One-Night Stand

Pomme Café is a hot little number. But will it keep you coming back for more?

Comments (0) By Ian Froeb Wednesday, Sep 20 2006

...continued from page 1

Becca Young

Homme du Pomme: Mike Whitehead tends bar at this cozy- chic café.

Location Info

Map

Pomme Cafe & Wine Bar

44 N. Central Ave.
Clayton, MO 63105

Category: Restaurant > French

Region: Clayton

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Details

Pomme Café & Wine Bar
44 North Central Avenue, Clayton; 314-721-8801.
Hours: 7 a.m.-1:30 a.m. daily.

Prosciutto, roasted pepper tartine $8
Brisket and caramelized onions sandwich $11
Cheese plate $8
Pâtés and terrines $8

More About

The larger problem is the list itself. It's not so much the virtual France/California monopoly, nor the fact that the list is heavy on the crowd-pleasing varietals — chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. (And props to whoever thought to include the Billecart-Salmon rosé, a romance-infused Champagne choice if ever there was one — and flirtatiously priced at a retail-like $80.) But the list is just that — a list, with no descriptions other than price, region of origin and varietal.

Over the past five years, my girlfriend and I have spent a lot of time in small, quiet, well-designed wine bars. We're drawn to places like that (it's one of the things we found we had in common, after the initial flirtation). We've learned about what makes them successful — the careful attention of an intelligent, articulate, funny staff, for one. And we learned about wine, such as the fact that appreciating it has less to do with price or 100-point scores than the intimacy it can create — the desire to linger over a bottle, and to return.