Fond 411
Oct 28, 2008 Illinois, restaurants
Yet more info on recently opened Fond…
For those of you looking for pertinent details, Fond is located at 106 N. Main Street, Edwardsville, IL 62025 and their number is 618.656.9001. Thought out extremely well their website is www.fondfinedining.com. It is well done both visually and informationally and contains everything a new restaurant’s should upon opening. This includes, of course, a sample fall menu complete with a tasting menu (which they call a Market Menu).
Willing to put my foot somewhat in my mouth, it all sounds pretty damn tasty in a comforting sort of way. Here are just a few items I hope taste every bit as as good as they sound…
- Pumpkin Soup with cumin-coriander creme
- Veal Terrine with mustard, pickles and grilled toast
- Parmesan Ravioli with lemon, mint and black pepper
- Free-Form Lasagna with mild mushrooms, smoked celery root puree, goat cheese fondue
- Brown-butter cake with spiced pecans and bourbon buttercream
See, I can be nice too.
Tags: Edwardsville, Fond
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?
October 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Phone # is wrong here. It is 618.656.9001
Bill: Thanks for catching my fat-finger.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
the menu looks very interesting. I love that they have skate on the menu. One of our favorite spots here in AZ is doing skate right now and it’s become one of my favorite. I look forward to trying Fond when we are home for a visit. A progressive meal might be in the works…start at Fond..move to Erato…finish at the bar…sounds like fun to me.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:54 am
The reviews I’ve heard have all been the same…great food and DRASTICALLY overpriced.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Bill
Thanks for the positive comments on the website! I am the designer who did all of the work for Fond. I also designed the logo for 222 Artisan which is on here quite a bit. I obviously have been to fond and loved the food.
My office is right above the Bakery, as we own the building it is in. It is pure torture going to the office every morning and smelling all of the great things 222 is cooking up! We could not be happier to have the as a tenant!
I am honored to be able to say I have worked with people who are great at what they do. Thanks go out to Amy at Fond and Matt and Debbie at 222 Artisan Bakery!
For anyone coming to Edwardsville, Main Street is the place to be, thanks to the great people of Sacred Ground, 222 Artisan Bakery, Erato, Bigelow’s and now Fond!
November 18th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Edwardsville is still Edwardsville, no matter how much money you think you have! So what makes FOND so much better than the other places? Oh, it’s the place to go, well, go folks. I’m not silly enough to pay the prices quoted on this menu without more justification! Sorry but I consider myself more of a real judge of exception food and this place leaves a lot to be DESIRED.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Edwardsville IS a small town with good personality. Unfortunately, good personality is not contagious.
I did not realize, by saying we had a good experience at a restaurant, we claim to have a lot of money…or at least THINK we do! I guess that is something we could learn from Joyce…the expert!
I do not claim to have a lot of money and I do not claim to be the expert of all things regarding food. I have been to many restaurants in the St. Louis Area over the past 10 years. I am happy to give props where they are due.
Edwardsville IS still Edwardsville! My personal opinion is, that is what I love about it. I really am sorry to hear people not feel the same as I do. It is possible though, I still remember people from high school saying they could not wait to get out of here. I was one of them. After 6 years away and living in 3 different states, I would not choose anywhere else to be!
November 19th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Adam, after being stuck out here in Arizona…I feel the exact same way about Benton Park. I can’t wait to come home to St. Louis.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 am
My wife and I dined at Fond earlier tonight. I have to echo another post here: the food is quite good, but way, way overpriced. We ordered the wild mushroom risotto and the salmon as entrees. We intended to share same, and requested the kitchen halve and share the portions between our two plates. The waitress returned and said it could not be done. What? That’s a first! An American Place, Sydney Street and Monarch – amongst others – have accommodated this same request in the past. No big deal, we did it ourselves, but it’s awkward and irritating when spending $110 (w/ 2 martinis and 2 glasses of wine).
The salmon was good. *I’m weary of salmon anymore – it’s either good, or it’s just salmon. So points here – but it was virtually alone on the plate.
I LOVE risotto, and would like to think I’ve sought out and sampled the best in the StL area. The risotto was good, but certainly not transcendent. Is this a criticism? In a word, yes – I’ve had much better risottos at 1111, which offers larger portions as a side at less than half the price we paid at Fond tonight.
But, in the end, everything is relative. For years, Edwardsville offered only to desitnations for residents looking for upscale dining – Neruda and Andria’s Stakehouse. I prefer more eclectic menus, and Andria’s is expensive, but when in the mood for a great steak, Andria’s delivers – and the sides arrive in generous portions.
Neruda’s is good, definitely convenient, but not great. It’s shining feature is dependability. The menu has barely changed over 10 years, but you know to expect, and get a fair amount of food for what you pay (entrees include a salad and relatively generous sides).
Fond may not last long if it’s betting that Edwardsville foodies will pay more for less food simply to avoid the drive time to StL. Mosaic (relocated and w/ much better fare than the old location, around the corner) is 20 mins away. 1111 is perhaps 25 mins. away.
Don’t misunderstand, the food at Fond was good, and I’m thankful that Edwardsville is offering more choices, but Fond’s prices are notably excessive. My wife and I agreed – we’ll make the drive next time.
*One of my favorite ways to prepare salmon – wrapped in foil, w/ truffle oil and capers.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
On this last comment, I’m just curious if you find the pricing at Monarch, Niche, Sidney Street excessive? Mosaic and 1111 are cheaper than those restaurants and certainly pride themselves a bit more on fulfilling your entire dining need out of a single plate of food. That’s not necessarily a great thing though.
Fond is, I’d say, assuming you’ll be ordering a whole app and entree to yourself to obtain a certain level of satisfaction. I’ve not been yet but I’d also add that while the pricing did seem a bit steep to me when I initially saw their menu, I know some of that has to be a result of their attempt to source locally. Locally sourcing simply cost more than the Sysco system of procurement employed by most places.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:10 am
My wife and I enjoyed our experience at Fond, a few weeks ago. We dropped $175 on a tasting menu with wine pairings.
This was within the first week, and I believe we were told that we were the first to order the market menu. My wife does not eat red meats or game fowl, the staff accommodated us nicely. We even tasted a few off menu items. I didn’t enjoy on wine from the Alsace region, but that my fault not the wine.
What I think that Fond is doing is remarkable. They are a completely different restaurant than others in Southern Illinois. The only reason to make a trip away from Edwardsville, is if you want a different experience.
Dining out today is a luxury. Fond gives Edwardsville another culinary delight for Missouri and Southern Illinois bon vivants to experience. There is no reason to knock it, just keep dining out.
Also, had a great experience at Firefly in Effingham, Illinois. Another Southern Illinois Gem.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
1111 offers great value. We’ve only been to Niche a few times – loved it the first time, but subsequent visits disappointed and we haven’t returned in nearly a year. Sydney Street is pricey, but the food is superb – and the portions more generous than those at Fond. SS has long been one of our favorites. Monarch is excessive insofar as the portions are a bit smaller and I’m not overwhelmed by the food.
We don’t live to fulfill our dining need out of a single plate of food – we favor small plates and multiple courses (Mosaic is tapas, BTW).
We ordered an appetizer Fri. night – as we always do when dining. I don’t expect That’s not my point. You’ll have to actually dine at Fond to understand what I’m saying about the the meager servings. Being based in Edwardsville – I just don’t see them attracting enough customers (locals or diners from across the river) to survive through next summer.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:18 am
My family and I experienced Fond for the first time, Easter brunch…we were very disappointed. Poor service, seated by the kitchen and restroom in a half empty restaurant…and you could see people using the facilities. Potato pancake was a hockey puck you couldn’t cut, the egg’s were cold, the biscuits were as difficult to cut as the potato pancake and the bacon was as hard as a rock. Extremely overpriced for poor service and poorly prepared food. We won’t go back and won’t recommend it to friends.