Grand Funk

Wildly successful restaurateur Eddie Neill does it again -- or does he?

Comments (0) By Joe Bonwich Wednesday, Apr 24 2002

The musical selection that evening was Aretha Franklin, but she had to compete with one of the staff, who was making a personal call from just behind the host's station. "You'd better think," indeed -- even if there is only one party in the whole dining room.

And afterward, as we walked to our car in the dimming vestiges of daylight, the more desolate alter ego of the neighborhood was increasingly evident. A woman walked by the front of the restaurant, only to reappear a few moments later riding on the hood of a car being driven down Washington. What appeared to be a fountain in the small park turned out to be inoperable, boarded over with disintegrating plywood. And we certainly wondered what the skeleton staff in The Bistro was going to do for the remaining three hours of operation.

Jennifer Silverberg

In opening The Bistro, partners Mike Mitchell (foreground), Eddie Neill and John Shriner become the latest brave souls to try making a go of it in Grand Center.

Location Info

Map

Jazz at the Bistro

3536 Washington Ave.
St Louis, MO 63103

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: St. Louis - Grand Center

3 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare

Details

Fresh-corn cakes $7
Mushroom tartare $7
Salmon Niçoise salad $12
Chicken Basquaise $13
Braised lamb shank $17

314-534-3663. Hours: 5-10 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

3536 Washington Ave.

More About

We still have expectations that this tale of two cities will have a happy ending, but the fact that the Grand strip is still a dead zone on any given day or night -- despite its location just a few short blocks from a major university with 20,000 or so potential customers -- well, that's obviously frustrating. Hang in there, Eddie. Maybe now that you've built it, they will come, and others will follow.