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.

St. Louis Miscellany

Other St. Louis eats:

Rooster:
I tracked down this north-downtown place on Chowhound.com and wasn't disappointed. Specializing in crepes, Rooster has the vibe of a slightly upscale coffee/sandwich shop. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, the coffee nice and black and the space not too crowded when we got there. The 4 year-old enjoyed his raspberries and cream crepe and I the "breakfast burrito," which was, essentially, a crepe as well. Mrs. Show Me Eats' "Rooster Slinger" promising andouille, fried eggs and potatoes over toast was let down by the clearly burnt gravy (which the wife smartly had ordered on the side). No attempt was made by the waitress to rectify the situation, though admittedly it was probably the whole batch that had been burned. Otherwise, very tasty, very fresh, and well-recommended. It gets really, really packed after 9am though, so beware.

Amighetti's:
Ignoring all sense - and other, more highly recommended places on The Hill - I ventured into Amighetti's for their famous Amighetti Special sandwich. It was a fine sandwich that might have been made better with some real deli meat. This was piled with Oscar Meyer-quality cold cuts and a single lonely pepperocini. The sammich, while decent, was ultimately disappointing (and outclassed by at least four Columbia sandwiches). The absurd "classic" salad of tired, chopped iceburg lettuce and bad tomatoes didn't help matters. The place was packed with other easy marks.

Mosaic:
From time to time you set out into the city in search of food with kids and no plan - and get lucky. We happened into Mosaic, a "modern tapas fusion" restaurant about two blocks from our hotel. We were looking for noise to drown out whatever moods the kids might settle into. The hostess sized us up suspiciously (I would too...really? Two kids - one only a year old - on Friday night?) and initially said there'd be a wait before showing us to a handsome banquette in the bar area of the restaurant. The high chair was already taken, so little Ms. SME got to experience the full range of booth-athletics.

To their credit, a most understanding waitress appeared and put us at ease. We ordered five tapas and drinks, which came out promptly. My wine was excellent, Finca Antigua Tempranillo, and was perfect for a number of the invariably delicious tapas. The kids loved the North African Hummus and potstickers while we were partial to the Patagonian toothfish Chilean seabass and Duroc pork. Only the lamb saltimbocca failed to stand out, as the flavorful crust of the lamb chops yielded to a plain, flavorless interior.

Capri:
Had the breakfast buffet a the - gulp - hotel restaurant. My crepe was fine, as was the kid's Fruit Loops. Enough said.

Fortel's Pizza Den:
Came up with this courtesy of the Garmin and again, I'd say we lucked out. Medium-thin crust, chewy mozzarella cheese and generous toppings made for an altogether enjoyable pie.

A Weekend in St. Louis

J. Viviano
Volpi
Zoo
Cardinals game
Adriana's
Ted Drewe's
Rooster
Soulard Farmer's Market
Crown Candy Kitchen

Four outta nine ain't bad.

J. Viviano, an Italian market on Shaw, was a highlight, and proved more fun than in years past. When I worked in St. Louis in 2000 I was a little intimidated by the staggering variety of foodstuffs available. I no more knew what to do with a jar of capers than I would stepping in to run the kitchen at Babbo. Now, while I still have stated purpose for the capers I bought, I know enough to ask about - and to try - everything I can.

Saturday afternoon I found myself (along with Mrs. Show Me Eats and the munchkins) at the venerable store on Shaw Avenue on The Hill, staring at a dry erase marker board hung some ten feet in the air. It listed dozens of imported and homemade cheese and cured meats as well as an array of olives. I was there for cacciocavallo cheese, real Italian sausage and the king of all Italian cured meats (okay, after prosciutto but my own personal favorite), capocollo. Viviano's does a mild and spicy version. I asked for a pound of the hot stuff.

Then things got a little, um, crazy. Everytime I caught sight of Mrs. Show Me she had loaded more dried, housemade pasta, orzo, breadsticks and couscous into the stroller. Eventually the one year old had to be carried to make room for the bounty. I was caught up in the rush too. Three balls of fresh mozzarella? Nah, make it four. How about some semolina flour? At $1.25 a pound, we grabbed the three pounder. Then a pound of salami, some gnocchi and angel hair pasta hurdled into the stroller, now groaning under the burden. When we were done we'd dropped more than $80, mostly on items (pasta and meats, especially) that were priced well below Hy-Vee levels. We staggered back to the simmering car like drunken sailors, wondering how my little freezer-bag would hold the cold stuff.

Then we went back to the hotel and slept off our food-drunk. We awoke sober, but hungry, and tore into the cheese, capocollo and salami with our bare hands, crunching on Stella d'Oro breadsticks just to break things up. Our pregame meal on the floor of our tiny hotel room was better than anything else we had this weekend. Then we stepped out into the soupy afternoon and walked to Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals lose another close one.

(Update: My dad and sister went to the ballgame last night and stayed in town with friends. I had him stop off at Viviano's this morning. We need more capocollo.)

Tapas in Kansas City

There's a relatively new tapas bar in downtown Kansas City Saturday night. One of the top meals I've had this year; simply phenomenal. It's called JP Wine Bar and Coffee House and they do flights of wine in addition to wonderful small plates of food.

We were with a big group; as a result we got to try nearly everything on the menu, probably ten different small plates. All but one (crab cakes, which were just okay) were wonderful. Coffee-crusted tenderloin, lamb chops served over lamb stew, salmon over beets, scallops...it was great.

Word has it that the former Otto's in downtown Columbia is set to become a tapas bar. If it is half as good as JP I'll be a happy and frequent customer.