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Savor’s Four-Pronged Menu Offers Treats From Many Corners of the Globe
• by Joe Pollack - Photo by Allyson Mace
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Waiting for Savor, while not a process as involved or lengthy as waiting for Godot, lasted long enough that many St. Louis diners had almost given up hope that Kirk Warner, who left a wide trail of happy patrons where he previously cooked, would ever get behind a new stove at a new restaurant.
Well, the wait of more than six months is over. Savor is open, and it looks good, and Warner’s dishes seem as solid as ever. It took a lot of work and a major investment by owner Jonathan Schoen to convert the building and to create a kitchen, a parking area and adequate access for the disabled.
Warner, a tall, reserved native of Michigan and a veteran of many restaurants, always has had a global approach to his cuisine, and it certainly shows up at Savor. The menu is divided into four sections – the Americas, Europe, the Near East and the Far East – with each section showing three or four appetizers, main courses and sides influenced by the broad region. Mixing and matching is perfectly acceptable.
Prices are not outlandish, either, with the entrées topping out at $23, plenty of vegetarian choices and a moderately priced list of wines by the glass. If there’s a quibble, it’s that the presentation is not up to the advance hype. The Guru thinks that the taste is far more important than the look, but many who dine in the Central West End think that it’s more important to catch the eye.
The building has dining rooms on several levels and a lovely basement room with a table to seat a dozen or so for special events. There’s a long, rather narrow room on the main floor and a large bar area. It was suggested we have a drink there while our table was being set up, and while it’s lovely and roomy while sitting at the bar, the surrounding space is limited enough to force customers and servers into a few dance steps to avoid collisions.
Speaking of servers, we’ve heard a few complaints here and there, but we noticed no problems on our visit.
More than a dozen wines are available by the glass, with some good choices from France, Germany, Austria and Argentina, plus a sparkling wine from Spain, among the whites. Italy, Australia, Argentina and the United States provide reds. The Spanish sparkler was a superior predinner selection and the ‘03 Pinot Blanc from Hubert Trimbach, the excellent Alsatian winemaker, was delightful, but his wines always are.
Speaking of drinks, the bar also serves a couple of the most deadly cocktails in the Guru’s experience – the Brazilian Caipirinha and the Cuban Mojito. Sip with extreme care.
The four-pronged menu has some interesting combinations. Spring pea soup with truffle croutons offers a lot of promise, and the foie gras-stuffed dates not only promise, but deliver, with the sweet dates rolling up delights with the earthy foie gras (pictured above). A mesclun salad, pasta with asparagus and rabbit sausage, sea scallops served with Spätzle (a German dumpling) and a side of traditional Alsatian choucroute, featuring sauerkraut and slab bacon, provide additional temptations.
Smoked trout from Maine is a highlight of the American section, and it was outstanding, with the trout’s smokiness showing through and wilted spinach and beet curls adding flavor to wilted lettuce with a warm bacon dressing. Warner’s light touch was obvious here in that the disparate flavors worked together and did not battle for leadership. The menu also offers a “Savor Caesar,” but I passed because the menu described both escarole and butter lettuce, but no romaine, which is traditional, and while it discussed roasted cauliflower, there was no mention of anchovies. New names are easy to create, but without romaine and anchovies, I don’t think a salad should wear the name Caesar.
Oaxacan chicken mole, a Mexican dish, was heightened by yellow mole sauce, different from the usual brown but very tasty, dumplings made with Asadero cheese (a Mexican cheese from cow’s milk) and a salsa that led with jícama and chayote. Wonderfully complex flavors blended to create a charming, tasty dish, with flavor highlights popping out here and there in the manner of Pop Rocks. Macaroni and cheese, made with Cheddar, is another highlight of the American menu.
Warner long has been a fan of Far Eastern (Asian) cuisine, and his execution is as strong as his admiration. Vietnamese spring rolls were a powerful temptation, but we went for the green papaya salad, and it was glorious, with tangy ginger and tamarind balanced by sweet pork and the crunch of the papaya strips and a handful of cashew nuts. A brilliant dish. The chef’s fried rice, featuring the sweet Chinese sausage known as lop chong, was another winner, bolstered by the addition of a poached egg, and while the menu noted “soft-poached,” the result was a little too runny. Lacquered duck, with baby bok choy and roasted sweet potatoes, shall be saved for a future visit.
The choices from the Near East (Middle East and India) include a tempting shrimp chowder of coconut milk soup and pickled green mangoes, and a Goan-style seafood curry. We settled for a lamb and olive tajine (the name of the pot it is cooked in or the stew-like dish itself), and it was on an extremely high level, just like everything else we tasted. With artichokes and merguez sausage (made from lamb), and flavors from lemon and the Near Eastern paprika-like spice known as harissa, plus couscous to sop up the juices, it was a tangy joy.
Desserts also are made in-house and a beggar’s purse, like a soft crêpe bunched together at the top, was an elegant finish, with dark chocolate and nuts liberally spread inside the package.
Savor is a worthy newcomer.
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