The Block, Webster Groves - Visited April 2017

It was my birthday so I was able to decide what to do for my birthday dinner, so I decided to try a nearby restaurant we had never visited before that had pretty good reviews, The Block in Webster Groves. Since they do not serve Saturday lunch we can never go there on our usual lunches so this seemed like a good chance to try one of these places that we normally cannot try. We arrived on a rainy Wednesday evening and parked in the lot behind the building. There were a lot of spaces but it was difficult to tell which ones we could use to park in if we were visiting The Block. Since it was after 5:00 pm we were hoping we were safe and parked in an empty space where there were other empty spaces around. We did not receive a ticket so it must have been fine. We could walk out to Lockwood through a small alleyway and found the restaurant fairly empty on a Wednesday evening around 5:30 pm. We were seated in a round table near the back and noticed it was a bit chilly and somewhat loud, with a group next to us obviously having a good time enjoying some beverages from the bar. Luckily they quieted down after a little while and we noticed the dining area did not seem as cool later too. They also dimmed the lights a bit more at 6:00 pm to try to set a more formal environment.

Our server was very friendly and talkative and told us the specials for the day. The braised beef ribs special caught my attention so I decided to have those. My eldest child ordered the smaller filet steak, my mother-in-law ordered the small mac and cheese (with bacon) and my wife ordered the brussel sprouts and bread assortment. While we sat and waited for our meals we noticed we could see people walking by the side windows with their umbrellas up which seemed odd since the windows were about 7 feet up in the air. More on that later!

Our meals arrived and they were all arranged for some pretty dramatic visual appeal. My ribs were arranged like a sculpture perched on top of the vegetables and special slaw. There were four rather large ribs but that included quite a bit of meat on each one, and there was a bit of beef fat as expected. The meat itself was extremely tender and melted in your mouth, and the bourbon glaze was very flavorful without being overpowering. The vegetables and slaw were okay but did not compare to the rib meat with was very good once you could separate it from the bone and the fat.

The steak was very good as well and well cooked. The meat was coated with a bit of black pepper which might not appeal to some people (like my wife) and the steak sauce was somewhat strong and a bit spicy, which might also not appeal to folks who prefer more subtle flavors. The meat itself, however, tasted very fresh and tender. They definitely serve some excellent pieces of meat. The fries were slightly herb flavored and not bad, but nothing overly special.

My wife's bread assortment was also placed in a very unusual visual arrangement. There were several different kinds of bread included, and they were all made "special" in some way. The better choices were the corn bread like mini muffins and the sweet dark dense muffin with coconut and raisins. She was not very impressed with the pretzel bread. She thought they tried to hard to make them unusual and "artisan" instead of just making good bread. Her brussel sprouts were very good, crisp and flavorful without being too strong.

The mac and cheese with bacon was deemed "not bad" but there was not much comment about it. After our meals we decided to split the brownie with cocunut ice cream and caramel for dessert. It was pretty good with a rich, creamy center and the subtle ice cream and the caramel went well with the warm and soft brownie. It was a good ending to a pretty good meal. The highlights were probably the meats, and the brussel sprouts and the service was pretty good as well.

Today I did a Google Street View on the cross street (Gray) next to the restaurant and realized the reason it seemed so odd was because the sidewalk on the side slopes substantially as you head towards the back of the restaurant. So whereas the windows are about 7 feet from the ground at the front of the building they are only about 3 feet from the ground at the back of the building. That is why we could see people's umbrellas as they walked down the sidewalk but they disappeared once they got closer to the front of the building!

Overall The Block seems like a pretty good restaurant which may be trying too hard to be special. The meats are top notch and the service is very good. If we visit again I may just try a simple burger which I am betting would be pretty good as long as they do not try to make it too different.

Meats and Service

Ambiance and Sides