Review: Liluma in St. Louis

Cary McDowell grew up in Tennessee. You can hear it in his soft vowels, just enough to show his southern heritage. And you can see it on his menu and taste it in his cooking at Liluma, not yet a year old but a very pleasant addition to the Central West End.

There's also a large outdoor dining area at the busy corner of Euclid and Maryland avenues. The good news is that it's a perfect location from which to view the CWE's always colorful and interesting denizens and visitors.

The not-so-good news is that the corner is busy with cars, trucks and buses, all busily emitting exhaust fumes. The Guru is willing to dine outdoors, but not on a St. Louis street corner. Liluma, by the way, is not a city in Turkey, nor a newly discovered phase of the moon. It's an acronym of the first names of the children of owners McDowell and Jim Fiala. They also own the Crossing, in Clayton, but since McDowell seems to prefer rather casual cuisine, he's in charge at Liluma while Fiala is more in tune with the classic French fare at the Crossing and has remained in the more westerly Zip code.

Like many St. Louis restaurants, the menu changes often, either through a new season, a newly arrived product or just the whim of the chef. Therefore, and it's true of most up-to-date restaurants, what is discussed here may or may not be on the menu next week or next month, while items not available to the Guru may be featured prominently.

McDowell shows his Tennessee roots when it comes to vegetables, an area where his preferences and his preparations may be the most varied and interesting -- not to mention imaginative and delicious -- right here in River City. During a spring visit, he offered brussels sprouts sauteed with pancetta (an Italian cure of bacon) and onions, and they were delicious, with some crispy brown edges to the green vegetable and the sweet onion and smoky bacon lifting the sprouts into elegance. Fiddlehead ferns sauteed with mushrooms were another winner, though fried okra, usually a favorite, fell short because of too much breading. Later in the summer, tiny green beans, with circumferences so small they would slide easily through malted-milk straws, replaced the brussels sprouts in a delicious side dish. Purslane, a leafy green similar to spinach but with a little more natural spice, accompanied some entrees, like a superior grouper coated with ground-up mushrooms.

If dinner at Liluma has an occasional flaw, it comes from McDowell's enthusiasm leading him too far. For example, soft shell crabs were served with a watermelon salsa, a worthy experiment, but to my palate, the chilled and juicy watermelon tramped on the more delicate crab in terms of both temperature and flavor, and it didn't work.

On the other hand, the mixture of hot and cold was ideal with grilled shrimp, topped with tapenade and served hot atop white beans that were tender, flavorful and chilled, providing a splendid contrast. It was delicious.

Interesting combinations are a specialty at Liluma, but less experimental fare also is available. Soups are outstanding. Mushroom was brilliant, and McDowell used pureed mushrooms and chicken stock to provide a thick, rich soup that had no cream or milk. Bouillabaisse, the French seafood soup – or stew – was another fine combination of flavors, with the various fish offering nice contrasts. Beet soup, or borscht, is another winner.

A Caesar salad disappointed on one visit because the romaine was limp, but well-chilled, chopped iceberg lettuce was nifty with bacon and blue cheese, almost like a BLT on a plate.

Liluma offers a pleasant, moderately priced wine list that has some fine choices, and good prices, like a 2000 Nebbiolo that was deep and rich, with overtones of dark berries, and at $32, was a superior value. A fine Italian prosecco also is available as an excellent aperitif.

Roasted chicken, simple, moist and delicious, is a superior main course, arriving with mushrooms and a delightful polenta, an Italian version of grits. I like polenta and eat it happily. When you call it grits, well, when I moved to Jackson, Miss., for my first newspaper job after college, they were caused me to learn my first three words of the Mississippi language. They were: "No grits, please!"

Sweetbreads were a pleasant entree one night, cooked a couple of minutes too long, but served atop a thick, tasty slice of Yukon Gold potato, with some ramps alongside. (That's ramps as in vegetable, not as in main feature of most garages.) Hangar steak, a popular cut in New York, is a marvelously tasty and juicy piece of beef from near the tenderloin, but it tends to be chewy or, as some would say, downright tough. Pureed potatoes are delicious – and sinfully rich.

Rabbit occasionally hops onto the menu, a good addition, and there also is a group of fish entrees and some pastas. My favorites are a papardelle with a rich meat sauce and a delightful tagliolini with mussels and leeks. The traditional French "steak-frites," or steak with French fried potatoes, is a flavorful charmer.

Service is smooth and pleasant, though ultra-casual grey T-shirts on servers are less than attractive with the white tablecloths. But when they sing songs of dessert, listen carefully. Bread pudding begins with gingerbread, providing an extra fillip of flavor. Banana brings another great touch. and when the vegetable is in season, Liluma has a spectacular rhubarb fool, rich and pleasantly tart. Fresh strawberries sing under a sprinkling of black pepper and a touch of balsamic. And then there are ‘smores, a glorious variation on the campfire treat with homemade marshmallows and ground cashew nuts. Wow!

McDowell and Fiala have made a success of Crossing. Now they're going in a different direction, but they're off to a fine start.