Overheard: A customer’s first words after stepping through the door at the new Blue Sky Tower Grill on the lobby level of the University Club Tower building: “What a pleasant little place…” And Relish concurs.
After a delay of several months (see Relish’s early post here), the new restaurant (a sister store to the Blue Sky Cafe and Bar at Winghaven), opened a week ago today.
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Here, diners have a choice of four different seating arrangements: a seat at the 12-person bar, a table along the windows within the bar, a cozy area with booth seating behind the bar, and a scatter of tables on a mezzanine level above the bar. Floor to ceiling windows open up the otherwise tidy 2500 SF floor plan.
The menu is, in a word, promising: burgers are flat-grilled, 3-ounce doubles, served with a number of toppings on different breads; pizzas are a 12″ round lahvosh, topped and finished in a salamander. Early standouts are the meatloaf and a traditionally-prepared Cuban sandwich on pressed, traditional Cuban (read: fat added) bread.
The chef is Henry Miller, whose resume is long and deep: the Racquet Club East, Westwood Country Club, the University Club, long-time corporate chef for Marriott, as well as an entry few can claim: traveling chef for the Trans Siberian Orchestra in 2008-2009.
The restaurant is owned by Bill and Patti Hildebrand, descendants of Kitty Hulling of Miss Hulling’s fame. Those of you not old enough to remember their chocolate pie, gooey butter cake, and split lemon cake are in for a treat once Patti begins recreating them, which should be soon. Alas, Patti’s out of town and the cherished recipes are being kept in the safest of places…inside her head.
Blue Sky Tower Grill 1034 S. Brentwood (Lobby Level) 314-726-BLUE (2583) Hours: Lunch and dinner Mon-Sat. Jazz Sunday Brunch soon. no website/Facebook as yet.
If you haven’t been tempted yet, consider Blue Sky’s tagline…Comfort Food with a Martini Twist.
