In 1946 Jerry Bush and two partners, Sam Magin and Jack Langer, opened Bush’s Steak House at 100 West Broadway Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois. The three men were well-known in the area, Bush having been the manager of the clubhouse at Fairmount Race Track in nearby Collinsville and Magin and Langer the operators of the old Mounds Club, a notorious nightclub and casino that was a haven for gamblers and other high rollers in the area. The three men had taken over The Barn, a tavern whose owners had seen their liquor license suspended for serving drinks to two teenage girls, and spent more than $100,000 to turn it into a first-class restaurant with what they would tout as a stainless-steel “Kitchen of Tomorrow.”
In the years immediately after World War II, East St. Louis was home to more than 300 drinking establishments, from hole-in-the-wall joints to proper restaurants, with many of them on Illinois Highway 40 from just over the Eads Bridge—the huge arch bridge over the Mississippi River that connected St. Louis, Missouri, with East St. Louis—all the way to the Fairmount Race Track and beyond. But Bush’s Steak House, even with its three bars, stood out from the moment it opened on November 15, 1941. “This is one place where entertainment takes a back seat to the gustatory pleasures,” a columnist for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat observed a couple of weeks later. “And although the newness of the decorations doesn’t reach the ornate, the place in its surroundings stands out like a diamond in a pile of coal dust.”
In 1947 Bush’s Steak House was advertising lunch from 75 cents to $1.25 and dinner from $1.75 to $2.50, with steaks, chops, lobster, and other seafood heading the menu—all served in “the most sanitary restaurant in the Middle West.” The fact that it was just three minutes from downtown St. Louis over the Eads Bridge was a big boost, not to mention the craps tables and various other accoutrements of a casino tucked away inside. Yet another plus was the presence in the kitchen of German-born chef Joseph Ott, who’d made quite a name for himself from working in hotels and restaurants all over the world. (Ott had once even been the chief steward on John D. Rockefeller’s yacht.)
Within just a few years, however, Bush and his partners apparently were ready to let go of the restaurant. In 1950 they sold Bush’s Steak House to John T. (Jack) English, Sr., the former police commissioner of East St. Louis; his two sons, Edward and Jack Jr.; and Martin Miller, a family friend. They built it into an even more popular late-night hangout for politicians, musicians and other entertainers, and high rollers from the city’s illegal casinos. “Our bar was open until 6 a.m., so it wasn’t unusual for show-business people to come to Bush’s to have a late dinner and just wind down,” Ed English would recall years later. “One night, the Ritz Brothers came by. At that time they were starring at the Chase Club, in the Hotel Chase. ‘They started clowning. Jimmy Ritz began working behind the bar with my brother, Jack. Harry put a towel over his arm and started waiting tables. Al took the stage as the emcee.”
When John T. English, Sr., died in April 1957, his two sons decided to sell Bush’s Steak House and pursue separate careers.
Sold their interest to Miller for $60,000 but later charged him with reneging on the deal.
Jack bought the former Sinn’s Inn at 8629 West Main Street in nearby Belleville, Illinois, and renamed it Jack English’s Bar (in 1964 he moved it to 9735 West Main Street). Ed went into the insurance and real estate and becoming the moving force behind Dorchester Village, a sprawling subdivision of single-family homes and apartment buildings in Belleville.
In 1959 the new owners of Bush’s Steak House, John K. De Bernardi and Glenn Kennison, completely remodeled and refurbished the restaurant. That year, in keeping with the rough-and-tumble reputation of East St. Louis, one man was killed and another seriously wounded in an early-morning shooting at the restaurant. The following year Bush’s Steak House morphed into a full-fledged nightclub, with Kennison, who’d previously managed the Playdium Lounge in East St. Louis, booking the acts.
In June 1951, Bush’s Steak House closed without notice. On September 10, a fire swept through the 50-by-200-foot building that had been a landmark dining destination in East St. Louis, causing some $50,000 in damage. De Bernardi told officials of the fire department that the structure was not insured.
West Broadway Avenue was renamed Riverpark Drive in the 1990s.
Famous Patrons of Bush’s Steak House
- Lou Thesz
Soft-Shell Crabs with Amandine Sauce
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Loading...From the time it opened in 1946 to its closing in 1961, Bush's Steak House was almost certainly the top restaurant in East St. Louis, Illinois. Joseph Ott, a German-born chef who'd worked in restaurants and hotels all over the world and had once even been the chief steward on John D. Rockefeller's yacht, took charge of the kitchen at Bush's in 1948 and soon added this dish—exotic for its time—to the menu.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Paprika, to taste
- Light cream for dipping
- 2 large soft-shell crabs, preferably jumbo or “whale” size, cleaned
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 blanched almonds, thinly sliced
Instructions
In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika and whisk until blended.
Dip the crabs in cream and then dredge them in the seasoned flour, making sure the crabs are completely coated and gently shaking off any excess flour.
In an 8- to 10-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until foamy. Place the flour-coated crabs, back side down, in the skillet (reducing the heat to medium if the pan starts to smoke) and sauté the crabs until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn the crabs over and sauté until crisp and golden brown on the bottom side, about 3 minutes. Transfer the crabs to a warm plate.
In the same skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat until foamy. Add the minced parsley, salt, and pepper and cook until the butter just begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and almonds, stirring constantly, until the sauce is heated through.
Spoon the warm sauce over the sautéed crabs. Serve immediately.
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