Dave Bailey has launched his second Rooster restaurant in a onetime bank building on South Grand Boulevard, this one open daily for dinner. And I have to say, he’s outdone himself in the decor department. It’s a Jetsons-like, midcentury modern structure, with three long rows of tables lined with metal Breuer-style seating. Each row extends from the windows facing Grand Boulevard to the back of the room.
The seating is ‘community-style,’ meaning you could end up being very close to other diners. That is in keeping with today’s foodie message: Dining is a social activity. And there is an emphasis on eating local, announced right on the front of server T-shirts, and on the menu with terms like ‘Missouri grass-fed beef’ and ‘Kaldi’s fair trade organic.’
While the breakfast menu is eggs-and-sausage heavy, for dinner, there are more standard options (in addition to a few breakfast-y meals). Starters include things like steak tartare and charcuterie, while entrees are downright hefty, with steak, fried chicken and Arctic char. I can heartily recommend the Cured Salmon ($11) appetizer, which is not lox at all, but a generous serving of house-cured salmon fillet encrusted with coffee grinds and spices. It’s presented very attractively on a platter with rows of piped chive and turmeric cream cheeses, capers, diced tomatoes and diced red onion. Served with crostini, the salmon was delicious: smoky, pleasantly dry-cured and well-flavored with rub.
Also good was our Goat Cheese Crepe ($9), a large, folded crepe filled with softened cheese, oven-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and basil leaves—good flavor and texture. And the Crepe Egg #4, filled with cheddar and deliciously browned potato wedges, was delicious. My only complaint: wish there had been more egg!
An order of Steak Frites ($14) was good, but could have been great. The meat was to be ‘butcher’s choice,’ which that night was rib-eye—the baron of beef, as far as I’m concerned. But it didn’t come sliced, the way I’m used to seeing this dish, and it had an annoying amount of fat (which would have been cut off if the steak had come sliced). Flavor was good, however, and the thin fries were deliciously seasoned and fried.
Stellar was the Fried Half Chicken ($16), served in a large bowl so you had to use your fingers. The chicken was super-crunchy and moist—pure perfection, actually, and came with a tiny pitcher of maple syrup. Also excellent was the White Fish entree ($15), which had a buttery finish and a slight pan sear. It came accompanied by sauteed Swiss chard and crisp leek leaves, all anchored by a honey and red wine gastrique (sauce). The chard (and the previously mentioned potato wedges) spotlighted the kitchen’s penchant for salt—many would find the level used here too high—so speak up before ordering if you want little or no salt.
The evening’s least impressive dish, Monkfish Stew ($14), had a too distinctive clove-y flavor and way too much sweet potato in relation to the fish. Additionally, it didn’t seem like anything else was in there—misleading, considering stew implies variety.
Things got back on track with a sweet crepe, Roasted Apple, which was not only scrumptious but very well priced at $6. It had a heaping mound of sliced apples, which had been macerated in cider and sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. Also delish: the house-made salted caramel ice cream—very creamy and sweet (and, of course, salty).
[amuse bouche]
the scene | Hip, urban, retro diner
the chef | Dave Bailey
the prices | $6 to $10 starters, $9 crepes, $11 to $15 entrees
the favorites | Cured Salmon, Roasted Apple Crepe, Fried Chicken, White Fish, House-made Salted Caramel Ice Cream
[chef chat]>> dave bailey
What made you choose South Grand?
I have lived in the neighborhood for 13 years, so it seemed the perfect fit.
Do you have a thing for breakfast food?
I like eggs, it doesn’t matter how they are cooked.
What’s your favorite dish on the Rooster South Grand menu?
The sliders
How did you decide on the unusual decor?
This building was originally a bank built in 1962 in the mid-century architectural style, so we wanted to give the restaurant a mid-century modern feel.
3150 s. grand blvd. | 314.772.3447
Photos: Bill Barrett