THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Ellie Forcella

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Ellie Forcella Restaurant Review:

The newest outpost of Tim Mallett, who brought St. Louis such winners as Remy's and the Blue Water Grill, is located across the street from its third sibling, the Big Sky Café, but it's as different as if it were many miles away. The self-styled Italian taproom takes no reservations after 6:30 p.m., except for the occasional large party, but encourages take-out. The bar crowd has a good time knocking back wine by the glass and keeping things at a happy roar, but the place is large enough so that the noise doesn't kill conversations in the restaurant area. The décor is just far enough from Italian-restaurant cliché to make the point that it is meant to amuse, not recreate. The menu offers sandwiches, takes on Italian-American traditions (lasagna and pizza), and a few solid pieces of meat (a strip steak). The dessert list stars a lemon mousse made with Mascarpone cheese. Not yet as good as its older siblings, but way better than a chain.