We're great proponents of late-night dining, since both of us have spent many years in jobs that weren't 9-to-5, so when we walked into Eclipse a little before ten and found the joint jumping, it was a splendid feeling. While the bar of the handsome restaurant in the Moonrise Hotel was considerably busier than the dining room, people were indeed having dinner, and dining parties continued to arrive until midnight or later. We managed to get in on the full dinner menu, but after 10 p.m., there's still a lot of good stuff on the late-night menu, served until – whoa! – 2 a.m.
The menu has just gone to its fall iteration, which gave us the chance to kick things off with a cup of hearty venison stew, thick with ground meat, sweet potatoes and the expected onions and celery. A soft cloud of paper-thin prosciutto slices was mounded on toasted olive bread, savory and crunchy and a little chewy. But the appetizer star was deep-fried calamari, which sounds totally mundane but was remarkable. The batter was light-light-light, and somehow it remained crisp despite being tossed in a peppery, garlicky butter sauce. Slices of jalapeno garnished the dish to alert the unwary, which doesn't include us. We are very wary, and we thought it absolutely superior.
More venison was in the special, a meatloaf sauced with mushrooms and served with mashed potatoes. Very moist, not an easy trick with venison, and full of flavor, including a faint hint of the gaminess that sets venison apart. The accompanying mushrooms were just right, and the potatoes were fresh and the perfect accompaniment. The same potatoes rode shotgun with boneless short ribs braised in ale, the brew amping up their rich meatiness. Another side, along with some roasted potatoes and carrots, was a small Yorkshire pudding. Essentially, Yorkshire pudding is a bread; it's made with the same batter as popovers, and produces an airy, slightly chewy crust that is excellent for wiping up gravies and sauces.
A fine fat pork chop from a Berkshire hog was splendid, sitting on a tangle of delicious roast fennel and pearl onions and joined by first-rate apple chutney. Perfectly seared scallops smiled happily under a killer sauce of crab, cream and white wine, the sauce studded with orzo pasta.
Any item with a name like Twenty Dollar Burger is just asking folks like us to see if it lives up to the that promise. Eight ounces of beef, more of that paper-thin prosciutto, a fried egg, and foie gras butter on a brioche bun. And some field greens, although they came alongside, not on top. This is a sandwich far too tall for the human mouth, and we know some would worry about dripping egg yolk on a shirt while eating in the traditional way. Clearly a knife-and-fork job, although we suspect the burger was engineered to be eaten otherwise, with the foie gras butter and egg meant to add richness, and a stained shirt front be damned. However, it just doesn't bring the feeling of indulgence that spending a double-sawbuck should, offering nice enough material and flavor but lacking the necessary wow factor. The fries alongside also flopped, the potatoes tasting sweet, as though they had been too long in cold storage.
The wine list is modest--the crowd looks as if it leans to fancy cocktails--but has a fine variety, at good prices and with a selection that included a couple from Missouri vineyards. A sparkling rose, dry and delicious, delivered the perfect aperitif, especially with the calamari, and a Rhone from Guigal was just right with dinner, especially with the venison and the pork chop.
Apple bread pudding was an outstanding dessert, moist and fluffy, with generous chunks of Granny Smith apple giving tartness to offset the sweet elements. Definitely what the British would call moreish . The blondie sundae had dark, dark chocolate ice cream that we suspect came from Serendipity atop a blondie with coconut, chocolate chunks and nuts, caramel sauce ladled over all, plus the traditional whipped cream, of course. The combination was excellent; our only quibble is that the blondie by itself was dry, but perhaps that provides a reason for an otherwise cautious diner to spoon up more ice cream or whipped cream.
Crackerjack service, with a chap who clearly picked up our group's rhythm of eating and adjusted things accordingly. The restaurant, like its hotel home, is decorated with a bow to outer space, or space travel, or "Music From the Hearts of Space," but on display, here and there but never ostentatious, are some of Joe Edwards' baby dolls, toys and other ephemera from the first half of the 20th century.
Eclipse
The Moonrise Hotel
6177 Delmar Blvd, University City
314-726-2222
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night, every day
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Entrees: $14-$28
I can't wait to go and experience the Eclipse restaurant after reading your review.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by: ShoeRepairLady | November 24, 2010 at 05:59 PM