Tamara and I discovered Talayna's back in 2003 or so, when Michael Badnarik (the Libertarian Party's 2004 presidential nominee) came to St. Louis and we needed a place to do an event. We chose the Chesterfield Talayna's and were quite pleased with both the service and the quality of the food. Since then, we've mostly patronized "Talayna's at the Park" in the Central West End (here's my review at Yelp).
As I mention in the review, the staff at Talayna's are just top-notch people. They're always genuinely friendly, they remember you from visit to visit, and it's not just an act. That definitely included Mike, who, when he was around, would always come by the table, ask how the food was, and talk for a few minutes.
As the obit mentions, the Talayna (which I didn't know was a nickname he picked up from Jewish friends, Yiddish for "the Italian") was a big Sinatra fan. Much of the time, the background music at the restaurant was Rat Pack stuff, which was really cool.
We'll miss you, Mike.
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