Review by Joe and Ann Pollack

  Bevo Mill Brunch

In today’s society where, paradoxically, a large portion is extremely movable while an equally large portion remains in a specific neighborhood, we know many readers never have seen the giant windmill at the corner of Gravois and Morganford, or even have heard of Bevo Mill. The Bevo, as it’s often referred to, was built by Anheuser-Busch generations ago in 1915, back when the folks down at the brewery were concerned with aesthetics as well as the bottom line. (Why else do you think those foxes sit at the corners of the building on Broadway and Arsenal with their mugs of beer and drumsticks?) While it is, on one level, the apotheosis of kitsch, it’s also quite lovely inside, and great fun outside, especially now that the windmill blades are working again.

The Bevo has had a checkered history in recent decades, but now it’s a popular-priced restaurant rather than the coat-and-tie destination it once was. And clearly, the Pat Hanon Group, which owns the restaurant, is interested in morning food; they do breakfast every day, and the fairly extensive menu also is available during Sunday brunch. (There’s even outdoor dining; quick, hurry while the weather remains nice.)

The brunch buffet is arranged in front of and around an immense tiled fireplace. It’s mostly lunch food rather than breakfast, but with a nod to those thinking in the latter area, a large thermal pitcher of quite satisfactory coffee arrives soon, a nice touch that avoids the neck-craning one begins as the bottom of the cup grows visible and the nerves twitch in accompaniment.

At the food table, the technique is to begin on the right and move to the left, where the desserts reside. The first stop is a cold table.

The Caesar salad was surprisingly good, its dressing complex and applied in an amount to coat the leaves, not to create large puddles. More of the same lettuce rested in another bowl, here in a sweet-sour dressing reminiscent of that found on German potato salad, and not inappropriate in a restaurant that displays its German heritage. And even though we’re not partial to sweet salad dressings, this one worked well on the sturdy romaine. A shrimp salad was pretty much dead in the water, or dressing, so to speak, but the peel-and-eat shrimp were well seasoned, a surprise on most brunch buffets, where the seasoning is left to the cocktail sauce.

As we sat down, we had noticed a fresh pan of biscuits being placed on the buffet line. The server came, coffee and water arrived, we visited the salads, and when we got to the biscuits–they were gone, snatched up by the regulars, we supposed. And strangely, we never saw biscuits the rest of the visit. The sausage gravy, however, was ordinary. Eggs benedict were satisfactory, with the yolks still showing some liquid, and with an adequate hollandaise, but the management needs to find another brand of English muffin. These were sweet, which really doesn’t work on this savory dish. It’s not nouvelle. It’s just annoying.

Truth be told, Ann is deeply skeptical about the scrambled egg mixtures often displayed on buffet tables. She inevitably mutters and glares when she looks at them. At the Bevo, though, something near-miraculous happened. The eggs were good, carefully done and not overcooked at all, with spinach, onion and tomato that seemed to be fresh; some ham also was diced into the eggs. . . all in all, very tasty. One for the record books. There’s also an omelet station, and the usual breakfast meats.

But there are also some of the Bevo dinner specialties. Slices of pork loin bathed in a sage-laced gravy, very lean but satisfyingly tender. Sauerbraten clearly has received a full make-over since our last trip a long time ago, and is delicious, almost falling apart in its sweet-sour sauce. Pot roast of brisket was the only thing that needed a knife; flavor was good, but brisket generally can be tricky and this one wasn’t giving up without a fight.

Green beans cooked with bacon could have come from a church supper in small-town Mississippi. The potato pancakes are thicker and heavier than the Jewish latkes Joe grew up on, but they’re great with the eggs. And the red cabbage is a delight, sweet and tangy, not what some folks might want before the noon hour, but just fine for the rest of us, especially those who prize leftovers from last night. This certainly did not taste of being reheated, but the joy of finding a goodie in the refrigerator on the morning after is a marker for many serious eaters.

Desserts are mostly small servings of larger items, something we approve of a great deal. As good as just a few bites of a Hank’s cheesecake are (and that’s where the cheesecake comes from), the star has to be the German chocolate cake, light and fluffy in the middle, sweet and chewy on the edges, just right.

At $13 for adults, this is a great value, almost a don’t-miss.

We’ll talk about dinner at Bevo Mill soon. . . .

Bevo Mill

4749 Gravois

314-481-2626

www.bevomillstl.com

Breakfast daily, Brunch Sunday

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Good

Smoking: No

Entrees: $13 Adult brunch buffet