Niche Taste Bar is located at 1831 Sidney Street in Benton Park, the same address as its namesake restaurant, Niche (Web site), where Gerard Craft has won national recognition for his cooking.
Niche Taste Bar takes over the space to the immediate east of Niche's entrance, which was previously occupied by Veruca Bakeshop & Café. The interior has been given an impressive makeover, which you can view step-by-step on Niche Taste Bar's Twitter account.
(This seems like a good place to remind you that Gut Check also has a Twitter account.)
Niche Taste Bar features a more casual menu than Niche, with snacks and small plates. A top-secret source sent me a camera-phone picture of a prototype menu, though as I understand it, there have been some changes since then. And, as if the star power of Craft and Niche pastry chef Mathew Rice weren't enough, Niche Taste Bar has brought on board master mixologist Ted Kilgore, who earned a significant following for his classy cocktails during his years behind the bar at Monarch.
Niche Taste Bar is open 4 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more info, call 314-773-7755.
