Neighborhood farmers markets are re-opening and welcoming back local producers—a very exciting time for those of us who enjoy the bounty of our bi-state area!

• EarthDance will host the annual Pesto Festo at the Ferguson Farmers Market, 20 S. Florissant Road, on Saturday, July 14. The free event is a celebration of the basil season and all things local and sustainable. Highlights include a pesto cooking contest, kid’s yoga class, pesto cooking demos by local chefs and book signings by local authors. For more information, go to earthdancefarms.org.
• More restaurant debuts to report! Southwest Diner has officially opened its doors at 6803 Southwest Ave. (naturally). The menu features a variety of Mexican cuisine and classic diner fare. And food truck favorite The Sweet Divine has bowed its first brick-and-mortar location at 4521 S. Kingshighway.
• 4 Hands Brewing Co. initially hosted a rotating roster of food trucks to supply sustenance to its hungry patrons. But the brewery now has its own on-site eatery. The Fifth Wheel, a new restaurant from DAVID BAILEY, has opened in the brewery, offering a variety of sandwiches and appetizers. There's not much of a kitchen on premises, so most of the menu will be supplied by the commissary at Bailey's Range. 4 Hands also will be teaming up with Balaban’s Wine Cellar & Tapas Bar later this month for a beer dinner. The event will take place on Sunday, July 22, at 6:30 p.m. and will feature a five-course meal paired with five of the brewery’s beers for $55. Call 636-449-6700 or go online at balabanswine.com for details and reservations.
• Travel and food aficionados will soon have the opportunity to indulge both passions on the high seas. Vin de Set’s executive chef IVY MAGRUDER will be teaching a culinary class aboard Oceania’s new vessel, Riviera, in the Bon Appetit Culinary Center, the only hands-on cooking school at sea. Hone your culinary skills while enjoying Caribbean ports-of-call like Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Barts. The cruise will take place Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2013. For more information, call 1-877-313-9009 or log on to cruisingwiththechefs.com.
• The Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch has begun participating in Hyatt’s global healthy eating plan, Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served., which the company introduced at its U.S. properties last year as part of the Hyatt Thrive global responsibility platform. The property’s restaurants and room service will be providing dishes with natural ingredients, employing sustainable practices and sourcing from local purveyors, among other initiatives.

• Chef GERARD CRAFT’s latest restaurant, Pastaria, is scheduled to open later this summer in Clayton, but it’s already creating a national buzz: Food & Wine magazine lists the eatery in the Where To Go section of its July issue.
• The owners of the late Monarch Restaurant in Maplewood have announced the space will be converted into a private event venue. The catering division of Herbie’s Vintage 72, which is owned by the same folks, will supply the bang in the kitchen. The space measures about 10,000 square feet and can be configured for a variety of group sizes.
• The North City Farmer’s Market, located across from Crown Candy Kitchen, is offering cooking demonstrations in conjunction with Operation Food Search on the second Saturday of each month through October. OFS provides recipes and mans the stoves for the demos, and we’re told that local chefs may be stopping by throughout the season to help out. The market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon, and the demos take place starting at 10:30 a.m.
• EarthDance has purchased the Mueller Farm in Ferguson, the 14-acre spread the organization has been leasing since its inception in 2008. EarthDance not only grows food but educates new farmers through its nationally recognized Organic Farming Apprenticeship Program.
• We told you a while back about the expansion of Local Harvest Cafe & Catering into new spaces downtown and in Kirkwood. Well, Phase One is complete, with the downtown location in the Old Post Office building officially open. We also mentioned recently that Urban Chestnut Brewing Company was in the process of constructing an outdoor beer garden. We’re pleased to report that space debuted earlier this month.
• Anheuser-Busch is adding two new refill options and some new accessories to its Draftmark refillable home draught system. A-B fans can now get Michelob AmberBock and Shock Top Wheat IPA brews for the system, as well as a new cold gel wrap to keep the suds cold outside the fridge. A new tap stand is expected to hit stores in July.
• Sub Zero Vodka Bar not only has the largest selection of vodka in the country; it now serves lunch daily. The CWE favorite also boasts a new private event space and a remodeled sushi bar.
• The Cheese Shack is the latest food truck to hit the St. Louis scene. The bright yellow mobile eatery serves up custom grilled cheese creations. Keep track of them on Facebook to see where they’ll be offering up their cheesy wares next. Also, LuLus Local Eatery, which sports a rooftop garden on its truck, has been named one of the World’s Coolest Food Trucks Ever by The Daily Meal.

Friday 4

◆Chef JOHN GRIFFITHS of Truffles is bringing together a veritable who’s-who of local culinary talent for a great cause. Just Like Mom Used To Make will be held Nov. 2 at Truffles, and feature GERARD CRAFT and ADAM ALTNETHER of Taste By Niche; JOSH GALLIANO of Monarch; WES JOHNSON of Salt; BEN POREMBA of Salume Beddu; and KEVIN WILLMANN of Farmhaus. The chefs will be creating a six-course meal of foods inspired by their childhoods, paired with wines by Truffles’ wine director ALEKSANDER JOVANOVIC. Proceeds benefit the ALS Association and Hope Happens. For more info, or to purchase tickets, call 567-9100.

Seeing stars…A hometown crowd applauded JENNA FISCHER (Nerinx ’91) as she accepted this year’s Cinema St. Louis Award, honoring her contributions to the art of film. Fischer was in town to promote her latest movie with CHRIS O’DONNELL, A Little Help, which premiered at the 19th annual St. Louis International Film Festival.

> The leaves are turning, and so, too, are some local menus. BRIO Tuscan Grille is changing things up with a new fall menu featuring items such as the Citrus Garden Salad and Tuscan Harvest Salad, both of which spotlight fall flavors like apples and dried cranberries. BRIO also unveiled a new patio addition last month with 50 additional seats (and built-in heaters!) so you can enjoy the new menu outside…Nosh in Maplewood also has launched a revised seasonal fall bill of fare. The new menu includes a goat cheese and beet salad and the Orchard Melt sandwich, with sliced organic apple, havarti and celery pesto on pumpkin seed cranberry bread. In addition, the restaurant also is bowing a new dinner menu available after 4 p.m. with larger entrees, including gluten-free meatloaf.

> The rumors have been swirling for a while but now it’s official: Brendan Noonan, executive sous chef at Eclipse Restaurant at the Loop’s Moonrise Hotel, has left to take a position behind the stoves as sous chef at Harvest. Harvest executive chef NICK MILLER says Noonan, who has also plied his trade at The Scottish Arms and The Shaved Duck, is already hard at work.

A visit to a century-old North St. Louis County farm as a teenager inspired Molly Rockamann’s life’s work. “My dad took me to there in high school, and it got me interested in farming and food,” she says. “I met the owners, Al and Caroline Mueller, and kept that memory of them in the back of my mind, thinking about returning one day to work.”

1/5 DOGTOWN ALLSTARS The R&B, funk and soul band plays at 7 p.m. at the St. Louis Public Library, 1301 Olive St. Free.

11/7 ORNAMENT PARTY Craft Alliance holds a party from 6 to 8 p.m. with complimentary refreshments and ornaments for sale made by local and national artists, including hand-blown glass balls, at their Delmar Loop location, 6640 Delmar Blvd.