Niche is the highest rated restaurant on Yelp in St. Louis. It technically sits at #4 of "highest rated" restaurants but the top three consists of a deli, a bakery and a pub, none of which would really be considered a place to grab a nice dinner. So, it was that Niche was the first establishment we made reservations to for our trip to St. Louis.
Niche was no different from a lot of the other restaurants we went to during this trip, a cozy establishment located in a residential neighborhood and easily missed if you weren't paying attention. But once you get inside, the place opens up with high ceilings, a fully stocked wine bar and a casual elegance that is unexpected.
1. cheese course - It's rare for us to pass up any cheese course and dinner at Niche fell under this exact convention. There was a "goat" and "maytag blue" but the other one escapes my recollection. Each of the three had very distinct flavors, which were enhanced by the nuts, apples, bread and jam. Blue was definitely a favorite - mild and creamy, without stinking up your whole mouth.
2. pig's head - Offals, much like any cheese course, are another source of excitement. It had been a while since we had the head cheese at Animal, we figured that it's been long overdue for us to partake in the pig noggin. And although this version didn't quite reach the level of Animal's offal offering, it was delicious nonetheless. The deep fried crispy exterior nicely blanketed the moist and tender meat within. This was accompanied by a sweet maple sauce and offset by some micro greens. Tasty!
3. bacon and ricotta raviolli, brown butter, sage, walnuts - The dish smelled great when it came out. Probably the combination of the sage and brown butter. The pasta was cooked to perfection, slightly al dente, providing that right amount of resistance to let you know you're enjoying some fresh pasta. The cheese and bacon filling was very good as well. Too bad this dish only came with four little pockets of goodness.
4. surf and turf, scallops, pork belly, sorrel, cauliflower, serrano - A large slab of slow cooked pork belly topped with seared scallops. The pork belly was what you'd come to expect from that fatty part of the pig. A bit heavy, a bit gelatinous and full of flavor. The scallops were a bit over cooked but still had that nice sweetness we've come to know and love. The roasted cauliflower were also a nice addtion, almost mimicking the scallops in color and texture.
5. pork duo, wild mushrooms, sunchoke polenta, maple sherry, swiss chard - We were pretty full at this point so the food starts to became a bit hazy. The "duo" consisted of a pork loin and pulled pork. The loin was nicely prepared but lacked much flavor. The pulled pork was reminiscent of the "kalua" version found at many Hawaiian restaurants. The polenta with maple sherry was quite good. Bringing back memories of the best polenta ever at Petrossian. This didn't make it quite to that level but at this point, we were just eating to not waste food.
6. stone-milled polenta, thyme, honey, goat cheese, walnuts - As usual, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs so we decided to order an extra side dish to accompany the five courses above. We probably took two bites of this and we've come to realize that polenta with honey/maple really works well together. The goat cheese was superfluous but the walnuts added a nice bit of texture.
7. butterscotch semifreddo - Like a weird textured ice cream. Or ice cream without the creaminess. The semifreddo was a bit more textured and had a decent butterscotch-y flavor. The toasted oats would have been better were they not a bit stale.
8. liquid chocolate cake - Niche's version of a molten lava cake. And a very good version at that. Even though we were stuffed at this point, we were still able to pack this one away.
It's easy to see why Niche is one of the best rated restaurants in St. Louis. The entire meal, from start to finish, was very enjoyable. The service was attentive and friendly. Definitely a dining destination worth returning to.