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

Off the Vine

Jan 1, 2008 chefs, restaurants

At this point I think most anyone that digs on food in St. Louis is well aware that Andy White will be manning a new stove starting tomorrow at Off the Vine in what was the original Blue Water Grill location.

And while everyone keeps talking about his time at Harvest and Balaban’s, which is I suppose impressive pedigree, I still remember fondly his time at Cafe Campagnard in Manchester. His cooking in that tiny restaurant–provencal French done to perfection–has been sorely missed since the restaurant shuttered its doors. I think it was one of the first places I ever took Ellie outside of my employer at the time (Harvest), and it quickly became her favorite as it was easily one of the best kept secrets in town while they were open.

One dish we both vividly remember was a succulently sweet roasted piece of halibut he once sent out to us atop a bed of perfectly caramelized baby onions. As startlingly simple as it was, it’s something that’s always stuck with us along with the best roasted red pepper soup we’ve ever had, and his country pâté.
Needless to say, we’re both happy to see him popping up once again in a smaller setting as we feel it suits his food better. And that isn’t meant to slight his time at larger spots, because he is still the guy that gave us apricot sorbet at a Robert Sinskey wine dinner at Harvest. Perched atop a homemade ice cream cone that had caramelized blue cheese packed in the bottom like the chocolate at the bottom of a drumstick, just thinking about it now I can almost taste it because it was definitely a dish worth remembering.

So it caught me off guard today, while looking for an Off the Vine website, when I spotted this ad on Craig’s List that leaves me a little concerned for the smoothness of their opening. Not even 7 days out from day one they were still posting about a need for servers and hosts, and it would seem to me, that still looking for staff so close to opening, is a little dicey.

Hopefully the opening goes more smoothly than the ad might suggest, and if you’re the food loving employable restaurant type, you should go apply because they’re sure to be serving better food than most anyone else in St. Louis. Furthermore, if you’re the food loving dining in a restaurant type, and you go in the opening days, let me know how it is.

Oh, and to the owners, if you read this, get a website already. It’s just poor form in 2008 to not have a website because even when it’s simple the way Atlas’s is, it serves to give people an idea of what to expect from your restaurant. With the highway 40 closure in effect, for many, the jaunt to your establishment will be far more complex than before, and without a helping hand, it will be difficult to get people to wander out to a new unknown, instead of an old favorite where they know what to expect.

Edit: I’m getting a surprising number of hits for this post because there is little information about Off the Vine online.  Mostly, I think a lot of people are looking for the phone number.  It is (314)781-1620 if you’re looking to make a reservation.

Tags: Andy-White, Off-the-Vine