St. Louis Eats and Drinks

The Donuts on the March

News for the Donut Division: Ray's Donuts' home base is moving from their original location in Olivette to the Westgate Center in Creve Coeur. Still on Olive, but beyond I-270, and close enough to Barnes-Jewish West's facilities that we're sure they'll do a booming business. They have big shoes to fill, though. The original Barnes' cafeteria once had warm doughnuts as a routine breakfast offering, good enough to put a certain chain with a glowing "HOT NOW" sign to shame.

The move will occur sometime in September; the date is still up in the air, just like the aromas.

Pizzeria Tivoli

I admit to having a real soft spot for neighborhood-y restaurants. And the lower end of Kingshighway has begun to sprout them, almost astonishing on quiet residential blocks that hardly seem related to their brethren holding Barnes-Jewish Hospital or the Royale saloon, for instance. But popping up on corners here and there are little spots to make the passer-by curious.

Pizzeria Tivoli is one of the earliest arrivals. They've been around for about two years. And it pretty much is just a pizzeria; there are two pasta entrees, but the true focus is the pizza from their wood-burning oven and bites to tide you over until the pizza is done.

Plenty of seating outside, which is nice; it's a little snug inside, or perhaps the word is cozy. One night the air conditioning had died and it seemed as though they'd gotten every fan on the block to provide breezes for folks seated on the east side of the building. Around the corner of the building, they've built an overhang so those tables are protected from the sun or rain. But in addition, they've put in something I've never seen in St. Louis before that I can recall. They have misters, as in "blowing a fine mist" to lower the ambient temperature with evaporation. Seen them in Hawaii, seen them in Las Vegas. And now here. It'll be interesting to watch how St. Louisans react to the cool mist and its effect on hair and clothes.

Salads are quite large, big enough to split,. The Tivoli salad had fresh greens, a little red onion and feta and a couple of wedges of toasted pita. It wasn't overdressed, and while the vinaigrette had just a little hit of sugar, it wasn't enough to turn this into a dessert salad. What turned out to be very worthwhile were bruschetta, slices of toasted baguette generously topped with good tomatoes dressed with garlic, olive oil, a little basil and plenty of Italian parsley. This too is a generous serving, and like all bruschetta with tomatoes, a little messy to eat, but the bread, particularly as the final pieces are being consumed, has soaked up the juices nicely, and the result is excellent, the sort of grandma-made-it-like-this dish that shouldn't (and didn't) fail at this time of year.

In other cities, Tivoli's pizza would be considered thin-crust, but in St. Louis, of course, it's medium-thin. One size, 12", and some interesting options along with the more usual choices. The quattro stagione, or four seasons, here wears mushrooms, green olives, anchovies and prosciutto with its tomato sauce and mozzarella. It's a fine combination, and prosciutto on a pizza is an idea that we should have come across earlier. The crust is not blistered as heavily as some of the other wood-fired ovens in town produce, and for many people that's an additional draw. It's got a nice chew without being exhausting, and satisfies on several levels. Another option, called the Villa d'Estte, presumably named for a palatial residence in Tivoli outside Rome, puts gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and what the menu calls taziki sauce on the crust. This is mostly a pretty tasty dish, the components of a gyro sandwich on the hot crust, the cool vegetables giving some contrast in temperature as well as crunch. That sauce, though, was a little surprising. At times, it tasted as though there was a little blue cheese in there with all the garlic; other times there might have been just a hint of cinnamon. Still, pretty good, although much less worthy than the quattro stagione as a leftover the next day. About half a dozen vegetarian options, by the way.

Allowing for leftovers the next day is the way to leave room for dessert; one night it was a lemoncello-mascarpone cake doing the luring, moist and lemony and creamy, although, happily, not annoyingly alcoholic as some alcohol-soaked cakes can be.

Service was a little chaotic the night of no air conditioning, on a following visit, it was fine, very attentive, beverage refilled quickly, and smiles even though it was busy.

It's surely good for the neighborhood.

 

Pizzeria Tivoli

5861 S. Kingshighway Blvd

314-832-3222

on Facebook

Credit cards: Yes

Wheelchair access: Fair

Smoking: No

Pizzas:$9-$15

Southwest Diner

Southwest Diner is, to a minor degree, amazing. Tucked into an old building a couple of blocks east of McCausland, in a neighborhood off St. Louis eaters' radar, it draws the eye with a large blue cactus-shaped sign. Inside showcases a wall of marble tile that was there when they moved in. The fact that the marble is the color of weathered adobe is purely fortuitous.

But don't let the marble fool you. The word "diner" is a deliberate choice. Open only for breakfast and lunch, with both meals served at any hour, its food became familiar to some from their appearances last year at Tower Grove Farmers' Market. And it's definitely New Mexican food. That's the state of New Mexico, not some nuevo-concepty thing.

To begin with, the coffee is too good for a diner, but I'm certainly not complaining about that. It's definitely not the boiled-and-sour stuff that's ruined many an otherwise-decent breakfast. And lest the sensitive tongue (or stomach) hesitate, yes, there are choices available that don't involve the chile pepper so intrinsic to New Mexican cuisine. However, that's not our focus here; it'll have to wait for other visits.

Hard, certainly, to pass up chorizo gravy and biscuits, but huevos rancheros gave a good chance to try several things at once. The corn tortilla was topped with a generous slather of refried beans, very good, full of good flavors like cumin, then two over-easy eggs (my option), and served Christmas-style, which is to say with both red and green chile sauces. As is nearly always the case, the green chile was considerably spicier. But for once, it was the red that charmed. For those who have always rolled their eyes at descriptions of the flavors of a particular chile pepper beyond hot-n-spicy, here is your introduction. The flavors in this sauce, layers of vegetal and fruity components are fascinating. The breakfast potatoes, individually fried chunks rather than a pan-fried patty, are a swell way to mop up the sauce. As is traditional, it's the diner's choice: red chile sauce, green chile sauce, or both, on any of the sauced dishes.

If there's a real signature dish to New Mexican food, it would have to be the green chile cheeseburger, a mouthwatering concept if ever one existed. SwD's version is gooey and messy and absolutely delicious, needing no more lily-gilding than the other half of the bun. House fries come alongside, better than average but mainly useful for swiping up bits of another diner's red sauce.

The build-your-own burrito held a ground beef filling with shredded lettuce and sour cream, the beef seasoned with more of that red sauce. Almost as fat as a forearm, it was clearly not meant to be picked up and eaten au naturel. More of the refried pinto beans and some rice that also escaped the usual cliches with a tomatoey component and what seemed like onion and garlic rode shotgun on the plate.

The lemon icebox pie we'd hoped for, having seen it on a board as we entered, was sold out by the time we got to dessert, so peach pie it was. Fresh, local peaches in this best of all peach years, but the pie had been refrigerated. That's a necessity from the standpoint of the health department regulations, we're sure, but it surely assassinates any hope for good pie crust. Sigh....

Aside from the pie crust, the sticking point here can be service. Very pleasant, to be sure, but some of the servers don't seem to be very experienced, and the result is disorganization when things get busy, plus a lot of "Who gets the omelet?" that results from someone trying to help out a server who's in the weeds. (Restaurant lingo = swamped.) We've heard stories of lines out the door, but visits mid-morning or early week had plenty of open seats. And one more thing: That lovely marble wall means it can get noisy, if that's a concern.

Still, the food is a pleasure.

 

Southwest Diner

6803 Southwest Avenue

314-260-7244

www.southwestdinerstl.com

(or Facebook, which has more info)

Breakfast and Lunch daily

Credit cards: Yes

Wheelchair access: Poor

Smoking: No

Entrees: $5-$8

Lily-Gilding at Carl's Drive-Inn

As if it wasn't enough that Frank Cunetto turns out fabulous flat-grilled hamburgers and maybe the best shakes in town, there's now lily-gilding going on at Carl's Drive-Inn Ronnie Ryan, the emperor of Quezel Sorbet, is supplying him with peach sorbet made from Calhoun County peaches. Run, do not walk for a cup of this nectar, far peachier than any peach ice cream could ever attain, and a mouthfeel to match.

We don't know how long this will be available, but make a beeline. $2.50 for what we guess is a 4-ounce serving.

 

Carl's Drive Inn

9033 Manchester Rd., Brentwood

314-961-9652

Lunch and early Dinner Wed.-Sat.

Credit cards: No

Wheelchair access: No

Smoking: No

Brunch: Harrah's Eat Up! Buffet

Most critics I know, and by now I know quite a few, approach a job with optimism, or at the least hope. That's what it felt like sailing through the front portico at Harrah's. Vegas-style feeding operations have been going on at casinos since the Eisenhower Administration, and one never knows what one can learn from experienced folks. And at the very least, the people-watching on a Sunday morning at the casino should be interesting.

Yes, it's huge, no surprise. Pay as you enter, a smart move for the mass feeding, but not necessary this early. It's very roomy, nice for maneuvering through crowds and around lines waiting for roast beef and omelets. Several dining areas help avoid the school cafeteria feeling.

Good coffee, and the server waited to bring it until I reappeared from my first round of the various stations, but fake creamer in the little tubs, darn it. Don't go here looking for salads; the salad station is more varied at any of a dozen places I can name. No, the action is elsewhere at Harrah's. Bread options are almost hidden, but if you think longingly of the cinnamon-y biscuits at Bristol, seek these out, warm, fresh, dribbled with a little vanilla glaze and looking like giant scones, they're fresh and tender. Nearby, in another illogical placement, are cold shrimp. They look and taste fine, but are a little slippery, as though something had been in their cooking water to cling and keep them from drying out.

The two tables of chafing dishes mix up breakfast and lunch items to some degree. Still, the scrambled eggs weren't rubbery, the bacon and sausage were first rate. At first I thought the waffles were pecan waffles, but was a little surprised the nuts hadn't been mentioned on the description by the chafing dish. Maybe some sort of whole grain...or else they were so stale that the edges had become hard enough to give more texture. Not a hit. No eggs Benedict, but a brisket hash that needed considerably more aggressive seasoning.

Lunchery came in many forms. Chafing dishes of a couple of Asian entrees like hot braised chicken sat on a counter near a giant wok, along with crab Rangoon and pork dumplings. Both of the latter were surprisingly tasty, the dumpling with a moist interior and lots of ginger, and the Rangoon pretty crabby, although a surprising note of sweetness. Neither dish had any sign of being cooked hours ago.

Actually, it appeared that the folks manning the deep fryer were among the most skilled in the corps de cuisine. Fried chicken flew off the buffet line - on plates, we hasten to add. The breading was light and crisp, and like everything that came out from those fryers, it wasn't the least bit greasy. But the chicken wasn't nearly as tasty as the small catfish fillets, which were downright addictive. Yes, hush puppies, too. I never saw anyone standing at the carving station, which held sausages, roast beef and some grilled asparagus, but someone walked by carrying a plate with just that. . Barbecued ribs were in another chafing dish, very tender, as though they were baked in a covered pan, just a little smoky, sauce drizzled over the top of the dish. Who goes to a casino for barbecue? The omelet station was in the Italian food section, and in one chafing dish waited toasted ravioli. Not for brunch, thanks.

Huge, double-sided dessert station - which, I discovered half an hour into my visit, was serving bloody marys and mimosas. Slices of pie, mini-muffins, mini-cupcakes, two large pans of cinnamon rolls, one glazed and the other one dripping with white frosting, were only part of the bounty. I tried an eclair and a small raspberry danish; the eclair was soggy and almost completely without filling or flavor. The danish, on the other hand, was crisp, and the raspberry flavor true and quite pronounced. Twelve, count 'em, twelve flavors of ice cream twirl in a display, each labeled, billowing like something you'd see in a gelateria in Rome. I succumbed, despite good intentions, to some pineapple. "Looks like you make that here," I remarked to the lady doing the scooping. "Well, no, I don't think ...", she began and was lost in thought. It was barely frozen but seemed to have enough body that it wouldn't lose shape if it melted, somewhere between Cool Whip and Marshmallow Fluff , a strange, gummy texture. After a while I could taste a little flavor of pineapple. One spoonful was enough.

The server was clearly a favorite of many customers, some of whom greeted her with a hug. Only one set of silver per guest, but additional napkins offered without requesting them, ditto coffee refills.

 

Eat Up!

Harrah's St. Louis

777 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights

314-770-8100

www.harrahsstlouis.com

Brunch Sun., Breakfast Mon.-Sat., Lunch & Dinner daily

Credit cards: Yes

Wheelchair access: Good

Smoking: No

Brunch: $20

Great ice Cream with Missouri Ties

One of the nice things about the Fancy Food Show was the chance to meet some of the people who produce delicious things that I really like. One of them was Jeni Bauer, of Columbus' Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. We blogged about them a couple of years ago, in fact. Here's a story from Relish about her and her St. Louis connections - and her ice cream, too.

Fancy Food Show: Washington, DC

Talk about an eater's dream: Thanks to a tip from an old wine-writer pal, I was able to go to the summer Fancy Food Show, held this year in Washington DC. Just as huge as every one says it is, there were still a few familiar booths, and one familiar face. I wrote about it for Relish, and you can read about it here.