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NOTE:

We are no longer publishing a print edition of 52nd City Magazine. You can view back issues of the online edition here, however this site will no longer be maintained as of November 2008. Please visit our new blog, where editors Thomas Crone, Stefene Russell, and Andrea Avery Durway will continue to write, along with guest bloggers. Thank you for your continued interest and support.

 

 

 

 

Food Issue: July 2008

When we planned the food issue, little did we know that spring and early summer flooding would devastate area crops. And little did we know that U.S. food prices would be rising to their highest costs in 17 years. We were probably feasting on some tasty snacks when a food issue occurred to us about a year ago—not realizing how much things would change in just one year. We take so much for granted.

Especially in St. Louis, a city rich with food discoveries such as the ice cream cone, hot dogs, cotton candy, toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, provel cheese, and the St. Paul Sandwich. We have Crown Candy Kitchen, Ted Drewes, Mr. Wizard, and Fritz’s. There are a growing number of local farmer’s markets, Community Supported Agriculture programs, and specialty and high-end grocers. And it seems like a new restaurant opens almost weekly. (And sadly, the economy is forcing some to close. Good-bye fried chicken at KoKo. Oh, how we loved thee.)

So on one hand, richness and abundance—and on the other, well, causes for real concern. Food pantries are seeing record numbers of people asking for assistance and in many cases, they don’t have much to offer. Donations are down across the entire country. So while we are far from famine in this country, it is an alarming situation.

Our contributors in this issue explore relationships with food. They offer a taste of the fresh, fast, fine, and simple. A mix of nostalgia and humor throughout. We are especially excited to serve up the work of some wonderful photographers new to 52nd City, Rebecca Bodicky and Hilary Hitchcock, along with Justin Visnesky, whose work first appeared in our SEXY issue.

When we planned this FOOD issue, we intended on a print and online edition. However, as we indicated in our last issue, we are making some big changes with the magazine’s format and distribution model. The FOOD issue is online only. Our next issue, October’s CRUEL & UNUSUAL, will mark the start of a twice a year production schedule and a major reduction in the cost of the print edition of the magazine—a reduction to zero. That’s right. It will be free.

The three of us are very dedicated to this little magazine; but it is a pretty big endeavor for just three people—three people with other jobs and other projects. We started to think…maybe we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. So we decided to scale back to two issues a year. We will still need the support of advertisers (more so than ever) and readers and writers. We are looking forward to the changes. So we hope you stick with us as we renovate the kitchen, so to speak. Your continued support means a great deal to us.

Come and get it!

Andrea Avery
Thomas Crone
Stefene Russell

Online Edition

Sofrito | Fred Arroyo

Sleeping In | Micah Bateman

On The Road Again | Tyson Blanquart

Kohlrabi | Rebecca Bodicky

Chili-Mac | Michael Castro

Breakfast with the New Madrid | Ian Dorward

Delicious | Hilary Hitchcock

Transmigrated Duck Heart | Thom Fletcher

Improvising | John Garcia

Lines in the Van, Lines in the Sand | Chris King

Hermetic Rice | K. Curtis Lyle

Don't Forget About Your Veggies | s.c. truckey

Mastication | Brett Underwood

Tables | Justin Visnesky

FEATURE IMAGE

Dana Smith is an artist and recent Kick Ass Award recipient. You can find more of his work at asbestossister.com