Arthur Clay’s Menus
Jan 2, 2008 chefs, restaurants
I’m not sure if any of you remember, but when Red 104.1 was in business, they used to do these 1/2 price deals of which one was a $50 gift certificate to Arthur Clay’s. Surprisingly, because Ellie and I were in a dining lull at the time, that’s actually how I first found out about the restaurant.
When we first bought them we called and asked if we could use more than one before going. They said we could, and no longer a cook, and not making much money back then, I bet we ate there at least a dozen times in the years it was open with those certificates. We never did have the heart to use more than two at once though. It just seemed rude.
And I still recall that first time we ate there, vividly, because of a comment our server made to us.
Seated in the back room we were closed off from the rest of the restaurant because the hole Acero has since poked into the wall was not yet there when Arthur Clay’s occupied the building. Amongst a slew of the other interesting appetizers, I remember ordering sweetbreads. The table to my left also did, but they had no idea what sweetbreads actually were, and it was truly a priceless moment when our server instantly sized us up by dropping a “how do you begin to f%$#ng fix that?” while relaying the exchange she’d had with them.
It endeared us to the restaurant forever, as we had been singled out in that very moment as the laid back diners we are. They knew exactly what we wanted from them, and it was simply that we wanted: give us your great food to enjoy, but hold the pretentious service for someone who cares.
Anyway, where I’m not sure exactly, but somewhere, I have virtually every menu we ever ate off at Arthur Clay’s. Ellie and I found two while cleaning the other day underneath a few things on my dresser. We miss the restaurant dearly as it was the first place in St. Louis to show us we could get a taste of more exotic ingredients showing us that we could get a taste of a bigger cities food right here at home.
The second one was especially inspiring. I think it’s the first time we’d ever had pork belly in St. Louis, and the Roasted Apple Soup, Peppercorn Cream, Berry Coulis is, to this day, the best soup either of us has ever had.
Both should give you an idea of why I mention the restaurant often, and fondly remember so much of the great food we had the opportunity to eat there.
From what I gather, Steve Scherrer is not cooking right now, but I hope, wherever he one day lands, it’s in another kitchen cooking more delicious food.
Tags: Arthur-Clays, Steve-Scherrer
From the mountains of Panama and Ethiopia, to the urban-jungles of Portland and Chicago, journalist Michaele Weissman takes us behind the scenes for a look at the world of third-wave specialty coffee. How did we get to Starbucks, and where we go from here?
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I never really noticed it before you just posted these menu’s, but AC’s offered far too many entree and appetizer choices. Even though we have since learned it was the owners’ failed relationship that ultimately caused the restaurant to close, I wonder if they might have survived a little longer had they condensed the menu down to about half of what it was?
January 5th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I have a stash of old AC’s menus around here somewhere – I used to wait tables there, and the menus were so stunning, I couldn’t part with them after I took notes on them after line-up. If you’d be interested in seeing them, let me know and i’ll dig them up.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
[...] best service I have personally received in St. Louis was from a server named Jake at Arthur Clay’s who also worked at King Louie’s. Always attentive and professional as he worked his tables [...]