This charming spot in Benton Park started a couple of years ago, serving only breakfast and lunch. Last year, it expanded into the space next door and added dinner, much to the benefit of anyone who appreciates creative cuisine.
Chef/owner Brian Hale has an impressive provenance, with stints at Monarch and The Chase’s Eau Bistro included. Here he lets loose and while that can be an act of chef self-indulgence in the wrong hands, Hale has the chops to do it. Many have produced unlikely pairings of savory and sweet, but rarely as well as his Chipotle Cherry Pancakes, offered at an unbelievable $5. Three large griddle cakes, darkened with bing cherries, meaty bacon and chipotle chilis, come stacked and dripping with house-made apricot marmalade, Turkish apricots and balsamic reduction—and more meaty bacon. The blend is outstanding and amazingly satisfying. Don’t pass it up.
Another starter, Shrimp & Chorizo Canneloni ($14), was quite good, consisting of a single large pasta tube stuffed with the spicy sausage and bits of diced shrimp. It was slathered with tangy red pepper coulis and creamy bechamel sauce. How does he do with subtler ingredients, like sushi-grade fish? His Yellowfin Tuna Nacho ($12) is one of the best starters I’ve had, and among the few that blend ingredients so perfectly that no single element overtakes the others. Delicate seared tuna, encrusted with black and white sesame seeds, sits on paper-thin and salty wonton chips and is topped with small-dice mango-pepper relish and wasabi aioli.
An entrée of Cassoulet au Poulet ($18) was an enormous serving and quite tasty, served as a brothy dish with shredded white-meat chicken, white beans, arugula and very well-prepared pork belly—crisped and meaty. The menu listed truffles as an ingredient, but I didn’t see or taste them. It was an enticing dish, but should have been less soupy and if not exactly firm, more velvety in texture.
The night’s special, Salmon with Coconut Curry and Mango Relish, was a successful dish of well-peppered, seared salmon topped with a very good butter-coconut sauce that had a slight curry bite and bits of mango, red onion and green pepper. The accompanying roasted asparagus spears, however, had a funny taste, something perhaps picked up in the pan/grill that interfered with their delicate flavor.
Chilean Sea Bass ($25) was nicely done as a thick fillet, well-browned on top. I take some exception with the accompanying side, golden raisin rice, which had too many raisins, making the dish overly sweet and—we eat with our eyes, too—overly white in color.
The big disappointment was the Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter ($5) side dish. It came way too and had a peculiar sweet flavor, perhaps vanilla, that simply did not work.
Desserts, also made in-house, were enjoyable. Our Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding ($6) came with sea salt caramel ice cream from Serendipity and a drizzle of Kahlua cream sauce. The cakey dish was subtley flavored, with nice crisped spots around the edges and good texture inside.
[amuse bouche]
the scene | Innovative neighborhood bistro
the chef | Brian Hale
the prices | $7 to $12 starters, $18 to $24 entrees
the favorites | Yellowfin Tuna Nacho, Chipotle Cherry Pancakes, Butternut Squash soup, Cassoulet au Poulet, Salmon with Coconut Curry and Mango Relish
[chef chat] » brian hale
culinary pedigree | No formal training. I staged in Europe and have been a chef at Squires, Monarch and The Chase
favorite ingredient | Swine
favorite cookbook | There’s one about cooking with a 5-year-old that I use when I cook with my daughter.
most memorable meal | The Waffle House in Granite City where I reconnected with a soulmate.
favorite st. louis restaurant | Pueblo Solis
guilty pleasure food | Ice milk and Ho-Hos
2901 salena st. | 314.449.1995
Photos: Bill Barrett