Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Shaved Duck

I had been wanting to visit The Shaved Duck just because so many of my friends had been talking about it and it wasn’t until Thirst For Paws that I had a really good excuse to finally make plans to go. I hadn’t even researched the restaurant, so I had no idea where they were located (just east of Tower Grove Park) and that they were known for their BBQ! (Not to mention Guy Fieri visited recently and the restaurant will be shown on The Food Network in the near future!)

The Shaved Duck is a very small restaurant and they don’t take reservations. Their bar area is also very small, so be prepared to wait and possibly stand. Even though it was a Thursday night, the restaurant was still plenty busy, so I would probably recommend an earlier in the week visit. Luckily, there is a very eclectic and inexpensive craft beer list, so my friends and I had no problem finding something new and interesting to drink while we waited. I tried a blueberry cider…SUPER sweet!

I had a hard time trying to figure out what to order since I’m not the biggest meat eater, so I figured I would try as many duck courses as I could since that seems to be the theme, although any BBQ lover would be happy there with all the meats well represented.

I started with the Duck Confit as an appetizer, which was a duck thigh poached in its own fat served on top of lettuce in a vinaigrette dressing. I was a little curious about their crab cakes, but was too “chicken” to order them.

Duck Confit
Yet, my friend Dan was NOT ashamed to order the large plate of Smothered Fries, which is really enough for four people. There was only a little bit of meat but A LOT of home-made cheese sauce that I just wanted to dive into it.

Smothered Fries
I wasn’t up for a big slab of meat since it was such a hot day (both outside and inside the restaurant), so the Duck & Blue Cheese flatbread seemed to be a good compromise. The bread quickly got soggy, but I was interested in the duck meat and cheese anyway. Both duck dishes were very juicy and not too gamey, so I was impressed with both duck courses.


The males of the group had no qualms about ordering huge amounts of meats though. One friend ordered “The Boss”, which is a slow smoked beef brisket smothered in a bacon swiss cheese sauce, topped with onion rings and a side of caramelized onion mashed potatoes.


Then another friend dared to get the “Big Jimmy Sampler”, which includes three St. Louis style spare ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, and some pulled smoked chicken. On top of that he ordered a side of cornbread the size of my head. Needless to say, he took home quite a bit of leftovers.


Another friend ordered the smoked meatloaf, but he ate it so quickly, I didn’t quite get a good look at it, but I have to admit, I am very curious for next time…

My vegetarian of the group had a limited set of choices, so it’s probably not the best place to go with a veg-head. But Patience did enjoy her veggie sandwich with green peppers, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, artichokes, and cheese, also with a side of brussels sprouts.


Loved the atmosphere…very casual, small bar, cute patio area, but excellent BBQ without heavy sauces. The meat definitely speaks for itself.

Resources:

The Shaved Duck = http://www.theshavedduck.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.