OK, they don’t have cod tongues.
A new seafood restaurant always swells our anticipation that it will satisfy our genetic craving for that greatest of Newfoundland’s delicacies. Our hopes are dashed at McCormick & Schmick’s, the seafood eatery wedged alongside West County Center. We soldiered on, though, putting on our big-boy pants and delving into a platter of seared sea scallops tumbled onto a creamy pillow of golden polenta and drizzled with pomegranate glaze, washing away the sorrow with a citrusy Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, crisp and chill as an October afternoon. Sometimes you just have to make do.
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West County’s McCormick & Schmick’s is a relatively new local link in a countrywide chain. Their idea: Serve seafood, lots of it, with a continually changing variety in an upscale atmosphere. That last part means high ceilings, lots of dark wood and brass, thick carpet, and framed vintage prints on the wall. It’s the spawn of a men’s club crossbred with the dressing room of the suit department at Macy’s. Comfortable booths ring a dining area filled with small, linen-covered tables. The place is lovely for a foursome or fewer; bigger groups will find seating somewhat awkward. But seafood of this caliber is best appreciated intimately anyway. There is a large, convivial bar off to the side of the dining area; local office workers gather there to display plumage.
Mick & Schmick’s shtick is printing a new menu twice a day, featuring whatever seafood’s just been unloaded—and not from the fishing boats docking at River Des Peres. Wherever they get it, their choices are extravagant, with lots of name-dropping. Alaskan halibut, trout from Idaho, Virginian oysters: No other St. Louis restaurant comes close in terms of variety.
Oyster lovers go to their Happy Place here with standouts like the salty-sweet Hyde Points or the brackish, juicy Sailor Girls from Virginia, with a melony sweetness similar to Kumamotos. The mild Courtin Island variety has the delicate flavor of Prince Edward Island eelgrass and was the most complex and enjoyable of the bivalves we sampled. Ignore the dreadful cocktail sauce that comes alongside. Oysters this tasty need only a spritz of the accompanying fresh lemon, if that. Likewise, pass on the tartar sauce needlessly served with the briny, plump, pan-fried Long Island oysters, a satisfying appetizer by themselves.
Crab cake starters are generously crabby, and except for too much salt, they’re suitably seasoned, though the cake’s texture is mushy. A seafood bisque is exquisite. Mussels, steamed with chunks of tomato in a garlic-and-basil broth, are way above average. The locally produced Baetje Farms goat cheese is pungent and delicious, served with a scatter of blueberries and sugared walnuts. But $15 for two thumbs of cheese? Come on. That same cheese, along with slices of tender portobello mushrooms, finds its way onto crusty chunks of bruschetta that work just as well for less money.
Main-course portions are suitably sized, attractively presented, and designed to flaunt the tastes and textures of the starring seafood. We prefer gazing into the eyes of the fish we eat, so we took exception to the headless trout that appeared—and promptly changed our mind. Filleted and crusted in slivered almonds, then splashed with a silky lemon-butter sauce, this fish is delightful, moist, and full of flavor. The sauté pan is the true natural environment of the Atlantic salmon. The fish’s creamy fat renders down lusciously there, marinating the meat. The light, white-wine sauce just kisses the fish so all the meaty taste of the salmon comes through. Halibut, on the other hand, is triathletelean. Roasting flatters its dense texture and mild taste. Fettuccine alfredo was the sole pasta dish offered; a very pleasant, light cream sauce bathed the pasta, shrimp, and sweet knobs of bay scallops.
Some presentations are extravagant—happily so. Not as simply successful as the sautéed version, two other salmon offerings highlight more complex approaches. A big fillet of Atlantic salmon is rolled around a stuffing of flaky blue crabmeat, shrimp, and a hefty schmear of brie that unrolls on the palate in a parade of flavors. The same fish is cedar plank–roasted, a once-trendy preparation that’s stayed around because it really is that good, especially when it’s accompanied, as here, with a piquant sauce of huckle-, lingon-, and other Northwestern berries.
Three options for lobster are available. The serious eater knows only one is ever worthy: steamed, with a side of vegetables and a potato. It’s easy to bungle this preparation. Too long in the pot, and the lobster’s sweetness disappears like stimulus funds. This kitchen came through. We asked for a female (more and better quality meat this time of year) and got one. And she was just like a grande dame from the Hamptons: rich, white, and attractively firm. If you’re in the mood for the simple elegance of steamed lobster, this is a fine place to indulge.
Don’t like seafood? Why’d you read this far? Jeez. There are half a dozen cuts of steak. Go for it, Mr. Buttoned-Up Palate.
Desserts tend to the florid. A carrot cake has about 16 layers, beautifully rich and sweet. Crème brûlée is huge, sumptuous, the caramelized coating crackly and excruciatingly sweet. Share.
The wine selection is extensive and only slightly overpriced. It’s oddly weighted in favor of Bordeaux and cab sav, though most of the fish here go better with the other selections: a Sancerre with the halibut, the Honig sauvignon blanc with those oysters.
Service is efficient, genial, and smooth. There is something a bit corporate in the air, a manufactured bonhomie that will discomfit some. And there isn’t a lot of edgy experimentation coming from the kitchen. On the other hand, the fish is good, fresh, and competently prepared. That’s rare enough in St. Louis to make this a worthwhile dining destination.
Just don’t expect the cod tongues.
Bottom Line: An upscale atmosphere, with terrific seafood variety and more pleasant preparations than you’ll find anywhere else in town.
17 West County Center
Des Peres
314-835-1300
Lunch and dinner daily
Average Main Course: $21
Reservations: Certainly
Dress: Yacht-clubby
Chef: Rex Hale
