Pujols 5 Restaurant Grand Opening

Pujols Swings and it's a Grand...Opening

8.30.06

SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
(Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, copyright 2006)

It started with a batch of Mexican flautas.

When Patrick Hanon Jr., owner of Guacamole's restaurant in O'Fallon, MO., was asked to donate food for a charity golf tournament last year, he whipped up a batch of his special fried tortillas stuffed with meat and chicken. It was that delicacy that caught the attention - and the taste buds - of Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols.

"He just said, 'Wow! Where is this from? These are really fresh. These are the best I've had,' and that sort of thing," says Hanon, 36.

From that compliment, a relationship developed between Hanon and his family of local restaurateurs and Pujols and his wife, Deidre, a relationship that eventually turned into Pujols 5 Westport Grill. The "five" represents Pujols' uniform number - but you knew that, right?

On Monday night, August 29th, Pujols 5 officially opened in the space formerly occupied by Patrick's of Westport in West Port Plaza. More than 300 well-wishers showed up to sip cocktails, sample giant sea scallops on a bed of white truffle potatoes and Jamaican jerked chicken drummies, and to shake hands with Pujols. Teammates Yadier Molina and Jose Vizcaino were in attendance, as were Cardinals General Manager, Walt Jocketty, his wife, Sue, and Fredbird, of course.

A number of items autographed by Pujols were auctioned, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pujols Family Foundation. The charity benefits impoverished families in Pujols' homeland, the Dominican Republic, as well as people with Down syndrome.

"This is an exciting day to me," Pujols told the opening night crowd. "I thank the Hanon family for picking me as their partner."

Then he added: "I tasted the food, and it's really good."

The Pujolses were very hands-on regarding the menu for the restaurant and its high-tech sports bar, said Hanon, whose father, Patrick Hanon, 60, and brother, David Hanon, 34, also are hands-on partners. During the construction process, the Pujolses would pop in periodically to check on the progress and for Deidre to tweak the menu.

"She's a real foodie," Hanon said. "She likes food, she likes cooking and watching cooking shows on the Food Network. She's very inquisitive too, asking 'How was this made?' and 'What's in this?'"

Deidre Pujols, Hanon and executive chef Greg Maggi are responsible for incorporating some of her recipes into the menu. Albert is a big fan of chicken, and a focus of the menu is his favorite chicken dishes. It also features American- and Latin-inspired food as well as a Tony La Russa veggie burger, named for the Cardinals manager, who doesn't eat meat.

While Deidre Pujols helped shape the menu, her husband provided input on the decor, donating some of his most prized possessions - or replicas of them - for display.

www.pujols5grill.com