W/S 2009 Challenge - Places to eat . Monarch Restaurant

A few weeks ago I issued a self-challenge to eat at new restaurants (new to me) and visit different locations in the St. Louis area. Our friend Ravi was in town on business and, being one of 5 readers of lickity list, suggested we hit up one of the restaurants on the challenge. He probably suggested this because we keep going to the same places under the guise that it has vegetarian options. A quick search of the 4 options yielded a vegetarian tasting menu at Monarch restaurant in Maplewood, MO. We quickly agreed on the choice and made reservations.

Chef Josh Galliano and his staff made the whole dining experience so enjoyable that I do want to take a little time to discuss more than just the food (read: completely gush about the service).
We arrived at the restaurant a little late, but we were quickly seated as the place was very quiet. The hostess took our coats and our waiter came over to inform us the chef would be out shortly to discuss the vegetarian tasting menu options with us. I am pretty sure I gave a quick glance around the table with raised eyebrows and a deer-in-headlights stare all the while muttering that I was nervous. Sure enough, the chef came out and asked if we had any other restrictions (beyond vegetarian) that he should keep in mind and took our blank stares as a no. He then asked us to pick a number 1 through infinity that would correspond to the number of courses he would prepare. Per his suggestion, we chose 5, which would be comprised of 4 savory dishes and 1 dessert course. He retired to the kitchen as the waiter brought out complimentary bubbly. I just want to note it is so easy to buy me off and a free drink is an underestimated currency.

A quick note: My internal squeals of delight often drowned out the chef or waiter's explanation of each dish, so I apologize if some of the course descriptions are not spot on.

Amuse-bouche
Gourmet toad-in-the-hole: garlic butter toast with fried quail egg
In a word: delicious. Buttery and garlic toasted goodness with a delicately small, but very rich quail egg started the meal off very right.

First course
Wine pairing: New Harbor Savignon Blanc
Salad with grapefruit and dressed with a blood orange vinaigrette
A fairly simple and straightforward salad. I was told by my fellow diners the wine was excellently paired with this course, so I think I may have missed out on the best part of course one.

Second course
Wine pairing: Gruner Veltliner
Celery root cannelloni stuffed with swiss chard and ricotta, sprinkled with 2 types of cheese (ricotta and parmesan, maybe?) on a bed of quinoa, toasted pine nuts and celery root puree. Also gremolata was in there somehow - not sure how that was worked in.
My favorite savory course of the evening. The mock cannelloni was thinly sliced celery root with the swiss chard stuffing acting as a very low key conduit for all the flavors to be delivered. The quinoa and puree the cannelloni sat upon was a wonderful blend of textures and flavors I really enjoyed. Although the flavors and cheeses were fairly rich, somewhere in the mix the dish had a gremolata - so the hint of parsley and lemon cut through some of the richness and left me a satisfied, but not stuffed, feeling.

Third course
Wine pairing: Domaine Talmard chardonnay
Butternut squash ravioli with sage beurre blanc (butter sauce)
Can you go wrong with anything that sits in sage butter sauce? Me thinks not. Anyway, the ravioli was subtle and really let the sage butter do a lot of the talking. Very nice. Also it came garnished with fried sage which is always a winner, because it is something I would never think to do at home.

Fourth course
Wine pairing: Rex Hill Pinot Noir
Gratin of sunchokes and truffles in a parmesan sauce served with toasted bread
I was surprisingly full by the time we got to the fourth course, but I pressed on. The sunchoke and truffle gratin was very rich, perhaps too rich for my blood. Ravi noted it was his favorite course of the evening, so perhaps he will have to comment on this one.

Fifth course
The chef brought out 3 different desserts for each of us to eat and possibly share. I am going to let that sink in...
Set in front of me: Chocolate fondant with chocolate cardamom ganache served with an apricot-pistachio compote and olive oil ice cream
My favorite.

Set in front of Daniel: Dreamsicle (orange vanilla) semifreddo atop oatmeal crisp with sage ice cream and a blood orange sauce garnished by a coriander twill.
Ravi's favorite.

Set in front of Ravi: Sweet potato cake with maple syrup sauce served with creme fraiche ice cream and szechwan blood orange jam
Daniel's favorite.

What else to say? I have never had so much face time with a chef before. In my experience with tasting menus I have noted the chef will make an appearance at least once in the meal. Something about that brief meeting with the chef feels like approval - and we all want approval when it comes from someone dealing with your food. It is akin to a waiter saying excellent choice, and really meaning it, after you state your order. But to discuss (or just stare with dumbfounded expressions while he asks questions) the menu beforehand and then have several of the dishes presented by the chef? That is a little bit of attention that goes a long way in my book. The only regret of the evening is that I forgot my camera.

Oh, and in case you were wondering - I did ask Daniel which dish was his favorite. I don't think I got an answer as he was completely enamored by the music playlist throughout the meal.

Restaurants I want to try out and review during the winter and spring.

1. Maplewood: Monarch Restaurant
2. Soulard: Franco
3. Central West End: Scottish Arms
4. Clayton: Miso