Niche News

If you’ve ever hit Niche in St. Louis – and I really hope you have – you’ll be excited to hear this, from Sauce Magazine today:

News came via Twitter this afternoon that Gerard Craft, chef-owner of Niche, Brasserie by Niche and Taste by Niche, will be opening a new restaurant: Pastaria by Niche.

According to chef/owner Gerard Craft,

So the concept is Pastaria; that is the main focus of this restaurant – the pastas. It will have a grill and a wood oven for cooking meats and stuff like that, but the main focus is going to be pasta: how it’s made, trying to include the public on the whole process. We’ll be making all our pastas, fresh and dried, and hopefully the customers can watch the process happen.

Read the rest.

Guilt, grades, great sausage on the Hill

My Tribune column, on the Hill and its variations on Italian sausage, is here.

Pappy’s Smokehouse

My first reaction to Pappy’s Smokehouse in St. Louis, which is quickly becoming the go-to place for ‘que in the Gateway City, was “Man, I love a place that lives up to the hype.” For a bbq joint that hasn’t even been open two years (since February 2008), it’s developed a remarkable following. So when a respected St. Louis chef with whom I’d exchanged emails regarding StL lunch options suggested the place, and I found myself in the area, it was time to give it a shot.

4 Quick Notes: St. Louis

Stratton’s Cafe: A far better breakfast than you’d expect in the shadow of the Ritz Carlton. I had a truly excellent breakfast burrito; biscuits and gravy were quality too.

La Vallesana: Tiny dive of a restaurant in St. Louis’ Mexican-dominated Cherokee Street. Well-worth the trip south on Jefferson. Great tacos, unparalleled people-watching, low wallet-impact.

Llywelyn’s: Had a couple here come completely unglued on my for propping my feet up in a chair. On plastic lawn chairs in the deserted beer garden outside. Amongst the bird droppings and Bambino’s-level formality. Almost fisticuffs, no joke. The fish and chips were forgettable.

The City Museum: Amazing climbing/mayhem center. A truly kickass place for kids. Without kids in tow, it’s a monument to $24 very poorly spent.

Recession? What recession?

St. Louis’ excellent Mosaic – the four year-old still talks about “snack dinners” because of an August visit – is to double in size. According to the St. Louis Business Journal,

Claus Schmitz (pictured), chef and owner of Mosaic, believes dining confidence will return by spring. In fact, he’s betting $250,000 on it.

RFT’s Best of St. Louis

The Riverfront Times has released another installment of its staggeringly expansive “Best of St. Louis” listing. What surprises you? And who knew Soulard Farmer’s Market wasn’t the best in town?

St. Louis Miscellany

Other St. Louis eats:

Rooster:
I tracked down this north-downtown place on Chowhound.com and wasn’t disappointed. Specializing in crepes, Rooster has the vibe of a slightly upscale coffee/sandwich shop. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, the coffee nice and black and the space not too crowded when we got there. The 4 year-old enjoyed his raspberries and cream crepe and I the “breakfast burrito,” which was, essentially, a crepe as well. Mrs. Show Me Eats’ “Rooster Slinger” promising andouille, fried eggs and potatoes over toast was let down by the clearly burnt gravy (which the wife smartly had ordered on the side). No attempt was made by the waitress to rectify the situation, though admittedly it was probably the whole batch that had been burned. Otherwise, very tasty, very fresh, and well-recommended. It gets really, really packed after 9am though, so beware.

Amighetti’s:
Ignoring all sense – and other, more highly recommended places on The Hill – I ventured into Amighetti’s for their famous Amighetti Special sandwich. It was a fine sandwich that might have been made better with some real deli meat. This was piled with Oscar Meyer-quality cold cuts and a single lonely pepperocini. The sammich, while decent, was ultimately disappointing (and outclassed by at least four Columbia sandwiches). The absurd “classic” salad of tired, chopped iceburg lettuce and bad tomatoes didn’t help matters. The place was packed with other easy marks.

A Weekend in St. Louis

J. Viviano
Volpi
Zoo
Cardinals game
Adriana’s
Ted Drewe’s
Rooster
Soulard Farmer’s Market
Crown Candy Kitchen

Four outta nine ain’t bad.

J. Viviano, an Italian market on Shaw, was a highlight, and proved more fun than in years past. When I worked in St. Louis in 2000 I was a little intimidated by the staggering variety of foodstuffs available. I no more knew what to do with a jar of capers than I would stepping in to run the kitchen at Babbo. Now, while I still have stated purpose for the capers I bought, I know enough to ask about – and to try – everything I can.

Off to St. Louis

We’re heading to the big city to get our fill of Cardinals action and, hopefully, lots of good food. Surely I can hit J. Viviano, Volpi, the zoo, a Cards game and eat at Adriana’s, Ted Drewe’s and Roosters in a day and a half, right? Oh, and hit the Soulard Farmer’s Market Saturday morning. With Mrs. SME and the mini-SMEs in tow? Sure, shouldn’t be a problem.

Oh, and Crown Candy too. Jeez.

Planning for St. Louis

We’ll be in St. Louis in a couple of weeks and I’m already plotting out the plan of attack. I’m thinking Volpi’s for some guanciale and J. Viviano for caciocavallo cheese. Not especially indicative of Missouri (the cheese especially), but pig has long been the animal of choice for Missourians. Kansas City’s beef stockyards aside, early settlers in Missouri relied on pork above all else. The state’s climate is well-suited to curing meats and pork in particular responds well to the process.

If my first guanciale experiments turn out positive I’ll dive in and get a full jowl from Heritage Foods USA. They raise and process the hogs just north of Kansas City and then cure them in NYC. Stay tuned. In the meantime, what are the other must-dos in St.L foodwise? We’ll try to hit Ted Drewes as well. Amighetti’s for sammiches? Pork steaks somewhere?