Veritas Gateway to Food and Wine: 15860 Fountain Plaza Drive, Ellisville, 636.227.6800, veritasgateway.com In its new home on the northeast corner of Clarkson and Clayton roads, Veritas retains its original character – like an open kitchen with counter seating where guests can enjoy items from a changing weekly menu – while adding new elements, including a 20-seat bar area. The Mustard Bar (bedecked with vintage Vienna-sausage bar stools and mustard tins repurposed as lighting fixtures) features a separate menu of creative snacks and plates like can’t-miss, bacon-wrapped, cheese-stuffed prunes and corn-fried ribs. And if your mouth has yet to meet the Veritas burger, make that happen. Wine still holds court at the family-owned restaurant and wine shop, but a full bar means you now can pair a farm-to-glass cocktail with chef-driven fare.
The Crafty Chameleon Bar: 1384 Clarkson Clayton Center, Ellisville, 636.220.9144, craftychameleonbar.com From fruit beer to hefeweizen, double IPA to Doppelbock, between 40 rotating draft beers (and a strong showing among Missouri microbrews) plus 300 bottles or cans, you’ll find every style at The Crafty Chameleon Bar in Ellisville. Feel like tempering the bitterness of that brew or lightening up the alcohol? Check out the “crafty concoctions” list of shandy variants and beer cocktails like the Dirty Heifer, made with your choice of wheat beer and a splash of fruity framboise. Enjoy your pint indoors, and watch the big game on one of 15 flat-screen TVs, or take it outside to the breezy, covered patio. Following the beer bar trend, Crafty Chameleon doesn’t have a kitchen, but food is just a phone call away when you grab a binder full of menus from nearby restaurants that offer carryout and delivery.
Blueprint Coffee: 6225 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314.266.6808, blueprintcoffee.com There’s no better proof that we’ve entered the age of the barista-owned coffee roasting company than Blueprint Coffee, a project by six coffee pros, most with ties to local roaster Kaldi’s. The brew bar at Blueprint will offer a daily rotation of four specialty coffees using beans roasted in-house and hopes to use artisan roasters around the country such as Intelligentsia, Madcap, PT’s, Handsome and local roaster Sump. Blueprint will offer hand-brewed coffee prepared via a pour-over method, as well as espresso drinks. Those looking to become coffee connoisseurs can sit in on cuppings (pictured) at Blueprint’s handcrafted wooden cupping table. Just wanna hang out with friends over java and house-made snacks? Grab a seat at one of the high-top tables – and don’t leave without checking out the roaster in action.
Tripel: 1801 Park Ave., St. Louis, 314.678.7787, tripelstl.com The newest gastronomic destination in Lafayette Square, puts a spotlight on Belgian food and drink. At this brasserie, you can try a traditional Flemish dish like kippenwaterzooi (chicken stew) and blinde vinken (stuffed veal cutlets), or enjoy mussels in preparations like moules a la marinière that arrive piping hot in an aromatic white wine-shallot broth. For a decadent treat, order escargots à la moelle and slip that roasted marrow straight off the bone, slather it on a slice of grilled baguette, and top with buttery escargots, briny capers and fresh parsley. Pair this indulgent repast with one of dozens of Belgian-style beers, a glass of French wine or a handcrafted cocktail.
-Photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in August 2013.