Mabel Suen

The Parker's Table at Oakland & Yale storefront with vintage refurbished mail truck turned food cart.

​Jonathan Parker grew up in markets. His family owned a small bell foundry and sold utilitarian bronze bells at arts-and-crafts fairs. Many years later, when he arrived in St. Louis, Parker worked at the Market in the Loop; subsequent jobs included wine buyer for Saint Louis Club and winemaker at Mount Pleasant Winery.

Then came Parker's Table, on Maryland Avenue in Clayton. Opened by restaurateur Vince Bommarito, the gourmet shop's fifteen-year lifespan ended when it lost its lease in 2009.

And now we have a second incarnation of Parker's Table at Oakland & Yale (7118 Oakland Avenue, Richmond Heights; 314-645-2050), which celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, February 18, from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m. Parker's new baby is bigger than its predecessor; the space it occupies, just south of Clayton Road and east of St. Mary's Health Center, dates back to 1928, when it was a post office. Fittingly, a mail truck Parker refashioned into a food cart back in his farmers'-market days is parked in front of the shop.

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Update: (Friday, February 10,10:30 a.m.) Root posted the following via Twitter this morning: "Bud Starr has just closed down root. Sorry everyone. All reservations cancelled." More as we learn it. - Ian

Mabel Suen

Creamed lobster with brandy and fried bread.

​Envision a warm, open hearth with a pot of stew or suckling pig roasting. This was the image that chef Brian Hardesty imagined while dreaming up his concept for Root (1135 South Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-781-2345), the space attached to Starrs wine, beer and gourmet market, which most recently housed Nosh. After being brought on as the executive chef at Nosh in September of last year, it wasn't long before Hardesty instilled a brand new ideology, staff and menu featuring old world American cuisine.

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Mabel Suen

"Medio Pollo," featuring boneless breast, smoked leg and thigh, mango-habanero salsa and pickled beets.

​MEDIAnoche (8135 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-725-0719), a new evening hot spot from Mike Randolph of the Good Pie and Half & Half, made Gut Check's list of the five most anticipated new St. Louis restaurants of 2012. We stopped by recently to meet with Randolph and general manager Mike Marquard and to get a glimpse into its colorful, carefully prepared contemporary Mexican cuisine.

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Mabel Suen

Fox Park Grille's Turkey Burger with granny smith apples, prosciutto, cranberry relish and goat cheese.

​Fox Park Grille (2855 Shenandoah Avenue; 314-875-9590) opened three weeks ago at the south-city corner that once housed long-running neighborhood joint Tanner B's and, after that, Bodegas Bar & Grill. Gut Check recently stopped by the new establishment for lunch and learned about the stuffed burgers and the happy-hour specials.

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Mabel Suen

Chef Neil Al-Kobri's Tuna Sashimi plate.

​The new year brought a new place of indulgence to Midtown. Desserts on the Boulevard (3949 Lindell Boulevard; 314-533-3377), an upscale bistro, bakery and wine bar owned by Deverick and Catina Miller, opened its doors to the public officially on January 3 with a full-service savory menu and fully-stocked bar ripe for entertaining. Gut Check met with DotB's kitchen and bar staff to get a peek into the menu's offerings as well as a preview of a brand new dessert menu, including unique "flavor tripping."

Make no mistake -- DotB is much more than just a way to sate that sweet tooth. Executive chef Neil Al-Kobri, who has worked at Coastal Bistro & Bar and the former Mosaic Bistro Market as well as BARcelona Tapas Restaurant and Luciano's Trattoria, describes his savory menu as simple but elegant, using the freshest ingredients possible.

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Ettie Berneking

​When Todd George first walked into the space that would become Epic Pizza & Subs (1711 South Ninth Street; 314-644-4430), it was nothing more than a concrete box. The floors were unfinished, the walls nothing more than gray cinder block. Even the ceiling was concrete. He had a builders tell him the space was too small, the construction too costly.

He ignored them all.

With his daughter's sidewalk chalk he drew outlines for where the grill would go, where the massive brick oven would be built and how many tables could fit in the back. Sure enough, when the restaurant opened last month, everything fit -- snugly.

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Ettie Berneking

​Jilly's Cupcake Bar had reason to celebrate Thursday night, despite the cold, slushy weather. While the streets were frosted with fluffy precipitation, Jilly's cupcake chefs dropped dollops of buttercream icing on tray after tray of the bakery's famous jumbo cupcakes in preparation for the night's "adults only" cocktail reception.

As guests toured the 4,100-square-foot café -- 1,400 newly squared feet were added in a build-out late last year, if you're keeping score at home -- they were able to enjoy more than cupcakes (and plates full of crab and coconut fritters, chicken roulade and lobster rolls): Cocktails made their debut on Jilly's menu.

That's right -- the bar is now truly a bar.

Jilly's made its first appearance on the Food Network's reality cooking show, Cupcake Wars, last year, showing off the flair chefs Dana Holland and Casey Shiller bring to their cupcakes. At last night's event, Shiller announced that Jilly's will return for another season, in which they'll take part in a competition among other previous Wars winners.

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Last fall, Ian reported on a new coffeehouse coming to south city, Sump Coffee. Gut Check followed up after the opening to get a closer look into the cafe's offerings.

Mabel Suen

Scott Carey, the man behind the plan at Sump Coffee, with a Kyoto drip brewer.

​Scott Carey says he just might be obsessed with coffee; however, his fascination isn't that of the typical everyday caffeine junkie. At Sump Coffee (3700 South Jefferson Avenue; 917-412-5670), which opened last month in south city, he represents what's known as the "third-wave"coffee movement: artisanal beans, exacting brewing methods and an appreciation for the subtleties in each coffee experience.

Inspired by java mantras in New York City, where he resided for a dozen years working as a patent attorney, Carey sought to build a space in his hometown of St. Louis where coffee is treated like wine or a high-end single-origin chocolate, rather than merely as a caffeine-dosing mechanism. He strives to showcase different coffee varietals and origins through a number of brew methods.

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Mabel Suen

​With corner bars inhabiting infinite crevices throughout St. Louis city, the ability to set them apart can prove tiresome. Maggie Ginestra and Mike Stasny, however, set the bar for Mayer's Bakery, their business-to-be, on a completely different par filled with imaginative art, locally developed snacks, a shifting drink menu and an interactive bar-building experience.

For every six weeks until the bar's opening, the couple will throw a party open to the public to actively refine and generate ideas for their space on the corner of South Jefferson Avenue and Pestalozzi Street in south city. This includes everything from the menu and décor of the place to its social workings and, of course, a physical bar-top, which has yet to be born.

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Mabel Suen

Meatloaf cupcakes served with gravy and three different kinds of potato "frosting."

​In recent RFT news, writer Diana Benanti provides an update on the soon-to-be drinking, dining and live music mainstay Plush in Midtown. The 40,000 square foot, four-story combo of mid-size music venue, full-service diner and cafe, bar and private event space will open its doors to the public as soon as possible. Gut Check took part in the sneak peek preview with owner Maebelle Reed and executive chef David Zimmerman to see what types of plates and potables it will offer.

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