Sardella - St. Louis

One of the best known chefs in St. Louis is Gerard Craft.  Sardella is his newest restaurant.  It’s in a bright, hip space in Clayton, an upscale suburb.  The menu is farm-to-table/Italian fusion with an emphasis on lighter dishes with plenty of vegetables.  There is a large small plates menu with fun sharing dishes like beet ravioli with dukkah; tagliatelle with braised duck; charred wax beans with garlic custard; and crispy octopus.

We started with a local beer and then shared the warm rolls with miso butter.  Two of us had the roasted half chicken with harissa and charred greens.  Harissa is a traditional Moroccan spice blend.  The chicken was delicious and we had leftovers for lunch the next day.  My friend had corn ravioli with a brown butter sauce.  Her dish was a small plate size.  She enjoyed the interesting flavor combinations.  It is a good example of how the restaurant remakes a traditional Italian dish and uses non-traditional seasonings and sauces to create a delicious and original plate.

For dessert, we had the yogurt panna cotta with cantaloupe granita over candied almonds.  It was a great combination.  The granita was icy, the panna cotta cool and silky, and the almonds gave crunch and a very sweet note.A perfect summer dessert!

Harissa is mildly hot, with a lot of flavor

Corn ravioli

The photo doesn't show the many layers of this lovely dessert.