stlbites.com – st. louis food blog of bill burge

Changes at Niche

Oct 10, 2007 restaurants

Friday we went to Niche on a whim. Nothing to really report there. You know how I feel, and the food was great. The short ribs Ellie had were especially awesome.

What sucked is that we missed the lamb special for the night. I mention it because Niche recently ditched the 3 for $35 deal for the majority of their menu. There are still a few items you can do it with, but for the most part it’s now just a traditional a la carte menu. This has freed them to use more expensive ingredients and more importantly they now have specials. Awesome specials that is! Things you’d be a fool to miss like the pig ear terrine from a few weeks back.

A bonus for the night, we got to sample a possible inclusion to the weekday tasting menus when they start back up. I can’t tell you what it was, but I will say it was something I’d definitely never had before and it was really interesting.

We also got a peak at the now completed private dining area. I love the way they carried the wine racks over from the main room. I’ll have to think of a reason to use it myself. Super cool!

Also, never one to shut up, I talked to Gerard for a while about everything from his love of tongue and tripe as a young cook, to his eating an eyeball for the first time earlier in the week — “it was crunchy and had a really strong pork flavor”. More importantly I found out Veruca, Matthews new pastry spot, would be opening soon. It’s basicaly ready from what I gathered, and they’re hoping it’ll be open in the next month or so.

And last, my cappuccino/espresso quest came up and I definitely hit a serious nerve with that one. He gets it. He got about as fired up as I do regarding our cities complete lack of serious quality. They’ll be getting a manual machine for the bakery, and hopefully we’ll see them add a little class to Benton Park.

God I hope so because what could be better than some Mathew Rice pastries while feeding your mainstream addiction with a good espresso? Clearly, not much.

Tags: Niche