Ian Froeb's Best Restaurants 2015 by Jean Buchanan

Bonus issue • 03.15.15 •

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From the critic

‘What’s the best restaurant in St. Louis?’ I don't know how many hundreds of times I've been asked this question over my nine years as a restaurant critic in St. Louis, but I’ve never felt entirely comfortable answering it. This job prioritizes new restaurants, but are this year’s standout rookies any better than last year’s, or those from three, five or even 10 years ago? Conversely, is that place I raved about in, say, 2011 still as good as I said? Is it an honest recommendation if I can’t make it with full confidence? I can’t find a perfect solution, but I can offer you the inaugural edition of my STL 100: the Top 25 restaurants in St. Louis, ranked, plus 75 more spots that make up the Rest of the Best. These are the 100 most vibrant, most exciting places to eat in St. Louis right now. Some of them aren’t yet a year old. One of them has passed the century mark. All of them I can recommend with full confidence based on visits over the past year or so — the majority of them between October 2014 and March 2015. A few important notes: • The STL 100 is, by design, an egalitarian list. Yes, the restaurants in the upper reaches of the Top 25 are expensive, but most of the STL 100 honorees are not. Alongside special-occasion splurges, you’ll find barbecue, fried chicken, pizza, Mexican, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. • Newer restaurants received as much

scrutiny as older establishments. Maybe more. Case in point? Of the 10 restaurants on my list of 2013’s best new spots, three missed the STL 100 cut. One had already closed, but the two others — both of which were among the top five of 2013’s top 10 — are finding their feet again after chef changes. • There are no legacy points, either. Just staying in business, building a loyal customer base and a local reputation, wasn’t enough to earn a spot on the STL 100. I dined at more than a few well-known restaurants that, while not bad, are clearly on auto-pilot. • No vast gulf exists between the restaurant ranked No. 25 and the Rest of the Best. At a certain point, choosing which restaurant would be No. 37 or No. 51 or No. 83 seemed arbitrary and unnecessary. • Restaurants that opened after Oct. 31, 2014, weren’t eligible for this edition. How will 2015’s best new restaurants stack up against this list? Check back in March 2016. Until then, happy eating. Ian Froeb Post-Dispatch restaurant critic

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Bakery & dessert

Comet Coffee & Microbakery . . . . . . . . . . 17 Crown Candy Kitchen . . . . 17 The Donut Stop . . . . . . . . . 18 Ices Plain & Fancy . . . . . . . 21 La Patisserie Chouquette . 23 Pint Size Bakery . . . . . . . . 27 World’s Fair Donuts . . . . . . 35 Barbecue

Adam’s Smokehouse . . . . . 12 Bogart’s Smokehouse . . . . 10 Pappy’s Smokehouse . . . . 11 Salt + Smoke . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The Shaved Duck . . . . . . . . 30 Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Smoki O’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Spare No Rib . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Sugarfire Smoke House . . . 7 Bar & grill

Ferguson Burger Bar & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Kitchen Sink . . . . . . . . 22 Steve’s Hot Dogs . . . . . . . . 33

Deli

Blues City Deli . . . . . . . . . . 16 Gioia’s Deli . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Diner

Grbic Restaurant . . . . . . . . 21

Crown Candy Kitchen . . . . 17 Southwest Diner . . . . . . . . 32

Breakfast

Ethiopian

Ferguson Burger Bar & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Kitchen Sink . . . . . . . . 22 Southwest Diner . . . . . . . . 32

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Filipino

Guerrilla Street Food . . . . . 9 Burgers

Baileys’ Range . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ferguson Burger Bar & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Five Star Burgers . . . . . . . . 19 Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Kitchen Sink . . . . . . . . 22 Cajun/creole

The Kitchen Sink . . . . . . . . 22 Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ . . . . . . . . . . 30

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2 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Afghan

Sameem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Bosnian

Our team Gabe Hartwig editor, ghartwig@post-dispatch.com • Jody Mitori Post-Dispatch assistant managing editor for features, jmitori@post-dispatch.com • Ian Froeb restaurant critic, ifroeb@post-dispatch.com • Fred Ortlip copy editor, fortlip@post-dispatch.com • Hillary Levin photo editor, hlevin@post-dispatch.com • Donna Bischoff Post-Dispatch vice president of advertising, dbischoff@post-dispatch.com • Contact us Advertise 314-3408500, stltoday.com/advertise • Subscribe 314-340-8888, stltoday.com/subscribe • Write to us Go! Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101

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Index by cuisine

Blood & Sand . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Cardwell’s at the Plaza . . . 17 Cleveland-Heath . . . . . . . . . 5 The Crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Death in the Afternoon . . . 18 Dressel’s Public House . . . 18 Elaia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Farmhaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Five Bistro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Grapeseed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Kitchen Kulture . . . . . . . . . 22 The Libertine . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Niche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Olio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Quincy Street Bistro . . . . . . 8 Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The Restaurant at the Cheshire . . . . . . . . . 28 Sidney Street Cafe . . . . . . . . 5 Stellina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Stone Soup Cottage . . . . . . . 4 Taste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Tavern Kitchen & Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Three Flags Tavern . . . . . . 34 Truffles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Tree House . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall . . . . . . 35 Veritas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

Chinese

Joy Luck Buffet . . . . . . . . . 22 Lona’s Lil Eats . . . . . . . . . . 24

Food trucks

Gioia’s Deli . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Guerrilla Street Food . . . . . 9 Seoul Taco . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Fried Chicken

Juniper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Old Standard Fried Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Three Flags Tavern . . . . . . 34

Indian

Peshwa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Italian

Acero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Basso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Blues City Deli . . . . . . . . . . 16 Cielo Restaurant & Bar . . . 11 Gioia’s Deli . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Pastaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sauce on the Side . . . . . . . 29 Salume Beddu . . . . . . . . . . 29 Tony’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Trattoria Marcella . . . . . . . 34 Japanese

BaiKu Sushi Lounge . . . . . . 12 Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Schlafly Tap Room . . . 30 The Shaved Duck . . . . . . . . 30 Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Quincy Street Bistro . . . . . . 8 Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall . . . . . . 35 Sandwiches

Blues City Deli . . . . . . . . . . 16 Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Gioia’s Deli . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Seafood

BaiKu Sushi Lounge . . . . . . 12 Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co. . . . . . . . 26

Korean

Small plates

Asian Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Seoul Taco . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Taste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Lebanese

The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market . . . . . . . . 35 Mediterranean

Aya Sofia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Elaia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Olio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 SoCo’s Gyros Deli & Catering Co. . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market . . . . . . . . 35

Southern

Juniper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Old Standard Fried Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Quincy Street Bistro . . . . . . 8 Southwestern

Southwest Diner . . . . . . . . 32 Steak house

801 Chophouse . . . . . . . . . 12 Annie Gunn’s . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Mexican

Sushi

La Tejana Taqueria . . . . . . 23 Milagro Modern Mexican . 24 Mission Taco Joint . . . . . . . 11 Spare No Rib . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Tienda El Ranchito . . . . . . 34 Taqueria Durango . . . . . . . 33

BaiKu Sushi Lounge . . . . . . 12 Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Middle Eastern

Aya Sofia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Cafe Natasha’s . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market . . . . . . . . 35 Pan-Asian

BaiKu Sushi Lounge . . . . . . 12 Hiro Asian Kitchen . . . . . . . 21

French

Persian

Bar Les Frères . . . . . . . . . . 13 Brasserie by Niche . . . . . . 16 Franco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Stone Soup Cottage . . . . . . . 4

Cafe Natasha’s . . . . . . . . . . 16 Pizza

Classic fine dining

German

Tony’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall . . . . . . 35

Basso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Good Pie . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Pastaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Pi Pizzeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Pizzeoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Contemporary American

Greek

Pub fare

Annie Gunn’s . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Big Sky Cafe . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

SoCo’s Gyros Deli & Catering Co. . . . . . . . . . . 31

Basso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Dressel’s Public House . . . 18

Thai

Fork & Stix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pearl Cafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Turkish

Aya Sofia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Vegetarian

Pizzeoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Tree House . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Vietnamese

Banh Mi So #1 — Saigon Gourmet . . . . . . . 13 Linh Mi Gia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Mai Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Pho Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

On the cover Illustration by Dan Martin of the Post-Dispatch

Find an interactive guide to the #stl100 at stltoday.com/stl100

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03.15.15 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • GO! MAGAZINE

Ian Froeb’s STL 100 3

hospitality is incredible, even more so considering with how a small a staff Stone Soup operates.

The top

Farmhaus Contemporary American Where 3257 Ivanhoe Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-647-

3800, farmhausrestaurant.com •

Hours Lunch Monday-Thursday,

dinner Wednesday-Saturday

Niche

$$$–$$$$

Contemporary American

$$$$ Gerard Craft, ever restless, has undertaken yet another challenge at his flagship restaurant. The cuisine at Niche now features almost exclusively Missouri-grown and -raised produce. This isn’t limited to the meats or seasonal vegetables. The bread is made with Missouri grain, and until the ocean level rises all the way to the banks of the Mississippi, seafood is limited to trout, sturgeon and other freshwater species. Even with these strictures, Niche still stands above the rest of the St. Louis dining scene. Indeed, the limitations seem to have focused the kitchen’s creativity, and Craft and his team — executive chef Nate Hereford, pastry chef Sarah Osborn and sous chef Brian Lagerstrom, whose work with fermentation and culturing is key to exploiting the potential of Niche’s Missouri larder — are serving some of the best food of Niche’s 10-year run. My dinner there in January 2015 impressed me especially with its deeply flavored vegetable fare (spaghetti squash with oregano, feta and pepitas) and its restrained approach to meat. One half of the lamb duo was simply pulled

Gerard Craft in the kitchen at Niche

shoulder meat sauced tableside with its own jus. Essential, just like Niche itself.

Elaia Contemporary American, Mediterranean Where 1634 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-9321088, elaiastl.com • Hours

Dinner Wednesday-Saturday $$$$

After tracking and reviewing Ben Poremba’s busy, mixedresult 2014 — his partnership to open the restaurant inside the new United Provisions grocery store in the Delmar Loop faltered after only a few months, while

his own new venture, Old Standard Fried Chicken, was a success — I found my most recent dinner at his flagship Elaia a bracing reminder of how talented a chef he is. Poremba and his exceptionally talented young chef de cuisine, Josh Charles, serve gorgeous, Instagram-ready dishes that also possess serious soul. Poremba draws on his Mediterraneanspanning background to deliver flavors that are brilliant and new yet also uncannily familiar, from his take on the traditional Moroccan street food pastilla (served here with luscious Mangalitsa-breed pork) to an elegant lamb tartare with a cracked-olive salad and black garlic. At a time when few St. Louis chefs are challenging diners, we’re fortunate to have

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

Poremba and his team pushing forward.

Stone Soup Cottage Contemporary American, French Where 5809 Highway N, Cottleville • More info 636-244-2233, stonesoupcottage.com • Hours Dinner Thursday-Saturday

$$$$ The good news is that scoring a reservation at Stone Soup Cottage has become slightly easier since Carl and Nancy McConnell relocated their restaurant from its tiny original location to a converted

barn at the same farm that provides much of their produce. The bad news? You still must plan a month or two ahead to eat at this 40-seat restaurant, which serves only one seating three nights a week. The great news? Stone Soup Cottage is worth the effort and the cost ($90 per person for a six-course tasting menu, with wine pairings an additional $55). Carl McConnell combines a modern concern for farm-to-table dining with exacting old-school French technique. My February 2015 meal included a stunning consommé of hen of the woods mushrooms with Bayonne ham and cannellini beans; a salad of lettuces and radishes over lobster; and a perfect miniature beef Wellington. The new dining room is gorgeous, and the

$ Under $15 per person

▼ From left: A seafood salad at Elaia; a salad with radishes and lobster at Stone Soup Cottage; bacon-wrapped meatloaf at Farmhaus

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : sid hastings / f il e ( nich e , e laia ) ; ian f ro e b / post- dispatch ( ston e soup cottag e ) ; christian good e n / f il e ( farmhaus )

Dinner Monday-Saturday

4 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

After five years and some big-time accolades for chef-owner Kevin Willmann — a multiple-time semifinalist for the James Beard Awards’ Best Chef: Midwest honor and a Food & Wine Best New Chef — Farmhaus has found a successful balance between the familiar and the new. Such signature dishes as the sweetpotato nachos, the baconwrapped meatloaf and Breakfast (pork belly, maple sausage, corn blini, an egg poached in clarified butter) sit alongside more recent, equally flavorful creations such as Vietnamesestyle chicken wings and the David Chang-esque steamed buns with porchetta. My most recent dinner there featured a lovely butternut-squash soup with a jalapeño doughnut and black-walnut brittle, and an ambitious, artful dish of panroasted red grouper with Parisienne gnocchi, tatsoi, a bourbon-soy blend and a purple sweet potato and miso cream. Farmhaus has also continued its Blue Plate Lunch program, a unique opportunity to enjoy a casual lunch prepared to the restaurant’s usual upscale standards.

Where 7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-7737755, nichestlouis.com • Hours

Contemporary American Where 106 North Main Street, Edwardsville • More info 618-

307-4830, clevelandheath.com •

Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$$$ It’s one thing for a restaurant to make downtown Edwardsville a destination for diners on the west side of the Mississippi River and elsewhere in the Metro East. It’s another altogether for an Edwardsville restaurant to be so compelling in its cooking and so gracious in its hospitality that you head there as automatically as you would your favorite neighborhood joint. Such has been the case since Jenny Cleveland and Eric Heath opened their namesake restaurant in late 2011. Cleveland-Heath’s “gourmet comfort” food offers something vibrantly flavored and perfectly executed for everyone, whether you want a pork chop the size of your head, a clever plating of luxurious foie gras (I loved the version from winter 2013-2014 served with pancakes) or Heath’s creative

photos : j . b . f orb e s / post- dispatch f il e ( cl e v e land - h e ath , sidn e y str e e t ca f e ) ; lauri e s k rivan / post- dispatch f il e ( th e crossing )

The Crossing Contemporary American Where 7823 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-721-

7375, fialafood.com/the-crossing • Hours Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday

scallops, the blue-cheese soufflé served as an amuse bouche) with both old-school elegance (beef tenderloin with a bordelaise sauce) and more of-the-moment fare (octopus, game, crudo). The Crossing offers three tasting menus. The basic version, at $35 per person for four courses, is a tremendous value. The premium version, also four courses, is $50. Those with an appetite and adventurous spirit might consider the grand tasting menu, $85 for (at least) seven or eight courses. Great service and a dining room that actual grownups can enjoy set the Crossing even further apart from the pack.

▲ Clockwise from left: Sea

scallops at the Crossing; chef Kevin Nashan in the kitchen at Sidney Street Cafe; Brussels sprouts with capers, shallots and Parmesan cheese at Cleveland-Heath

$$$$ Now into its 17th year, the Crossing refuses to coast on its reputation. Jim Fiala’s Clayton establishment is a vital part of the St. Louis restaurant community, a place where the well-traveled gourmand and a couple just hoping for a sure-thing Rare Night Out will enjoy their meals. Fiala and chef Brad Watts serve a seasonally driven menu that smartly balances slam-dunk favorites (crab cakes, seared

Sidney Street Cafe Contemporary American Where 2000 Sidney Street, St. Louis • More info 314-771-5777, sidneystreetcafe.com • Hours

Dinner Tuesday-Saturday $$$$

Kevin Nashan enjoyed quite the year in 2014. In January, a group of locally and nationally renowned

chefs gathered at Sidney Street Cafe to celebrate Nashan’s 10th anniversary as the chef and owner of the Benton Park institution. In March, he was named one of six finalists for Best Chef: Midwest at the James Beard Awards. (He didn’t win, but through 2014, no St. Louis chef had.) Then, in August, he opened his second restaurant,

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the Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co., a casual seafood spot that was an immediate hit. At Sidney Street, meanwhile, it’s been business as usual, with Nashan balancing tradition — yes, the filet béarnaise and wasabiencrusted steak are still on the menu — with a much more modern aesthetic. My favorite dish from my most recent visit

found a happy medium between the two: a painterly composition of roasted lamb loin “Wellington” and lamb sweetbreads over creamed kale paired with a rustic, strongly flavored Merguez-meatball ragout in a cast-iron dish.

pintsizebakery.com

Cleveland-Heath

take on such traditional dishes as pho or okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake studded with savory items). Cleveland honed her front-of-house skills at the great French Laundry in Napa, and Cleveland-Heath makes you feel a part of the community no matter how far you drove to get there.

* SmaLL BatCH * fRom SCRatCH * fReSH daiLy*

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 5

Tony’s Classic Fine Dining, Italian Where 410 Market Street, St. Louis • More info 314-231-7007, saucecafe.com/tonys • Hours

Dinner Tuesday-Sunday $$$$

In my ideal world, one in which we can ignore the constraints of time and money, every St. Louisan who loves restaurants would return to Tony’s at least once a year. Not to see how the area’s preeminent palace of fine dining has changed. Yes, some renovations in early 2014 did freshen up the space, and the menu includes a few seasonal specials. Let’s be honest, though. You’re here for the clas-

sics. Dover sole. Lobster albanello. Beef tenderloin with foie gras in a port-wine demiglace. (Don’t skim past the more modest dishes, however. In winter 2015, I loved a simple, soulful chicken consomme, and the fettuccine with duck confit and wild mushrooms is one of the best pasta dishes in St. Louis.) No, everyone would return to be reminded of the seamless magic of a great restaurant, the cocoon of perfect hospitality in which Vince Bommarito Sr.’s staff envelops you. At a time when so much attention is focused on the brilliance of the chef — and I’m as guilty of this as anyone — it’s a reminder that, in the end, dining out is about you.

Acero Italian Where 7266 Manchester Road, Maplewood • More info 314-

644-1790, fialafood.com/acero •

Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday

$$$ It’s reductive, of course, to distill a restaurant as outstanding as Acero to a single dish, but when that dish is as consistently revelatory as the egg raviolo here, it’s also understandable. Since Jim Fiala opened Acero in 2007, this simple dish — the exact preparation changes from time to time, but it’s basically an egg yolk with cheese inside a raviolo

— awakens you for the first time or the 50th to the essential beauty and endless possibilities of traditional Italian cuisine. Chef Adam Karl Gnau oversees a menu filled with similar pleasures: slices of mortadella folded over goat cheese and ricotta; a rustic pasta of fat pici with butter, ParmigianoReggiano, bread crumbs and sage; the perfectly layered pork flavors of the roasted porchetta; pastry chef Katie Fitzgerald’s elegant desserts. Acero’s prixfixe meal of any four courses for $35 is one of the best upscaledining values in St. Louis — and remains so even if you add the supplemental fee for that egg raviolo or one of the other topof-the-line dishes.

Pastaria Italian, Pizza Where 7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-8626603, pastariastl.com • Hours

Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Saturday and Sunday $$

Granted, Pastaria has been open only since September 2012, but it’s still shocking that Gerard Craft hasn’t already opened multiple locations of Pastaria in St. Louis and elsewhere. (Though Craft is planning a fast-casual restaurant downtown, Porano Pasta & Gelato, based on Pastaria.) The restaurant’s formula has been suc-

cessful, and the wait for one of its no-reservation tables lengthy, since day one: terrific fromscratch pasta and wood-fired pizza at an affordable price served in a casual, family-friendly atmosphere. The menu staples remain the main attraction — canestri cacio e pepi; pistachio ravioli; the brilliant Italian “ramen” and, really, any of the pizzas (for me, the Roman and the Brussels sprouts, if available) — with specials from executive chef Michael Petres and, of course, gelato and other treats from ace pastry chef Anne Croy. Pastaria might not have expanded (yet), but it did offer pizza aficionados something new in 2014, with “Pizza Takeover” nights featuring guest chefs from acclaimed pizzerias in other cities.

7927 FORSYTH BLVD - CLAYTON - MISSOURI 314.862.2999 - LIBERTINESTL.COM

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6 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

Photograph by Jennifer Silverberg

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( tony ’ s , pastaria ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( ac e ro )

▲ From left: Swordfish at Tony’s; Acero in Maplewood; canestri cacio e pepi at Pastaria

Five Bistro Contemporary American Where 5100 Daggett Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-773-5553, fivebistro. com • Hours Dinner Tuesday-Saturday

for profiteroles with coffeeorange ice cream from pastry chef Britt Simpson. The meal was emblematic of Five itself: not as flashy as some of St. Louis’ other top restaurants, but no less satisfying.

$$$–$$$$ Five Bistro hasn’t lacked for accolades since it opened in 2006, yet I often feel that neither the restaurant nor chef-owner Anthony Devoti has received enough credit. My most recent dinner there reminded me not only that Devoti and staff turn out great food — with an emphasis on pure, seasonally appropriate flavors and proper technique — but also that Five’s prix-fixe option is one of the best deals in town. For $45, you receive four full courses from the oft-changing menu, not whittleddown tasting-menu portions. On my visit these included three savory dishes: a crisp cake of luscious pork-head meat with a fried egg; a simple, elegant soup with cream, potato puree and a mirepoix; and a lamb loin chop over mustard-braised cabbage with roasted carrots. After all that, I still somehow made room

photos : P ost- D ispatch f il e ( f iv e bistro ) ; ian f ro e b / post- dispatch f il e ( f or k & S ti x ) ; j . b . f orb e s / post- dispatch f il e ( sugar f ir e smo k e hous e )

Fork & Stix Thai Where 549 Rosedale Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-863-5572, forknstix.com • Hours Lunch

the grilled, herb-spiked pork sausage called sai oua and naam prik nuum, a hot sauce with a striking depth of flavor, thanks to the use of roasted chiles. (The menu suggests pairing the latter with the former. Follow that advice.) If you try only one new dish here, though, it must be the khao soi, a curry-noodle soup of bright flavors and incredible complexity. No matter how many times I’ve eaten this dish, it’s a bottomless bowl of everything I don’t know about food but want to learn.

and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $

Fork & Stix was a revelation when it opened in late 2012, a Thai restaurant unlike any other in St. Louis. It’s still a revelation today — in part because its tiny, out-of-the-way location at the eastern end of the Delmar Loop ensures that many diners, even those who profess to love Thai cuisine, have yet to discover it. Along with the expected roster of red and green curries and pad thai — all excellent, though not the first reason you should come here — the Wanna family serves dishes from their native northern Thailand. These include

Sugarfire Smoke House Barbecue Where 9200 Olive Boulevard, Olivette • More info 314-997-

2301, sugarfiresmokehouse. com • Hours Lunch and dinner (or until sold out) daily

Where 3150 Elm Point Industrial Drive, St. Charles • More info 636724-7601, sugarfiresmokehouse. com • Hours Lunch and dinner (or until sold out) daily Where 9955 Winghaven Blvd, O’Fallon, Mo. • More info 636265-1234, sugarfiresmokehouse. com • Hours Lunch and dinner

(or until sold out) daily $–$$ Sugarfire Smoke House is both an integral part of the St. Louis barbecue renaissance and a miniature version of it. Since Mike Johnson, David Molina, and Carolyn and Charlie Downs opened the original Olivette location in September 2012, Sugarfire has quickly expanded to St. Charles and O’Fallon, Mo. What’s more, a fourth venture, Sugarfire Pie, featuring Carolyn Downs’ pies and other desserts, debuted in fall 2014. The rapid success isn’t difficult to explain. Sugarfire serves great barbecue, especially the beef brisket. There are also tasty griddle burgers, fun sandwiches (a brisket cheesesteak, smoked chicken tossed in hot sauce) and sides, the aforementioned pies and a seemingly limitless roster of daily specials. Though I might prefer the ribs at Bogart’s Smokehouse and Pappy’s Smokehouse, or the fatty beef brisket at Salt & Smoke, right now, for the complete package — meat, sides, sauces, dessert — Sugarfire Smokehouse is the barbecue joint to beat.

Clockwise from top: Charcuterie at Five Bistro; brisket sandwich with coffee barbecue sauce at Sugarfire Smoke House; khao soi at Fork & Stix

TasTe The TradiTion

A traditional Lebanese Restaurant where we take pride in our authentic flavors. Our menu is created from family recipes served for generations. Whether it’s freshly baked pita bread or the daily selection of sweets, every dish from our kitchen carries the love of a home cooked meal.

3171 South Grand • St. Louis • 314.776.0991 • thevinestl.com

The Vine Café and Market

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 7

training (LoRusso’s Cucina, Monarch), a farm-to-table ethic (from his own garden even) and a strong St. Louis identity (the aforementioned buffalo-chicken dip, toasted ravioli with hog’s head meat). Regulars know to look at the daily specials for the most exciting dishes and a glimpse at how wide open Lewis’ and Quincy Street’s futures are.

Contemporary American, Pub Fare, Southern Where 6931 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-353-1588, quincystreetbistro.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday

$$ You can enjoy Quincy Street Bistro on several different levels. It’s a south city neighborhood tavern, a place where you can chase your buffalo-chicken dip or cheeseburger with the house’s preferred drink, a Busch tallboy chased with moonshine and a pickleback. It’s a Southern joint, with exemplary fried chicken, chicken-fried steak and blackened catfish. Most importantly, for the purposes of the STL 100, it’s the playground of one of St. Louis’ most talented young chefs, Rick Lewis. The Post-Dispatch’s 2013 Chef of the Year and a 2014 semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year award, Lewis has created something wholly new by bringing together his higher-end

8 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

The Libertine Contemporary American Where 7927 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-8622999, libertinestl.com • Hours

Dinner Tuesday-Sunday $$$

The Libertine didn’t need to improve. The Clayton restaurant from the married team of Audra and Nick Luedde, with acclaimed chef Josh Galliano leading the kitchen, ranked second in my list of 2013’s best new restaurants. Galliano’s menu fused together the high-end technique from his previous tenures at An American Place and Monarch, the more rustic influence of his native Louisiana and the Libertine’s

Franco

French Where 1535 South Eighth Street, St. Louis • More info 314-4362500, eatatfranco.com • Hours

Dinner Monday-Saturday

hype has faded should talk to Tom Schmidt. His French bistro Franco was the toast of St. Louis when it opened in Soulard in late 2006. Its mix of contemporary cosmopolitan cool and hearty French fare was a revelation. Nine years later, it’s still a great restaurant — which is especially remarkable when you consider that several different chefs have led the kitchen over the years. Current executive chef Jon Dreja (who’s also the pitmaster for Schmidt’s new venture, the Delmar Loop barbecue joint Salt + Smoke) continues Franco’s tradition of delivering classic French fare — cassoulet, moules frites, escargots — with small but significant touches to remind you that a chef with an actual voice, not a cookbook-driven robot, is preparing your dinner. On my most recent visit, I was floored by an appetizer that served crisp veal sweetbreads with a blend of bone marrow and a sweet-potato puree that had been caramelized a la creme brulee.

$$$ ▲ Clockwise from top:

Escargots at Franco; chickenfried steak at Quincy Street Bistro; “Buffalo-style” crisp pig tails at the Libertine

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Any chef or restaurateur wondering how to keep a place fresh and vital long after all the Best New Restaurant

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( q uincy str e e t bistro ) ; christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( th e lib e rtin e ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z / f il e ( f ranco )

Quincy Street Bistro

own upscale-casual cocktaillounge vibe. That combination hasn’t changed, nor have many of the dishes. But my most recent visits showed that Galliano, executive sous chef Josh Poletti and their team are more dialed in, and the signature dishes — the “Buffalo-style” crisp pig tails, the Three Little Birds (roasted game hen, chicken and quail), the she-crab soup, as well as both the bread and the charcuterie programs — are even better than before. Add the fun cocktail list and the popular Fried Chicken Sunday monthly special, and the Libertine’s momentum has lasted well past its “best new restaurant” season.

▲ From left: Shrimp and

Juniper Southern, fried chicken Where 360 North Boyle Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-3297696, junipereats.com • Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday

$$$ Juniper has enjoyed one of the most rapid and remarkable ascents in the recent history of St. Louis dining. The Central West End restaurant began in 2013 as A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the second in a series of pop-up concepts that chef John Perkins was operating in his catering firm’s event space. That fall, after running a third pop-up concept, he decided to photos : sid hastings / f il e ( junip e r ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( tast e ) ; C hristian good e n / post- dispatch ( gu e rrilla str e e t f ood )

grits at Juniper; the dining room at Taste; lunch service at Guerrilla Street Food

bring back A Good Man Is Hard to Find’s modern Southern cuisine as a permanent restaurant called Juniper. This ranked among my best new restaurants of 2013, and by early 2014 it was one of St. Louis’ most sought-after reservations thanks to upscale versions of such classic dishes as fried chicken and waffles and pork and beans (pork belly and Sea Island red beans, with collard greens, maple syrup and a fried egg). Juniper looks poised for an even bigger 2015, as Perkins has named the talented Cassy Vires of the late Home Wine Kitchen as executive chef.

Taste Contemporary American, Small Plates Where 4584 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-361-1200, tastebarstl.com • Hours Dinner daily

$$ Gerard Craft’s Taste has experienced some significant changes since opening in summer 2009 — most obviously, its relocation from its miniscule space adjacent to the original Niche to its current, much larger spot in the Central West End. At the end of 2014, however, Taste faced maybe its greatest challenge yet when executive chef Matthew Daughaday

left to open his own restaurant. Over the past three years, through such dishes as pork scrapple and a take on traditional barbacoa tacos, Daughaday had given Taste a strong voice distinct from Craft’s other restaurants. Taking over as executive chef is Heather Stone, and while it’s too soon when I write this to judge her cooking on its own merits, my most recent visit to Taste suggests a seamless transition, with small plates that continue to punch above their weight in creativity and flavor. And Taste has done this before. Bar manager Kyle Mathis and his team have sustained the reputation set by master mixologist Ted Kilgore before he left to open Planter’s House.

Guerrilla Street Food Filipino, Food Truck Where 3359 Arsenal Street, St. Louis • More info 314-529-

1328, guerrillastreetfood.com •

Hours Lunch Monday-Friday

$ Guerrilla Street Food wasn’t the first food truck in St. Louis (though it was an early member of the area’s now-crowded fleet), but it was the first to prove that mobile dining could be more than just a trend or convenience, that food trucks could be the source of food as creative and delicious as any-

thing you’d find at a conventional restaurant. Owners Joel Crespo and Brian Hardesty draw from Crespo’s Filipino heritage to serve such classic dishes as lumpia (a sort of spring roll) and chicken adobo as well as their own riffs, including the truck’s signature item, the Flying Pig, which serves roasted pork with Sriracha, chiles, citrusy calamansi and a sousvide egg over jasmine rice. Guerrilla Street Food’s expansive roster of special dishes make it one of the very few trucks worth tracking down, rather than waiting for it to park near you. For both hardcore fans and the foodtruck-wary, 2015 promises to be Guerrilla Street Food’s most exciting year yet, with a storefront slated to open at Arsenal Street and South Grand Boulevard.

At Truffles, we hand select every ingredient, every day to give you an inventive menu. One of the world’s greatest wine lists is here, in the heart of Saint Louis

Restaurant

In 2014 inaugural The World’s Best Wine Lists awards by esteemed London based wine publication The World of Fine Wine, Truffles Restaurant’s wine list was recognized as the only one in the State of Missouri to receive the top tier 3 Star Award. Out of 4000+ entries, only 99 restaurants in the US and total of 225 in the entire world received the highest honor.

...details... Ever since we opened our doors in 1999, our menu has been executed with an approach that is both modern and comforting. It’s crafted fresh and features house made cheese, pastas and salumi, succulent cuts of lamb, pork and beef, freshest seafood available with tasty sides and seasonal vegetables.

TRUFFLES & BUTCHERY

9202 CL aY Ton Rd. SainT LoUiS, mo 6 3 12 4 E: inFo@TodaYaT TRUFFLES.Com

t: 3 1 4. 5 6 7.9 10 0 & 7 2 5 8

@ TRUFFLESSTL

@ bu tcheryStL

www.todayattruffles.com

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RANKED ONE OF THE BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OF 2014 BY STL TODAY

Barbecue Where 1627 South Ninth Street, St. Louis • More info 314-621-3107, bogartssmokehouse.com • Hours

10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday

Mai Lee

$–$$ I’m running out of superlatives for Bogart’s Smokehouse. Since 2011, Michael Macchi, Niki Puto, Brian Scoggins and pitmaster extraordinaire Skip Steele have been serving world-class barbecue from this small Soulard storefront. (The space hasn’t grown; the queue to order, alas, has.) So I’ll say this: Bogart’s Smokehouse remains not just an incredible barbecue joint but an incredible restaurant, full stop, even though the smoked prime rib — my favorite dish here, and topped with smoked onions, maybe my favorite sandwich anywhere, ever — is no longer on the menu. Change is inevitable, and at least in this case that change has brought tri-tip sirloin steak and burnt ends to go with Bogart’s signature apricot-glazed ribs as well as its brisket, pastrami, pulled pork, turkey and chicken

Lunch & Dinner Boxes $5.99+ • Unlimited Lunch & Dinner Buffet $8.99+ 20+ Items Served in the Buffet Everyday • Kids below 5 eat FREE

The Only Indian Restaurant in St. Louis that: Offers Lunch & Dinner Buffet Everyday • Launches New Items in the Buffet Everyday

Vietnamese Where 8396 Musick Memorial Drive, Brentwood • More info 314645-2835, maileestl.com • Hours

Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $–$$

Mai Lee is a quintessentially American success story — twice, or even thrice over. The Tran family fled Vietnam after the war, rebuilt their lives in St. Louis and, after Lee Tran started cooking her home country’s dishes at her restaurant, which she’d opened to serve Chinese food, introduced the area to Vietnamese cuisine. When Mai Lee outgrew its original home in a charmless University City strip mall, the Trans relocated in 2010 to a much bigger, more modern space in Brentwood, and the restaurant lost none of its charm — if anything, the food across the lengthy menu (more

Offers the most Vegan as well as Non Veg. options in the Buffet

*Offer ends 04/30/15 Loinback ribs at Bogart’s Smokehouse

10 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

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$ Under $15 per person

▲ Banh xeo crispy crepes

with shrimp and pork at Mai Lee (left) and Annie Gunn’s in Chesterfield

than 200 dishes) was even better than before. Now, as Lee’s son, Qui, becomes well known to local diners as the public face of Mai Lee, the restaurant is passing to the next generation, and once again, losing nothing in this transition. With Qui’s enthusiastic guidance, newcomers can fall in love for the first time with the basics (pho, lemongrassintensive stir fries, the famous salt-and-pepper calamari) while old hands can still find dishes to surprise them.

Annie Gunn’s Contemporary American, Steak house Where 16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield • More info 636-532-3314, smokehousemarket. com • Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

$$$–$$$$ There’s nothing else in the area quite like Annie Gunn’s, a place that works equally well as an upscale dining destination, a clubby steakhouse and the Chesterfield Valley’s living room. Chef Lou Rook III and his staff move nimbly from burgers to USDA prime steaks, from the Southern drawl of a massive pan-fried pork chop with a side of tangy comeback sauce (like a remoulade but better) to the French accent of a classic duckleg confit, perfectly crispskinned and deeply flavorful. Rook has led Annie Gunn’s kitchen for more than 20 years now — a remarkable run in an industry defined by its churn. Even more remarkable, his menu is still fresh, without falling for the latest trends, and timeless, without falling into cliché. Meanwhile, Glenn Bardgett’s wine list continues to win acclaim, including a semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine Program in the 2014-15 James Beard Awards.

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( bogart ’ s smo k e hous e , mai l e e ) ; david carson / post- dispatch ( anni e gunn ’ s )

Bogart’s Smokehouse

wings. With Steele’s masterly touch at the smoker — a perfect and consistent balance of smoke, meat and seasoning — you really can’t place a wrong order here (especially if you get the pit-smoked beans as your side).

▲ A pulled-pork sandwich

Pappy’s Smokehouse

platter with potato salad and sweet potato fries at Pappy’s (left) and the rooftop patio at Cielo downtown

Barbecue

Italian

Where 3106 Olive Street, St. Louis • More info 314-535-4340, pappyssmokehouse.com • Hours

Where 999 North Second Street, St. Louis • More info 314-8812105, cielostlouis.com • Hours

tomato relish is one of the better local treatments of that recently uber-trendy seafood.

$$$$

Mission Taco Joint

Lunch daily, dinner (or until sold out) Monday-Saturday $–$$

Pappy’s Smokehouse changed everything. Few, if any, St. Louis restaurants can stake such a hyperbolic claim, but for the barbecue-obsessed, the years cleave neatly between BP and AP, before Mike Emerson and John Matthews opened their midtown joint — and after, when a city known for how pork ribs are butchered, not how they are seasoned, smoked and sauced, could suddenly stand alongside Memphis, Kansas City and other ’cue capitals. In year 7 AP, Pappy’s blockbuster success seems preordained. The Memphis-style barbecue is championship-caliber, especially the ribs, smoked over apple and cherry wood and so perfectly seasoned that they need no sauce. (Though if you do love sauce, the regular, sweet and hot varieties are all excellent.) Pappy’s also sets a standard for hospitality from which many white-tablecloth restaurants could take lessons.

photos : k ath e rin e bish / f il e ( pappy ’ s smo k e hous e , ci e lo ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( mission taco joint )

Cielo Restaurant & Bar

▼ From left: Beef Brisket

Birria, Carne Asada and Baja Fish tacos at Mission Taco Joint

Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner daily, breakfast Monday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday

Cielo Restaurant & Bar, on the eighth floor of the posh Four Seasons St. Louis, switched chefs during the first half of 2014, though as far as these things go, this change wasn’t at all dramatic. Fabrizio Schenardi, the Italian native who’d received much acclaim since taking the reins of the Cielo kitchen in 2008 (including a three-star review from the Post-Dispatch), left to open a new Four Seasons property in Orlando, Fla. His replacement? Italian native and Four Seasons veteran Gian Nicola Colucci, who even hails from the same Italian town as Schenardi. The menu continues to reflect a modern, upscalerustic approach to Italian cuisine — though, this being a Four Seasons restaurant, the emphasis is on the upscale: ravioli stuffed with duck that has been braised with citrus and herbs; eggplant Parmesan served with Australian lamb chops; a $65 dry-aged rib eye. The grilled octopus with whitebean salad and sun-dried-

Mexican Where 6235 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-932-5430, missiontacostl.com • Hours Lunch

and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

Where 908 Lafayette Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-858-8226, missiontacostl.com • Hours Lunch

and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $–$$

You don’t need to be a savvy restaurateur to recognize that traditional Mexican tacos have been white-hot over the past few years. If you’re hoping to make something out of that trend, though, it helps to possess the Mexican-restaurant experience of Adam and Jason Tilford. The brothers’ success with Tortillaria Mexican Kitchen in the Central West End and, even more so, Milagro Modern Mexican in Webster Groves ensured that Mission Taco Joint would be a blockbuster as soon as it opened in 2013 in the Delmar Loop — and, as of 2014, at a second location in Soulard. Mission Taco Joint’s menu of tacos, tortas and burritos hits the trifecta of creativity, technique and fun, whether you’re the anthropological type who wants to see if the kitchen does right by the classic torta ahogada (a roasted-pork sandwich covered in ancho-chile sauce, and, yes, the kitchen does do it justice) — or you just want to munch on chips and queso, blended here with housemade chorizo.

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“Northern Thai Cuisine”

549 Rosedale Ave., St. Louis, MO 63112

314-863-5572

Hours: Mon. closed; Tu-Th 11am-3pm/5pm-9pm; Fri. 11am-3pm/5pm-10pm; Sat. 12pm-3pm/5pm-10pm; Sun. 12pm-3pm/5pm-9pm

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 11

Aya Sofia

The rest of

the best

Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Turkish Where 6671 Chippewa Street, St. Louis • More info 314-645-9919, ayasofiacuisine.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday, brunch Sunday

A decade after opening in Lindenwood Park, chef Mehmet Yildiz’s Aya Sofia remains a singular St. Louis restaurant. It’s elegant — romantic even — but not expensive. The Turkish fare touches on familiar flavors from other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, but it’s still not quite like anything else in town. Grilled beef, lamb and seafood dishes dominate the menu — I like the iskender, beef and lamb accented with yogurt and tomato sauce — though you might be tempted to build a meal out of the hot and cold mezze. I especially recommend the biber ezme, a bright, garlicky roasted-red-pepper dip.

801 Chophouse Steak House Where 137 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton • More info 314-875-

9900, 801restaurantgroup. com • Hours Dinner daily $$$$

Des Moines, Iowa-based 801 Chophouse swaggered into Clayton in late 2013, proffering an unabashedly upscale steakhouse experience. A meal here isn’t cheap — a 12-ounce strip steak costs $42, a 16-ounce rib-eye $52, and the potato and vegetable sides are, of course, a la carte (though the portions are big enough to share) — but the restaurant delivers on your investment with terrific USDAprime beef as well as veal, lamb and pork chops and both raw and cooked seafood. 801’s excellent service, beautiful, wood-trimmed dining room and old-school charm have catapulted it to the top spot among St. Louis steak houses.

BaiKu Sushi Lounge Sushi, Japanese, pan-Asian, Seafood Where 3407 Olive Street, St. Louis • More info 314-896-2500, baikustl. com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-

Friday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday $$–$$$

Adam’s Smokehouse Barbecue Where 2819 Watson Road, St. Louis • More info 314-875-9890, adamssmokehouse.com • Hours

Lunch Tuesday-Sunday (open until 6 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday) $–$$ Adam’s Smokehouse in Clifton Heights boasts the St. Louisbarbecue equivalent of a royal pedigree: owners Frank Vinciguerra and Mike Ireland both worked at Pappy’s Smokehouse, and Ireland is the son-in-law of Pappy’s owner, Mike Emerson. Adam’s succeeds on its own merits, though, thanks especially to its smoked salami (threequarters pork, one-quarter beef, all-quarters magic). Other standout meats include pork ribs — more consistently flavorful now than when I first reviewed Adam’s in 2013 — pulled pork and turkey. Whatever you order, a dollop of the tart-hot cranberry-cayenne sauce will enliven it.

12 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Asian Kitchen Korean Where 8423 Olive Boulevard, University City • More info 314-9899377, asiankitchenstl.com • Hours

Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $–$$ Your main course almost

doesn’t matter at Asian Kitchen, the Korean restaurant in University City. As per Korean tradition, a selection of banchan accompanies your meal, except here this isn’t a selection but a parade of the small side dishes, plate after plate of kimchee and fermented this and pickled that and chile-spiked this and that. On a recent visit, I counted 20 banchan, and I’d ordered only a

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

lunch portion of kimchee jigae, a delicious stew with kimchee, tofu and pork in a fiery broth. Yes, your main course matters. You’ll find the classics here, including bulgogi, bibimbap and various hot-pot broths.

▲ Clockwise from top left:

Soung Lee established his sushi bona fides at Miso on Meramec in Clayton and Central Table Food Hall in the Central West End. In 2014, he reunited with Miso owner Brad Beracha at BaiKu Sushi Lounge on the first floor of midtown’s boutique Hotel Ignacio. He continues to serve excellent sushi, sashimi and maki, but at BaiKu he showcases an approach both more nuanced (striped bass in light, bracing lemon-thyme vinaigrette) and more creative (a gorgeous, delicious tartare of yellowtail with scallions). The non-sushi menu isn’t quite as exciting, but BaiKu as a whole transcends its hotel-lounge environment.

Colorado lamb chops with mint jelly at 801 Chophouse; a smoked salami sandwich at Adam’s Smokehouse; Negi-hama tartare at BaiKu Sushi Lounge; Asian Kitchen in University City; the dining room at Aya Sofia

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( 8 0 1 chophous e , asian k itch e n , aya so f ia ) ; david carson / post- dispatch f il e ( adam ’ s smo k e hous e ) ; j . b . f orb e s / post- dispatch f il e ( bau k i sushi loung e )

Baileys’ Range Burgers Where 920 Olive Street, St. Louis • More info 314-241-8121, baileysrange. com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

photos : gab e hart w ig / post- dispatch f il e ( bail e ys ’ rang e ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( B anh M i S o # 1 ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( bar l e s f r è r e s )

$$ Even by his standards, Dave Bailey had a busy 2014. He debuted a vegetarian restaurant, Small Batch, in midtown and a second, larger Rooster in Tower Grove South; he also announced plans to open a barbecue restaurant downtown. At Baileys’

Range, it’s been business as usual, which is fine by me. Actually, the burger joint delivers a more consistent product now than when it opened in late 2011; the burgers I’ve eaten there recently have always been the requested medium-rare. Baileys’ Range continues its monthly battle between two burger specials, but my goto order remains a classic: a cheeseburger with the top-notch fries, with a side of cheese sauce.

Banh Mi So #1 — Saigon Gourmet Vietnamese Where 4071 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-353-0545, banhmiso1.com • Hours Lunch

and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $

The stretch of South Grand Boulevard south of Gravois Avenue has seen several Vietnamese restaurants — some good, some unremarkable —

come and go over recent years. Meanwhile, a little farther south on Grand, Lynne and Thomas Truong keep doing exactly what they’ve been doing for two decades now at Banh Mi So #1 — Saigon Gourmet, serving some of St. Louis’ best Vietnamese food. Wife Lynne still keeps her menu brief: soups, noodle bowls, charbroiled meats. Husband Thomas still watches over the oasis-like dining room, serving and clearing, arranging the elements of your iced coffee, chatting.

Authentic Mexican Cuisine

▲ From left: ABC Burger at

Bar Les Frères French Where 7637 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-7258880, barlesfreres.net • Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday

$$$ Tiny Bar Les Frères isn’t quite as tiny as it was upon opening in late 2012, thanks to a modest expansion, but this venture from the team of restaurateur Zoë Robinson Pidgeon and chef Ny Vongsaly (I Fratellini, Bobo

Baileys’ Range; Banh Mi So #1 — Saigon Gourmet; blini and caviar at Bar Les Frères

Noodle House) is still the coziest spot in town, perfect for that too-long-awaited date night. The menu doesn’t venture far from the classic French brasserie canon: steamed mussels, steak au poivre, duck confit. My two favorite dishes here are the lobster bisque — truly lobsterflavored, and the best in St. Louis — and the strongly seasoned Toulouse sausage with braised cabbage and a potato pancake.

Over 150 Varieties of Tequila

Experience both a Grocery Store & Mexican Restaurant and Bar! El Ranchito | Mexican Restaurant & Grocery Store 2565 N 32nd St, Fairmont City, IL 62201-2107 | 618.875.1521 www.tiendaelranchito.com

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 13

▲ From left: Zach Bocker

prepares pizzas at Basso; a salmon burger at Big Sky Cafe; the dining room at Blood & Sand

Basso Italian, Pizza, Pub Fare Where 7036 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-932-7820, basso-stl.com • Hours Dinner daily, lunch Sunday

Contemporary American Where 47 South Old Orchard Avenue, Webster Groves • More info 314-962-5757, bigskycafe.net • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday, brunch Sunday

$$ Now 23 years old, restaurateur Tim Mallet’s Big Sky Cafe in Webster Groves still feels fresh. Chef Dominic Weiss keeps it so by eschewing this week’s trends in favor of dishes that rely on

Blood & Sand Contemporary American Where 1500 St. Charles Street, St. Louis • More info 314-241-7263, bloodandsandstl.com • Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday

$$$$ Adam Frager and TJ Vytlacil’s private restaurant and bar repays the cost of membership with gracious service, excellent cocktails and smart modern fare, from the fun (the famous truffled tater tots) to the funky

(fried chicken feet with a tangy, spicy sambal sauce) to the disarmingly delicate (this past winter’s rabbit terrine layered with phyllo over a carrot puree). The kitchen’s consistency is especially impressive as 2014 began with Nicholas Martinkovic taking over for inaugural chef Chris Bork and ended with sous chef David Rosenfeld succeeding Martinkovic. The egalitarian spirit of the STL 100 keeps members-only Blood & Sand out of the Top 25. A public restaurant of its quality would make it with ease.

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( basso , blood & S and ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( big s k y ca f e )

Basso frustrated me a bit when it opened in late 2012 at the renovated Cheshire hotel. I liked the “Italian gastropub” fare (woodfired pizzas, rustic pastas), but the concept downplayed the talent of chef Patrick Connolly, who’d won a James Beard Award

for his work in Boston. That point is moot now. Connolly has returned to the East Coast. But even before his departure, I realized I’d been unfair to Basso. It succeeds on its own terms, as shown by the smart, flavorful dishes from my most recent visit, most notably the pappardelle with lamb, star anise, orange, pecorino and — weirdly, wonderfully — dark chocolate.

Big Sky Cafe

the strong natural flavors of seasonally appropriate fare. So my visit this past autumn began with pumpkin soup graced with the sweetness of apples and the smoke of bacon. My main course was pot roast braised in red wine, seasoned with rosemary, served over polenta with smoked gouda. Simple, yes, and thoroughly satisfying.

14 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

ï¿½

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Ian Froebâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s STL 100 15

▲ From left: Lunchtime at

Blues City Deli; cassoulet at Brasserie by Niche; the dining room at Cafe Natasha’s

Blues City Deli Deli, Italian, Sandwiches Where 2438 McNair Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-773-8225, bluescitydeli. com • Hours Lunch Monday-Saturday

(open until 7 p.m. Thursday) $

French Where 4580 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-454-0600, brasseriebyniche.com • Hours Dinner

daily, brunch Saturday-Sunday $$$

It’s difficult to discuss Brasserie by Niche in the context of Gerard Craft’s restaurants without damning it with faint praise. No, Brasserie doesn’t

Cafe Natasha’s Middle Eastern, Persian Where 3200 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-771-3411, cafenatasha.com • Hours Lunch and dinner MondayTuesday and Thursday-Sunday

$$ After more than 30 years in the restaurant business, the Bahrami family hasn’t stopped refining and updating Cafe Natasha’s. This anchor of the South Grand restaurant scene

reinvented its front dining room in 2014 as the Gin Room, featuring a staggering variety of its namesake spirit. Still, traditional Persian cuisine is the prime draw here, from universal favorites hummus, falafel and kebabs to elegant lamb and chicken stews to, my favorite (and not just because it was the subject of my firstever restaurant review nine years ago), the beef tongue with curry-mustard sauce.

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( blu e s city d e li , ca f e natasha’ s ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( brass e ri e by nich e )

Blues City Deli celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014, and the lunch rush at Vince Valenza’s beloved Benton Park sandwich joint is as packed as ever — and likely will be for as long as the roast beef is still bathed in its

own jus, the muffuletta is still overstuffed enough to feed two people (“Uh, yeah,” you say, “I’m sharing it.”) and the Aporkalypse Pretzelwich is still an occasional special. Change of a sort is on the way, however. Valenza has announced plans to open a wood-fired pizzeria called Melo’s Pizza in the garage behind Blues City Deli. Look for a summer 2015 opening.

Brasserie by Niche

offer the forward-thinking cuisine of Niche, the playful experimentation of Taste or the rustic, crowd-pleasing flavors of Pastaria. What it does do, though, it still does very well after five years: unaffected French bistro fare, from French onion soup to steak frites to trout almandine. For my money, the best time to visit Brasserie is winter (the colder, the better), when you can follow the onion soup with the peerless cassoulet. For dessert, always, there’s the floating island.

16 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

▲ From left: Cardwell’s at the

Plaza; a cappuccino at Comet Coffee; a Heart-Stopping BLT at Crown Candy Kitchen

Cardwell’s at the Plaza Contemporary American Where 94 Plaza Frontenac, Frontenac • More info 314-997-8885, billcardwell. com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$$$

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( card w e ll’ s at th e pla z a , com e t co f f e e ) ; david carson / post- dispatch f il e ( cro w n candy k itch e n )

Once again, Bill Cardwell finds himself ahead of the curve. The celebrated chef’s namesake restaurant at Plaza Frontenac has drawn crowds for 20 years now. (I still can’t land a table at lunch without

Comet Coffee & Microbakery

a reservation.) A forerunner of what is now the default mode of upscale cuisine — seasonal, approachable — Cardwell might have lost some cachet as younger chefs opened more of-the-moment restaurants, but his place kept humming, and now that the pendulum has swung back to more casual, crowd-pleasing fare, Cardwell’s wood-fired pizzas, American bistro fare and, of course, Bill’s Burger Meister Burger seem like a model.

Bakery & Dessert Where 5708 Oakland Avenue, St.

Louis • More info 314-932-7770, cometcoffeestl.com • Hours Open from breakfast to mid-afternoon daily $ When Comet Coffee & Microbakery opened in 2012, it first gained attention for being part of St. Louis’ move into the so-called “third wave”

(i.e., higher quality) of coffee. Soon, though, visitors to this small storefront in the city’s Cheltenham neighborhood discovered that, its “micro” prefix aside, Comet’s bakery was no afterthought. Co-owner and pastry chef Stephanie Fischer serves delicious pastries both sweet and savory, both familiar (muffins, croissants) and unique (the otherworldly Lithuanian bacon bun: brioche with bacon and Swiss cheese). Warning: I’ll fight you for the day’s last lemon-poppyseed scone.

Crown Candy Kitchen Bakery & Dessert, Diner Where 1401 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-621-9650, crowncandykitchen.net • Hours

Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday $ For more than 100 years — let that sink in for a second — the Karandzieff family has been sating the sweet teeth of St. Louisans and visitors at Crown

We Deliver

Candy Kitchen. Actually, the Old North St. Louis landmark might be more popular than ever, thanks in part to national-television attention for its infamous malt challenge (drink five malts in half an hour, and they are free) and pork-on-pork Heart Stopping BLT sandwich, in part to owner Andy Karandzieff’s irascible and hilarious Twitter feed. Crown Candy Kitchen is a tourist destination, but it’s no tourist trap. It has been, is and will be a vital part of our community.

eatcalzones.com

St. Louis

903 Pine Street St. Louis, MO 63101

314-241-5667 Hours

Mon.-Wed. 11am-9pm Thur.-Sat. 11am-1am

Clayton

7810 Forsyth Boulevard Clayton, MO 63105

314-833-5426 Hours

Mon.-Wed. 11am-9pm Thur.-Sat. 11am-11pm

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 17

at Death in the Afternoon; doughnuts at the Donut Stop; the dining room at Dressel’s

Death in the Afternoon Contemporary American Where 808 Chestnut Street, St. Louis • More info 314-621-3236,

deathintheafternoonstl.com • Hours Lunch Monday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday $$

The lovely glass-box restaurant space in downtown’s Citygarden sculpture park has struggled to find an appropriate tenant, but 2014 newcomer Death in the Afternoon seems to be an excel-

lent fit. The team behind the acclaimed members-only restaurant Blood & Sand has crafted a menu that gives an upscale chef’s touch to classic lunch fare (salads, sandwiches, a burger) and global dishes (falafel, ramen, steamed buns) alike. Want to experience the full range of flavors in one meal? Begin with the excellent Asian-eggplant dip, follow with the hot-pastrami sandwich and then treat yourself to the cotton candy du jour.

The Donut Stop Bakery & Dessert Where 1101 Lemay Ferry Road, South St. Louis County • More info

314-631-3333, thedonutstopinc.net • Hours 4:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. daily

Where 3120 West Clay Street, St. Charles • More info 636724-5213, thedonutstopinc.net • Hours 5 a.m.-1 p.m. daily

$ You don’t need to order anything more complicated than an ethereally light glazed doughnut to understand why

62-year-old Donut Stop is preeminent among St. Louis doughnut shops, which actually means something in an area with a rich, continuing history of locally owned, independent doughnut shops. But you should know that in recent years the Donut Stop has gained national acclaim for its one quirk: the unparalleled cinnamon glob. The name tells you everything. It’s a glob of fried, cinnamonspiked dough, heavier than a yeast or even a cake doughnut, probably too much for one person. It’s glorious.

Dressel’s Public House Contemporary American, Pub Fare Where 419 North Euclid Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-3611060, dresselspublichouse.com • Hours Lunch Monday-Saturday, dinner daily, brunch Sunday

$$ Dressel’s Public House is a Central West End institution, but it hasn’t remained stagnant over its 35 years. Since taking over Dressel’s from his parents,

Jon and Barbara Dressel, Benjamin Dressel has added a large new dining room to the cozy barroom, and the menu has expanded from classic pub fare to include a more contemporary aesthetic. Executive chef Derek Roe handles both approaches with aplomb, from such oldschool classics as the chips with rarebit and fish and chips to seasonally changing beef, pork and seafood dishes. The burger and Porchetta Louie sandwich remain can’t-miss choices.

Named “Best salami in the country” by Larry Olmstead of Forbes Magazine, Salume Beddu is a small artisan cured meat company specializing in traditional Italian cured meats made with locally procured heritage pork. Salume Beddu offers award winning sandwiches and Italian specialties in addition to their artisan cured meats.

3467 Hampton Ave // 18 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

314-353-3100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

// salumebeddu.com

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : sid hastings / f il e ( d e ath in th e a f t e rnoon ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( th e donut stop ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( dr e ss e l’ s public hous e )

▲ From left: Pork ramen

photos : lauri e s k rivan / post- dispatch f il e ( f e rguson burg e r bar & mor e ) ; huy mach / post- dispatch f il e ( f iv e star burg e rs ) ; b e tha w hitlo w/ f il e ( f o z z i e ’ s sand w ich e mporium )

▲ From left: Ferguson Burger

Ferguson Burger Bar & More Bar & Grill, Burgers, Breakfast Where 9120 West Florissant Avenue, Ferguson • More info 314-388-0424 • Hours Open for

breakfast, lunch and dinner daily $ Thrust into the spotlight by its location and coincidence — new owners Charles and Kizzie Davis took over the stripmall restaurant in Ferguson the day before police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed

Bar & More; a Green Chile Cheeseburger at Five Star Burgers; a Cardiac Burger at Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium

18-year-old Michael Brown — Ferguson Burger Bar & More became a gathering spot for the community and the media (local, national, global) in the tumultuous weeks that followed. In hindsight, this isn’t so surprising. The restaurant’s spirit is welcoming, its food (burgers, wings, breakfast fare) delicious — especially the signature Garbage Burger, a perfect fast-food burger.

Five Star Burgers Burgers Where 8125 Maryland Avenue, Clayton • More info 314-720-

4350, 5starburgersstl.com •

Hours Lunch and dinner daily Where 312 South Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood • More info 314-

394-2250, 5starburgersstl.com •

Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$ In just two years and change, Five Star Burgers has gone from being the interesting next act of longtime Harvest owner and chef

Steve Gontram’s career to St. Louis’ premier burger joint. The secret to Five Star’s rapid success is no secret at all, though. At both the original Clayton location and, since December 2013, the Kirkwood satellite, the patty is consistently great: flavorful, juicy and properly cooked to your preferred temperature. My favorite is the green-chile cheeseburger, but no variation has disappointed. The secret is also in the details: crisp fries, gooey cheese curds and a smartly curated list of local craft beer.

Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium Burgers, Sandwiches Where 1170 South Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights • More info

314-932-5414, foodatfozzies.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

Where 11656 Manchester Road, Des Peres • More info 314909-4755, foodatfozzies.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

chef, Gerard Craft, plans to open a fast-casual place in 2015 — it’s worth returning to Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium. Mark Lucas’ restaurant, which opened in Richmond Heights in 2010 (a Des Peres location followed in 2013), was one of the first locally owned operations to balance the necessities of fast-casual dining (affordability, efficiency, quality) with a chef’s own voice. Here that means fun, tasty sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs, most of them over-the-top in the best way, overloaded with toppings.

As the market for fast-casual restaurants continues to grow — even St. Louis’ most acclaimed

Barbeque - Low and Slow is the way to go

All meat is slow cooked to perfection, and our sides offer just the right selection to complement the main event, whichever that may be for you – our amazing smoked ribs, delicious pulled pork or another one of our smokey and savory barbeque masterpieces.

2819 Watson Ave, 63139 • 314.875.9890 www.adamssmokehouse.com stltoday.com/stl100 #stl100

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 19

Gioia’s Deli Deli, Food Truck, Italian, Sandwiches Where 1934 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-776-9410, gioiasdeli.com • Hours 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday

$ Gioia’s Deli might be the hippest nonagenarian restaurant on the planet. The Hill institution, which opened in 1918, launched a food truck in 2014, and its website includes a very of-

The Good Pie Pizza Where 6665 Delmar Boulevard, University City • More info 314-8999221, thegoodpiestl.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

$$ Mike Randolph’s the Good Pie was already the standard-bearer for Neapolitan pizza in St. Louis, but since relocating in 2014 from midtown to the Delmar Loop, it’s become an even better restaurant. Credit pizzaiolo

Ryan Skyles with refining his recipe for the dough, employing a natural starter to give it a distinctive (and delicious) sour tang. The menu is brief, but crust this good, crisped in the wood-fired oven, needs nothing more than the classic margherita trio, Genoa salami or salsiccia. The bar features a strong lineup of craft beer on draft and very good cocktails from mixologist Jeffrey Moll.

▲ From left: Tortellini salad

with a hot salami sandwich at Gioia’s Deli; a Genoa salami pizza at the Good Pie; pulledturkey nachos at Grapeseed

Grapeseed Contemporary American Where 5400 Nottingham Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-9258525, grapeseedstl.com • Hours Dinner Tuesday-Sunday

seed as a casual wine bar for sharing small plates or as a proper sit-down restaurant. Either way, Anderson and his talented sous chef, Jonathan Olson, serve fun, flavorful dishes: sweet-potato nachos topped with turkey-leg meat; a grass-fed burger that pays homage to the Big Mac. Definitely don’t overlook Anderson’s version of shrimp and grits or the elegant, appetizer-size pastas.

$$–$$$ After operating restaurants in St. Charles and (very briefly) Manchester, chef Ben Anderson has planted his flag in the city’s Southampton neighborhood with Grapeseed, one of 2014’s standout debuts. You can treat Grape-

Walk-in/Waitlist seating by party size assisted by the NoWait app.

deeply rooted in local & seasonal cuisine with an emphasis on affordable options for all

5400 Nottingham Ave., 63109 20 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

314.925.8525

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

www.grapeseedstl.com $ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : chris l e e / post- dispatch f il e ( gioia’ s d e li , grap e s e e d ) ; sid hastings / f il e ( th e good pi e )

the-moment “secret” menu of special sandwich combinations. All of this would be nothing more than a curiosity, however, if Gioia’s didn’t also serve one of the great, iconic St. Louis dishes. Gioia’s hot salami (hot as in temperature, not chiles, the restaurant makes sure to explain) is an incredible piece of lunchmeat: tender, complexly spiced, delicious whether you get it from the truck or the old-fashioned way.

Grbic Restaurant Bosnian Where 4071 Keokuk Street, St. Louis • More info 314-7723100, grbicrestaurant.com • Hours Lunch Saturday-Sunday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday

photos : rob e rt coh e n / post- dispatch f il e ( grbic r e staurant, ic e s plain & fancy ) ; christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( hiro asian k itch e n )

$$ If you live in St. Louis and still haven’t tried Bosnian food — well, what’s wrong with you? Grbic Restaurant, on a Dutchtown side street just south of Gravois Avenue and

Chippewa Street, is a great place to introduce yourself to the cuisine. The menu includes such Bosnian must-orders as cevapi, delicious bites of grilled beef served with spongy flatbread, as well as more broadly Central European dishes, including an impressive serving of veal wienerschnitzel with buttery spaetzle. The menu currently includes dishes the Grbic family prepared for a victorious appearance on Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games.”

Hiro Asian Kitchen Pan-Asian Where 1405 Washington Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-241-4476, hiroasiankitchen.com • Hours

Lunch Tuesday-Saturday, dinner Tuesday-Sunday, brunch Sunday $$

Bernie Lee made a bold decision when construction forced him to relocate Hiro in 2013 from the Delmar Loop to Washington

Avenue. He rebranded it as Hiro Asian Kitchen and ditched the conventional sushi offerings for a menu that touches on Japanese, Chinese and several different Southeast Asian cuisines without succumbing to the clichés of 1990s pan-Asian fare. I haven’t seen my favorite dish there, penang bak kut teh (meat-bone tea), in a while, but I can still find the Malaysian beef rendang, the lemongrass-accented pork chop and a new favorite, the roastedshrimp-based spicy laksa ramen.

▲ From left: Cevapi at Grbic;

Ices Plain & Fancy Bakery & Dessert Where 2256 South 39th Street, St. Louis • More info 314-601-3604, icesplainandfancy.com • Hours Open

afternoon and evening TuesdaySaturday, afternoon Sunday $

The science behind Ices Plain & Fancy isn’t new, but that doesn’t make it any less cool. When you order ice cream at this parlor

Ramen at Hiro; owner Darla Crask prepares mint chip ice cream at Ices Plain & Fancy

that opened in 2014 in the Shaw neighborhood, an employee makes it to order by freezing the cream with superchilled liquid nitrogen. This isn’t a gimmick. The resulting ice cream is incredibly smooth. The everyday menu of flavors isn’t long, but there are seasonal specials as well as ice cream blended with Sump Coffee and, for the grownup kids, booze-spiked ices.

des PeRes

11656 manchester Rd. (314) 909-4755

Richmond heights 1170 S. Big Bend (314) 932-5414

CATERING carry out delivery dINE IN

foodatfozzies.com ONLINE ORdERING – LOyALTy pROGRAm

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 21

â&#x2013;˛ From left: Chongqing

Joy Luck Buffet Chinese Where 8030 Manchester Road, Brentwood â&#x20AC;˘ More info 314-645-9982 â&#x20AC;˘ Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$$ The â&#x20AC;&#x153;secretâ&#x20AC;? menu at Joy Luck Buffet isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really a secret. Still, if you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already know, the smart move at this Brentwood staple â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the only move, really â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is to skip the buffet entirely and order instead from the menu of traditional Szechuan

chicken at Joy Luck Buffet; tuna tataki by Kitchen Kulture; the Kitchen Sinkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s namesake dish, a version of shrimp and grits

cuisine. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a Szechuan novice, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fret: The menu includes a color photograph of almost every dish. Start with the (relatively) mild cumin lamb or dive into the deep end with one of the beef-tendon dishes or Chongqing chicken, dosed with numbing Szechuan peppercorns and more chiles than youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen on one plate.

Kitchen Kulture Contemporary American Where Pop-up restaurant â&#x20AC;˘ More info 314-277-3881, kitchenkulture.co

$â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$$ The brainchild of restaurantindustry veterans Christine Meyer and Michael Miller, Kitchen Kulture is a mobile operation, pop-up restaurant and catering firm all rolled together. You can find the duo and their team serving prepared and made-to-order food at Tower

Grove Farmers Market and operating pop-up brunch and lunch services at Sump Coffee. A residency at Local Harvest Cafe in winter 2015 showcased deeply flavored, beautifully presented dishes informed by Japanese, Chinese, Thai and other Asian cuisines, including tuna tataki with jalapeĂąo in a ponzu vinaigrette. Wherever Meyer and Miller set up shop next, Kitchen Kulture is worth seeking out.

The Kitchen Sink Cajun/Creole, Bar & Grill, Burgers, Breakfast Where 255 Union Boulevard, St. Louis â&#x20AC;˘ More info 314-4541551, letseat.at/thekitchensink â&#x20AC;˘ Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$$ The Kitchen Sink lost none of its charm when it relocated in 2013, after only a year in business, from its cramped original location to a much bigger space. If anything, the restaurant is

now an even fuller expression of chef Anthony Ellerson Jr.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique mash-up of Cajun and Creole fare with bar-and-grill and diner grub. (Case in point: The restaurant isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t open during breakfast hours but does serve breakfast fare.) Plump burgers overloaded with toppings are a house specialty, as are crawfish ĂŠtouffĂŠe, jambalaya, gumbo and the namesake dish, the Kitchen Sink, cheese grits topped with shrimp, andouille and a tasso-crab gravy.

photos : ian f ro e b / post- dispatch

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22 Ian Froebâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s STL 100

Go! Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ St. Louis Post-Dispatch â&#x20AC;˘ 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$30 $$$ $30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

La Patisserie Chouquette Bakery & Dessert Where 1626 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-9327935, simonefaure.com • Hours

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( la patiss e ri e chou q u e tt e , la t e jana ta q u e ria ) ; cristina f l e t e s - boutt é / post- dispatch f il e ( linh mi gia )

$ La Patisserie Chouquette is less a traditional bakery than an art gallery. You step inside this shop in Botanical Heights, and Simone Faure’s creations

stltoday.com/stl100 #stl100

— fondant-wrapped cakes, including full-size replicas of women’s designer shoes — seem too beautiful to breathe near, let alone eat. Fortunately, Faure serves plenty of smaller but no less elegant gems that you won’t hesitate to enjoy: macarons in a variety of flavors; a flaky croissant concealing a rich layer of chocolate; a sophisticated galette with apples and cheese. Chocolate hounds should keep an eye out for the Darkness, a special chocolate croissant with dark chocolate in the dough.

La Tejana Taqueria Mexican Where 3157 North Lindbergh Boulevard, Bridgeton • More info

314-291-8500, latejanataqueria.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$ La Tejana Taqueria has spruced itself up since I first dined here in 2010. The restaurant inside a liquor store (and in the same strip mall as a butcher shop

that its owners, the Garcia family, also run) even launched a food truck a few years back. Its appeal remains unchanged, however: The tacos, tortas and other traditional Mexican dishes are very good, with the boldness of flavor that has set the North County taqueria scene apart from Cherokee Street. If you want to branch out beyond tacos, I suggest the carnitas plate and especially the goat soup, an intensely goat-flavored broth brimming with goat meat.

▲ From left: Cakes on

Linh Mi Gia Vietnamese Where 3723 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-772-7742 • Hours

Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday $

A small cult has formed to worship Nelson Tran’s canh ga chien, fried chicken wings with garlic and butter. Members devoured them at his previous restaurant, Mi Linh in Rock Hill, and then followed Tran to his new spot, Linh Mi Gia, which opened in

display at La Patisserie Chouquette; the dining room at La Tejana Taqueria; canh ga chien at Linh Mi Gia

2014 in Tower Grove South. Tran serves more than just great wings, however. His soups are outstanding. There’s pho, of course, as well as mi xia miu, a deeply piggy pork broth with squiggly egg noodles and barbecue pork, and mi vit tiem, a rich duck soup verdant with fresh herbs. Seriously, though, order those wings. I’ll put your cultmembership card in the mail.

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 23

Bamboo Stew at Lona’s Lil Eats; diners at Meskerem; carne asada at Milagro

Lona’s Lil Eats Chinese Where 2199 California Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314925-8938, lonaslileats.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday

$ Lona Luo hails from a small village in China’s southwest, a region that shares historical ties to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The cuisine that she and husband Pierce Powers serve at

this small Fox Park restaurant — and have also offered for several years now at Soulard Farmers Market — nods at each of these cuisines, yet it still tastes unique. You build a plate or burritolike rice-paper wrap by pairing smoky grilled meats (or, if you prefer, stir-fried shrimp or tofu) with complexly seasoned sauces. Be sure to try Lona’s potstickerlike dumplings stuffed with steak and mushrooms or just mushrooms.

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant Ethiopian Where 3210 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-772-4442, meskeremstl.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$–$$ After eight years, Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant has established itself as an essential part of South Grand’s vibrant,

eclectic array of restaurants — and of the larger St. Louis dining scene, as well. Meskerem works best as a communal experience, with a few diners sharing several dishes that are all served atop the same large piece of the spongy bread called injera. You tear off pieces of the injera and use them as a utensil for such complexly spiced dishes as doro wat (chicken), lamb tibs or miser wat (lentils). Meskerem offers appealing options for both vegetarians and devoted carnivores (the beef tartare-like kitfo).

Milagro Modern Mexican Mexican Where 20 Allen Avenue, Suite 130, Webster Groves • More info 314-

962-4300, milagromodernmexican. com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily $$ Milagro Modern Mexican finds itself in an awkward position: the star student whose cooler younger brother now attends the same school. Mission Taco Joint,

the restaurant that brothers Adam and Jason Tilford opened after Milagro, has been a wild success. Much of what makes Mission so great, however, the Tilfords have been perfecting here since 2010: brilliantly flavored tacos, burritos and tortas that respect tradition without being hidebound by it. And Milagro still gives chef Jason a playground for more ambitious dishes, both from the regular menu (Oaxacan mole, cochinita pibil) and daily specials.

Congratulations to our Wine Director

Glenn Bardgett

2015 James Beard Foundation National Semi-Finalist for Outstanding Wine Program

24 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : rob e rt coh e n / post- dispatch f il e ( lona’ s lil e ats ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( m e s k e r e m ) ; gab e hart w ig / post- dispatch f il e ( milagro mod e rn m e x ican )

▲ From left: Village

▲ From left: Nobu’s Japanese

Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant Japanese, Seafood, Sushi

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( nobu ’ s japan e s e r e staurant ) ; christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( old standard f ri e d chic k e n ) ; sid hastings / f il e ( olio )

Where 8643 Olive Boulevard, University City • More info

314-997-2303, nobusushistl.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday $$–$$$ Noboru Kidera has been serving sushi in St. Louis for almost 30 years, and the restaurant’s University City location, an old International

Restaurant; the namesake dish at Old Standard Fried Chicken; diners at Olio

House of Pancakes, is iconic. Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant is no relic, though. Sitting at the bar here, as I prefer to do, watching Kidera work brings you back to the simple, essential beauty of sushi. Forget the overloaded Americanized rolls. Order a piece of tai (Japanese red snapper) nigiri and admire the exact cut of the fish, the proper seasoning of the rice and, crucially, the dot of sour-plum sauce that Kidera applies as an accent.

Old Standard Fried Chicken Fried Chicken, Southern Where 1621 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-899-9000, oldstandard.co • Hours Lunch and

dinner daily, brunch Sunday $$

Old Standard Fried Chicken, the latest Botanical Heights restaurant from Elaia and Olio chef Ben Poremba, has been open only since October

2014, but its signature dish is already a source of much contention among St. Louis diners. Yes, the fried chicken here costs more than at most places. No, it’s not yet the best in town or even my personal favorite — though it is terrific, with a crisp, peppery batter that yields to juicy brined meat. The complete package is what sets Old Standard apart, from the whiskey list and housemade sodas to the excellent snacks and sides, especially chilespiked boiled-peanut hummus.

Olio Contemporary American, Mediterranean Where 1634 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-932-1088, oliostl.com • Hours Lunch MondaySaturday, dinner daily, brunch Sunday

$$ Calling Olio the more casual sibling of chef-owner Ben Poremba’s adjacent restaurant Elaia is accurate, of course, but also does it a disservice. This restaurant and bar inside a

converted 1920s service station in the city’s Botanical Heights neighborhood stands on its own merits. As at Elaia, the menu nods to Poremba’s Mediterranean-spanning upbringing, with hummus, several eggplant dishes and a standout baby-octopus salad. A recent menu revamp has added, among other dishes, pizza. Though the beverage team underwent changes at the start of 2015, Olio remains a great spot to sip beer, wine or a cocktail.

BRING IN THIS AD AND RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY CANE-SUGAR SODA OR ICED GREEN TEA WITH MEAL PURCHASE

2199 CALIFORNIA AVE., ST. LOUIS, MO 63104 | 314 925-1843 | LONASLILEATS. Find an interactive guide to the #stl100 at stltoday.com/stl100

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 25

Seafood Where 1831 Sidney Street, St. Louis • More info 314-772-8858, peacemakerstl.com • Hours Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner daily (opens at 1:30 p.m. Sunday)

$$–$$$ The Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co., the new restaurant from Sidney Street Cafe chef

Pearl Cafe Thai Where 8416 North Lindbergh Boulevard, Florissant • More info 314831-3701, dinepearlcafe.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday

$–$$ Scroll through Pearl Cafe’s Facebook page, and you’ll see photo after photo of diners who have attempted the Thai restaurant’s infamous Spice Challenge. Unsurprisingly, both those who have passed

and those who have failed look equally miserable. Fortunately, you don’t need to try this challenge to enjoy Pearl Cafe — I’ve never done it — but it’s one of the cool ways brothers Scott and Tommy Truong have set their restaurant apart since it opened in 2009. Where else can you pair very good renditions of your favorite Thai curries and noodle dishes with one of some 200 craft beers or more than 100 single-malt scotches?

▲ From left: A lobster boil

at Peacemaker; stir-fried cashews with shrimp at Pearl Cafe; Kohlapuri at Peshwa

Peshwa Indian Where 10633 Page Avenue, Suite B, North St. Louis County • More info 314-428-8888, peshwafood. com • Hours Lunch and dinner Monday and Wednesday-Sunday

$–$$ St. Louis doesn’t lack for Indian restaurants, but in recent years I’ve struggled to name one the best or my favorite. They differ by a matter of degrees, it often seems. So while small, no-frills

Peshwa might not boast the broadest menu or buffet selection, it does offer numerous dishes I haven’t eaten before — and find myself craving again. Since it opened in 2014, I’ve enjoyed two remarkable chicken curries (the chile-spiked Kolhapuri and the milder, sweeter Malvani) and many excellent vegetarian dishes, including a curry with black-eyed peas and kacchi dabeli, sandwiches with a spicy potato filling.

Linh Mi GiA Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

3723 Gravois Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63116 (314) 772-7742 26 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

Family owned and operated $$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( p e ac e ma k e r lobst e r & C rab C o . ) ; cristina f l e t e s - boutt é ( p e arl ca f e ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z / f il e ( p e sh wa )

The Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co.

Kevin Nashan, delivered on its ambitions from the day it opened its doors in August 2014. The menu celebrates American seafood from New England to the Chesapeake Bay to Louisiana: lobster boils and lobster rolls (warm or cold), steamed Maryland blue crabs with Old Bay and fried-shrimp po’boys. The Peacemaker is casual, family-friendly and, except for the market-price lobster and crab dishes, not too expensive — and one of the best dishes here, a roll with fried clam strips and a chive aioli, is all of $11.

Pho Long Vietnamese Where 8629 Olive Boulevard, University City • More info 314-

997-1218, facebook.com/pholongstl • Hours Lunch and dinner Monday and Wednesday-Sunday $ In the nine years since Pho Long opened, its namesake beef-noodle soup has moved ever closer to the mainstream. The restaurant itself has relocated from an original home, a glorified cupboard, to a somewhat bigger space in the same University City strip mall. The menu, though still not lengthy compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, has expanded beyond just pho. Still, the pho here remains as revelatory as it was on my first visit in 2006. The broth, a recipe handed down through owner Kim Hua Long’s family, is more deeply beefy and more beguilingly spiced than any other pho in town.

Where 10935 Manchester Road, Kirkwood • More info 314-9668080, pi-pizza.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

Pi Pizzeria Pizza Where 6144 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-7276633, pi-pizza.com • Hours

Lunch and dinner daily

Where 610 Washington Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-5887600, pi-pizza.com • Hours

Lunch and dinner daily

Where 400 North Euclid Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-3674300, pi-pizza.com • Hours

photos : rob e rto rodrigu e z ( pho long ) ; k ath e rin e bish / f il e ( pi pi z z e ria ) ; b e tha w hitlo w/ f il e ( pint si z e ba k e ry )

Lunch and dinner daily

Where 14870 Clayton Road, Chesterfield • More info 636-5275070, pi-pizza.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily; carryout only

$$ Expansion to Washington, D.C., Cincinnati and (soon) Miami Beach hasn’t dulled the luster of Pi Pizzeria. Owners Chris Sommers and Frank Uible have left the St. Louis operations to acclaimed chef Cary McDowell of the Crossing, Revival and

Winslow’s Home. In his hands, Pi’s signature cornmeal-crust deep-dish and underrated (relative to the deep dish, at least) thin-crust pizzas are still among St. Louis’ best pies. McDowell has plumped up the selection of appetizers with such dishes as mussels in a Schlafly Kolsch-based broth and a tasty beer-cheese soup with bacon.

▲ From left: Pho Long; deep-

Pint Size Bakery Bakery & Desserts Where 3825 Watson Road, St. Louis • More info 314-645-7142, pintsizebakery.com • Hours

Open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. TuesdayFriday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday $

One of the most exciting trends in St. Louis dining in the past few years has been the growing number of small, artisan bakeries and pastry shops. Pint Size Bakery, which opened in

dish pizza at Pi; “sammie” cookies at Pint Size Bakery

2012 in Lindenwood Park, was one of the first and is still one of the best. In a tiny space — so tiny that carryout is your only option, though if you can make it back to your car without eating half your order (at least) I envy you — Christy Augustin and her team of bakers produce incredible scones, muffins, cookies and cakes, sweet and savory alike, with specific fruit and vegetable ingredients changing to highlight the season.

“Burger Brilliance” - Ian Froeb, St. Louis Post-Dispatch “One of the Best 50 Burgers in the United States” – USA Today “The 25 Hottest Hamburgers in America!”– Eater National

HAPPY HOUR 4-6PM! DAILY

SALADS ★ SHAKES 312 South Kirkwood Road •314-394-2250 SUN-THUR 11-9 FRI-SAT 11-10 5starburgersstl.com

stltoday.com/stl100 #stl100

★ FULL BAR

8125 Maryland Avenue • 314-720-4350 MON-SAT 11-10 SUN 11-9 5starburgersstl.com

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 27

Pizzeoli; lunch at Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar; Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Thin & Raw at the Restaurant at the Cheshire.

Pizzeoli Pizza, vegetarian Where 1928 South 12th Street, St. Louis • More info 314-449-1111, pizzeoli.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-

Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday $

Real-estate investor Scott Sandler baked bread and made pizza only as a hobby — until he found himself out of work for the second time in 2014 and decided to follow his dream of opening a Neapolitan pizzeria. The result

28 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

is tiny Pizzeoli in Soulard, where the wood-fired oven burns as hot as 900 degrees, and Sandler’s passion for baking reveals itself in each delicious, pleasantly chewy, char-speckled crust. The menu is brief and vegetarian. You won’t miss the pepperoni. The Bianca pie, for example, with garlic, rosemary, Parmesan and mozzarella atop Béchamel sauce, is simple, elegant and perfect.

Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar Contemporary American, Mediterranean, Small Plates Where 222 South Bemiston Avenue, Clayton • More info 314-726-5757, remyskitchen.com • Hours Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday

$$ Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2015 — an excellent reason to return to the Clayton mainstay

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

if you haven’t been there in a while. Chef Lisa Slay’s menu of Mediterranean-influenced small plates charms with vibrant flavors and elegant (but unfussy) technique: lamb ribs with an orange-pomegranate glaze, a flatbread with roasted chicken in chermoula sauce, bronzed mahi mahi over French green lentils. The wine list continues to rack up Wine Spectator awards, and the lunch menu remains the best deal in Clayton.

The Restaurant at the Cheshire Contemporary American Where 7036 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-932-7818, restaurant-stl.com • Hours Lunch and

dinner daily, brunch Saturday-Sunday $$$$

The centerpiece of the renovated Cheshire hotel, the Restaurant at the Cheshire offers one of the loveliest dining rooms in St. Louis, the Tudor-inspired space

$ Under $15 per person

somehow romantic — cozy, even — in spite of its massive size. (If you’re very lucky, you can nab a seat by the fireplace.) Rex Hale’s menu features elegant but approachable fare: spit-roasted chicken and duck, filet mignon, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding. The menu lacks the inspiration that would elevate the Restaurant into St. Louis dining’s upper echelon, but this is the rare place where old-school ambience and service mesh well with contemporary flavors.

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( pi z z e oli ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( r e my ’ s k itch e n and w in e bar ) ; post- dispatch f il e ( th e r e staurant at th e ch e shir e )

▲ From left: A Funghi pie at

• Cajun Entrees • Breakfast • Appetizers • Burgers/Sandwiches • Entrees • Salads • Desserts photos : christian good e n / post- dispatch f il e ( salt + smo k e ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( salum e b e ddu , sam e e m ) ; gab e hart w ig / post- dispatch f il e ( sauc e on th e sid e )

Drink Specials

Bottle Beer Always $2.50, Well Drinks $3 Salt + Smoke Barbecue Where 6525 Delmar Boulevard, University City • More info 314-7270200, saltandsmokestl.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

$–$$ A new barbecue joint needs to offer something special to stand out amid the Great St. Louis ’Cue Boom of recent years. Salt + Smoke, which restaurateur Tom Schmidt (Franco in Soulard) opened in June 2014, hooks you with the best beef brisket in town. Pitmaster Jon Dreja (who is also Franco’s executive chef) smokes the brisket over post oak, the wood of choice in Texas, for up to 18 hours. The fatty cut is perfect: luscious, smoky and peppery. The rest of the menu — pork ribs, pulled pork, chicken — is no slouch, either. Salt + Smoke features table service and a bar focused on craft beer and bourbon.

Salume Beddu Italian Where 3467 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-3533100, salumebeddu.com • Hours

Lunch Tuesday-Saturday $ Salume Beddu would be a St. Louis treasure even if it were only a place to purchase Marc Sanfilippo’s worldclass salumi. Since 2011, though, this Lindenwood Park

storefront has also served a menu of sandwiches to go or to eat in its cozy dining room. Unsurprisingly, Salume Beddu’s cured meats take center stage — speck with preserved lemons and Gruyère is my favorite — though salsiccia, meatball and other hot sandwiches are also available. Saturday lunch features specials that, were they part of a regular dinner menu, would catapult Salume Beddu into the highest rank of St. Louis dining.

Sameem Afghan Where 4341 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-534-9500, kabob-palace.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

$ From its original location on South Grand to its West County satellite (both now closed) to its current home in the Grove, Sameem has been a St. Louis treasure for the past 10 years. The area’s only Afghan restaurant is appealing, whether you’re a longtime fan of the cuisine or a newbie. The latter group might begin with muntoo, traditional dumplings stuffed with spiced ground beef, or one of the kababs. Aficionados will work their way toward the biryani, fragrant rice gilded with an intricate combination of spices.

Find an interactive guide to the #stl100 at stltoday.com/stl100

▲ Clockwise from top left:

Brisket at Salt + Smoke; calabrese salami in the curing room at Salume Beddu; Figgy Piggy calzone from Sauce on the Side; the dining room at Sameem

Sauce on the Side Italian Where 903 Pine Street, St. Louis • More info 314-241-5667, eatcalzones.com • Hours Lunch

and dinner Monday-Saturday

Where 7810 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton • More info 314-833-5426, eatcalzones.com • Hours Lunch

and dinner Monday-Saturday $

Sauce on the Side opened a second location in 2014, only two years after the original debuted downtown. More will surely follow. The restaurant has hit upon the rare trifecta of fast-casual efficiency, a quality product and a menu that, while not unique, isn’t yet another iteration of barbecue, pizza or tacos. The calzones, both familiar combinations like the pizza-esque Fatty B and creative creations like the Figgy Piggy (figs and bacon), are so enjoyable that I often forget completely about the little dish of eponymous sauce on the side. The restaurant’s URL might be a more appropriate name: Eat Calzones.

The food is Creole, St. Louis style cooking. It’s a little spicy, little different, highly seasoned, and highly desired!

255 Union Boulevard Saint Louis, MO 63108 (314) 454.1551

te SummEr 2015

ming la NEW DoWNtoWN location co 03.15.15 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • GO! MAGAZINE

Ian Froeb’s STL 100 29

SAIGON GOURMET

TUESdAy - ThURSdAy: 11AM-9pM FRIdAy & SATURdAy: 11AM-10pM SUNdAy: 11AM-9pM MONdAy: ClOSEd

4071 S GRANd Blvd, ST. lOUIS, MO 63118 (314) 353-0545

The Schlafly Tap Room Pub Fare Where 2100 Locust Street, St. Louis • More info 314-241-2337, schlafly.com/tap-room • Hours

Lunch and dinner daily $$

The Schlafly Tap Room has been open for almost a quarter-century now, and 1991 will always be a landmark in the history of St. Louis craft brewing. For the restaurant, however, rather than the beer, the year I celebrate is 2008. That’s when Andy White took over the kitchen, improving the food with the skills he’d honed in such upscale restaurants as Harvest and Balaban’s. This is still pub fare — fish and chips, pretzels with white-cheddar sauce, shepherd’s pie — but it’s really delicious pub fare. You certainly can’t go wrong with the Tap Room burger or the fried bologna and egg sandwich with a side of top-notch fries.

Seoul Taco Korean, Food Truck Where 6665 Delmar Boulevard, University City • More info

314-863-1148, seoultaco.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$ Seoul Taco underwent significant changes in 2014. The brick-and-mortar version of the

30 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

wildly popular food truck moved from its tiny original spot in the Delmar Loop to a much larger space nearby — a space that it shares with owner David Choi’s new Korean-barbecue concept, Seoul Q. It wouldn’t surprise me if Seoul Taco eventually outgrew these new bigger digs, too. Its Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine is the perfect combination of fun, flavorful and affordable. My go-to meal, the spicy pork burrito with kimchee fried rice, can feed two reasonably hungry people for $8. (I’m never reasonably hungry.)

▲ Clockwise from top left:

Fish and chips at the Schlafly Tap Room; the Gogi Bowl at Seoul Taco; seafood gumbo at Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ; Smothered Fries at the Shaved Duck anything else, the Shaved Duck is the perfect neighborhood restaurant for today.

Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ Barbecue, Cajun/Creole

The Shaved Duck

Where 4144 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-875-9653 • Hours Lunch

Barbecue, Pub Fare

and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

Where 2900 Virginia Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-776-

1407, theshavedduck.com •

Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday,

dinner Monday-Saturday $$

Within a year of its 2008 opening in Tower Grove East, the Shaved Duck morphed from a gastropub to a sort of barbecue-gastropub hybrid. I wasn’t a huge fan of owner Ally Nesbit’s decision — not immediately, at least, thanks to my lingering affection for the original version. Over the past few years, the Shaved Duck has grown into its identity, and chef Kat Kobylarek serves an appealing menu of traditional barbecue (ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken) and less commonly seen fare (smoked tri-tip steak, smoked duck breast). More than

$ Under $15 per person

Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ opened very quietly in summer 2013. Owners Travis Parfait and Pamela Melton hadn’t even finished renovating the Dutchtown space to include a bar as well as a dining room — and wouldn’t until almost a year later. You didn’t need to wait for Sister Cities to be a finished project before eating there, but now you don’t have an excuse. The menu features Cajun and Creole favorites, including po’boys and excellent gumbo with andouille, shrimp and scallops, which is served by itself or poured over smoked chicken thighs. The must-order dish is an appetizer of dryrubbed, smoked chicken wings.

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( schla f ly tap room , shav e d duc k ) ; b e tha w hitlo w/ f il e ( s e oul taco ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( sist e r citi e s cajun and bb q )

Best Spring rollS in St. louiS!

Smoki O’s Barbecue Where 1545 North Broadway, St. Louis • More info 314-6218180, smokiosbbq.com • Hours

Lunch Tuesday-Saturday, dinner Thursday-Saturday (open until 6 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday) $

Whether it ends in a burst bubble or smokes on indefinitely, the St. Louis barbecue boom of recent years has been remarkable to behold. As someone who isn’t a St. Louis native, however, I’ve found that this barbecue renaissance has distracted me from learning more about the area’s longstanding barbecue traditions. I can’t think of a better place to start than Smoki O’s, just north of downtown, where Otis and Earline Walker have been cooking since 1997. The snoots here are a unique St. Louis treasure, thick slices grilled to a crunchy crisp. Each bite packs char-kissed

ribs at Smoki O’s.

SoCo’s Gyros Deli & Catering Co. Greek, Mediterranean Where 5530 South Lindbergh

Boulevard, South St. Louis County • More info 314-843-7600, socosgyros.com • Hours Lunch Monday-Saturday (open until 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday) $

▼ Gyro salad with spanokopita

and pita at SoCo’s Gyros Deli

▲ Steven Lampkin turns

porky flavor enriched by a sweet, tomato-based sauce.

“Hidden gem” is a cliché, of course, but SoCo’s Gyros demands the term’s use. The

restaurant’s address is on bustling South Lindbergh Boulevard, but the storefront is part of a small strip mall situated perpendicular to the road. It’s easily missed, in other words, especially if you’re heading south. Plug the address into your preferred mapping app and pay attention because SoCo’s namesake dish is the best in town, spilling over with wellseasoned meat. The hummus is also excellent, its richness nicely cut with lemon juice. Get the baklava to go. You won’t have room after lunch, but you’ll definitely want to eat it.

“Down “Down The The Bayou” Bayou” Country Country Cajun Cajun

Saint Louis has a growing food culture that we are honored to be a part of. While we strive to bring Authentic Country Cajun to the Midwest, we also pride ourselves in some of this cities own creations like the Slinger, and pay homage to a rich BBQ scene that has developed from a back yard hobby to smoked cuisine.

photos : j . b . f orb e s / post- dispatch ( soco ’ s gyros d e li ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( smo k i o ’ s )

Welcome back to Patrick’s Announcing a NEW Happy Hour with Drink Specials, Great Appetizers and LIVE MUSIC with NO COVER CHARGE Tuesday to Friday 5:30 to 8:30 Why sit in traffic, come in and relax with us!

stltoday.com/stl100 #stl100

4144 S. Grand

in Dutchtown near Ted Drewes.

314-875-9653

314.878.6767

342 West Port Plaza www.patrickswestport.com

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Ian Froeb’s STL 100 31

Southwest Diner Southwestern, diner, breakfast Where 6803 Southwest Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-2607244, southwestdinerstl.com • Hours Breakfast and lunch daily

$ Rare is the weekend morning when you won’t find at least a few people standing outside Southwest Diner, waiting for a table. This diner featuring southwestern cuisine has built a considerable fan base since

enchiladas at Southwest Diner; pulled pork sandwich at Spare No Rib; the dining room at Stellina

opening in the city’s Ellendale neighborhood in 2012. (In fact, Southwest Diner got a head start; its owners served breakfast tacos at Tower Grove Farmers Market before the restaurant opened.) It’s worth the wait for the chile-laced posole, the earthy spice of carne adovada and the red- or green-chile (or both, aka Christmas-style) enchiladas. Save room for the sopapillas.

Spare No Rib Barbecue, Mexican Where 2200 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-202-8244, sparenorib.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday

$ I like to say that the highest compliment I can pay as a restaurant critic is to return to a place on my own dime — and I’ve returned to Spare No Rib more than once since I reviewed it in 2014. I’ve returned for the

pulled-pork sandwich, the best in town. I’ve returned for the tacos (especially the beef cheek), each of which chef Francisco Lopez pairs with the salsa that he thinks best suits it. I’ve returned for the corn fritters with spicy ranch dip and the chorizo-queso dip. Mostly, I’ve returned to marvel at a restaurant that pulls off the duo of barbecue and Mexican cuisine with equal aplomb. Spare No Rib’s menu is now also available for lunch at Bar Italia (13 Maryland Plaza), Tuesday through Sunday.

Stellina Contemporary American Where 3342 Watson Road, St. Louis • More info 314-256-1600, stellinapasta. com • Hours Dinner Tuesday-Saturday

$$–$$$ When Stellina opened in 2007 in Lindenwood Park, chef Jamey Tochtrop served a limited menu featuring fresh pasta and sandwiches. You can still order pasta and sandwiches here — the terrific South Side Smoke, pulled pork with

caramelized onions and gouda, among them — but Tochtrop has since added a small, oftchanging selection of more upscale appetizers and entrees. My most recent meal, in winter 2015, was quite impressive: a terrine of beet, apple and walnut with goat-cheese mousse and a golden-beet puree, and perfectly cooked red snapper over a yellow-lentil ragout with a lobster-stock reduction.

Make your dinner or event special by choosing Grbic Restaurant. You will experience a dining event unparalleled with the use of the finest recipes from eastern European traditions. Family owned and operated you will notice the difference with our made from scratch menu using recipes handed down from the generations. We only use the highest quality ingredients from Missouri grass-fed beef and veal to the freshest local ingredients.

Call or visit us online to make a reservation today! (314) 772-3100 www.grbicrestaurant.com 32 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

Hours 4071 Keokuk Street, Saint Louis MO 63116 $ Under $15 per person

Tuesday to Friday: 4pm - 9:30pm Saturday: 12pm - 10pm • Sunday: 12pm - 8pm Monday: Closed

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( south w e st din e r ) ; rob e rt coh e n / post- dispatch f il e ( spar e no rib ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( st e llina )

▲ From left: Green chile

Steve’s Hot Dogs Bar & Grill Where 2131 Marconi Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-7629899, steveshotdogsstl.com • Hours Monday-Saturday Where 3457 Magnolia Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-932-5953, steveshotdogsstl.com • Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday

▲ From left: Chili cheese

Taqueria Durango

dog at Steve’s Hot Dogs; tacos al pastor at Taqueria Durango; grilled pork steak at the Tavern Kitchen & Bar

Mexican Where 10238 Page Avenue, Overland • More info 314-429-1113, facebook.

com/TaqueriaDurangoSaintLouis • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$ Though somewhat hidden in a dingy strip mall set back from Page Avenue, Taqueria Durango continues to stand out among North County’s several taquerias.

The Tavern Kitchen & Bar Contemporary American

Vibrant flavors abound, from the fiery red and piquant green salsas to the earthy, spicy tacos al pastor to the restaurant’s signature torta ahogada, a sandwich of carnitas and onions soaked in chile sauce. The menu has expanded in recent years to include more crossover dishes (e.g., fajitas, enchiladas), which makes it a good choice for easing a newbie into traditional taqueria fare.

Where 2961 Dougherty Ferry Road, Suite 101, Valley Park • More info

636-825-0600, oghospitalitygroup. com • Hours Dinner daily $$$

Now in its fifth year, the Tavern Kitchen & Bar remains the gem of the OG Hospitality Group (Cucina Pazzo, the Shack and the Corner Pub & Grill)

and of Valley Park dining. The menu’s turbocharged approach to comfort food isn’t exactly nuanced, but you won’t really care when the flavors are as big and the dishes as satisfying as the Loaded Tater Tot Casserole or, my current favorite, a mammoth grilled pork steak topped with pineapple-habanero salsa with a side dish of bacon-fried rice with a fried egg. Seafood fans can now pair their choice of fish or shellfish with one of six different preparations.

photos : b e tha w hitlo w/ f il e ( st e v e ’ s hot dogs ) ; ian f ro e b / post- dispatch ( ta q u e ria durango , th e tav e rn k itch e n & bar )

Since 2008, Steve’s Hot Dogs has grown from a simple cart run by Steve Ewing, frontman of

the popular St. Louis band the Urge, to a bricks-and-mortar establishment on the Hill to, in 2014, a second location in Tower Grove East. The formula isn’t alchemy. Steve’s serves a tasty, filling meal for less than $10. Many of the franks, brats and other sausages are smoked and then grilled, giving them a great depth of flavor, and the toppings are fun: the chile-laden Molotov Dog; the Marconi Street Beef Dog, wrapped in Italian beef; and, of course, the Gorilla Mac & Cheese Dog with fried onions and mac & cheese.

Find an interactive guide to the #stl100 at stltoday.com/stl100

03.15.15 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • GO! MAGAZINE

Ian Froeb’s STL 100 33

Contemporary American, fried chicken Where 4940 Southwest Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-669-9222, threeflagstavern.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner MondaySaturday, brunch Saturday-Sunday

$$–$$$ The top new restaurant of 2014 infuses the upscale-comfort trend that has swept through the

Tienda El Ranchito Mexican Where 2565 North 32nd Street, Fairmont City • More info 618-8751521, tiendaelranchito.com • Hours

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily $

If Fairmont City isn’t on your restaurant map, Tienda El Ranchito will put it there. This combo restaurant and grocery store (each has a discrete

space) is one of the metro area’s best spots for traditional Mexican fare, including taqueria staples, several soups and chilaquiles and other breakfast dishes. You’ll find a few dishes rarely seen locally, like beef liver sauteed with jalapeño, onion and tomato, and a few Tex-Mex classics to keep the unadventurous happy. Lately, my go-to order here has been the birria, goat richly seasoned with warm spices served with a side of chile-laced broth.

▲ From left: Ground brisket

Trattoria Marcella Italian Where 3600 Watson Road, St. Louis • More info 314-352-7706, trattoriamarcella.com • Hours

Dinner Tuesday-Saturday $$$

After two decades, Steve and Jamie Komorek’s Lindenwood Park restaurant delivers an upscale dining experience with the vibe of your favorite neighborhood joint.

burger at Three Flags Tavern; Tienda El Ranchito in Fairmont City; roasted wild mushrooms with polenta fries at Trattoria Marcella

The cuisine nods to both St. Louis Italian (I mean, you can’t not order the toasted ravioli) and more rustic fare (risotto with crisp chicken livers). A highlight of my most recent visit here was the Roman chestnut gnocchi that accompany the beef tenderloin involtini, and I could eat an entire plate of the polenta fries served with the roasted-mushroom appetizer.

Voted one of St. Louis' Top 100 Restaurants by Ian Froeb

THANK YOU! @SEOULTACO check out our

at seoultaco.com web or on the NEW & IMPROVED

Check us out at our NEW and EXPANDED location at

6665 Delmar Blvd, University City

location at 6665 Delmar

34 Ian Froeb’s STL 100

Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15

$ Under $15 per person

$$ $15–$30 $$$ $30–$45 $$$$ Over $45 per person

photos : lauri e s k rivan / post- dispatch f il e ( thr e e f lags tav e rn ) ; christian good e n / post- dispatch ( ti e nda e l ranchito ) ; ian f ro e b / post- dispatch ( trattoria marc e lla )

Three Flags Tavern

dining scene here and elsewhere with the personal touches of chef John O’Brien, a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry who has finally opened his own place. You’ll find top-notch versions of the expected favorites (lobster rolls warm and cold, the groundbrisket burger and especially the fried chicken) and old standbys reinvigorated (fried cheese, mussels and even steak Diane). Excellent service and a lovely, cozy bar and dining room make Three Flags Tavern the epitome of the neighborhood restaurant.

photos : post- dispatch f il e ( tr e e hous e , w orld ’ s fair donuts ) ; rob e rto rodrigu e z ( tru f f l e s , th e vin e m e dit e rran e an ca f e ) ; david carson / post- dispatch f il e ( urban ch e stnut ) ; ian f ro e b / post- dispatch ( v e ritas )

▲ From left: The dining room at Tree House; the bar at Truffles in Ladue; Mary Kate Milford, Lizzie Warner and Amy Callanan at Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall in the Grove

▲ From left: A grass-fed burger topped with pimento cheese at Veritas; the dining room at the Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market; World’s Fair Donuts before sunrise

Tree House

Truffles

Contemporary American, Vegetarian

Contemporary American

Where 3177 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info

314-696-2100, treehousestl.com • Hours Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, brunch Saturday-Sunday $–$$

When Tree House opened in 2013, Bay Tran’s restaurant along South Grand impressed me for two reasons. It was a vegetarian restaurant that knew how to cook vegetables properly — not, unfortunately, the standard — and it was a vegetarian restaurant that knew how to prepare meat substitutes so that non-vegetarians wouldn’t mind that they were substitutes. Above all, the food here was — and still — is creative and flavorful. My most recent visit confirmed this: I enjoyed a simple, delicious pea-shoot soup and a “chorizo” tamale that even with its faux sausage could go toe-to-toe with most tamales around town.

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Where 9202 Clayton Road, Ladue • More info 314-5679100, todayattruffles.com • Hours Lunch Tuesday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday

$$$–$$$$ It’s been an interesting decade so far for Ladue institution Truffles. The restaurant became relevant again in 2011, when newly installed chef Jon Griffiths unveiled an upscale modernItalian menu as impressive as it was ambitious. Griffiths left Truffles in 2012. His successor, Brandon Benack, has taken a broader approach, with dishes trendy (bone marrow), timeless (steak) and even old-school (Dover sole). Benack cooked for several years in Emeril Lagasse’s restaurants, so a few dishes show a Creole touch. The hefty Truffles Burger with cheddar and bacon is a crowd-pleaser.

Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall Contemporary American, German, Pub Fare Where 4465 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-2220143, urbanchestnut.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$ Urban Chestnut’s massive brewery and beer hall in the Grove is exactly the kind of place that inspired me to start the STL 100 project: a restaurant that I liked when it opened in 2004, and even wrote about approvingly in a blog post, but didn’t give the attention it was due. The menu smartly balances founder and brewmaster Florian Kuplent’s German heritage with a modern, seasonal approach. You can enjoy pork rinds, the crispy pork-knuckle sandwich and excellent fries. In spring you might find dumplings with peas, fava beans and ramps; in fall or winter, thick toast topped with squash.

Veritas Contemporary American Where 15860 Fountain Plaza, Ellisville • More info 636-227-6800, veritasgateway.com • Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday

$$–$$$ Gourmet market, wine shop and restaurant Veritas has charted a unique course over its 10-year history, one that a 2013 relocation did nothing to disrupt. David Stitt, who owns Veritas with his wife, Stephanie, is the brother of acclaimed Birmingham, Ala., chef Frank Stitt (Highlands Bar & Grill). The Stitts’ son, Mathis, who worked at his uncle’s restaurant as well as the famed Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., serves an oft-changing upscale menu Thursday through Saturday evening. His Mustard Room menu is more casual, though no less appealing, especially the grass-fed burger topped with pimento cheese.

The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market

World’s Fair Donuts

Lebanese, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Where 1904 South Vandeventer Avenue, St. Louis • More info 314-776-9975 • Hours 4 a.m.-

Where 3171 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis • More info 314-776-0991, thevinestl.com • Hours Lunch and dinner daily

$–$$ The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market is one of those restaurants that makes a critic’s job easy. Not only can I recommend it wholeheartedly, but I can tell you to order whatever seems appealing. It’s all good: the classic appetizers (hummus, baba ghanoush and foul mudammas); the crisp falafel and spice-sprinkled fries; the pickle-packed sandwiches. I usually opt for the tender, richly flavored beef shawarma — the best in town. The menu marks both the vegetarian and the vegan options. I’m partial to the batata harra, spicy potatoes sauteed with garlic in olive oil.

Bakery & Dessert

6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 4 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday $

World’s Fair Donuts is unapologetically old-school. The beloved Southwest Garden doughnut shop still takes only cash. (Signs inside remind you of both the policy and its wisdom.) Not that you need much money for World Fair’s heavenly yeast doughnuts or its buttermilk cake variety, the shop’s signature selection. World’s Fair Donuts doesn’t see the need to use Twitter or to reinvent itself every week or clamor to remind us that it does, in fact, exist. Owners Terry and Peggy Clanton are too busy opening up the shop at 4 a.m., pouring coffee and making great doughnuts.

03.15.15 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • GO! MAGAZINE

Ian Froeb’s STL 100 35

. f e i h c s i m o t es

S a y y the sunshine. Must be

There’s something about Florida that makes it easy to say yes. Here, inner tubes become pirate ships and beach towels become capes. Only one thing is sure, yes happens more in Florida.

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Go! Magazine • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • 03.15.15