STL Dining....finally

L'antipasto

With apologies to Blackberry toting (and other) readers, despite my best efforts, this got overly long. Perhaps reading in courses might be appropriate. it's always out there...

Il Primo:

Before launching into a recap of our (non family) holiday dining in St. Louis, it might be time to repeat this thought as I do from time to time. I know (hope!) that our dining companions will see my notes, so I want to emphasize something. Every time I go to a restaurant, I can’t help but critique everything I see from space, to service, to presentation and quality of the food product. I enjoy doing this. And, over the years I think I have developed a pretty good appreciation for what’s right and what’s not. I sincerely believe that every (serious) restaurateur wants you to walk out wanting to come back, so I don’t feel bad about noting what’s right and what’s wrong.

I try to do this objectively, and completely separate it from the social part of the evening. What would I think if I were alone? So, if you ate with me/us at restaurant X, and I say the service was poor, food not right, etc. it most certainly does not distract from the joy of being with people you like and enjoy spending time with. I would hope that by now, most of my companions know this unbalanced side of me and have come to accept it. I could have a bad meal, poorly served and still enjoy myself. I would also hope that anybody who goes to a restaurant would also be sensitive to what’s going on. If you don’t think it’s right, it probably isn’t. Things don’t get better by ignoring them..

Il Secondo

Our first evening in st. louis (fresh off the road) was ended by joining some friends for dinner at Almond’s in Clayton. It’s in one of those little “storefronts” on Maryland Avenue across from Cardwells, sort of a posh little row of shops. Despite being a Tuesday night (although maybe a holiday Tuesday night), it was pretty full (7:30 reserve) and had a lot of energy. As we were first to arrive, we were seated and immediately offered drinks. Noise level (as Mr. Seitsema would say) is such that you must speak loudly to be heard. There are two rooms, one to the left and the other to the right. The bar maybe on the left but I’m not sure. There’s a little blackboard on the table with the menu in chalk, and for us with aging eyes it provides a little challenge. Light levels are probably appropriate. I levied the drink test, and MFO had a glass of chardonnay. By the time our drinks arrived, so had our friends and they caught up with drinks. The drink test was a failure, it arrived with a cherry and had that reddish give away. I reminded the server that I had requested a twist, and got an apology along with a twist. The cherry remained. I didn’t fight it any more. In the interest of brevity and concern for the reader’s time and stamina, the table had appetizers of chicken and sausage gumbo, chef’s risotto (I’m a sucker as I’ve mentioned), and the soup du jour which was a tomato concoction. The risotto was a bit tighter than I prefer (it’s me, doesn’t have to be you), and the rest were good. Mains were their “featured” golden trout, off the menu/blackboard scallops, pan fried chicken and blackened Tilapia. My golden trout (which the server assured me I would love when I ordered) looked so much like salmon I stupidly asked and was in no certain terms told it was indeed a golden trout, and indeed is the State Fish of California!! The quality of the food was above average; the service was adequate and not intrusive. A nice casual evening with friends, we would return.

Wednesday turned out to be “Trattoria Day” for the flutters. We began a rainy cold day by going to Straubs to obtain victuals for upcoming functions, so were in Clayton and decided to complete the objective of lunch at Luciano's Trattoria. As extremely alert readers will remember that idea last year turned into lunch at the place across the street (Araka) which was not completely satisfying. Our backup this time would have been the always reliable Café Napoli. Even though the hour was approaching two, we did find Luciano’s open and after stuffing 8 quarters in the parking meter (in the rain, DFL) we were seated at a nice table by the street. And, guess what? There was the brown square of paper covering the white table cloths. Ahh, Vincenzo, I offer my deepest apologies..I still gotta learn why/where that tradition arises from. We were only the third occupied table, and the second left shortly after we arrived. The room was nicely arranged, typical Italian bistro, dark stuccoed walls, arches, the usual stuff. Tables were not close together so a busier evening might not be too loud. As it was, a quiet lunch in the rain seemed nice. A young man eventually brought us waters, and after another eventually the server came over and to be honest I don’t remember if he did the dance (I gotta bring that notebook) and delivered the menus. He looked askance at my water glass which seemed cloudy, and replaced it. He also informed us that the soup of the day was a wild mushroom bisque (what more could you ask for on a cold rainy day!), and a special was Lobster Ravioli. Drinks? Eschewing tradition, I ordered a martini (hey, it’s lunch!) and MFO a chardonnay. Bread and olive oil arrived at a leisurely pace along with the drinks. Now, I didn’t specify I wanted an olive/twist/onion/whatever, but the martini was served sans any garnish. I thought if nothing was said, an olive would appear. Someplace along in here a loud shattering noise was heard such as dropping a tumbler from fairly high, immediately followed by the water guy holding up the touchdown sign and speaking loudly “It was me! I’ll admit it”. On a cold rainy day it carried off well. Not sure what the management thought. We each ordered a bowl of the mushroom bisque (cups not available), I had the Lobster Ravioli and MFO went with a roast beet salad with goat cheese. When I inquired about a wine list, it was brought by a sommelier lady which very much surprised me (lunch/two o’clock day before Christmas eve). Unless you see something on the wine list you really like and are sure of, and depending on your immediate impression of the sommelier, I don’t think this is a bad way to go. I first asked if we didn’t finish the bottle could it be corked and taken with. She said yes. Then she asked if I was thinking of something (medium body red), what we were eating (mushroom soup/lobster rav/beet salad), and what price range we were thinking (mid range). She suggested a couple of bottles, and I asked which one she would prefer, and we ordered that. Leaving the notebook out again erases our selection, but I think it was a Barolo. She asked about where we were from, and had a nice conversation. The wine was brought, she tried it as did we and accepted it. About that time the soup arrived. Pungent with woodsy aromas, hot and thick, it was just right. (Brevity losing out here), the Lobster Ravioli was steamy hot swimming in a great broth, chunks of pasta encased lobster and vegetables. MFO’s salad was enormous, but good although I thought I saw some brown tinges here and there, but it was a dark dressing and that may have been it. With no other tables to claim his attention, our server chatted with us and we learned he’s a last minute shopper and intended to do his whole list the following afternoon (Christmas eve) as he would be off. Service good, food appropriate for the day, the Sommelier was a great experience, but I don’t think we walked away with anything more than an enjoyable, not great experience. We would go back, but maybe not to the exclusion of another place (except Araka). Their chef is a veteran of Le Cirque in NY, not too shabby a credential. Certainly you can’t go wrong (for the most part) with Italian in St. Louis..

That evening we Trattoria’d again, this time a return visit to an old standby Trattoria Marcella on Watson Road, not far from the legendary Ted Drewes. Due to the length of the jabbering about Luciano’s I don’t need much ink on Marcella. Easily the most enjoyable experience we had, the setting is cozy, (yes, paper on the tables) and the staff is friendly. Yes, her name was, and she would be taking care of us, and we all made “Great Choices”, but somehow it starts to roll off my back. I don’t like it, it’s not necessary, I wish I could fix it, but it doesn’t distract me so much anymore. I will still pass it along if I get a chance. But We had a great meal. We shared an appetizer of Toasted Ravioli that was excellent, we had nice Caesar salads (the anchovy made it’s appearance in the dressing rather than in person), I had an off the menu grilled Swordfish, MFO had …. There was a chicken dish, and also a carbonara. All were excellent. A lush red wine (where’s that notebook again) washed it all down. Highly recommended. A must do in STL..


Il Dolce

and with an exhale, we wrap up our Holidays for 2009. what a year. Good meals, wine, friends, family, and experiences. Hope we are all together to do this again next year (uh oh, here comes those "expectations" again!!). and please, continue to be

DFD