BC's Kitchen

Bill Cardwell, who has helped change and improve the dining habits of many St. Louisans for more than 20 years, has taken his show on the road--Highway 40/64 to be exact--nearly all the way to Wentzville. The new shopping center, which came out of its box with some further assembly still necessary, is called the Meadows at Lake St. Louis, and on a Sunday evening, the area was deserted except for the cluster of cars around BC’s Kitchen. Despite the exurban location, it’s easy to find from the Lake St. Louis Boulevard exit, when it becomes visible to the right.

Inside, the decor is modern, with considerable effort succeeding at keeping noise levels under control, a difficult feat with two walls of large windows, one of which was curtained to blunt the afternoon sun. There’s an open kitchen where Cardwell and his partner John Kennealy preside, and a good-sized bar on the south side of the space.

And things were busy. St. Charles County seems to be curious about a new restaurant with a non-chain name. As we were leaving, a large and rather luxurious pickup truck pulled up to our group. A gentleman of a certain age leaned out the driver’s window. "How is it in there? What kind of food are they serving? Was it any good?" BC’s Kitchen is having a soft opening. And that’s good, because one of the frequent problems of upscale dining in exurbia is service, when even the experienced new employees often come out of a fast-food tradition. When that collides with the situation of being recognized as food writers, it becomes more complex, as we will discuss later.

The menu leans towards American sort-of-traditional, always the Cardwell style and a direction we’re happy to see. Traditional American food deserves some respect, and Cardwell and Kennealy are to be commended for showing it. A weekly rotation of daily specials includes things like fried chicken (Sundays) and shrimp creole (Wednesday). The latter is a tribute to Cardwell’s mother-in-law, the New Orleans-born Carole St. Mard, an outstanding cook and Joe’s long-time friend

Out of quite another American tradition are sliders, which are making an appearance on the menus of some surprisingly fancy restaurants across the country. Of course, they’re not little square patties with holes in them, a la White Castle, but, uh, "reinterpretations." Frankly, we’re just amused; bite-sized sandwiches are fine with us, as long as they taste good. An appetizer serving of three contained a really first-rate fat little hamburger, with good beefy taste, a pulled pork sandwich topped by chopped coleslaw, almost as good, and a fish sandwich that was just sort of there. The buns were clearly not mass-produced, a nice touch, but suffered from a little staleness. Where there are sliders, there also ought to be onion rings, and a delicious mixed plate of the thin-cut and battered rings called tobacco onions, and some good, house-made potato chips arrived with a blue cheese dressing whose memory causes us to salivate, along with a tangy barbecue sauce.

And speaking of frying, a batch of cruisp, dry, tasty calamari came with house-made tartar sauce and spicy ketchup.

We’d also insert here that bread and butter are a menu item with an extra charge, which may be a St. Louis first. The house-made breads are quite tasty, but at least dieters receive a chance to avoid facing just one more temptation.

Seniority must go to the fried chicken special. Cardwell has been talking about a dream of serving fried chicken for many years, so we could not pass it up. We’re here to tell you the wait was worth it. Moist and juicy with excellent breading and seasoning, we may have to address him as Colonel Cardwell henceforth. Moreover, he cuts each half-chicken serving into five pieces, not the usual four. By cleaving the breast in half, he gives a better crust-to-meat ratio. Mashed potatoes, the real thing, some remarkably tasty country-style green beans that had a little pop to them, a biscuit and some honey butter (a little gasp from one diner at our table at this point) filled the plate.

 

The roast chicken turned out to be almost as good, again very moist with a nice crisp skin, the same mashed potatoes and a more contemporary take on green beans, cooked to the point just beyond crunchy. Instead of pork chops, two slices from a loin are lightly breaded and fried, sauced with some tart cherries, a good choice. The side dish of potatoes au gratin fell short, though, with small dice of potatoes, mostly undercooked, awash in a good cheese sauce but with no appreciable browning on top. The menu’s pasta dish, spinach-mushroom tortelloni in a sauce based on the broth from ham hocks, was pleasant but unremarkable.

Desserts from local fruit growers were cobblers of blackberry and peach, both of the style where a muffin-like batter is poured over the fruit before it’s baked. The peaches, nicely tart, had a butter and brown sugar sauce, along with some vanilla ice cream. But the blackberry won, simpler, but far more nostalgic for Ann, whose whole family doted on the berry.

The wine list is carefully composed, neither as elaborate nor as expensive as Cardwell’s Frontenac location, but with enough choices and pricing just on the high end of modest. And we found a real winner, a 2006 Bird Big Barrel pinot noir from New Zealand that was glorious. With lots of ripe cherries in the aroma and the first tastes, this is a wine that will pair well with meat or fish

BC’s Kitchen is on its way to becoming an excellent restaurant, and it’s a welcome sight in St. Charles County. But we have a philosophical question that we’d like to toss on the table.

Four of us arrived without reservations, since the house only takes them for parties of six or more. But we were recognized almost immediately. Both Cardwell and Kennealy were on hand, and we’ve known both men for many years. That may explain our service, and also some of its problems. The server was perky and pleasant, and knew the menu well. But before we had finished our appetizers, she attempted to remove our still-full water glasses and provide new ones. After we finished the appetizers, which were mostly finger food, she wanted to replace all our silver, used and unused. We lost count of the inquiries about whether everything was right and assurances that the next course would be right out. There was no need for concern; the meal moved along at a comfortable pace, and nothing seemed delayed. Conversations weren’t interrupted, but we were being hung over. The fact that the server had explained that she had a new employee trailing her added one more person to the tableside crowd.

Another subject, also a question for debate, involves whether the restaurant policy is to clear plates as soon as the diner is finished, or to wait until the entire table has finished. St. Louis restaurants vary on the philosophy. Except for the fact that we were sitting in a booth, this is not a problem, though we generally like to have a plate on hand to share an extra taste of a fabulous dish. But in a booth, it means that the server may lean across a still-eating customer to remove a dish, barely avoiding a collision with a diner in the process of lifting a portion of food to his mouth.

We know the server meant well, but it was overwhelming, and makes it difficult to pay attention to what we are eating, or for that matter, to enjoy a meal, either alone or with friends. We go into this because we get frequent questions about what happens if we’re recognized, and to explain that the results of being recognized are not always what people expect.

Other tables seemed unaffected, and we saw no heads craning to locate their servers, so things apparently toodle along without difficulty.

BC’s Kitchen

11 Meadow Circle Dr., Lake St. Louis

636-542-9090

Lunch and Dinner daily

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Good

Smoking: No

Entrees: $10-$27

Comments

[Jason Stokes]

Great review of what sounds like a great restaurant. Also, Iron Barley has bread and butter as a menu item, for $2, if I recall correctly.

[Bob]

I ate there for my birthday the other day. I'll never go there again.

I ordered the Sunday special(which was the fried chicken). I'll be dead honest, I've had better fried chicken from Shop n Save.

When my kid's mini burgers came out, they were pink on the inside. Had to send them back to get re-cooked.

Our waitress also had to keep coming back to our table to ask us details about our order. Which she still managed to get wrong.

Overall, $70 not well spent. I'd suggest Applebee's next time.

[mister]

Very nice, well written review! Cardwell's food is usually consistent and very solid. I hope their gamble out there pays off. I'll have to try it for lunch since I work out that way.

[Tiffany]

I have been there a few times and I have to say "me and my husband love it!" The food is delicious and the service goes above and beyond. We are happy that a non chain restaurant has come to St Charles.

[Lee]

According to the elder cooks in my family, the "cobblers" that the reviewers were describing are actually a type of "brown betty". Cobblers typically have a crust rather than a cake-like pudding poured around the fruit, as the reviewer mentioned here.

[Nic]

Great atmosphere. Service is a B, new servers. I think this will get better with time. Food has been wonderful every time. I was happy to see that the menu has expanded on my last visit. I've been here a handful of times.

[beth]

A wonderful dining experience in St Louis. A phenomenal meal! I don't mind spending money EVER for great food and this was no exception. Nice wine, wonderful appetizers, unbelievably enjoyable meal for the area and for the money and a slice of carrot cake for dessert that I can't get out of my mind. (or thighs) As for the service...it was spot on. Friendly and timely. Nothing more, nothing less...Also a friendly greeting when my group walked in and a 'thank you for your business' when we walked out the door (which is a huge miss for most businesses in general) I was pleasantly impressed with the entire experience. I travel extensively, am a frequent, frequent diner, and this was a better than usual experience. My only regret...I don't live closer so I can enjoy more of this menu since I was there on business. I did, however, buy a gift certificate for my client hoping for brownie points for my next visit. Thanks for a delicious experience BC's from some very satisfied guests. Hope to see you next visit.

[Complete kitchen]

The food is delicious and the service goes beyond. We are pleased that a restaurant chain came to St. Charles.