Yellowbelly opening: Order this never-before-seen entree at the new CWE restaurant

The last time SLM checked in with the cast and crew at Yellowbelly, the seafood-forward restaurant poised to make a splash in the Central West End, celeb chef-consultant Richard Blais was holding his first in-house menu meeting. The discussion was menu specifics rather than generalities, the first of several such meetings with owners Travis Howard and Tim Wiggins. Over the past few days (and through the upcoming weekend) bits and pieces of the menu are being introduced at a series of soft openings over the weekend.

The grand opening is Monday evening, September 17, and Blais will be on hand taking the collective pulse. It was his idea to open up the kitchen (now visible through the peek-a-boo back bar), so the cooks can absorb the energy and witness the oohs, ahhs, and wide eyes.

There’s plenty to get excited about.

The inaugural menu includes Snacks ($10-ish), sharable Plates ($8–$18), and sharable Entrees ($20 and up), and will eventually include 25 items when the kitchen’s training wheels are jettisoned. Some of the item descriptions are straightforward and brief (“Skull Bay Prawns, Chili Butter, Lime") while others are clever and connote Yellowbelly’s breezy attitude (“Chicken of the Sea-sar Salad, Confit Tuna, Croissant Croutons, Parmesan”) and “Wu Tang Clams, Portuguese Sausage, Swiss Chard, Chinese Wine”).

The first item served to inaugural guests—the nondescript-looking Deviled Crab Fritters—is destined for greatness. About the size of arancini, chock-full of luscious lump crab, and served with passionfruit mustard (overheard: “They had me at passionfruit mustard”), this will be the “Snack” people chatter about and return for. “Addictive” is an overused food descriptor, but used it will be.

A seven-pack of sharable, lighter-than-light Cheddar Sea Biscuits are served with uni butter, a riff on Red Lobster’s legendary Cheddar Bay Biscuits, according to sous chef Kate Wagoner, who after having working at Blais’ restaurants for eight years in Atlanta and San Diego, has moved to St. Louis.

The wood grid above the L-shaped bar defines the space. The hope is that the hanging structure will mitigate sound at what’s likely to be one of the busiest bars in town. A likely comestible at the 16-seat bar is Yellowbelly’s Double Cheeseburger, shown below with fries tossed in salt, pepper, and Aleppo chili flakes.

Wagoner says that this one is an ode to In-N-Out's burger, which conjures both the West Coast and the sea. The meat is a proprietary blend of three cuts of beef and dry-aged fat (in a 30/30/30/10 ratio). Two, 4-ounce griddled patties are topped with American cheese, a name-still-in-development kitchen sauce, and pickled daikon, which would be the standout ingredient were it not for sliced onions that have been vac-packed in mustard (sealing in the flavor) before seared to order. A toasted brioche bun completes the tall package.

Photo credit Andrew Trinh

Blais, whose rise to fame had him dabbling with liquid nitrogen, promised that there will be molecular gastronomy, but the restaurant “will not be a school or a science lab.” To wit, Oysters & Pearls arrive topped with tiny spheres of frozen Clamato juice, a subtle adjunct that enhances—not masks—the delicateness of the deep-cupped Kumamoto bivalve. Avocado Toast (yes, it's still a thing), appears topped with chunklets of salmon, radish, cilantro, and a mango-juice filled "yolk." Hats off to Dr. Blais, molecular gastronomist.

Another sharable is Macar-uni Salad. An ode to Hawaii’s ubiquitous macaroni salad, this rendition is made with chopped celery, capers, dill, mayo, and mustard, with uni puree standing in for chopped carrots.  

Blais’ paean to another Hawaiian staple manifests itself as sesame-chili spiked Tomato & Watermelon Poke, the small pieces of fruit subbing for traditional cubes of spiced ahi tuna.

Photo credit Andrew Trinh

Colorful murals from illustrator Noah MacMillan carry through the island theme (notice how the one above wraps the wall) while glossy sea-foam-colored subway tiles play a supporting role on the wainscot. Were it not for the floor-to-ceiling windows, the light, open space would look like it belongs on a beach in the South Pacific.

Platters include a Kalbi-sauced prime porterhouse, portioned and priced for sharing; a whole branzino with a charred green onion salsa verde; and the aforementioned mile-high cheeseburger. However, the jewel in the Yellowbelly crown will unquestionably be the tuna.

In our prior discussion with Blais, the chef indicated that the age-old surf-and-turf concept might be ready for an altered-states comeback. No one dreamed that the result would be the Bone-in Tuna Chop (a.k.a. the Tuna Tomahawk), a two-pound piece of center-cut, A-grade ahi tuna that’s been affixed (via meat glue and caul fat, a connective tissue) to a long rib bone that normally would have a similarly-sized piece of beef attached to it. Seared on a plancha, finished in the oven, then served on the medium-rare/medium cusp with bone marrow compound butter, Swiss chard, and Portuguese sausage, it’s a first for St. Louis and likely the country. “None of us have seen anything like it anywhere,” says exec chef Jason Gethin of the $90 sharable platter.

When asked if the menu had become more or less complex since the restaurant’s conception, Wiggins said that, “Five percent of the menu needs to have a wow factor—and the tomahawk accomplishes that—but the rest of the menu has to be relatable, items that can potentially be ordered over several visits a week.”

When asked if the group called any audibles on the beverage side of the ledger, Wiggins, who heads up the bar program at Yellowbelly, said the original concept began on the beverage side—he wanted to present his vision a modern, clean interpretation of tropical drinks—and realized there had never been a successful pairing of a cocktail-focused restaurant and high-end seafood.

“A lot of the good seafood in town is East Coast style, like Peacemaker’s Old Bay–focused boils and rolls,” he explains. “Our menu has brighter flavors and uses lighter sauces, broths, and acids. Richard’s analysis is that our techniques are more feminine in a way—softer, prettier, and more delicate. We felt confident with the cocktail element, but we needed menu credibility to match. We couldn’t find the right fit here; that’s when we reached out to Richard. His is the exact food we had envisioned for a place like this. And when Richard brought in Jason [a Lafayette High School grad whose wife grew up on the Hill] from San Diego, he grounded it to St. Louis. Jason knows what works in California and what will and will not work in this market.”

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Photo credit Andrew Trinh

Snap Pea Daiquiri - YB white rum blend, snap pea, and lime juice

"My approach is fewer rums in that 60-bottle range, all with a purpose. It’s easier for the customer and the staff, who doesn’t have to spend 20 minutes explaining everything on the back bar. We’ll determine the customer’s specific taste profile, then give them two or three options and price points. A percentage of the rums out there are loosely regulated or of uneven quality. We’d rather spend money on fewer, better rums, including some that are super, super limited, ideally three to four that you can’t get anywhere else.”

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Photo credit Andrew Trinh

Hopes & Dreams - Jamaiican and agricole rums, amaro, mango, soy sauce, carrot and lime juice

Wiggins' umbrella-free "New School Cocktails" menu (most containing rum or rums) shows depth and style. Daiquiris, shrubs (a staple at Retreat), and standard cocktails are available as well.

Like many new, casual dining restaurants, Yellowbelly will utilize the Nowait app rather than accept reservations. When the restaurant opens officially on Monday, the kitchen will open for dinner from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with lunch and brunch debuting later. The bar will close at midnight. “At Retreat, we get a flurry of tables at 10:30, even during the week,” Wiggins says, “so closing the kitchen at 11 isn’t unreasonable.”