Review: Prime 1000 in St. Louis

Prime 1000, 1000 Washington Ave.,
St. Louis, 314.241.1000, prime1000.com

Claus Schmitz opens a restaurant and people show up. It has been the case since the German restaurateur first opened Mosaic Modern Fusion a few years back on Washington Avenue, later moving it to a larger space down the street. The same will probably be true when Schmitz opens another Mosaic next year in Des Peres. The empire continues with Prime 1000, Schmitz’s foray into the high-stakes, high-priced world of steak.

There’s a lot of steak in this town. Downtown alone sports 10 steakhouses within about a 10-mile radius of Prime 1000. So how does a steakhouse distinguish itself in a meat-driven city like St. Louis? One way is to include an interesting side dish with the price of that expensive steak, not half a pound of steamed broccoli sloshed with butter for 10 bucks. Another is to serve three types of steak: grain-fed dry-aged, Missouri grass-fed and Iowa Wagyu. A third, and a prime example of Prime 1000’s appeal, is to challenge our assumptions and expectations of what a steakhouse looks and feels like.

The restaurant’s name is derived from the sole grade of beef it serves and its Washington Avenue address, formerly belonging to Kitchen K in the historic Merchandise Mart building. Prime 1000, designed by SPACE Architecture + Design, calls itself a modern steakhouse, evident from the magnetic aesthetics, blending the building’s historic charm with modern design: sleek white couches in the waiting area, a cocktail lounge that fits neatly into the hipster Wash Ave. vibe, and leather chairs, simple brown tablecloths and whimsical light sculptures in the dining room. It’s a quieter, warmer feel than Kitchen K’s bright and boisterous open kitchen setup. Even the tagline, “The Art of Steak,” suggests Prime 1000 isn’t your grandfather’s steakhouse; no red leather banquettes or clubby men drinking Cutty at the bar.

Peer into the specially built glass-encased cooling room lined with Himalayan salt blocks and you see the science of dry-aging meat. Executive chef Ben Lester and his staff have cooking all that meat down to a science. Recommending the best is futile. Our steaks, a 12-ounce ribeye and 10-ounce New York strip, both grass-fed, and the 10-ounce dry-aged ribeye, were seared properly with a salt and pepper crust but offered different flavor profiles. Like a leaner, earthier tasting steak? Go with the grass-fed. Ditto if you prefer eating meat from humanely raised, free-range animals. It comes from Fruitland Farms near Cape Girardeau, where the cattle are raised without hormones or antibiotics on organic pastures. Comparing both ribeyes, I preferred the chewy (but not tough) meatiness of the grass-fed beef over the more tender, mineral-tinged flavor of the grain-fed version, though the concentrated nuttiness of the dry-aging was deliciously pronounced.

There are other cuts: a baseball mitt-sized bone-in ribeye, a 17-ounce T-bone and a wide 25-ounce Porterhouse billed to feed two. All steaks, plus the dry-aged pork and veal chops, come with one of six sauces on the side. The three we ordered, au poivre vert, Cabernet veal reduction and candied bacon jus, complemented the steaks.

There is more than steak on the menu: Tasmanian ocean trout, black bass and a roast chicken. The rack of New Zealand lamb, cooked via the sous-vide method, made the olive oil-marinated, delicately fatted lamb a welcome inclusion. The short rib saffron pappardelle, redolent with pull-apart-tender grass-fed beef (braised for six hours), roasted mushrooms, veal jus and shaved grana padano cheese, was a bit sweet but satisfied completely on a cold winter night, especially helpful since any table near the massive windows was a chilly reminder of the season.

At the top of the side dish list – there are 11 – must be the flaky mushroom tart, rich and creamy in a fricassee of maitake, shiitake and crimini mushrooms. Or maybe the grilled zucchini and tomato “fondue,” really a casserole of concentrated sweet delight. Or a plate of lip-smackingly good scalloped sweet potatoes with chipotle and maple; or even grilled asparagus wrapped in paper-thin slices of Spanish Fermin Serrano ham and topped with a poached quail egg, worthy of any entrée. Americana comes re-envisioned as a twice-baked potato with chives, bacon and Vermont white Cheddar. Steamed broccoli? Try brocollini doused with foie gras butter.

A starter of sweetbreads, increasingly common on local menus nowadays, came crisp, meaty and earthy, further enhanced by cubes of bacon, roasted artichoke and a truffle emulsion. Of the two soups sampled, the carrot and elderflower soup reigned, balancing crispy speck (juniper-flavored Austrian ham) and candied sunflower seeds with the slight sweetness of the puréed carrots and aromatic elderflower; the sunchoke and Chartreuse soup was a delightfully creamy purée, rich in its earthy nuttiness with a hint of spice from the chili oil, but nary a hint of the herbal French liqueur.

Naturally, desserts transcend the expected. Squash bread “French toast-style” with dulce de leche ice cream was too sweet for my palate, but sweet tooths will rejoice. Black pepper spice cake took things in the opposite direction: a flat slice of cake, spiced with pepper and thyme, topped with dollops of whipped cream supporting a long twisted sugar tuile. A splattering of salt caramel, peanuts and blueberries around the plate provided sweet-salty contrasts.

The staff is well-trained and attentive, even if a bit verbose in describing the menu. Of all St. Louis steakhouses, Prime 1000 is probably the place to be seen. On one night alone, there was a table of two Rams players tucking into thick steaks and a local newscaster out with her hubby. Once the newness subsides, Prime 1000 should still be the prime example of a modern steakhouse.

Don’t-Miss Dish: All steaks are exceptional. Just don’t miss the flaky pastry with fricassee of maitake, shiitake and crimini mushrooms.
Vibe: Minimalist, Wash Ave. vibe straddling that L.A.-Las Vegas casual hipness.
Entrée Prices: $22 to $75
Where: Prime 1000, 1000 Washington Ave.,
St. Louis
When: Lunch: Mon. to Fri. – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner: Mon. to Thu. – 5 to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. – 5 to 11 p.m.

To read Glenn Bardgett's thoughts on Prime 1000's wine list, visit Sommelier's Take in the Reviews section.