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Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
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For a decade, crowds flocked to The Grove for Southern-style comfort food. Sweetie Pie’s in the Mangrove put St. Louis on the map for soul food, with the restaurant serving as an anchor in the burgeoning neighborhood and the backdrop for a hit show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Then, abruptly, Sweetie Pie’s closed its doors.
The space sat vacant for nearly a year, until chef Rick Lewis and his wife, Elisa Lewis, announced last summer that they’d revive Southern-style cooking there. He was already renowned for his take on the genre: In 2014, while at Quincy Street Bistro, Lewis was nominated for a James Beard Award. He then opened Southern, the first “hot chicken” restaurant in the city. With Grace Meat + Three, he planned to introduce St. Louisans to the Southern-style meat–and–three sides concept, “which falls somewhere between Quincy Street and Southern, a place to still do fried chicken but with more of a creative outlet,” he explained.
As at Southern, diners may order their fried chicken spicy or calm. Either way, it’s moist and tasty, with a perfectly cooked crust. Cornmeal-fried Mississippi catfish arrives with a tangy comeback sauce and green tomato relish. The sweet tea–brined turkey leg is slowly confited, with a consistency like that of osso buco, rich and sticky from all the protein. It’s topped with a fresh green parsley sauce, a sort of chimichurri, whose sharp freshness sets off the meat.
Or skip entrées altogether and choose four sides for $10—a daunting task. The butter beans are very liquid, the flavor of bacon and ham clear but not dominant. Greens taste like themselves, magnified and glorified. The sweet potatoes, cooked with sorghum and a little hit of bourbon, aren’t gooey-sweet. Tangy, cool beets pair with onion rings, slightly orange-flavored thanks to coriander. A squash soup special spoke of butterscotch, a little heat, and a little acid; it was accompanied by a blueberry garnish. The cracklin’ cornbread is a far cry from the typical cake-like stuff, with rendered fat from pork cracklings lending a savory taste.
Appetizers include such classics as deviled eggs, topped here with deviled country ham. House-made biscuits arrive with apple butter, pimento cheese, and whipped smoked lard. Chicken livers are lightly breaded and quickly fried, so they’re still tender; they're served on grilled bread with a house-made mostarda, pickled onions, and herbs.
If you have room for dessert, try the chocolate chess pie. The filling is thicker than pudding, with a slightly crunchy top, a marshmallowy garnish, and a shortbread crust. Though iced tea is practically mandatory, there is a thoughtful selection of wine and craft beers.
With so many options and an 8 p.m. closing, allow plenty of time for talking and tasting, just like you would at Granny’s.
The Bottom Line: Cranked-up country cooking in an iconic space
