The first thing that struck us at Crafted was the beverage of choice. Why were all these people drinking coffee at dinnertime? Was it exam season at the nearby med schools?
From a closer vantage point, however, we saw that the French presses held cocktails, not coffee, indicating that their purpose wasn’t amping up but instead winding down. Instead of ground beans and hot water, plungers were being used to press fruit, berries, herbs, and other flavors through various liquors—and to do so one or many times, depending on the drinker’s preferred concentration of those flavors.
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Since late last November, Crafted has occupied the South St. Louis space that was the longtime home of Van Goghz. The persona of the new restaurant is the outcome of a reality TV show—in this case, Bar Rescue on Spike TV—which is a good thing because, well, it’s now a really nice place.
The restaurant resides at the corner of Shenandoah and Compton, which some 30 years ago housed St. Louis Rehabber, the local print version of This Old House. There was also a destination restaurant called Le Pot Au Feu, which gave many people their first tastes of both rustic French cooking and Tower Grove East’s remarkable architecture.
Meals at Crafted tend to be more grazes than lengthy endeavors, particularly with the “small plates” portion of the menu. The signature item is Kalettes, a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts that are sometimes known as “lollipop kale sprouts.” The restaurant flash-fries them, giving the leafy part of the vegetable a papery texture; the results—both bitter and sweet—are tempered by a dusting of Parmesan. Goat cheese balls are complemented by honey and crushed pistachios. Crafted’s version of a corn dog consists of a hot dog from cross-state provider Caldarello that’s rolled in cornmeal, deep fried, and served with a pungent mustard; the greens served alongside (perhaps meant to emulate a relish) had a surprising added flavor of vanilla in their dressing.
Though labeled “large plates,” the entrée portions were fairly small and, in general, cost less than $15. Boneless chicken thighs had a Mediterranean accent thanks to white wine, lemon, and olives. An 8-ounce slab of pork belly came lightly coated with an Asian barbecue sauce. Both were served with Kalettes, as well as roasted potatoes. Tip: Wednesday evenings are steak nights, featuring an excellent bargain in a $6.99 grilled flatiron as one of the large plates.
Chances are, the bar staff will double as waitstaff. The only shortcoming we found was a lack of knowledge about the beer list on the part of one of our servers. But that certainly shouldn’t stop anyone from taking the plunge.
