Jeannie Pierola news

You know how yesterday I was blathering about the former Bern's chef opening something in Tampa? Well, guest blogger Chris Sherman has set me straight:

De Santo Latin American Bistro, a sleek restaurant that opened to wows in downtown St. Petersburg three months ago has closed for three weeks to revise its menu under a new chef, Jeannie Pierola, formerly of Bern’s Steak House in Tampa.

"It’s a stunning space. It's really, really cool," Pierola said Tuesday of the project which revamped a large chunk of McNulty Station into the restaurant and its companion bar, Push Ultra Lounge.

The place immediately drew a big crowd for its uptown décor and tequila drinks but its largely Mexican menu drew poor reviews. Developer Doug Ellman closed the restaurant on Saturday and brought in Pierola to rebuild the culinary team and write a new menu that is more broadly Latin.

"I just love the flavors," said Pierola, who ran Caribbean-styled restaurants called Cool Beans and Boca before she took over the legendary steakhouse Bern’s and its innovative sibling, SideBern's. "Making food that is really fun to eat is a treat for me."

Timing was fortuitous for both chef and developer. Pierola had parted company with Bern’s five months ago and has been studying options for her next venture. Ellman said he was surprised when the initial menu did not go over. He had bought in chef Antonio Villanueva, a personal friend, to run the kitchen.

"I feel badly. It was unfortunate that people didn't respond the way we expected," said Ellman. "I ate there every day and loved the food."

Nonetheless, he said he was ecstatic about the future and working with Pierola, one of the area's top chef. She will work with De Santo for three months, writing the new menu, hiring and training the crew, and hiring a new full-time chef. She will stay on as advisor for the rest of the year.

Both also said they were were excited about downtown St. Petersburg's culinary future. The Tampa chef said, "I really love downtown St. Pete and the feel of walking around the streets."

Ellman, who moved to the city a year ago, said much the same, despite the setback. "I've fallen in love with St. Petersburg."

Comments

[jersey girl]

Woo Hoo! Hooray!
A beautiful space, with a chef to match. I am so glad St. Pete got Ms. Pierola - Tampa eat your heart out hee hee!!!
Hmm...seems obvious this won't be her final resting place. Maybe there's still hope for her to open her own place at that notorious other spot oozing with potential?

[Carol]

I was really excited after reading about DeSanto's on sptimes. I checked out their menu on-line but because of with my travel schedule I never was able to eat there. I'd be curious to see what folks didn't like about the food - the menu looked interesting - unlike anything else here in STP. Good luck with the new direction.

[rayray]

Another great day in St. Petersburg & the renaissance continues for our paradise city.

[Joey]

This should be a big improvment to the city

[Bob]

Carol, I (along with many others) thought the menu was fabulous. Unfortunately, the Times food critic made a very immature and inexperienced critique of the dishes, which was followed by another stilted review by Creative Loafing. As a result, the crowds that originally filled the restaurant disappeared. I wish nothing but the best for DeSanto. BTW, love the website.

[LiChi]

I am SOOOOO excited to have her in my backyard! I am a native Tampanian who relocated to St. Pete and live close to downtown. It is beautiful, vibrant and growing. She will make an AWESOME addition. I hope she stays on much longer or opens her own gem in downtown. Take note Jeannie, we LOVE YOU! Shame on Berns!

[The Mouth]

Bob, I can't tell you how many people wrote or e-mailed me to agree with my immature assessment, which was echoed almost exactly by Brian Ries's stilted one. I ate there three separate times, with three different groups of people, and had a disappointing experience each time (strictly the food--service and all other elements were good).

I love that kind of regional Mexican cuisine, and I really thought the menu LOOKED exciting and sophisticated. The execution failed to wow.

I'm thrilled that Jeannie will lend her expertise to the project. I think it's bound to be a big hit.

[Mike]

Bob, you appear to be in the minority here. Bad reviews abound, and I heard from 2 other groups of friends who went there that it wasn't so good, so I stayed away. I'm glad the owner had the prescience to move on quickly and capitalize on this spot, which should become a St.P hotspot.

[Old Chef Dude]

I have to agree with Mouth and Mike great idea just very poor execution and failure to pay attention to detail
thats basically it.Chef will get it squared away with time.

[Hank]

The restaurant roadside is littered with financier's good intentions and operational bad execution. Take a look at SoBe for consistent examples.

The food has to stand up. We will see after 6-8 months how successful the new operations is. Towards the past 12-18 months at Side Bern's, (IMHO) Jeannie was not sustaining her inital menu creativity nor food quality.

"More broadly Latin" covers a lot of ground. I wish them good fortune as one good restaurant elevates the entire dining scene.

Knock me on my butt with $16-$22 dinner entree's, and do it consistently. That should be right in the "broadly Latin" wheelhouse.

[Old Chef Dude]

Very true.

[The Mouth]

Hank, couldn't agree more. Went to Square One Burgers tonight in Tampa, and despite a piercing din and near Brady-Bunch-like "let's put on a show" fervor, I had a darned fine burger. Cost? About $9. Satisfied many, many deep-seated needs.

Yeah, I'm not too fancy-pants. Just give me something well-executed, wholesome and fair-priced and I'm on board.

Anyone else been to Frontera Grill in Chicago or Guaymas in Tiburon or Suenos in NYC? Gosh, it would be so cool to have nuevo Mexican or regional Mexican like that....

[JM]

Does anyone *really* think an SPT or Creative Loafing dining review kills a restaurant outright? That bad reviews are more powerful than scores of unsatisfied customers (especially those that gather at hip, trendy hang-outs spending more than they probably should?)

And no, this is not a diss at Laura, the SPT or CL. Nor is it to say that critics in big cities like New York and LA don't have that power, as readership tends to be in the million range and there are just too many fantastic dining options to waste on those who can't wow from the very beginning (when you should be at your absolute best).

No need to defend Laura either, as I think she answered this charge perfectly (and undefensively).

I think it's not too difficult to sniff out the occassional agendas going on in this forum.

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Know what I mean? Cheers.

[Old Chef Dude]

Mouth: True regional Mexican is out there,Nuevo Mexicano properly executed again is a hard find once again resting upon ones definition of"Nuevo Mexicano" . We must get off the beaten path once again roll up our sleves and go for it !

[Carol]

Bob, Thanks for the reply. I do respect Brian Ries (and Chris Sherman before him) but I for one never take a reviewers word unless I've experienced the place myself. Perhaps the menu was too ambitious? The devil is in the details after all. I'm still excited to visit when DeSanto reopens even though I was never impressed with Sideburns. (I've lived in foodie cities my entire adult life so my expectations were extremely high when I went to SB-and their execution was off). Let hope DeSanto2 hits it's stride.

[larry]

immature reviews? too ambitious of a menu? inexperienced diners? I ate there three times and the food was just plain bad. Would never go back

[Kristin]

I went once and the food was absolutely terrible; just bizarre combinations and nearly rancid sauces glopped all over everything. The scallops were frighteningly smelly and it reminded me of no sort of Mexican or Central American or Latin (C'mon which is it? Sure there are regional differences, but none of those things are the same thing)I have ever had the pleasure or horror to eat. It was as if someone took the premade sauces from a cheap Asian restaurant and coated some subpar, poorly cooked seafood with it.

That being said, I hope Ms. Pierola can straighten it out and develop a great menu before we leave this town because it is a gorgeous location! Good luck!

[ME]

Food critics are generally full of it, but they do hold a lot weight. I didn’t like the place too much myself, and have heard rumors of financial problems, which amazes me that Chef Pierola is aboard. I am guessing that this is a consulting type thing. She is great, and the physical plant is very nice, so it should be a hit this time around. St Pete is still St Pete, however. A place like that has to be full every night to pay the bills.

[Lee]

I can't wait!
As a too-infrequent visitor to St. Pete, this will be my first stop when in town. Only the best of wishes for the success of the enterprise. And, thank you to the owners, chef and staff for making Downtown! so great.

[lococarnavore]

True That ME 2+2 is not 5.5

[Benjamin]

Visited the restaurant with family on 06/08/08. Service was poor. The food was worse. I would never go back. The worst expensive meal in years. Totally not authentic. I am absolutely certain this restaurant will fail. The critics are right on.