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BY LISA KAMPETER
At the beginning of most new years, we always have good intentions. Lose weight, stop cussing, make nice, etc. For the Dining Divas, it’s always been my intention to find new (or new to us) restaurants serving savory dinners in unique atmospheres while enjoying a night out with my lady friends. My resolution remains the same for 2009. My goal is to be 12 for 12, and for the first month, I’m right on track.

The Dining Divas always kick off the year with a Sunday brunch instead of the normal “first – Thursday – of – the –month” dinner. This year we went to Tower Grove Park’s Piper Palm House and enjoyed breakfast/lunch at Café Madeleine. We wondered what to expect as the last time we’d been to the Piper Palm House had been for a beautiful wedding a few years ago. The greenhouse setting of the Piper Palm House was transformed into a unique dining area called Café Madeleine and was filled with plants and palm trees along with a marble fountain and statues of famous musicians such as Mozart. Café Madeleine is open on Sundays only from 10-2.

The sun peering through the grand windows of Café Madeleine provided warmth and a comforting atmosphere this winter morning in January. Although an intimate group this time, we neither lacked for conversation or laughs.

The visiting Diva shared with us her dynamic diet tricks. Exercise more. Give up junk. Oh, and don’t eat anything on New Year’s Eve and drink until you get sick. That will keep you from putting anything in your stomach for a few days.

We talked of shopping and the deals you can get out there now. The complete boxed set of Sex and the City at Best Buy for under $100 is not only a steal but a necessity. When enquiring about a boxed set of Party of Five, the suggestion at the table was to perhaps try to find it online, rather than embarrassing oneself by asking for it in person at a store.

Calvin Klein’s skinny jeans were another bargain we discussed. We’re happy to report here that you really can get Calvin Klein skinny jeans in heavier sizes. Good for those fashion-conscious gals that want to show off their jeans and their cute tall boots.

And we discussed jewelry. The Italian Diva celebrated her recent entry into the next decade of her life by purchasing a lovely gift for herself, wrapped in a blue box and carried in a blue bag. The best shade of blue that any gift can come in…Tiffany blue. Although her Tiffany bracelet is fabulous for a 40th birthday, we were more excited to talk about the piece of jewelry forthcoming to her left hand. To be continued…

There really is no need to talk about the individual items on the brunch menu. As the Visiting Diva said, “It’s quality, not quantity that counts.” Café Madeleine may not have had a complex array of foods like many of the other brunches we’ve shared together, but what they had was great. We enjoyed everything. Strike that. Almost everything.

“It tasted like toothpaste” was a comment made regarding what looked to be like some sort of pudding dish with whipped topping. And don’t be fooled by the delightful-looking chicken dish with rice. It’s fish. Breakfast, lunch, and the desserts (appropriately including madeleines) were great.

Our goals with the Dining Divas are to try new places with old and new friends and share laughs and our lives. Never to fit in that old pair of jeans. We even dropped a few cuss words. And with the amount of “picking on” that goes on, I can’t say we’re making nice. But for the intentions of the Dining Divas of 2009, we’re right on track.

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