Milque Toast Bar celebrated its 10th year in business by moving a few blocks south, to 2924 S. Jefferson, the former home of the California Do-Nut shop. Now that she has a full-size kitchen for the first time, Clawson has expanded the menu beyond the original concept of lavishly topped toasts and is working with creative director David Wolk to add a separate kitchen for catering and events, as well as indoor and outdoor gathering spaces. Milque Toast is now open Friday to Monday for three meals a day, with a break from 3–5 p.m. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Menu
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Clawson drew inspiration for her first menu in Milque Toast’s new home from the winter, her Scandinavian heritage, and her travels along France’s Alsatian Route du Vin—including Strasbourg, where she ate “the best meals I’ve ever had,” she says. The signature dish from the wine route is tarte flambée, a flatbread topped with crème fraîche, Gruyère cheese, and local mushrooms.
Unlike the gray winter in St. Louis, Milque Toast’s seasonal dishes are bright and colorful, from the Icelandic blueberry soup to the winter salad of shaved vegetables and flower blossoms to the classic smørrebrød (Danish rye bread with either salmon or salted roasted beets and toppings of veggies, cheese, and citrus). Even the Danish hot dog gets a boost of color from red cabbage, pickled tomato, and curry mayo.
Breakfast features such dishes as Finnish rice pudding, a Norwegian pancake, and savory egg dishes with a side of Afghani grilled bread. If you feel like having dessert for breakfast, there’s also the restaurant’s namesake dish of bread and milk with spices, burnt sugar, and whipped cream, as well as flourless chocolate torte or mini donuts.
The lunch menu starts with soups and crudites with dip before moving into the smørrebrød, mid-size plates such as truffled egg salad, falafel, and an open-faced avocado toast with Indian spices. Large plates include a spiced burger, jerk chicken thighs, seared salmon with dill sauce, and curry cauliflower.
Some of the dinner entrées on the winter menu are heartier—Swedish meatballs, chopped steak, and stegt flaesk (a Danish dish of pork belly with potatoes and parsley sauce)—while others, such as the fruit and cheese or charcuterie boards, are more tailored to a shared nosh with friends.
Come spring, Clawson plans to introduce new ingredients and influences. Likewise, the beverage selection of house-made sodas, milks, and mocktails will vary in flavor and style depending on the season. As soon as the liquor license is approved, Clawson plans to offer cocktails and wines as well.
The Atmosphere
The renovated dining room has a bright vibe thanks to what seem like quintessential Scandinavian design choices: blonde wood, fresh flowers, and vintage accoutrements. Look closer, though, and you’ll see telltale signs of both the present and the past. Preserved artifacts from the California Do-Nut building and curated artworks, carefully styled by Wolk (a.k.a. Cranky Yellow) hang on the walls.
“Colleen and I have very similar tastes,” Wolk says. “This is a personal work for me, but it’s also a discussion of where we’ve been and where we’re going as a community.” His favorite piece is a 1963 Strombecker racetrack shaped like a figure 8. Wolk painted it with colors that mirror the history of Milque Toast and California Do-Nuts. “I look at it as a symbol of how history comes full circle in terms of serving the community amazing food,” he says.
Both Clawson and Wolk describe designing a kitchen as a learning experience: talking through ideas, setting up, taking apart, reworking, experimenting. “Some things were a great idea; some things were not,” Clawson says with a laugh.
They plan to use their newfound knowledge on the next phase of their renovation project: adding a commissary kitchen for catering, events, and an upcoming food truck, which will resurrect Clawson’s previous Indian pop-up eatery Baba Xavi. The second phase also includes prepping the outdoor patio for seating and special events. Wolk says they’ll continue to showcase house musicians Margaret Bianchetta and Eric McSpadden on Fridays, as well as Sharon “Bear” Foehner, who plays blues on Sundays. They’ll add a diverse lineup of new musicians and genres as well.
The third phase involves building out an indoor grand hall that can seat 100 people, accessible via a separate entrance to keep the laid-back feel of the restaurant. Once it’s complete, Wolk says, the entire building will house exhibitions, sometimes separate and sometimes interconnected. “The scope of Milque Toast’s involvement in the arts is growing,” he says. “It’s setting a new standard of what food and art look like together.”
The Background
Wolk has long had an artistic presence with his Cranky Yellow studios on Cherokee Street, just a few blocks away, and he says he always looked at the California Do-Nut building as a space with great potential. He’s enthusiastic to be part of its renaissance. “It’s an amazing opportunity,” he says. “It’s the culmination of 18 years of work in the St. Louis region.”
Visitors who remember buying doughnuts at the shop before it shuttered are delighted by its transformation, he adds: “It’s like a big ball of energy rallying the community.”
For those who loved the cozy ambiance of Milque Toast’s former 430-foot space in McKinley Heights, stay tuned, because the property will be rehabbed by South Side Spaces, which specializes in providing affordable housing and commercial space through historic renovations in South City.
Clawson says she’s never seen a group of people who were thrown together in a new situation come together as well as the Milque Toast team has during the past few weeks. Some longtime employees stayed on from the previous location, despite unanticipated delays in opening the new space; others have joined the company. “The right people always seem to find their way here,” Clawson says.
Although she’s working at a frenetic pace—which will likely continue in the coming months, thanks to the ongoing buildouts—Clawson seems delighted. “If there’s less to do, I’m not as good at things,” she admits. “Being busy helps me focus and find the flow.”
The Milque Toast x Cranky Yellow 2024 event and exhibition season begins in April. Wolk says it will be influenced by Clawson’s upcoming season menu—and vice versa. “Food is an art. The same intuition and creativity go into creating it,” he says. “Each time you work on a project like this, it informs the next step.”
