Cate Zones menu traverses multiple regional cuisines, making the restaurant not only a part of St. Louis growth of regional Chinese restaurants, but also emblematic of it. Sadie Lewis, Michael McCuddy, Tim Maher, Katie Maher, all of St. Louis, at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "The Great Taste" event at the St. Louis Science Center in St. Louis on . Rather than provide his gloss on generic luxury, Craft fashioned an ambitious menu inspired in part by the Brazilian cooking of his late childhood nanny, Cecelia Dia Assuncao, with feijoada and moqueca as well as wood-fired steaks and chops. Where 4270 Manchester Avenue More info 314-533-2700; stlgrace.com Hours 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) Pricing $-$$. I have experienced any number of emotions since returning to restaurant dining rooms last year, from relief to excitement, from fear I had come back too soon to guilt that I had stayed home too long. It doesnt try to imitate meat. Sip a cocktail and snack on Moroccan olives bright with coriander and citrus. Where 1641D Tower Grove Avenue More info 314-899-9333; www.indo-stl.com Hours Dinner Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) Pricing $$$-$$$$, J. Devoti Trattoria Contemporary, Italian, Pizza, Tasting Menu. When I visited in fall 2021, Ely was dazzling diners with a carpaccio of Turkish orange eggplant and mafalda with black trumpet mushrooms in a thick, saucelike Parmesan foam. He launched a ghost kitchen that featured some of the best chicken wings Ive eaten. Photo by Hillary Levin, Post-Dispatch, Chori pollo, grilled chicken breast topped with Mexican sausage and cheese. Remodeled in early 2020 to increase production space, Whisk puts Wissingers baked goods on display at the counter: cupcakes, of course, not too big or over-iced; large, soft chocolate-chip cookies; pop tartlets nearly as flaky and buttery as a croissant. Even a great restaurant is fortunate to create one dish so immutable in its design and so beloved by regulars that it becomes known by the most generic term possible. The food rocks without exception, Behemoth included, from housemade seitan that can play the role of birria, carne asada (the Carnage Asada burrito) or chorizo (the Citrus Mistress taco) to nachos smothered in chipotle cheese, a marvel made from pulverized oats. On a recent visit, the highlight was a tostada with the gentle sweetness of fresh avocado and the initial bright pop and lingering oceanic sting of smoked trout roe. His wife, Maggie, had always wanted her own shop. Of course, she presents a superior version of the classic Cuban sandwich: roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles on bread from the famed La Segunda Central Bakery in Tampa, Florida. Where 9626 Olive Boulevard, Olivette More info 314-801-8411; taikeshabushabu.com Hours Lunch and dinner daily (closed Tuesday) Pricing $$. Two weeks later, I wondered whether there would be a seventh. As other downtown and downtown west restaurants have come and gone, Medina has remained on its original corner since 2015 and expanded to the Central West End for good measure. Elaia offers two options: the full-blown tasting menu ($150 per person) or a four-course dinner ($95 per person). Photo by Hillary Levin, Post-Dispatch, A sushi platter for two. A few days later, when I interviewed Qui Tran, the son of Mai Lee founder and chef Lee Tran and himself now one of St. Louis most high-profile restaurateurs, I heard uncharacteristic fear in his voice: Im really (expletive) scared. When I stopped by for takeout two years later a favorite: No. Where 706 DeMun Avenue, Clayton More info 314-300-8188; louiedemun.com Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) Pricing $$$. Where 10094 Page Avenue, Overland More info 314-395-0180; owingplus.com Hours Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) Pricing $. The Belleville and Grove locations remain open. Tempus reopened in November as a pop up-focused venue. Golden Chicken knows how to cook on the spit and the grill, turning out fine kebabs and shawarma in addition to its rotisserie chicken. announced in April that Guerrilla Street Food is for sale. At Dixons BBQ in Overland, owner and pitmaster Joe Dixon continues his own barbecue tradition and his familys. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. At Songbird, Meyer and Miller have pulled off a rare feat, coming full circle while still moving forward. The Crooked Boot, which launched in 2016 with a Creole-inspired menu, is one of the most appealing food trucks I have encountered recently, and in February, Griggs added a takeout-focused storefront in St. Charles. In April, the Bognars announced Nippon Tei would relocate this fall to the Hill and become a new sushi concept called Sado. Where 4476 Chouteau Avenue More info 314-781-4344; songbirdstl.com Hours Breakfast and lunch Monday and Thursday-Sunday (closed Tuesday-Wednesday) Pricing $. A mural inside Terror Tacos features what I described in my 2021 review as the Grinch crossed with a jalapeo rising out of a taco that is also a nightmare sun. I repeat myself here in part because words fail otherwise, in part because this mural kind of conveys the experience of eating at this Tower Grove South vegan Tex-Mex restaurant inspired by death metal, skateboarding and horror movies. Photo by Hillary Levin, Post-Dispatch, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday (closed Sunday-Tuesday) , Macarons. Where 2000 Sidney Street More info 314-771-5777; sidneystreetcafestl.com Hours Dinner Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Monday) Pricing $$$$. Nicklaus: It's time to find alternatives to the harmful St. Louis earnings tax. Under chef and co-owner Matthew Glickert, the cooking at Westchester is smart, seasonal and pleasure-forward. Photo by Hillary Levin, Post-Dispatch, Drunken noodles with shrimp. Find employers hiring near you and quickly apply to job openings. But consider that when Pastaria a restaurant that knows a little something about dough opened sandwich spinoff Pastaria Deli & Wine in 2020, it chose Union Loafers hoagie rolls for the bread. There were classic dishes (lobster turnovers in crackling phyllo with a tomato-brandy reduction) and expected modern fare (hamachi crudo, though here unexpectedly paired with popcorn). The restaurant also recently undertook a sort of expansion. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! No one dish defines Lamonts cooking, but anything he cooks is liable to be delicious, from his signature Spinning Chicken sandwich (with Provel and spinach-artichoke-jalapeo dip) to St. Louis-style fried rice gussied up with lobster. It begins with the fiercely personal cooking of chef and owner Lona Luo, who introduced her dumplings at a Soulard Farmers Market stall and since 2014 has overseen a restaurant menu that ranges from those mushroom or steak-and-mushroom dumplings to rice-paper wraps plump with exceptional smoked brisket or turkey in a lemongrass pesto as verdant as it is spicy. Devoti keeps the pies simple: an uncooked sauce of local tomatoes in season (San Marzano when not), cheese and toppings in typical J. Devoti style, like the restaurants own salumi or mushrooms from local purveyor Mushrooms Naturally. Originally based a falafels throw from the historic Bevo Mill, Js Pitaria now calls the Concord Plaza shopping center along the bustling South Lindbergh Boulevard corridor home. But beyond the signature selection of appetizers presented on a tabletop chalkboard, there were both artfully plated main courses and an assortment of a-la-carte options. They will celebrate the apricot-pomegranate molasses that kisses the patlidzan (wood-fired eggplant inside somun). Private Kitchen has closed. A few things have happened since then. Last spring, as I was just beginning to resume regular, non-takeout dining, I sat on the recently and impressively expanded patio of Katies Pizza & Pasta Osteria in Rock Hill for what would be my best meal yet at Katie Colliers restaurant. last one to post - wins! I figured this style at that temperature wouldnt hold up to takeout, but several places have proved me wrong, none more often or more deliciously than Steve Gontrams Five Star Burgers. Faced with the pandemics unprecedented challenge, he has let Sidney Street adapt and move forward. The Vine Mediterranean Cafe opened in 2009 in Tower Grove South, and with Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant, which debuted two years earlier across the street, this Lebanese restaurant represents the new generation of anchors for the essential but never static South Grand corridor. O+O Pizza doesnt reimagine the pizzeria or the neighborhood Italian restaurant, but the latest venture from the owners of Webster Groves sensation Olive + Oak and its cafe spinoff the Clover and the Bee approaches this well-traveled terrain with refreshing vigor. Photo by Ian Froeb, Post-Dispatch, Chicken gangjeong. The breakfast-focused cafe is the most recent venture from business partners Chris Meyer and Mike Miller, the duo I have previously honored for the pop-up Kitchen Kulture and the small, takeout-only restaurant Kounter Kulture. 3 on the 2020 edition of this list and was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by GQ and Esquire magazines, while Food & Wine tapped owner Nick Bognar as one of its coveted Best New Chefs of 2020. St. Louis Post-Dispatch hosted the Great Taste on April 21, 2022, at the Saint Louis Science Center, where attendees sampled from restaurants on Ian Froeb's STL 100. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (or until sold out) Thursday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (or until sold out) Sunday (closed Monday-Wednesday) , Poptimism, Food Hall at City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way , From left: cantaloupe sea salt, blueberry lemonade, watermelon, blackberry goat cheese, peach basil and cucumber lime ice pops. Where Elmwood, 2704 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood More info 314-261-4708; elmwoodstl.com Hours On hiatus, Where Pizza Champ, 2657 Lyle Avenue, Maplewood More info pizzachampstl.com Hours 2-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday) Pricing $-$$. Where 3257 Ivanhoe Avenue More info 314-647-3800; farmhausrestaurant.com Hours Dinner Wednesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Tuesday) Pricing $$$-$$$$. Anyone on or off Facebook Discover the best restaurants in St. Louis! Pizza Champ as a concept, however, launched in summer 2020, when Adam Altnether and Chris Kelling introduced it as the pandemic pivot of their Maplewood restaurant Elmwood, one of 2019s standout newcomers. Photo by Christian Gooden, Post-Dispatch, Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, lunch Wednesday-Sunday (closed Monday) , Ropa vieja with black beans, rice, maduros and avocado. Where Catering and delivery service More info instagram.com/taberu_stl Pricing $$$$. Photo by Ian Froeb, Post-Dispatch, Sambava-chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut cake. Among the main courses, I tend to favor spicy, tomato-bright chicken or lamb karahi or the whopping, fork-tender braised lamb shank with biryani rice. Tear off a piece of warm, puffy pita bread and swirl it around Olios best-in-class King of Kings hummus. I look forward to visiting, but Clara Bs has earned its place on the STL 100 for what Ferguson has already accomplished on her truck. A spinoff of the 9 Mile Garden food-truck park, Frankie Martin's Garden also features a beer pavilion and a reservations-only bar. Pile the patties as high as the pastrami, if you dare. Sometimes, the term new restaurant, though accurate, hardly does its subject justice. To view an index by cuisine, click here. A decade old this year, Ben Porembas flagship Elaia is one of the vanishingly few St. Louis restaurants still committed to a vision of fine dining both rarified and progressive a place suited for special occasions and caviar service where you also might eat a dish unlike anything you have encountered before. Few also would forgo the easy comfort of braised short ribs for a more refined preparation of braised veal cheek that collapsed into its own heady juices. Pizzeria da Gloria owner and pizzaiolo Joe Kurowski named the Bonci pizza at his Hill restaurant after the renowned Italian pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci. (Her signature napa cabbage kimchi is entirely vegan.) Owner Jimmy Trinh didnt want the baguette cradling his banh mi to be so sharply crackling that it wrecked your palate. The staff had only recently placed a couple of high-top tables by the counter, where I happily sat. Ben Poremba unveiled the Benevolent King in 2018 with a doubly enticing pitch. Ben Porembas Nixta has followed a fascinating, if not exactly linear, path from its late-2016 debut to today. Where 13724 Olive Boulevard, Chesterfield More info 314-392-9348; desivibesstl.com Hours Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, lunch Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) Pricing $-$$, La Patisserie Chouquette Bakery & Desserts. Elsewhere in this years STL 100, I mention that restaurant-caliber rotisserie chicken is having a moment in St. Louis. Wing Plus on this list sooner. A portrait of Heriberta Amescua now overlooks the cramped back corner Tacos La Jefa occupies inside Urban Eats. Photo by Christian Gooden, Post-Dispatch, 3149 North Lindbergh Boulevard, Bridgeton , Tacos al pastor. Beast Southern Kitchen & BBQ closed in May. Where 15939 Manchester Road, Ellisville More info 636-220-8514; malinchestl.com Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) Pricing $$, Mayo Ketchup Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican. Chez Ali debuted along with the Food Hall at City Foundry in August 2021, and Alioun Ali Thiams restaurant is one of the main reasons the long-anticipated midtown project has exceeded my expectations. Where 43 South Old Orchard Avenue, Webster Groves More info 314-274-2528; gsf-online-ordering.square.site Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Monday); truck hours and location vary Pricing $, Havanas Cuisine Caribbean, Cuban, Sandwiches. Photo by Ian Froeb, Post-Dispatch, Sweet-and-sour pork. The annual Great Taste event will feature 50+ area restaurants from the 2018 edition of Ian Froeb's ST. As it happens, Nomad also serves an excellent smashed burger. The hot-pot option is enjoyable, and I look forward to exploring it further in the coming year. (You can usually order a combination platter with both dishes.) Where 11423 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur More info 314-274-8046; nudohousestl.com Hours Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) Pricing $, Where 6105-A Delmar Boulevard More info 314-370-6970; nudohousestl.com Hours Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) Pricing $. Veritas isnt the only open kitchen in town, of course. At Louie, you can order the Chicken (roasted, with jus and rapini) and the Pork Chop (grilled, with shishito chiles and chermoula). Blitzed in Notos 1,000-degree, wood-fired oven, Waynes 32-hour-fermented dough transforms into an airy, gorgeously charred crust you should (and in some cases must) order uncut. Its been a helluva two years. Fans of Tai Ke should also know, however, that the new Olivette location includes standard dining tables as well, and chef-owner Calvin Koong continues to offer the Taiwanese dishes popcorn chicken, three cup chicken, gua bao and other street snacks, among them that has made this restaurant a mainstay of the STL 100. There was a problem saving your notification. Now, aside from snacks at the bar, the Farmers Feast is the only way to dine at Vicia. During the pandemic, the restaurant changed its name to ChiliSpot. Karandzieff was public about the restaurants own struggles over the past two years, including in an appearance on the Discovery+ series Restaurant Recovery. If my daughter left Crown Candy Kitchen that day thrilled to have discovered a new favorite, I was simply grateful to be back. The basic rotisserie order includes pita and the house garlic sauce; for a few dollars more, you can get the whole chicken plate, which adds rice, pickles and the restaurants excellent jalapeo-zapped hummus. Weekend brunch is also a meaty affair: lard biscuits, burnt ends with a fried egg, even a PB&J with beef bacon.