Review: EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery in Chesterfield

EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery, 550 Chesterfield Center, Chesterfield, 636.532.0550, edgewildwinery.com

To say that the perimeter of Chesterfield Mall lacks dining options is a truism. Check that: There are options, they just happen to be the least common demoninators of the restaurant equation – fast-casual chains, bland food couched in trendy lingo, a business plan designed to fill you up and turn tables.

And then there’s EdgeWild, the new winery/restaurant by Chris LaRocca and Dee Dee and Andy Kohn that changes the entire equation (and expectation) of what a restaurant near a suburban mall parking lot can aspire to.

LaRocca is a visionary artist among restaurateurs; I suspect half of St. Louis has dined in a restaurant he has conceptualized. Best known for the erstwhile Crazy Fish restaurants, Tomatillo and Sage, he’s also launched Triumph, Kota Wood Fire Grill and Mile 277 Tap & Grill. In February, he opened Crushed Red in Clayton.

Helming the kitchen is Aaron Baggett, whose tour of duty includes stints at both Triumph and Kota. Jason Tilford, chef at Milagro Modern Mexican, even got in on the act, consulting with LaRocca and Baggett on the menu. The resulting carte is cutely laid out in a wine theme: First Press for starters, A Little Green for salads, Full-Bodied Entrees … you get the idea. Clearly, there are a lot of top players involved here, so there’s a lot riding on this sprawling 12,000-square-foot former Bahama Breeze (speaking of least common denominators).

Judging by the crowds, things are off to a roaring start, with two-hour waits not uncommon if you don’t have reservations. Navigating this massive space isn’t for the directionally impaired. But once inside, I found that EdgeWild had a lot to offer: a long, open kitchen; a wine and chocolate tasting bar (offering both house-made and Bissinger’s treats); two large dining rooms; a covered porch; an enclosed fire pit; a bar-dining area; and a combination barrel room-private dining table for large groups.
With dark wood and high-beamed ceilings, the space has all the elegant rusticity of a California wine country château (or so I imagine). But along with this much real estate comes decibels approaching indoor stadium levels. On one visit, the restaurant was thronged with clusters of boisterous women on a gal-pal night out. And it was the middle of the week. Another night it was masses of teens dressed in short dresses and uncomforable suits, chatting, texting, having a good time.

EdgeWild is a bonded winery, so there are barrels of aging wine tucked about the restaurant. It also sells wine: 29 are available, 25 under the EdgeWild and Chandler Hill labels. Andy Kohn acts as wine négociant, traveling to California, Washington and Oregon, and contracting with winemakers to make and label the wines for the restaurant. Of the Missouri wines, most are sweet, including four fruit varieties. Labeling its own wine means EdgeWild can offer cheaper prices to the diner: Bottles run $24 to $44, with glasses going between $6.25 and $11.50.

As is the trend of late, a lot of the menu touts comfort food gone upscale. Not only is there meatloaf, it’s made from bison and wrapped in pancetta. Two generous, juicy, savory, seared slices came atop a mound of creamy polenta with some roasted haricot verts scattered about. A dousing of reduced rosemary-infused jus and a sprig of the fresh herb capped this homey dish. The Vintner’s Steak, a grilled center-cut strip, arrived medium rather than the requested medium-rare but didn’t suffer much from the few extra moments on the heat. It was still juicy and tender, the dollop of garlic butter melting into the bed of garlic mashed potatoes for more rustic elegance. The comped soft chocolate chip cookie topped with Serendipity salted caramel ice cream more than made up for the goof.

Even salmon, topped with a bacon-shallot “hash” and oven roasted on an applewood plank, got the comfort food treatment. The fish was moist and fresh (not previously frozen. I always ask, as should you.), absorbing just a whisper of applewood flavor. It could’ve easily stood on its own, but sloshing it with apple beurre blanc and plating it with more tenderly roasted haricot verts and creamy, cheesy Parmesan polenta tied everything together nicely. Chicken paillard, a boneless breast pounded thin and mounded with fresh spinach and arugula drizzled with a startlingly delicious lemon dressing, was a salad and entree in one. While the chicken wasn’t dry, a risk with pounded meat, it was paper-thin, as if run through a pizza roller. A side of butternut squash risotto was slightly sweet, very creamy, perfectly chewy and well worth the caloric splurge.

There are seven enticing salads, but even the basic house is worthy of mention: loads of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, house-made croutons and a zippy red-grape dressing with a goat-cheese fritter on top and a thick focaccia slice on the side. It’s impressive once you realize that the kitchen makes its own lavash (cracker bread), crostini and spicy-sweet mustard for the charcuterie board – a lavish spread of candied walnuts, pistachios, figs, dried dates and apricots, grapes, Serrano ham and salami. (While the meats aren’t house-cured, they are from local salumerias Volpi and Salume Beddu.) The board makes for a great nosh for two paired with a salad and some wine. The Thai tuna tacos are also good for a light bite, featuring thick slices of ahi tuna seared rare and stuffed into three triangle-shaped blue corn tortillas, topped with pickled red pepper and crunchy julienned vegetables, and dressed with a red-curry aioli for edgy heat.

With 357 seats to fill, you need to train a lot of servers … and keep them trained. Service was capable and eager but short in some areas, like one waiter who was quick to offer tastes of wine rather than describing them first. Or another who was unsure of the night’s specials, “That’s a good question. I missed the meeting.”

Nothing has been radically reinvented at EdgeWild. But in a sea of suburban mediocrity, good cooking with just enough edge and wildness plus decent, affordable wine and an atmosphere with myriad options equals an equation worth the effort.

Although he loves to cook, Michael Renner doesn’t think he’d look natural in a chef’s hat.

WHERE
EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery,
550 Chesterfield Center, Chesterfield, 636.532.0550, edgewildwinery.com

DON’T MISS DISHES
Thai Tuna Tacos, Applewood Plank Salmon, Bison Meatloaf

VICE
Sprawling space presents numerous dining options. Don’t forget your Garmin.
ENTREE PRICES
$14 to $28

WHEN
Mon. to Thu. – 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. – 11 a.m. to midnight, Sun. – 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.