Chef Cary McDowell will return to St. Louis to join forces with Ann and Randy Lipton at Winslow's Home, the unique general store and more that burst onto the local scene just over a year ago. (A little more on Winslow's from the August 08 SLM here.)
McDowell will take over day to day operations of the 40 inside/40 outside restaurant within the store. The Lipton's also own a farm in Augusta which supplies Winslow's with fresh herbs, flowers, and loads of fresh produce, and since McDowell has long been an advocate of the farm-to-table philosophy, the partnership makes sense. McDowell indicated that he would begin assessing the operation "today." Among other things, look for table service to begin in September, plus sidebars like catering and almost-prepared dinners.
McDowell recently parted company with Nathalie Pettus and The Station Restaurant in Clarksville, MO, (on good terms, according to McDowell) saying that he "took them as far as he could," and that, at the end of the day, "we could not swim together." Bottom line, there were philospohical differences in the direction of both food and service. That McDowell lived here and commuted to Clarksville only strained the situation. (I found it odd that the restaurant's only web presence is a link to Pettus' Overlook Farm, with no background, hours, enticements, or menu details. This link apparently takes you to "the big picture, " then offers no picture at all. Bizarre. If you're a destination restaurant, for Godsakes give the diner some reason to go.)
My opinion is this new arrangement will fare better. He and the Lipton's seem like-minded, plus McDowell is now minutes--not hours--away from his family. He says he sees "many branches to this tree." The dining cognoscenti will be happy he planted it here. -- George Mahe
