Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Several months ago, when rumors began to circulate that “Gerard Craft was opening a Pastaria in Takaya’s old space,” I thought of Chris Sommers and Frank Uible, who not that long ago opened up a little pizza place--Pi at the MX--half a block to the east. It just so happens Mr. Craft was thinking of them, too. While it’s true that the acclaimed chef will be moving into the space formerly occupied by Takaya New Asian at 634 Washington, he's not planning on doing a Pastaria, but rather a concept that’s, well, sorta close...
The new venture will be called Porano Pasta + Gelato, basically a conversion of Pastaria’s specialties to a fast-casual format. All except for the pizza. “Sommers and Uible are doing that,” Craft said. “No way would I compete with them...I just want to be part of what they and the Browne’s [owners of Robust] started at the MX. Our mutual goal is the same--to create a critical mass in that block [of Washington Ave].”
Sommers was equally gracious:
"We're thrilled to have Gerard anchoring the other end of the block. Gerard is one of the top chefs in the country, so this new concept is an incredible validation of The MX and Downtown. Neighborhoods and developments thrive with diversity of concepts and price point. Porano will fill a big void, and because it's a new concept, will hopefully attract visitors who can't get the product anywhere but in Downtown St. Louis."
Craft’s wildly successful Pastaria was originally supposed to be named Porano, a name he’d been wanting to use for several years, as we noted in this Q&A from 2012. Porano was to be located in the former Niche space in Benton Park, an homage to the village in Umbria (right) where, as Ian Froeb reported, Craft had "arguably the best meal of my life. In somebody's house."
Observant diners know that “fast casual” is one of the current buzzwords in the restaurant industry. Taking cues from poster-child Chipotle, fine dining chefs from all across the country have been making the concept their own. Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal noted the phenomenon, reporting on several new fast cas ventures from seven of the country's biggest chefs, like Jose Andres, Lachlan Makinnon-Patterson, and Joshua Skenes (chef/owner of Saison, which recently earned its third Michelin star). In their company in the WSJ: Gerard Craft.The article referred to Porano as “lunchbreak Italian” (their word) which Craft said was not entirely accurate as Porano will be tailored for “dinner breaks” as well.
The appeal of a big-name, chef-driven form of fast cas is obvious: where devotees are familiar with chefs' tasting menus often costing hundreds of dollars, who wouldn’t appreciate a single aspect of it served quickly and cheaply?
As Froeb noted in his breaking story on Porano, “Diners will build their meals by choosing a base (organic semolina pasta, gluten-free pasta, farro, focaccia or lettuce), a protein (slow-roasted beef brisket, pork shoulder, pork meatballs, grilled free-range chicken, Calabrian-spiced tofu or roasted seasonal vegetables) and a sauce (pomodoro, pomodoro with smoked pork or roasted red pepper) or salad dressing.”
Craft added this morning that the focaccia will come from Companion (“one of our many collaborative projects”), confirmed that the pasta used will be the adaptable strozzapreti noodle (right), that there will indeed be a gluten-free pasta, a la Mark Ladner’s aptly named Pasta Flyer, and that “yes, yes, there will be risotto balls.”
“Simplicity and consistency are key,” he noted, “as is speed,” a term those in the fas cas biz refer to as “throughput.”
Craft admits that any association with the above named chefs forces him to “up his game,” but in the end all he wants out of Porano is a place that’s “simple, quick, delicious, honest, and transparent,” meaning that even though Porano's vibe is casual, its commitment to sustainability will not be.
For this type of restaurant to be successful, the price has to be right, and Porano’s is, with “all items under $10,” according to Craft. Noodles will be cooked in pre-programmed boilers (for consistency) and the focaccia sandwiches will be heated open-face, under a salamander broiler (for speed).
Proper management is one often-overlooked aspect of the concept, noted Craft, explaining that just because an idea may be simpler, attention to detail is still critical. In that vein, he’s enlisted the highly-respected Michael Petres (currently the exec chef at Pastaria) to run the show at Porano.
Fast casual restaurants, with their open kitchens and prep areas, gobble up the real estate, so understandably, “half the existing restaurant will be used for operations,” said Craft. The corner space does include a mezzanine that can be used for everyday dining and/or cordoned off for semi-private use.
Don’t expect to order a martini with your Strozzapreti with Sunday Sugo and Grana Padano, but you can get a glass of wine (one red and one white), three beers on tap (I’ll just bet they’ll be local), several beers in bottles, and as well as a selection of artisanal sodas.
The gelato component? Easy: visit the cold case at Pastaria and see why people are always ogling.
Although St. Louis has a few fast cas restaurants--like the ubiquitous Chipotle and Chris LaRocca’s Crushed Red (opening its third location here with several more planned for the Denver/Boulder area), I’m surprised there aren’t more. One ill-fated attempt at a concept similar to Porano was Cini, Frank Gabriele’s (ok, I can say it now) poorly-executed attempt at "an Italian Chipotle." In this Q&A from a year ago, Gabriele said he was told "it was good, but it wasn't memorable." But it all worked out, as his Giovanni’s Kitchen (located in Ladue in a former Cini) is one of the area’s best kept secrets.
I expect Porano to be successful....check out the dish found on @PORANO and try to disagree.
And the end of our discussion, Craft admitted that the hardest sell was his kids: “When I told them I was going to open up a fast food restaurant, they all said ‘What?” And I said, ‘don’t worry, it'll have risotto balls.’”
The chef then lowered his voice just a little: "And we have a few more tricks up our sleeve...for the future."
Porano Pasta + Gelato
634 Washington (at 7th)
Lunch and dinner daily
Expected opening: summer 2015
