Photograph by Katherine Bish
With disposable income shrinking faster than fresh spinach in a hot skillet, restaurants are arguably the first to feel the heat. They come, they go; it's busy, now slow; it's hot, it's not ... When will the merry-go-round stop? This month, we tried to stick out our feet and slow it down, if only for a second, just long enough to catch a glimpse of a few of the current culinary trends, concepts and people that make the ride too much fun to get off.
[PEOPLE]
The Pastry Mavericks
To the sugar-obsessed, a meal without dessert is like Christmas without snow or spaghetti without meatballs. Sure, a meal is perfectly fine on its own, but without that extra sweet touch, it lacks magic. These days, though, magic no longer comes in the form of crème brûlée and three kinds of cheesecake. Palates have matured and broadened—and the evolution of the dessert course is the sweet result.
So it should come as no surprise that several St. Louis restaurants have added in-house pastry chefs. Here are a few who have their spoons on the pulse of today’s diners.
* Cheryl Herbert
At Vin de Set, Herbert’s desserts are French, with a twist.
“We have a fairly adventurous crowd, and they like to try new things,” she says. “If I used an unfamiliar ingredient, I don’t think I’d scare anyone off. If it tastes good, that’s all that matters.”
Whether it’s maple mascarpone cheesecake with caramel poached apples or berry-stuffed brioche with Grand Marnier sabayon, Herbert likes to play with people’s taste buds. She uses organic, fair-trade vanilla and organic cinnamon, which she says is “very fragrant, with a sweet, spicy edge.” Sometimes she’s so inspired by her ingredients, she’ll create something new on a whim.
“Changing things up is something you can only do in-house,” she says. “You have a lot more control, and the difference is amazing.”
* Carolyn Downs
Classics are on Downs’ menu at Revival, but in a way that embodies comfort, something her customers crave. “I create things people remember from their childhood,” she says. “Straightforward desserts like hard fudge and chess pie. If I make chocolate cake, the emphasis will be on the cake, not the plating. Maybe there will be a dollop of whipped cream, but that’s it. I’m interested in basic American desserts that taste good.”
Of course it’s about taste. But for in-house pastry chefs, it’s also about quality. “Our desserts are made from scratch every day,” says Downs. “You wouldn’t get that if you bought your pastries out of the house.”
* Christy Augustin
The customers who frequent Sidney Street Café are looking to be wowed—but in a more traditional way, says Augustin. “I think they go other places [to experiment],” she says. “That makes it challenging, but I try to take something traditional and add to it in a way that’s not crazy. Take my custard with fresh bay leaves and peaches. It’s traditional and approachable, but tastes just a little different.”
And that element of surprise—no matter how subtle—might be the biggest gift of the in-house pastry chef, she says. “It’s exciting to be surprised by your meal. People who don’t eat out a lot love chains because they think they like knowing what they’re getting, but I think it’s much more exciting to get what you didn’t know you wanted.”
[TREND]
The Return of the Pizza Parlor
As the economy ebbs and flows, restaurants—along with the rest of us—scramble to readjust. Operating beneath the glitz and the glamour, one very untrendy concept has bubbled to the surface: pizza. Specifically, the pizza parlor.
Over the last 30 years, pizza devolved from a Friday night treat to an “Is that for pickup or delivery?” convenience food. Fortunately, we may be returning to simpler times. The demand for price-friendly (yet culinarily sophisticated) dining options has spawned the reemergence of pizza-centric restaurants—hopefully in a neighborhood near you. Here are four independents that have opened within the last several months, all with a different take on the bake.
Bridge & Tunnel Pizza
1131 Washington, 314-621-2400, bntpizza.com
- Opened: April ’08
- Ratio of indoor to patio seating: 25/NA
- Style/tag: New York–style “street slices”
- Factoid: Late-night downtown pizza by the slice? A no-brainer
Katie’s Pizzeria
6611 Clayton, 314-727-8585
- Opened: January ’08
- Ratio of indoor to patio seating: 60/20
- Style/tag: “Neapolitan pizza with designer ingredients”
- Factoid: Katie Lee is the niece of well-known local restaurateur Zoe Robinson
Onesto Pizza & Trattoria
5401 Finkman, 314-802-8883
- Opened: March ’08
- Ratio of indoor to patio seating: 50/40
- Style/tag: “Honest” rustic pizza with organic flour crust and roasted-tomato pizza sauce
- Factoid: You may know owners Vito and Michele Racanelli from Big V’s Burger Joint
π (as in “Pi”)
6144 Delmar, 314-727-6633
- Opened: March 14 (think about it)
- Ratio of indoor to patio seating: 100/40
- Style/tag: “Pizza speakeasy serving San Francisco’s original deep-dish cornmeal crust”
- Factoid: Owner Chris Sommers fell in love with this style of pizza while in the Bay Area
[CONCEPT]
When Did Burgers Become Chic?
What’s so great about “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion on a sesame seed bun” when today, you can order Kobe beef, sautéed foie gras, shaved truffles and Madeira sauce on an onion bun?
A few years back, a brand-name chef would have sooner eaten his toque than associate with such … peasant food as a hamburger. Then, in 2003, the French-raised, NYC-praised restaurateur Daniel Boulud debuted a $29 “DB Burger,” with foie gras and braised short ribs. Soon a nearby Manhattan steakhouse countered with a $41 Kobe burger, and then Boulud added shaved truffles to the DB, and … well, here we are in St. Louis, five years later, jumping on the burger bandwagon with abandon. And why not? Sometimes burgers like to dress up for a night on the town, too.
The most recent addition, as of late last year, was the Sub Zero New American Burger Restaurant (308 N. Euclid, 314-367-1200), sister to the CWE’s Sub Zero Vodka Bar, where the offerings run in the $10–$15 range and include a mint-seasoned “lamburger” and a Kobe beef patty topped with lobster tail. Around the corner at the only slightly more veteran ~scape (48 Maryland Plaza, 314-361-7227), the ballyhooed $13 house burger comes on brioche with homemade pickles, cheddar, lettuce and beefsteak tomatoes. Inside downtown’s Lumière Place, so spanking new the paint’s still drying, beckons the Burger Bar (999 N. 2nd, 314-621-9593), developed by world-renowned chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys. The build-your-own concept rides high at Burger Bar—Angus/Kobe/turkey/veggie/lamb patties, sesame/onion/whole wheat/ciabatta buns, well over 30 toppings—and so can the prices, which range from $6 to $60. Can the $100 pizza be far behind?
[TREND]
No Free Bread For You
Waste not, want not. With restaurateurs looking not to waste extra coin thanks to rising food costs and with customers not wanting to consume extra carbs thanks to expanding waistlines, guess what’s getting squeezed out lately? The bread basket.
Niche hasn’t bothered with one since opening in 2005, though a $4 cheese bread on the “Snack” portion of its menu is an option. At recently opened Revival, partners Charlie Downs and Cary MacDowell toyed with charging for bread service, but decided they would offer it only upon request; same goes at another of their ventures, Cyrano’s. Nobody seems to be sorely missing it.
“I watch the busboys,” says Downs. “Even when people ask for a bread basket, I see a lot of it wasted.” Adds Gerard Craft, executive chef at Niche, “I don’t really feel like adding extra costs just to bring in somebody else’s bread that is usually served stale or isn’t a good reflection of who we are as a restaurant.” Proof that, sometimes, less is more.
[CONCEPT]
Small Bakeries, Big Flavors
Forget everything you know about sweets. Toss aside your silly notions about morbidly sugary muffins and cloying cookies, and erase your memory of mass-produced bagels and floury loaves of bread—the bakery has been reinvented.
It’s been shrunk, too. Not exactly your average neighborhood mom and pop shop and certainly not a chain, boutique bakeries are the Mini Cooper of the business: full of charm and originality but short on space.
But who needs square footage when you’ve got all kinds of flavor? Not Mathew Rice. His sugar cube–sized Benton Park bakery, Veruca (1831 Sidney, 314-664-4343), is just big enough to carry out his mission of helping people eat better cake. “We’ve all been force-fed shortening cakes from grocery store bakeries, and that’s what we associate with cake,” he says. “I love when people care more about the way a cake tastes than how it looks.”
Thankfully, his customers don’t have to choose. Some of his hottest sellers are reinvented classics like peanut butter bars made with coconut and homemade graham crackers and sweet sandwiches that range from decadent (vanilla buttercream between layers of red velvet cake) to soda-licious (vanilla cake infused with Coca-Cola and layered in cherry buttercream).
Rice makes everything from scratch—down to the jam he layers in his cakes and the confetti fondant in his cupcakes. Because of this careful approach, you won’t see a huge amount of product in his shop.
Nor will you find a lot in Beth Thompson’s Cose Dolci (100 S. Florissant, 314-799-2157), where a selection of scones, bar cookies, cupcakes and rugelach make up the bulk of the menu. “We are very small,” Thompson says, “but people like that our products aren’t mass-produced and everything is handcrafted.” In the baking business, the quality of the product usually increases as the square footage decreases. After all, small and cozy go hand in hand—kind of like cake and buttercream, scones and jam and, now, boutique and bakery.
[TREND]
Indian Cuisine—A First-Timer’s Guide
With vivid presentations, flavors exploding on the palate and music like shrieking mourners around dying bagpipes, Indian restaurants have taken off in St. Louis of late. Unfortunately, most of us know more about neurosurgery than we do about Indian cuisine. Here are some basics—and insider tips for the would-be Dasi diner. —Dave Lowry
Differences in Indian cuisine are as much religious as regional. The “northern” versus “southern” distinction is no more important than the one between Hindu and Muslim in Indian cooking. Cheese cubes of paneer on a menu are a sure sign the kitchen’s not Hindu, for instance, since adding acid to milk is considered a sin. Paneer arrived with the Muslim Mogul conquerors. Biryani come from Arabic pilafs. Try the Nawab version at House of India (8501 Delmar, 314-567-6850), from Nawabi, a gloriously complicated blend of spices with rice, one of the few examples of a grand, now nearly lost culture of West India. Vegetables and grains are a nod to Hindu influences—some Indian eateries, like Raj’s Rasoi (2286 McKelvey, 314-576-6666), are entirely vegetarian.
Vindaloo is a Goan dish, with Portuguese roots. The fish version at Flavor of India (11939 Olive, 314-997-4224) is authentic except that it’s served with rice—Goans always eat vindaloo with bread. Try it with the restaurant’s naan or whole-wheat pratha.
Like mutant burritos, dosas at Ruchi Indian Cuisine (12513 Olive, 314-576-7272) and Priyaa (1910 McKelvey, 314-542-6148) are classic southern Indian fare. It’s tricky to get the crêpe’s skin golden brown, the inside airy and spongy, but both Ruchi and Priyaa succeed admirably. Dosas are incomplete without a side of sambar soup and a dip of chutney.
Properly, there aren’t “main courses” in an Indian dinner. Food is supposed to be balanced in taste and texture. That’s why thali are usually a good choice. Half a dozen sauces, along with rice or bread, vegetables and meat, are arranged in metal bowls, which are supposed to add important mineral elements to the food.
[CONCEPT]
What the &#@% Is A Gastropub?
Foodies in St. Louis have been tossing around the buzzword “gastropub” lately like it’s common knowledge, but the average diner has no knowledge of what it is or where it came from. So who better to define the term than three gents who have made it their business?
Anthony Devoti, executive chef at Newstead Tower Public House:
The term is a mash-up of “gastronomy” and “pub.” It’s simply a public house—pub—that specializes in food that’s a cut above standard “pub grub,” with an emphasis on locally sourced products and local microbrews.
Brendan Noonan, former executive chef at The Scottish Arms:
It just means you have the drive to make your food catch the eye of someone who wants more variety than your basic fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. Elevating pub cuisine is dependent largely on the presentation, because it’s still the food of the people.
Eddie Neill, partner at The Dubliner:
New generations of Americans are growing up eating in the back of a minivan. As they grow into adults, they will be introduced to plenty of bars, so why not introduce them to a better dining experience with an emphasis on sustainable cuisine? That is the essence of a gastropub.
[TREND]
The Reboot of the Deli
Until recently, the most exciting thing ever to happen inside a deli was Meg Ryan’s fauxgasm in When Harry Met Sally … and maybe it still is. But the rest of what delis are best known for—the workmanlike ham on rye, the cobwebbed décor and dusty vibe, the “old man trying to send back soup,” to quote Seinfeld—is receiving a much-needed makeover here in St. Louis. But unlike Sally’s feigned sex at Katz’s, these places really are bringing the sexy back to a rather staid cheap-eats tradition.
Takeout be damned, all three of them make you wanna stay awhile—and in that regard, the delicatessen could become the next neighborhood coffee bar. Even if they ain’t yet Starbucks, they’re sure a hell of a lot better than Subway.
Mesquite Turkey and Smoked Bacon
Upon entering the newish 9th Street Deli in Soulard, your ears will likely be greeted by CCR or Ike & Tina tunes, while your eyes and taste buds may feast on such not-your-nana’s-deli ingredients as mascarpone (used as a sandwich spread) or dried cranberries (in the coleslaw, for cryin’ out loud!). 900 Shenandoah, 314-664-3354
The Muffuletta
It was Blues City Deli that jump-started the trend here, melding the mile-high sandwiches of classic deli fare—yeah, they got pastrami—with owner Vince Valenza’s other love, blues music. Weekly Saturday-afternoon gigs by local and out-of-town bands are standard. The menu, meanwhile, expands on the notion of what a deli dishes up, serving chili dogs, po’ boys and an awesome muffuletta with a scrumptious house-made olive spread. 2438 McNair, 314-773-8225
The Reuben on Marbled Rye
You’ll cry out for more of “the finest meats and cheeses!” at Pickles, where the owners truly take care to source the best foodstuffs and, in the case of the meats, select only the best cuts. For proof, order a pastrami with Swiss, and prepare to be amazed—not just at the taste, but also at how expertly the guys behind the counter can talk cold cuts. The cupcakes, P.S., have been receiving raves; they’re homemade. 22 N. Euclid, 314-361-3354
[CONCEPT]
The Weekend Trip to Grafton
Grafton, Ill., where the motto might as well be “Even More Fun When We’re Above Water,” has become a major weekend dining and drinking destination. Blocks of boutiques and collectibles shops make for a perfect first- or 51st-date stroll, but more important, eateries abound. Here are a few of our favorites.
Sweet potato fries, muffulettas and “It’s burning through the tablecloth”–hot chili are highlights of The Rotten Apple (220 W. Main, 618-786-2798), a popular riverside pub. A double-story clapboard house is converted into a wildly decorated, college town–type joint. The selection of beers here is impressive, but try one or five of the wide selection of hard ciders that go nicely with the Cajun/Creole fare.
Mississippi Half Step (420 E. Main, 618-786-2722) is probably about as fine as dining can get in a place inspired by the muzzy-headed musical noodlings of the Grateful Dead. Steaks and chicken are featured, along with entertaining riffs like Asiago and bleu cheese in the scalloped potatoes. Black-bean cakes here inspire odes. The outdoor seating is particularly pleasant; for a romantic atmosphere, try the candlelit, stone-lined cellar dining. Blackberry cobbler is a mandatory dessert.
At the legendary Fin Inn (1000 W. Main, 618-786-2030), demonstrate your superior link on the food chain by eating deep-fried turtles while their siblings swim past your table and watch. Aquarium glass serves as windows here; schools of catfish and keg-sized snapping turtles glide by—and double as main courses. Fried catfish, buffalo and burgers, and onion rings are all great.
If you want good food on the river, you go where the Coast Guard cutters and buoy tenders go: The Loading Dock (400 Front Street, 618-786-3494). And they all come here for the burgers, grilled turkey panini and generous salads, along with the best chili-cheese nachos between here and the Gulf. (Tip: Don’t leave without trying the breaded chicken tenderloins bathed in hot sauce with a bleu cheese dressing.) It’s within sight of the ferry landing, so bicyclists, bikers and boaters all flock to the Dock, which shares space with a century-old working boatyard.
[TREND]
The Rise of “Gutsy” Ingredients
Depending on your tastes, the recent preponderance of organ meats on restaurant menus is either exciting or off-putting—either way, though, they’re for real. Blame it on the recent holistic—yet primal—practice of using the entire animal, combined with the darn-near-appealing visuals (courtesy of the TV food channels) of various livers, sweetbreads, tongues, cockscombs and the like.
Sweetbreads (the thymus gland) were a huge seller at Franco in 2007, but it was David Guempel who had the moxie to introduce them locally (at Balaban’s) almost 30 years ago. He kept them on Zinnia’s menu, where they gained momentum until March 30, the day he closed the restaurant. (Chicken livers were plenty popular as well—in February, he managed to “blow through a
40-pound case of livers in three days.”)
Although offal has been around for years (liver cheese or blood sausage, anyone?), “organ meats are now in the forefront, appearing on menus instead of just in butcher shops,” says Josh Galliano, chef de cuisine at An American Place, who this past winter featured an offal tasting menu (no jokes about the pronunciation, please). “Some of the dishes are so popular they jump to the main menu. The grilled octopus with braised beef tongue is a case in point.”
With more chefs sourcing directly from farmers and doing their own butchering, using offal is cost-effective and provides new creative opportunities. Galliano will use offal as a stand-alone but more often as a complement to the same animal, “like using sautéed chicken livers with a chicken breast. It adds a new flavor component and a textural one as well—not a major factor, but it’s definitely there.”
Just like those livers and gizzards in Grandma’s turkey stuffing.
[PEOPLE]
Consulting Chefs—The Knives for Hire
It may be hard to believe, but many new restaurants count down to opening day lacking one key ingredient—the chef. A broken promise here, a misunderstanding there, a squabble over partnership or pay … It happens. Even having a chef lined up is no guarantee: They can walk out more quickly than a third grader at the recess bell.
More and more these days, restaurateurs are avoiding that potential powder keg by hiring a consulting chef, a knife-for-hire virtuoso who’s not afraid to suit up and get dirty. Someone who can write a menu, train a staff to execute it, then be free to slip out the back door and on to the next gig.
A good one can jump-start your business, revitalize it—or in its twilight, even save it—and make it look easy. Only a few chefs in town are qualified to perform such alchemy. Here are the names, faces and respective places.
John Griffiths:
Scottish Arms, Mike Shannon’s, Lumen, Skybox
Most recent project: Cotto (regional Italian, downtown)
Mike Johnson:
BARcelona, Cyrano’s, Boogaloo, Roxane, El Scorcho, Revival
Most recent project: Fu Manchu (dim sum in Maplewood)
Dana Holland:
Pepper Lounge, Jazz at the Bistro, KoKo, Alandale Brewing Co., Jilly’s Cupcakes
Most recent project: Babalu’s Snack Shack (Latin street food at the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market)
[CONCEPT]
Good Food, Good Value
They say the $4 gallon of gas is upon us. But a $40 filet? Three or four years ago, such a pricey portion seemed inevitable—back when white-linen, fine-dining emporiums debuted left and right, touting $35 tenderloins, $10 bisques and who-can-do-without-’em $21 seafood Cobb salads. But that was then, and this is … the economy, stupid!
Yep, with consumers’ wallets tight and their spending slowed, restaurateurs are recognizing the new essential ingredient: value. Because it’s not that diners will stop dining out—it’ll take much more than a recession to get some people to turn on their stoves—or even that they’ll stop going out to really nice places. It’s that they want to see value in the money they’re spending.
Occasionally, that means smaller portions to go along with those smaller prices. Oftentimes, it means cheaper real estate. Witness the city’s embracing of Five (4317 Manchester, 314-535-5553), the most polished of the restaurants in Forest Park Southeast’s commercial center, the Grove, which offers a four-course tasting menu for $40 per person (or $55 with wine pairings). Or F15teen (1900 Locust, 314-588-8899), which opened a few months ago to so-far-so-good success on a forgotten corner of far-west downtown. Its soups and salads are only five or six bucks apiece, its steak cuts start at $10, and dinner entrées cost between $12 and $18.
Some say the concept can be traced back locally to Almonds (8127 Maryland, 314-725-1019), a chic and venerable little spot in downtown Clayton that features crowd-favorite entrées like Idaho trout, grilled salmon and peppercorn beef filet—all with potato and vegetables on the side, none for more than $20. Since then, it’s spread around the corner to Roxane (12 Meramec, 314-721-7700), which keeps things value-oriented, thanks to its grazing-friendly small-plates menu.
The newest frugal foodies on the block? Off the Vine (2605 Hampton, 314-781-1620), which spares nothing in the way of décor or service in offering reasonably priced duck and lamb dishes; Robust (227 W. Lockwood, 314-963-0033), a wine bar/café with an array of five-buck meat and cheese plates, plus exquisitely innovative salads; and Revival (3800 Chouteau, 314-771-3939), which serves “fancy dinner plates” for about $16 apiece in the very same rococo digs where King Louie’s once plated $38 cowboy steaks.
[TREND]
Affordable Indulgences
With apologies to Brook and Amy, let’s face it: We all like nice things. But as we accept the double whammy of a shaky dollar in an election year, our indulgences and luxuries—like that trip to Paris—may have to be, uh, at least postponed.
What to do while we wait for the recovery? Allow us to suggest a simple indulgence, an upscale—and affordable—version of an everyday staple. We maintain that Häagen-Dazs started it all, and now a hyper-niche market has emerged as consumers buy into such niceties. In the last year, narrow-focus retail stores have begun to spring up all across the country, specializing in items from olive oil to cream puffs. Keep your eyes peeled for more single-product retailers. In the meantime, we’ll share what we’ve found.
Chocolate
- Vosges Red Fire Dark
- $5.99 per 3-ounce bar
- Wine and Cheese Place
- Three locations
Cupcakes
- Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting
- $2.25 each
- The Cupcakery
- 28 S. Maryland Plaza
- 314-367-6111
Coffee
- Kenya AA Murrundi Estate Coffee brewed using the Clover press
- $2.75 per cup
- Kaldi’s (Crescent location)
- 187 Carondelet Plaza
- 314-726-6464
Olive Oil
- Domaine Le Grand Servan Extra Virgin (Provence, 2007)
- From $15 per 250 milliliters
- Extra Virgin
- 143 Carondelet Plaza
- 314-727-6464
Popcorn
- Caramelt Crunch with Bissinger’s white and dark chocolate
- $6.50 per bag
- POPtions
- 1580 S. Lindbergh
- 314-997-0448
Edited by George Mahe; Written by Stefanie Ellis, George Mahe, Rose Martelli and Dave Lowry
