Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

As I was preparing to write this post, I realized that I haven’t written a Dimanche post since May. I’m letting myself off the hook, though, because I was essentially traveling all of June. I got back from Washington, D.C. earlier this week and after spending 24 hours in St. Louis, I came down with a bad cold. Sometimes being on the road (or I guess, in the air) can take its toll.

The good news is, I’m on the mend and I’m back in the Midwest for a while. It used to be that I’d go away on travels and never want to come back, but something has changed this year. I start looking forward to coming home as much as I get excited about going away. It could be for a bunch of different reasons, but overall, I think it’s because I’m starting to feel more rooted in St. Louis.

When I was flying to D.C. last week, I saw a lake through the window (see above photo). I took a bunch of pictures because I thought my phone would tell me where it was when we landed. I forgot that when you have your phone in airplane mode, it doesn’t pick up geographic location.

For some reason, I had to know where this lake was. I posted a picture of it on Instagram and eventually, a friend of mine who owns a wine and food shop in St. Louis responded that it’s Carlyle Lake. I’ve heard of Carlyle but I always dismissed it as less impressive than other lakes, i.e. the Great Lakes, which I spent a lot of time around growing up. It was an exciting and humbling moment to realize that such a beautiful place is close to where I live. I don’t always need to travel far to get a change of scenery.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

I can’t stop talking about my meal at Stone Soup Cottage. Even though it was technically two weeks ago, I’m going to devote a little space to it here. It was a dream come true to eat there for my thirtieth birthday. Check out my review here.

A schoolboy called French President Emmanuel Macron “Manu” and he got PISSED. A little more than two weeks ago, Macron was greeting crowds and boy started singing a socialist song and then greeted the president as “Manu.” Macron stopped and chastised the boy. You can read more about controversy in Time.

This just in from France… French butchers have a bone to pick with vegans (it’s impossible NOT to make a food pun about this). Now they’re asking the government to intervene on their behalf. Journalist Pauline Bock sums up the situation nicely in this Guardian story.

I’m amped about Marcus Samuelsson’s new TV show on PBS. Now that it’s July, I only have to wait a little while longer to watch it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Samuelsson, he’s an international chef who has been featured on other food-centric shows. His upcoming show, “No Passport Required,” will look at food in six cities in the U.S. Check out this Eater interview with Samuelsson for more information.

St. Louis is experiencing one of its freakish summer heat waves, which means that ice cream is critical to survival. I just discovered the ice cream sandwiches at Vicia and now I’m hooked. I wish I could have one everyday.

As I mentioned earlier, I spent a little time in D.C. last week. There are always so many good things to eat there but one thing that stood out on this trip was the steamed buns from Bun’d Up. You can get them at Union Market, a food hall and market in Northeast D.C. Read more about the buns in my Washington, D.C. post.

Last but certainly not least, Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court and it feels like the world is coming to an end. I’ve been trying to find some light at the end of the tunnel but I haven’t yet. I thought this tweet was pretty apt. Hang in there, Ruth.

Here’s a song to start your week. Drake just dropped his new album on Friday and I listened to it as I convalesced in bed. Personally, I don’t think it’s his best but there are some gems on the album, including this song.