By Kristin Kowalski

Editor’s note: This is a piece that’s set to be published in our iPad edition of the magazine. For more delicious brews, be sure to download it from the app store.

The name came from a conversation T.J. Vytlacil, who co-owns Blood & Sand with Adam Frager, had with a mixologist five years ago. “It’s one of my favorite cocktails,” T.J. says. “It’s also a very cool name.”

A $15 monthly membership allows Blood & Sand to keep prices reasonable while also providing service tailored specifically to their clients. “It’s really based around service and value to our guests,” T.J. says. As a smaller establishment, Blood & Sand is able to form a deeper relationship with customers than traditional bars or restaurants.

Think modern luxury meets old-school class—even down to the décor. The crystal chandeliers add elegance and light to a dark palette of deep reds, grays and black. A floating assortment of antique windowpanes adds to the vintage vibe and uniquely divides the bar and restaurant. But where Blood & Sand really stands out is the way in which it utilizes technology.

You won’t see servers scribbling your order on a notepad. Instead, they carry iPod Touches equipped with a high-tech ordering system. Eventually they plan on launching an app that will track members’ orders and provide customers with recommendations based on T.J.’s personal tastes. T.J sampled the entire menu on his own to make an app like this possible. The program will determine what food and drinks will make the best fit for customers based on their particular preferences. To achieve this, he tasted 470 bottles of wine to develop the menu. His mouth was numb for days, but it was worth it.

Their namesake cocktail, the Blood & Sand, is featured on the menu seven different ways, but its classic recipe includes a combination of scotch, orange juice, sweet vermouth and cherry liqueur. Featuring flavor-filled appetizers, such as curried nuts and hush puppies with mole poblano and pickled red onion, the bar’s menu exceeds average bar fare. Upping the ante, the restaurant carries a wide selection of entrées that ooze with class. Start off dinner with a small plate like pecan agnollotti with broccoli and goat cheese, and follow it up with a larger main entrée. Try to save room for dessert—the chocolate mousse with shortbread will pique any palate.

Customers won’t leave Blood & Sand without tickling their taste buds. “You may not recognize any cocktails on my menu, but if you can have a conversation with my bartender, it doesn’t matter,” T.J. says. “They’ll decide for you. You trust them already because you’re a member of the club.”

T.J. wants Blood & Sand to be a true social club. “Our goal is to create a place where people could have great conversation, meet new people and try things that are really only offered at this point in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles,” T.J. says. “We thought St. Louis was ready.”

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece in our iPad edition of the magazine. For more delicious brews, be sure to download it from the app store.

By Matt Smith 

Trendy international cuisine and Minnesota don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. But moto-i is doing its best to bring some cultural fare to the Twin Cities. While most brewpubs focus on beer, moto-i brews their own sake instead. In fact, it’s the first sake brewpub outside of Japan, and it’s been thriving in the Uptown neighborhood since 2008.

The restaurant is inspired by the Izakaya pubs of Japan. “Throughout Japan there are hole-in-the-wall pubs,” says Garrett Born, a manager at moto-i. “You fall in love with them when you walk in the door.”

Small plate dishes with an Asian flair are paired with their homebrewed sake for international appeal. moto-i makes namazake, or draft sake, and displays the science behind each creation on their walls. Your best bet is to try a flight of sake. For $15 customers get to sip on three different sakes that run the gamut—from the smoothest to the grittiest.

If you’re going to moto-i, head there at 2:20 p.m. for happy hour. The time seems random, but there’s method behind the madness. “On Japanese TV, that’s when the sumo results are broadcast,” Garrett says. Chances are you’ll get a glimpse of sumo wrestling if you sit at the bar where the televisions almost exclusively play Japanese programming. In fact, the moto-i brewpub feels so authentic that when you step outside, you’ll expect to be blinded by the lights of Tokyo—if you can still see straight that is.

So while you’re cooking up pancakes this morning, consider picking out your favorite morning meal hotspots. There will only be one winner, but every competitor sounds delish. Full disclosure: Our vote is for The Original Pancake House.

Stlmag.com’s St. Louis Breakfast of Champions Bracket—St. Louis Magazine
Photo: Goosmurf

The Best Flasks for a Midwestern Winter–Midwestern Gentleman
Photo: swanksalot

Seasonal Fitness: Helpful Holiday Hints–The Midwest Man
Photo: Muffet 

20 Day Holiday Workout Challenge–Iowa Girl Eats
By Iowa Girl Eats 

How to Make Japanese Food At Home–Iowa Girl Eats
By Iowa Girl Eats 

Serafino Alfe from Mount Prospect, Illinois, was trying to deep-fry 25 turkeys when something went terribly wrong. Something slipped, and 30 quarts of scalding oil poured out onto his right leg. Serafino suffered third-degree burns, and he’ll need skin grafts.

At least he has a sense of humor about it; he calls the injured leg his “drumstick”. Head over to the Chicago Sun Times to check out the whole story.

Cautionary turkey tale: Mount Prospect man deep fries own leg—Chicago Sun Times
By Kim Janssen
Photo: Jinx! 

If a pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake doesn’t excite your sense for this Thanksgiving, macarons may be the perfect alternative.

Track that Truck! Chicago’s First Macaron Truck- Chicagoist
Photo:Minna A, Chicagoist