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Guerrilla Street Food-trucker Brain Hardesty has finally put down roots at Lafayette Square’s Element, and now he’s ready to have fun.
The chef will basically take a short walk down the street to 33 Wine Shop & Bar to prepare next week’s Dorm Room Dinner, plus he’s hosting Element’s first wine dinner, and its first pop-up, one-night themed restaurant menu.
The Dorm Room Dinners have been happening about once a month for a few years now, and they are just too cool for school. Accomplished chefs make dinners that ostensibly pay tribute to the quick-and-dirty dorm room dinner prepared via hot pot. 33 Wine Bar has no kitchen, so the chefs actually have to rely on plug-in appliances. The use of toasters, microwaves, and that primitive ol’ hot pot are encouraged, although some chefs have used plug-in tabletop griddles, slow-cookers, and fryers, too.
The meals may wink at the rudimentary, but on the plate, they’re sophisticated. The last DRD was the 40th (!!), as well as the first under 33's new owner, James Smallwood. Niche’s Tom McGill, in a nod to classic college-student penury, made a ramen starring mushrooms and bacon that had a broth so tasty, reported Smallwood, “I wanted a Camelbak full of it.”
Farmhaus’ Kevin Willmann made a phyllo “cigar” that “looked like a joint on a roach clip” for a DRD, recalled St. Louis Magazine’s dining editor/counterculture habitué George Mahe. No less than Vincent Bommarito of Tony’s embraced the concept, preparing arancini “fried rice,” sashimi “tuna salad,” and a chicken confit tamale. The series has featured a who’s who of local chefs, including Gerard Craft, Josh Galliano, Kirk Warner (who masterminded the idea along with former 33 owner Jeff Stettner), and dozens more.
Hardesty, who has cooked for DRD before, returns to the not-kitchen next Monday to offer his take on “fast food and store-bought food,” he revealed. “The first course is my version of a Lunchable, and the dessert is a bacon-chocolate shake with duck-fat fries for dipping,” he said. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat for this one (all the DRDs sell out), you definitely want to bring a camera (or a phone with camera).
At $35 for five courses, the dinners are a steal. Some of the diners will order wine from 33’s massive 600-bottles-plus wine list; others keep it real and pair the meal with a beer, or several.
Hardesty returns to Element for the eatery’s first wine dinner, a six-course affair featuring Owen Roe Winery decantations on Monday, Feb. 3. Then, the food truck that started it all, Guerrilla Street Food, will figuratively smash through the front window at Element to take over the joint’s menu with what Hardesty is calling “fancy” Filipino fare on Feb. 24. Book a spot at Element's dinners by calling 314-241-1674.
Dorm Room Dinner
Monday, Jan. 27
6 and 8:30 p.m. seatings
33 Wine Shop & Bar
1913 Park
james@33wine.com
314-231-9463
