Clichés become clichés because they’re frequently true. And when it comes to the one that goes, “Sometimes less is more,” I offer as proof La Dolce Via. Tucked into a storefront in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, on a block that proudly bears evidence of the area’s residential blossoming, the storefront café is delectably humble. It manages to achieve a degree of spontaneous happening that might leave a few nonplussed. But for many of us, it feels comfortable and easygoing.
That “less is more” thing doesn’t apply to the décor. From Fimo clay miniatures and seashells in a china cabinet to posters and photos on the wall, there’s enough to provide conversation to cover those awkward gaps when your girlfriend’s brother is discussing UFO landings in Ladue.
The seating area winds past the service counter at which customers order to the back, where there’s a casual assortment of tables and chairs. Note particularly one elderly overstuffed chair and ottoman that looks as if sitting in it would make ordering full-caffeine coffee mandatory. A bookcase full of puzzles and games like Yahtzee offers behavioral cues and so does a children’s play area – a miniature kitchen, natch – and a bookcase for them, too.
There is definitely less on the brunch menu, available both Saturday and Sunday. It’s brief and, being written on a wipe-off marker board on the wall, transient. But I suspect the pancakes are a permanent fixture. The serving was reasonably sized. In fact, all the main courses were here, and I’ve seen that in a couple of places in the last few weeks; perhaps rationality is beginning to strike local restaurateurs. The pancakes arrived hot, with what seems to be a too-small serving of the house-made syrup. But despite the syrup’s very mild sweetness, the combination was a good one with the tender pancakes. Given LDV’s baking activity, I’d wonder if cake flour wasn’t used. A side order of thick-sliced bacon was very crisp and very satisfying.
A couple of omelets are available, contents varying by the day. Generally, I’m not wild for omelets – the lovely glowing brown underside never tastes as good as it looks. Here, however, the eggs are cooked gently, a few circles of scallion showing color under the first layer of egg. Inside, on one visit, was baby spinach, barely wilted, some cherry tomatoes and Ricotta Salata, the kind of ricotta that is firmer than what’s used in lasagna. It was great. On another visit, there was chopped sirloin, peppers and mozzarella. This did not end up tasting like a pizza. The kitchen wisely let things well enough alone with high-quality ingredients, the peppers supplying just a little tongue tingle and the mozzarella pleasant but not overwhelming. This omelet was even better than the previous one. They arrived on beds of fairly innocuous potatoes, just OK alone but somehow melding into the omelet ingredients to create symbiosis.
Out of the oven come scones. A pan sat on the counter where orders are taken. (Food, by the way, is delivered to the table.) The fruit scones were moister than any I’ve had in the United Kingdom but still nicely crumbly and not in desperate need of butter or clotted cream. They served nicely as a first course while waiting for the rest of one’s order. Cheese scones are the base for the house’s version of biscuits and gravy. The gravy was faintly pinkish, the first clue that this was going to be a little different. Besides the ubiquitous sausage, there seemed to be a little tomato in the mix, rounding out the flavors and thrusting them forward, as tomato used that way is apt to do. I haven’t tasted anything like it in town, and it certainly was good, lolling lazily over the tender scones.
Coffee was serve-yourself from a selection of Kaldi’s high-quality product, strong and hot. Ask what kind of juice is available; I had a glass of pink grapefruit that exceeded the frozen stuff by a mile. Affable, concerned service kept things moving.
La Dolce Via came out of owner Marcia Sindel’s doing the desserts at Bar Italia Risorante and Caffe. But it feels like it’s the love child that was born of the early days of Duff’s. Good stuff.
This article appears in March 2024.
