Posts Tagged ‘222 Artisan Bakery’

Buckle Up For Caffeine Insanity*

Jan 31, 2010 St. Louis, coffee, missouri, restaurants

Linea Espresso Machine
Pi’s 2-group Linea w/ PID rebuilt by Barry Jarrett–formerly of Riley’s.

Due to the unfortunate closing of the Central West End location of Companion Bake House, today was to mark the opening of Chris Sommers’ new Pi Coffee Bar–located under the loft of Pi’s new Central West End location.  Teaming up with Matt Herren and Debbie Sultan of Edwardsville’s Goshen Coffee and 222 Artisan Bakery, the plan was to begin carrying a full line of Goshen’s coffee and teas as well as Sultan’s award winning pastries.

Of course, to run a great coffee bar, you need a great manager and barista, and when the topic of who to run the bar came up last Thursday, Herren told Sommers there was only one choice: Alex Brooks.  In a whirlwind of a day, the call went out, and an offer was made, mulled over, and accepted by Brooks.

For St. Louis coffee fans, this is great news.  A more passionate coffee professional you will rarely find.  It does, however, mean that the opening has been delayed as Sommers feels it wouldn’t be right to open without Brooks at the helm.  Sommers is, after all,  hoping to raise the level of what coffee can be in the Central West End saying about the Brooks acquisition, “I can’t afford him, but I can’t afford not too.”

Speaking with Brooks last week, he is currently putting the finishing touches on his employment in Portland and is excited for the opportunity to be back amongst his friends putting his mark on St. Louis coffee.

At this time, the plans are to now open Monday, February 8, with the hours being Monday-Saturday 6-11AM.  Be sure to stop in to welcome Alex home.

Full Disclosure: Alex Brooks, Matt Herren, Chris Sommers, and Debbie Sultan are all friends of mine.

* The title is lifted from a text message Sommers sent to me.

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Slow Food Art of Food Menu

Jul 24, 2008 St. Louis, chefs, missouri

This is why you want to buy tickets for Art of Food

222 Artisan Bakery / Goshen Coffee – Debbie Sultan / Matt Herren

  • 222 Artisan breads in roll form: bacon, brioche, and sun dried tomato olive and feta
  • Goshen-roasted Costa Rican pour-over drip coffee

Bailey’s Chocolate Bar / Rooster – Robin Murphy

  • Fruitland roast beef sandwich with red onion marmalade and herbed Heartland Creamery goat cheese on a housemade roll
  • Bailey’s buttercream chocolate bar cake

An American Place – Joshua Galliano

  • Prairie Grass Farms lamb and foie gras ballotine, apple mustard, chickpea salad, saba

Annie Gunn’s – Lou Rook III

  • Duroc pork belly confit on Companion brioche roll with Atomic horseradish mustard and house made local peach chutney

Araka – Mark Curran

  • Prairie Grass Farms housemade sausages
  • Local heirloom tomato salad

Erato on Main – Kevin Willmann

  • House smoked Guthrie Farms chicken with local vegetable chow chow

Local Harvest Grocery – Clara Moore

  • Housemade hummus served on local cucumber circles and local tomatoes tossed with fresh pesto and served on Companion crostinis

Moxy Bistro – Eric Brenner

  • Duck breast with grilled peaches

Niche – Gerard Craft

  • Slow-roasted Greenwood Farms pork butt sandwiches with brussel sprout slaw on Companion bread

Schlafly Bottleworks – Matt Bessler

  • Schlafy “Gardenworks” beet and Arugula salad
  • Troutdale Farms smoked Trout Mousse with English cucumber cups
  • Bacon-wrapped Hinkebein Hills Farm smoked pork tenderloin with Schlafy pale ale raspberry BBQ sauce

Sidney Street Café – Kevin Nashan

  • Hinkebein Hills Farm smoked pork butt with cornmeal “toast”, Eilerman Brothers peach bbq glaze, Claverach Farm greens and pickled peaches
  • On the Wind Farms watermelon gazpacho with jumbo lump crab

Veruca – Mathew Rice

  • Local peach and lavender trifles

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If you were cool…

Jul 21, 2008 St. Louis, events, slow food

you would be at Mad Art Gallery this Saturday for Slow Food St. Louis’s annual fund raiser, The Art of Food.

Art of Food

Full event details are at artoffood.org though what you’ll really want to know is who the chefs are:

Debbie Sultan & Matt Herren – 222 Artisan Bakery and Goshen Coffee
Joshua Galliano – An American Place
Lou Rook – Annie Gunn’s
Mark Curran – Araka
David Bailey – Bailey’s Chocolate Bar and Rooster
Kevin Willmann – Erato on Main
Eric Brenner – Moxy Bistro
Gerard Craft – Niche
Matt Bessler – Schlafly Bottleworks
Kevin Nashan – Sidney Street Cafe
Mathew Rice – Veruca

and possibly more to come…

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222 Baking Class

Feb 26, 2008 Illinois, cooking, events

Array

Former Edwardsvillian Webdesigner Bill Klingensmith of myDarndest was recently in town and made some updates to the Goshen Coffee/222 Artisan Bakery website in the form of adding a blog.

The first post went up last week, and for the high-rolling wanna-be-baker, Matt Herren and 222’s new(ish) head baker Paula will be teach some classes for the adoring public.

So for years now people have been asking me to teach them to make bread. I have always grumbled about “some day” and “when I have time” Well the time is now! Paula our head baker has been inspiring me, and freeing up some time for me as well, and we are going to offer a class…it’s going to be two weekends from 2-5 each Saturday.

They’re only taking six people so head to the blog for more details if interested.

Paula by the way is the one responsible for all the braided loaves they’ve been turning out lately as well as some of the new varieties like chocolate pomegranate.

[As a side note, Bill did this website for South Wedge Farmes' Market in Rochester, NY (where he now lives), and it's pretty slick considering he used the same CMS I do for stlbites.]

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222 Artisan Bakery @ Local Harvest

Feb 21, 2008 Illinois, groceries

222 Artisan Bakery Logo 2This just in from the Local Harvest newsletter…

Tomorrow Only (i.e Friday, February 22 from 8am until 7pm) Local Harvest will have baked goods from 222 Artisan Bakery.

For those of you that just won’t believe me when I say that 222 is worth the journey to Edwardsville you get a one day shot to save yourself a drive

Or if you do believe me and you’ve already made the journey, do the earth friendly thing and save some gas.

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Post#160, in which Ellie gets in on the action.

Dec 17, 2007 Illinois, groceries

With weather being kind of unpleasant Saturday, 222 forced a couple extra loaves of bread on us beyond the one we had them hold (bacon bread in case you were wondering).

They gave us a chocolate cherry bread, which I made French toast out of yesterday, and also this multi grain loaf.  I hadn’t even noticed the pattern on top when I’d brought it home, but Ellie told me she thought to herself “Bill would be upset if I didn’t take a picture of this.”

IMG_2301IMG_2302IMG_2303IMG_2304IMG_2306

Do you get the impression we like 222, or Niche, or Atlas?

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Bad Dog

Dec 1, 2007 Illinois, general food, restaurants

Here is my dog Jack pretending he has done nothing wrong…

jack1

here he is begging for more…

Jack2

and here is what he got scolded for eating…well the heel anyway…after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

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Holy Bavarois!

Nov 5, 2007 Illinois, events, restaurants

222 logoSo it’s time to round out the 222 Artisan Bakery free ad campaign with the obligatory comments on the open house. If you were hoping for pictures, well that’s just too bad. I didn’t take any. You should have gone.

I merely sampled, enjoyed, and was quickly blown away once again.

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what an open house at a business would entail, but upon arriving, I quickly saw that for 222, it’s a congregating of their loyal fan base in a three hour window to (a) drool (b) taste and (c) drool some more.

Specifically what that meant was that Matt and Deb got to show off some seriously rockin’ pastry skills as the gist was basically that we got to try most of their holiday creations, sample what I assume were a couple new additions to the bakery, and place orders for whatever our hearts might want need for Thanksgiving. Amazingly, they’re actually going to be working from 7-11AM Thanksgiving morning to “ensure maximum freshness of your Holiday Treats.” How awesome is that? Seriously?

The new offering appeared to be macaroons. They had pistachio, raspberry, and although I’d assumed it was chocolate, coffee. They were all of the good, chewy macaroon variety, as apposed to the crunchy ones, or the almost glue like ones that threaten to keep teeth as souvenirs.  The pistachio was especially interesting, and it appeared to be the unanimous favorite by all those in the shop while we were there.

We also tried the Bavarian Apple Tart which had a sort of a crumb topping sprinkled atop apples that had been layered into a cream cheese filling.

And then — oh then — there was the Apple Caramel Bavarois. This is the kind of thing that will threaten to plump me back up again, because I can just about guarantee I’ll be dreaming about it at some point. I’m not sure how they make their bavarois, but traditionally it’s basically a whipped creme anglaise that’s been stablized with gelatin. As a result, thought it’s a custard, it has a much lighter almost mousse like mouth feel. It was an incredibly elaborate dessert as it had been assembled in a tube mold such that the bavarois completely surrounded what appeared to be a smaller rectangular apple terrine down the middle. They’d have to comment more on how they did it because I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Honestly, I wish I’d taken a picture, so you could appreciate the skill involved, because my description can not do it justice.

Its taste brought to mind a caramel apple but in a more subtle way because of the lightness of the custard. I can’t recall if it was completely surround by pastry, but the bottom was for sure, and the entire thing was then coated with chocolate after being turned out. It had to have taken forever, and my only regret is that we don’t have more people to share it with this holiday season, as we only needed to buy one.

I’m not sure if they’re still taking orders or not, but here’s the complete list of what they’re offering for the holidays. I’m sure you could twist their arms if you call this week.

Breads

  • Cranberry Walnut $5
  • Sourdough $5
  • Hard Rolls (12) $7
  • Brioche Rolls (12) $8

Breakfast Treats

  • Quiche (10″, Cheese or Vegetable) $26
  • Cinnamon Rolls $2.75
  • Croissants $1.95
  • Chocolate Croissants $2.50
  • Pumpkin Bread $4

Desserts

  • Bavarian Apple Tart $16
  • Caramel Nut Tart $16
  • Pumpkin Pie $12
  • Apple Caramel Bavarois $18
  • Cranberry Apple Strudel $12

Here’s the actual order form.

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Erato, A Tale of Sea Bass

Nov 5, 2007 Illinois, restaurants, reviews

erato.jpgIan seems to like it, Bonwich felt mostly the same, and Sauce gave their chef an awfully nice write up/interview. Add to that the suggestions by Wayno on Chowhound and Matt at 222, and at last, so as to break up my apparent love letters to 222 Artisan Bakery, I will skip clean over their open house and mention that we got around to something we’d been meaning to do for a long time.

Saturday night we finally went to Erato. And while I must preface this with the fact that it certainly didn’t hurt that Matt slyly called before we headed down to tell Chef Kevin Willmann to take care of us, I’m definitely inclined to agree with all of the above people. There is a clear effort by Erato to raise the bar of St. Louis dining, and although it was a bit of a whirlwind as we were already somewhat stuffed full of pastry when we arrived, I will quickly tell you about our meal.

First we had the Fresh HOUSE MOZZARELLA bruschetta. Simple house made mozzarella was topped with fresh tomatoes and a reduced balsamic drizzle. While I like my bruschetta a little thicker and as a result less crunchy and crostini-like, the house made mozzarella was a nice touch, and brought back memories of my having to make it at Truffles. Theirs was awful, never salted enough, and filled with dried herbs. Kevin’s was really nice. Salt is key when making cheese, and he knows it.

Sweet potato “NACHOS” + blue cheese, hickory back lardoons, & red pepper ketchup were incredibly hearty for what really amounted to a finger food. The ketchup had a bit of a barbecue sauce like flavor as most non-Heinz ketchups generally do and I’m curious to know if it was exclusively red peppers. I didn’t think to ask. Also, I’ve no idea what kind of blue cheese they used, but it was incredibly potent and had a real Roquefort or gorgonzola like grit to it. If you’re not a fan of really strong blue cheese you might be put off by this as it was the dominant flavor followed by the ketchup. Even I, a big fan of strong blue cheeses, felt it would have been perhaps a touch better with a less pungent blue like Point Reyes. Overall though, it was an interesting and fun riff on an American standard and one I’d happily eat again.

Next we had Roasted PEAR, PROSCIUTTO, & Hartland Creamery goats cheese crostini + local mizzuna & balsamic reduction. This was my second favorite thing of the night. I really like the simple clean flavor combination of salty prosciutto and sweet fruit. I wish more people would be confident enough to serve such simple fair. I did feel the pear was maybe a touch undercooked for my personal taste, but it wasn’t like the ridiculously raw one from Lumiere Place at the taste of St. Louis and didn’t particularly detract as they were very flavorful pears. (it’s actually Heartland Creamery though)

Fennel pollen seared SCALLOPS + grilled corn ice cream & bacon dust was the first of the two items that really impressed me as they are a clear indication that Willmann is definitely trying to raise the previously mentioned bar by adding to the mix a little adventure. Ellie really enjoyed the play on hot vs. cold. I’m personally not sold on it, but it had nothing to do with this dish, and more to do with my not quite buying into the hot/cold savory courses just yet. They honestly weird me out a little as the cold immediately brings down the warmth of the hot food so quickly that in my opinion, it takes something away from those elements.

Stepping away from my own prejudice, however, I can definitely say this was well executed. I’ve never knowingly had fennel pollen, and the bacon dust was a thoughtful addition as it incorporated a subtle bacon flavor rather than overwhelming the dish the way many would with bacon bits.

Our last savory dish was the Oven Roasted SEABASS + collard greens & ham hock – cabernet sauce. This alone was worth the drive. I had commented to Ellie when I saw it that I’d decided, when last I had it, that sea bass was probably my favorite fish. If you’ve never had sea bass it is a mild flavored flaky white fish. While that might describe something like halibut too, while halibut has a soft giving texture, sea bass is much firmer offering a lot more bite.

Just as I was asking our server to bring this out for our last item, she said Willmann had already started one for us. Fantastic!

What they failed to mention on the menu –and I don’t know if this was just an addition for our sake as we will eat just about anything– but there was a house made habanero jelly on the rim of the plate. It was, without question, the single hottest thing I have ever eaten in an upscale restaurant. The sensation of the burning heat, followed by the sweetness of the sea bass, and the hearty smoky flavors of the ham hock collard greens was stunning. As you repeated each step — jelly, sea bass, collard greens your mouth was on a roller coaster ride of taste sensations. Ellie doesn’t really do hot food, and try as I might to get her to take the tiniest bite of the habanero jelly, she just wouldn’t do it. She missed out; because this was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in St. Louis.

Regretfully, we didn’t have room for more than that, as I’d have really liked to try the Missouri LAMB CHOPS + smashed sweet and Yukon Gold potatoes & stone ground mustard demi.

For dessert we shared the gooey chocolate cake with basil ice cream. It was the standard molten chocolate cake that was all the rave in the late nineties. While I find it a bit ho-hum on the whole, there’s was prepared nicely, with the basil ice cream adding an interesting contrast. Plus, when you see the size of the kitchen they’re working out of, you are definitely more than willing to cut them some slack for not pulling all the stops on the desserts.

We look forward to going back.

Here is the 2007.11.03 Erato Menu.

Note: Please keep in mind that while I believe my opinion to be correct, there are some establishments that I am close enough to that my opinion is personally biased. This is one.

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Open House at 222 Artisan Bakery

Nov 2, 2007 Illinois, events, restaurants

Not to quickly follow up one post about something with an immediate post about the exact same thing, but I just noticed I forgot to mention that 222 Artisan Bakery is having an open house tomorrow evening from 6-9PM. As I believe Matt explained it to me, they’ll be showing off some of their new items as well as taking holiday orders. 222 logo

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