A bumper crop of long-awaited restaurants opened in St. Louis this month (Shake Shack, Louie, L’Acadiane, The Clover and the Bee), not the least of which is Billie-Jean, restaurateur Zoë Robinson’s tribute to her parents, Billie (her mother) and Jean (her father, now deceased).
It took Robinson (SLM‘s 2017 Restaurateur of the Year) the better part of a year to transform the bright-as-the-sun Yo My Goodness yogurt shop into an almost-invisible storefront with black casement windows, front door, and awning. Passersby will easily overlook the subtle Billie | Jean written high above. It’s almost as if, like the ’40s-era New York City supper club that it was meant to evoke, there’s no signage at all.
Like a stellar black hole, you’re drawn inside…to more black. The floor, ceiling, walls, banquette, even the kitchen equipment (hood, pizza oven, cabinetry) are varying shades of black. It’s the same monochrome at the bar (save the 10 perfectly contoured walnut seats), where old-school pressed-paper coasters and cups of black-and-white dice are strategically placed.
“People don’t quite know what to do with the dice,” says general manager Will Brawley of the diversion. “I’m joking when I tell them to come back for Yahtzee Mondays.”
The only pops of color are the simple fronds of green on the white clothed tables. Robert Motherwell prints, emblazoned by pin spots, line the 22 seats along the dominant wall at tables of two and four. There are no tables for six. “It’s not that we couldn’t [push tables together to] do it,” Robinson explains. “With the bar, kitchen, and service area practically in the same footprint, it’s impossible to do it—properly, anyway.”
At Billie-Jean, Robinson’s inexhaustible executive chef Ny Vongsaly has created a 16-item menu with Asian, American, and Mediterranean influences, from Robinson restaurant classics like mahogany glazed spare ribs (pictured above) and tuna lettuce wraps mussels with green curry to new classics, such as a whole roasted snapper with lime leaf, cilantro salsa, and sticky rice.
Beer and wine choices are limited due to the ship galley-sized bar, but little-known labels still manage to appear. On the cocktail front, the icy White Cosmo—with vodka, elderflower liqueur, triple sec, and lime—will likely be the drink of choice.
While the fine napery might indicate that Billie-Jean is a special-occasion place, Robinson dressed it down—literally—by enlisting famed designer Todd Thomas to create uniforms incorporating the “lover, not my lover” theme from the Michael Jackson song “Billie Jean.”
A chef wears a knit hat with “LOVER” emblazoned in the side; Vongsaly sports a billed cap that says “not my lover.” A server’s shirt reads “Billie Jean” on the
front, and “lover” on the back. Chef coats and cardigans are similarly adorned, as are the Dickies-style gas station jump suits. Adidas and Vans sneakers are the chosen footwear.
From the connotative name to the playful uniforms to the music (which meanders from the Pretenders to Pitbull as the evening progresses), Robinson and her staff are clearly having fun. Elegant, chic, yet unpretentious, Billie-Jean takes its food and drink seriously, but that’s as far as it goes.
The Parkmoor was founded by William L. McGinley in 1931. In the early 1920s, McGinley invented an aluminum tray that attach to car doors. The viability of McKinley’s TraCo tray was dependent on the viability of the fledgling curb service business. So McKinley and his wife Ellen, with a few belongings and a trunk full of dreams, set out from their Texas home and traveled the country by car, determined to sell his trays and the idea of drive-in restaurants.
Douglas Properties is proud to be the builder of this custom home located minutes from Forest Park and in Clayton Schools. This is a rare opportunity to live in a new home in this subdivision. A truly special home featuring a center hall plan and 10 ft ceilings on the entire 1st floor & an open floor plan for today’s lifestyle! Features include wood floors on entire 1st floor, Markus cabinets and Wolf / Sub Zero appliances with a mud room & 1/2 bath off the kitchen.
Top of the line fixtures, master suite that comes right out of a magazine w/ morning coffee bar and luxury bath. Each bedroom is en suite, 1,300 square feet of finish in the lower level w/wet bar, fireplace & bedroom / bath brings the finish square footage to 5,600 square feet. There’s also living space on the 2nd floor of the detached garage. You will find all the high end finishes in EVERY Douglas Properties home.
Since 2009, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh has been serving fast-casual, healthful Mediterranean-inspired food to the people of Denver. Now, the growing brand is branching out of the Mile High City, and St. Louis is one of its first stops.
Garbanzo follows the customizable model of dining, popularized by Chipotle, wherein diners choose a style of entree, protein, and accoutrements. It’s speedy, affordable and personalized, but Handler is quick to point out that the restaurant does not take any shortcuts. “We call ourselves restaurants and not stores for a reason,” he explains. “We make everything in-house — we knead, we bake, we sauté — and every ingredient we use is something your grandmother would recognize.”
Guests can also choose to have their meal served as a salad, a plate, a “Med burrito” or a flatbread. Entrees can be dressed with everything from tabouleh to hummus to cilantro sauce, and diners are encouraged to add as many things as they’d like. And if they get carried away and end up creating a concoction that doesn’t work, guests are welcome to return their items and give it another go. “It’s the Garbanzo Guarantee,” says Handler. “We want this to be accessible adventure and allow our diners to take risks and try new things without having to worry about ruining their lunch.”
Handler sees the sky as the limit for Garbanzo, and if the positive response and lines out the door during lunchtime in its first few days are any indication, this will be the first of many Garbanzo outlets in the region. “Our goal is for our guests to have a truly remarkable experience,” Handler says. “We want you to taste how delicious nutritious can be.”
Garbanzo MediterraneanFresh (8143 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-224-5222) is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. until 9 .m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Better than new! This beautiful renovation of a handsome Clayton home proudly showcases 6 beds, 8 baths and over 6,250 sq. ft. of entirely updated, rebuilt, and reconstructed living area above ground. Dream kitchen features a 10 ft. long walnut island, Viking Professional appliances, (dual ovens, 6 burners + griddle, custom range hood, 48 inch refrigerator) + hand-crafted maple kitchen inset cabinetry painted Eider White, quartz counters, and marble backsplash.
Job-finished oak flooring throughout. Leaded glass french doors, elegantly carved wood mantle, restored vintage chandeliers, custom radiator covers, herring-bone marble floor. Master bath features heated marble floors; double vanity and linen tower; SmartBidet toilet with remote control; luxury marble walk-in shower with two rainshower heads + hand-helds; and a claw foot soaking tub. For relaxing and entertaining, the private rear of the house opens to a beautiful patio and pool area, all on a full 1/2 acre level lot.
QUICK FACTS:Address: 26 Southmoor DrPrice:$1,925,0006 Beds, 7 Baths
Living Area: 6,286 sq.ft.Pr/Sqft:$306.23Listed by: Jennifer Roberston | The Realty Dot, IncContact:(877)267-0349
This elegant Georgian home in Claverach Park is available for the first time in over 40 years. The home has a large level backyard that is totally private backing to an estate. As you enter the home into the gracious foyer, you will be enchanted by the old-world charm & abundant light. The Living Room features beautiful molding, an ornate limestone fireplace, an adjoining sunroom & a bright sitting room. The Dining Room is perfect for entertaining.
The kitchen features a massive La Cornue French stove that will impress even the most discriminating chef with 4 gas & 2 electric burners, grill, French eye & 2 ovens. Also featured are blue granite counters, Delph tile backsplash, farm sink, Fischer & Paykel dishwashers, SubZero refridgerator & butler’s pantry/breakfast room. The 2nd level has 4 bedrooms & 2 full baths. The 3rd level features a Family Room, 5th bedroom, skylights & a full bath. New aggragate driveway, AC & slate roof. Fenced backyard with charming gardens & patio.
The Seven Gables Inn was constructed in 1926 by developers Captain Gunther Meier and Norman Comfort, partners in the firm of Hawke and Comfort, with the help of architect Daniel H. Mullen. At an approximate cost of $60,000 ($809,269.27 today), it was a remarkably sophisticated structure for its time and place.
Seven Gables is a three-story stucco and brick Tudor Revival building trimmed in Brown, and originally contained 27 apartments, 4 offices and 4 storefronts. In the ’20s, efficiency apartment living was a relatively new but fast-growing approach to housing for middle-class Americans. An advertisement in the St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat in 1927 offered a “three-room efficiency; Seven Gables Bldg.; $57-60″($777-$818 today). This amount probably included gas and electric service.
At the heart of the city, the Seven Gables was convenient to county government and other businesses. Attorney Edward W. Garnholz had his law offices on the west side of North Meramec and he lived in the Seven Gables. Sid Autenrieth, grandson of one of Clayton’s first political and civic leaders, George Autenrieth, and a prominent citizen himself, lived there within sight of the business that his family had owned from 1878 to 1924, the Autenrieth Hotel.
Some apartment residents also rented office or shop space on the premises. Dr. Harvey Meador lived in apartment #307 and treated his patients at #22; later, Vera Hicks would cater to well-dressed St. Louis women in her shop, Hicks and Hicks, at #22 while residing at #310. Landmarks of an earlier era and a few contemporary buildings were located nearby. The Autenrieth Hotel was down the block, and Gutman’s Department Store and Clayton’s first garage and filling station, owned by Arthur Kerth, were across the street.
The Seven gables building was renovated in 1986 by the Balke group and is now the location of the Seven Gables Inn.
