Niche Food Group now has nine concepts in its food-and-beverage arsenal. Beginning with the flagship, Niche, which owner Gerard Craft opened in 2005, at age 25, Niche Food Group has built a stellar reputation. Over the years, its restaurants and personnel have received myriad awards, both local and national, including a Best Chef: Midwest James Beard award for its founder. Here’s a rundown of the concepts, in chronological order, and the latest from each:
Brasserie: Earlier this year, executive chef Evy Swoboda and pastry chef Elise Mensing were named James Beard Award semifinalists for “Best Chef: Midwest” and “Outstanding Pastry Chef” (a national category), respectively. In SLM’s 2022 A-List feature, we also named general manager Cat O’Toole among the five member “Dining Dream Team.” It’s no surprise that Brasserie’s food and hospitality continue to be top-notch, worthy of its frequent placement on local Top 10 lists. 4580 Laclede.
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Pastaria: The big news last week was that Craft’s reasonably priced pizza and organic pasta palace is now open seven nights a week for dinner. The news this week: The Salad of Summer (pictured at right), heirloom tomatoes with tomato vinaigrette, stracciatella cheese, fried bread, torn basil, and an ethereal black garlic purée. Devotees can also sit at the pass, where the elapsed time for a Neapolitan pizza is about 10 seconds from oven to plate. 7734 Forsyth.
Cinder House: Next Thursday, July 28, and Friday, July 29, the restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis is hosting an Aussie Barbecue With Latin Flavors, the second of three A Chef For All Seasons dinners. It will feature executive chef Aaron Brooks of EDGE, Steak & Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Miami. The showstopper entrée will be Brooks’ Tomahawk Steaks, suspended and slow-roasted above two Big Green Egg cookers on the restaurant’s eighth-floor terrace and served with anticucho sauce. The multi-course dinner will be served family-style. The price is $125 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and includes a signature cocktail and canapés. An optional wine pairing is available on request. (Click here for reservations and more information.) 999 N. Second.
brassWELL: Located inside Rockwell Beer Co., brassWELL is the spot—maybe the only spot—for outstanding burgers, beer, and beignets in one place. 1320 S. Vandeventer.
Pastaria Deli & Wine: At this deli, wine, and retail shop next to Pastaria, full- and half-size sandwiches are served on Union Loafers hoagies with kettle chips (regular or pepperoncini). Another option is the piada (a riff on the Italian piadina), especially the one with wafer-thin Italian meat, tomatoes, arugula, and red wine vinaigrette, wrapped in a flour tortilla, the perfect light summertime meal “when a giant heavy sandwich can be overwhelming,” says Craft. Recommended specials include the Moxey’s Meatball Sub (on Tuesdays) and Detroit-style pizzas (on Fridays and Saturdays). 7734 Forsyth.
Bowood by Niche: The successor to Café Osage was greeted with popular and critical acclaim when it opened for breakfast and lunch last November. In early March, a prix fixe dinner menu was offered from Thursday through Monday evenings. (By the way, it’s outstanding.) The final menu will debut in late summer, upon the completion of the new outdoor kitchen. 4605 Olive.
Brass Bar: Little-known fact: In addition to its cocktail, beverage, and wine menu, Brass Bar offers the same menu as sister restaurant Brasserie next door. Consider the Monday Suppers, a French-inspired a-la-carte menu, with paired specialty cocktails, which changes every week. (Follow Brass Bar’s Instagram for updates.) Make reservations at Brasserie, but be sure to request seating at Brass Bar. 4584 Laclede.
The Kitchen Bar: Located at the hub of the Food Hall at City Foundry STL, The Kitchen Bar serves craft cocktails, mocktails, local beer, and wine during lunch and dinner daily. You can’t miss the repurposed steel tank hanging above the 28-seat bar. 3730 Foundry Way.
Fordo’s Killer Pizza: A dozen Neapolitan-style pies, plus salads, marinated olives, charred carrot hummus, and gelato, are served at lunch and dinner daily. “We’ll always have some classics but also some off-the-wall pizzas that will pull from other styles of cuisine of the world,” says Fordo executive chef Joe Luckey. 3730 Foundry Way.
