The Blue Duck restaurant (2661 Sutton Boulevard), in Maplewood, was poorly reviewed in the Riverfront Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently. Both say the restaurant tries too hard.
Post-Dispatch reviewer Ian Froeb picks apart the Blue Duck’s DLT (duck, lettuce and tomato), the ginger-braised duck quarter, lamb chops and the smoked-trout tartine — concluding, to say they “fail to deliver on what you promise if you give your restaurant a name as whimsical as the Blue Duck: singular, memorable fun.”
The Riverfront Times, in its headline, says the Maplewood location “lays an egg.”
The RFT says the quiche and DLT are successful, but the more formal appetizers and entrees are less so; for instance, its braised pork belly steam buns, smoked fried hot chicken and grilled pork chop.
“There are a few nuggets of solid cooking that want to shine through at the Blue Duck, but they’re masked by a need to try too hard, the RFT concludes.
We went there for our anniversary last month. The food and service were outstanding; the prices were very reasonable as well.
I’ve had the food and had the service. Both are phenomenal. I’m no cuisine extraordinaire but at over 250 lbs I consider myself a good judge of food. I’ve had the pulled duck nachos, mac n cheese, smoking chicken, chicken wings, and a beyond phenomenal bourbon cupcake (non of your business, but on separate occasions). Not to mention, the staff and ownership’s personability and commitment to this community. Im glad they made the move to Maplewood and we’re lucky to have them be apart of the Maplewood restaurant scene.
We have been there several times and have enjoyed our meals.
I’d say the reviews are spot on. I’ve had good sandwiches and burgers there (the DLT is a great sandwich), but the plates and more formal appetizers are definitely a miss, from the kitchen sink approach to saucing and sides to the occasional conceptual misfire (e.g., grilled fish swimming in a pool of salty broth, smoking the biscuits). The food definitely reflects their passion for good food (especially fatty, spicy, and sweet flavors), but the lack of formal culinary training is also not hard to miss. The kitchen also has a hard time getting burgers cooked to the right temperature (I’ve had three burgers there, and two of them were overcooked but otherwise delicious), and some dishes are inappropriately spicy. I’d rather see them come back from this than fail, though. They have a good concept that just needs some tweaking.
I’ve been there a couple times, first off the service on our first visit was probably better than I’ve ever had anywhere. Our second visit, while not to the level of best ever, was still very good. The food that I’ve had has ranged from very good to excellent.
Just like with music and movies, don’t ever trust a critic.