Review: Home Wine Kitchen in Maplewood

Home Wine Kitchen, 7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.802.7676. homewinekitchen.com

With apologies to Jerry Seinfeld, what’s with all these farmhouse-themed restaurants lately? You know, the ones with distressed wood paneling, hardwood floors, chalkboard menus and enough butcher paper to wrap up a pasture of beef. And count on a big wooden farm table somewhere. Only thing missing is the gingham and Auntie Em.

While these restaurants can’t be called farm-to-table, they often focus on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients as much as possible, changing their menus accordingly. So those meltingly gorgeous beef short ribs I had at Home Wine Kitchen – the latest of these rustic, casual eateries – probably won’t be on the menu when you read this. But it won’t really matter; there will be options available that are just as well-prepared, creative and delicious. One week it could be barramundi, Cornish hen and risotto. Another, it may be lamb meatloaf, wild boar and sole.

Home Wine Kitchen opened in June along the strip of downtown Maplewood that always feels more like Main Street than Manchester Road. The 40-seat space includes three tall tables in the coveted front-window section, bar seating and a long wooden banquette with seven tables, not close enough to graze elbows but comfortably convivial.

Husband-and-wife team Cassandra “Cassy” Vires and Josh Renbarger own the place; she cooks, he handles the front. You may recognize Vires from her stint as executive chef at Ernesto’s. Renbarger’s wholesale wine experience plays out in his innovative wine program, in which all wines are $8 per glass or $30 per bottle. The flat price point allows for more customer experimentation based on bottle, rather than price, and greater selection – a practically unheard-of offering of 15 reds, 14 whites, two rosés plus a couple of sparklers and dessert wines during my visits. It’s a rotating list, but count on a variety of high-quality, lesser-known Old and New World wines from France, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina, Spain and the U.S., including a Riesling from upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region. It’s this kind of thinking that makes ordering wine in restaurants stress-free and dining out fun. The 11 microbrews on the menu round out the drinking options and run from light to full.
Even more innovative is “No Menu Monday.” Here’s how it works: After your server asks a couple of questions, chiefly regarding foods you’re allergic to or just don’t like, Vires prepares a three-course “chef’s choice” meal and ensures that each diner at the table will receive different courses. So while both of our first courses were bruschetta, one was a mound of salty prosciutto, tangy strawberries and mild goat cheese; the other was layered with ricotta, bacon bits, multicolored grape tomatoes and topped with baby spinach. I also saw bowls of steaming mussels and plates of bright salads pass by, so not everyone was getting bruschetta varieties as their first courses.

Same for the second course; some got tilefish, maybe duck, perhaps pork belly. I was lucky to receive an excellent piece of paprika-rubbed fresh halibut on a bed of basmati rice – heady and aromatic with the scent of cumin. The airline chicken breast, brined in white wine, shallots and lemon, sat atop the most delicious succotash made of corn, leeks, diced sweet potatoes and bacon. Rich, buttery, sugary, cinnamon-y monkey bread and an adult version of a PB&J sandwich (peanut butter, goat cheese and fig jam on grilled bread) were our desserts. Three courses for $30 is a great way to explore Vires’ style, and the extra $12 to have your courses paired with wines chosen – and explained – by Renbarger is well worth it.

Now, back to those short ribs, those two supremely tender, pull-apart meaty, lip-smacking ribs. A lot of short ribs in town are too sweet due to the long braise, but Vires added chiles into the mix for a mild heat that cut through any possibility of cloying sweetness. And the bed of apple risotto – soaking up the douse of rich, concentrated braising sauce – made the dish live up to Home’s moniker: “elevated comfort food.” A side of green beans served sizzling in a mini cast-iron pan was substituted for the eighty-sixed Brussels sprouts, but with bits of crunchy, salty fried prosciutto and sweet chopped figs mixed in, it hardly mattered. I’m no expert on rabbit, but I always order it when it’s on a menu. A fore- and hindquarter, browned then baked, came off chewier and not as meaty as anticipated. Not to mention that, at $22, it was expensive for the portion. The three baby carrots under the meat seemed fitting, if not ironic.

Both the dandelion and vegetable salads were a bust. Bitter dandelion leaves mix well with tamer greens, but a whole plate of them is overwhelmingly pungent. The saltiness and acidity of the anchovy-lemon dressing clashed; the pancetta punched in even more salt. The vegetable salad wasn’t advertised with dandelion leaves but, alas, there they were, along with beets and green beans. The cornmeal croutons on both salads were house-made but too chewy and bland to contribute much.

The brunch menu, however, is solid and unchanging. The steak and eggs are made with beef carpaccio, the crêpes stuffed with berries, the pancakes filled with ricotta, and it all sounds lovely on a late Sunday morning. We started with lemon curd served with fresh berries, spooning the sweet, velvety cream on shortbread cookies before diving into the main courses. Eggs Benedict came on thick slices of toasted ciabatta, layered with cured ham and grilled asparagus, topped with two poached eggs and doused with brown-butter hollandaise. It was a delicious mess. But in my book, nothing is better than the marriage of chicken and waffles. The classic version of this Southern dish is straightforward: fried chicken and a waffle on the side, served with butter and syrup. But take a savory rosemary-infused waffle, top it with a quarter leg of chicken confit and substitute tangy maple-balsamic gravy for sweet syrup and … just order it.

Renbarger and Vires consider Home Wine Kitchen their home, and with the couple making frequent visits to your table, eating there feels like you’re a guest at one of their dinner parties. The few clunkers didn’t stop one diner from commenting on how good the food is: “She sure can cook.” Indeed, she can.

Where: Home Wine Kitchen, 7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.802.7676., homekitchenwine.com
When: Lunch: Mon. and Wed. to Sat. – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner: Mon. and Wed. to Sat. – 4 to 10 p.m., Sun. 3 to 9 p.m. Brunch:
Sun. – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Don’t Miss Dish: Seasonal menu changes weekly, keeps you coming back.
Vibe: Casual, farmhouse feel without the barnyard.
Entrée Prices: Prices vary, but about $18 to $24.