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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine is St. Charles County's
exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Restaurant Spotlight Archive |
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It's Always Fresh At Erio's RistoranteBy Mary Ann O'Toole Holley
Erio's is a neighborly place, tucked in the corner of St. Peters Square mall where wait staff treats you like part of the family and cooking is more than opening cans and nuking cannelloni. Owners Pietro "Pete" Pulizzi and his wife, Joan, wouldn't have it any other way. The Pulizzis do dining in ways only Sicilians do. You'll find no canned tomatoes on the kitchen shelving and if sauce needs thickening, you'll never spy a blend of flour and water. Fresh cream, tantalizing tomatoes and hand-chopped vegetables crisp from the vine are all part of Pete's morning regimen - days that start at an hour or so past sunrise and wrap up when the last customer leaves. "I'm just myself," said Pete, of his innate ability and extraordinary passion for pastas and pizzas and exotic entrees. "We've been in business for 36 years - 15 years at this location and 21 years in Florissant. I was probably the first Italian restaurant that moved across the river." Pulizzi learned to cook mostly from his mother, at a time when he was no taller than her apron strings, he said. He's been cooking ever since, honing a menu that draws hundreds to his charming ristorante Italiano near Willott and Jungermann roads. Erio's is a favorite haunt for those who laud the quality of the fish delivered daily and marvel at the makings of Pulizzi's own hand-made sausage. On weekends, it's common for customers to line up out the door, Joan Pulizzi said. So, reservations are recommended, especially for groups of five or more. Wholesomeness and freshness are watchwords in all of Pulizzi's specialties - from Erio's Famous Pizza to Italian dinners like vitello alla parmigiana. All dinners include a salad and side of pasta with homemade red sauce. For an extra $2, one can opt for Pulizzi's white sauce - homemade with fresh cream. "We didn't start out very big," Pulizzi said. "It used to be just pizza, pasta and salads, but now, with the restaurant business as competitive as it is, you have to go with the flow." Steak, veal and weekend specials are big sellers, Pulizzi said. When he added a 24-ounce rib eye steak special at $24.95, he worried in vain that it would be a loser. But with a stash of 18 steaks on Friday, they sold out before the night was over, Pulizzi said. People ask for it now, so he serves it once a month. For Valentine's Day, Erio's will feature Chilean sea bass, a "beautiful white fish," Pulizzi said. "The meat is so sweet, it's amazing how beautiful the texture," Pulizzi said with his Italian accent still evident. "You can go to any upscale restaurant, and a lot don't have it because it's so expensive. But people who know fish love it. I get calls from all over asking for it. We get people from Chesterfield and South County who come for the sea bass." Pete bangs out the best using only the finest ingredients. All sauces are his own homemade recipes, and Joan creates her own special desserts like cheesecake that's an Erio's staple and chocolate suicide cake, a chocoholic's dream made without flour. "I love red sauce," Pulizzi says. "Pescatore tutte mare (pasta with lots of seafood) is probably my favorite. It's on the menu." The Sicilian Steak is another front-runner - a breaded strip steak, grilled, with tomato garlic sauce on the side. When it comes to chicken, he recommends the petto di pollo alla carciofine, a boneless breast of chicken served with white wine lemon sauce, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. If Italian names confuse you, each entree lists a description, like the petto di pollo bacio d'amore (kiss of love), a stuffed chicken breast with prosciutto, spinach, mozzarella, topped with mushrooms and lemon sauce. Steak, veal, chicken, seafood dinners - all fresh, never frozen - run about $16, pasta dinners cost about $10, and there are sandwiches and a children's menu ($3.95). Most like the Erio's salad, a house offering tossed with artichokes, cheese, olives, onions, Italian salami and house dressing. Pulizzi said. The anchovy-based dressing is also homemade, as Pulizzi would stand for nothing less. Erio's is a cut above when it comes to appetizers. There is traditional toasted ravioli, but there's calamari, New Zealand mussels, fried zucchini and eggplant parmigiana (all at about $5 or $6). Unlike at some of the city's other Italian eateries, Erio's opts for mozzarella as the pizza cheese of choice. Provel is available upon request, and if you choose, he'll feature half of each. "I like the business. I like the people," Pulizzi said. "You have to have good food to stay in business this long, but I've also got good people here. My chef has been with me 30 years (except for a brief hiatus at Kemoll's), and one waitress has been here 14 years. It's a family environment, a family business." Erio's Ristorante is open daily. Call 636-928-0112 for reservations or carryout. |
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Their
menu mimics that of a five-star restaurant, but don't expect any black-tie
stuffiness at Erio's Ristorante in St. Peters.
