Post-Dispatch file photo
Five Bistro
Five Bistro hasn’t lacked for accolades since it opened in 2006, yet I often feel that neither the restaurant nor chef-owner Anthony Devoti have received enough credit. My most recent dinner there reminded me not only that Devoti and staff turn out great food — with an emphasis on pure, seasonally appropriate flavors and proper technique — but also that Five’s prix-fixe option is one of the best deals in town. For $45, you receive four full courses from the oft-changing menu, not whittled-down tasting-menu portions. On my visit these included three savory dishes: a crisp cake of luscious pork-head meat with a fried egg; a simple, elegant soup with cream, potato puree and a mirepoix; and a lamb loin chop over mustard-braised cabbage with roasted carrots. After all that, I still somehow made room for profiteroles with coffee-orange ice cream from pastry chef Britt Simpson. The meal was emblematic of Five itself: not as flashy as some of St. Louis’ other top restaurants, but no less satisfying.