Cafe Provencal

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene

Owner Eddie Neill, with chef de cuisine Bernard de Coster, sous chef Brian Albers, and pastry chef Susan Pinker-Dodd, have created a country-French cafe that features rustic dishes prepared using classical French culinary techniques. You might have to tolerate a noisy dining room and close quarters, but Cafe Provencal provides a delightful taste of southern France.

The Food

Dinner might begin with tender, garlicky escargot or with a well-seasoned broth to whet the appetite. Another fine starter is the house pate, which changes weekly. For the main course, choose modest roast chicken or sumptuous grilled steak with bearnaise. The cafe's la vrai bouillabaisse, or "true" bouillabaisse, is a more authentic rendition of the dish than the seafood stew you might expect. It's not a stew or soup at all, but rather a fish broth flavored with saffron and ladled over whole smelt or a similar fish. Another excellent choice is bourride, fish poached in court-bouillon and served with aioli (garlic mayonnaise) over turned potatoes. For dessert, Cafe Provencal offers the best creme brulee in St. Louis. It's creamy and silky, with no trace of the gelatinous quality that characterizes lesser versions.