Q: The Bici Cafe is a hidden gem and serves a wonderful specialty called Portobello Mushroom Ravioli. I can't bring myself to order anything else.
— Jerry Ingenthron, Clayton
A: Chef-owner Steve Werner grew up in the neighborhood that now houses Bici Cafe.
"My family bought meat every day from Baumann's Fine Meats when it was located just next door," he says. "My first bicycle came from the bike shop that was in this very building," at the corner of Pershing and Jackson avenues.
Bici Cafe is known for its Mediterranean-inspired menu; a large, pleasant patio; and gourmet flatbread pizzas. "We're a neighborhood place, like a scene from 'Cheers,'" Werner says. "Everyone knows your name."
Mushroom ravioli is the restaurant's top seller. The recipe originated with Werner's mother, but "I tinkered with it," says Werner, who added mascarpone for a touch of sweetness and to stabilize the cream sauce.
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Next month, he expects to open a new venture on the same corner. It will feature miniature pick-your-own-ingredient baguette sandwiches called montadito, gelato and penny candy. What the new place will be called remains unknown, Werner says, because the neighborhood children are going to select the name.
Special Request is written by Kirkwood resident Alanna Kellogg, author of the online recipe column KitchenParade.com and "veggie evangelist" at the food blog about vegetables, A Veggie Venture.