Shrimp platter with added lobster tails
The news is good. Sometime next month, Missouri fans of that city's Seafood by Crushed Velvet won't have to travel nearly as far for Jasmine Brooks’ famous crab leg platter. The young chef, who also co-owns Scoops Ice Cream in Belleville, shuttered her popular Illinois location a few weeks ago and began renovations to a new space in the former Side Bar (1317 Washington). (The Belleville News-Democrat broke the news last month, but the location was kept under wraps until recently.)
“The majority of my customers came from St. Louis anyway,” says Brooks, 30. “So I think it will be a good move.”
Brooks, who is from East St. Louis, opened her Belleville restaurant a year and a half ago, but says she quickly outgrew the building, which was never really set up for food service. She says the move to new digs will almost double the square footage and allow her to expand the menu significantly. She plans to add more southern-style favorites – catfish, shrimp and grits, and a selection of flatbreads – and will be able to broaden her selection of fish and seasonal menu items.
Brooks likely will be a breed apart in her new downtown location since she says there’s nowhere quite like Seafood by Crushed Velvet. Where else do crab legs come partnered with corn, potato, sausage, shrimp, and a boiled egg? Who else, she wonders, has a crab cake as lusciously fresh as hers?
As for the interior, Brooks says it will be similar, “but a nicer version." Maximum occupancy in the 3,000-square foot space will be a robust 180. The restaurant, expected to open in mid- to late October, gets bonus points for its hiring parameters: "Must meet Chick-fil-A standards and have a 'my pleasure' attitude.'"
The former Side Bar at 1317 Washington Ave is being transformed into Seafood by Crushed Velvet.
