The Wine Spectator’s annual “Award of Excellence” awards for restaurant wine lists in St Louis was unchanged from last year, with a few exceptions.
Copia Restaurant & Wine Garden downtown and 1904 Steakhouse at River City Casino were added to the list while Tony’s--yes, that Tony's--was dropped, news that might elicit a gasp until one considers a restaurant must pay a $250 entry fee to be eligible for a Wine Spectator award.
Alas, Tony’s decided not to apply, not to pay the fee, this year--no application, no consideration for an award.
Not a big deal, according to Vince Bommarito, Jr. , who says the same intensity and care is being devoted to Tonys' wine list as it ever was. “It’s not as a big a deal as it once was.” Bommarito said about the WS designation. “We simply decided to focus our efforts in other areas.”
For our money, Tony’s still provides the quintessential service experience in St. Louis. Joe Bonwich, in his swan song restaurant review for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, concurred, awarding Tony’s four stars, the only time he'd ever designated that superlative.
The entire list of 3793 winners will be published in the August 31 issue of Wine Spectator, but all of the restaurants can be found right here, right now, along with other details about each restaurant and its wine program. St. Louis restaurants and their respective awards are below, the additions in boldface:
Award of Excellence 2013:
1904 Steakhouse: 777 River City Casino Blvd, 888-578-7289
Charlie Gitto's: 5226 Shaw, 314-772-8898
Charlie Gitto's:15525 Olive, 636-536-2199
Copia Restaurant & Wine Garden: 1122 Washington, 314-241-9463
Eleven Eleven Mississippi: 1111 Mississippi, 314-241-9999
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar: 1855 S. Lindbergh, 314-567-7610
J. Buck's : 101 S. Hanley, 314-725-4700
Lucas Park Grille: 1234 Washington, 314-241-7770
The Melting Pot: 6683 Delmar, 314-725-4141
The Melting Pot: 294 Lamp and Lantern Village, 636-207-6358
Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood: 620 Market, 314-421-1540
Morton's, The Steakhouse: 7822 Bonhomme, 314-725-4008
Remy's Kitchen & Wine Bar: 222 S. Bemiston, 314-726-5757
Vin De Set: 2017 Chouteau, 314-241-8989
Best of Award of Excellence 2013:
Annie Gunn's: 16806 Chesterfield Airport Rd, 636-532-7684
Balaban's Wine Cellar & Tapas Bar: 1772 Clarkson, 636-449-6700
Gerard's:1153 Colonnade Ctr, 314-821-7977
Truffles: 9202 Clayton, 314-567-9100
