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Photographs by Kevin A. Roberts
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If anyone (besides us) was wondering why it's taken so long to convert SleeK, Lumiere's former steakhouse, into the Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, we have the answer. Several of them.
First, the conversion is no repaint-and-hang-a-few-TV's makeover, this is a complete remodel. A multi-million dollar remodel. Second, it takes a long time to build a reuben as big as the one pictured above. Relish has seen plenty of sports bars, but never a sandwich like this. Say hello to the new party sandwich...
The first step: take a loaf of Companion's soft, marble rye and slice it—horizontally—which produces "slices" of bread about a foot long. The filling is shaved corned beef, six pounds of it. The Swiss cheese, a stadium blanket's worth; the Russian dressing, enough to fill a Gatorade jug (OK, here we exaggerate). In truth, this sandwich is so big it probably deserves some new classification, but Man vs Reuben will suffice. This super sammy is presented on a massive, footed cutting board, each half speared by a burly steak knife, accompanied by a fistful of whole pickles and house-made french fries, served in a mini-buckets, portions designed to comfortably feed four guests. The price for the MvR has not yet been determined, but a $50 tally is possible, and fair.
And should you take the Man vs Reuben Challenge and attempt to down the entire thing yourself, you get a commemorative tee-shirt. (Wait a minute, Lumiere. A person manages to polish off a reuben as big as Leonardo DiCaprio's head and the prize is a measly tee-shirt? We understand why you'd shy away from comp passes to The Kitchen Buffet and Bistro, but hey, a serious nap is in order here...can you at least throw in a room at the hotel next door?)
The rest of the menu wows on a smaller scale. Many sports bars are judged by their chicken wings, and Stadium's presentation is better than any in town: 9, 12, or 18 arrive in an iron skillet, with spires of celery and baby carrot. The wings are "colossal" grade, which well describes their size and this dish overall. They come breaded or fried, tossed in a sauce (there are three, all homemade) or naturel. This scribe fancied the breaded wings with chili mint sauce on the side, a stellar combo of hot and cool.
No sports bar is allowed to open without a trio of sliders, and Stadium offers four such trios: pulled pork, beef, house-smoked brisket, and grilled salmon, the latter topped with spicy aioli and a zippy seaweed salad.
This bar and grill also sells a bone-in ribeye, casually but elegantly plated. On the wood-fired grill, our 18-ounce cut (sourced from the same Chicago packing house that supplies River City's 1904 Steak House) gets a light brush of housemade bourbon BBQ sauce; on the plate, a schmear of Gorgonzola butter. That combination impressed Lumiere's Executive Chef John Johnson, who wrote Stadium's menu, and us as well. A scatter of colorful local, mini-sweet peppers, cippolini onions, and a wedge of smoked cheddar-onion bread budding completed what is inarguably a handsome dish.
Recently hired and now adding his signature to the menu is Chef Andreas Baecker, a veteran of restaurants in Las Vegas and South Beach.
"Local" will play a part in his kitchen (witness those peppers) as well as in the casino complex as a whole. Stadium's uniforms were created by St. Louisan Lori Coulter of Lori Coulter Made-to-Order Swimwear (SLM article here), who designs personalized swimwear based on digital body type imaging (read: she makes swimsuits that fit). It appears her downplayed-referee-style unis do as well.
At most sports bars, the dessert course is an afterthought, and in most cases equates to "one more beer." Stadium have saved its most clever play for last--dessert "bites," served up in mini fryer baskets: fried cubes of gooey brownie and Bananas Foster cheesecake, with a sauce for drizzling or dipping. Cute, fun, tasty, easy sale. And we're suuure they'll pair perfectly with that one last beer... choose from 36 on tap.
The restaurant is planning a full-on press to lure the sports bar aficionado and has already inked deals for both Cardinals and Blues post-game shows. And as it's little more than a Hail Mary pass from The Dome, Rams fans may now have their best excuse for indoor tailgaiting.
The opening date for Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, however, is still "in the spring." Best guess (ours) is 20-30 days.
