Is there a new star in the St. Louis restaurant sky? It certainly looks like it. Elaia, run and cheffed by Ben Poremba, he of Salume Beddu, on certain levels it makes one think of the legendary Jefferson Avenue Boarding House.
One of the levels is literal. It, too, is on the second floor of an elderly building hidden in an unprepossessing neighborhood. Between I-64 and I-44, the hidden entrance is indicated only by seeing the valet parking sign. The decor is spare, much white and gray and plenty of candles, modern and luxe without being overwhelming.
There’s an a la carte menu, but in a moment of weakness, we fortunately succumbed to the tasting menu. It’s $100 per person for eleven courses. Wine, a different one with each course, doubles the price. The pairings actually go beyond wine; one course this particular night partnered with a cider, another with Madeira.
Things began promptly with a wee aperitif, a cocktail with Byrrh and a little gin. Byrrh is French, a red wine that’s marinated with quinine and herbs, sweet with a nice bitterness, and the combination did pleasantly inflame the appetite. That was followed by crudo, a slice of scallop dressed with sour orange, a dab of meyer lemon granita and just a little hit of Thai chili. The presentation was such that the chili would probably hit only one bite of the dish, allowing for more variety of sensations, and smart that was.
Carpaccio should be cut so thinly one could almost read the menu through it. So it was with the escolar, topped with a gremolata, of white anchovy, mint, preserved lemon and minced Marcona almonds, all chopped together, light and savory, and a fine example of seemingly incongruous ingredients (mint and anchovy?) playing well together. Cross-slices of finger-sized Iranian cucumbers hung out with chickpeas and fava beans, lightly dressed with a blood orange vinaigrette.
And then there were the beets. Among the most memorable of the dishes, it was a few small chunks of roasted beets dressed with a rich yogurt, crumbled feta cheese and nuggets of pistachios – but then, it had been placed on a bed of roasted, dehydrated and crushed beets with a sandy-to-crunchy texture. The flavor was amazing, the concentration of the roasted beet changing and magnifying things. Yes, that texture was part of it, too, perhaps off-putting to some, but if the diner is among those who like their toasted marshmallows slightly burnt at the edges, it’s bliss.
Soup of sweet potatoes baked in salt was satisfying, particularly with the creme fraiche dollop somehow rounding things out, but the following dish left it far behind. I’m rather neutral on sweetbreads, they’re subtle and inoffensive, but there’s often something else on a menu that lures me more. Here they arrived to hang out with potato gnocchi smaller than the first joint on an index finger, cooked tart apple and salsify. Salsify is sometimes known as “oyster plant”, because it is said to taste a little like oysters, but there’s much argument in the back rooms of Foodie Central over the taste being more like oysters or artichoke hearts. In this presentation, I’d vote for the latter, The combination came together with the deglazing liquid from the sweetbreads, the acidity of the apple providing a nice bounce to the savor of he salsify but not running wildly past the sweetbreads. Excellent, indeed.
And speaking of carbohydrates, it was time to cue the risotto. By now, it was obvious that the menu’s announcement of chicken and creamed cabbage was going to be an elaborate understatement, and that, of course, was right. Whoever knew cooked cabbage could be so subtle?
A perfectly seared sea scallop was sided with two pieces of grilled topinambour, or sunchoke, another uncommon vegetable that can evoke an artichoke heart. The texture was a good contrast and the flavor bounced off the mollusc perfectly. And slices of duck breast so exquisitely seasoned and cooked that saucing was superfluous, were accompanied by beluga lentils and a half-handful of shredded raw carrot and tatsoi greens in what seemed like just a little lemon juice.
The official dessert was titled “Chocolate and Coffee”, the only quotation marks on the menu. Not, of course, a bonbon and cuppa java. The photo is not entirely accurate; the collection of confection was nibbled on the far side before I remembered the camera. The brownie-looking creation was densely mousse-ish over a firm, dark chocolate base, the ice cream was coffee, and then there were little chocolate-chip-looking bits that turned out to be coffee that had been used to dissolve gelatin to produce wee jujube-like charmers. Coarse salt sprinkled very lightly on top garnished the cake.
Mignardises are the small sweets that close dinners at fine restaurants. An almond macaron, an orange-fennel biscotti, a candied rose petal, and more appeared on the table. Despite the portions being perfectly sized, satiety pulled up a chair and settled in.
Wine? Don’t be put off by there not being a by-the-glass list in the large and very interesting wine list. There are a lot of bottles open and they’ll pour out of any of them. I began with a Lucien Albrecht cremant rose of pinot noir from Alsace, perhaps not quite cool enough, and that was the evening’s sole misstep. But it worked well with the early courses. And then a large, old-fashioned red from Venge Vineyards in Napa, a blend of zinfandel, syrah and charbono took the last three courses on a ride. Plenty of fruit, quite intense, and very rich. It was a 2011, a little tight at first but it relaxed quickly.
Service was darn near flawless, knowledgeable, polite, attentive but relaxed, and not hovering. Knowledgeable is important when a menu changes as often as this one does, and food lovers and fans of dining out appreciate it. And that, plus the innovative food and quiet self-confidence, is what reminds me of the Jefferson Avenue Boarding House.
Expensive? Yes. Think about the labor that went into creating the components of each of the dishes. Worth it? Yes. Think about the pleasure and the tickling of the palate’s creative juices.
Elaia
1634 Tower Grove Ave.
314-932-1088
Dinner Tues.-Sat.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Nope
Smoking: No
Entrees: $26-$30
Prix Fixe: $100
