Jonathan Olson has left Erato Wine Bar and Restaurant on Main Street. Olson’s last day as executive chef at the Edwardsville, Ill., restaurant was this past Saturday. According to Olson, the departure stems from a disagreement with management.

Olson, who has lived in Edwardsville for more than a decade and has spent nearly five years in the restaurant business, stated that he does not plan on leaving the St. Louis area. “I’m taking time off. I’m not in a hurry to get a new job,” he said.

In three weeks, Olson will travel to New York City for the StarChef.com International Chefs Congress. He then plans on heading south to Houston, where he can catch up with family and stage at restaurants for a week. “I’ve staged at a couple places there before. Basically, I’m taking the month of September off,” he summed.

Olson assumed the restaurant’s executive chef post in January when chef Kevin Willmann opened his own restaurant, Farmhaus, in St. Louis city. Of his time spent helming Erato’s kitchen, Olson stated, “I just tried to prepare really good food out of that little kitchen.”

Photo by Brian Fagnani

Other coverage of Joanthan Olson

Joe DeLurgio, owner of JVincent’s FoodEdge Catering Co. on The Hill, has gone into the restaurant business. His new place, JVincent’s Pronto Pizza and Pasta, is located at 3804 Louisiana Ave., at Chippewa Street in the space formerly occupied by Pitstop Barbecue. The carryout-only eatery will feature grilled Sicilian-style pizza as well as a variety of pastas, salads and subs. Also on the menu are all-American faves like half-pound burgers, quarter-pound hot dogs, fries and mac and cheese that DeLurgio says he hopes will cater to the area’s residents. He’s even got a few entrées on the board, such as grilled pork chops and fillet mignon.

But JVincent’s “will not be a normal dive carryout joint,” DeLurgio said. The waiting area will be filled with abstract art that DeLurgio created. The hobby artist has painted the walls with Italian-themed colors. “It’s wavy like mountains – kind of showing the ups and downs in my life.”

If all goes as planned, DeLurgio will have more ups than downs after he opens the restaurant on Sept. 9. Thru the end of this year, JVincent’s will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Once 2011 rings in, the restaurant will unlock the doors six days a week, stay open until 10 p.m., and – come spring – add outside patio seating.

We were sad to see John’s Town Hall go away, so we can’t imagine how condo dwellers at 665 S. Skinker Blvd., felt to see the downstairs hangout close. But fill the highball, the once vacant space is now occupied by Caitlin’s Green-Eyed Grill.

The bar and grill opened earlier this month, but right now, it’s just the bar serving libations and offering appetizers such as grilled scallops, steak frites, beef Wellington bites, pastry-wrapped chicken poblano, wings and hometown favorite toasted ravioli.

Chef Mark Austerman tells Sauce that Caitlin’s kitchen is slated to open Aug. 31 and will offer both lunch and dinner. The menu is in its final stages of development and is set to include the likes of steaks, burgers and pastas, as well as a selection of sandwiches for the lunch crowd. Once the dust settles with the kitchen hubbub, Caitlin’s will be rolling out Saturday and Sunday brunch as well.

Current hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Once the full menu rolls out, though, the restaurant will be open daily 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., except Mondays.

Have scoop on restaurants opening, closing or changing their menu in the St. Louis area? Email us at Scoop@saucemagazine.com.

Hey, Missouri wine lovers! Mount Pleasant Winery now offers an option for visitors who want more than just grab-‘n-go fare. Appellation Café, located in the Augusta winery’s remodeled grocery building, features fine cuisine coupled with the estate’s award-winning wines, each of which are now for sale by the glass or bottle.

Sure, you can still opt for gourmet quick-picks from The Express Corner, but now you can also relax in the 30-seat dining area or head to the patio where you can enjoy a Reuben sandwich or their Lewis and Clark burger while sipping a glass of Mount Pleasant’s award-winning Villagio, Vignoles or Norton – all with the scenic Missouri River valley in the backdrop. The atmosphere is casual, just order at the counter and a member of the café’s wait staff will bring the food to your table.

Appellation Café serves lunch daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant is open weekends only December through February.

Leon Bierbaum, owner of Chez Leon in Clayton, is feeling a bit of joie de vivre today as he announced the hiring of Marcel Keraval as executive chef. Keraval is known for his restaurant Café de France, which had a 23-year run, first downtown and later in Clayton.

“He’s very fluent in classic French cooking. It seemed to be a perfect fit,” stated Bierbaum, adding that he and Keraval go back 15 years to when Bierbaum waited tables at Café de France’s downtown location.

Keraval’s first day at the Clayton restaurant was yesterday, when he assisted Bierbaum with the preparation of a private dinner for a Saint Louis Symphony charitable event. According to Bierbaum, diners gave high regards to the meal, especially to Keraval’s stuffed quail and steamed trout served with both a nantua sauce and a leek sauce.

Next up for Keraval? “He’s looking at the recipes we have,” Bierbaum stated. “There will be some fine-tuning and tinkering.” As for Bierbaum, he is “pleased to see the staff working well with [Keraval] in just the last couple days.”

Have scoop on restaurants opening, closing or changing their menu in the St. Louis area? Email us at Scoop@saucemagazine.com.

Kids in the De Mun area of Clayton are all smiles thanks to the sweet arrival of candy shop Oh Lolli Lolli. Located at 802 De Mun Ave., the itsy bitsy store sells a wide selection of bulk and wrapped candies from the well-loved to the well-missed.

In the chocolate category, customers will find rocky road clusters, coconut haystacks and turtles, plus lots of chocolate- and yogurt-covered items like gummy bears, cherries and caramel corn. Oh Lolli Lolli sells 12 flavors of gummy bears, and other gummy delights shaped as butterflies, jet planes and army men. Lollipops too? Of course.

“We’re trying to get a little bit of everything into our tiny spot,” said co-owner Kathy Laufketter. She and her husband had wanted to open a candy shop for some time and eyed the space on De Mun Avenue after recently moving into the neighborhood.

Adults will appreciate Oh Lolli Lolli’s stock of nostalgic candy including marshmallow cones, flying saucers, Mary Janes, Turkish taffy and candy buttons, and obscure candy bars like Toffifays, Mallo Cups and Zagnuts.

Oh Lolli Lolli also takes suggestions, so don’t be shy about asking if you don’t see your fave sweet on the shelf. “A customer wanted milk chocolate sponge candy, so we ordered it. That just came in yesterday,” said Laufketter.

The store is open Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you want to stay in-the-know about what’s in stock, check out their Facebook page, where they will post all the latest arrivals.

Rumors are swirling in the local food universe that Mihalis Chophouse on McCausland Avenue has closed.

Owner Michael Malliotakis was unavailable for comment today, but former executive chef Andy Shrensker, who recently departed from the chophouse to take the helm at Jim Edmonds 15 Steakhouse, said that he received word of the restaurant’s closing yesterday, when a current Mihalis employee phoned him. “I wasn’t expecting it to close,” he said, “but like all restaurants, it was suffering from the economy.” Shrensker added that, as he understood the situation, Mihalis shuttered last Saturday, though the restaurant will still hold the private events booked for this weekend. More as we learn it.

Have scoop on St. Louis area restaurants opening, closing, switching chefs or changing the menu? E-mail us at Scoop@saucemagazine.com.

Jim Edmonds 15 Steakhouse has added a new player to the roster, hiring Andy Shrensker as executive chef at the downtown restaurant. Shrensker makes the move from Mihalis Chophouse on McCausland Avenue, where he worked for the last year. Prior to cooking in the kitchen at Mihalis, Shrensker worked for four years as executive sous chef at Forest Hills Country Club. He has worked in the restaurant industry since 1996.

One of Shrensker’s first tasks is to usher in a new menu, which could happen as early as next week. Among the new menu items, look for his fried calamari, which was a popular appetizer at Mihalis. “It’s a twist off of a Rhode Island-style calamari – pepper, cheese, tomatoes, a balsamic butter sauce. But mine is not a heavy breading,” added the graduate of Johnson & Wales culinary school in Providence, R.I. Shrensker is also hoping to add starters like corn tortellini, a goat cheese and asparagus quesadilla, and spinach and artichoke bruschetta. “We’re trying to move away from fried appetizers,” he summed. Overall, guests at the fine dining establishment can expect a more seasonal menu that’s still affordable.

Mark Winfield, co-owner of the restaurant, expressed his excitement over the new hire. “He’s really talented and motivated and I think he is going to take us to the next level.”

During the conversation with Winfield, Sauce inquired about recent rumors that his establishment, which includes the upstairs nightclub, Club 15, was getting its license revoked by the city in an effort to crackdown on rowdy behavior and street violence downtown.

“We are not getting our liquor license revoked,” replied Winfield. “I’ve had meetings with the city. They were just looking into some issues in all of the downtown places serving liquor until 3 a.m. We are one of those places. As far as violent crimes, it’s not a violent place.”

In addition, Winfield affirmed his commitment and that of co-owner and MLB player Jim Edmonds, to operating a business in St. Louis City, but admitted that the recent negative press has resulted in a substantial loss of business. “We are going to be here for the next 20 years – we own the building. We’re the only place downtown that has had a successful restaurant business in a nightclub, but this has hurt our reputation and we’ve lost numerous events since this came out.”

Have scoop on restaurants opening, closing or changing their menu in the St. Louis area? Email us at Scoop@saucemagazine.com.

A Saucy congrats to two area bartenders who were chosen as finalists for the Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition.

TJ Vytlacil of Franco Restaurant and Chris Muether of Danno’s American Pub will be participating in the fourth annual GKCBC on Aug. 29 in Kansas City. The event is now the largest in the Midwest, since this year’s competition was opened to bartenders from outside the Kansas City area. The 12 finalists and their unique cocktails were chosen for the use of quality spirits, fresh ingredients, proper technique and creativity.

Vytlacil will be preparing “Silver & Sand,” which uses Lillet Rouge, lemon juice, the Danish liqueur Cherry Heering, two types of scotch, lemon bitters and egg white. Muether, one of the newest members of the St. Louis chapter of the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild, will be shaking up a cocktail he calls “Gateway to the Zest.”

The finalists will compete against one another on the stage of the Uptown Theater in front of a live audience and be judged by a panel that includes St. Louis’ own Ted Kilgore of Taste by Niche.

Wanna cheer on the duo from our fair(er) city? Grab your $15 ticket, which also includes a drink and food by some of K.C.’s best restaurants at www.gkcbc.com.

Boy, has it been a busy week for beer fans. Earlier this week, we broke the news that two former Anheuser-Busch employees will be opening Urban Chetnut Brewery Co. later this year. Now, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Evan Benn’s got the scoop on another new brewery headed to town, this time by way of Chicago. Phil Wymore, head brewer over at Half Acre Beer Co., will be making his way west next month to open Perennial Artisan Ales with his wife and father-in-law here in The Lou. No word yet on where he’ll be located, but Wymore did tell Benn that he will be brewing “with the seasoned, adventurous craft-beer drinker in mind.” Mmm, sounds tasty.

Cheers!