Savage Restaurant
Smoked Dashi, Shishito Oil, Red Pepper
Warm Spot Prawn, Prawn Roe, Green Curry
Tempura Cauliflower Mushroom, Shiso, Green Radish
Red and Golden Beets, Salted Lemon
Fairy Tale Pumpkin, Chestnuts, Bonito
Scallop, Matsutake Mushroom, Hakurei Turnip
Turkish Wheat Flatbread, Kickapoo Cheese, Bean Paste, Salted Cod, Pickles, Fermented Green Tomato
Tart, Fermented Potato Mousse, Mustard, Penicillium
Mullet, Mussel, Seaweed
Celery Root, Black Citrus, Black Trumpet Mushrooms
Sweet Onion, Soy-Malt Glaze, Shitake Mushrooms, Toasted Yeast Mousse
Buttermilk, Salted Cherry, Blueberry, Fig Leaf Sugar
Pecan Ice Cream, Squash, Caramel Corn
Carrot Cake, Almond Meringue
Located in a residential neighborhood not far from downtown, Chef Logan Ely’s Savage has been highly touted ever since its 2018 opening, and at $75 for 12+ courses the pescetarian menu navigates nicely across Roots, Vegetables and local Produce with modernist technique frequently utilized but never distracting.
Occupying a former corner-store in Fox Park, shelves and stock replaced by an elongated bar surrounding an open kitchen with immersion circulators, flat-tops and ovens, it is by reservation that guests are invited to gather for three menus of varying lengths, allergies and restrictions taken into account but the actual courses a secret until they arrive.
A tight crew on any given night, just six women and men including Chef Ely comprising front of house and kitchen combined, it is after selecting course number with or without Beverage pairing that dinner starts quickly, vibrant Broth made from roasted Fish Bones awakening the palate before progressing to a warm Spot Prawn roasted over coals before being dragged through pureed Roe with a touch of Curry.
Drawing from global influences, Stage at Blue Hill and Amass both evident in plates that coax maximum flavor from local Produce, the next in a series of opening bites was a Mushroom coated with “Cauliflower Batter” and fried, its lightness impressive while the Beet “Chicharrón” to follow was a bit less crispy than its namesake, but delicious beneath dollops of Citrus.
Continuing light, the 12+2 courses occurring across 120-minutes just enough to leave most guests sated but not full, dish five was arguably the night’s least successful as chunks of Pumpkin ate like Boba at the base of umami-augmented Chestnut Soup, its follow-up a rapid return to form as raw Scallops found their foil in shredded Mushrooms and Turnips.
Next fusing spongy Flatbread with local Cheese and Baccala grounded by Beans, the “Taco’s” complexity paying off and leading smartly to a Tart with silken Potatoes and Blue Cheese Fungus grown on-site, Chef Ely shows a lot of confidence in his audience by offering Mullet made even more “fishy” by way of Mussels and Wakame, while Celery Root Custard plays more nicely than one might think with cooked Mushrooms and Citrus.
Offering no land Animals on this particular evening, the final savory a caramelized Onion with Malt Crumble, Shitakes and Mousse that tastes a lot like French Onion Soup, Dessert got underway with Buttermilk Pave that eats like Cheesecake, its follow-up of Pecan Ice Cream and Caramel Corn simple but enjoyable while the liquid-center Bon Bon tasted precisely like its namesake.
www.savagestl.com
