^^ What? Lol. The connection over Vandeventer and into the existing greenway corridor along the Metro tracks isn’t being demolished. I drove by it today haha. Once you get past (west of) Vandeventer it’s ground level…and it’s already there. I know a lot of people here are against this project, but some of these claims are just asinine. Again, not surprised though.
Edit: Screenshot of the brand new Vandeventer bridge with more than enough room for a ped path next to Metro:
I don't think its particularly inauthentic. How are you supposed to make a blast furnace and smelter feel authentic? Considering the obstacles, it looks like a great job. I'm not stoked about punchbowl or Fassler (which did what exactly Haufbrau should have done), but I am excited for Alamo (No Kids! WooHoo!) and the Food Hall because I trust Gerard Craft.
City Foundry and Gerard Craft/Niche Group must have parted ways at some point. At least if he/they are still acting as Culinary Director, they are being oddly quiet about it, especially considering th Food Hall is supposedly going to open a couple months from now.
Contrast that with all of the news and social media comments about the consulting gig for the new soccer stadium...
^You don't find it strange that there's no mention in those articles or any social media comments about any current involvement with the Food Hall, when there have been several recent articles about it opening by the "end of summer"?
What's so good about Gerard Craft? I see his name mentioned all the time but have never been to any of his businesses. Family and friends have and they say the businesses are overhyped and not all that good. So to see his named attached to the Foundry, past or present, is an alarm to me.
Although I'll leave it up to the actual business owners who will be running the food stalls to deliver a great product and not some Gordon Ramsay wannabe.
^ chris, don't you think it's a little unreasonable to admit that you know nothing about him and have never eaten at any of his restaurants, and then disparage him in the next breath? clearly he's doing something right, your family's opionions aside.
urban_dilettante wrote:^ chris, don't you think it's a little unreasonable to admit that you know nothing about him and have never eaten at any of his restaurants, and then disparage him in the next breath? clearly he's doing something right, your family's opionions aside.
I take back my comment about not eating at any of his businesses. I looked at his website and have been to Pastaria, it wasn’t bad but I didn’t see it as anything special either. But I’ll keep my comment about overhyped stuff. No doubt he’s a successful businessman though.
What's so good about Gerard Craft? I see his name mentioned all the time but have never been to any of his businesses. Family and friends have and they say the businesses are overhyped and not all that good. So to see his named attached to the Foundry, past or present, is an alarm to me.
Although I'll leave it up to the actual business owners who will be running the food stalls to deliver a great product and not some Gordon Ramsay wannabe.
I thought he was STL's only James Beard award winner but apparently Kevin Nashan with Sidney Street Cafe won in 2017. I'm not sure what other JBF chefs are lurking around STL but it's still a huge deal. It's no Michelin Star but it's basically the step below it (a large step but in terms of well known accolades, there's not much in between). I've only ever been to Pastaria (and Porano RIP) but I will say I haven't tasted one entrée there I wouldn't order again. When it comes to tourism and overall presence on a national stage, having a James Beard award winner is an asset.
I'm pretty sure KC doesn't have any JBF chefs and I'd be interested to know how many our peer cities have. Unfortunately several quick google searches didn't yield the best results for quick reference.
EDIT: the JBF website doesn't have the greatest search function (Niche is listed a Clayton, Missouri not St. Louis and simply searching "Missouri" basically yields nothing) but at least it allows you to search winners at all. So it looks like KC actually has 4 winners, which I obviously clueless about. However Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Memphis aren't showing any winners. I haven't searched any other cities.
I've been to Brasserie, Pastaria, Porano, and Taste. All are great food, drinks, atmosphere (especially Taste). The kitchen cares, it seems. So much so that they sent the Brasserie burger over to Rockwell. There are bites for all budgets. I miss Porano, admittedly. Downtown lost a gem, but not sure if it was realized.
When family is in town and wants to head to the Hill for a bunch of dried pasta and frozen cannelloni, I send them to Pastaria, Trattoria Marcella, or Katie's.
I've been to Brasserie, Pastaria, Porano, and Taste. All are great food, drinks, atmosphere (especially Taste). The kitchen cares, it seems. So much so that they sent the Brasserie burger over to Rockwell. There are bites for all budgets. I miss Porano, admittedly. Downtown lost a gem, but not sure if it was realized.
When family is in town and wants to head to the Hill for a bunch of dried pasta and frozen cannelloni, I send them to Pastaria, Trattoria Marcella, or Katie's.
Overall, he's a great restauranteur IMO.
Been to all those + Sardella. All great spots. Don't let the haters tell you otherwise. He is the best in STL at his chosen profession and I'll never rag on someone when theres noone else who can do it better.
*There may be better chefs, but noone else in STL (that I see) that's doing it with different cuisines across multiple locations at such a high level.
urban_dilettante wrote:^ chris, don't you think it's a little unreasonable to admit that you know nothing about him and have never eaten at any of his restaurants, and then disparage him in the next breath? clearly he's doing something right, your family's opionions aside.
I’ll keep my comment about overhyped stuff.
Parroting naysaying that you've gleaned secondhand and then standing by it. Nice.
I've been to Brasserie, Pastaria, Porano, and Taste. All are great food, drinks, atmosphere (especially Taste). The kitchen cares, it seems. So much so that they sent the Brasserie burger over to Rockwell. There are bites for all budgets. I miss Porano, admittedly. Downtown lost a gem, but not sure if it was realized.
When family is in town and wants to head to the Hill for a bunch of dried pasta and frozen cannelloni, I send them to Pastaria, Trattoria Marcella, or Katie's.
Overall, he's a great restauranteur IMO.
Been to all those + Sardella. All great spots. Don't let the haters tell you otherwise. He is the best in STL at his chosen profession and I'll never rag on someone when theres noone else who can do it better.
*There may be better chefs, but noone else in STL (that I see) that's doing it with different cuisines across multiple locations at such a high level.
I'll echo this and add that the meal I had at Cinder House a while back was phenomenal. Can't wait to get back there. I've had an enjoyable experience at every restaurant of his that I've visited. Haven't been to Pastaria, as I don't make it into Clayton very often.
urban_dilettante wrote:^ chris, don't you think it's a little unreasonable to admit that you know nothing about him and have never eaten at any of his restaurants, and then disparage him in the next breath? clearly he's doing something right, your family's opionions aside.
I’ll keep my comment about overhyped stuff.
Parroting naysaying that you've gleaned secondhand and then standing by it. Nice.
Truly. The confident ignorance is nothing but impressive.
Parroting naysaying that you've gleaned secondhand and then standing by it. Nice.
Truly. The confident ignorance is nothing but impressive.
If you’re all surprised at my “confident ignorance” in this post, then you clearly haven’t seen my other posts on here or on social media. It’s a recurring theme and I have no shame about that. Opinions are a hell of a thing.
Parroting naysaying that you've gleaned secondhand and then standing by it. Nice.
Truly. The confident ignorance is nothing but impressive.
If you’re all surprised at my “confident ignorance” in this post, then you clearly haven’t seen my other posts on here or on social media. It’s a recurring theme and I have no shame about that. Opinions are a hell of a thing.
The formation of the opinion(s) is where I have the issue.
^ Walker, I don't believe it came across correctly but assume that amendment to Foundry's TIF got passed or along that lines. I believe the amendment was to realign with the proposed second phase, new residential tower/podium & less office, along with deal worked out for northside assistance.
What's so good about Gerard Craft? I see his name mentioned all the time but have never been to any of his businesses. Family and friends have and they say the businesses are overhyped and not all that good. So to see his named attached to the Foundry, past or present, is an alarm to me.
Although I'll leave it up to the actual business owners who will be running the food stalls to deliver a great product and not some Gordon Ramsay wannabe.
I thought he was STL's only James Beard award winner but apparently Kevin Nashan with Sidney Street Cafe won in 2017. I'm not sure what other JBF chefs are lurking around STL but it's still a huge deal. It's no Michelin Star but it's basically the step below it (a large step but in terms of well known accolades, there's not much in between). I've only ever been to Pastaria (and Porano RIP) but I will say I haven't tasted one entrée there I wouldn't order again. When it comes to tourism and overall presence on a national stage, having a James Beard award winner is an asset.
I'm pretty sure KC doesn't have any JBF chefs and I'd be interested to know how many our peer cities have. Unfortunately several quick google searches didn't yield the best results for quick reference.
EDIT: the JBF website doesn't have the greatest search function (Niche is listed a Clayton, Missouri not St. Louis and simply searching "Missouri" basically yields nothing) but at least it allows you to search winners at all. So it looks like KC actually has 4 winners, which I obviously clueless about. However Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Memphis aren't showing any winners. I haven't searched any other cities.
Off topic here....and I say this as a true foodie who loves Craft's spots: The number of James Beard awards "given" to a metro area is basically analogous to electoral votes to a state. The bigger it is, the more awards.
And, the awards are clearly broken down by region to ensure many awards are given. Yes, it's absolutely an honor but unless a city's restaurant scene is truly terrible, any reasonably sized city will get some JBF awards.
As an example, compare the metro pop of STL and KC. STL=2.8M; KC=2.1M With the STL metro being 25% bigger than KC, we'll see 25% more JBF awards. Last year's results matched this perfectly if I recall.
All-in-all a JBF award mostly denotes that specific metro's best restaurants.
Parroting naysaying that you've gleaned secondhand and then standing by it. Nice.
Truly. The confident ignorance is nothing but impressive.
If you’re all surprised at my “confident ignorance” in this post, then you clearly haven’t seen my other posts on here or on social media. It’s a recurring theme and I have no shame about that. Opinions are a hell of a thing.
Aren't you in real estate development? Making ignorant, disparaging comments about a prominent local chef who pays top dollar rents throughout the metro seems counterproductive.
Gerard Craft remains intimately involved with the Foundry. He is personally curating the restaurants in the food hall and his Niche Group is developing the kitchen bar. I can't wait to go!