Food for Thought

The way to a football team might be through the club president’s stomach.

In their 4 1/2-hour meeting in Los Angeles last month, former Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who is heading St. Louis’ efforts to land an NFL team, said Rams President John Shaw seemed a bit concerned about the caliber of restaurants in St. Louis.

“Mr. Shaw asked me if St. Louis was a gourmet town, and I said, ‘Well, we have some nice restaurants,’ ” Eagleton said. “Then he said, ‘Tell me, is it like San Francisco?’ Well, no. He said, ‘How about New Orleans?’

“I said, ‘Well, in some respects, we’re a raucous Des Moines!’ ”