ALTON – When he was in town to announce promising tourism numbers for the Riverbend area, Illinois Tourism Office Executive Director Cory Jobe said Alton's Post Commons is something hard to find or replicate in his home of Chicago.
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To keep with that ambiance and charm, Post Commons owner Hugh Halter has given the kitchen of the brew shop to a boomerang Altonian named Josh Adams. Adams was born and raised in the Riverbend and has a sublime love for Alton only matched for his love of making food and watching people enjoy it. Adams was instrumental at the beginning of Old Bakery Beer Company's kitchen at its beginning, and has put in time and work cooking in St. Louis's South Side at places like Vista Ramen and the now-defunct Mothership Barbecue.
Adams left his kitchens on Cherokee where he worked with Chef Chris Bork, who was someone like a mentor to Adams, to bring what he learned for three years in the city back to his beloved Alton.
“I felt like it was time to come back and invest in the town I would be living in until I died, you know?” Adams said. “With the Small Business Revolution coming in and places like this (The Post Commons), Germania, Old Bakery, and the reopening of Bluff City at its new location, I felt like it was time to bring some new takes on old favorites to Alton.”
As far as Alton's food culture is going, Adams said he is excited. He likes the way all the local restaurants work together for things like Restaurant Week and said it is great to see Old Bakery being put on tap almost everywhere providing adult libations on tap. He also said he loves seeing the growth of Broadway.
“It's great seeing people walking around Broadway again,” he said. “Like I said about Germania and Bluff City, and Bag and Bistro's porch game is where it's at. I love their Italian beef sandwiches, and being able to sit on the porch and have a sandwich with a cold one on Broadway is amazing.”
Upon returning to Alton and taking the position as head of the kitchen at Post Commons, Adams asked himself what he could bring to his town that would make a good fit. Halter also told him he could do whatever his heart desired as the head of the kitchen. Adams decided his heart desired bringing new, hip and overall fresh food to his hometown with the skills he learned on Cherokee.
Because of that, Post Commons has a new menu – one which was sampled by a hungry Riverbender.com reporter Wednesday morning.
The first offering was Brioche Toast, something Adams said is all the rage in artist and artisan communities in California like San Francisco. He said it was good for anyone who would otherwise want a light breakfast with a pastry. It features Brioche toast with lemon zest and a house-made honey ricotta with a seasonal jam. Currently, that jam is blackberry and sourced from the United Kingdom.
Following that was Catcher on the Rye – a take on the Salinger novel. It featured rye toast sourced from 222 Bakery in Edwardsville with fresh cucumbers, avocado, dill and salmon. Adams described it as a “hipster take” on Salmon Benedict minus the egg.
For a more filling breakfast or brunch, there is the Fat Elvis, which is named for the period in Elvis Presley's life when he was shaking hands with U.S. President Richard Nixon. It is one over-sized chocolate chip and banana pancake with peanut butter, bacon bits, walnuts and maple syrup.
For lunch, served Mon-Fri, the Post Royale is on the menu. It earns its regal title with an all-beef burger with American cheese served with an heirloom tomato, which is sourced from Missouri, greens, a fried egg and blackberry mustard on a brioche bun. Lunch options also have the choice of a craft beer on tap.
Adams said the menu will be ever-changing with the seasons with base items getting slight changes based on seasonal fare. More information can be found on The Post Commons website and Facebook page as well as stopping in at 300 Alby Street across from the Alton City Hall.
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