St. Louis Eats and Drinks

Barrister's Brunch

There aren’t many Sundays left when we’ll be able to eat outside, perhaps only through October. We like the fresh-air factor, however, so we pondered our options, and, following our own advice, checked by phone before we left the house. The first four we called no longer serve the meal.

We ended up at Barrister’s in Clayton, amidst the soccer paraphernalia and half a dozen screens showing the Chelsea-Manchester United match. (Fine with us; we once spent a week watching World Cup telecasts in Norwegian.)

The entire large lunch menu is available as well as breakfast items, but we stayed with the latter. French toast is made with cinnamon raisin bread, which doesn’t yield a particularly handsome result, but the bread was mostly well-soaked in the batter and was good enough to make the syrup almost superfluous. We know we’re all about the taste but it certainly would have looked nicer with a little garnish of some sort, perhaps a few fresh berries, even an orange slice.. Bacon alongside tasted good, but all three strips were tattered, the way thinly sliced bacon sometimes gets as it’s peeled off its siblings before cooking.

Corned beef hash with three eggs over easy was the special. Yes, we were assured, it was homemade. Two of the eggs were perfect, the third with a broken yolk, but if the hash was made in-house, someone did his/her darnedest to make sure it was just like the canned stuff. The potatoes were slightly firmer than Armour Brand, and at times we thought perhaps there was a higher percentage of meat-to-potato, but mostly, that’s the impression it left. A single thickish slice of five-grain bread was lightly toasted, extremely tasty.

Good coffee, good service considering the restaurant was short-handed, but we have the feeling that budget considerations (and Barrister’s is very reasonably priced; we had a $20 check before gratuity) may be affecting things here.

Barrister’s

15 N. Meramec Ave., Clayton

314-726-5997

www.barristers-clayton.com

Lunch & Dinner daily, Brunch Sat.-Sun.

Credit Cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Fair

Smoking:Yes

Entrees: (Brunch)$5-$9

Tin Can Tavern & Grille

If truth in labeling applied to restaurant names, interesting things might happen. In one particular case on Morganford Road, we would have visited the Aluminum Can Tavern & Grille. But we agree that "Tin Can" sounds a lot more pleasant -- and frankly, that’s what most folks call the metal containers beer arrives in. Theoretically, the Tin Can Tavern & Grille should mostly be about beer, and it does feel a lot like a neighborhood saloon. But the granny-style food is far better than what one might expect. And so is the atmosphere in this tri-level spot, dotted with television screens carrying a variety of entertainment, some rather loud – but not uncomfortable – music and a great deal of conversation. Servers are friendly and eager, complimenting the food as they discuss it with diners and answering questions with considerable aplomb.

A wall sign lists more than 50 brands of beer, another offers shirts and things for sale. (If professional sports teams can sell that sort of stuff, taverns should have the same right.)

We split an order of Low Country meat pies, a crisp crust and moist, full flavored filling punctuated with a few peas here and there, and a creamy bacon-tomato sauce for dipping. When a dish is good without its sauce and good-but-different with it, that’s a particular pleasure. This qualifies. Grilled shrimp were moist and meaty, covered in a sticky sweet-and-sour sauce, with some cocktail sauce on hand, a combination that doesn’t qualify for the aforementioned.

Plenty of sandwiches, of course, burgers and grilled cheese and even fried bologna, but we investigated  main courses. "Pork shanks," said the menu. Plural? We pondered. In our experience, a pork shank is a fairly massive thing, maybe six or seven inches long and almost that wide at its base, a moist, succulent cut as a veal shank can be. What we got were two shanks resembling chicken drumsticks on HGH. Clearly finger food, it was like eating a gigantic, falling-off-the-bone spare rib, braised rather than grilled, with some barbeque sauce poured on top. Messy but extremely tasty.

Fried chicken is, in a word, excellent, a crisp, well-seasoned crust enclosing chicken so moist it’s practically dripping. Even an overnight stay in the refrigerator didn’t turn this crust soggy before an encore performance at lunch the next day. Next visit, we’ll try the pot roast and chicken fried steak.

The sides are granny-esque, too. Green beans are cooked until definitely dead, with plenty of bacon for flavor and texture. That’s how Ann grew up with them (hated them as a kid; likes them now), and these are different only in the generous amount of meat. The macaroni and cheese had us scratching our heads, however. It’s thick and really creamy and cheesy, slightly gooey – but it’s sweet. Yes, sweet macaroni and cheese. "Honey and brown sugar," explained a guy in street dress who moved back and forth between the kitchen and a table in the bar. And the honey in particular was noticeable. There are so many variations on macaroni and cheese these days that all we can do is shrug and say that this one isn’t to our particular tastes, especially served with a barbecued pork shank. But we bet it would be if the sweeteners were removed.

Desserts, proclaim a chalkboard, come from la Dolce Via, no small recommendation. A piece of coconut cake was moist, tender pale yellow cake with a fluffy, relatively unsweet buttercream frosting studded with coconut. Nice, soothing, real comfort food.

This is a beer house, of course, rather than wine or most cocktails, and the selection is wide-ranging. Iced tea and similar beverages arrive in Mason jars, the better to carry out the homey feeling.

Tin Can Tavern & Grille

3157 Morganford Rd.

314-865-3003

www.tincantavern.com

Lunch & Dinner daily

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Poor

Smoking: Yes

Entrees: $7-$8 (without sides)

Chicago, Part 1

  Chicago is an underappreciated city. We never fail to be charmed by its use of the lake, its neighborhoods and its food. (And the theater’s pretty fine, too, but this wasn’t a theater trip.) We don’t visit often enough, as we invariably find ourselves saying about 48 hours into any Chicago adventures. For instance, we hadn’t seen Millennium Park, just north of the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. While the grassy amphitheater and Frank Gehry building were nice, it was the strolling and the sculpture that really rang a bell with us. On a Sunday afternoon in August, the joint was jumping. Cloud Gate, a huge, shiny bean-shaped sculpture was irresistible to both kids and grownups, and there were plenty of benches and chairs, plus a snack cart, to allow for extended people-watching.

The best, however, is the stunning Crown Fountain. Two square, red brick towers sit in a plaza. Water flows from their tops, sometimes on all sides, sometimes on just one or two. The side of each tower that faces its twin also serves as a giant television screen that shows the face of one of dozens of Chicago citizens photographed for the project. For a little while, they simply stare at the camera. And then the mouth begins to move, the lips purse – and a stream of water spurts out of the "mouth," adding to the fountains’ flow. The most marvelous part is that children, along with a few supervising parent types, were, and there is no other word for it, frolicking in the fountain, exulting in the splashes, running to where the flow was greatest. No signs saying "Stay out of the fountain." No one wondering if the Segway-riding cops were going to present a problem. That was what it was meant to be: A place for people to enjoy.

We haven’t made up our minds about the proposal regarding changing the Arch grounds, but if it could be turned into something like Millennium Park, it’s an outcome devoutly to be desired. And it would take more than legislation and money, it would take people willing to come out and play.

And speaking of playing, we found a wonderful site for making anyone feel like they’re playing hooky. Tucked into the curve where Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive intersect at Oak Street is the Oak Street Beachstro. Set directly on the beach, complete with palm trees and gazebos, it feels downright tropical, at least until you turn around and spy the Hancock Building. It’s a very casual spot, not high-fashion dining, that opens around the first of May every year and closes around the first of October, but stretches a little in nice weather. Breakfast on weekends, lunch and early dinner, plus a walk-up window for ice cream and other snacks. We had a light lunch, just a salad, a tuna sandwich and some of the house’s trademark waffle fries. The best way to get there is via an underpass that begins at Oak and Michigan. Kim and Anthony Priola own the Beachstro (we met her parents at a Stone Hill wine event last spring), and the manager is Christopher Klapp, a St. Louis guy.

Oak Street Beachstro

Oak Street Beach, Chicago

312-915-4100

www.oakstreetbeachstro.com

We got started talking about Chicago food with Chris Klapp and, on his recommendation, we had dinner one night at El Barco, a very un-touristed but first-rate Mexican seafood restaurant on North Ashland Avenue. No reservations, but the line moves quickly. The huge menu is one of those things that complicates decision-making. No wonder there are lots of tables for large groups; it’s the best way to taste everything you’d like. Adequate but immense margaritas start things off, and then it’s away we go, with a mixed ceviche that was tangy but not blazingly chile-laden, the seafood pleasingly un-rubbery, and some mussels cooked in white wine with lots of cilantro and chiles. Many tables wore whole fish, crispy deep-fried, like the snapper in many Chinese restaurants, and we were tempted, but ended up with mahi-mahi tacos and shrimp enchiladas. Interestingly, along with the expected but particularly flavorful refried beans, and rice, came a gaggle of steamed vegetables. We never expected to see broccoli on a plate of tacos.

El Barco

1035 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago

773-486-6850

Chicago has become a big town for morning food. However, we were not very happy with West Egg Café, clearly resting on its laurels and serving cold, dry bagels and overcooked lox and eggs. Only a couple of blueberry granola pancakes were even vaguely worthwhile. The Bongo Room (gotta love that name) a retro-looking joint in the Wicker Park neighborhood, has a great reputation, especially for its pancakes. We had a swell scrambled egg and avocado breakfast burrito there, but the lemon-raspberry pancakes, while gorgeous, were tough. We freely acknowledge that folding lemon curd into whipped cream is a great idea, but the texture of the cakes themselves was less than stellar.

Bongo Room

1470 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

773-489-0690

Choosing where to have brunch was, in a word, difficult. Chicago has many good-sounding candidates. What tipped the scale was a menu on the website of Sweets & Savories that offered eggs Benedict made with duck confit. We knew it might not still be offered every week, but any place that thinks up a dish like that is our kind of restaurant. It turned out to be a small place; we were glad we made a reservation.

The bread plate included five different items, something to nibble on with some good coffee while we debated the menu options. This is a two-course prix fixe, and we ended up with a wonderful, rich, cool vichyssoise and a grapefruit brulee that arrived not browned enough under the grill and therefore the only dish that wasn’t exciting. No duck confit to go under eggs, but beautifully braised short ribs were almost as good, rich and unctuous, providing a cradle for perfectly poached eggs. No English muffin base, which is fine with us; we can use the calories and tummy space for better things. Good hollandaise gilded the lily quite nicely. And now (or then) for something completely different, to use the old Monty Python phrase, the other entree: bacon risotto. Bacon, parmesan and, nestled in the center in an eggshell, an egg yolk. The waiter tipped the yolk into the steaming risotto and stirred it in. The result was very close to risotto carbonara, and very satisfying it was.

And as an aside, for a before-breakfast treat, we found an on-the-street tire-repair shop just two blocks away that removed an almost-flat tire, fixed a slow leak and slapped it back on in 20 minutes for a total cost of only $10. A great appetite stimulant.

Sweets & Savories

1534 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago

773-281-6778

www.sweetsandsavorieschicago.com

Like all big cities, Chicago also can be defined by its neighborhoods, though their ethnic makeup changes with immigration and housing patterns. On a tip from a reliable source, we drove through Pilsen, south of downtown and near the new University of Illinois-Chicago campus. Despite its name, it’s a Hispanic neighborhood, pretty quiet at noon on a Sunday. There was, however, plenty of action at one spot, Carnitas Uruapan, a small store with a few eat-in tables and a booming carryout business. We joined the line waiting for a share of what looked like a quarter of a whole hog, roasted, and being carved in the shop window so that passers-by could watch the action, too. We walked out the door 15 minutes later with a pound of sliced and chopped pig, a dozen corn tortillas, a large handful of roasted peppers and a Styrofoam cup of the house salsa, all for $9.75. We took it to - and ate it for - dinner at the Ravinia Festival (Patti LuPone! Audra McDonald!), a picnic meal (rent two chairs and a small table for $7) that was less elegant than those many around us were eating, but soul-shakingly delicious.

Carnitas Uruapan

1725 W. 18^th St., Chicago

312-455-0019

On Anonymity

There’s been some fuss in the national press and among bloggers about restaurant critics’ anonymity being blown after LA critic Jonathan Gold won the Pulitzer Prize last spring.

Much argument on this. Many people, both critics and non-, feel it’s essential. Mimi Sheraton, former restaurant critic for the New York Times, is strongly in this camp. Some people even think that if critics aren’t anonymous, their meals are free. (That is way not true.)

For us – and that’s a key phrase – anonymity is not necessary. A little background first for those who don’t know us:

Joe’s face and name were known publicly (via the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and the St. Louis Football Cardinals) before he began reviewing restaurants for the Post-Dispatch in 1972. There was no way he could have become anonymous. In addition, he ate out a lot and spent much time in bars. Waiters and bartenders are usually good at recognizing faces, and they move around a lot. We’ve been served by the same waiter in as many as six different St. Louis restaurants.

Ann, on the other hand, was just another woman eating out, often alone, when she began reviewing for the now-departed St. Louis DINING in the late ‘80s.

These days, we sometimes find we’re not recognized – and believe us, we can almost always tell. We never identify ourselves as restaurant critics, either locally or when we travel. Even the name on the credit card doesn’t raise flags if we weren’t recognized earlier. (Then there was the waiter who returned with the card and looked curiously at Joe. "Mr. Pollack, the artist?" N.B., Jackson Pollock, the artist, died in 1956.)

In St. Louis one critic (or, in our case, one pair of critics) cannot make or break a restaurant. In New York, the Times reviewer is close to that powerful. Amazing in a city that big, if you think about it. So Mimi Sheraton may be right, in that particular case.

"If being anonymous is so important,

why do I get so many bad meals?"

–Joe Pollack

We may get the best server in the house if we’re recognized, and sometimes we get a change of server partway through the meal. But it’s not hard to tell if other tables in a restaurant are having problems. Craned necks, overheard complaints; it’s not difficult. And our network of spies is pretty good. It includes strangers who come up to us saying, "Are you the Pollacks? Let me tell you what happened to us at Café Ooops."

And food? Well, we may get a larger steak, but we suspect no one in St. Louis has a shelf marked "Critics’ Food" with prime meat instead of choice, picked-an-hour-ago greens and a sign that says "no seasonal vegetable medley." We still get brown lettuce, cold french fries and sour coffee. The soups and sauces have been made, the vegetables prepped, and cakes baked before we showed up. Once, years ago, after an unconscionably long wait, a server confessed to Joe that the chef hadn’t liked what he’d done, trashed the first version and started all over again, but that was a one (or possibly two)-of-a-kind event.

Any kitchen that ‘s seriously interested in impressing the critics can make a study of sloppy habits and resulting complaints and simply avoid repeating them. For us, for instance, they can pick the brown-edged lettuce leaves out of the salad greens and cook something other than the broccoli-squash-carrot vegetable medley, things we have often discussed in clearly negative terms. They don’t do it for us, they don’t seem to do it for other local critics. We say they should do it as a matter of regular practice, which might help business.

And free meals? Let’s get this straight. Our policy is simple:

IF WE DON’T PAY, WE DON’T WRITE.

And a couple of local restaurants were omitted from our last book because they would not let us pay the tab.

The Post-Dispatch insisted that Joe buy all his meals and those of his dining companion, and reimbursed him promptly, though with occasional winces. We have continued that policy. There probably are people out there who accept free meals. We’re suspicious of reviews that always glow, and we try to see whether publications review restaurants that don’t buy ads.

In conclusion, all we can address is how we do things.

This Week's Wine September 15, 2007

The Norton Festival held Sept. 8 at the Missouri History Museum was a fine event, and its success presages even better times ahead for subsequent years, and I hope that more festivals are planned. More than 1000 people showed up on a rainy day (a good day for indoor activities, like wine-tasting) to sample the wares of some two dozen producers of Norton/Cynthiana wines from seven states.

After years of arguments, plant scientists and ampelographers came to the conclusion that Norton and Cynthiana were the same grape, first developed in Virginia by Dr. Daniel Norton in the 1820s and carried to Missouri by settlers heading west. It’s considered a native American grape (like the Concord and Scuppernong) by most, a sport hybrid by some. In any event, it’s now the state grape of Missouri, even though it – like so many Missouri things and people – came from somewhere else.

Missouri producers dominated, of course, but winemakers from Illinois, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma also took part, and the tasting was fascinating, with a variety of aromas and flavors produced from the same grape. This indicates that terroir, or that magical combination of soil and weather, showed its usual major effect on wine.

As a wine-drinker and wine-writer of many years’ standing, and an early proponent of Norton as the host of some fine wines, I was personally pleased by the fact that most of the wineries offered dark chocolate – chips, kisses and some sensational chocolate bon-bons made at Crown Valley – to accompany the samples. I’ve been promoting the sensation provided by the combination of big red wines and dark chocolate for decades, and the fact that so many agreed with me was nice to see.

The entire event was a good one – lots of wine, lots of cheese, lots of chocolate, lots of people wandering around, feeling pleasant, waving wine glasses at one another in a most friendly manner. It was a delightful day, and I hope we have more of them.

I paid the most attention to the Nortons I never had met, and was much impressed by some of them. Chrysalis Vineyards of Middleburg, VA, won top honors in the competition that accompanied the event, and its 2003 vintage was splendid, with all the rich, dark notes that good Nortons display. It was a deep garnet in color, with an aroma that showed plums and dark fruit; the flavor echoed dark fruit and the finish was long and smooth. The wine will improve for several years in the bottle, and it is a delight.

Stone House Vineyard, in Spicewood, TX (near Austin), displayed an ‘04 Norton that was a little lighter in color and flavor, but with enough fruit to be pleasant. The Georgia entry was from Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Tiger, population less than 500. It’s in the corner of the state where Georgia meets both Tennessee and South Carolina was from a vineyard barely a dozen years old. John and Martha Ezzard grow a number of Rhone Valley grapes, too, including Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Mourvedre. Portuguese Touriga Nacional and Tinta Cao also are on their vines. The Norton was tasty, with hints of spice and cedar, but the finish should have been longer.

Summerside Vineyards, on Historic Route 66 in Vinita, OK, and Hinnant Family Vineyards, of Pine Level, NC, had passable Nortons, but they fell short on my palate.

As noted in the last wine entry, Lucian Dressel’s Mary Michelle Vineyards Norton was first-rate but considering how long Dressel has been making Norton, he has a slight edge on other Norton winemakers. Good, rich, fruity wine.

Crown Valley, whose Norton slogan is "blends well with others," showed off several splendid versions, as did Hermanhof, Bethlehem Valley and Westphalia, whose ‘06 showed considerable style.

* * * *

NEW ON THE TRUFFLES WINE LIST: Truffles Restaurant, at 9202 Clayton Rd., has entered an agreement with Crown Valley Vineyards of Ste. Genevieve, and Truffles Cuvee 5 will soon appear on the restaurant wine list, by the glass or the bottle.

Truffles’ John Cain worked with the Crown Valley folks for the blend of California grapes – 40 percent each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, 10 percent each of Shiraz and Cabernet Franc. It’s a delicious wine, filled with fruit and notes of bright spice, some of them notably added by the Shiraz. Cain said that the wine will be available by the end of the month.

My opinion is that the wine is outstanding, and the pricing (under $30 for a bottle, under $10 for a glass) will make it affordable.

* * * *

HOW TO GET A THANKSGIVING INVITATION: People interested in beginning a fine collection of red wines, or for a great winter of drinking, or for the base of a marvelous party, may be interested in the Cabernet Sauvignon offer from Stags Leap, one of Napa’s great wine districts. The growers’ association has put together a super-case of 15 bottles, one from each of the group’s current members, and will offer it for sale at $1200, plus shipping. The association claims it’s the only collection of Cabernet Sauvignon to be offered by a specific AVA (American Viticultural Association appellation).

Only 300 cases are for sale at what appears to be a pretty good price.

The Stags Leap district runs along the Silverado Trail, east of Highway 29, and goes roughly from Silverado Vineyards on the south to the Robert Sinskey Vineyards on the north.

Thirteen of the 15 wines are from the 2003 vintage; the other two, from Regusci Winery and from the Malk Family Vineyards, bottled as Griffin Vineyards, are from 2004. The wineries are: Baldacci Family Vineyards, Chimney Rock Winery Reserve, Cliff Lede Vineyards Poetry, Clos du Val Oak Vineyard, Hartwell Vineyards, Ilsley Vineyards, Pine Ridge Winery, Robert Sinskey Vineyards RSV, Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select, Silverado Vineyards SOLO, Stags’ Leap Winery The Leap Estate Reserve, Steltzner Vineyards Reserve Barrel Select and Taylor Family Vineyards.

The wine is available during October and November and will be sold on the association website, Terlato Family Vineyards, a 16th member, will join next year.

-Joe

Sage

It’s difficult to write about Sage without referring to the restaurant that originally occupied its site. The Lynch Street Bistro was strikingly handsome and, in its early life, a very good restaurant. But for too long, it languished. Now, however, it looks as if good things are happening again.

The delightful staircase to the second floor remains, but the downstairs dining room has been softened and broken up, the decor faintly lodge-ish with pillars covered in stone. (One of the long-ago problems was the racket-ridden dining room.) The welcome is warm, and our server seemed to know the menu well.

Sage seems to be a very Modern American sort of name, and that’s pretty much what awaits the diner, recognizable and mostly familiar, interesting but not deeply outlandish. Rather by accident, we found ourselves ordering some of the more conservative choices on the menu. Next time we’ll try the Cha-Cha Calamari or Mardi Gras Quesadilla with blackened chicken and andouille sausage or some other items, but on this night, comfort food seemed the thing. Wings come with a choice of traditional Buffalo, Louisiana honey mustard, Asian hoisin or root beer BBQ; we chose the traditional, which brought 10 fat, moist wings with nice crackly skin and a delicious tongue-tingling sauce balanced nicely by a little sweet. Another good point is that the sauce didn’t exude the usual puddle of fat on the plate.

Our other appetizer involved Amberbock Buttermilk onion rings, and half that  description may have come from the brewery across the street. Only six arrived, but they were, to understate it, very large. Sooner or later, someone is going to describe this dish as the Tower of Power, though it neither plays rock music nor preaches revival-style sermons, and it might as well be us. The rings were at least an inch wide, and the largest was more than four inches in diameter. The top of the tower was an end larger than many an espresso cup we’ve sipped from.

They were hot, freshly made, nicely crunchy and very well seasoned, pretty much irresistible. The only quibble we had is that one ring was riding-boot tough from one of those unaccountable membranes that sometimes come on onions. The honey mustard sauce alongside was superfluous.

The Real Deal meatloaf was exactly that and the best single dish of the evening. This is among the best meat loaves (Note to philologists out there: Is it loaves, or loafs?) we’ve ever had at a restaurant. Moist and tender but not falling apart, with a meaty texture and pleasing flavor, it was swell. The garlic mashed potatoes alongside were real potato, complete with a few not-unpleasant lumps. (Note to chef: These potatoes deserve more respect than being called "mashies" on the menu.) We would have been lots happier with something other than the usual seasonal vegetable medley with it, although we’ll allow that it did seem to be freshly cooked rather than reheated out of a freezer. (And one more note: Seasonal, our foot!! Zucchini, broccoli, carrots and such-like are always in season.)

Ordering barbecued ribs at a non-barbecue spot is always tricky. Sage comes closer to pulling it off than most places. The menu describes them as St. Louis style, which is correct. St. Louis ribs are a specific cut, not snything else, They’re too tender to have been grilled the entire period of cooking, and the smoke has come from some judiciously applied sauce. But there’s a lot more meat than bone, they’re full of porky flavor. It’s odd, though, that they’re accompanied by mashed potatoes.

The wine list is rather short, but provides enough variety and price for most diners. A few more at the high end may served as an invitation to thicker-wallet types.

Dessert turns out to be a surprise on the culinary cutting edge. Sage offers "sweet shots". A tray of six glasses the size of demitasse cups arrives at the table with different mini-servings of desserts. Each is $1.95, with instructions that the diner should take as many or few as desired. Pecan pie was good, peach-blueberry cobbler was better, and a brownie with whipped cream and rum sauce was scrumptious. This is an idea we’ve heard of in a couple of East Coast restaurants, but as far as we know, it’s a first for St. Louis, and a very good idea for a number of reasons. We shared three, which kept the calorie count down and the cost to a reasonable $6 for both of us.

As far as the overall experience is concerned, well, one of the definitions of the word "sage" is "wise," and the spot on the border between Soulard and Benton Park looks like a sage experience.

Sage

1031 Lynch St.

314-256-1203

www.sageinsoulard.com

Lunch and Dinner, Mon-Sat

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Poor

Smoking: Yes

Entrees: $12-$24

Books: My Bombay Kitchen

About a thousand years ago, the group of people known as Parsis emigrated from what is now Iran to India. None of their descendants have opened restaurants in St. Louis. To judge from My Bombay Kitchen, a new cookbook from Miloufer Ichaporia King, that’s a real shame. King lives in the Bay Area and has worked with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse. She’s also a good story-teller, one of those things that makes a cookbook come alive.

This is, more or less, Indian food — living in a country for a millennium certainly does influence what a subgroup eats — but it’s also slightly different. King’s recipes and ingredients lists are a little shorter. An American kitchen that stocks enough spices to handle most Indian recipes will take on nearly everything without difficulty. There are a couple of very obscure ingredients used in one masala that I couldn’t locate at Seema Enterprises or Global Market, but King acknowledges that they’re not essential.

Among the tasty goodies I’ve made from the book are cutlets, which are a sort of hamburger, creating the tastiest ground chicken I’ve ever eaten. (The recipe calls for ground turkey or chicken, or very lean beef, lamb or pork). Using cooked potato and egg as a binder, they were moist and full of the flavors of ginger, garlic, chile and coriander. Joe pointed out that they would do well with a poached egg atop them as a brunch dish. And that probably wouldn’t be deeply inauthentic; Parsis are fond of eggs and pair them up with lots of dishes.

We did try eggs with was Parisi Hash Yellow potatoes, pictured right, a platonic dish for lovers of the spicy (although like every other dish, the amount of chiles can be adjusted or deleted completely). A couple of eggs over easy and a slice of late-season tomato turned this into breakfast divine. The only unexciting recipe that I’ve tried so far is an eggplant stew.

In the attached recipe for cucumber-and-ginger salad, King talks about "the fresh clarity of salt and lime, that magic combination." I served it with some mussels I had steamed with garlic, cilantro and coconut milk, and the creamy mussel juices were absolutely divine with this sharp, crunchy salad. I also found that the salad can be made ahead of time, and one of my friends raves about how it ages well. Maybe it is magic.

I used less than the amounts she specifies below, just one half of one of those so-called English cucumbers, scrubbed but not peeled, and reduced other quantities by about half.

2 cucumbers (about 2 pounds)

juice of 1 to 2 limes

salt to taste

2 to 3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1/4 cup shredded fresh mint leaves (optional - I skipped this)

If the cucumbers are coated with wax, peel them. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds if you wish. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices. Dress the slices with lime juice and salt. Add the ginger in small increments to taste; it doesn’t take much to make an effect. Add mint just before serving, if you like. You might even want to add a drizzle of olive oil.

MY BOMBAY KITCHEN, by Niloufer Ichaporia King

University of California Press, ucpress.edu $27.50

This Week's Wine September 4, 2007

Lucian Dressel made a major contribution to the Missouri wine industry in the last half of the Twentieth Century, and now he’s working in the same direction in Illinois.

He’s the general manager and winemaker at little Mary Michelle Winery, in Carrollton, Ill., some 50 miles north of St. Louis on U.S. Highway 67, and if people want a look at his unusual project and high hopes, this is the weekend to visit. The four-year-old winery is not open to the public for tours or tasting, and wine is not sold there, but it will be open this weekend (Sept. 8-9) as part of Greene County Days.

In addition, his 2004 Norton will be on display, and available for tasting, on Saturday at the Missouri History Museum. The wine won a gold medal in a national competition among Nortons from more than a dozen states

The winery has a web site,www.marymichellewinery.com, and Dressel’s wines can be ordered through the site. Oddly, Illinois law keeps residents of that state from buying wine on the site, but there are links to show where it can be purchased. It’s also available at many wine shops and supermarkets in the St. Louis area.

Dressel grew up on his family’s farm only a few miles from Carrollton.

Lucian and his family owned Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta (Lucian’s brother, Phillip, is now the owner and Lucian is not associated with it), and along with the Helds of Stone Hill Winery in Hermann and the Hofherrs of St. James Winery in St. James, were the leaders as the state wineries grew and modernized and improved over the 1960s and 70s.

Lucian left Missouri in the early 1990s, moving to California and working there in and out of the wine business. Everything changed in 2003 when Ed Hindelang, now living in Santa Barbara, Calif., but born in Carrollton, decided to go into the wine business in his old home town. Hindelang, who grew wealthy as an communications business entrepreneur and in related activities, formed a consortium and bought the land. Coincidentally, they sought advice from Fred Dressel, Lucian’s son and an independent consultant on Midwest grapes and wine. Dad was an easy recommendation.

The Carrollton vineyard, which is flat and not hilly like the traditional California or Missouri vineyard, covers about 80 acres, and Dressel has some interesting vines, starting with the Norton/Cynthiana grapes (under either name, or even as Virginia Seedling, the grape is the same) from which he made splendid wines in Augusta. Despite the success of the Norton, he does not think it has the ability to last and to improve with age as decades go by, as French Bordeaux and Burgundy will, so he has crossed the native American grape with Zinfandel, a European grape used extensively in California. He calls the result Zinthiana, and he hopes to make wine in the next year or two. He also has crossed the Norton/Cynthiana with Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the classic French grapes.

In botanical terms, the Norton is vitis aestivalis, while the Zinfandel and Cab are of the genus vitis vinifera. The Norton also is extremely hardy, resistant to most pests and able to withstand all but the worst temperature extremes. The ‘04 Norton has the richness the grape should show, with blackberries and cedar in the aroma and a long, smooth finish. It’s also quite young, with a few strong tannin notes, and should be aged another year or so in the bottle before drinking.

Dressel also is making a dry white wine from the Chardonel grape, a cross of Chardonnay and Seyval. It’s crisp and tasty, nicely acidic, and does well with fish, especially well-chilled shellfish.

The winery is in a large, barn-red building just south of Carrollton, and it’s a major project, filled with new tanks and other equipment. Dressel does not believe in screw-top closures for his wine and buys corks from a top California producer The vines are heavy with second-growth berries, and picking was scheduled to begin in the last week or so. Sadly, the heavy freeze pf Easter weekend, with three successive nights of temperatures under 20, did as much damage in Illinois as it did in Missouri. Dressel figures that his Chardonel crop will be only about a fourth the size of a typical year. That won’t affect sales right now, because there is plenty of 2006 wine, both red and white. The ‘07 vintage will be on the slender side.

–Joe

Thai Fried Rice

For some reason, I find myself making this on Saturday evenings. Maybe that's because there are apt to be leftovers (like rice) from the week, and a trip to Bob's seafood that morning. It's very light and refreshing compared to the fried rice that comes tightly packed into one of those little handled carry-out containers.

Like all fried rice recipes, this one can be varied by what you have on hand, using other kinds of meat, seafood and vegetables. The chiles are optional. Exact measurements are given as a guide only; if you have more rice, for instance, that's fine. The texture of the rice is much better if it's been refrigerated, so this is a good way to use what's left from last night's curry.

This is adapted from Nancie McDermott's "Real Thai". 

Thai Fried Rice

(Kao Paht Gai)

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups cold cooked rice, preferably chilled

1/4 c. coarsely chopped onion

1 thinly sliced fresh chile (I use jalapeno) (optional)

1 /2 lb. shrimp, shelled and cut into chunks

2 Tbs. fish sauce, plus more for serving

a handful of bean sprouts, topped and tailed

3 Tbs. sliced green onions

2 small cucumbers, peeled and sliced diagonally into thick ovals

1 lime, cut longways into wedges

Heat a wok or large deep skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoonful of the oil and swirl it to cover the cooking surface. When the oil is hot, add the eggs and tilt the pan to spread them into a thin sheet. Cook until the egg sheet is opaque, brown on the bottom and just set on the top. Turn it onto a cutting board or large plate. When cool enough to handle, cut it into thin shreds about 2 inches long. Set aside. Prepare the rice by crumbling any lumps between your fingers so that it’s all individual grains.

Reheat the wok over high heat. When it’s hot, add the remaining oil. When the oil is quite hot, add the chopped onion and stir-fry until it starts to soften. Add the shrimp and, if desired, 2 or 3 slices of the chile. Stir-fry until the shrimp turns pink, another couple of minutes. Add the rice, and cook another 2 minutes, stirring and tossing all the time to heat the grains and keep them separate. Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoonfuls of fish sauce and continue to stir-fry for another minute. Toss in the bean sprouts, green onions and egg, and cook another minute or so, just long enough to warm the raw vegetables a little. Put on a serving platter.

Garnish the platter with the cucumber slices and lime wedges. Pour some fish sauce into a small bowl and add the chiles to taste. Serve the rice at once. Let each guest season his or her portion with lime juice and the chile-laced fish sauce.

Serves 4.