Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.

Spencer 12/31/18 Spencer 12/31/18

The Olive Blvd. Eating Guide

Eating on Olive Boulevard

Some say that the county is a depressing wasteland full of chain restaurants, McMansions, and white women who inexplicably voted for Donald Trump. Those people are...not really wrong. But as a county resident, I can tell you that there are a fair number of 'hidden gem' restaurants, especially on Olive Blvd. and Manchester. Here's my guide to eating on Olive, driving West to East, starting right along the Chesterfield/Creve Coeur border.

Seoul Taco

Start your journey down Olive with a visit to St. Louis' most delicious Korean-Mexican fusion. It's just like the one in the Loop, but substitute college students for high schoolers and the elderly. If you're looking to treat yo self/eat your feelings, I recommend the gogi fries with spicy pork. Chesterfield now sucks 3% less.

Red Hots Albasha

This is a confusing restaurant. For something like 30 years, it was a Classic Red Hots, serving typical Chicago foods like hot dogs and Italian beef. It still does that, but it's also an Arab restaurant, serving dishes like shish kebabs, schwarma, and kefta. Don't let the untouched 90s interior scare you off—the Arab food (especially the kibbeh) is solid. I can't speak for the Colossal Dog.

Kim cheese

Another Korean-Mexican fusion spot with the bonus of a drive-thru window. Dishes range from healthy, like their bibimbap bowls, to gluttonous, with their football sized extra-large burritos. Stick with the spicy pork or bulgogi beef.

Addie’s Thai House

Some nights you're just too lazy to drive out to Fork & Stix for your curry fix. Addie's isn't on the same level, but pretty much anything cooked with coconut milk and curry paste is going to be tasty.

Kim’s Bakery

Kim's is St. Louis' only Korean bakery and goddamn is it tasty. Aside from their cakes and a few other more ornate desserts, everything is individually packaged and set out on a shelf so you can just grab and go. Anything made with their buttery, pillowy dough is worth buying. And the hilariously named "fistball," which is like breadpudding and a baseball had a baby.

Pita Plus

I have had the same conversation with the owner of Pita Plus since I was in high school. "Hello, what you want? Falafel very good. Israeli salad. Hummus. You like? Okay. Pita, white or wheat? You want burreka? Made fresh. Here. Very good. Spinach, good for you." Do what he says. Get the falafel (I've found none better in St. Louis), and treat yourself to a flakey burreka too. You're worth it.

Joo Joo Korean

For traditional Korean food, you don't have a ton of options. Basically here, Joo Joo Korean, and Asian Kitchen Korean Cuisine. Both are on Olive. Both are sparsely decorated. Both have a staff that doesn't really care about your wants and needs. Joo Joo is bigger and a little nicer, plus it has a shrine to former Cardinal pitcher Seung-hwan Oh. Bonus: it has karaoke rooms.

Wudon K-BBQ

With the demise of Seoul Q (I'm still broken up about this), I worried it would be years before St. Louis got another contemporary K-BBQ spot, but then Wudon came out of nowhere. I didn't have high hopes because every other restaurant that's opened in that spot has been garbage, but this is one of those rare occasions where I was wrong. It's good, especially if you've got no self control.

Asia Market

Not a restaurant, but a small wonderland of...stuff. The shop is like a tiny Seafood City, minus the seafood, but it's solid if you're in a pinch for Asian ingredients and don't feel like driving into UCity. A third of the shop seems to change with the seasons; sometimes it's full of winter coats, sometimes it's full of pans, and sometimes it's just empty.

Gobblestop Smokehouse

If you like smoked poultry, this is the place for you, since that's pretty much all they have. Get a plate of turkey ribs for yourself and some chicken wings for the table. Service can be confusingly slow (isn't the turkey already smoked? what's taking so long to get it from the kitchen to my mouth?), but that's the punishment you get for trying to be healthy.

Dave & Tony’s

Often overlooked, Dave & Tony's has all your typical American restaurant favorites, like hot dogs, nachos, beer, and, most importantly, tasty burgers for a reasonable price. Most things are made in-house using high quality ingredients. A good lunch choice.

Ani’s Hyderbadi House

I have been going to Ani's for years and still have no idea what the hell is going on in this restaurant. The TV is usually blaring Indian films or soap operas, the menu has 10,000 things on it without any descriptions, they straight up don't make huge chunks of said menu, and yet I return. Why? Because the food is good.

Oishi Sushi

Good sushi is hard to come by in St. Louis, period. I've been going to Oishi since my high school days—the family the owns it also has United Provisions, Global Foods, and The King & I—because the fish is always fresh and they have one of the best pad thai's in town. Also, no rolls are lit on fire or served in a sexy tinfoil canoe, which is always a positive.

Gioia’s Deli

Say no to Potbelly's and Jimmy John's and yes to hot salami. Tell your office to have them cater your next event. Take a nap under your desk afterwards.

5 Star Burger

The same 5 Star Burger that you know and love from Kirkwood (RIP) and Clayton. Burgers. Fries. Beer.

Nudo House

Nudo House is Qui Tran's all-encompassing quick service Asian restaurant. The ramen bowls are the star (especially the shockingly good Shroomed Out vegetarian bowl), but the restaurants menu offers pho, banh mi sandwiches, soft serve ice cream, and tons of specials.

Bagel Factory

Everyone knows that St. Louis has garbage bagels. At the top of garbage bagel mountain sits Bagel Factory, though I wouldn't go out of your way to get them (maybe just pop by if you’re on your way to Nudo).

Seoul Garden

The well-respected St. Ann Korean BBQ restaurant has opened a second location right by AMC Creve Coeur theatre. It's good.

Sugarfire

The OG Sugarfire location. Expect a line, but don’t worry, it moves quickly.

Pho Long

Not my favorite pho in town, but certainly not a bad bowl. If you work or live nearby and are craving spring rolls and some hot soup, it's worth a visit.

Tai Ke

Hell yeah, Tai Ke. My favorite casual Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant in town. There's a good reason that it's hard to get a seat in here for lunch and dinner: the flavors are bright, full of lots of fresh herbs, there are daily specials, and the menu ranges from small, wonderfully unhealthy street snacks to shareable entrees. The Three Cup chicken is my go-to.

Asian Kitchen Korean

You know when you go to a Korean restaurant and they give you those little plates of snacks called banchan? Asian Kitchen gives you somewhere around 350 different ones. I can guarantee you will not leave hungry. It's a little rougher around the edges than Joo Joo, but I'd argue the food is better, overall.

Royal Chinese BBQ

Go for the roasted meats, skip everything else.

Tang Palace

Formerly known as Jia Xiang, it's a small spot across the street from LuLu's Seafood. The kind of place where you look at what the old ladies next to you are eating and just say, "I want that."

Cate Zone

The sexy newcomer to UCity's Chinese restaurants. A good deal of Szechuan dishes, but much more refined than what you'd find at Famous Szechuan Pavilion back in the day (not to mention much cleaner). Go with a group so you can try more things; a lot of menu items are too big for one person.

Frank & Helen’s

Are these pizzas underrated? I don't know. No one talks about Frank and Helen's. I think they're pretty good. They've been open for like 60 years, so they must be doing something right.

Wonton King

Weekend dim sum. 'Nuff said.

STL Soup Dumplings

Everyone liked Private Kitchen's soup dumplings, so they decided to open a soup dumpling shop next door. The menu is extremely limited, so if you don't like soup dumplings, don't go.

Private Kitchen

The most high-end Chinese restaurant in St. Louis. Reservations are required, and you need to pre-order your meal (see their Facebook page). Food and service are both casual, though, so don't come thinking you're in for a romantic evening

Mad Crab

Get your hands dirty and eat a mountain of crabs, crawfish, shrimp, or pretty much any other type of seafood. You pick the sauce, you pick the heat level, then you go to town.

Olive Supermarket & Seafood City

Two of the best and largest Asian markets in town. Both have similar offerings, though Olive Supermarket has the advantage of selling some freshly made pastries, too.

Spencer 2/28/16 Spencer 2/28/16

Classic Red Hots Albasha

I've found a good amount of odd "hidden gem" restaurants in St. Louis, but I think this is the first time that I've found what is literally a hidden restaurant. Or maybe disguised is a better description. Classic Red Hots Albasha isn't invisible like Platform 9 3/4, of course. It's just not clear what you're getting yourself into. Driving past Classic Red Hots, it looks like nothing more than your standard strip mall hot dog shop. The sign over the door just says "Classic Red Hots." The window paint exclaims "corn dogs," "Italian beef," and "Philly steak."

But it's much more than that. Using my eagle vision, I noted a small sign in the top right of the window offering Mediterranean fare, with each dish written in Arabic and English. Most intriguing. I made a mental note to return the next week.

I step inside and my suspicions are confirmed: this restaurant is not just an American sandwich shop, but also a Middle Eastern restaurant. The decor ranges from Vienna Hot Dog billboards to paintings of far off Arab lands. The table patterns are distinctly Arabic, while the wall where you order is tiled with black and white, like a race card rally flag. My mind = blown (and slightly confused).

From what I gather, the restaurant was once simply a Classic Red Hots, serving things like corn dogs, Chicago dogs, and burgers. When the current owners bought it, they kept that aspect and added quick Middle Eastern food as well.

We discuss the menu with the owners at the counter and decide to start with their housemade hummus and kibbeh. The hummus is simple, tasting like when you make it at home, but the kibbeh is different story. Cracking open the crispy dough pocket, the heady smells of Middle Eastern cooking waft up into my face. Beef, richly spiced with cinnamon and allspice (if I'm not mistaken) is mixed with bulgur and packed inside these little crunch bombs. I dip it into the garlic-yoghurt sauce, and I am smitten. This is good!

I move on to the Sambousik, which seems to have the same beef filling, minus the bulgur. If the kibbeh is more like a samosa, this is closer to a Chinese wonton. Both are good, but I prefer the heartier kibbeh.

The deal of the day is clearly the moussaka. For $5.99, you get a gargantuan plate of food. The outer later is made up of fresh tomatoes, herbs, onions, greens. Under that are crispy fried slices of eggplant, which hide a hearty vegetable stew, chock full of more eggplant, onions, garlic, tomato, herbs, and I don't even know what else.

The main lunch dishes come next—one of which is a Chicago style hot dog. It's not something I would normally get, but I figured I might as well see if it was anything special. Nope, pretty much just your standard Chicago dog.

The beef and lamb gyro, on the other hand, was pretty damn good. Just a few weeks back I asked for gyro recommendations and almost all of them were in the city, or at least the eastern part of the county. The gyro gods have shined down upon me! The thing is massive (that's what she said), but more importantly, it's good. The meat is a mix of tender inner cuts and crispy outer slices. The sauce and toppings are all good. I'm enjoying.

The last thing we get is the kefta (kafta) burger—stop judging, a lot of leftovers are coming home with us—which is basically a Middle Eastern spiced burger patty with all your normal burger toppings.

We leave happy and full, amazed at yet another hole-in-the-wall international restaurant on good ol' Olive Blvd.

Spencer 2/8/16 Spencer 2/8/16

Lunch Pick: Annie Gunn's

I get that St. Louis has a little bit of city vs. county competition, but the number of times that knowledgable food enthusiasts that I trust have brushed off "The Gunn" is both disheartening and aggravating. If your aim is to eat at all of St. Louis' best restaurants, a visit to Annie Gunn's is in order. Actually, two visits are in order. Go for lunch and ask to be seated in the semi-outdoor atrium. Go for dinner and enjoy a decadent steak dinner with the finest wines. At some point I'll write about their dinner, but this post will serve as a lunch guide.

Many moons ago, I wrote about one of my favorite sandwiches in St. Louis: the French Dip at Annie Gunn's. My pictures do it little justice. It's got a perfectly buttery and soft bun, some of the best roast beef on Earth, and the right amount of cheese. Add to that the au jus and creamy horseradish dip and you're in heaven.

A French Dip might be a bit too heavy for you daintier eaters, so I figured now would be a good time to share some of my other favorites. First off, if you're an eater of chili, theirs is a must-try. I don't really have much to say about it besides "it's really good chili." If you're the kind of person who tells people that you're just big-boned, you should probably go for the potato soup.

For main dishes, there are almost always two fish specials, and they are always good choices. Chef Lou Rook and his team are constantly changing fish and preparations, based on what's available. This past weekend, for example, they featured both fluke and rainbow trout; below is the roasted trout with a badass salsa verde on top. The dish originally came with braised greens and some kind of starch, but my dad is watching his figure, so he opted to get green beans and asparagus instead.

If you really want to take advantage of The Smokehouse Market aspect of Annie Gunn's, you should do the smoked seafood sampler (or the WOW board—I'll cover that another time). I get this all the time because I'm fancy as hell. The plate is composed of their famous Vermont maple glazed jumbo shrimp, Viking Village sea scallops, Troutdale Farm trout, and sturgeon, served with onion, tomato, capers, Pennsylvania Dutch BBQ sauce, a dill sauce, and Guinness rye bread.

The shrimp are good, but overhyped. Your server will almost certainly tell you how you can get them individually as an appetizer. They're a little too smoky and a little too sweet for me. The sturgeon is a nice meaty chunk of fish, with a light smoke and a little sweetness. To me, it tastes a lot like swordfish. My Jewish soul loves it. But nothing tops my love for the unbelievable little sea scallops, something I've tried to replicate at home but failed miserably at doing so. Oh, and the trout—once again, perfectly smoked. I sometimes get a salad with a side of the trout, when I'm feeling particularly healthy—which is rare.

You can't visit The Gunn without stopping by the Smokehouse Market, the connected market and smokehouse. Bolyard's and Truffle's have both done an admirable job of bringing meat to the masses, but no one does it quite like The Smokehouse. There is so much meat in this store, it is unbelievable. Cured meats, fresh meats, sausages, steaks wrapped in bacon, bacon wrapped in steaks. Whatever you want, they have. Their smoked chickens make for a great dinner, their roast beef (the same as the French Dip) is always great to have for sandwiches, and butcher Andrew Jennrich (formerly of Farmhaus) is there to help guide you to the right meat choice.

The Smokehouse also has its own rather large take-out menu of sandwiches and salads. The not-secret but oft ignored sandwich that really shouldn't be ignored at all is the John's Smoked Trout. The same hickory smoked trout from the seafood plate with sliced red onion, capers, cucumbers, and the dill sauce. It is so good.

Spencer 11/9/15 Spencer 11/9/15

Pita Plus

I go to Pita Plus for two reasons: to eat falafel and to talk to the owner. Every time I walk in, it's the exact same conversation.

"Hello! What can I get you?"

"I'd like the falafel platter (or, occasionally, falafel pita)."

"Pita. White or wheat?"

"Wheat."

"Pita. Wheat. Okay. You want borek? Is very good."

"No, just the falafel today."

"We have potato borek, cheese borek, chicken borek, spinach borek..."

"That's okay, I don't need the extra calories."

"Okay. So...no borek?"

The truth is that I want a borek. Very much so. It should be obvious from reading this blog that I am a disgusting glutton who can't say no to buttery, wonderful food. I feel guilty even looking at those stuffed phyllo pockets, though. In my fatter days, I used to scarf a borek down as I drove home with my sandwich. I still feel the shame.

Usually the owner has nothing to say after the borek discussion, but occasionally he'll be in a talkative mood. One time he wanted to know why I was taking pictures of my food, and when I told him I had a blog where I wrote about food he asked "Why?" then laughed to himself. Once he asked me not to speak until he was done checking out a woman walking to her car.

I've said it before but it bears repeating: Pita Plus' falafel is what you need to be getting. They show up on the table (on classy styrofoam plates) looking like brown and green ping pong balls, but then you crack through their crunchy exterior and that fluffy neon green interior calls you in. Their mix of chickpeas with onion, garlic, fresh herbs, and a mountain of spices—these have a hint of heat to them—is tough to top. Especially when slathered in tzatziki and their sweat-inducing chili sauce.

The platter comes with pita bread (white or wheat?), a Middle Eastern salad, pickles, olives, and hummus.

Get a borek while you're there, too. It'll make him feel good. My favorite goes to the potato.

Spencer 9/7/15 Spencer 9/7/15

Kim's Bakery

If you're one of those people who has grumbled and moaned to me about being so far from places like La Patisserie Chouquette, Pint Size Bakery, and Whisk because you live in West County, you need to stop whining right now. You have a place to go. A place with pastries and baked goods you can't find anywhere else in St. Louis. Yes, you have something unique that you can rub in the faces of your city dwelling friends. You have Kim's Bakery. So shush. Kim's Bakery is the same thing as St. Louis Korean Bakery and Kim Dok Won Bakery. When you Google it, you'll see any of those names appear.

What's special about a Korean bakery, you ask? Everything. It's all so goddamn delicious. There's a reason that the French-inspired South Korean bakery chain Paris Baguette is spreading through Asia like wildfire: traditional French techniques and recipes have been modified for the Asian palate, and for that, we should all be thankful.

Every day, the Kim's crew bakes more cookies, breads, cakes, and other tasty bits than you can imagine. Some highlights from my most recent trip, clockwise from top left:

1. The melonpan's name comes from it's appearance—it looks like a rock melon—not its flavor. Based on its size, you'd expect it to be a hefty snack, but it's actually hollow inside. It's like a buttery, sugary balloon. The outside of the dough takes on this crackly, crunchy texture while the inside remains soft.

2. White bean balls are for the sugar lovers. Don't let the word 'bean' be a turnoff: you know how good red bean paste is. While red bean tends to have a sticky, gummy texture, white bean is creamy and has less flavor, so almond paste/extract is used. If you like almonds and sugar, or you're looking to get diabetes, you will enjoy these.

3. Do you enjoy custard? Do you enjoy soft, sweet dough? Get the custard bun.

4. I can't leave without getting a fistball. Imagine making a chestnut and raisin bread pudding, but instead of making it as goopy as Americans like theirs, you put it in your hand, make a fist, then toast it so the outside is crunchy. This is what you'd get.

Asian bakeries have an obsession with hot dogs, for some reason. My last time there, the owner insisted I get the sausage pizza bread: slices of hot dog interlaced in dough, topped with cheese and ketchup. It makes for really good drunk food. I'm not sure why, out of all the things in the shop, this is what she really wanted me to get, but I assume she's just an avid Whiskey & Soba reader and knows I'm a pizza fiend.

You may remember my post on Kim's earlier this year highlighting two of their cakes, but I've found the real winner: the green tea cake. It's the best green tea cake I've had anywhere. The top of the cake has a cool post-apocalyptic nuclear green smear design, then you get a thick layer of fluffy green tea mousse, a layer of cake, a smaller layer of mousse dotted with chestnuts, then cake again. I'm embarrassed by how much of this cake I ate, most of which was done secretly late at night.

And yes, this cake was purchased and consumed for Father's Day of this year. I forgot to write about it. I even considered going and getting a new one to re-shoot it, but after the last few weeks of heavy eating, I figured this would be best.

Kim's Bakery is a serious asset for Chesterfield/Creve Coeur. If you're in West County, go. If you're further east, make your friends bring you some (don't bother with the rolled cakes, though; they're the only things there I haven't liked). And most importantly, don't be afraid to go in and try new things. Most items come packaged individually, so you can pick and choose a wide variety.

Kim’s Bakery

13357 Olive Blvd

Chesterfield, MO 63017

(314) 523-1332

Spencer 4/3/15 Spencer 4/3/15

Kim Cheese

Unlike those of you who work in Clayton or downtown, I don't have access to a lot of locally-owned lunch spots. I work in Creve Coeur, land of the chain restaurants. Even food trucks don't venture out here. One of the few bright spots we have on the culinary front is Kim Cheese - and now we have two of them! Their original location, just off 141 and Olive, is a tiny old place, but they've recently opened a second location near the AMC Creve Coeur Theater. If you're familiar with the area, it's in the spot where Oberweiss used to be. Sean Moon and the Kim Cheese family went all out on this place; it looks like a modern Korean take on Chipotle. With the opening of the new spot, they've also expanded their menu to include fish tacos, pork belly, hot wings, and even a new Kalbi burger.

This is a mix of a few recent trips. Below is the their [symple_highlight color="blue"]Bi Bim Bap Bowl[/symple_highlight] with spicy pork. Under that runny fried egg (I have never loved fried eggs more than when paired with Korean food) are cucumbers, water fern, carrots, zucchini, bean sprouts, yu choi (Chinese greens), mixed spring greens, and rice. You take all that, toss a little of the spicy gochujang on top, then mix it up real good. The result is something like a Chipotle burrito bowl, just with a lot more veggies. This has become my go-to meal there, since if I can avoid the rice (I can't), it's pretty healthy.

If I'm feeling like a slightly smaller meal - usually the result of a visit to La Patisserie Chouquette the day prior - I'll go for the tacos. You can't tell from the pictures, but I got a crispy fish taco, a bulgogi beef taco, and, of course, a spicy pork taco. Whether here or at Seoul Taco, I cannot resist the spicy pork. Koreans know pork.

I just want to reiterate how delicious the spicy pork is. I've also been told by a trusted food friend that their quesadilla with spicy pork and kimchi is a perfect hangover cure.

The newest addition to the Kim Cheese family is their Kalbi burger. Kalbi is a marinated beef short rib typically grilled and served with veggies. These geniuses have taken the marinated kalbi, minced it up with some green onions and white onions, then turned it into a hamburger. You've seen short rib, right? It's got beautiful marbling - now imagine that as a burger patty. Mmmmmm, meat.

It's thrown onto a buttery Companion bun with some lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, and ketchup. This is all well and good, but to make it really delicious, you've got to throw some of the housemade BBQ sauce on there. It's got this spicy, smoky kick from the gochujang that sends shivers down my spine.

The burger is only available at the Creve Coeur location, currently.

I love you, Kim Cheese. Thank you for saving me from having to eat Potbelly's.

What's your go-to meal at Kim Cheese?

Kim Cheese

13435 Olive Blvd

Chesterfield, MO 63017

314-485-1408