some general grip to the claims on foods that they state; also thanks to the World's Fair.  The World's Fair of 1904 was a BIG deal.  It was a culmination of everything new and of the West as well as the World, brought together at one location. Cultures brought their clothing, smiths brought their weapons, inventors brought their inventions and cooks brought their foods.

Now while you may be thinking to yourself that you know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who invented these things, that may be, but this is the first time that it was ever made public. Sure, I may have invented the chocolate brownie, but if I never told anyone or showed it to anyone than it didn't matter. Now, off of a good website: http://stlplaces.com/stl_foods/


So, what was invented here?

Toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, prosperity sandwich, pork steaks, the concrete dessert, peanut butter, the slinger, Provel, St. Paul sandwich, Brain sandwich, whistle, Vess and 70up sodas.  While this list may fill you up, TUMS were invented in St. Louis as well.  Now, could someone around the world thought of just cutting their pork a little thicker and thus creating pork steaks?  Sure, but no one knew about it until someone in St. Louis started doing it.

Now the above list is just some things that were invented in St. Louis, probably because no one else thought of it.  But at the World's Fair, some things were invented elsewhere but were first shown off, to the world, at the fair.  For example: ice cream was invented by the Arabs as earlier than the 13th century, but the idea of placing ice cream in a waffle cone was first introduced at the Fair. Ice tea, Dr. Pepper and Cotton candy were also introduced at the Fair.  Although why no one ever thought of placing ice in hot tea and making a cold tea drink is beyond me, but the others were all new.

So there you have it and as a friend suggested and as I was thinking, if Tony does come to STL, he should partake in at least some of these STL traditions and inventions.