Number Crunch

Duck for $19 is another bargain, especially when it's done "two styles": an ample portion of seared and sliced breast, plus a leg of confit like you'd find tucked into a hearty, hearthy cassoulet. My preference for duck breast may be changing. I've loved it my whole adult life, but here, as in recent tries at other restaurants, I've found the breast too salty. The confit was nice but needed further confitting. The meat possessed a brisket-like stringiness but not enough of that sealed-in-its-own-fat unctuousness. Like the salmon's side of string beans — nowhere near a sexy vegetable, but rightly put on the plate for their unbeatable, in-season sweetness — the duck came with a side of new potatoes, which have taken a back seat to the more au courant russet potatoes for far too long.

A succinct, single-page wine list doesn't cover a lot of ground; there are excessive amounts of chardonnay (seven of them, compared to five "other whites") and merlots — four, which is at least three (if not four) too many. Eleven of the bottles are also available by the glass, and the price range is reasonably in tune with the prices on the food menu, featuring lots of choices in the $20s and $30s. One gem to try is the Rancho Zabaco old-vine zin, a knockout at six bucks a glass.

The only element of Five that doesn't exude casual panache is its name, which stands for the five senses. It's an elementary concept for a restaurant, one that would only carry through if the menus were printed on scratch-and-sniff paper and each meal was accompanied by a customized iTunes playlist. Other than that bit of outré quirkiness, though, Five is right on.

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COME AND GET IT!
Though she'll continue to write for the paper, with this week's review Rose Martelli answers the Riverfront Times dinner bell for the last time.

Restaurant owners tempted to heave a sigh of relief should know that RFT contributor Ian Froeb has graciously agreed to fill in on an interim basis. Additionally, the paper is hereby accepting applications for the position of freelance restaurant critic. Think you've got the requisite discerning palate and rapier-like writing touch to match? Send résumé and writing samples to:

Tom Finkel, editor
Riverfront Times
6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200
St. Louis, MO 63130
No phone calls, please.