The Half & Half opened in Clayton. It is by no means a diner. It is a fashionable, trendy, delicious and slightly pricey breakfast and lunch place in Clayton. I think it opened June 1 or so, so The Diner Review is once again discharging it’s obligation to be cutting edge and deliver the 411 (and sometimes the 911) to my loyal (if somewhat sad, troubled and empty lifed) readers. I knew nothing of the opening and then one of my loyal dining companions called and suggested it. I of course ignored his suggestion and forced he and a third diner (loser) to commit to going to the Pomme where I had missed my normal weekly outing with St. Louis pre-eminent divorce counsel.
I was going to be dining with two other “lawyers”, both with a large downtown law firm and both, giving them full credit, deeply...deeply troubled. But I digress. A third attorney called me the night before and began to rant in a long monologue extolling the virtues of Half & Half. Now granted, this third lawyer is also somewhat effeminate, fashionable and had gone through at least two wives, so I should not have listened to him either. But I did and I called an audible and ended up arriving first at Half & Half. I understand it is owned and run by the people who own The Good Pie which is a pizza place well defended by those that know. It is on Maryland right next to Almonds. There is ample street parking. They do not open till 7, just like Pomme and the hated First Watch which makes it an anathema for anyone with a paying job and any kind of work ethic but, it is what it is.
The place is nice and sparse with a lot of four top tables and the ones on the wall feel like booths. It is reasonably well lit while not being bright and is tasteful with a white, off white and country blue interior. I sat. I read the Post Dispatch (that took 2 ½ minutes and only because I thoroughly read the law and order section looking for names of friends and clients and thoroughly read the obituaries because if my name is there i don’t need to go work) and noticed that there are no salt and pepper shakers, only a small container filled with sea salt and another with coarse black pepper. Fashionable? Yes. Practical? I am thinking about it.
The breakfast menu is a simple piece of 8 ½ by 11 paper. It looks like this:
http://halfandhalfstl.com/test/menus
It read more like a pastry shop but what the hell? You cannot judge it until or unless you try it and here I was. The iced tea by the way brewed, fresh and awesome. My compatriots arrived. One had coffee, without comment on it’s quality. The other ice tead. We surveyed the menu and made out selections. I opted for the blackberry french toast after I questioned the waitress at some length regarding exactly what constituted mascarpone and brioche”. I leave it to you to figure out. My fellow diner reviewers got the corned bread and chorizo and the fried egg sandwich. All were pronounced “excellent”. The corned bread, though vaguely phallic in presentation was perfect and the Mexican sausage was also very good and the eggs fresh. the fired egg sandwich was served on a bun and frankly looked as perfect as it was pronounced. I also sampled the bacon (flavorful, well cooked and slightly chewy) and even the dreaded “breakfast potatoes” which, since not hash browns, I can only call tolerable in fulfilling my need for tubers in the morning.
There are a number of things troubling about the place. it is not cheap. It seems to cater to a more sensitive and well adjusted group of people. Even if smoking were still legal in a restaurant you would not consider it here and if you did considerate one of the friendly, helpful staff would club you to the ground like a hapless baby seal. It is also troubling to offer veggie options and the inclusion of Brussell sprouts (which they are having a hard time sourcing) into not one, but two breakfast entries is just too....”look at me...look at how clever and healthy I am”, for me.
That having been said, the food was excellent. The service was cheerful, helpful and unpretentious. it would be a GREAT place to take your wife, mother or mother in law... or your “kinda gay” friends. In any case I think it is a welcome addition to the Clayton breakfast scene and the St. Louis one as well. I highly recommend it. Not a classic diner but a good fancy breakfast from nice people.
8 ½ Slingers on the 10 scale.
