The old adage says "you can never have enough good neighborhood restaurants."
Even if we made that adage up, fact remains that the Glendale/Warson Woods/Kirkwood corridor has a new contender in the space recently vacated by Big Bear Grill at 10017 Manchester, a space that was originally a Krieger's and then Danny O'Toole's Pub & Grill for about an hour in between.
Jason and Juliet Greene met while working at McGurk's Irish Pub and Garden: Jason was GM there for 12 years, Juliet was head chef for ten. Behold, a restaurant romance ensued, the couple got married, and yearned to get a place of their own. And so it happened. Within several weeks, signage for J. Greene's Pub will replace the bold, Big Bear logo (left).
We frequently ask how a place will differ from the competition up the street. This time we got a solid answer: meats will be smoked or roasted in house and presented in various flavor combinations. Beef brisket will be served BBQ-style, French dip-style, or Philly cheesesteak-style; pulled chicken gets either Cajun, BBQ, or Mediterranean (pesto, tomato, onion, goat cheese) treatment. Jason Greene said the last thing he wanted to be was "another place serving dried out chicken breasts topped with something to disguise the dryness."
So chicken, pork butts, brisket, corned beef, and turkey will be smoked or roasted throughout the day and all sides will be cooked from scratch. Pasta? Made in house. The meatballs? A combination of veal, pork, and beef, Juliette's mother's recipe, generations old.In his words, Greene's is "a simple neighborhood spot serving scratch comfort foods." The dessert interpretation of that style translates to thick cookies, brownies, and cobblers, all of them baked in 4" mini pie pans.
Restaurant and bar total 5400 SF, with a patio cocked off on one side. And the kids from McGurk's know something about patios, so expect comfort and a lot of greenery. We're guessing they know a thing or two about beer as well.
Jason graduated from Webster High School and Juliet from Kirkwood, and since rivalries never die, expect the Statesmen and Pioneers to continue to do battle...on neutral turf...in this case for coveted wall space.
The quest for braggin' rights will begin about May 1.
