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Here's to them, the ones who are out there cooking for us every day.

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Drinks, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.

It is no secret that there is a bar scene in St. Louis.

A large part of the proliferation of pubs in areas like a Soulard neighborhood is directly related to the fact that St. Louis has a deep history of breweries.

So naturally, bars followed.

And even after many brewing operations are long gone the pubs and bars that stood watch on the street corners still remain.

This is an icon in St. Louis.

This is a massive icon.

With the resurgence of craft brewing happening, there's a new crowd of bar hoppers that are keeping the scene alive.

But what I think is more interesting about all of these places is the food.

As a chef, I need to stay curious in order to evolve.

For me, that means looking beyond a good meal to learn more about who made it and what inspires them to cook.

La comida es amor.

Every great city has great food.

I'm going on a journey around the world right here in St. Louis.

I'm on a quest to find passionate chefs who cooks from the heart.

That's exciting.

"And I think it's the best."

To prove that food is love and it's going to be delicious.

Food is love.

Love your food.

If you're a Sinatra fan or a resident of the Dogtown neighborhood, chances are pretty slim that you haven't visited Failoni's at least once.

Located on Manchester, walking into Failoni's is like stepping into every local bar you've ever stepped into.

The age of the building and the memories on the wall and the glow of a red neon light scream to the nostalgia of an untold number of St. Louisans that have graced the bar here over the decades.

And Vic Failoni is helping to keep that tradition going.

The other day when I was in here, I had a lager.

Sure I'll have one of those.

How old is this place?

This place goes back in my family to 1916.

My grandfather bought this bar from the Lemp Brewery.

I'm third generation.

People usually hear you've been here that long and they think I'm at least fourth, right?

Yeah.

But just third generation.

My grandpa was born in 1886.

He bought this bar when he was 30 a few years before Prohibition kicked in.

And luckily after generations, it's still going.

And now we have a fourth generation, my nephew's here and my partner, so that's great.

Not counting on me to run this place by myself.

Yeah, so that's priceless.

So did they run through prohibition, too?

Did what you had to do.

My uncle used to tell me that it was hard to make payroll selling chocolate and near beer and sodas and stuff like that.

So it was a speak easy.

You would hide the moonshine.

You'd always get like two bottles and you would hide it.

And you'd usually catch wind if somebody was coming.

And if someone was at the bar that you didn't know, you would wait for him to leave to take it out.

Part of the charm that drew people here in the 80s had a lot to do with Vic's brother, who had a voice that was a dead ringer for Sinatra.

I know your brother sang while he was working, and I see all this memorabilia with Frank Sinatra.

He sounded just like Frank.

He really did.

He was amazing.

Yeah.

I mean, he just blew people away.

People would make bets that he was lip singing all the time and you'd be like, come on.

He's been doing this for years.

But it was funny.

He was just great at it.

It's like we didn't know.

He got up there in the 80s with the accordion player and the guy said, come on, sing.

And he sang a few songs, and next thing you know, people were like, your brother sounds like Frank Sinatra.

Back then, I was away at college and I was like, what?

We weren't aware of it, it just snowballed.

Next thing you know, there was, he was hired by Boatman's Bank and on some days off, they were flying him all over the country to sing at parties and big festivities, and he could serve drinks and do it and he was just natural.

Yeah.

I mean, I've seen the footage of him just working in the bar casually making drinks, pouring beer, socializing while he was singing.

Right.

He ate it up.

He loved it.

He was great at it.

I don't know how he did it.

It always amazed people how you can do that.

Despite Vic's brother passing away unexpectedly in 2015, the legend of his voice has become a part of the history and lore that makes up the character of this place.

But you get this feeling in these bars have been there a long time.

People love the fact that they can come in, they can be recognized, or there is somebody behind the bar they know.

Sure, because I'm sure a lot of people come in here now today just to be with you.

Right.

If you're alone, you're not alone If you know the bartender.

Despite its look and history as a bar, Failonis has gained a reputation for its food.

In the kitchen, Joey Miners, Vic's nephew, cranks out orders alongside his grandmother, Rosemary.

Today, Joey is making one of the staples, flash fried spinach.

And if that doesn't sound like bar food, I don't know what does.

Healthy spinach.

And you make it unhealthy.

Yeah.

You got a deep fried it.

Not something most people would think to do with a bag of fresh spinach.

What would Popeye think of this?

I mean, it's all about doing it fast.

That's why it's called flash fried, I guess.

Yeah.

But is this an Italian dish?

No I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere else in a bar like bar food.

But it's really good.

My grandmother, she kind of came up with it, didn't she, years ago?

And different people make it.

We dress it up a little different.

Balsamic vinaigrette, Asiago cheese.

Not everyone does it that way.

Yeah, it's very good.

And it's so simple.

Very simple, yeah.

So you know all the different items here in the kitchen, even though you have other people working here, you can cook anything?

I can cook it all, but I've learned from my grandmother.

Okay.

Does it ever happen somebody doesn't show up, you have to step in here and help them?

All the time.

All the time.

All the time.

Frying the spinach gives it a crispy, crunchy texture.

And once the grease is drained, it's almost ready to serve.

See how it sounds crispy now.

Yeah.

Its like a chip.

I love it.

It takes a lot of spinach.

It really does.

You wouldn't think Usually for two people Sometimes it has plenty.

But I've seen people get a wholr by themselves.

balsamic.

Not too much because it's strong.

Yeah.

Asiago Oh, wow.

I can't wait to try this.

Oh, wow.

And it's crisp.

You got it But was that too hot still?

No, it was perfect.

At a table in the back of the bar, Joey has prepared a spread of some of the kitchen favorites.

The fried spinach is impressive, but I just noticed something.

It looks really good.

Right?

I'm here drinking beer, and you two are drinking water.

That's just great.

Just make me look as bad as you can.

The influence at Failonis is obviously Italian, and that's reflected in the other things they offer here.

What is this over here?

It's our famous spinochi.

Spinochi?

It's a spinach artichoke filled wanton.

Filled wanton I'm sorry.

With a spicy pepper jelly sauce.

Take a bite.

Is that an Italian thing?

Spinochi?

It sounds.. Its spinach in Italian.

It ends in a vowel.

Yeah.

Let me try this.

Dive in.

I'll just dip it in here.

I'm surprised more restaurants don't offer those.

Delicious.

These olives are the stuff of legends.

Seriously flavorful.

Another example how simple things can be good all by themselves.

It must be a great feeling to know that you carried on this family legacy for over 100 years.

I mean, you must be really proud that your family's had such an impact in St. Louis and still do today.

For each generation to have the pride or the love of the business, to carry it on, it's a lot to be thankful for.

And I'm third generation and to have my nephew here in his thirties, the fourth generation to keep it going, it's a great thing.

Right.

And they know the kind of the family behind it.

That's part of the legacy of a place like this.

Right.

Exactly.

There's never a time, that's either me or him or not here.

So when you come in, you're going to see someone.

Yeah.

And there may be some family torch bearing in the works.

Yeah.

All the things he could have been, he chose the restaurant business.

He could have been an entertainer, hes dances, sings.

I know.

Are we going to sing together?

No.

I heard you sing, too.

I do it late whenever everyone gets drunk.

Okay.

I sound better.

He gets the crowd going.

You know what?

He's got a few songs that he can do.

Yeah.

Black Eyed Peas.

Okay.

So it's not Sinatra?

No.

Okay.

which song is it?

I got a feeling.

Yeah, I know that one.

Well, I mean, so, you know, he has some big shoes to fill when it comes to singing.

Right.

So we'll give him a couple of years and then we're probably going to fly him all over the country and have him sing Black Eyed Peas.

Yeah.

I love family restaurants.

I grew up in a family restaurant and I know all the love that goes into it.

Us Italians, we don't eat to live, we live to eat.

I like that.

I got a feeling that these guys will continue the legacy of Failoni's long into the future.

As much as I would love to stay here and eat olives, I have other plans for the day.

Next, I'm heading to a place downtown that's been a staple of St. Louis for more than 30 years.

From the outside it may look like a dive bar, but the food in here is definitely worth the trip.

And with the atmosphere here, you feel like you're somewhere in New Orleans.

Yes.

It's a bar.

I'm here for the food, and maybe a drink too.

As the name implies, they have quite the selection of seafood on the menu.

You're not the original owner.

Do you know when the place started?

How old is this place?

Yeah, 1978 1978, okay.

Day one, they had three items on the menu.

Oysters, can, sardines and hard boiled eggs.

That's it.

Well, I mean, it sounds like that's a recipe for success.

At least they got it started right.

Yeah.

Owner Steve Sullivan may not be the original owner, but really not too much has changed.

Okay, well, maybe a little.

Do you still have any of those items?

We've got oysters.

Yeah.

He's got a guy that shucks almost full time.

Two guys, seven days a week, day and night.

Do you do just gulf oysters or any kind of oysters?

We do gulf oysters.

We do blue oysters and then we'll do variations.

Bienville oysters, Rockefellers, Cardinals, Nolas, chargrills.

So we will take those oysters and we'll do several different applications with them.

People come here and they say, number one rated seafood place.

This looks like a dive.

Well, it's supposed to be a New Orleans dive.

Yeah.

We just happen to have really great food, too, and that's grown over time.

Like I said, it wasn't that way on day one.

Not even close.

So what are some of the dishes that you are famous for here?

Well, you've got to get them to try it once because it sounds a little weird.

But the alligator cheesecake, once they know it's not for dessert, but it's a savory appetizer.

Everyone has always thanked me after I've talked them into it and they tried it.

Everyone loves the alligator cheesecake.

Alligator cheesecake?

The name has definitely caught my attention.

We do a shrimp voodoo.

It's got hot sauce on it.

And we do the shrimp a couple of different ways on a po'boy or just an appetizer.

People love that.

Char grilled oysters are my favorite.

I love the char grilled oysters.

So simple and so great.

What are some of your thoughts?

Yeah, cheesecake, I think, is one of those dishes that brings people down here.

We actually source an alligator sausage out of New Orleans that we have specially brought up here.

We still do all that stuff from scratch, so we haven't outsourced any of our stuff.

Everything is prepped by hand, by all the prep cooks in the back.

They love it.

They don't like to compromise their quality.

They're very proud of what they do, which is why even in the world now, I don't change products.

They might cost a little bit more, but it's all about the quality and keeping your people coming back.

You get a little taste of New Orleans when you're in here.

So would you say I mean, it's for the most part, Creole cuisine , maybe.

Cajun and Creole.

Cajun and Creole.

Yeah.

It's a little richer stuff on the fancy side.

Do you make gumbo, too?

We do.

We make all of our stuff in house, so I'll go through anywhere from 30 to 40 gallons gumbo a week.

There's no need to change things, because if I did, people would be upset.

We bring our hoagie bread in from Gambinos, the famous bakery in New Orleans that's known for their hoagie bread.

We only have one dessert item, and it's bread pudding.

And people adore it so much that Sweetie Pies was on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

So Gail King and Oprah were in town.

Gail King came in here and tasted our bread pudding.

The filming crew was down at Sweetie Pies.

She ordered 100 bread puddings to take them.

She loved our bread pudding that much.

Oh, wow.

Well, you had me at E'tufe.

It doesn't get any better than that.

What a spread.

I really love seafood, so this is exciting to me.

So we have here is a shrimp voodoo po'boy.

We just have a little bit of garlic mayo on there.

And then here's the infamous alligator cheesecake.

This we do prepare in house.

So I have a guy that actually dices down all the shrimp, all the alligator.

Who kills the alligators?

We got a mean guy upstairs.

Absolutely.

But we get the sausage in from New Orleans.

We go through probably about 200 of these cheesecakes, whole cheesecakes in a month.

And that's the voodoo shrimp.

This is the voodoo shrimp.

So we make all of our slaw in house as well.

It's a mayonnaise based slaw.

We do use our 21/25 shrimp.

Same breading, same sauce.

It's got that spiciness to it.

It's got the sweetness to it.

But you also do have a mayonnaise based cole slaw on there.

So if you need to cool it down a little bit, you also have that option.

That's delicious.

But then you chase it with a little sasserax right.

That's what they do in New Orleans?

It only makes it better.

I'll tell you, every time I hear for the late night band, people get up on the seats and start dancing on top of the seats.

And so every Monday, I come in and make sure they rebuild the foundation underneath.

So, I mean, you allow people to get a little rowdy here.

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely.

We wouldn't be New Orleans if we weren't, right.

I love peel and eat shrimp because it kind of slows you down eating, and it's, like, a good thing to do together.

I got to tell you a little secret about us.

I lived on the East Side for 25 years, and I know that Collinsville is the horseradish capital of the country.

We get our horseradish from a single farm in Arkansas.

It is the hottest horseradish you have ever tasted.

Again, nothing on your tongue, nothing on your stomach, but then your nose falls off your face.

I have people coming and asking if they can buy some of our horseradish.

Okay, take a big one.

All right.

Well, I mean, you scared me already with it.

(laughing) Oh, you're right.

But I love it.

Oh, my wow.

That's some serious horseradish.

The popularity of Broadway Oyster Bar has lasted through the decades and shows no sign of slowing down.

I'm so full, I can hardly move.

Before I go, I want to add my mark to the countless other signatures left by seafood fans before me.

Between the food and Failoni's, the gumbo, voodoo shrimp, and alligator cheesecake, I'm not sure I can do any more eating for a while.

Luckily, I know another neighborhood bar that doesn't serve food, but the atmosphere and history makes it a trip of its own.

At first glance, it looks like Venice Cafe could be an art gallery of some kind.

Indeed, the entire place is an art installation made up of salvaged architectural pieces and curated by this guy, Jeff Lockheed.

Jeff bought the place in 1978, and over the years turned what was once a house into a colorful collage of atmosphere created from repurposed items.

1978, I came down here and I was just looking around.

I'd never been in the city before.

Soulard was worse than Benton Park at that point in time.

And there was a place called Neighborhood Housing Services that had a for sale list that they gave out to people that are interested or crazy or whatever and I bought this place for $8,500.

And I found out later that I overpaid about twice, double, because everything else was so cheap.

That's how it all started.

I talked to thar tender in there and he says he's the newest one and he's been here for ten years.

Isn't that something.

No, it's pretty wonderful.

This is such a wonderful place.

To have in a business like this To have trust is the greatest thing you can take home with you, man, when you leave, you know it's going to be there in the morning.

I mean, your business model, I mean, you're overcomplicating what we are looking at, but you're making it very simple what you're doing here, and it works right?

So far, yeah.

I like that.

Do you still do stuff?

I mean, when you see an empty spot somewhere, do you go like, okay, I got to put something in there?

All the time.

Things get stolen and broken and stuff like that.

So you got to stay on top of that a little bit.

People steal?

it's a souvenir thing.

So are you from St. Louis?

Originally.

No, I grew up in Southern Illinois.

Where in Southern Illinois.

In Chester, Illinois.

I became a flight attendant at Ozark Airlines.

Ozark Airlines?

Yeah, it used to be an airline in the city here.

Okay.. And I did that for like eleven years, something like that.

And some people I worked with, they told me to go down to the city man.

You can buy really cheap housing down there.

And so I checked it out and here I am all these years later.

But I mean, did you originally think that you were going to make it into a bar?

No, not at all.

Actually, I wanted to live on the side that's a bar and then just have my studio on the other side, which I still have a studio over there.

But in 1987, TWA fired me from being a flight attendant.

So anyway, I had to come up with a new plan.

And then next year, 1988 Venice opened its doors.

It seems like going with the flow has worked well for Jeff.

He has a popular spot here in Benton Park, and next door in the same building, he has the studio that he envisioned all these years ago.

They may not serve food here, but that's not the reason people come.

Looking around, you can tell there is a story behind every inch of this place, and Jeff's laidback nature seems to permeate the outdoor patio.

As impressive as it is, I get the feeling that Jeff didn't build this place to impress anyone.

Instead, it has evolved as an outlet to express his creative nature.

And there's so many different artists that have done work on it and stuff, and it keeps getting worn off, and we have to keep replacing it.

So you collaborate with other artists?

Oh, sure.

Absolutely.

In my age, that's the best part, because all of a sudden, I get reinspired by other people doing what they're doing and stuff.

Guys working with spray cans and all this kind of thing.

I'm an old chef, too.

I've seen so much stuff, and it's hard to get inspired.

And the people behind you, you see what they do.

At my age, Im 68 years old now.

And anyway, a lot of these artists that I'm being inspired by or working with or whatever, half my age, it's pretty interesting.

I'm still learning.

Anyway, that's the beauty of being an artist.

What's the next phase?

There's always the next phase.

Im still getting warmed up.

Well, I mean, you never stop learning.

I hope not.

That's the time to call it quit.

This is a great spot to relax after overeating.

But things weren't always this good in the neighborhood.

When I first got here, it was absolutely crazy and ankle deepin trash everywhere.

The brewery stunk.

There was a rendering plant about a half a mile away that really stunk in the summertime.

It wasn't pretty, but the thing is, all of a sudden, all these years later, it's starting to look pretty.

And the people who are inhabiting the place now are clean, mostly educated, and considerate of other people, which it wasn't that way before.

And it kind of shapes the neighborhood.

Right.

Because you want to have a good feeling about coming down here.

Yeah.

And then you got to engage the whole neighborhood.

Like, right now, there's a four family being built right next to the place.

And the house that was on the Compton and Dry list is being renovated right next door, too.

So it used to be that nobody, it was all vacant buildings around Venice because nobody wanted to live next to us.

And now it's just the opposite.

Yes.

because it's different people.

Never one to turn down an invitation.

We are on our way to see Jeff's studio next door.

And this is the studio right here.

what's with this frog?

I traded a 1958 Tiki surfboard for this to a guy named Bruce Gary, and he was a close confidant and partner with Bob Cassilly.

So I got one.

Yeah, that's a big frog.

Yeah.

Anyway, that so many kids play on this thing.

It's wonderful.

It makes me really happy.

Watch your step, everybody.

Oh, my goodness.

I thought there was a lot of stuff in the other place.

Inside is like an explosion of color and imagination.

There's a lot of work in progress.

Oh, yeah.

To me, that's the fun part man.

I'm surprised Jeff doesn't charge admission for this.

And at 68, he's still working on multiple projects here.

These things I just had in the show, I call them creeples.

Did he say creeples?

I think I may have met some of these guys in real life.

Creeples.

Okay.

I've done probably about 40 of them at this point.

And anyway, I got to get them back up on the wall.

Popeye was created in Chester, Illinois.

Yeah.

And my great uncle was Otis O Otis.

the sheriff in the Popeye comic strip .

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So anyway, one of my relatives is a popeye character.

I think I've entered a secret lair of a creative genius.

There is so much to look at in here.

Creative minds are rarely tidy.

This is a treasure trove of St. Louis art here, right?

When I die maybe.

How about this sign that says eat Anyway, I'm going to free paint this marlin rather than have it look like a fish.

It's going to look like something totally different and I started on it today.

As spontaneous as my visit to Venice Cafe was, I feel like it was meant to be.

It was a good way to wrap things up and take stock of all of it.

Reflect on the people that I met today.

Vic and Joey at Failoni's, carrying on a century old family tradition.

Food is love and family is love.

Or Steve Sullivan at Broadway Oyster Bar, building upon the success of one of the most iconic places downtown.

To Jeff at Venice Cafe, whose creative outlet has become an attraction for his business.

You want me to sing again?

Yeah man.

Food is love.

As different as all of these places and people may seem, they all share something in common.

Aside from the love of serving others, they are all part of the fabric of St. Louis hospitality that makes this city so easy to fall in love with.

People have this feeling about their local watering hole.

They always come back because they feel comfortable in a place like this.

Because whether it's bar food or something else, the truth remains.

Food is love, Food is love!

That food is love.

Here's to the local restaurants, to the chefs, owner, operators, the staff the ones who love being in the weeds night after night when we go to work each morning.

That's who we have in mind.

From where we source our food to how we deliver it.

Here's to them, the ones who are out there cooking for us every day.

Restaurants are the heart of everything we do.

We are Performance Food Service, proudly supporting food is Love.

Support for Food is Love comes from Natural Tableware, supplier of sustainable green alternatives to plastic tableware.

Support also comes from Moonrise Hotel, a boutique hotel located on the Del Mar Loop in St. Louis.