St. Louis Cheese Plate

So, as I’m a near vegan, I usually shy away from the cheese on principle. However, lately, I’ve been on a mission to find a good cheese plate, accompanied by a decent cab or zin. This search ensued all over New York, which seemed like the thing to do there, and now seems to have spilled over into St. Louis territory as well. I went to the Newstead Tower Public House in the Grove, St. Louis, MO last weekend. Their menu is sparse. Only a few appetizers, two salads, a handful of sandwiches, and maybe 3 or 4 entrees are available. One veggie-friendly item is included, which always scores points with me; but it’s a roasted vegetable sandwich. Blah. Boring, right? NTPH’s claim to use only locally-grown produce does kick it up a notch, but still; you might as well offer eggplant parmesan! Regardless, also offered was a cheese plate, with a suggested glass of wine, so I was down with what I fancy to be my east-coast M.O. The waitress informed us that 8 cheeses were available, and we requested “no blue” (I’m allergic). We end up with a goat, a gruyere, a feta, and a brie. Very very uninteresting choices, indeed. And the plate was quite bald: just wheat rounds accompanying it, no dried fruits, no berries, no smoked nuts, [NO MANCHEGO!], no nothing. Just cheese, bread, white plate. But the cheese was of decent quality and flavor, and we enjoyed it for what it was, even if we left thinking the usual Jackson Pollock knee-jerk: “I could do that.” The cab was so-so, but the Spanish wine, Juan Gil Monastrell, was nice and spicy and full-bodied, a little fruity, with hints of cherry licorice, but not tart. It worked for me.

Having consumed quite a bit of cheese (well beyond my range of acceptable dairy consumption), I ordered a salad for dinner and my partner ordered the mushroom puree soup. The salad was greens (too much frisee) and goat cheese (didn’t really need any more cheese), dull, dull, boring, boring. However, I was surprised and pleased by two additions to the salad: instead of croutons or nuts, NTPH grilled what appeared to be small cubes of crusty Italian bread, creating a wonderfully charred flavor, yet still soft centered. The grill flavor is something I NEVER mess with, as I leave open flames to the men. But this was delightful, really; such a nice flavor to go with the standard greens and goat combo. And the second surprise was the vinaigrette—a simple red wine/olive oil mix. The only difference was it was SO vinegary—really tart and tangy. I always err on the side of olive oil, but this I really enjoyed! Now the vinegary-vinaigrette may have been an accident (I do 4 shakes per person, so maybe they did 6 shakes or 8 by accident), but nevertheless, it inspired me to try to rein in my heavy olive oil hand in the future.

And the mushroom puree soup: three flavors: mushrooms (pureed), veggie stock, celery seed. The fact that I could identify the tastes was both exciting and disappointing. Usually, I like to be intrigued by what I’m eating, ever guessing, you know. But this was quite clear. On the other hand, by knowing, I felt a renewed sense of commitment to simple foods (natural flavors, no hubbub) and also relieved that I wasn’t secretly eating a pound of butter or chicken stock.

Were I restaurant reviewer and not just a foodie, I would give NTPH an 7 of 10. I really liked it there—friendly, nice but not too fancy, menu options I can live with, and a philosophy I totally jive with. But I’d vote that they should think more about interesting-up their stuff. Good raw materials are key; but it never hurts to throw a few nuts on the fire.