Is this a Midwestern trend, a national thing, or is St. Louis just in a growth spurt?
It’s nationwide. Americans have the most sophisticated palates in the world now. We have really become a country of immigrants, so we have cuisines from everywhere. That wasn’t true 30 years ago. I bet Chicago has more Thai restaurants now than Bangkok. Is there any pet peeve that really bugs you, something that you just won’t allow? There are things that do drive me crazy in my restaurants, but when I’m at somebody else’s place and the same thing goes wrong, it kind of makes me feel good. You know what I mean? It’s like, “Thank God this one’s not mine,” you know? But in our restaurants, what bugs me is a server bringing out some food that they could see with their eyes was wrong. And a chef not tasting everything—basic human errors that let the whole team down. So are you a small-plates guy or an entrée guy? I’m an entrée guy, but I’m not against small plates. You know how people say their weakness is sweets? My weakness is entrées. So the famous Levy dessert cart wasn’t your idea. No
