Yes Virginia, There is Fine Dining in Stinktown

Saturday, April 12, 2008 ... Tony's Restaurant in Downtown St. Louis

Tony's is the only restaurant in the state of Missouri to ever receive a AAA 5-diamond award. Sadly, it lost one of those diamonds or stars or whatever they're called a few years back but it remains a tradition in St. Louis ... one of the places to go when you have something to celebrate or you just feel like splurging. The food is incredible and the service is just right: attentive without being intrusive.

We had various reasons for dining here: my step-father turned 70 on April 13th, he and my mother were celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary on April 14th, my nephew just graduated from college a few months ago, and he and his fiance are getting married in June. Since my family is so small ... what you see here is it ... Jay and I decided that a special dinner was in order so that we could all celebrate these milestones together. So we invited the others to join us in a gluttonous booze-fest at Tony's.

Come with us now as we re-live the food love...

Jay and I arranged to meet the nephie and his fiance at the restaurant about 30 minutes before our dinner reservation so that we could have a drink together prior to the arrival of the parental unit. Tony's has a small bar area - they actually call it their living room - and the walls are plastered with signed photographs of famous people who've stuffed their faces at the restaurant during its long history.

I started the evening out with a Kir Royale while Jay had a Pinot Grigio and the nephie opted for a Cabernet. His fiance doesn't drink; she has ulcerative colitis, and alcohol really bothers her - heh, between the two of us we have the entire digestive tract covered with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. All I can say is it was a lucky day for me when I found out that nuts and seeds and leafy green vegetables will twist my guts into a nasty knot, but booze and chocolate still love me!

Aren't they cute?

Remorseless eating machines ...

Once the parents arrived we were taken to our table. Tony's decor is what I have decided to call understated contemporary - muted shades of gold and brown are highlighted by colorful artwork on the walls. The overall lighting is dim, but each table has its own small light fixture hanging from the ceiling that provides a warmer circle of illumination by which patrons can read their menu and ogle their food.

Let the yeasting, I mean feasting, begin!

Our serving team brought us two bowls of bread which included fresh sourdough, white rolls, and some crunchy, buttery crostini. We were each also given a hefty hunk-a-butter with which to slather said breads. For once in my life I actually laid off the grains ... I had more tasty caloric treats on my mind! But I did nibble on some of the crostini and it was excellent - perfectly crisped and lightly brushed with olive oil and garlic butter.

It was about this time that the sommelier showed up ... Jay had the wine bible and ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir. But then I reminded him that some of us prefer white and so the sommelier paid us a second visit to recommend a Pinot Grigio for all of us to share as well. Please don't ask me the names of either of these two wines - I haven't the fainest idea, but I can tell you both were very, very good. We're no experts, as I've said many times before, but we know what we like. And these two wines were excellent - the Pinot Noir was a little lighter and fruitier than some we've tried and that made it especially good in my book; the Pinot Grigio was light and smooth and clean.

I need another table for my drinks...

Once the alcohol was taken care of ... for the moment ... it was time to order some appetizers. Five of us took the plunge while Grimace opted out ... I was nice and shared some of my food with her, but not much!

Brenda's first choice: Smoked Salmon with Mascarpone Cheese, Onions, and Capers

I adore smoked salmon with mascarpone cheese filling and this was exceptional ... lightly smoked salmon with just a hint of salt and a smooth, almost satiny consistency stuffed with light, delicate Italian cream cheese. Our server offered to drizzle some fresh lemon juice over the top and I agreed - the acidity of the juice combined well with the sweetness of the cheese and the saltiness of the salmon yielding just a hint of lemon with each bite.

Jay's first choice: Seared Scallops with Black Truffle Sauce

First you see the naked scallops and then you see them after being baptized with black truffle sauce. One of the things that I think is really cool about dining at Tony's is that they finish preparing many of their dishes table side and then plate and serve them to patrons. In this case, our serving team seared Jay's scallops right there at the table and while one young man plated the yummies another was putting the finishing touches on the truffle sauce. The scallops were wonderful - lightly seared on the outside with a firm, silky consistency on the inside. As you've probably guessed, I managed to snag a bit of scallop without the truffle sauce, but Jay said it was creamy and and tasty and way better than Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Dylan & Jen's first choice: Risotto with Pancetta, English Peas, and Onions

This was a selection that I seriously considered ordering, but the siren call of cheesy salmon was too seductive for me to resist. The nephie was kind enough to let both Jay and me take a taste of this and all I can say is: wow! Rich and creamy and so tender that the rice was confused for pasta by some, this tasted wonderful. While I cannot comment on the peas or onions, which I try never to eat if at all possible, the pancetta added good contrasting texture and a little spiciness. The freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of this dish was a delightful touch.

Jon's first choice: Pheasant Consomme with a Crepe (resemblance to Dead Sea Scroll entirely unintentional)

Hmmmm, what to say...what to say. Well, it must have been good because Jon licked the bowl clean, but there was no sharing of this dish. In his defense it's not easy to pass a bowl of consomme around the table, especially with a klutz like me in attendance, but I would have formed a line to his left in the dining room for just a wee taste. And don't you guys think that crepe looks like a scroll? Or maybe it was a treasure map and Jon ate it by mistake? Actually I thought there was some savory treat tucked into the crepe but Jay says it was stuffed with herbs and such to add flavor to the consomme and was not designed for eating.

Brenda's second choice: Penne Pasta with Lobster and Shrimp

Ahhhh, you have to love exceptional service. And by that I mean, this item was not on the standard menu. Tony's also offers a two person Chef's Tasting menu and this was the pasta listed on that menu. I asked our head server if it was possible for me to order this pasta because it sounded so good and of course he said yes! Let this be a lesson for you ... ask, ask, ask, because the worst that can happen is someone says "no." And as an aside, Jay and I have had the tasting menu at Tony's before so we didn't want to do it again, especially because we would have both been served the same items for each course. We wanted to try all new things on this visit.

As for the pasta, it was quite tasty. The red sauce was light and a little spicy and the shrimp and lobster were flavorful and well cooked. The portion size was extremely generous - after sharing it around the table with everyone else Jay and I took turns munching on this until it was all gone.

Jay's second choice: Agnollotti with Prosciutto


Here's another one of those dishes that I seriously considered ordering...after asking the head server exactly what agnollotti was in the first place! In this case he said that it was little spinach and beef stuffed raviolis served with a prosciutto and cream-based sauce. This was so surprisingly good that I kind of wished I had ordered it. And that's an amazing statement on my part for anyone who knows me well, because I don't usually care for cream-based (white) pasta sauce. These tender, beefy little pasta pockets were just a tad on the salty side, but the cream sauce seemed to neutralize that and the end result was a fabulous combination of spin-eef-shutto-ey goodness. Jay and I enjoyed this choice as well as the penne pasta that I ordered - they were both excellent dishes!

Dylan's second choice: Asparagus & Belgian Endive


That's a generous portion of asparagus all for the bargain price of $10, and apparently it tasted pretty darn good, too. Dylan offered me some but I passed since I was so busy eating two different forms of pasta.

Jen's second choice: Bibb Lettuce, Artichokes, & Hearts of Palm


It looks very green, doesn't it? It's probably just me but when I do take the plunge and order a salad I like it to have some color variation ... carrots, tomatoes, maybe some cheese. But this salad wasn't about me, it was about Jen, and she liked it just fine.

Jon's second choice: Tony's Salad


At least this salad has some color! That's about all I can say since I didn't eat this, either, but Jon really enjoyed it. It looks pretty good, too, with those radish slices, pieces of pepperoni, tomatoes and cheese. My only suggestion, which is completely unwarranted since I didn't eat any of this, would be to toss the salad a little more thoroughly because it looks like some pieces of lettuce are coated with dressing while others are dry.

Grimmie's first choice: Tomato with Anchovies & Red Onion


My mom finally joined the food fun and look at what she ordered on her first try! The thing that surprised me the most about this choice was the anchovies ... I had no idea that she liked flat, spiny, salty fishes. But she does! She liked this very much and recently confided that she only burped anchovies for three days afterwards.

Grimmie's dinner: Roasted Salmon & Roasted Vegetables


That's a nice sized portion of salmon...actually, now that I look more closely at the picture I see that there are two salmon fillets along with a colorful assortment of peppers, squash, and cauliflower. Grimace said it was all very good, but she thought the salmon was especially well cooked and had a nice flavor without being too "fishie." That statement cracked me up considering that it was made by a woman who had just inhaled a bunch of anchovies. And don't you just love scales on the plate? I'm pretty sure I've seen these dishes at Flying Fish at WDW.

Brenda's dinner: Tenderloin of Beef, Foie Gras, & Port Wine Demi Glaze


Oh. my. gawd. I blame Victoria and Albert's ... I really do. Before dining there I would never have considered ordering foie gras ... ewwwwwwww, liver! But then I discovered the buttery, sinful joy that is seared foie gras. While it's not something that I'd order all the time (it's too expensive), on a special occasion in Stinktown how on earth could I ignore the liver?

The tenderloin was prepared medium and was just perfect - tender and slightly pink on the edges growing ever darker in hue as I ate my way towards the middle. The port wine sauce seemed just a bit too salty - I would have preferred a slightly sweeter version in this instance, but it was still good and prepared very well, slightly thick with some yummy bits of pan leavings added in for good measure. Lemme tell you, my sauces never turn out this well!

As for the foie gras, it was divine paired with the tenderloin, providing a wonderful contrast in texture and consistency. Every bite was a mix of buttery smoothness and tender meat with a dash of salty port sauce to add some extra flavor. I shared a bit with Jon and Jason and then proceeded to demolish the rest. Yes, that's right ... I ate all of it!!!

Jen also ordered this for her entree but did not care for the foie gras, especially after I made the mistake of telling her what it was! But I have to give her full credit for even ordering it in the first place - when I was her age I would have run screaming from the dining room if someone had smacked seared foie gras down on top of my entree. I do know that Dylan tried some of it with a bite of the tenderloin and agreed that it was quite good - a pretty surprising verdict from someone who'd never before tried foie gras.

Jay's dinner: A Trio of Veals


To clear up any potential confusion, this was not three different cuts of veal nor was it veal prepared three different ways - it was three veal cutlets served with three individual sauces. To the best of his memory recall abilities, Jay said that the sauces were: garlic-butter, some sort of lemon, and mushroom-marsala. The flavors were all strong without being overpowering and Jay said he thought they were all good - the veal was well prepared and very tender. I did try just a bite of the veal and garlic sauce and thought it was pretty darn tasty - I'm not a huge fan of veal so that was a bit of stretch for me, but I did enjoy the bit that I tried.

Jon's dinner: Prime rack of Lamb

I asked Jon several times during this part of the meal if he was happy with his choice ... his response can pretty well be summed up as: "Can't talk - eating." Jon apparently loves rack of lamb and is not often presented with the opportunity to indulge his taste buds. Judging by the rapidity with which his food disappeared I'd say this dish was a winner.

Dylan's dinner: Fillet Mignon of Swordfish


This was another one of those moments where I embarrassed my mother by asking our head server what a fillet mignon of swordfish was supposed to be. I'd never heard of this before (not that that means anything) and wanted to know more about it ... I tried to explain to Grimmie that it's acceptable to ask questions while dining but she doesn't like displaying her ignorance. I, on the other hand, wave my foodie ignormaus flag every chance I get. The explanation, by the way, was that the cut of this filet was the most tender and "meaty" piece available from the fishie and that is why it is called filet mignon of swordfish. Dylan said it was exceptional.

Jay's side dish: Steamed Spinach


Jay really surprised me by adopting his Popeye personna and ordering spinach. I'm sure he chose it in part for its health benefits, but bleccccch! I like a spinach salad now and then, but hot, wilted spinach leaves don't sound appetizing to me at all.

Dylan's side dish: Potato Ball Stuffed with Meaty Goodness


I actually thought this option sounded pretty good: a rice and potato ball stuffed with spicy meat. But I didn't order it because having a side order of meat with my beef tenderloin seemed a little too Beef Council of America for me. I did try a taste of this, however, and thought it was very good. Think meatball wrapped in a rice potato and you'll have this little puppy down cold!

Brenda & Jen's side dish: Steamed Vegetable Melody

I tried to offset the pure decadence of my foie gras with a healthy vegetable melody, but the truth of the matter is that Jay ate most of these. I nibbled on the carrots and a little bit of the broccoli, but that was enough for me. Why take up valuable stomach space with vegetables when dessert must still be consumed?

Anniversary & Birthday freebie for the parental unit


I had mentioned to our server that we were celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings to be, and he brought Grimmie and Jon a piece of cake to share. I assume they shared with each other because I sure as hell know that they didn't share any with the rest of us!! I was kind of sad that Dylan and Jen didn't get a piece, too, but I guess Tony's draws the line at pre-nuptial cake. I should have called ahead and ordered something but I dropped the ball (and the phone).

Friandese


Luckily while Grimace and Jon were eating cake, the serving team showed up with a silver serving platter of chocolates and cookies. The chocolates were especially tasty and were filled with a silky cherry cream that was just the right amount of sweet. I didn't want to share, but I did. I even made Grimace eat one (just to see if she really would explode because she said she was stuffed to capacity) and in return I received a yummy sound of approval.

Jay & Brenda's after-dinner scotch: Glenfiddich 10-year

We had noticed Tony's single malt scotch selection earlier in the evening when we were ordering cocktails, but decided to wait until after dinner to indulge. Now that I think back on it, I probably should have ordered the Macallan 12-year - Jay and I both seem to prefer that one just a little more than the Glenfiddich, but this was still a very good choice and one that we have at home among our rapidly growing scotch collection. Every dessert we tried, even the friandese, tasted great with the Glenfiddich. It lends itself particulary well to chocolate, in my humble opinion.

Grimace needs port ... need I say more?

Perhaps if I hadn't been buzzing so loudly at this point in the meal I might not have ordered this port. I very specifically asked for a tawny port but if I'd paid more attention when they brought this back to the table I would have realized that this port wasn't even ten years old and therefore was nowehere near the tawny that I wanted or expected. However, having said that, this was not a bad choice, and Grimace certainly enjoyed it so I suppose that's all that really matters. It was a younger, red port with a lot of fruity overtones - much more sweet than I typically like in a port. That didn't stop me from drinking mine or Jen's ... someone had to finish it for her. ;-)

And now for dessert, which entailed some little discussion at our table. We wanted to be sure that everyone tried something different so that we could all taste as much variety as possible. So to begin with, I ordered Tony's version of bananas foster which they flambeed table side ... I just wish I'd paid more attention while they were doing so because it's not something you get to see every day. But I think I was too busy drinking at this point to do full justice to the flaming naners.

Brenda's dessert: Bananas Flambe

More Pseudo-Bananas Foster


This was a huge serving and don't you love the silver dish it was presented in? That sucker was really heavy - I felt like I got an extra arm workout just lifting it and passing it to the right. I believe my original intention was for Jay and me to share this, but somewhere along the way I just started eating and didn't stop. Poor Jay ... I'll have to pay better attention to his dessert needs while we're in Vegas.

Jay's dessert: Cheese Plate & Fruit!


The cheeses offered this evening were Big Ed's (Wisconsin), Bartlett Blue (Vermont), Urgelia (Northern Spain), and Montasio (Veneto, Italy). I know that I tried these and I remember them being very good but that's about it, so I'm pulling some information from the creamy cheese palaces where these babies were made. Big Ed's is made by Saxon Homestead Creamery in Wisconsin - this is a young cow's milk cheese with a mild, buttery flavor. Great for people who are still growing their cheese legs, if you know what I mean. The Bartlett Blue is produced at the Jasper Hill Dairy in Vermont. This is an Ayreshire Cow's milk cheese and it is sweet and creamy with a natural rind. Urgelia is a creamy Spanish cheese with a washed rind (I think that means it's stinky) but it has a mild, almost subtle taste. Montasio, from Italy, is also a cow's milk cheese and it's actually made from two milkings and is partially skimmed. It's soft and smooth and a little sweet.

Jen's dessert: Creme Brulee Suffocated by Fresh Fruit


I have never in all my life seen creme brulee presented in such a modest fashion. I like my fruit served on the side, especially when it's so bountiful. Once my spoon wrrrrrrrriggled through the fruit and found the good stuff I was very pleased indeed. This was an excellent creme brulee with a light, sugary crust and a sweet, creamy body. And althought it's hard to tell from this picture, the serving portion was very generous - I think it could have easily served as a shared dessert between two people ... other than Jay and me.

Jon's dessert: Triple Chocolate Torte

What is there to say about any dessert that bills itself as triple chocolate? If it's done right it's an ovary cramping delight that leaves you wanting more. And so it was with this little gem which was rich and moist and dark. That little dollop of fresh whipped cream was too small, in my opinion, but it still tasted really good with the torte.

Dylan's dessert: Brandy Ice

This was the other dessert item that really caught my eye, but when Dylan said he was going to order it I demanded only that he let me take a slurp or three. This was very good although I'm not sure if it was supposed to be more of an ice cream or a milkshake - it seemed a little undecided. Dylan seemed to enjoy it and when he'd had enough he was gracious enough to let me finish it off for him! How's that for a deal?

For those of you who are wondering, no single dessert item was more than $12.50 and most of the dessert options ranged between $6.50 - $9.50.

Perhaps one of the most amusing events of the evening happened while we were finishing our desserts. The gentleman who started Tony's some years back always makes an appearance in the dining room during the course of the night and he often stops to chat with patrons to ensure that everything is to their liking. He stopped at our table and was very charming and then happened to look down at my silver presentation bowl and said, "You need more ice cream. Yours is all melted ... let me go back and get you some more."

Not more than five minutes later he reappeared with a small silver bowl and some serving tongs and he proceeded to plop another scoop of french vanilla ice cream into my dish. Now for those of you who've followed our dining adventures on the DIS, this will seem especially funny because many of our dining freebies (which have centered around alcohol or dessert) seem to be linked to unintentional cleavage flashed by yours truly (or so the joke runs). I didn't really have any cleavage to show with the dress I was wearing, but I realized later that he was standing behind my chair and probably had a clear view down the front of my dress!

And so the bounty of unintentional dessert cleaves continues!

Brenda's free sccop of ice cream!!!


This picture is obvioulsy a set-up ... I never drink that much


By this point my family was staring at me in slack-jawed amazement as I continued to eat and drink. Grimace actually asked me if I have a tapeworm. Silly Grimace ... she knows about the parasitic twin that's embedded in my belly.

The happy couple?


We finally got a picture of Grimace and Jon .... he just looks confused and she looks like Grimace. Actually, upon closer inspection, I think she looks like she has gas. **note to self - never show this review to Grimace.**

And then shortly before leaving our wait staff offered to take a picture of the six of us together huddled around the remnants of the dinner table. I think we look pretty good for having spent four hours there stuffing our respective faces, don't you?

Replete to the point of satiety ... the family still manages to smile!

And so we went our separate ways ... replete ... content ... pleasantly squiffed. All in all it was a terrific evening with superb food, wonderful service, and good company. Tony's remains our Stinktown special occasion venue of choice - it's a restaurant that we visit rarely due to the expense but the infrequency of our visits only guarantees that it will never lose its charm or appeal. We highly recommend Tony's, especially to you foodies out there who haven't had a chance to try it yet. While their dishes may be lacking somewhat in overall presentation, the quality of the food is top notch and the service is just right. Give Tony's a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.