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(page 5 of 5)
2008 Restaurant of the Year
Robust
An evening at Robust is the best dining experience in St. Louis right now. Spanking new in a thoroughly cool, sleek Webster Groves location, it has succeeded by being what it purports to be: an inviting, upscale tapas restaurant. A big bar dominates space in the middle, surrounded by plenty of small tables easily pushed together to accommodate any crowd or kept apart for cozy intimacy. The kitchen generates a steady stream of more-than-nibbles, not-quite-full-course meals, designed for savoring and best consumed with a glass or four of wine. These tapas are delicious, solid, often inventive, consistently enjoyable: A platter of domestic, handcrafted cheeses like a creamy combination brie-chèvre or a soft Camembert baked in flaky puff pastry. Charcuterie plates with leaves of salami and coppa and chunks of country pâté. Larger tapas include crab cakes dressed with roasted garlic-and-chive aioli, flatbread topped with three cheeses, mussels in a fennel-tomato broth and scallops with white truffle risotto. Prices make a selection of a half-dozen of these an affordable meal. A well-crafted wine list is arranged by body style—“Robust factors”—rather than by grape or region, so a silky pinot noir, an approachable Tempranillo and a blended Côtes du Rhône might all fall under the heading of “soft-hearted.” Finish with a “stickie,” an ice wine that’s sweeter than a first kiss, its golden color as luminous as an April sunrise. But don’t finish too soon. Dinner at Robust is one you won’t want to rush. 227 W. Lockwood, 314-963-0033, robustwinebar.com
Ones to Watch
The restaurant gurus will tell you, “If you make it through the freshman year, growing pains will disappear.” Here are several months-old restaurants that, so far, are earning straight A’s.
Revival
Cary McDowell’s talented kitchen is creating inspired—and reasonably priced—Southern-influenced food. Our guess is that the buzz and momentum will continue into 2009 … unless Chouteau closes again. 3800 Chouteau, 314-771-3939, revivalstl.com
Katie’s Pizzeria Café, Onesto, and Pi
Let’s just say your favorite pizza place is in jeopardy. These three upstarts each offer a different style of pie, and (gasp!) none of them is topped with Provel. Can any of them possibly last a year? Katie’s: 6611 Clayton, 314-727-8585; Onesto: 5401 Finkman, 314-802-8883, onestopizza.com; Pi: 6144 Delmar, 314-727-6633, restaurantpi.com
Pappy’s Smokehouse
Unless Mike Emerson’s smoker gets carried off to the land of Oz, look for his dry-rubbed ribs and pulled pork to set the standard by which future ’cue is judged. 3106 Olive, 314-535-4340, pappyssmokehouse.com
R.I.P.: Restaurant Postmortems
We loved them. We’ll miss them. We’re still thinking about them. We woefully submit reflections on six of St. Louis’ gone-but-not-forgotten restaurants.
King Louie’s
3800 Chouteau
Final meal served: July 7, 2007
Why we’ll miss it: C’mon, who didn’t love King Louie’s? That majestic bar, that picture-perfect patio and a menu that danced around seafood, flatbreads, pasta and salads with the greatest of ease.
Why (we think) it closed: Before there was a Highway 40 closing, there was the interminable Chouteau Avenue construction. Then there were entrees like the $38 cowboy steak, which for many placed Louie’s smack-dab in “special occasion” territory.
Where to go now: Right back to where you once were: Revival took over the King Louie’s location and offers an equally inspired menu but at a lower price.
Café Balaban
405 N. Euclid
Final meal served: January 27, 2008
Why we’ll miss it: Elderly regulars having early dinners, industry folk, darling men late-night carousing at the bar and all sorts of yuppie couples and home-turf CWE-ers in between—the scene could’ve made for a great Edward Hopper painting. The food wasn’t half bad, either.
Why (we think) it closed: The smoking ban likely killed the witching-hour crowd, while the revamped menu likely scared off the regulars, early bird or otherwise.
Where to go now: Find a new fave—comfy, modest and moderately priced—in Five (4317 Manchester) or Juniper Grill (1928 S. 12th). Don’t want to leave the CWE? Rumor has it Balaban’s will be reincarnated yet again, hopefully this month.
Zinnia
7491 Big Bend
Final meal served: March 30, 2008
Why we’ll miss it: Eighteen years in business means legendary dishes: Trout Zinnia, with sesame seeds, pecans and pine nuts, as well as veal sweetbreads, a staple that never disappointed. It was here that we first experienced alfresco dining in November, on the heated, hidden patio that many never knew existed.
Why (we think) it closed: Fresh marketing ideas were needed to combat the formidable and nearby competition of Starrs, Cyrano’s and especially Robust. Staying “top of mind” is no easy task for an independent restaurant in its teens.
Where to go now: The Crossing (7823 Forsyth) for the intimacy, Terrene (33 N. Sarah) for the option of patio dining in the fall or The Shaved Duck (2900 Virginia), where you may just get a rendition of Zinnia’s famous duck tacos.
Busch’s Grove
9160 Clayton
Final meal served: May 24, 2008
Why we’ll miss it: For the old clubhouse vibe, the dry ice–garnished martinis that bubbled and brewed like witches’ potions, the fortysomething pickup scene at the bar, the Terry Crouppen sightings … and now where are we supposed to go when we get that insane craving for the $45 Crispy Lobster Oriental?
Why (we think) it closed: Read the paper lately? Money ain’t so plentiful these days, and Busch’s Grove required buckets and buckets of it. And we can’t ignore the hunger pangs for the “old” Busch’s—the one with the real cabanas, the outrageously strong drinks and valet parking that worked like a giant, sliding-tile puzzle.
Where to go now: Tony’s (410 Market) for that authentic old-school panache. An American Place (800 Washington) for a gastronomic symphony worth remembering on your deathbed. Or if you just want that bombastic steak, there’s the new SleeK (999 N. Second) inside Lumière Place.
KoKo
3257 Ivanhoe
Final meal served: June 15, 2008
Why we’ll miss it: Foodies and locals alike touted KoKo as the little eatery that could. It provided Pan-Latin and Creole comfort food that was satisfying yet intriguing, a warm and welcoming décor, and prices appropriate for a neighborhood restaurant.
Why (we think) it closed: Location, location, location. While the Interstate 44–friendly address was originally considered a boon, recent history has shown that Ivanhoe is an Ivan-no when it comes to killing off restaurants. (See: Café Ivanhoe, Breakfast Tools and Colossus.)
Where to go now: Norton’s (808 Geyer) comes closest in coziness, price and ethnicity, but as far as finding a substitute for KoKo’s elaborate Bloody Mary Bar and 12 varieties of eggs Benedict, you won’t.
Savor
4356 Lindell
Final meal served: June 29, 2008
Why we’ll miss it: Supping at this fine-dining manse made you feel like a millionaire. (Best restaurant bathrooms in town, rest in peace.) Plus, we always enjoyed the intimate nightclub space in the back for its cabaret shows and performances of prestidigitation.
Why (we think) it closed: Well, losing Kirk Warner as head chef didn’t help (just as it didn’t help King Louie’s, from which he leapt to start Savor in 2005). Neither did the restaurant’s original globe-trotting menu (Acetaia-Leonardi saba, anyone?), which may have been too smart for its own good.
Where to go now: Geographically close to erstwhile Savor and plugging along with great modesty and aplomb, there’s French/Italian fine-dining establishment Liluma (236 N. Euclid), now firmly ensconced on the hottest corner in the CWE.
