Review: Red Moon in St. Louis

During the last several years St. Louis has grown from a home-cooked and backyard-barbecue town to a full-on restaurant town. This year, however, seems to have had more fantastic restaurants opening than ever before, even bringing in some serious heavy hitters from New York and Chicago. I am proud to say that the competition in the Sauce readers’ choice poll has been a pretty clean one, yadda yadda yadda, the true winners are the diners and the metropolitan area, yadda yadda yadda, and you, the readers, have crowned Red Moon as your favorite new restaurant.

It’s clear from the get-go that Red Moon has a different vibe than other spots around town. The first time I ever pulled onto St. Charles Street (think deserted urban alley) and got out of my car, I had a strong urge to look around and make sure none of the revenuers followed me to the secret speakeasy. Was there a password I needed to know to get in? Fortunately, no.

According to Richard Starwalt, Red Moon’s general manager, the restaurant’s developers “saw an opportunity … going into an area and helping turn it around and bring life back.” That they have. In a very short span, four highly regarded restaurants opened within blocks of each other. I would have thought this would make it harder to stand out, but not Starwalt. “The more that is going on, the better off everyone is. We’re happy to be a part of it,” he said. When asked if the customer base was mostly local residents, Starwalt said Red Moon is a “destination restaurant” and that “most of our clientele comes from West County and the Highway 40 corridor.”

Once through the door, city folk and suburbanites alike are treated to a scene. The space is wide open, awash in deep red and dark wood. Dark colors mix and mingle on the walls, and there is a sizable bar just behind the hostess stand. The kitchen is not completely open, but it is far from hidden, adding life to the restaurant. It will get loud on busy nights, but that’s nothing the drink menu can’t fix. It spans a broad spectrum of tastes without bogging you down with too many to choose from. You may, however, need help selecting from the 15 different sakes by the glass and bottle. I am not sure what would be involved, but the management might consider adding sake flights.

As for the food, you voted for Red Moon so you know it’s good, and Sauce published a full review a few months ago, so I’m just going to point out a few favorite menu items for your consideration. It would be criminal to bypass the Ahi Tuna Tartare. The tuna, lightly seasoned and slightly dusted with jalapeño confetti for a touch of heat, was formed in a cylinder shape atop a glass plate made to look like a stained-glass window with a crosshatch of wasabi aïoli drizzle. Wasabi paste, micro-thin cucumber slices, pickled ginger and lime positioned at the corners of the plate allowed the diner to season the tuna to preference.

A wok-fried red snapper sandwich with mango-pineapple relish and orange-ginger aïoli arrived open-faced with two pieces of snapper and both toppings on the side. The mango-pineapple relish was the sweeter of the two, while the orange-ginger aïoli was a good, sweet citrus heat. Both went well with the moist, flaky fish; what set this dish apart was the flavor undulating from heat to sweet halfway through the sandwich.

New to the menu was Pan-Seared Wild Ozark Mushrooms, featuring a truffled mushroom broth and Vietnamese rice noodles. Tons of fresh mushrooms and a mountain of noodles jutted high out of the broth, reminiscent of a solitary volcano exploding out of the sea. Beware of the sneaky whole garlic cloves if you are on a date. If you’re not … mmmmm, poached garlic. The truffles were there, but just enough to give some extra earth to the dish. And it took a while to find it, but there was just a smidgeon of heat to the dish under all those other layers.

If for some reason you haven’t been to Red Moon, go and find out why it is St. Louis’ favorite new restaurant. You won’t
be disappointed.