Laclede’s Landing

St. Louis’ birthplace for cakes.

Laclede’s Landing is the birthplace of St. Louis. In 1764, Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau founded a city on a nine-block area that today is called Laclede’s Landing. Pierre Laclede established a trading post on the western bank of the Mississippi, which later would be named St. Louis. Laclede’s Landing was an important riverfront community that was once used for trade and commercial activity. Today it’s still an important riverfront community for St. Louis, with places to eat, work, and visit.


Guest blogger - Diane

Cake artist - Dan Jaboor

Eighty-three down 167 to go.

Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France

The Old Cake

The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, which is also known as the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River. In 1764, Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau deed a block of land to the people of St. Louis. On this land was a one room log cabin that was the first Catholic Church of the newly founded St. Louis. It was originally named Laclede’s Village. It was later named St. Louis by Laclede to honor King Louis IX of France.

By 1833, the log church was deteriorating and could no longer accommodate the growing parish. Bishop Rosati decided to replace the church all together rather than renovate the old log church. The Bishop was able to raise $63,360.85 for the new church and it was completed in 1834.

The Old Cathedral is also unique to both St. Louis and America as it is also a museum that contains many artifacts from the early days of the Catholic Church in St. Louis and local historical information of an active parish community.

The Old Cathedral is currently under a $12 million renovation.

Guest blogger - Diane

Cake artist - Vince Sciaroni

Eighty-two down 168 to go.

Cathedral Basilica/Busch Stadium

Breakfast at Tiffany's, make mine cake.

Sometimes things are related in ways you would not expect.

The Cathedral Basilica is a beautiful and spiritual place. It is a building that would seem to be more at home in Constantinople being the seat of the Byzantine empire than on Lindell Boulevard.

Rich marbles, stained glass, and opulent mosaics give this building an other worldliness that commands respect and reverence. The Cathedral is without a doubt a work of art.


Now of course many people in St Louis feel this way about Busch Stadium. Busch Stadium is a high holy place to the sacred right of St Louis baseball and heavenly abode of the Cardinals.

The Demi gods that ply their miracles on these Elysian fields often play host to mere mortals and add to their legend on a nightly basis. The divine raiment of these celestial beings is known as the “birds on the bat” and should never be the bird and squirrel on the bat. (The only thing that should go along with a squirrel is a “moose and squirrel”). To many in St Louis the emerald meadow of Busch also commands respect and if not reverence at least an awe inspired by the wizards that work their magic there.

This would seem like a logical connection between the two places but I saw something different this night.

 It was the logo of another storied franchise challenging the home town nine, the either despised or beloved New York Yankees. The interlocked N Y of the Yankees was designed by Tiffany's as were the mosaic tiles and stained glass of the Cathedral Basilica.

Guest blogger - Rich

Cake artist
Cathedral Basilica - Vince Sciaroni
Busch Stadium - Katherine Nelson


Seventy- nine and Eighty down 170 to go.

Bakers dozen Part II

Third stop

Jay’s International Market

 

Just like it sounds, at Jays International Market on South Grand Blvd, there are different kinds of food from all over the world.

 

From stacks of sacks of rice, to jar after jar of pickled anything; from fresh produce to dried anything, sweet, sour hot or salty, you’ll get lost!

 

My favorite is the vast assortment of hot sauce! But while there I didn’t pass on the chance to pick up a couple of sweet things for the kids.

 

This time around we made sure to get some chocolate and strawberry pocky, a brick of halvah, a jar of lupini beans, and a bottle of Calypso Sauce made with Scotch Bonnet peppers.

 

By far, this was my favorite stop so far!

 

Thanks to the Guest blogger my son-in-law, Rob!

 

Cake artist - Vince Sciaroni

Thirty-seven down 213 to go.