Review: 609 in St. Louis

Naming restaurants for their addresses may have begun with a New York speakeasy, at 21 West 52nd Street, just off Fifth Avenue, later maybe the most famous restaurant in the country. It's one of those memory crutches for a bar or restaurant, because if you can remember either the name or the address, you're home free. When it comes to 609, just north of Delmar and on the edge of the U. City Loop, there's another advantage – a talented graphic artist has made those three rounded numbers into an elegant logo And oh, yes, the restaurant also serves superior food. The style is self-proclaimed "seasonal fusion," which covers a lot of territory. Executive chef Tom Balk patrols it extremely well. The fare blends a number of Asian touches like mussels in curry broth, tuna in sashimi style, a lime-ginger sauce on scallops and a few other Pacific Rim influences, with more traditional dishes like a grilled lamb T-bone (really just a large rib chop), a spinach salad with goat cheese and dried cherries and a New York cut sirloin steak, though it arrives with Japanese eggplant and bok choy.

But first, one more moment of reminiscence. When I first moved to St. Louis, nearly 50 years ago, I lived in the Delmar Loop neighborhood, and feasted weekly (strongly, too) on fresh, hot, caraway-smelling rye bread, right out of Pratzel's ovens. Bagels, too, ready after midnight and sold on trust – take the goods, put them in a paper bag, leave the money on the counter. Say "thank you" and "good-bye," walk out with the sort of rising appetite one feels today while walking into the building.

The restaurant 609 is so clean in its déecor as to be almost sterile. Table tops reflect in a jewel-like manner and menus are presented on metal clip boards. Rather dramatic, but Interestinginteresting, art on the walls and offer a backdrop for superior service from a fashionable staff.

An early visit, not long after 609 opened, and probably too soon to obey my own rules of criticism, was a disappointment, but a second meal, a couple of months later, showed considerable turnaround and a meal that was superior in all respects.

Even the pad kee mau (pictured above), or "drunken noodle bowl," the weakest part of the first visit, had improved a great deal, with the variety of seafood in a spicy sauce a success. Squid, shrimp and scallops were firm to the tooth and extremely tasty, and tomatoes, bell peppers and other vegetables were lightly cooked for maximum flavor. Spicy, but not overwhelmingly so.

Tuna "three ways" involved a nori roll wrapped in black sesame-studded rice, a chunk that was seared on the outside, left cool and almost raw inside and some tuna tartare with a hint of wasabi atop a won ton skin so thin it practically crumbled under the inconsequential weight of the fish.

The Thai spring salad, blending greens with peanuts, crisped onions and a sharp insert of flavor from an extremely tangy Kaffir kaffir lime-vinegar dressing, was a real eye-opener, but a boon to the salad course. Garlic and Yukon Gold gold potato soup was another winner, and completely uninfluenced by Asian Rim flavors. It called for a wintry night, when it would have warmed both body and soul. In the late spring, only soul.

Balk excels at presentation, and nowhere was it more impressive than on the lamb chops., which They were large, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. There were threeThree of them rested atop a portion of Israeli couscous (larger than the more traditional African style) which was slightly green, perhaps from the basil and spinach leaves that were perfectly arranged on top of the meat. A few slender strips of red pepper brought a color and flavor contrast, as did a light demi-glace of lavender and red wine, brightened with a touch of hoisin sauce.

Thin shavings of carrots and orange peel topped the creation. The description may make it seem strange, but it was beautiful, and absolutely delicious.

Another, more traditional entréee is a roasted chicken that seemed to deny its menu description of "tandoori roasted," but it was tender, tasty and went well with a side dish of fettuccine with a vegetable sauce whose flavor was set off by some lemon confit.

The wine list is smaller than it should be, but provided a real winner in a red blend from Bennett Springs of Calistoga, in northern Napa. It consists of 44 percent each of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, 12 percent zinfandel, and the blend is rich, hearty and delicious. A sauvignon blanc from Chile was less impressive, lacking the crisp, citrusy lightness of New Zealand-produced sauvignon blancswines.

Desserts – also from Balk – are imaginative and superior., The lemon panna cotta is amazingly good, its tartness the perfect palate cleanser after a dinner of spicy entréees and boasting some remarkable flavors with an accompaniment of kiwi ice cream.

The graphic design really tickles the Guru – and remember, whether right side up or upside down, the sign does something unusual, spelling with numbers instead of with letters. And what does it spell? Well, it spells 609.