Is Tony's really so different from similarly-priced restaurants in town? Is there another place we explain carefully to outsiders and the unfamiliar? I don't think so, and it seems to me that what makes the difference is the aura of the place. Diners today expect servers to say, "Hi, I'm Phil and I'll be your server tonight. You guys doing okay? How 'bout them [insert name of seasonally appropriate team here], eh?" Diners may not like it, but that casualness, to one degree or another, is how it rolls most of the time.
That's not how it goes at the House of Bommarito. A generation (or two) who grew up without neckties may never have experienced a restaurant where the general idea is to make a guest feel like they were sitting on a velvet cushion filled with swans' down. Happily, this does not come off as snootiness except for a very few those who arrive expecting it. I've always prepared our next generation of budding Eaters by saying something like, "Just pretend you're a princess." My next line, inserted when appropriate is, " And remember, princesses are always polite." (None of the family's young princes have had a Tony's opportunity yet.)
Last year's redecorating has changed the bar substantially, and to a lesser degree the dining rooms' walls and art. The long hall approaching the maitre d's stand remains, giving one the pleasant sensation of Making An Entrance. There were anticipated menu changes, although it was hard to imagine the house classics being removed.
It was time to visit and skip favorites to investigate the new – at least to some degree. So no succumbing to the scallops with truffle as a first course, since they were still on the menu. But my tablemate fell for the oxtail consomme, one of the rotation of soups the house does so well. Perfectly clear, with a few carefully carved vegetable pieces in the bottom of the bowl, it was the classic dark brown, with notes of vegetable and just a light hit of clove in there as well. New to the menu and probably seasonal was vitello tonnato. A classic Italian summer dish, this involves cold slices of veal topped with a tuna mayonnaise. Capers add piquancy, and it appeared that some lemon kicked the mayo up a notch – an absolutely delicious dish.
Came now, in a first-course style, the Italian way (although there would never be a problem having it as a main course; this kitchen is nothing if not flexible), a housemade fettucini with duck confit and wild mushrooms. This was quite possibly the most splendid dish of the night, duck and mushroom juices cuddling up with the pasta and nice bits of the meat and various mushrooms, deeply savory and rich. Perhaps it wasn't the proper dish for a hot summer night, but sometimes tastes good overrules good taste, and this was certainly worthwhile.
Steak has always been one of the sleepers on the menu here. Every one I've had over the years was excellent. And since the lamb chops have been removed from the menu – hard to get consistently good ones, says owner Vince Bommarito – I've had a number of them. Never the pepper steak, which is two immense slices of strip steak, seasoned with coarsely ground black pepper and served with a green peppercorn sauce, fragrant with brandy. Chicken with grapefruit, fennel and olives sounded intriguing. When it arrived, two "airplane cuts", boneless breast with the first joint of the wing attached, roasted, sat above a tangle of onion and fennel, nuggets of black olive here and there. Small pieces of pink grapefruit topped the dish. The aroma was seductive, and the vegetables and fruit quite tasty, fortunately, since the chicken was overcooked.
My advice has always been to pace oneself here to allow for dessert. Products of the estimable Helen Fletcher, they're invariably luscious. Allowing for my traditional bow in the direction of the chocolate cake (here called a torte) and housemade banana ice cream, there was another choice that lured this time, a chocolate and coconut fantasy that began with a chocolate tart, its crust a rich chocolate dough, the filling shredded coconut and topped with chocolate ganache. It then went on to coconut ice cream with a nicely gooey fudge sauce. Absolutely killer, especially the ice crem, and I may have to get some of that instead of the banana the next time I get the chocolate cake.
The noise levels here are worthy of note – even on a busy night, conversations are easy, and on a quieter night, it's not hushed, but merely calm. It's always a good spot for people watching – two movers and a shaker were at the next table on this visit, for instance, at a table where we saw Tim McCarver a few years ago. Service purrs along, almost unnoticeable until the chafing dishes are wheeled up, the aroma wafts past the nose and the food is presented with a (restrained) flourish.
Still a splendid place for a proper, leisurely celebratory dinner.
Tony's
410 Market St.
314-231-7007
Dinner Tues.-Sat.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes, but call ahead for another door
Smoking: No
Entrees: $24-$50