Gerard Craft and the Melange Space
Jul 31, 2008 St. Louis, chefs, restaurants
What a busy day for St. Louis restaurant gossip…
The buzz on this one is unfortunately not true. Via email Gerard Craft said “we looked at it but that is definitely a no go and was more than a month a ago.”
Lots of hopeful fingers can uncross for now.
Tags: Gerard Craft
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?
August 17th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I think it’s sad that Gerard Craft who isn’t even from St. Louis gets awards for being a top chef from St. Louis. We appreciate him bringing his cooking style & parents money to STL however Melanges old space would be entirely too big for his style. The nook he cooks in now is appropriate for what he does. It’s cozy and sits enough people to leave others in the wait wondering why this place is so packed. Is his food that great, no in all actuality it’s lack luster. Concepts are great but his execution is poor. Melanges old space is too big for what he can do and would look too empty for his following.
August 17th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I think it’s sad that Gerard Craft who isn’t even from St. Louis gets awards for being a top chef from St. Louis. We appreciate him bringing his cooking style however Melanges old space would be entirely too big for his style. The nook he cooks in now is appropriate for what he does. It’s cozy and sits enough people to leave others in the wait wondering why this place is so packed. Is his food that great, no in all actuality it’s lack luster. Concepts are great but his execution is poor. Melanges old space is too big for what he can do and would look too empty for his following.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
chef craft lives here and his restaurant has brought more attention to the city than ever before. What is sad about all of this? he is not interested in the melange anyway but will have diners wherever he goes because of his talent and caring.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
Andrea,
I am very sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience at my restaurant. If you ever choose to return, please advise us on how we can make your evening more enjoyable. We are always learning and appreciate all feedback.
Best,
Gerard Craft
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Needless to say that I’ve been neglecting the blog angle of stlbites as I’ve been busy in general, but I’m terribly confused by the “sad” comment.
Why would it be sad that someone has moved here and elevated the bar of St. Louis food in such a manner that people are taking notice nationwide? Nobody else could muster up the food to win a major national award prior to Niche.
Also, how long does it take until you’ll consider someone local? That is: what of the best restaurants is run by someone that is from St. Louis originally??
An American Place? No. Sidney Street? No. Atlas? No. Even a long standing St. Louis classic like Cardwell’s gets a big no.
Furthermore, how many people did Melange seat? I doubt, seriously, that Niche is much smaller once you tack the back room on which they seat on weekends now. Plus, I bet a weekend night at Niche sees them serving more people than a weekend night at Melange ever did because Niche is in an entirely different league than Melange ever was.
And last. If you think many chefs walk in and open restaurants with entirely their own money you have been seriously misled as to what it takes to open one. Almost all restaurants have investors. Sometimes those investors happened to be called Mom & Dad, but that doesn’t mean they don’t expect him to make a return on their investment.
Niche winning the accolades they have been isn’t just good for Niche, it’s good for St. Louis. It puts a spotlight on our dining, and shows investors looking for a city to open truly high-quality restaurants that our city is a viable landing pad.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
For the record, Bill, I’m pretty sure Jean (Atlas) is from here. She did go to high school here, which as we all know is what matters
. And I’m also pretty sure Mina Nashan is from here is well. But your points are still valid, and I’m “sad” and baffled why any St. Louis foodie would object to a restaurant that has put St. Louis in the national spotlight.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I did know that Josef. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of the people responsible for the bulk of the food (as I know Jean does do some of that as well).
August 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
speaking of the melange space–Cafe Brasil is going in there. They are relocating from their space on McKnight