Consider the name, if only for a moment.
The brain instantly rewinds and cues up the Michael Jackson song of the same name, the multi-Grammy-winning, 1983 single that helped Thriller become the bestselling album of all time.
Go ahead and toe-tap to the bass line, while we reveal the genesis of the name.
The restaurant is an homage to Robinson’s parents, Billie (her elderly mother) and Jean (her father, now deceased). “After I Fratellini [the little brothers], we followed through with Bar Les Frères [the brothers], but that was good,” she says. “That kind of theme can only be taken so far before people begin to cringe.”
Despite its diminutive size (950 square feet), the restaurant (the former Yo My Goodness Frozen Yogurt shop at 7610 Wydown) will serve entrée-sized portions, rather than the still-and-forever-trending small plates. “A lot of the time, there’s just not enough food on the plate,” Robinson opines, before quipping, “...and if it’s good, I still have to share?”
Robinson’s longtime chef, Ny Vongsaly, will once again helm the kitchen, which Robinson says will be contemporary American in theme, but the menu also will revisit classics from Café Zoe (her flagship restaurant in Lafayette Square) and Zoe’s Pan Asian (in the CWE).
“If you think about it,” she says, “today’s ‘American’ cuisine is very broad-based,” an anything-goes statement that rings true. Think about how many contemporary chefs have blurred cultural culinary lines because they just want to cook the dishes they enjoy eating. “That’s what American cuisine has become,” concludes Robinson.
Although the plans are still in the conceptual stage, Robinson says the 34-seat restaurant, slated for completion in the fall, would be dark and casually elegant, but “not in the same vintage-y way as Bar Les Frères and not as dressed up as I Fratellini.” The challenge is to create three different vibes on the same street, within a few feet of each other.
Robinson describes the look as “small and New Yorky,” with a logo that resembles that of a '40s supper club and a price point lower than at I Fratellini. There might even be matchbooks.
Outside, expect a complete facelift to the storefront, with French doors leading onto a sidewalk patio. Robinson recently sold her award-winning Bobo Noodle House in University City, so she could concentrate on the three Clayton restaurants. “We call it ‘staying on campus,’” says the restaurateur, who even lives nearby.
And when this author admitted to singing the song "Billie Jean" while writing this article, Robinson's response was "good!"—as if to say, "Whatever it takes, pal. Whatever it takes."
