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Posted: Thursday, October 21, 1999 | 9:12 a.m.
REVIEW - RESTAURANT LAGNIAPPE'S
Post-Dispatch Restaurant Critic Gumbo alert! Some of the best gumbo in town is available at Lagniappe's, which opened in Soulard in February. Bill and Brenda David are the owners, and the recipe for the gumbo comes from Bill's family. "My grandma made gumbo as a stew, not a soup, so my gumbo is based on an old family recipe," said Bill David. He laughed. "That, and some ideas I stole from cookbooks and from restaurants where I've eaten good gumbo." In any case, don't let pronouncing the name of the restaurant keep you from this gumbo. "Lagniappe" is a term from southern Louisiana and southeast Texas that means "an unexpected something extra." It is pronounced "LAN-yap," and the something extra, a little nibble not on the menu, shows up at the table shortly after you're seated. Bill David said he has worked "off and on" in the restaurant business here since 1961. He managed at Rigazzi's for a decade or more, worked at the Crest House downtown, at the Pasta House Company and at the old Ramada Inn at Interstate 55 and South Lindbergh Boulevard. At Lagniappe's, the Davids are serving "American with an Italian slant," plus some Cajun dishes. "We started out trying to do just Cajun, but ... it's hard to do on the restaurant level." Big sellers at Lagniappe's include the daily fish special, beef Mudega, shark scampi (an occasional special) and the filet stuffed with gorgonzola cheese (also an occasional special). Bill David is the chef, and Brenda David works in the dining room. Make that rooms. In addition to the dining room downstairs, which seats about 35, there are three small rooms and a sit-down bar upstairs. Diners using wheelchairs are out of luck here, as there are steps out front and a narrow door at the top of the ramp leading in from the patio, which seats about 42. Back to the gumbo. Whatever the particular ingredients on a given day, you can count on the gumbo ($3.95) to be a multilayered delight of appealing flavors and textures. In my cup, I found hearty Andouille sausage with a delayed, fulfilling heat, tiny rock shrimp, tender shark meat, a plethora of vegetables and just enough rice. A huge platter of calamari ($5.50) brought tender bits of squid fried in a well-seasoned batter and enhanced with garlic butter. Fried fresh spinach ($5.50) was also a fine appetizer: crispy, crunchy spinach leaves drizzled with lemon juice and topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Fried portobello ($5.50) brought big wedges of the meaty mushroom, lightly battered and deep-fried and served with a mellow curry dip. All the appetizers were generous in size, so count on sharing. Brenda's salad ($3.50) is an updated, improved version of the original salad served long ago at Rich and Charlie's, mixed greens with onions, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers and a bit too much provel cheese for me. Entrees were well-prepared and filling. The best was the amberjack topped with a mango-jalapeno salsa that jazzed up the mild-mannered fish. Pasta with an appealing red sauce and fresh green beans, lightly sprinkled with grated Parmesan, came alongside. The filet stuffed with gorgonzola ($17.95) brought a generous portion of steak, and though it was a bit underdone for me, a quick trip back to the kitchen remedied that. Side dishes were more of those lightly steamed green beans and a risotto with mushrooms. A cross-cut pork tenderloin ($12.95) was tender and lean but lacked flavor. Maybe you could order the dish with that mango-jalapeno salsa. Dirty rice was spicy, with a smoky flavor, and sauteed carrots and zucchini were better than most. Pasta with artichokes ($10.95) was good, with the tart flavor of the artichoke hearts a nice counterpoint to the linguine. A Brenda's salad came alongside. Lagniappe's offers full bar service, including nonalcoholic beverages such as Ame. A modest wine list includes bottles that range from $11 to $23. By the glass, the house wine costs $3.75. For dessert, bread pudding ($3.50) was outstanding, chock-full of apricots, nuts and raisins. Another evening, a slice of Hank's creamy Black Forest cheesecake ($3.75) made for a lovely ending to the meal. If you go... What: Lagniappe's Where: 2501 South Ninth Street at Victor Street, St. Louis, 771-2090 Serves: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Entree Range: $9.95-$17.95 Air Quality: The smoking section moves around, but there is always a space for nonsmokers. Plastic: All major credit cards Reservations: Encouraged Style: A cozy restaurant in a two-family flat built in the 1880s that for a time served as a Model T dealership. Dining news and reviews for the gourmet on the go |