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

I woke up Thursday morning and it was very quiet outside, the kind of silence that could only mean one thing: Snow. I looked between my blinds and I couldn’t believe what I saw. My entire neighborhood was covered in snow. It was the most snow I’ve seen in St. Louis in a while.

I decided to work from home that day rather than brave driving in the icy streets. It felt so good to sleep in a little, make waffles, and walk around my apartment in my pajamas for a while. Eventually though, I couldn’t take it anymore and I took a long walk in the snow. I passed sledders in the park near my apartment and I grabbed coffee and a pastry at a local coffee shop. It kind of felt like the snow was welcoming me to the neighborhood.

Now the snow is almost all melted and St. Louis looks weird. There are still leaves on the trees that never fell off before the snow and there are lots of puddles of melted snow and ice. Today is a particularly grey and gloomy day so I think back to Thursday, when everything was covered in powder white and the bright orange and yellow colors of fall peeked through the snow.

Even though I’m not a fan of winter, I do love the anticipation and then the morning after a big snow fall. I can’t wait until the next time that happens in St. Louis.

Until then, I’ll leave you with some links. And to everyone who is reading, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! I’ll be posting some links to recipes next weekend after I make a few things for the holiday.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

It was KNEAD’s first birthday this weekend and I had waaay too much fun celebrating. In case you’re not familiar with the bakery, it opened about a year ago in Southampton, a neighborhood in St. Louis, and they make a lot of their bread and pastries from a sourdough starter. I love coming in for their doughnuts and pastries but I also enjoy their lunch food. Sandwiches are made on their signature bread and soups and salads are always fresh and delicious. Yesterday, I picked up some flowers from Rudy’s Flower Truck because they came to the bakery to celebrate. Learn more about KNEAD in one of my recent blog posts.

I really want to try this pizza restaurant in rural Appalachia. Miguel’s Pizza, which is located next to Eastern Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, has an international following for its pizza pies. The owners originally opened a small ice cream shop but then they decided to open a pizza restaurant to accommodate hungry hikers and climbers from Red River Gorge. Their pies look incredible and I went to try them all. Read more about Miguel’s in this Food & Wine story.

I wish this audio series was around when I took a Mark Twain class in college. Comedian Nick Offerman is hosting a new audio series about the political, cultural, and ecological implications behind what Twain used to eat. Twain was something of a gourmand in his time and it’s interesting to read about what he enjoyed eating, and how those foods have evolved over time. Learn more about the audio series in this New York Times piece.

Anyone in the food world probably already knows this but The Los Angeles Times just named two new food critics. It’s a big deal because it’s the first time the paper is attempting to fill the position after former food critic Jonathan Gold passed away earlier this year. The Times named Bill Addison, the national food critic at Eater, and  Patricia Escárcega, a food writer at the Arizona Republic, to the position. It will be interesting to see how their coverage of LA’s food scene unfolds. Get the scoop in this LA Times story.

So…Drake stopped by my neighborhood three times last week and didn’t bother to say hello. Apparently he dined three times at Louie, a restaurant down the street from my apartment, before and after he played a show in town. The news was like a punch in the stomach, but then I had to remind myself that Drake and I have never actually met. Read more about Drake’s St. Louis dining experience in this Post-Dispatch piece.

I’m really enjoying Aya Nakamura’s music. I found her on Spotify this week and I love her sound. The French-Malian singer plays by her own rules in France’s rigid music scene, which I appreciate, and she stays true to her roots and her identity. Learn more about Nakamura and her music in this Fader profile.

Rick Bayless and his daughter are opening a bar in Chicago and I really want to go. I’ve been meaning to get up to the Windy City and now Bar Sótano is high on my list of places to visit. Bayless and his daughter are opening the speakeasy under Bayless’s famous restaurant, Frontera Grill, in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. In addition to a solid mezcal and spirits menu, the bar will also offer a variety of small plates. Read more about the speakeasy in this Eater story.

Last but certainly not least, you should probably make these waffles. I made them the morning of last week’s snow day and they were so warming and delicious. Get the recipe in a recent blog post.

Enjoy your week and holiday! Here’s a song to get you started.