Restaurants

Paradise Lust

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I had the polenta with braised Missouri lamb ragu as an entrée. Temperature issues aside, the polenta was very good, not too creamy, not too firm. The ragu was fantastic, the lamb braised nearly to a puddle, with a gentle roasted sweetness, an earthy savor and just the right note of lamb's tang. Fair warning: While the pasta dishes come in portions sized for a multicourse meal, the entrées I tried were substantial — after appetizers and pasta, a bit daunting, even.

If after three courses you still have room for dessert, you might find one of the housemade sorbets or gelatos refreshing. Blueberry gelato was certainly flavorful, if not as creamy as I'd have liked. Semifreddo in strawberry syrup was an indulgence, its texture sometimes like ice cream, sometimes like cheesecake.

However much you decide to eat, be sure to take advantage of the well-annotated and exclusively Italian wine list. There are about 30 bottles available, with as many in the $75-to-$125 range as in the $25-to-$40. You might instead try a few wines by the quartino, a carafe that holds roughly a third of a bottle. Not only is this is an excellent value relative to wine by-the-glass, but at Acero it offers the chance to try wines you might hesitate to splurge for. A 2003 Righetti Amarone, for example, is a stunning wine, rich and earthy — a perfect pair for that lamb ragu. You might not spend $60 on a bottle, but at $20 for a quartino to share with your companion, it's hard not to treat yourself. If you're on a budget, try the 2004 Valle Dell'Acate Cerasuolo. For $11 you get a lovely taste of fresh cherries and a supple body.

I might not have tried that Amarone without the urging of our waiter, and on all my visits I found the service very knowledgeable about the menu — if tough to flag down when needed, considering how busy the restaurant was. There were a few missteps: a waiter who wanted to pour red wine directly into the glasses we'd used for a white; nearby tables that weren't cleared throughout a nearly two-hour meal.

So Acero isn't perfect. And it lacks the explosive creativity in the kitchen that would push it into the elite upper echelon of St. Louis restaurants. Still, in its celebration of artisanal foods and the sheer joy of good food and wine, it's an incredibly important new fixture on the St. Louis dining scene.

It ain't Heaven, but we're getting closer.

Have a suggestion for a restaurant the Riverfront Times should review? E-mail ian.froeb@riverfronttimes.com.