We’re always a little surprised that more people don’t know about Anthony’s Bar. The younger, more casual sibling of Tony’s, with whom it shares a kitchen, it’s diagonally across the lobby in the same building, but on the side facing Broadway, with too good a view of the much-vaunted but still invisible Ballpark Village, looking far more like the successor to Clayton Lake. Anthony’s does a ripping lunch business, and deservedly so; the tuna Caesar salad, for instance, is far better than any modern interpretation of a classic Caesar we’ve ever had.
Evenings, things calm down considerably except before baseball games, when there’s a near-frantic knocking back of fat hamburgers. But after the crowds head for their seats, or when the team is away, Anthony’s becomes a dark, sophisticated room with a great opportunity for quiet conversation. It’s usually open after the Birds play across the street, with drinks or desserts available. On one visit, last year, Tony La Russa was having a post-game snack and reading a book. Most tables are two-tops, with a couple of fours, but there’s plenty of room at the bar, where we saw a guest peacefully reading the newspaper.
And then there’s the menu.
We’re still a little amazed that this kitchen, which for a couple of generations has produced mostly traditional Italian food, with some American dishes as well, is now home to ginger and lemongrass, cumin and okra. That’s because the menu at Anthony’s, while brief, is eclectic and strongly influenced by Vince Bommarito Jr. Yes, there’s always a pasta dish, which varies frequently, and the soup of the day (also available at lunch) is the same being served at Tony’s. But here there are Asian notes, Latino notes, and some regional American items. If this weren’t the Bommarito family’s restaurant, one would think the kitchen had just decided to play. But it is theirs, and no dish appears on a menu without deliberation and the touches that always have set it apart from its competitors.
On our last visit, we began with a bowl of swordfish gumbo, thick and rich from a fine roux base, studded with generous chunks of fish and a judicious amount of rice, okra and a gentle hand with spices. A tamale was stuffed with chunky pulled pork, the masa dough very aromatic. A drizzle of a sweet barbecue sauce brought even more flavor from the pork, and really deserved to be more than just a decorative accent. Microgreens with a tamale? Sure, and lots more zip to them than those shreds of iceberg lettuce usually found on tamale plates.
A salmon fillet, described as stuffed with herbs, arrived with a layer of chopped greens on top. T
he predominant flavor in the greens was actually lemon and capers, a bright contrast to the mellow salmon. The salmon, properly pink in the middle, sat on latkes, potato pancakes that, in the early weeks of the restaurant, had been a stumbling block to the kitchen. More evidence of cross-cultural changes, since latkes is the Yiddish word for pancakes. They’ve certainly mastered them now with lacy, crispy edges, good potato flavor and definitely un-greasy. (Our only caution to those who’ve never eaten them is that they should be eaten now, not taken home for tomorrow. They won’t work well cold, and re-heating latkes should be illegal. ) Roasted asparagus topped with mushrooms added to the fun.
We couldn’t resist the pasta du jour, a tagliatelle with tomato sauce and ovals of Italian sausage. The kitchen knows that a good pasta dish uses sauce as an accent, and this met the criteria, the al dente ribbons of pasta lightly dressed and interlaced with ovals of sausage that hadn’t had the flavor cooked out of it. The effect was light, almost subtle, rather than rowdy.
The deep and wide-ranging wine list of Tony’s is available across the lobby, too, and while the list begins high and zooms into the stratosphere, the selection is glorious, enough to make the reading of the list an exciting experience. The high-end, extensive French and Italian offerings are most impressive, but the fan of top-ranked California wines will find bottles that are extremely impressive. It is among the top half-dozen lists in town, and excellent values can be found here and there.
The dessert menu also is identical, which means that it’s possible to have the divine chocolate cake and banana ice cream, which we continue to feel is among the three best desserts in town. This time, though, we tried the lemon ricotta torte. Is this a fancy name for cheesecake? Yes, but on reflection, we’re fine with the re-naming. It’s a delightfully light version, unlike the rich, dense wedges that are more common. This fluffy, lemony charmer sits gently on the stomach even after a large meal.
The valet parking at Tony’s is also available for Anthony’s, a handy thing to know.
Anthony’s Bar
10 S. Broadway
314-231-7007
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Tues..-Sat.
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: Yes
Entrees: $18-$23
Comments
One response
Hallie Rice
Great post. Really Great.