Review: Mosaic in St. Louis

Mosaic is the only St. Louis restaurant – in the Guru's frame of reference, at least – where a diner can enjoy the tangy, easily identified flavor of lemon grass as both the first course (soup) and the last (ice cream).

That is, of course, after one fights the railing-less steps at the front entrance, a continuing problem despite assurances for several months that one was about to be installed, and enjoys the bright, flashy west wall that is covered with – what else? – a mosaic. Television sets and music add a noisy quality to the first steps of the entrance, but by the time diners are seated in the rear, looking into the open kitchen or out onto downtown St. Louis, the volume is down.

And when the dishes start arriving at the table, all else is forgotten. As the old song goes, they are unanimously "lovely to look at, delightful to know." A newcomer to the burgeoning Downtown dining scene, Mosaic's food comes from the "fusion tapas" school, with small plates reflecting world-wide flavors and ingredients. There are Asian touches to many items, benefitting from the aforementioned lemon grass, along with ginger and soy. But other cooking styles are not shunned. Pancetta, calamari and risotto show their Italian heritage; there's a Middle Eastern touch to beef kabobs with harissa; a French association with rabbit pot pie; and American traditions in crab cakes, beef tenderloin and onion rings.

Those dishes are just a start from a lengthy, tempting menu, perfectly fulfilled by Spencer G. Wolff the executive chef. The fact that Wolff served a term in the kitchen of Charlie Trotter's Chicago restaurant should not be held against him.

The tapas style, reminiscent of a penny-candy display window, is a temptation to run up a large dinner bill, but most of the dishes can be shared by two, or even four, people, giving everyone a taste of both the meal and the bill. If cross-forking is not an idea of one's dinner behavior, then two or three tapas, and individual decisions about soups, salads and desserts, though the latter two can be shared, could make a meal. Soups, let me point out, also are served in a flight of three small cups, so everything can be shared and tasted. Wine flights are common in some local restaurants. Soup flights work, too. Of course, in his younger days, the Guru could have polished off a total of eight or 10, but those days – and that waistline – are gone.

Some daily specials augment the menu, and the wine list features a good selection of wines in a moderate price range and almost a wide-enough selection of wines by the glass, Most of the bottles are under $30, including a South African entry with the pun-strewn name of "Goats do Roam," and an Italian known as "Fourplay." The wines come from all over the world, with mostly Californias among the whites, and French, Italian, Australian and South African varieties joining California and Oregon among the reds.

Such familiar, and tasty labels as Rodney Strong, Ravenswood, Bonny Doon, Toasted Head and Sonoma-Cutrer (all U.S.); Segura Viudas (Spain); Tintara (Australia); Chapoutiere (France) are on the list. For a restaurant like this, the by-the-glass selection is impressive because one can sample several different styles and heritages.

The soups were delicious, with the sharp lemon grass flavor outstanding. Winter squash and vanilla, and creamy potato and leek, were good, but there was a similarity in texture that made them show all similarities and few contrasts.

West Coast oysters were sweet and tasty, so good that they didn't need the three dipping sauces (mignonette, soy and curry-mayonnaise) that came alongside. All the sauces were too strong for these delicate oysters, though they might have worked with the blander Louisiana variety. As it was, a squirt of lemon and a drop or two of Tabasco did the job emphasizing the oyster flavor and its brininess. A little crunchy seaweed in the shell was a nice addition. We sampled the excellent Caesar salad and a delicious frisée salad, with some warm goat cheese and toasted walnuts. The lobster salad caused some extra thought, given the menu description that showed guacamole, Valencia oranges and chive sour cream. After a couple of extra thoughts, we threw caution to the winds to discover tender, lovely lobster and enough room on the plate to push the three extra ingredients to the side for separate eating.
They were extremely tasty, but to my taste they were better separately than with something as delicate and wonderful as lobster.

Turning to the hot dishes, let's just go down the menu, from top to bottom, reporting on what we tasted, and a number of hungry people worked diligently to sample most of the dishes over two visits.

We began with an off-menu special of duck spring rolls which were outstanding, the dark flavor of the duck a splendid marriage with the Asian vegetables. Risotto Milanese was another winner, the rice of excellent texture with good Parmesan cheese and a hint of saffron and a whiff of truffle oil on top. A well-constructed dish.

Bermuda onion rings were a disappointment, with a look and texture hinting of something that arrived in the kitchen cut and frozen. Good crispness but minimal flavor. Better was a wild mushroom and pancetta napoleon, with fine pastry and tasty mushrooms, but pancetta was on the mild side. Mushrooms tend to be bland and need something with some backbone, like well-smoked bacon. Rabbit pie was a delight, covered in a light, friendly pastry crust and filled with a rich sauce and tender, delicious meat. A winner.

Pot stickers, ordered on both visits, might have been ordered from different kitchens. On one eating expedition, they were in a light and delicious skin, with crispy pig and rich, warm sauce inside, flavored with some finely shaved celery and a taste of Parmesan cheese. Delicious. On the other visit, the skin was tough, the pig without much flavor. Not so delicious.

Another wonderful dish was the lightly breaded, utterly fork-tender pork tenderloin, some spice added from coriander in the crust. The meat was superb, and alongside were some sliced apple, good bacon and pleasant cabbage. A large sea scallop, roasted perfectly and topped with braised leeks and a shaving or two of beef, also was extraordinary, and so were freshwater prawns served with a seaweed salad. The crab cake was very good, with a large amount of lump crab, an ingredient seen more and more sparingly these days. Stuffed calamari was high among favorites, with spicy potato hash, chorizo and tomatillos in the stuffing, and soy-glazed sea bass with bok choy also received high grades.

Still room for dessert? Oh, my, yes. That lemon grass ice cream was well-nigh perfect, though the poppy seed cake it rested on was heavy and charmless. Three small cannoli, one each filled with dark chocolate mousse, ginger cream and classic ricotta, were simply wonderful, and a cardamom-laced crème brûlée awaked the taste buds to enjoy a dish that has become boring.

Service was brisk and charming, but that's what happens when a restaurant critic is recognized. Still, tables in the neighborhood seemed to be treated the same way by error-free, pleasant servers.

And the rest room facilities are pretty snazzy, too.