Photo by Iain Shaw
Courtesy Linda Rivard
Mowgli Rivard was a bit nonplussed when her phone began to blow up with calls and texts from local chefs, fellow restaurateurs, and regular diners of Little Fox, the restaurant that she and husband Craig Rivard own and operate in the Fox Park neighborhood.
“All of these people began to text me congratulations," she says. "We had no idea.”
Yesterday morning, The New York Times released The Restaurant List for 2021, with a diverse range of 50 restaurants chosen from every region of the United States. The list reflected what The Times described as “the rich mosaic of American dining” and includes “the places in America we are most excited about right now.”
St. Louis made the list with Little Fox, the only restaurant in the state to garner a mention. The accolade and acknowledgement is especially significant for Little Fox, which opened its doors in the former Purple Martin space in Fox Park in December 2019, just weeks before the pandemic. “We weren’t able to be the restaurant we intended to be when we opened,” Mowgli reflects.
Courtesy Little Fox
The restaurant quickly pivoted, selling pantry staples, wine, bottled cocktails, and even bags of pebble ice online. The owners installed two windows (one for ordering, the other for pickup), pivoted again to include outdoor dining on their sidewalk patio and soon later, purchased the empty lot on the other side of Shenandoah, where diners could enjoy the carryout menu under a huge white tent. During the pandemic, Little Fox also launched a natural wine membership club, added brunch service on the weekend, and kept diners anticipating Craig’s specials, including a cheeky chopped cheese and bone-in pork Milanese.
Photo by Iain Shaw
A popular small plate item since day one, crispy fingerling potatoes with tonnato sauce, scallion, and sweety drop peppers
At a time when restaurants were just trying to stay afloat, the Rivards—along with general manager Casey Fults, wine manager Chris Voll, and their loyal staff—were able to create a dining experience reflective of what Little Fox always intended to be: a winsome, welcoming restaurant serving a menu of uncluttered, deftly prepared, delicious dishes, paired with top-notch cocktails and a dynamic selection of natural wines.
What delighted The New York Times' dining critics wasn't necessarily the clever pivots or how the Rivards found ways to sustain, though. They were delighted by the same things appreciated by local patrons, from the kindly crossing guard that the Rivards hired to ensure guests could safely cross the street and effortless service of the staff to the short ribs with Italian fish sauce and Calabrian chile and an herbed cavatelli dish, which makes sweet corn, okra, and spring onions as delicious, complex and decadent as foie with fresh truffles.
St. Louis diners already knew that we have something special in Little Fox. Now, the rest of the world knows as well.
