St. Louis Magazine’s George Mahe first announced the coming of Taste Wood Fired Fare, which will be located at 1201 Strassner Drive in Brentwood, back in March. The Scoop recently spoke to Casey Friedrichs about his plans to open Taste with his twin brother, Curt Friedrichs, and his father, Bill Friedrichs, as well as the trio’s plans to open more restaurants around town.
Taste will offer apps such as baby-back ribs, chicken wings and shrimp; salads; entrées including steaks and seafood; and, of course, pizza. All of the dishes will be turned out using a custom-built, wood-burning oven. But don’t think of Taste as simply an Italian eatery. “It is a very Americanized version of wood-fired cooking,” explained Casey. “Our dough and approach to pizza will be Italian, but a lot of the recipes we are hand-tailoring toward American cuisine.” That means nearly a dozen specialty pizzas will be on the menu including classic Italian versions and those with more Americanized flavor combinations. And what about Provel? While Casey will be leaving our hometown cheese off of his pizza pies, he noted that he may pay homage to the STL in the naming of menu items.
The Friedrichs hope to open the restaurant, which will seat 100 inside and another 30 on a covered outdoor patio, on June 1. Taste Wood Fired Fare will operate seven days a week, serving lunch and dinner.
Look for the Friedrichs to stay in the local restaurant scene for some time. Casey explained that Taste is the first of 10 concepts that he, his brother and his father conceived as part of their consulting business, Twin Site Solutions. “We offer developers solutions to vacant property,” explained Casey. “The concepts are geared around restaurants and food, some around recreation.” Casey expects to start on the next project within six months to a year if all goes well with Taste. The next site will be located in Kirkwood.
Casey and Curt both graduated with degrees in hospitality from Florida State University and worked for the last six years with Hillstone Restaurant Group, which operates dining establishments around the country. Their father, Bill, was formerly a partner at PJ’s Tavern in Kirkwood.
This article appears in April 2011.