Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.

Spencer 9/24/15 Spencer 9/24/15

Bolyard's Burger Throwdown

The skies were more than ominous on August 22nd—there was no denying a storm was coming. I left my house at 5:15 PM, and by 5:17, the skies erupted. Manchester Road became more river than road in spots. My confidence that the Bolyard's Burger Throwdown would be starting at 6 PM was low, even if their Facebook page stated it was happening rain or shine. As I rolled up to Bolyard's, the skies cleared and the rain stopped. The burger gods were watching down upon us.

The battle that was about to take place was sure to be epic. Nick Blue, chef of Brasserie, prepared to battle Andrew Jennrich, butcher extraordinaire at Annie Gunn's.

Blue went with a Bibimbap Burger: a Bolyard's patty topped with pickled vegetables, a fried quail egg, and a piquant gochujang mayo. Jennrich gave his patty a spicy rub, then covered it with heirloom tomatoes, shaved lettuce, bread & butter pickles, remoulade dressing, and a hefty piece of andouille to create his Po Boy Burger.

The winner of the battle would be decided by the people. Each diner would get a ballot when they checked in (along with drink coupons to get Perennial Artisan Ale!). After the burgers were served, the people would decide who should win the Golden Pig Skull and who would have their hand lopped off by the master butcher himself (okay, that part isn't true). The pressure both Blue and Jennrich felt could only be described as immense.

I couldn't wait to get their meat into my mouth.

Let's check out the play-by-play.

The final plating. Two hefty sliders, plus Bolyard's mind-blowing beef tallow fries. Before even discussing the burger, I must explain how good these fries were. Think of the tastiest fries you've ever had. Now make them taste even better. It was sort of like the movie Inglourious Basterds: I went in excited to see Brad Pitt and Melanie Laurent and left talking about Christoph Waltz. So what I'm saying is these french fries were as good as Christoph Waltz, and he won the Oscar that year.

I won't say which way I voted, but both burgers pleased my palate. Even though they were inspired by completely different parts of the world, both had similar elements. They each had some heat (creole seasoning/gochujang mayo), a creamy element (remoulade/quail egg), and a vegetable crunch (pickles & lettuce/pickled vegetables). I would happily eat both burgers again.

In the end, Nick Blue took home the Golden Pig Skull. Will we see a Jennrich v. Blue rematch one day? I think, perhaps, this is the start to a great trilogy.

Be on the look out for more Bolyard's Burger Throwdowns in the near future. Who do you want to see battle it out next?

Spencer 3/18/15 Spencer 3/18/15

Brasserie by Niche

Maybe I'm lying to myself when I say I don't like French food. Every time I eat at Brasserie by Niche, I end up with enough food to choke a horse. As usual, it was packed on the Friday I went.

I was feeling particularly indecisive that night, so rather than make any tough decisions, I just got it all. First up were the classic Burgundy Escargot, swimming in little pools of herbs, garlic, and butter. Thinking with my tongue and not with my brain, I dove straight into these bad boys. There go the taste buds - these things were still hot as hell! Not one to be defeated by stupid little snails, our table still managed to decimate these.

Hidden away to the right are the gougeres, little poofs of cheese bread. I stand by my previous statement that Gerard Craft is the master of cheese breads.

Organ meats - liver in particular - are typically not my favorite due to their minerally flavor. However, if you think wayyyy back to my first Niche post, you'll see that I raved about a play on Peanut Butter & Jelly using chicken terrine. The Brasserie Chicken Liver Terrine is that terrine! I didn't even know! That ramekin left the table clean as a whistle.

Now onto our fourth appetizer (stop judging!), the Steak Tartare. We finished this baby off, too. The meat had a good amount of capers mixed in, giving it a nice salty punch.

Full yet? We weren't. It's entree time!

To share, we got the Moules a la Normande, mussels cooked in a broth with country ham, cider, leeks, garlic, and creme fraiche. I wasn't keen on ordering these (mussels are mussels are mussels, right?), but lo and behold, these are now my favorite mussels in town. They're smokey from the ham and sweet from the cider, giving them a different flavor profile than most places. I drank that broth like it was soup.

My main was...vegetarian? Yep, I went meatless. I picked the MASSIVE Roasted Vegetable Tart. Lentils, cauliflower puree, caramelized onions, and all sorts of other veggies were piled high and cooked spectacularly. This was my dish of the night. The different vegetables and cooking styles gave it all sorts of textures and a deep, complex flavor.

Roasted Vegetable Tart at Brasserie Niche

This is not a great shot, but it's just there to reiterate that Brasserie's roasted chicken is great.

The final entree was the Trout with fingerling potatoes, lemon, brown butter, capers, and parsley. It's a solid, healthy dish.

At this point in the evening, it felt like death was near. Clothing was tighter. Breathing was labored. I was sweating butter. I thought the evening's eating marathon was over, but Brasserie's great manager, Jen, and chef Nick Blue disagreed. Out came a chocolate mousse and the floating island. A few bites in and I passed out on the table.

Another successful meal at Brasserie completed.

Brasserie by Niche

4580 Laclede Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63108

314.454.0600