Restaurant of the Month: T

Last week Kelly and I had dinner at Taste in the Central West End.  Taste is one of 3 restaurants owned by the same people (Niche and Brasserie) and I have heard good things about all 3 but never been to any of them.  If the other two are anything like Taste then they are a must try on my growing list of restaurants to go to in St. Louis. 

Taste is a small restaurant with a small menu that focuses on hand crafted cocktails (I'll have to go back to try these after the baby comes!) and small plates for sharing.  The food menu changes monthly and focuses on locally sourced ingredients.  Kelly and I chose a selection of small plates to share: Seared Scallops with roasted watermelon, arugula, balsamic vinegar, Roasted Squash Bruschetta with tomatoes, garlic, Carolina Gold Risotto with corn, tomatoes, cilantro, chile, and Pork Meatballs with pine nuts, spicy tomato sauce, reggiano.  All four were excellent.  We started with the seared scallops which were served on top of roasted watermelon.  The scallops were cooked perfectly and while I'm not usually a fan of watermelon, I devoured this warm, roasted version.  Next, we had the bruschetta which was topped with a mound of roasted yellow and green squash and red and yellow cherry tomatoes.  We moved on to the risotto which was both mine and Kelly's favorite dish of the four.  It was creamy with a little spice from the chile and large pieces of tomatoes and corn mixed in.  It was heavenly.  We topped off our meal with the pork meatballs which were also very good and had a bit of kick to them from jalapenos.  Four plates was just the right amount of food and we were both satisfied but not stuffed.  The prices at Taste were a little high with each plate ranging between $9-15 but well worth it. 

We had great service and our server was very knowledgeable about the menu. We attempted to dine out on the sidewalk patio but it was starting to rain so we ate inside where the atmosphere is cozy and even a little romantic with low lighting.  It would be a great place for date night!  I will definitely be back to Taste and look forward to trying Niche and Brasserie soon!