St. Louis Food Blog

Robin Wheeler

​In my months of writing the Dive Bomber, I've only had one instance (I know of) in which I've actively pissed off someone: an octogenarian bar owner who made some angry calls after my otherwise-glowing review of her tavern.

No, I'm not stupid enough to link to the piece in question. My editor had to deal with that "force of nature" once. I'd like to keep this job.

Since that incident, I've been wary of encountering this woman every time I visit a bar in South City. It might have happened last night at Black Derby Saloon. The woman tending bar had to be -- well, she was old. I'll leave it at that after my last scarring incident.

Don't doubt for one second that the saloon full of guys with steel-tipped darts would perforate you to death if you made any attempt to mess with this lady.

My brief time at Black Derby felt kinda like time spent at Great-Aunt Rosalie's house: powder blue walls, religious icons on the shelves, WWII in HD on the television, everyone silently watching 70-year-old gore in full color, Ted Nugent's "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" blaring in the background.

Check that: It's exactly like a trip to Great-Aunt Rosalie's house, just with fewer yapping Yorkies.