“Mideast fusion” – it’s a thing. Or at least, it will be a thing, when the revamped Layla opens its doors next week.
Layla, the Lebanese restaurant in the Grove, has been purchased by Jason Sparks, who also owns Maria’s Deli (home of the “West Coast Reuben”) in Charlack. (He also was the original Executive Chef at the former Wapango in Chesterfield).
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Sparks and his team of chefs, mixologists, and consultants have conspired to march boldly into a place that exists on no map, but will exist shortly on Manchester Road – a land where hummus meets hamburgers and they have delicious-sounding multiculti babies.
Layla’s new pizza will be called “pitza,” as in pizza on a pita, or Lebanese flatbread, as it were. The signature pitza will feature herbed goat cheese topped with roasted leg of lamb, sumac-roasted apples, dates and figs, said Sparks.
Burgers will include a lamb burger with feta and tzaziki sauce; a turkey burger with blue cheese, sumac-roasted apples, arugula and lemon-garlic mayo; a “carnivore’s delight” beef burger topped with roasted lamb, Monterey Jack, apricot catsup, lemon-garlic mayo, sumac-roasted onions, tomatoes and crispy flash-fried kale; a Turkish bbq beef burger topped with turkey bacon, candied serranos, crispy flash-fried kale, tomatoes, and a spicy Turkish relish reconfigured as a bbq sauce; a falafel burger; and a veggie burger made with lentils and topped with Monterey Jack, tomatoes, sumac roasted onions, lemon-garlic mayo and a smoky mango chipotle sauce.
Lebanese-inspired milkshakes – seriously – will include banana/walnut/date, cardamom almond, and “Cherry Habibi” (cherry and dark chocolate).
Desserts, dreamed up by Serendipity Ice Cream flavor developer Mary Harden, are highlighted by a “St. Louis-meets-Beirut half baklava, half gooey butter cake” dessert that’s “like 5,000 calories a bite,” said Sparks.
The new owner added that the Layla menu will retain many traditional Mideast dishes, like falafel, hummus and babaganoush. (And the burgers described above are topped with turkey bacon rather than the porcine kind because pork and Mideast cuisine go together like Hatfields and McCoys.)
Layla’s interior (bar above) has undergone a complete redesign, he added, from the floor plan to a new Mideast-meets-StL mural that dominates one wall. The space boasts both front and back patios for dining, and Sparks says he will install a hookah bar as well.
So, why Mideast fusion, hmm?
“In World War II the American soldiers who went to Italy fell in love with pizza, and they came home and talked it up, and pizza became the most popular dish in America,” explained Sparks. “Now, we’ve had thousands of troops in the Mideast for well over ten years, and they ate plenty of the local food. America has been focused on that area for quite a while, for good or ill. I think this is the next big fusion. We’re over Asian fusion, we’ve done Latin fusion – street tacos are huge now. But no one’s doing Mideast fusion. It’s really risky, but the flavors are amazing; the spices are out of this world.”
“I think this food will really catch on,” he added. “People love it, but at the same time I think the Grove isn’t where you want to put an authentic restaurant of any kind. Here, it needs to be eclectic and hip and sexy and trendy – and approachable. When you talk about Mideast food, people either love it or are scared of it, so I’m bringing the flavors into approachable menu items.”
Diners will be able to ogle belly dancers, too.
“I see the Grove as the next Loop,” Sparks said, “except more eclectic and more adult.”
Layla
Tentative re-opening Monday, September 23
Grand Opening celebration Friday, September 27
4317 Manchester
314-535-5500
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Layla-Lebanese-Restaurant/216783455086211
Photography by MAK Unlimited
