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It was a busy summer on the restaurant-review beat, visiting new establishments and also catching up on a few places that have opened in recent years.
It was a busy summer on the restaurant-review beat, visiting new establishments and also catching up on a few places that have opened in recent years. Busy — and delicious. Here, in alphabetical order by restaurant name, are the best dishes from my reviews from late June through Labor Day.
The Succotash soup at 4 Hens Creole Kitchen, at the City Foundry, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The chef Brandi Artis opened 4 Hens Creole Kitchen in late January at the Food Hall at City Foundry. (She has since debuted a second restaurant, Simply Delicious, downtown.) Amidst 4 Hens' menu of po' boys and shrimp and grits, Artis' succotash soup is a subtle signature dish. Even with a generous portion of andouille slices floating atop the soup, as I ordered it, the draw remains the broth (vegan when served without meat or seafood) with simmered okra, tomato, corn and lima beans, light in body, zesty, perfect for hot or cold weather or whenever I’ll inevitably return to 4 Hens.
Where 4 Hens Creole Kitchen, the Food Hall at City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way • More info 4henscreolekitchen.com
Read my full review: Food Hall at City Foundry turns 1 year old. Here are 3 more reasons to go.
Tuna crudo at Blue Violet in Edwardsville
Blue Violet, the new Edwardsville venture from the prolific restaurateur Michael Del Pietro, moves past his comfort zone of Italian cuisine. Even the tuna crudo is strikingly different. The kitchen divides the raw tuna among little rice-cracker cups and nudges the supple fish toward creaminess with a touch of an herb aioli and a generous grating of cured egg yolk. Rather than the serrated bite of serrano, jalapeño or another fresh chile, the kitchen pairs the clean, sweet tuna with the smoky, mild heat of ancho chile. It works brilliantly, sort of in the same way a spicy mezcal margarita works.
Where Blue Violet, 6108 Shoger Drive, Edwardsville • More info 618-650-9003; bluevioletedwardsville.com
Read my full review: Blue Violet turns eclectic American cuisine into an exciting vibe in Edwardsville.
From left: Cherokee Street, Southside Salmon and Signature sliders at Burger 809
Tasha Smith has relocated Burger 809 to the walk-up counter inside Bluewood Brewing in Benton Park. Her miniature burgers will convert the slider-skeptical, none more so than the Cherokee Street Slider. This tops the patty with avocado, grilled jalapeño and colby and mozzarella cheeses. If the ingredient combination strikes you as appealing, if not ingenious, the Cherokee Street is still Smith’s masterpiece. Its patty is ground turkey, and in a triumph over the rule pretty much everywhere else, it’s as juicy as Burger 809’s beef patties.
Where Burger 809 (Bluewood Brewing), 1821 Cherokee Street • More info 314-899-5959; burger809.com
Read my full review: Burger 809's sliders deliver big flavors in small packages in Benton Park.
Hawaiian pizza at Fordo's Killer Pizza, at the City Foundry, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
One of 2022's addition to the Food Hall at City Foundry, Fordo's Killer Pizza is another winner from Gerard Craft's Niche Food Group. My favorite of Fordo's excellent wood-fired pies is executive chef Joe Luckey's take on the Hawaiian pizza. He drapes long, gossamer slices of Vopli Heritage prosciutto on the pie’s bed of sauce and mozzarella. That sauce is made from roasted pineapple, its flavor both more complex and mellower than the neon-bright sweetness of the fresh fruit, but still obviously pineapple. It’s a natural complement to the silky ham, and the accents of red onion and jalapeño are natural counterpoints.
Where Fordo’s Killer Pizza, the Food Hall at City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way • More info fordospizza.com
Read my full review: Food Hall at City Foundry turns 1 year old. Here are 3 more reasons to go.
Pancakes with jam at Grand Pied
Tony Collida and his business and life partner Jaimee Stang opened Grand Pied last year in the former Local Harvest Cafe space in Tower Grove South. The menu ranges confidently from beignets to barbecue, but buttermilk pancakes are the signature dish. These are like no other pancakes I’ve eaten, puffy rather than spread thin and flat, with a lovely, eggy, almost soufflé-like texture. (Collida has been using this recipe at restaurants for years, he told me; the source is “The Joy of Cooking.”) With syrup, whipped cream and a seasonal jam, the dish is fresh and light — remarkably so, for pancakes — until the moment you realize you can’t possibly finish the plate.
Where Grand Pied, 3137 Morganford Road • More info whipped • Menu Comfort food and breakfast fare
Read my full review: Grand Pied's brunch, comfort fare make a big impression in Tower Grove South.
Shoyu with pork shoulder chasyu, scallions, menma, yori, a soft-boiled egg and shoyu ramen in an aromatic rendered fatback at Menya Rui
If you consider pork ramen synonymous with rich, creamy tonkotsu broth, let Steven Pursley introduce you to the Onomichi style of his pork shoyu ramen at his debut restaurant, Menya Rui in Lindenwood Park. Over his signature soy sauce-based shoyu tare he ladles rendered pork fatback and onion oil. To this he adds the chicken-based house stock, the noodles and the toppings: menma, nori, scallion and tender slices of chasyu made with pork shoulder. The broth formed by the trio of tare, stock and pork fat slicks the noodles with a lip-smacking succulence, but the flavor as a whole is clean and relatively light atop its umami heart.
Where Menya Rui, 3453 Hampton Avenue • More info 314-601-3524; menyarui.square.site
Read my full review: Menya Rui's dedication to ramen leads to one of St. Louis' best new restaurants
The McClane pizza at Pie Hard Pizzeria in Waterloo
I paid an overdue visit to the brick-and-mortar Pie Hard Pizzeria in Waterloo, which Michael and Megan Pastor opened early in the pandemic. As on their (now retired) food truck, the pizzas are exceptional across the board thanks to the crust. Michael burns locally sourced white oak in Pie Hard’s oven, which usually runs around 700 to 750 degrees. From the yeasted, cold-fermented dough, this oven coaxes a puffy lip of crust, a pout to Neapolitan’s bee-stung look. Where the surface is charred, the color tends toward the intensely dark brown of high-cacao chocolate, not blistered black. The crust yields just enough chewiness to tease out a gentle tang and mild smokiness.
Where Pie Hard Pizzeria, 122 West Mill Street, Waterloo • More info 618-939-4273; piehardpizza.com
Read my full review: Pie Hard's top-notch pizzas rise even higher in Waterloo.
A brisket platter at Shorty's Smokehouse in Waterloo
Anthony Hassler and Brandon Bauza opened Shorty's Smokehouse three years ago in Waterloo. It already ranks among the region's best barbecue restaurants and is a must-visit for its brisket. Each time I ordered the cut, Bauza asked if I preferred the fatty end or the lean. I chose fatty, of course, and he cut the meat confidently into thick slices encrusted with gnarled, peppery bark and jiggly with succulent fat. Hickory is the wood used with all of the meats here, even the brisket. It imbues the beef with a smokiness ever so slightly more intense than central Texans’ preferred post-oak would, and the brisket is no less compelling for the adaptation.
Where Shorty’s Smokehouse, 121 South Main Street, Waterloo • More info 618-939-7665; shortyssmokehouse.com
Read my full review: Shorty's Smokehouse in Waterloo smokes some of St. Louis area's best BBQ
Crispy Chick'n sandwich at Station No. 3 in St. Louis
Station No. 3 in Benton Park is a "flexitarian gastropub" from chef Natasha Kwan of the University City duo Frida's and Diego's Cantina. Some meat is on the menu, but most of the dishes are vegan, including the standout Crispy Chick'N Sandwich. Kwan tried tried pre-breaded, plant-based imitation chicken from “every single company.” She didn’t like any of it. Instead, the restaurant opted for a plain faux-chicken cutlet from Gardein that is seasoned in-house and dredged twice before frying. This chicken might not cluck, but the sandwich crunches like a proper fried-chicken sandwich should, and I have eaten plenty of white-meat bird less tender than this cutlet.
Where Station No. 3, 1956 Utah Street • More info 314-925-8883; station3stl.com
Read my full review : Station No. 3 brings magical vegan touch to burgers, nachos and more in Benton Park.
Eggplant barbacoa tacos at Taqueria Morita
Taqueria Morita is the new casual Mexican restaurant on the pavilion outside the acclaimed Vicia, and as at Vicia, the most fascinating alchemy here transforms plants. For his eggplant barbacoa tacos, chef Aaron Martinez roasts, smokes and marinates the nightshade before grilling it to order. The flavor develops a smoky, sophisticated bittersweetness evocative of a chocolate mole. A salsa macha both charges these eggplant tacos with arbol chile and intensfies its savoriness with black garlic and fermented black beans.
Where Taqueria Morita, 4260 Forest Park Avenue (outside Vicia) • More info 314-553-9239; taqueriamorita.com
Read my full review: Taqueria Morita throws a beachfront taco party in the Central West End.
Ian Froeb is the restaurant critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Restaurant critic Ian Froeb previews this fall's crop of new dining destinations.
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