As vibrant as Seattle days are, after-dark activities are equally as spirited with untold clubs and bars ranging from the Old World elegance of Oliver’s Lounge to great jazz at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.

Love to report new places opening up: The Sweet Divine's new Soulard location at 1801 S. Ninth St. is now open for business. Likewise, Piccione Pastry at 6197 Delmar Blvd. in the U-City Loop is now up and running.

When we first heard about chef/owner Ben Poremba's innovative vision of turning an old South City house into a fine-dining restaurant (Elaia), and the retired service station next door to it into a wine bar (Olio), we were a bit unsure of just how it would work out. Since the dual concepts have been up and running for a while now, we finally stopped in for dinner at Elaia and are pleased to report the project is quite the success.

Known by some as the St. Louis spring event, Friends of St. Louis Children’s Hospital recently held its 10th annual Table Tops event at The Ritz-Carlton. 

It's so small that if you blink, you might miss it—but that would be a shame because restaurateur Zoe Pidgeon's newest eatery, Bar Les Freres, definitely is a stop you want to make.

It's springtime, and that means area restaurants are starting to unveil their new seasonal menus. U. City fave Blueberry Hill has announced four new specialty sandwiches, a Western Wagyu Burger, and a Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake to its menu; and also has re-introduced its popular Gazpacho. Modesto Tapas Bar & Restaurant has debuted some new items for spring, as well. The menu now has four new small bites, including the Fritada (a fried shrimp and scallop skewer) and the Banderilla (an anchovy, artichoke and olive skewer), as well as the return of the Judias Verdes, sauteed green beans with onions and sherry.

Eau Bistro could easily be overlooked by prospective diners, but that would be a shame because the atmosphere and food are well worth a look--and a taste.

You voted, we listened! Ladue News readers know what they like; and with this year's Platinum List, you've made your voices heard. This list compiles the best of St. Louis. 

Much attention has been focused on the multi-million-dollar ‘rebirth’ of The Cheshire, which, in addition to the renovated inn, is now home to four separate restaurant concepts. The vanguard eatery of the four is The Restaurant, which seemed as good a place as any for us to begin to rediscover the local landmark.

Following an engagement at Busch Stadium, a local couple welcomed guests to their wedding weekend with a Cardinals’ galvanized pail of game-day treats at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark Hotel.

Mornings can be madness. With children getting ready for school and grown-ups heading off to work, a sit-down breakfast may not be on the morning agenda. But eating breakfast is known to help improve concentration, creativity and problem-solving in children; and can help adults enhance productivity and control weight.

Valentine's Day may have passed, but who says you can only have a romantic evening out on Feb. 14? St. Louis has plenty of places where you and your significant other can have a fine meal and pitch some woo all year long. Here are a few of our favorites:

Edgewild Restaurant & Winery opened in the fall of 2011 in Chesterfield, and soon developed quite a following in West County and beyond.

Brian Pelletier claims he has “the best job in the world,” and few would dispute that. He is the owner, founder and chief chocolatier of Kakao Chocolate. To quote Ira Gershwin, it’s nice work if you can get it—and Pelletier has got it! But working with chocolate wasn’t always his profession. “I was in marketing, communications and public relations—I was a senior VP at Fleishman-Hilllard,” Pelletier recalls. “And as I was approaching the 20-year mark, I was feeling the need to do something dramatically different. I knew that I wanted my own business, and that I wanted to physically make something with my hands. I also wanted to do something with food because I loved to cook, so I opened myself up to the universe to see what would happen.”

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and I want to cook a romantic dinner at home. I am a pretty good cook, but I usually end up buying dessert and try to pass it off as my own. Is there something easy that I can do?

LN first reported months ago that Chef LOU ROOK of Annie Gunn's is releasing his first-ever cookbook, Rook Cooks; Simplicity At Its Finest. Well, it’s finally here! The tome is available at the restaurant, as well as such area stores as Left Bank Books and Kitchen Conservatory, for $35.

Gerard Craft's restaurants have been all over the local and national press of late, what with the opening of Pastaria in Clayton, the relocation of flagship Niche, the impending departure of Ted Kilgore from Taste, and multiple appearances on all manner of 'Best Of' lists. While all of this has been going on, Brasserie by Niche has been rolling along under the radar a bit, steadily putting out its signature quality, affordable rustic French fare with very little fanfare. We made a return trip to this CWE favorite recently to refresh our memory of this gem.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and what better way to revel in the holiday that celebrates love than with the ultimate romantic food and wine pairing: wine and chocolate?

In today’s economy, the success of a business is far from guaranteed. We honor local companies and institutions who are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2012.

So many recipes are literally just a couple of clicks away. Want to make an Amaretto Cake? All it takes is a phone or any other mobile device to find variations with chocolate or vanilla, iced or drenched in syrup, layered or Bundt. With so many options at our fingertips, why use a cookbook at all? Answer: For a keepsake compilation resulting from an author’s ardent affection for the kitchen that is filled with anecdotes, wonderful inspiration and mouth-watering photography! Here are LN’s 2012 Cookbooks of the Year:

When I was a kid, we had some fun Christmas traditions. For one thing, Santa Claus brought the tree. That essentially meant that my parents pulled an all-nighter Christmas Eve to transform the living room into a Macy’s holiday window. What I now realize was a desperate attempt to get a few moments of precious sleep, my parents told my brothers and me that when we woke up Christmas morning, we could go downstairs on our own and open our stockings.

We love giving gifts of plant products to friends near and far. One of my favorite treasures to send is maple syrup from our relative’s farm in New Hampshire. It takes 100 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, but don’t look for the romantic image of draft horses hauling a sleigh of sap. Today, sap is extracted from trees with a web of plastic tubing and a giant vacuum cleaner. You can find the result in gift-sized cans or bottles at many local retailers.

Everyone has a different idea of how to decorate for the holiday season. I thought it would be nice to showcase the home of one of our area's leading floral designers, and talk about his decor choices. 

Find out what local designers are telling us about what’s out of style and what’s on trend for home décor.