For all the hullabaloo over Old Standard when it first opened, it's shockingly quiet at a weekday lunch. The long, handsome and deceptively rustic room has a welcoming golden glow to it. The bar near the door features bourbon, a fine thing for those of us who are fans of it.
Old Standard, if you're new to town, is a project of Ben Poremba of Elaia fame, Elaia and its non-identical but Siamese twin, Olio, being catty-cornered across the way. Its opening pretty much began this Year Of Fried Chicken, the battle of the birds being waged informally all around town, and it became the place to be seen for a good while.
There's a lot to consider on the section of the menu called snacks. Perhaps these were meant as much to go with the considerable selection of bourbon and related whiskeys as to serve as first courses. Or perhaps not - the first one, a strategic placement, is the bread basket. The offerings seem to vary from time to time, but it's always generous, the sort of variety and quality that would grace Grandma's Thanksgiving table. One one visit, there were two wedges of sweet, moist, desert-like cornbread, a fine biscuit, and a drop scone, savory rather than sweet, along with concord grape jam, orange marmalade, a lemon butter and a molasses-pecan one - it was particularly seductive.
Charlotte's Mother's Dressed Eggs are devilled eggs, to be sure. They're small - easier to handle, certainly, and the ratio of filling to egg white is nicer, as well. One can't help but think about rising egg prices, but this diminuition is quite acceptable. In many ways, these were pretty tasty. Pickles were strewn about, sweet-sharp and pleasing, topping the filling with a flourish, especially the thin slices of spicy pepper. But a significant flaw was that the eggs themselves were overcooked, as evidenced by whites downright rubbery, a surprising flaw given the usual care of Poremba's kitchens.
Those same pickles, although not in quite the profusion, also were found hanging around the boiled peanut hummus. This rather amazing fusion of Deep Southern and Middle Eastern ideas is a winner, the texture blissfully smooth, the peanut taste there but not making you think you're eating fluffy, moist peanut butter. A puddle of beautiful green olive oil in the center of the hummus adds to the fun with the pita wedges that come with it.
The chicken is the focus of everything - there's a chicken sandwich available, but it's the chicken, from an Amish farm, that's the entree, with a choice of how many pieces and how many sides. The crust is thick and dark. Many have talked about its spiciness, but I didn't find it particularly spicy, certainly some subtle work going on, including an undertone that may have been clove. The white meat was moist and not overcooked, but overall, the fried chicken was less than anticipated. There's a hot sauce, fairly calm as these things go, on the table, though, and a buttermilk-honey-herb one arrives with the chicken, and it is with either of these that the bird gets up and begins to strut. It's as though the chicken, its buttermilk marinade and seasoned batter, was set up to showcase what it could do with the sauces, particularly the buttermilk one. A very different approach, to say the least.
JC's brussels sprouts become his/hers by reason of being deep-fried. No batter, just crisp edges, a little browning here and there, a fattier fersion of oven-roasting that's a lot more feasible given restaurant kitchens like this. Macaroni and cheese is a little stretchy-stringy and tasting of real cheddar, the pasta not overcooked.
The greens are notable, sharply seasoned and yet tasting of themselves, too, a good balance and a big-flavor choice. Much calmer was the creamed corn, not the stuff out of a can, certainly, with its large individual kernels and a sauce that was almost custardy, but not distinctive enough. A safe choice for the hesitant eater, at least.
The house bread pudding with custard sauce needed that sauce. Not moist enough on its own, which made it too chewy for the correct lushness, it failed the texture part of the test. The combination of pudding and sauce, however, did well on the flavor section.
There's a Sunday brunch menu available all day along with their regular menu, including chicken and waffles. The idea of a really late Sunday brunch is rather charming, and a sign of civilization, especially in a restaurant that uses the word "supper" instead of dinner, a nod to the world that many of us grew up in.
Really nice service, pleasant and attentive without hovering.
Old Standard
1621 Tower Grove Ave.
314-899-9000
Lunch & Supper daily, Brunch Sun. through 8 p.m.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Entrees: $8-$10
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