THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Bistro at Grand Center

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Bistro at Grand Center Restaurant Review:

There's new management, new faces, new menu and a slightly changed name at this Grand Center eatery which houses the Jazz at The Bistro series. The buttery walls, especially in the cozy front-room bar, warm things up for the pre-theater and pre-concert crowds; other nights it's far quieter. The menu of chef Eric Brenner remains steadfastly American, but a far cry from what many St. Louisans ate here 40 years ago when the building was a Pope's Caféteria. Harry Pope's pork chops never had a sauce of calvados and pecans and his mashed potatoes nary a whisper of garlic, but Brenner's certainly do. The menu is brief but satisfying, with things like lobster risotto and pan-seared salmon, all of which are presented with some interesting sides like a red onion jam to go with the filet mignon and potato gratin, Chocolate pudding cake turns out to be the inescapable molten chocolate cake, but the nightly soufflé is a classic rendition and utterly pleasurable. The wine list is short and reasonably priced.