9 editor picks in St. Louis.
9 restaurants in St. Louis, editor-picked for restaurants open monday. Open on monday, the day most kitchens go dark. All restaurants in St. Louis.
Pappy's smokes Memphis-style ribs over apple and cherry wood in Midtown and lands on national BBQ lists. The ribs are the order, and they sell out daily.
OrderDry-rubbed ribs smoked over apple and cherry wood.
TipArrive before noon at weekends; they smoke a fixed amount each day and close when it is gone. Cash and card both work.
James Beard winner Gerard Craft's Clayton Italian runs on handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza in a busy room. The most reliable Italian table off The Hill.
OrderHandmade pasta of the day with a wood-oven pizza.
TipIt books up at weekends; the bar and the patio take walk-ins. The next-door Pastaria Deli & Wine handles takeaway.
Opened in 1985 and credited as the first Vietnamese restaurant in St. Louis, Mai Lee runs a vast menu of pho, bun and canh chua that sets the local standard.
OrderSalt-and-pepper calamari, pho, and canh chua sour soup.
TipThe menu runs to hundreds of items; the salt-and-pepper calamari and the sour soup are the orders to anchor a table around.
Salt + Smoke smokes brisket over post oak for 16 hours in the Delmar Loop and pairs it with a deep bourbon list. The city's leading new-school BBQ name.
OrderPost-oak brisket with the fried pimento-cheese balls.
TipBrisket sells out, so save a spot on the waitlist or come early. The bourbon and beer list is as much the draw as the meat.
Hodak's has won Riverfront Times reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s. The family-run Gravois corner room is a no-frills temple to the bird.
OrderThe fried chicken dinner with sides.
TipThe fried chicken is the only thing most regulars order; pair it with the slaw and a cold draft. Expect a wait on Friday nights.
Mama Adriana Fazio opened this Shaw Avenue sandwich shop over 30 years ago, and her daughters still run it. The foot-long subs are a Hill lunch institution.
OrderThe Sicilian sub and a cup of the day's soup.
TipIt is lunch only and closes mid-afternoon; the line moves fast. Get the Sicilian sub and split it.
A Hill institution tied to the toasted-ravioli origin story, Charlie Gitto's plates red-sauce Italian classics in a clubby room. The t-ravs draw first-timers.
OrderToasted ravioli, which the restaurant claims to have popularised.
TipReserve for dinner; the dining room fills with regulars and out-of-town pilgrims. Start with the toasted ravioli and a Caesar.
Lu Lu has run cart-rolled dim sum and Cantonese seafood on the Olive Boulevard Chinese strip for years. The weekend dim sum draws regulars to University City.
OrderCart-rolled dim sum at lunch and the salt-and-pepper shrimp.
TipCome for weekend dim sum before noon for the fullest carts. Salt-and-pepper dishes and steamed fish are the standouts off the menu.
David Choi's 2011 food truck grew into a small Korean-Mexican chain built on bulgogi tacos and kimchi-fried-rice bowls. The Chouteau kitchen is the original.
OrderThe Seoul taco and the gogi bowl with bulgogi.
TipThe gogi bowl feeds two if you are light eaters; add the chips and queso. Counter service, fast turnaround.
