SLM | Feast

Best July Meal Deal in Town

Considering the state of the economy, one can understand why Harvest's Steve Gontram was concerned when the eastern section of Highway 40 was shut down. Then came the double-whammy--on June 1, Big Bend Blvd was closed at Highway 40 as well, making approach from the south, well, an adventure to say the least.

Did Gontram panic? Well, not visibly. Lately in the restaurant trenches, when the going gets tough, the tough...do a prix fixe. And Gontram's deal may be the best one yet. He began it on June 1 and has extended it at least until the end of this month. Recipients of Harvest's monthly newsletter can take advantage of a 3 courses for $30 deal (a hellacious offer considering Harvest's entrees hover in the mid-20's).

So sure, sign up for the newsletter, but the fact of the matter is that if you ask for the 3 for $30 deal, you'll get it. Blame it on me. And yes, Harvest's legendary bread pudding can be (and should be) one of the courses. (Signing up for the monthly newsletter also entitles the subscriber to a half-price bottle of wine during that month.) Plus, effective July 1, Harvest went 100% smoke-free. Way to pull out all the stops, man!

And if all that isn't sweet enough, consider this: 6 months ago, Gontram took a cue from Fio Antognini (remember Fio's La Fourchette?) and started offering "free seconds" on entrees, a nifty idea indeed, but curiously, no one has taken him up on the offer. My conclusion: Harvest's portions are so generous no one needs seconds. Or...they're all saving room for the bread pudding. -- George Mahe  

And More From Downunder

It's becoming "Underground Restaurant Central" around here.

Yesterday, after I posted some info about a new "legalized underground restaurant" (which in reality is a new "tasting menu" concept and fully above ground), the clandestine chef checked in with his amped-up July schedule:  

Due to the popularity of last month's all-vegetarian dinner, two more have been scheduled, on July 10 and 11. This time, he plans a more straightforward approach, taking full advantage of just-picked veggies and peak flavors. At this weekend's events, diners will all be seated at the same table, close to the kitchen, allowing for maximim interaction with the chef and his staff. There will be another set of dinners held this month as well, on July 24 and 25.

The UR's website is: http://danssouslaterre.com/ . Contact the chef via this site for menus, wine details, availability, and of course, the secret password.

I really like the chef's latest idea: "alternative donation options," a barter system for interested diners who otherwise could not afford to attend his dinners. One can offer a product, a service, time in the kitchen or serving, perhaps. Hmm, I wonder if he'd consider a dining editor who at one time thought he was a pretty good waiter? -- George Mahe     

It's patio season again...

There are two restaurants opening in the next few days...both are operated by seasoned local restaurateurs and both have the potential for fantastic outdoor dining. Other than that, both are completely different:  

Chouteau's at 39th (formerly Revival): The large booths in the bar area (for my money, the coolest seats in the place, but also real estate hogs) have been removed, effectively de-cluttering the space, opening the room to the patio outside. The former main dining room is now the secondary dining room.

Chouteau's menu is a veritable "Best of Mike Johnson"...spicy Thai calamari dating back to the days of Cafe Mira, Cyrano's roast beef sandwiches, the seared tuna from Boogaloo, Revival's meatloaf and  Mayfair-dressed salad, plus other straightforward pub grub. Johnson wrote the menu, Pete Slay (last of Fu Manchu) will execute it. I noticed but one double-take item: The Fatty Melt, a half-pound burger sandwiched between TWO grilled cheese sandwiches (What, no chili? Ya wimps). Also of note is the "fried potato salad," a replication of the version at Backwater Jack's in Osage Beach.  

 

The complete menu should be available later today when the website (www.chouteausat39th.com) goes live. Until then, call 771-3939 for hours and detes. Chouteau's opens today for lunch and dinner. The weather forecast? Patio perfect.    

The Terrace View: The opening of the long-kept-under-wraps, all-glass, showcase restaurant is, well, day to day.  Jim Fiala's original intent was to open up as soon as possible after the garden's official July 1 opening. Today he tells me that the city employee in charge of the lease "retired yesterday" but all systems are still "go." So it may be next week, it may be later. It may be beer, wine, and cheese plates until the planned "small plates" menu can be practiced and perfected. 

 

The RFT also reports here that, according to Fiala, the "best case scenario" is a mid-July opening, thus missing all the All Star Game hype, hoopla, and histrionics. If you've ever opened a restaurant--at any time, in any economy, or in the middle of any big event--you'd understand the wisdom. And my guess is that this one would have been ugly...an All Star version of table-haggling and table-hogging. -- George Mahe    

Another Underground Restaurant Surfaces

Locally, the UR phenomenon has been gaining momentum. The clandestine chef responsible for introducing locals to the concept just held his 11th monthly dinner (by my count), this one an all-vegetarian affair inside a wine cellar in an upcasle cottage in Augusta (more details here.) With locations like that and press like this (here and here), it's no wonder the dinner sold out within 12 hours of its announcement.

To date, one constant--and a major selling point--of UR's is the ever-changing venues. Until the day of the event, diners are not aware of its exact location, which only adds to the hype and to the mystique. (When I learned last weekend's dinner was held in a wine cellar--on a 90 degree night, no less-- my first reaction was: "Damn, I missed a good one.")

There's now a new player in the game--and he's changed the rules. Stone Soup Cottage will offer dinner 3 nights a week (plus Sunday brunch) at a fixed location in Cottleville--a charming, fairy-tale 1850's farmhouse, to be exact. The food and wine premise--a fixed tasting menu at a fixed price with optional paired wines--is similar to other UR dinners, although here there's an option for adding more courses. The emphasis at SSC is on seasonal (and often rare) ingredients and on unusual preparations.

It's owned and operated by Carl McConnell, a well-traveled and renowned chef, and his wife Nancy, who seized an opprotunity to create "a unique dining experience." Whether you call it "legalized underground," as the McConnell's do, or just the newest concept in dining out, it matters not. What's relevant is that it's progressive and it's different. So this weekend, if it's culinary fireworks you're after, Stone Soup Cottage may provide some ooh's and aah's. -- George Mahe 

When at the Clayton Farmer's Market...

stop by the single, no-frills table--the one NOT overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables--the one that's sponsored by Angel Baked Cookies, the program initiated by North Grand Neighborhood Services designed to teach area youths how to market and operate a small business. 

The day I wandered past, unbeknown to me, the kids were practicing their sales pitch. It was smooth, unobtrusive, and effective. I promised I would spread the word. You'll find those kids every Saturday at the Clayton Farmer's Market venturing out--some boldly, some shyly--to spread the word about their little business...and hopefully sell you a cookie or two. 

I liked the kids, I liked the cause, I liked the cookies...a buck apiece or, as I was enthusiastically told, "only $7 for a dozen." -- George Mahe   

Table Three Now Open

It's the third location for Cuisine D'Art Cafe and Catering's Beth Williams, hence the name Table Three. Open just two weeks, cozily positioned in the niche between "upscale" and "fine dining," it's located on Main St. in Wildwood. As yet, there's no website and no online menu (minimal info here), but since inquiring minds had to know, we gassed up the flivver and paid a visit.  

The place is beautiful...comfortable, handsomely appointed, 130 seats divided into 3 separate rooms, plus a sprawling patio (with soft seats, fireplace and water elements) that had takers even on a 90 degree night. There's also a late night bar and patio menu on Fri and Sat nights, served until 1AM...another nice touch.

First impression of the bar? Hard to disagree with thin-lipped wine glasses and a respectable wine pour. The food? A respectable selection of appetizers, pizzas, and entrees priced in the 20's, but at two weeks, too early to evaluate. But I will say that Three Tables is now on Dave Lowry's short list for a review and on my short list for patio dining. -- George Mahe

I swear, I just read it for the food articles...

Not to be outdone in reporting something really big on the food scene today, I see that Playboy  has nominated a sandwich from St. Louis to its A-List of Top 10 sandwiches on playboy.com for June. This is a national compilation, mind you, so the city should be awash in pride.  

So take your best guess...something from Blues City Deli perhaps, maybe the South Side Smoke from Stellina Pasta? Those cagey devils...did they surprise us by picking Lester's pastrami, the leanest pastrami in town? Neoooo. The sandwich picked (along with the Italian Beef from Al's in Chicago and the Philly Cheesesteak from Pat's in Philly), was the created-in-St. Louis, $2.40 white-bread-wonder, St. Paul Sandwich from Wong's Inn in Maplewood. Here it is, in all its wax-paper glory.

OK, I'll admit I am a fan of the St. Paul, but I'm also a bit dumbfounded. Sure it's simple, quirky, homey, homely, and perfect floating atop a belly fulla beer, but a national Top 10 sandwich?  Nah. What's worse, they overlooked one that's right in their own back yard: a fully-loaded char-dog from The Weiner's Circle in Lincoln Park, especially sublime after 2 AM. -- George Mahe 

Caito's Closed

Caito's Glendale location has closed, effective Sunday, June 21. The sign on the window asks patrons to "visit us at our Chesterfield location." 

Caito's Glendale was one of those "cursed locations," if you believe in such things. Years ago, 10012 Manchester was home to Teutenberg's, then to The Glendale Grill, Chesapeake Bagels, several BBQ establishments, including Pitmaster and Super Smokers...and I'm sure there are more. Several months ago, banners began appearing in Caito's front windows...advertising a new menu, new lunch specials, new dinner specials. Then came the curbside Coroplast signs offering even more specials. In my mind, such "signs of desperation" can often be replaced by a single one: "The End is Near."  

In a March 2008 SLM feature on local pizza, SLM took a fancy to Caito's seafood pizza, a seafood and garlic lover's dream, the only local pizza I can recall that includes baby octopus. That pizza is available at Caito's remaining location, at 414 THF Blvd in Chesterfield.  

Who will take on the shuttered location is anybody's guess...I would wager it won't be a pizza joint. Pi's second store, Pi Squared, will open in the Fall a little over a mile away at 10935 Manchester, former home to Two Nice Guys/Trattoria Two. I'm sure the Caito's saw the writing on the wall. -- George Mahe

Restaurant Scams on the Rise?

It could be a sign of the times--or maybe diners are actually beginning to pay attention to their credit and debit receipts--but lately I've been hearing more and more reports of incidents of tip jacking and check padding...local reports, mind you. 

Here's what's going on: 

Check padding: 

For smaller parties, lesser items most often get "padded" onto the check (an extra drink, cups of coffee or cappuccino, a dessert). If the diner spots the error, he gets the "sorry, I added those onto the wrong table" excuse. Servers really have little to gain here, though--their take on the upcharge is a miniscule increase in the tip--but I guess "miniscule" can add up. Larger parties seem to suffer the majority of the abuse, and the items added tend to be more extensive and more expensive (an extra entree, an extra bottle of wine, several extra drinks). Usually the group splits the bill and no one in the party ever bothers to scrutinize it. A dishonest server can pocket an additional $5 to $10 or more per large table.  

Tip Jacking: 

This is more common because it's easy for servers to do and easy to get away with, especially when the meal is charged and the tip is left in cash. In the latter case, the dishonest server simply adds an amount to the blank "Tip" line and often no one--manager, bookkeeper or victim--is the wiser. It's also easy to alter a tip that is on the charge...as easy as turning a "3" into an "8." And we've all fallen victim to the double-tipping that can occur when a large party leaves a tip on top of the "mandatory gratuity" often added to a large party.  

How often do these things this happen? No one knows for sure. An executive with the Missouri Restaurant Association says that such information is not collected or quantified, but "doesn't think it's a big problem." After I admitted that even I do not cross-check my receipts with my bills, the executive admitted the same. So how do we know it's not a problem, I asked?

If you are curious enough to begin paying a bit more attention--as were we--a few tips and words of caution:

1. Online banking junkies realize that most debit and credit card processors add "an approximation of the expected tip" at the time the charge is run through. The amount of the transaction plus tip initially is not accurate...and it will not be accurate until the charge is fully reconciled. This can take up to 48 hours, so don't bust a restaurant's chops until the charge and tip are finalized.  

 

2. If you tip in cash, mark a double line across the "Tip" line and bring down the total twice (never a bad idea), making alterations doubly difficult. 

3. One quick way to see if you've been tip-jacked is to use the CheckSum method (as detailed here). It's so much easier than reconciling crumpled receipts with statements and almost 100% effective. I now use this method all the time. But for those folks with limited addition skills who happen to own an iPhone, of course, there's an app for that. -- George Mahe 

The Power of the TV Food Shows

This year, Mike Emerson, owner of Pappy's Smokehouse, accepted the invitation from Danny Meyer to join 14 other pitmasters at the 7th Annual Big Apple Barbeque Block Party, to be held tomorrow and Sunday at Madison Square Park in NYC. It's an honor to be selected, to be sure, but one that comes with having to feed approximately 3000 people each day. Emerson sent his equipment, supplies and pit crew ahead several days ago, in several Pappy's-logoed trucks. 

So Emerson answers Pappy's phone on Wednesday; it's a gentleman calling from Cleveland: "I saw you guys on Man v Food and thank God you're here...where are you located and do you have any ribs left? I'd like to come by and pick up a slab." A bit confused, Emerson replied that Pappy's was located only in St. Louis, with only one store. "But I just saw your trucks," the guy pleaded. Emerson explained the situation, thanked the man for his inquiry and told him, "well, at least I know where my guys are." 

Next stop, New York City. Best dishes, gentlemen. -- George Mahe