After nearly a 30 year-run, Dierdorf & Hart’s is closing its doors. As reported by St. Louis Magazine’s George Mahe, the steakhouse, located at 323 Westport Plaza, made the announcement last week that doors would shutter after dinner service on May 18 (Lunch service has already ceased.).

Is Dierdorf & Hart’s closure an indication that Westport Plaza is in decline? The Scoop spoke earlier today with Bob O’Loughlin, chairman of Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM), which purchased Westport last year and has its corporate headquarters at the Maryland Heights development.

“When we took over in October, the whole complex was running at 72-percent occupancy,” O’Loughlin said of the 200,000 square feet of retail space and 500,000 square feet of office space. Occupancy has since increased to 74 percent on the retail side and 92 percent for office use, he noted.

Besides Dierdorf & Hart’s, the other restaurants, bars and food-related shops currently at Westport Plaza include: Drunken Fish, Family Nuts, Kobe Japanese Grill, McDonald’s, Patrick’s Bar & Grill, Paul Mineo’s Trattoria, Starbucks, St. Louis Bread Co., Subliminal Subs, Trainwreck Saloon and Westport Pizza Co. Subliminal Subs and Family Nuts are two recent additions to the complex.

O’Loughlin also noted that LHM is planning to open its own concept at Westport: a “hip Mexican” restaurant that will feature an indoor-outdoor bar. While no timeline has been set for the eatery, which will serve as a replacement to the Casa Gallardo that closed a few years ago, O’Loughlin stated that the project is “a definite go” and hopes that doors will open by late-fall. (LHM also owns the recently renovated The Cheshire, whose eating establishments include The Restaurant, Basso and The Market; and The Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, with its 360 lounge.) According to O’Loughlin, LHM has also spoken to such restaurants as locally owned chains Llywelyn’s Pub and Big Daddy’s, as well as a national chain called Park Tavern, about adding a location at Westport.

Landscaping enhancements and upcoming events such as Parties in the Plaza, an art fair, wine tastings and live music on Fridays during the summer will bring an even more enhanced experience to Westport, O’Loughlin hopes. “We see some momentum,” he said. “We’re excited about the future of it.”

Washington University Dining Services announced today that Wil Fernandez-Cruz has been hired as chef de cuisine of Ibby’s. Ibby’s is located on Wash U.’s Danforth campus and is operated by Bon Appétit Management Co.

Fernandez-Cruz, who worked for years in New York City under the acclaimed chef and restaurateur Marc Meyer and most recently at The Cheshire’s The Restaurant, is looking forward to his new position at Ibby’s. In regards to the campus bistro and the overall dining servicies at Wash U., he told The Scoop,  “I found that it’s truly a beautiful program in terms of sustainable and local products.”

Fernandez-Cruz will be joining John Griffiths, former executive chef at Truffles, who is now the campus executive chef for the university’s dining services. As mentioned in a press release, Griffiths said, “We’re delighted to have Wil join our team. His culinary acumen, fine dining experience and signature style, showcasing the best ingredients he can find, is a wonderful match for us. Wil and I have long shared our philosophy of preparing fresh, made-from-scratch foods with a strong commitment to social responsibility.”

Last April, The Daily Meal awarded Wash U. the title of “Top University in America for Food Lovers.” With the talent the university keeps acquiring, it looks like the school has no plans to lose the title anytime soon.

{After reading Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones & Butter, I was in search of another culinary memoir, this time one with recipes (the absolute only thing missing from Hamilton’s masterpiece). Luisa Weiss’ My Berlin Kitchen is just the kind of winter read I was craving: filled with difficult life decisions tinged with the sweet smell of pea soup or the sound of peppers crackling on the stove. A life documented in food – now that’s something to curl up with by the fire.}

{Whether it’s a classic version at my neighborhood eatery or a twist like the Monk’s Manhattan at The Restaurant, whose name hails from the addition of Benedictine (Get it?), no matter where I am these days, I’m in the mood for a Manhattan. Smooth, strong and none too sweet, it’s the sophisticated older sister to that Jack and Coke I ordered well through my early 20s.}

{Cough it up to my Type A side, but nothing irks me more than an empty space; the sprawling windowsill in my kitchen has been haunting my decorating dreams for almost a year now. Finally, I’ve landed on the perfect solution: these adorable little Chalkboard Storage Jars from Anthropologie. I’ll fill them with flour and sugar and line them up for an eye-pleasing mix of form and function that will satisfy my open-shelving aspirations (for now, at least). Take THAT bags of five different kinds of flour that always seem to teeter off the highest shelf!}

Lisa Fernandez-Cruz has resigned as executive pastry chef at The Cheshire’s The Restaurant and Basso. Fernandez-Cruz left her post less than two weeks after her husband Wilfin Fernandez-Cruz resigned as the executive chef at The Restaurant. The Cheshire’s public relations firm Twist confirmed her resignation but has offered no comment. Lisa has not shared her future plans yet; more details as they come.

— photo by Ashley Gieseking

Wilfrin Fernandez-Cruz has left his post as executive chef of The Cheshire’s The Restaurant. Fernandez-Cruz and his wife Lisa, executive pastry chef at The Restaurant and Basso, moved from New York City in late August and started preparing for The Restaurant’s opening in early September. Although Wil loved the large kitchen at The Restaurant and the massive smoker and rotisserie, reminiscent of Cookshop, where he worked as chef de cuisine in NYC, he told The Scoop that he “didn’t like the direction The Restaurant was moving.” According to Wil, he was unhappy that he wasn’t able to use enough seasonal ingredients and products coming from small local purveyors.

Wil plans on taking the next few weeks off to spend with his two young sons. While he and Lisa’s end goal (no timeline in sight) is to have their own restaurant, in the meantime, he hopes to work at another restaurant in the city. With his immediate start at The Restaurant, he hasn’t had time to explore St. Louis’ food scene, but he’s excited for the chance to finally see what the city has to offer. Compared to NYC, “St. Louis,” he said, “is a little city, but it has big industry.”

Lisa remains on as the executive pastry chef at The Cheshire’s The Restaurant and Basso.

UPDATE: In a statement issued by The Restaurant at The Cheshire, no plans have been reported as far as interviewing for a new executive chef.  The statement said, “We have an outstanding culinary team in place at The Restaurant, an excellent corporate chef in Rex Hale who has been involved from the start, and an amazing talent in Basso Executive Chef Patrick Connolly, a James Beard Award winner, who will take on a larger role.”

— photo by Michelle Volanksy

We all know mixing business and pleasure can be a recipe for disaster, but for Wilfrin and Lisa Fernandez-Cruz, there’s never been a difference between the two. They met while working at 202, a now-closed restaurant in New York’s Chelsea Market. Wil, having emigrated from the Dominican Republic, had climbed the restaurant ladder to sous chef, and Lisa was making pastries. After marriage, two babies and a job change, the pair has been reunited in the kitchen at The Cheshire. He’s the executive chef for the newly opened The Restaurant, its catering arm and The Market (coming soon). She’s executive pastry chef for all of The Cheshire’s eating establishments. And thankfully for St. Louis diners, their recipe for making it work tastes just right.

What was the final impetus to leave NYC?

LF: It was always in the back of my head to bring the kids back. There are just so many more opportunities for them here. But one day, I had one of those days where your bag breaks on the subway, then you trip and fall and step into a huge puddle, and a man screams at you for no reason …

WF: And some guy is puking …

LF: Or pees on your shoe. And I’m like, am I in a movie? I called my sister crying, and the next day she sent me an email that said, “I found this ad on Craigslist and maybe you should apply; there’s a job for your husband at the same place.” We were here within three weeks of applying.

Did you start dating at 202?

WF: We met there – dated, got married; it was a beautiful time.

LF: Well, I didn’t talk to him at first. He didn’t speak any English! He was like, “Hola lady.”

You learned English to woo her?

WF: Pretty much.

LF: He slipped me his number one day.

WF: I was that creepy guy.

What’s your best tactic for working together?

LF: We’re brutally honest without hurting each other’s feelings.

WF: We work really well together. We knew that going in. We fell in love working in a kitchen. I look at Lisa as a business person. Outside, we’re married. Here, we’re co-workers. I’m not like, “Hey sweetie, can you do this for me?”

Your kids must have the most sophisticated palates in all of day care and kindergarten.

LF: George [the 3-year-old] has a 100-percent salt palate. Every single morning he wants eggs and bacon. “Did you put salt on this?” he’ll say.

WF: Then, “Can I just have the salt? I’ll salt it myself.”

LF: But Wil [the 5-year-old] is about the cakes, cookies and candy. Every day, he asks me, “Are you gong to make some cupcakes today? Do you want to bring some home?”

LF: Food; it’s pretty much our life.

WF: It is our life.

— photo by Ashley Gieseking

St. Louisans who remember what The Cheshire looked like in its heyday shouldn’t get teary-eyed over the vast renovations that have gone into resurrecting the 1930s structure. Head to The Restaurant, the first of three concepts slated for the 35,000 square-foot building at 7036 Clayton Ave., and you’ll see an exterior that is still as gloriously Tudor in style as the dark wood beams, stained glass and functional fireplaces. But with a restoration worthy of a This Old House episode come fresh, contemporary décor touches such as lighting and seating will remind you which century you live in.

{The Monk’s Manhattan}

The idea of blending the old with the new carries over to The Restaurant’s drink menu. If you can only order one cocktail, make it The Monk’s Manhattan. To give you an idea of just how good it is: “When someone from the table orders it, soon we’re sending out two or three more because everyone else at the table wants one,” said Katy Romine, whose official title is “cocktail chef.” What makes this Manhattan so good? Bulleit rye whiskey, dry vermouth, Benedictine, and whiskey barrel-aged bitters – three and a half dashes to be precise, per The Restaurant’s bar manager Matt McMullin (whom dedicated drinkers will recognize from his tenure at Lola). Guard the bourbon-poached apple garnish; it’s too tasty to share.

The Monk’s Manhattan is proving so popular that it’ll stick around for a while, even though the other cocktails on the list won’t. “Unlike many restaurants that change the entire list every few months, we will be debuting one new cocktail on our list every two weeks, based on what is seasonally available,” explained Romine. “The goal of the rotation on the list is to not only serve what is freshest but also to organically move the list from season to season, like we do with our food.”

{Dark ‘n’ Stormy}

Two cocktails worth a try before they say goodbye are the Pearadise Express, a twist on a Sidecar that features a smoked apple purée; and a Dark ‘n’ Stormy with fizzy house-made ginger beer plus Black Strap Rum floating on top like a castaway. Cocktails coming down the line include one featuring fig-flavored vodka and another starring amaro.

If wine is on your mind, rest assured that the restaurant’s wine cellar (pictured above), with the capacity for 1,700 bottles, has something to please your palate. The restaurant offers 30 by-the-glass picks, and among bottle choices, you’ll find 35 whites and more than 40 reds. The list is the pet project of The Cheshire’s beverage director: advanced sommelier and certified wine educator Patricia Wamhoff. This wine wonder woman’s standout bottle pick is the Merlot-Cabernet Franc by Chateau Fonplegade St. Emilion of Bordeaux, France. “It’s a blend between Old World and New World in style,” said Wamhoff of this $87 bottle. “It has the fruit forward of New World but still with the backbone of Old World earthiness,” she said. Wamhoff also mans a captain’s list that she dubbed the  “super-juice list,” and she’s downright giddy to share these “gems.”

Basso, the lower level pub at The Cheshire, is slated to open on December 17. Like the food prepared by Basso’s exec chef Patrick Connolly, the cocktails will have an Italian influence. I didn’t have the opportunity to try the drinks on the launch menu, which is divided into categories of  “Originale,” “Classico” and “Dolce,” but considering that Jason Reed, formerly of Salt, is behind the bar at Basso with loads of Italian spirits, wines and liqueurs at his disposal, I’m confident that the word deliziosa will slip from my lips at first sip.

The Cheshire’s gorgeously rehabbed soon-to-open basement restaurant and bar Basso now has an executive chef. Patrick Connolly, a St. Louis native, has returned from New York City to helm the Italian-themed casual counterpart to recently opened The Restaurant, which sits above Basso at 7036 Clayton Ave.

Connolly first gained national attention while at the restaurant Radius in Boston, where he served as executive chef. In 2007, he was nominated for the James Beard Rising Star award, and in 2008, he won the James Beard Best Chef Northeast award. From Radius, he moved to Bobo in New York City, where he again assumed the role of executive chef. Since leaving Bobo a year ago, Connolly was acting as exec-chef for The Kitchen, a food media company and private event space in Manhattan.

Just five weeks ago, when Connolly came across the post for Basso, he and his wife hadn’t been considering a move to St. Louis, but they had been toying with the idea of leaving New York. A day after speaking with Todd Rushing, a partner for Concentrics Restaurants (the company designing The Cheshire’s new eateries), Connolly was on a plane to St. Louis. Connolly was so impressed with Basso and the surrounding facilities that he quickly took the job, but the part he’s most excited about on a day-to-day basis is his new wood-burning oven. While working at Bobo and The Kitchen, Connolly said, “I did a series called ‘Plate to Gate’ where I went to the farms I sourced from. I would go there and produce dinners and cook with wood off the property. It was always a treat. Now I’ll get to cook with it every day.”

Connolly is currently in the last stages of tweaking the menu for Basso before it opens on December 17. He plans to feature about 10 to 12 small plates, six or seven options for both house-made pastas and pizzas, a few a la carte items from the grill, five sides and five desserts.

Connolly is also looking forward to working with Wil and Lisa Fernandez-Cruz, the husband-wife team who are the executive chef and executive pastry chef, respectively, at The Restaurant upstairs. Connolly was friends with the two while living in New York, and he and Wil already have plans to share whole animals between The Restaurant and Basso. “New York and New England have great farms, but the Midwest is the heartland,” Connolly said. ”There’s so much. I’m learning new products every day.”

For the last couple years, renovations have been underway at The Cheshire property. The historical hotel at 6300 Clayton Road, including Fox & Hounds Tavern, reopened late last summer. Now, renovations to the 27,000-square-foot structure located just east of the hotel are almost complete. The Restaurant, an upscale yet casual, 200-seat restaurant and bar offering American cuisine prepared in an open kitchen complete with a spit rotisserie, wood-burning oven and smoker, is slated to open on November 5. Basso, which means “low” in Italian and is located under The Restaurant, is scheduled to open on December 15. This Italian gastropub will feature 32 draft beers, an Italian wine list, house-made pizzas and small plates. Above Basso and The Restaurant is another concept: Upstairs, a private event space. Upstairs, also set to open on November 5, will seat around 150 and fit 275 people for cocktails. Lastly, The Market at the most eastern end of the property is set to open in January. When The Market debuts, people will be able to grab a coffee, glass of wine, sandwich, soup and salad along with items for later such as bottles of wine and house-made breads and pastas. Interested in catching a glimpse of the food and space at The Restaurant? Head over to our Facebook page to take a look.

— Photos by Michelle Volansky