You're going to like Bleu. Probably a lot.

If the other brand-new tapas place downtown is an earnest Triple-A team learning the ropes, Bleu Restaurant is the Yankees, all class and professionalism and easy elegance. After admittedly just a single visit, Bleu looks and tastes ready for prime time.

Some purists may scoff at the menu's global approach to tapas (fried green tomatoes, lemon-marinated olives and steak frites all adorn the same menu) and wonder where the Spanish stuff is. Me? I'm just looking for something good to eat. And at Bleu, it looks like that will be just about everything.

The lunch menu is extensive, offering everything from two-dollar pickled vegetable plates to hanger steak and fries. A selection of sliders - pick any three for nine bucks - jumped out at me immediately. I chose the apple and housemade chicken sausage, the beef and muenster and the bison with balsamic onions gorgonzola and arugula. Each one is served on a rich, buttery brioche bun that resembles a biscuit in texture and flavor but manages a certain lightness at the same time. They also each had a well-executed contrast of textures and tastes (heavy gorgonzola cheese and snappy onions, earthy mushrooms and melty muenster, tart apple and sorghum mustard). The whole effect was thrilling.

A bit less successful was their cured salmon carpaccio, which came out with a lemony olive oil, capers and rather punchless arugula. Salmon can be a pretty assertive fish and this was a case in point, enhanced by the intensifying curing process. Salmon aficionados will be right at home but fence-setters should beware.

At this point I was having so much fun I ordered the marinated olives as well (c'mon, they're only three bucks). Out came a bowl of pitted Spanish and kalamata olives tossed with lemon, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and dill. Bleu's own pita slices came on the side. The olives were so bright and summery that I hated to not be sitting outside, catching a few rays and swirling a glass of Cotes du Rhone or something.

That brings up the wine, the second half of Bleu's resume. The by-the-bottle listing is fairly extensive, if a little heavy on the domestics. Still, most are affordable and a few treasures can be found (I've never had anything I didn't like from Thorn-Clarke's Shotfire Ridge operation, for instance). And I only see one Cotes du Rhone on the menu, though it is one of their by-the-glass offerings.

The partners behind Bleu endured countless delays and barriers to getting this place open. But it's clear they weren't wasting their time. My server had actually tried the food and wines and could discuss both with confidence. Food came out quickly and was excellent. One minor mishap (the computer at first double-billed me for my sliders) was handled quickly and with an apology. A general sense of self-assured competence permeates the place. Things may hairy for their first few busy Saturday nights, but there's no question a strong hand is at the wheel.

Columbia, your dining options just got better.

Bleu Restaurant and Wine Bar
23 S. 8th Street
Columbia, MO
(573) 442-8220
www.bleurestaurantandwinebar.com
(website's not yet live...perhaps casting some minor doubt on my Yankees/professionalism comment)

Blue, open.

The long and harrowing process of renovating the southeast corner of the Tiger Hotel is completed. After a few trial runs last week, Blue Restaurant and Wine Bar will officially open today, beginning with lunch.

From the sidewalk, the place looks gorgeous, equal parts elegance and comfort. Blonde wood floors in the bar area give way to tightly-woven tan carpet in the dining areas. The lighting, the gently curving room dividers and the twin rows of wine globes give the space a modern feel that still manages to look comfortable and inviting. Just getting to this point has been far more of an exercise in patience than the owners expected; now, the real fun starts.

See you at lunch.

Bleu Restaurant Opening (?) August 18

I had the pleasure of meeting Tina Patel, one-half of the ownership team opening (at long last) Bleu Restaurant, at an event last week. She's a whipsmart little firecracker of a woman, all passion and hands-waving and wide eyes. She's deeply invested in seeing Bleu open and become a success and is rightfully peeved that it's taken a year and a half to (almost) get it off the ground. Her months-long battle with various confused and inconsistent city and county codes was well-chronicled in Vox a while back.

(Aside: Bleu is not the only small business that's had to jump through extraordinary hoops just to get started. KoJaBa and Carlito's spring to mind, among others. In conversations with her and with other local business owners recently it's become clear how strongly many of the locals feel the deck is stacked against them and in favor of chains.)

As for the restaurant itself, seasonality isn't going to be a focal point. Wines will be front and center, showing up even in the infused signature cocktails the bar will feature (some will even benefit from frothy egg whites). All involved assure me they will be opening the week of August 18; take a trip over to the Tiger Hotel and see if you think this is doable. I see a lot more than three weeks of work remaining but they desperately want to be open before Mizzou starts classes again. Stay tuned. If Bleu Market (their takeout operation on the other side of the Tiger Hotel entrance) is any indication, it's going to be a wild ride.

Bleu Market: or, wanting something to be better than it is

Bleu Market represents phase one in the 8th St. takeover plan being launched by co-owners Travis Tucker and Tina Patel. A takeout-driven installment, Blue Market will be joined on the other side of the Tiger Hotel entrance by Bleu proper, a tapas-style restaurant and wine bar. If early performance is any indication, they're going to have some kinks to work out of the main event.

The prosciutto, sliced turkey and Lorraine swiss I bought for sandwich making at home were all dried out, tasteless and tossed shortly thereafter. A "La Havana" sandwich of the day (seemingly styled after the iconic cubano) featured the wrong kind of ham (Really? Prosciutto on a cubano sandwich?), a weak bun and was served cold. They also forgot the cheese at first. The pickled onions and jalapeno added a vinegary kick; the mustard packed a punch as well.

A side of white beans, feta and cherry tomatoes was fresh tasting but in dire need of a good salting; the beans themselves were moderately overcooked, bordering on mushy. And then the bill: my lunch ran almost ten dollars, and that's without a drink. Not sure most Columbians would pay ten dollars for a mediocre sandwich and better luck next time.

So, Bleu Market gets an "A" for potential and a gentleman's "C" for execution. Here's hoping the restaurant gets off to a better start.

In Bleu's defense, I had a cubano at Miami's landmark Versailles Restaurant a few weeks ago that wasn't much better.