CUISINE
GOOD EATS
Blogger takes readers on culinary journey
By ERIN WILLIAMS
After spending three years working, tasting and traveling across the broad
food landscape of Singapore, Spencer Pernikoff returned to St. Louis at the
beginning of 2014, feeling...bored.
“I had gone from this big city where every 10 feet there’s a restaurant and a
food stand. I needed something to fill my free time,” said the 28-year-old of
the transition back home after spending four years in college in Boston, and
then in Singapore working for Arch Coal. He decided to tap into his hobby for
restaurant hopping, and using the food blogs of Singapore that he had grown
accustomed to reading as inspiration, launched Whiskey and Soba, a website
dedicated to posts and recommendations about food, recipes, and other
things that inspire Spencer.
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His first post, about Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant near University City, is filled
with camera-phone posts and reads more like a tumbling rant than it does the
words of a polished foodie. However, as with all blogs, there was a learning
curve involved in creating his style and form of presentation. “The posts were
too long, the pictures were bad - but I was having fun,” he said.
He soon bought a new camera, polished up his social media, and began
posting his thoughts on food establishments all around the city, from the
po’ boys off the Completely Sauced food truck, to the swordfish and mussels
served at Scape - and even occasional recipes. Soon, readers - and other
restaurants - began to notice and share his work through the “inter-webs.”
A particular turning point for Spencer was when Josh Galliano, then-chef
of The Libertine, took the time to introduce himself personally - and even
gave his phone number to Spencer - after asking him just what he was doing
with that big camera of his. “It was a confidence booster - to have a chef tell
me he liked what I was doing and offering