Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
15525 Olive
Chesterfield
636-536-2199
Lunch and dinner daily
Average Main Course: $18
Reservations: Absolutely
Chef: Charlie Gitto Jr.
Dress: Fashionable—and while we’re on that subject, does anyone really look good wearing Crocs? We didn’t think so.
Is there a better meal than a meaty, mahogany shank of pig? With just enough luscious fat to tenderize fragrant flesh so meltingly soft that the meat flakes off in moist chunks, leaving nothing but a pair of bare bones on the plate? An impressive presentation of pork osso buco comes to the table at Charlie Gitto’s Chesterfield restaurant with the leg anchored by a dollop of golden risotto. You have not dined well if you haven’t tried it. The risotto is perfect, studded with brunoisette cubes of carrot and fragrant slivers of mushrooms that provide a delectable, creamy counterpoint to the meat. Altogether, it’s a cucina bellissimo still life that looks as wonderful as it tastes.
That’s not to say the osso buco is an easy choice. The menu at Charlie Gitto’s “West” has temptations. Lots. We were distracted by veal, pounded thin and sautéed Milanese-style, or in a Marsala wine sauce. An unusual take on saltimbocca beckons, using chicken and a white wine–and–sage demi-glace. We succumbed, though, to Chicken Nunzio, a breast sliced, breaded, sautéed, and then sprinkled with flaky white crabmeat, all of it topped with fontina cheese and a butter sauce perfumed with lemon. The combination of chicken and crab, complemented by the cheese and sauce, is a nicely layered dish, with all of the flavors working together.
One of a dozen pasta dishes, accompanied by salad, is more than sufficient for a full dinner. There’s the familiar penne primavera. A pancetta-flecked bucatini Amatriciana. Baked spaghetti and meatballs. A happily hefty brick of lasagna mortared with ground beef, mozzarella, and creamy ricotta. But the lasagna’s tomato sauce was hurried; it was still too acidic and raw, the only flaw in this otherwise tasty dish. Wide ribbons of a decidedly superior house-made tagliatelle were one element that would tempt diners to confine themselves on every visit to just the seafood pasta Suzanne. The pasta is so good, so perfectly cooked, that it could stand alone as an enjoyable dish. Add generous helpings of shrimp, scallops, and clams, and it’s a very successful main course. Be warned, however: All three of the peppers in the three-pepper cream sauce are working overtime. This is a spicy meal.
Eating steak in a good Italian restaurant? You could pop a Bud Light in Burgundy, too, but it never seemed like a good idea. Nevertheless, if you need your cow protein, the chef can punch up presentations of bone-in rib-eyes, filets, and New York strip three different ways. They’re available rolled in Italian bread crumbs and topped with fontina cheese, lemon butter, and mushrooms; with cheese, butter, and crab flakes; or “Bourbon-style,” dusted with Creole spices and a barbecue sauce.
A pizza Margherita comes from a brick oven: The cracker crust so locally beloved is spackled with just a film of mozzarella and thin rings of fresh tomato, then sprinkled with pungent basil. This is also the place to try the pride of New Haven, Conn.: a white clam pizza. St. Louisans eat endlessly astonishing stuff on pizza; why this version isn’t more popular around here, we can’t figure. Shucked littleneck clams, bits of pancetta, a spatter of thyme, garlic, and caramelized onions—this pie, with just a smear of milky white sauce, is a classic.
Appetizers? A necessity here. A platter of mussels looks like sculpture, the dark bivalves stacked in a tower, with a light tomato broth infused with lobster stock. Shrimp, roasted with garlic and rolled in seasoned bread crumbs, is a Gitto’s tradition. We opted for a golden mound of calamari and rock shrimp, batter-fried, that didn’t need a creamy chipotle sauce to be enjoyable. If you remember the joy that was the cheese garlic bread at the original Talayna’s, Gitto’s bagel topped with garlic and cheese will seem like meeting an old friend—and devouring him.
The wine menu will keep you occupied. Notorious Super Tuscans, like Tignanello, are worthy, but consider a tremendous bargain: the underappreciated Sicilian Colosi Rosso.
Desserts are a showcase of la dolce vita. Racks of cakes, tarts, cannoli rolls, and pastries sit behind glass cases at the eatery’s entrance. All can be ordered to take home. The restaurant’s location, at a West County crossroads thousands pass through on their way home from work, should mean lots of households in the Chesterfield region are upgrading desserts at family dinners, courtesy of these takeout sweets.
The good: Pacing is excellent; appetizers arrived punctually, the same as every other course, even though the place was packed. And the bar is comfortable, attractive, and fun.
The bad: It’s loud. Ninth-inning, bases-loaded-in-a-tie, Pujols-coming-to-bat loud. At dinner, it is actually challenging to hold a conversation with tablemates. Our waiter confessed there had been some complaints; we expect some remodeling might be in the future. For now, if you’re planning an engagement proposal or political coup and you want to be sure you’re heard, opt for dinner in the bar.
The ugly: Window shades diffuse but do not eliminate the setting sun’s glare. Early-evening, west-facing diners here can expect to stare at the black silhouettes of companions across the table.
Overall, Charlie Gitto’s provides a delicious slice of formal Italian fare to far West County, with a wide menu and worthwhile offerings. And strolling past those dessert cases on the way out? Don’t forget the cannoli.
The Bottom Line: One of the most beloved Italian restaurants in St. Louis opens a western location, with classic fare and its own signature dishes.
