Review: Blue Water Grill in Kirkwood

Ever since its modest beginnings as a crowded former ice cream stand on Hampton Avenue, the Blue Water Grill, first jewel in restaurateur Tim Mallett's shining group, has provided some unusual, flavorful, imaginative seafood dishes coming from a series of talented chefs. Lisa Slay is in charge right now, having started at the Blue Water some years ago. She moved to Remy's, then became executive chef for all four of Mallett's establishments (Big Sky and Ellie Forcella are the others). Recently, when long-timer Phil Noe departed, she returned to Blue Water's charming, whimsically decorated Kirkwood location and took on that duty.

The Mallett method involves a riff on family style meals: There are small plates and large plates, but even the small plates can be shared between a couple, and the large ones and tureens of vegetables and potatoes can handle a lot more. The style tends to informality and sharing, and friendly smiles and sighs over initial tastes. As a matter of fact, it was the Blue Water that introduced the Spanish small plates known as "tapas," to the area 13 years ago, and the routine is a Monday tradition, as is the reference to the plate sizes and the servers' speed in Mallett's phrase, "Monday Night Flying Saucers."

A couple of recent visits to Blue Water were delightful in all respects; food and service are solid, and the Guru loves the decor, with its semi-spoof of tradition and classicism and its bright color and imagination that add to the humor. For example, some of the fish on the rear wall are real charmers, and the collection of oars and paddles, posing like a bouquet in the middle of the room, always makes me smile.

The Blue Water wine collection is good, at in-the-ballpark prices, and there are fancy, parasol-topped frou-frou drinks to gladden the heart of someone who wants to play with his or her food. A tangy watermelon margarita is a fine example. Missouri wines also are on hand, and for a fish house, there's a Stone Hill vidal blanc, a superior, crisp, fruity white whose acidity goes well with seafood – not quite as well as a French white Burgundy with oysters on the half shell, but a most pleasant companion. There's a wide selection of beer, including brews from Belgium, Germany, Mexico and Jamaica, and the latter nation also provides a wonderful, tart, grapefruit soda called Ting, a delightful drink.

The wide-ranging menu covers seafood from around the world, and the magic of air freight makes it available throughout the year. The staff makes adjustments to please customers. On a recent visit, I noticed that fresh clams were on the menu in combination with something else. Since clams on the half-shell are one of my all-time favorite appetizers, I asked if there were enough clams and a shucker, to combine on a first course. There were, and the tiny bivalves, sweet and tender, were extraordinary. I prefer clams to oysters on the shell; they have more flavor, more texture, and all they need is a squirt of lemon and a drop or two of Tabasco. A little vinegar-ginger sauce, like that served at Balaban's, also is excellent. Spicy horseradish red sauce, while tasty on a cracker in the days when the GI Bill had some of us eating ketchup and hot water as tomato soup at the end of the month, is too often too strong, resulting in the taste of sauce, not shellfish.

Soups usually are first rate, with a chicken and corn chowder one of the best, followed closely by tortilla soup.

A standard green salad is brightened by fresh lettuces, and while the local tomato season is behind us, there are times when salad is good. Besides, the Mallet restaurants come closer to the old and famous flavor of Gordon Heiss's Mayfair Dressing than almost anyone else in town, another reason for the order.

Fresh oysters are also available, with the one-time St. Louis predilection for Gulf oysters seemingly surpassed by the tastier ones from the colder waters of the East and West Coast. Maine and Washington produce my favorites, sweet and pungent, with the smell of the ocean tucked away in the flavor. And yes, even in the midst of glowing flavors, I still prefer clams.

Other "small plates," which do nicely as appetizers, or even main courses for the lighter eater (in both meanings of the phrase), include crab cakes which are mostly to the St. Louis manner of leg or claw crab meat and filler, but I'm afraid the day of the lump-crabmeat crab cake is gone with the 20th century. Steamed Atlantic mussels, in a tomato-garlic broth, heightened with a nice amount of garlic, are fat and tasty, and for some reason, mussels seem to absorb the juices of a good broth better than either clams or oysters. Nachos topped with smoked oysters and black beans are superior, and the Mexican influence also shows in an enchilada with roasted chicken, green chiles and ancho peppers, flavorful but not overly spicy.

Blue Water chefs, from the beginning, have displayed a lovely Mexican influence, and it continues to this day, with delightful corn-and-scallion cakes, cooked on a griddle and topped with chipotle-grilled shrimp and lime tequila butter. Chipotle peppers, by the way, add a neat smoky taste without too much fire.

Larger plates include a spicy Mexican meat loaf and a chicken breast in jalapeno cornbread, and a couple of steaks, plus a delicious grilled beef rib chop with Jamaican jerk seasoning, giving it a spicy barbecued flavor. And speaking of flavor, there's the marinated pork tenderloin with black bean sauce.

Every main item is accompanied by a beautifully designed, extremely complementary sauce or marinade. Flavors work well together with a hint of pepper here, a touch of ginger there. Everything works together, and side dishes of potatoes, polenta, beans or anything else, provides a lovely match, or putting fine jewels into elegant settings.

Monkfish with cucumber raita, served with wasabi mashed potatoes is a highlight, and so is an excellent broiled haddock, cooked to the point of bringing out all the flavor of the superior fish. Yellowfin tuna, salmon, snapper and several fish-and-pasta combinations also have proven successful through the years, and the menu changes rapidly to keep up with the season, and the catch. And then there's Mexican bouillabaisse, mixing scallops, mussels, shrimp, fish and some chorizo, the tangy sausage so popular in Spain and South America, though it's often mostly stew rather than soup. Some cultures (notably Provençal), and some chefs, use more liquid than others, so it's not question of right and wrong.

The chocolate enchilada has been a signature dessert since the early days of the restaurant, and despite changing times, the rise and fall of this diet and that diet, it's still a splendid dish. There are dessert samplers for those who must taste everything. Ice cream and sorbet in various flavors, and tarts and tortes in different textures and with different icings and fruit and nuts all combine to make the end of the meal on a level with everything that led up to it – and that's quite high.