Local Eats

Asador Del Sur

By Mabel Suen

In Maplewood, Daniel Gonzalez and Maria Giamportone are cooking their favorite Latin American dishes for the fiery new restaurant Asador Del Sur.

Asador Del Sur, which means “southern grill,” features cuisine from the husband-and-wife duo’s native nations of Uruguay and Ecuador, as well as other regional offerings. The expansive South American menu ranges from a variety of grilled meats and vegetables to seafood and colorful cocktails.

According to Giamportone, the foods she and her husband grew up with in their home countries differed vastly from one another, and the menu at Asador Del Sur blends the best of both worlds: Ecuador’s seafood-centric signatures with Uruguay’s robust grilled meat dishes.

The couple moved to St. Louis – where Giamportone’s brother lives – from Miami to open the restaurant in 2020 after noting a dearth of South American culinary options in the metro area. Asador Del Sur debuted last August, filling the space previously occupied by Reeds American Table – albeit now sporting new vibrant orange accents and a marble-topped bar.

“I really enjoy the thrill of people enjoying our food for the first time,” Giamportone says. “Many people have never tried a skirt steak the way we do it, for instance, and we have sweetbread, blood sausage and other things you might never know that you’d love.”

Asador Del Sur cooks the freshest cuts of meat possible over a gas-fired grill, seasoning them only with coarse Argentinian salt and often serving dishes with chimichurri. Cuts include beef short ribs and a 24-ounce bone-in rib-eye.

While Gonzalez leads on the grill, Giamportone – a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu – brings her own cooking expertise to the table in such dishes as langostinosa la parrilla (grilled South African crustaceans with chimichurri). She also decided to include vegan options on the menu such as a vegetable parrillada (grilled vegetables) and an avocado salad with onions, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and cilantro-yuzu dressing.

Additional offerings include sweet and savory empanadas, sandwiches such as chivito al pan (a grilled beef-filet BLT) and desserts including rum raisin rice pudding – a recipe from Giamportone’s grandmother. From the bar, patrons can choose among signature cocktails like the classic caipirinha or a dulce de leche-infused martini with white rum, the popular cream liqueur RumChata, half-and-half, dulce de leche syrup and cinnamon.

“I would like it to be a casual family restaurant [where] people can feel at home,” Giamportone says. “We’re ready to introduce you to these flavors that are going to blow your mind.” ln Asador Del Sur, 7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314-802-8587, asadordelsur.com