Roll Call

A rundown on the new kids in town

Mar 6, 2002 at 4:00 am
After a bit of a midwinter lull, a gaggle of new restaurants have popped up around town, providing all kinds of potential adventures for local foodies. At the top of the list, at least in terms of visibility, is Smith & Slay's Restaurant and Bon Bar, the second half of which has me picturing Diane Keaton on the prowl in her younger days. This new joint venture between the shortstop (Ozzie Smith) and the food stud (David Slay) is located in the Clayton on the Park hotel and condominiums at Bonhomme Avenue and Brentwood Boulevard.

Marty's Baking has opened its satellite location, adjacent to Left Bank Books, at 395 N. Euclid Ave. And not one but two new Indian restaurants are opening in West County: Priyaa, which has taken over the space housing the short-lived Mirchea (another Indian place), at Dorsett and McKelvey roads; and India Kitchen, which, after a renovation, will occupy the space that formerly housed the Chesterfield Café at Olive Boulevard and Highway 141.

Farther south, Bella Citta, featuring a Mediterranean theme, has opened in the old Gian-Peppe's space at 2126 Marconi Avenue. Grbic's is the latest fruit borne of the huge immigration of Bosnians to St. Louis. It's located at Meramec and Keokuk streets in what once was the Bailey Farm Dairy. And Mangia Italiano, 3145 S. Grand Blvd., is open again after a major sprucing-up.

Finally, the peripatetic Eddie Neill has taken over food operations at the Bistro in Grand Center; he's closing Eddie's Steak & Chop in favor of a return to the Café Provençal format. The Bistro reopens for lunch this week.