The 54th Street Grill and Bar

In early June, Laurie and I were visiting her family in the St. Louis Missouri area.  We were staying in Chesterfield Missouri…in what is referred to locally as ‘the bottoms’…a built up area in the flood plain of the Missouri River.

We’d eaten in a couple of places in the area but we wanted to try something new without straying too far from our hotel.

This is the 54^th Street Grill and Bar.  This relatively small chain of restaurants was founded in Kansas City and it now has 25 restaurants in 4 markets.  Kansas City has 9; St. Louis has 7 as does San Antonio.  Dallas-Ft. Worth has 2 with 2 more slated within a year. 

The interior of 54^th Street Grill and Bar is spacious, with a big central bar, both high and low tables and plenty of eclectic décor with photos and posters on the walls and all kinds of things hanging from the ceiling.

One of the stated goals of this chain is to provide “quality food and drinks that exceed national chain competitors”.  In this quest, 54^th Street Grill and Bar lists the following items as being made from scratch: 

·       House made signature dips

·       Jumbo hand-stuffed hand-breaded mushrooms

·       Authentic hand-made Mexican fare

·       Fresh cut greens

·       Slow simmered house made soups

·       Premium ground chuck burgers

·       Hand-cut sirloin steak sandwiches

·       Authentic BBQ – Fall of the bone baby back

·       Pit smoked brisket and pork

·       House made BBQ beans

·       Hand-breaded chicken, shrimp, and fish

·       Hand-cut certified Angus beef ribeye steaks

·       High quality meats and seafood

·       Fresh poultry marinated in our kitchen

·       Sauces and salad dressings made fresh daily

So…what to eat?  Laurie decided to test 54^th Street Grill with one of her favorites.  This is the Double Meat Block French Dip. ($11.60)

As per the menu’s description, this sandwich consists of “griddle seared, au jus drenched steak, chopped and piled high on toasted ciabatta bread with melted Monterey Jack cheese and a garlic aioli spread.”  It’s served with a dipping bowl of au jus and horseradish sauce.  For her side she chose the Idaho baked potato soup which is topped with bacon, scallions and cheddar cheese.

Laurie is very particular when it comes to French dip sandwiches.  She rated this version as ‘excellent’.  She enjoyed the baked potato soup too!

I decided to keep it simple so I went with one of my favorite sandwiches, a good old Bacon Cheeseburger with 3 slices of Applewood smoked bacon. ($9.49 for the 8 oz. version) For my side, I chose a cup of the “Outlaw Steak Soup”.  The soup was very good and the bacon cheeseburger was better than average.  It was juicy despite the fact 54^th Street Grill will only cook burgers medium or higher…and I much prefer my burgers medium rare.

Service was competent and the “bar and grill” style food was definitely better than the norm for such operations.  We will return on another pass through St. Louis or Kansas City.  This location for 54^th Street Grill and Bar is located at 17395 Chesterfield Airport Road in Chesterfield Missouri.  Phone: 636-536-0154.  Website: http://www.54thstreetgrill.com/.  

Just click on any of the photos if you’d like to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for lunch!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave