Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
You might have heard that St. Louis is “not a breakfast town.” Mike Randolph doesn’t believe it, though. The owner of The Good Pie
—the first local pizzeria to boast a truly Neapolitan pizza—just provided the city with another first: Half & Half, a breakfast-and-lunch spot for the diner who wants something basic…or something totally different, especially for brunch. There’s French toast served straight-up or with foie gras and bacon; steak and eggs or balsamic-braised pork belly and eggs; at lunch, a seared tuna sandwich with olive relish and harissa aioli. Those who prefer their coffee thin and tasteless might just go elsewhere. General manager Mike Marquard (the city’s most accomplished barista) directs a coffee program that boasts three methods for drip-brewing his single-origin coffees. Not potent enough? We recommend a Bloody, topped with wasabi foam and a tempura pickle. While the mix of gastronauts and gastroprudes has been varied so far, Randolph expects his clientele to be (wait for it) pretty much half and half.
