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| Photograph by Katherine Bish | |
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6307 Delmar
314-725-6985
riddlescafe.com
Average Main Course: $22
Reservations: Inside tables only
Chef: K.T. Ayers
Dress: You’re in the Loop—relax.
Riddles is an apt name, isn’t it? For this restaurant has long been a puzzle to me.
I remember when I first moved to the area in 2002, I thought Riddles was just a blues-bar dive, a place to go when you felt like swigging longneck beers while drunk-dancing to covers of “Proud Mary” and “Mustang Sally.” That’s what I’d always see through its storefront windows and hear spilling out its front door late at night. And the sidewalk patio—always loved it. To this day, the only kind of gin and tonic I ever order is the one I can sip at Riddles, alfresco.
When I found out that Riddles actually served food, what shocked me most was not the fact that the menu existed, but what was on it. Retired founder Andy Ayers and his daughter, K.T.—who ran the kitchen for years under his eye and now owns the business herself—were doing the locally sourced, farm-to-table thing before anyone else in town, indeed long before the locavore trend had registered as part of the foodie zeitgeist. That includes rewriting the menu each night (Riddles serves only dinner, unfortunately), with credit given to whoever raised, cultivated, or harvested a dish’s respective ingredients, usually from Missouri. Even better, the two have always been good writers, injecting personality and wit into their menus’ verbiage. If you read K.T.’s menus on a regular basis (also found on the restaurant’s website), then you get to know what she loves:
Mushrooms: There’s often a trio of stuffed mushroom caps on the appetizer menu, but if you’re lucky, you’ll catch her on a night when she’s decided to do an astoundingly simple, small plate of them, sautéed just enough to release their earthy, musky flavors.
Shrimp: Shipped from the Gulf, served in a shrimp cocktail and a shrimp remoulade as regular starters, each with a house-made sauce. The cocktail sauce even contains “fresh Southern Illinois horseradish ground fresh for us at Rothman’s Deli, 4720 Delmar.” I’m so in sync with K.T.’s crush on the lil’ crustaceans and their presentations—plated with rich sauces but never overpowered—that I have, on occasion, ordered one of the shrimp appetizers with an entrée of Shrimp Sara, a huge portion of jumbos sautéed with a gob of garlic and treated to a creamy combination of port, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
Broccoli: Few have ever presented a stalk as colorfully vibrant and texturally perfect. (Riddles is a fine place for vegetarians. Not only are there plenty of pastas—Cavatelli Tutto Mare and spinach lasagna are personal faves of mine—but with items like Eggplant Saute and sweet potatoes whipped with maple syrup, even omnivores might be tempted into an all-plant meal.)
Just as K.T.’s foodie fingerprints can be found all over the menu, Andy’s created a wonderful thing in the Riddles wine list. It’s about 300 varietals long, with loads of by-the-glass selections and plenty of affordable choices.
So here’s the last piece of the puzzle: With such attention to detail in the kitchen and behind the bar, I’ve never understood the transgressions on the floor. The back dining area has long impressed me as little more than a lackluster, cafeteria-like tangle of tables and chairs. The service can be spotty, which I’ve found over the years may not even matter, judging by the crowd. At my last dinner there, however, my server was quick, polite, and well-versed in many of the dishes. Yet the waiters rarely convey a foodie’s enthusiasm—whereas the bartenders are usually happy to gab away about wines to your heart’s content. And while I rarely get heated about smoking in restaurants, food this thoughtfully prepared should not be asked to compete with what can be the smokiest spot on the Loop.
That’s why, as with my gin and tonics, I prefer a Riddles dinner outdoors, where the biggest question becomes whether to concentrate on street theater or sustenance.
