These days, former fast food sites are turned into restaurants all the time, but Blue Water Grill was an early adopter of the concept. Located in a former Dairy Queen at Hampton and Columbia avenues, near The Hill, it was a new experience in another way, too. The first of what became Tim Mallett’s Great Restaurants group, it offered what it termed small plates. (No one knew about tapas back then.) The more jovial name “flying saucers” quickly caught on. A few were always on the menu, but they were the focus on Monday nights.
Naturally, Blue Water was always about the seafood. After it moved to Kirkwood, though, it quietly became a fine place for wine, where visiting vintners poured and chatted. With all that fish, New Zealand sauvignon blancs just felt at home. The new, roomier spot came off like an upscale beach club, casual and not over-decorated, just fun.
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It might be odd to think that a seafood restaurant’s most memorable dish could be a dessert, but homage must be paid to the chocolate enchilada. A chocolate crêpe was wrapped around Kahlúa-laced whipped cream and fruit, then topped with chocolate and caramel sauces and shingled with almonds. It was both rich and light, a just reward after the healthier fish that typically preceded it.
Alas, Blue Water Grill closed in 2008. It’s still mourned by schools of customers.
