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Duck confit with savory bread pudding, parsnip puree, and a drizzle of balsamic syrup.
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General Manager Keith Osmack works the industrial-themed front desk.
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The Sheldon (dark rum, aperol, yellow chartreuse, and orange) and Brussels sprouts with ponzu, peanuts, and mint.
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Bay Scallop Crudo: chopped scallops are cloaked by thin slices of Granny Smith apple. Ginger, cilantro, and black and white sesame seeds add an Asian element.
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Potato Gnocchi - with braised short rib, green olives, and Idiazabal cheese
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Burrata with strawberries and dill, a special of the evening.
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The terrace for the restaurant faces west and north.
Everyone experiences rejection. Even Josh Charles.
That’s how he got his start, you know. The now popular chef was rejected – by his uncle.
“He managed a restaurant in Farmington, where I grew up,” he says with a smile. “He wouldn’t let me work there.”
Josh Charles on the cooking line at Element
But he let him watch. Charles saw his uncle mix and mingle, joke with the clientele, learn more about the lives of the regulars who stopped in on a Friday night. And he was hooked. Watching the people come and go, the glasses clink, the food hit the table, it all ignited a passion for food and the restaurant industry that would follow Charles well into the future. It would follow him through an education at L’Ecole Culinaire, onto jobs at St. Louis standards Eclipse and Harvest, to San Francisco for awhile, then back home to Prime 1000. Most recently, he made a name for himself as chef de cuisine at Elaia and Olio.
Six months ago, he moved down highway 44 to Element, a place he knew by reputation.
“I knew it was beautiful, sexy, and fun,” he says of the gray, red, industrial space occupying the second and third stories of a building otherwise scaled by rock climbers.
And now there’s a new element or two to Element. Familiar tunes from the likes of Johnny Cash and Three Dog Night welcome guests as they emerge from the elevator, making the cool space just a bit warmer.
Element was originally a high class chef hostel of sorts. The idea: bring five incredible chefs together, encase them in subway tile and stainless steel, and allow guests to enjoy the edible fruits of their collaboration.
The idea worked for a time, but eventually morphed into the single chef model – which is where Charles found it.
He inherited a menu known for its exotic offerings, like elk brisket and fried rabbit.
“That’s a little too weird for the average guy,” he says.
If that average guy were to take a look at the menu with Charles in charge, he might not find himself so intimidated. Hardly a single dish lists more than five ingredients. About half of them ring in at under $10.
The drink menu from the third floor lounge showcases a diverse beer menu, everything from a PBR to local craft. Classic cocktails have their own section, as do mixologist Caleb Kosek’s riffs – all of which are named for well-known St. Louis places and spaces.
“It’s all approachable,” he says with great pride. “Just like the music.”
But his average guy needs to be in the mood for a little adventure.
The Muny is made with bourbon, honey, lemon, and mint.
The ingredients, sourced largely from local farms, compose dishes with flavor profiles native to multiple regions of the globe – some, nowhere near each other.
Take, for example, the arancini.
“We used to serve these to everyone who came into the restaurant.”
Well, the former amuse bouche (above) has earned its own home on the menu.
Charles’ take on the Italian classic features some south of the border flare. The seemingly everyday hush puppy cracks open to reveal Mexican rice prepared with tomato and speckled with black beans, fried and placed on base of cilantro aioli – his wink to New America.
“We wanted it to be straightforward. I want my guests to have a clear idea of what they’re getting before they get it.”
An idea, yes. A chopped salad with tomatoes, bacon, and buttermilk dressing (above). What could be more straightforward than that? Answer: the cucumbers the greens almost camouflage.
“They’re compressed,” he gives when pushed. “But we don’t want people to be intimidated by their preparation. They’re cucumbers!”
Those cucumbers help carry the beet salad (below), as well – one punctuated by dill detectable within a 10 foot radius of the table.
“I love vegetables,” he gushes, reaching for another handful of greens.
Another of his loves: steamed buns.
“When I first started, I wanted to open a restaurant dedicated to steamed buns.”
A trip to San Francisco with his uncle – the guy who ran the restaurant – inspired that passion, too.
Right now, Element is featuring a Reuben steamed bun (above), with brisket, a light sauerkraut, and house crafted Thousand Island. But the flavor plays second fiddle to the texture.
“People are a little confused by them,” he admits.
But these sticky, sweet, bready delicacies invite diners to eat with their hands – in that casual way Charles had in mind when he shifted the tunes and took the reins of the menu.
While the steamed buns rank as the chef’s favorite, most diners walk away raving about the ravioli – a dish decidedly more difficult to eat with your hands.
No, he doesn’t toast, fry, or even bake it.
In true Italian style, his pasta is fresh. He fills it with a celery root puree, and drops the pasta pockets into boiling water. At al dente, they get a quick drizzle of butter sauce and then a cap of egg (above). Parmesan, black pepper, and a finish of freeze dried pancetta – could that be the flavor that sets it apart?
Maybe.
Or it could be Charles’ other signature.
“The vinegar lingers on the finish,” he says. “Some season with salt; I season with vinegar. Most times a dish lacks depth, it lacks acid.”
No one can site Charles for a lack of depth when it comes to his plates; small by design (“I always want to order everything on the menu when I go out to eat,” he says. “Small plates make that possible.”). They’re small, but mighty.
Among the final dishes on a menu that progresses lighter fare to heavier, a duck confit (above), served alongside the most reliable acid: balsamic.
Take a bite, maybe two. Stop (if you can). Because while the duck may be among the final items on the menu – and its side of bread pudding and parsnip puree easily good enough to count as dessert— the duck itself manages an encore.
“Here,” he says, placing a brownie skillet in on the table, with a melting a la mode, “is our duck fat brownie.”
A brownie with that added element to justify saving room –and a dollop of Serendipity ice cream to make it taste like home… a final stop on the approachable adventure Charles set out to create.
“It’s meant to be a true expression of who I am,” says Charles of his Element. “I want to have fun, relax and enjoy the food and the company around me.”
While he already enjoys the bustle of the restaurant scene he first fell for at his uncle’s restaurant decades ago, the hustle will likely only increase – as foodies flock for his small plates as well as the two story patio (below) that make Element a summertime gem in St. Louis.
Just a wee bit ahead of the season: the restaurant terrace (lower) and bar terrace (upper).
The space will host parties as the weather warms up. One such party he’s planning right now: his uncle’s engagement party. He might not have wanted to expose his nephew to the restaurant industry early, but, Charles says, he seems pretty pleased that he ultimately wound up with a job in one.
Element
1419 Carroll
314-241-1674
Tues – Sat: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Tues – Thurs: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Fri - Sat: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
