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Chocolate. Graham crackers. Marshmallows. Enough said.
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Two new French toast recipes hit the griddle – and the menu – starting April 14. Tess’ French Toast and S’mores French Toast
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Mike Randolph says he’s been hesitant to experiment with the popular Half & Half menu. But the new items show he’s ready for the restaurant to “evolve.”
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Chef de Cuisine Dale Beauchamp started with Half & Half in 2011. He left in 2014 for a stint at Gringo, but returned home to Half a year-and-a-half later.
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Steak and eggs for breakfast, anyone?
As a kid, nothing sounded better to me than those odd nights when Mom just didn’t have it in her to cook. “Breakfast for dinner!” she’d throw up her hands and declare. “Go crazy, kids! Cocoa Puffs. French toast. Ham and eggs!” my brothers and I would hear.
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It’s like Mike Randolph of Half & Half heard those cries from a quarter century in the past – gave a laugh, and flipped the whole idea on its head.
“Dinner for breakfast!” he seems to be shouting with a revamped menu at one of Clayton’s hottest brunch destinations.
“We like to evolve rapidly,” Randolph says of his typical approach to a restaurant menu.
While he admits he’s been hesitant to do so at Half & Half, the stable morning haunt has known plenty of evolution in the evening.
After it opened in 2011, he and Liz, his wife and co-owner, experimented with an after-hours concept called MEDIAnoche. MEDIAnoche evolved into Little Country Gentleman, which then gave way to Half & Half at night. But no after-dark concept met the success of the brunch staple.
“At the end of the day, breakfast and lunch is enough,” Liz says they’ve learned.
Enough – sure. When you add fried rice, a hot chicken sandwich and a “sushi” roll only a Midwesterner could truly love to a menu already populated with favorites diners are willing to wait hours to enjoy.
The fried rice (above), a starter on the menu Randolph has perfected with his chef de cuisine, boomerang employee Dale Beauchamp, could just as easily be a perfect dinner risotto. Breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs make the creamy-with-a-hint-of-crispy rice all the heartier. A sprinkle of jalapeno and strips of pickled onion add freshness – and intrigue. Throw a little hot sauce on that … it might turn into a starter for another bowl of breakfast fried rice.
Unless, of course, you’ve left room for the hot chicken sandwich. A Nashville signature, the hot chicken clucked its way onto the St. Louis dining scene in the last couple of years. This variation, with housemade pickles and an aioli crafted from the pickle brine to cut the heat, first appeared when Half & Half was serving breakfast for dinner. But some things, like this sandwich, deserve to see the light of day.
While meats and grains have a stronger presence on the revamped menu, those with a morning sweet tooth won’t be left in the lurch.
“This is Tess’ French Toast,” Randolph says as he places two slices of toast (standing about four inches high) – bathed in a creamy yellow lemon curd, drowned in blueberries and flourished with powdered sugar – on the table.
The Clara cakes debuted years ago, named after the Randolphs’ now 7-year-old daughter. Their 4-year-old, Tess, has since taken issue with the absence of her name from the menu.
Not anymore. Though, Randolph says candidly, Tess is still warming up to the blueberries. “She tells us she’d prefer strawberries.”
While lemon curd and blueberries at least meet the approval of a Randolph child’s palate, what about those who crave the more standard bowl of Cocoa Puffs? Enter the S’mores French Toast – with all the name implies: graham crackers, chocolate, and toasted marshmallows.
The new offerings add the stamp of Dale Beauchamp to the Randolph menu. Beauchamp actually started with the restaurant in 2011, stayed there until 2014, then departed. But after a year and a half, he decided to return. And he didn’t make the trip alone.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with some great cooks along the way,” he says, slicing and plating a dish soon to be available at the restaurant. “Some of those great cooks made the trip with me. I’m excited to reward them.”
With that, he places a breakfast sushi on the table – a bacon-wrapped potato and egg roll garnished with avocado and jalapeño (above).
“Ronald came up with this,” he says, giving the nod to one of those cooks. “We offered it a couple Saturdays ago, and they flew out of the kitchen.”
The rolls flew out so fast that it earned a recurring spot on the menu – though only available in limited quantity – probably to a lucky few early rise-and-diners.
Randolph and Beauchamp introduce their new menu on Thursday, April 14 – a mere teaser to the signature evolution the chefs promise ahead. Every month or so, expect a new concoction to come out of the kitchen, a “staff pick” designed by a cook just getting his legs in the kitchen; Beauchamp’s aforementioned reward to those cooks that followed him back home to Half & Half – and his gift to the diners who are doing the same.
Half & Half
8135 Maryland
314-725-0719
Tues – Fri: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sat. – Sun: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
