Relish

As a rule, chefs are masters of their kitchen domain but are lousy at marketing what they create there. And then there's John Johnson, Executive Chef at Lumière Place and River City Casino.

Readers of this blog will certainly recall several of his creations: a $50 Reuben sandwich, the t-rav-topped "Red Burg" burger, and the reintroduction of the brain sandwich, which the chef introduced in a whiter shade of whites (below). Next up...Gator Ribs. Real alligator ribs.

To celebrate the Mizzou Tigers vs Florida Gators football game on Saturday, November 4, both The Beerhouse (at River City Casino) and Stadium Sports Bar and Grill (at Lumière Place) will be serving up bourbon-glazed gator ribs--from Florida gators, we're told--along with fries, cole slaw, and garlic bread. Chef Johnson said the idea came to him when razzing his mother--who went to school in Florida--about the upcoming football matchup. Since he helped open L'Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge, he already had a supplier for high-quality, farm-raised gator meat--he just didn't know how to make such a connection work in St. Louis. Until now.

When asked about the cooking process, Johnson says he experimented for two months to perfect it: after an over-night dry-rub is applied, the ribs are "cooked confit-style in bacon fat before being finished on the smoker," adding that since gator meat contains virtually no fat, this method is necessary to prevent the smoke from drying out the meat.

Although the gator ribs are planned as a one-day only event, Johnson reminded us that the brain sandwich was originally only a short-term novelty item as well. "But that was a year ago," he said, "and it still sells well on River City's menu."

So how do alligator ribs taste, we asked? "Farm-raised gator meat is not at all gamey," Johnson explained, "and it has a delicate flavor all its own. It tastes like gator...it does not taste like chicken."