Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.
The Mole Poblano at La Tejana Taqueria
As a, uh, big boned kid, I was obsessed with the mole poblano at Pueblo Nuevo up in Hazelwood. My dad worked nearby, so we’d always go there for lunch on days we visited him. I’d get a grenade-sized beef empanada, two chicken mole enchiladas, and a Diet Coke, then just go to town on them. Any extra sauce leftover over was shoveled up with tortilla chips. That plate would go back to the kitchen looking like it was brand new. I was like a young Joey Chestnut.
From there, my obsession with mole grew—if it was on a menu, it was going in my belly. I met good moles. I met bad moles.
Not all that long ago, I (foolishly) thought, “If I can make my own curries, I can make my own mole!”
While it is technically true that I did in fact make a mole from scratch, it took what felt like a week of my life and required an entire aisle of groceries from Global Foods. I would describe the flavor of it as “disappointing.” After that day, I decided that mole was off the table for things I’d make from scratch. It was a dish best left up to the experts.
Nowadays, my mole intake comes from two main sources. If I’m cooking at home, it’s La Guelaguetza’s mole pastes. If I’m looking to go out, it’s at La Tejana Taqueria.
My first meal ever at Tejana was probably the kind of meal you imagine I eat daily—the table was absolutely covered in food. Tacos, gorditas, platos, margaritas, quesadillas. It was beautiful. As we were finishing our meal, Tyler Garcia, the son of owners Tony and Bren Garcia (and now the owner of the Locoz Taco Truck) came over with an off-the-menu dish: a gigantic burrito with their mole poblano inside. I was smitten instantly. So much so that I purchased a quart of it to-go, then took it home and dipped everything I could find in it. I’ve never been able to find the words to accurately describe it. The thick, almost mahogany colored sauce is nutty, chocolatey, spicy—but also sweet, with hints of warming spices like cloves and cinnamon. If I really just sit there and think about what I’m tasting, I turn into Violet from Willy Wonka, just announcing potential ingredents—"It’s guajillo chiles! And almonds! No…pepitas? Almonds and pepitas? Sesame seeds!”
Everyone knows that Tejana has bomb tacos. I’ve been at the taqueria multiple times when staff from other Mexican restaurants have been there eating. I’m just trying to spread the word about their mole, which I really do think you should try. You can get it either as an entree plate with bone-in chicken or as an enchilada platter—my go-to. Just order one less taco and share the dish for your taco buddy. If you don’t like it, well, we probably can’t be friends. Like the torta ahogada at Taqueria Durango, I can almost guarantee this is going to throw a wrench in your future ordering. I think it’s one of the tastiest bites in town.
Mole Chicken
La Tejana Taqueria
mole enchiladas
Don’t let the raw onion throw you off—it’s there to help cut through the richness of the mole.
Taqueria Durango's Torta Ahogada
I do my best not to do the standard Food Network reaction when I eat something delicious (you know the one: they take a bite, then simultaneously roll their eyes and their head in a circular motion, then say something like “Yummo!” or “holy moly, this is money!”), but there are times it just happens.
Most recently, it was brought on by the torta ahogada from Taqueria Durango, a football-sized behemoth, drowned in sauce. Which makes sense if you speak Spanish, because a tortais a Mexican sandwich and ahogada means drowned. If you really want to impress the staff, say, “Uno torta ahogada, s’il vous plaît!”
I went years without trying this sandwich, choosing instead to focus my eating on Durango’s tacos—which are some of the best in St. Louis—because I am a dumb person. Ian Froeb has talked about this sandwich for as long as I can remember, and I just ignored him. Sorry, Froeb. You were on the money with this yummo sandwich.
The oversized bolillo roll is sliced in half, filled with carnitas and grilled onions, then doused with a smoky and mildly spicy red chile sauce. This is clearly a knife and fork sandwich (does that negate it from being a sandwich? Discuss below). It reminds me of something I’d come up with late at night, drunk, using all my leftovers from the previous night’s tacos—but much better. The sauce is so good, and the way the outside of the bread soaks that up, while the inside picks up all the char and pork fat from the carnitas and onions…it shivers me timbers.
This is one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in St. Louis. Maybe even in the top 10. It is a little spicy, so if you’re a weakling, order something else.
Torta Ahogada
carnitas, onions
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
I’m not a butcher, but I’ve hung around Bolyard’s Meat enough to consider myself a meat journeyman. I’ve learned by watching, not doing. Can I break down a cow? No. Can I stand over your shoulder and tell you you’re doing it wrong? Yes.
In my almost-expert opinion, there seems there are three basic groups that exist when it comes to buying and cooking meat: Grillers, Slow Cookers, and Sausage Lovers (like your sister).
I’m a Slow Cooker. I’ve grilled 3 steaks in the last 3 years, and I’ve ordered steak at a restaurant once in that same time frame. It bores me. I find that braised (or BBQed) meats, on the other hand, tend to be more flavorful and harder to screw up. Plus, most of the cooking can be done unattended in your kitchen. Oh, and the cuts are way cheaper.
Alex Welsch, one of the Bolyard’s meat men, recently guided me to beef neck, a tender, well-marbled cut of beef perfect for braising. Jewish Santa delivered me a package of La Guelaguetza mole. Combining the two, I got one of the most flavorful braised beef recipes I’ve made yet, all thanks to Alex. What a guy.
This recipe doesn’t use up the entire amount of mole each Guelaguetza jar makes, so you’ll still have some left over for nachos, enchiladas, or protein shakes.
I pulled the neck apart into hunks, then served it over grains. The leftovers went into enchiladas. If you have a big family, there will be no leftovers.
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
SERVES: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs beef neck (or chuck)
2.5 C beef stock
0.75 C La Guelaguetza Mole Negro sauce
METHOD
Make the La Guelaguetza Oaxacan Black Mole according to the package instructions. Alternatively, buy a different mole or—if you’re really going for it—make your own. Check out Alex Stupak’s recipe in Tacos cookbook. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 500F.
Put the beef on a rack over a baking tray. Rub or brush the beef with the mole on all sides, then sear in the oven for 15 minutes.
Lower oven temp to 300F.
Combine mole and stock in an oven-safe braiser or Dutch oven. It won’t look like much liquid, but as Kenji taught me: the more liquid in there to start, the more you’ll have to reduce later. If you’re really concerned, feel free to add more mole and stock. Bring to a boil, then set in the beef, put on lid, and place in the oven.
Bake covered for about 2 hours, then about 1 hour uncovered.
Remove from the oven and pull apart or chop. If needed, simmer the sauce to thicken. Season with salt, if needed.
Nachomama's Queso
I once asked a man, "what is best in life?" He responded, "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to eat their queso."
My days of crushing enemies are long behind me, but I will be a devout queso eater until the day I die (as if you couldn't tell from my nachoseries). A fair amount of restaurants in St. Louis serve queso, but only a few stand out to me. I think the Tilford's have a great one at Mission Taco Joint & Milagro, and the queso on Publico's arepa platter disappears as quickly as it arrives, but none have tickled me quite like Nachomama's.
Nachomama's is one of those places that isn't going to blow you away with their TexMex fare, though, to be fair, I don't think there are many places out there that will. It's good, though. A great place to go for a casual dinner with friends, especially when the weather is nice. Grab yourself a margarita, pick out your favorite TexMex fare, and be thankful that you're not stuck eating Chipotle or Crazy Bowls & Wraps again for the umpteenth time.
Their queso isn't complicated—it's a pretty standard take on queso blanco. Cheese, milk, light seasoning, and what look like some chopped jalapenos and tomatoes. It's mild, but perfectly mild. It pairs wonderfully with their salty tortilla chips (which you have to get a large order of, if only to have your food come in a flower pot). But the real joy comes from pouring the queso over everything else.
Tacos? Yep. Nachos? Extra cheese. Sometimes I'll even dip a quesadilla in it, which is a sure sign that I know what I'm doing, and that I'm fat.
Two other things to know about Nachomama's: their guacamole is very good, and their rotisserie chicken is actually the best thing on the menu. It's always juicy, and it's got a really nice spice to it. If you haven't tried it, you should. Right away. Go.
Burnt Scallion Chicken Enchiladas
I'm always looking for ways to combine things I love—in this case, joining my love for enchiladas with my love for Sean Brock's grilled chicken wings with a burnt scallion BBQ sauce. The wings are a summertime staple at my house, and, if you make them, they will be at yours too. The smoky charred chicken skin topped with that BBQ sauce on steroids will shiver your timbers. Seriously, once you make this sauce, you'll want it all the time. Brock's recipe calls for his homemade Husk BBQ sauce, but save time and just use whichever BBQ sauce you have on hand (I know you have one that's been sitting in your fridge for months—use that). Funny story: a few weeks back I was making a batch of these and forgot about the scallions in the oven. I turned around and saw that, somehow, one of them had lit on fire. That was a first.
But chicken wings take time and effort, and most days of the week, you're just not going to spend the time making them. Plus, you have to worry about not giving your friends and family food poisoning due to undercooked chicken. My solution to this is to simply buy your favorite rotisserie or smoked chicken from the grocery and shred the meat off that. The smoked meat is mixed with sweet caramelized onions, always incredible roasted garlic, and then the BBQ sauce and stringy Mexican cheese.
For the tortillas, I highly, highly recommend using the TortillaLand flour tortillas. They're uncooked, so you'll find them in refrigerated area near the cheeses, and just require a quick trip to a hot pan. The flavor of both the corn and flour tortillas are top notch—better than what some of the restaurants in town are using. To say I have become obsessed with them is an understatement. For St. Louis readers, they're available at Schnucks.
These have become a freezer-staple for me—I just pop it out, microwave it, then throw it in the toaster oven for a couple minutes to crisp up the edges again. Enjoy!
tortillaland tortillas
tortillaland tortilla description
Chicken Enchiladas
burnt scallion BBQ sauce
Chicken Enchiladas with Burnt Scallion BBQ Sauce
YIELD: 8 | ACTIVE: 20 MIN | INACTIVE: 35 | TOTAL: 55 MIN
INGREDIENTS
BURNT SCALLION SAUCE
ADAPTED FROM HERITAGE BY SEAN BROCK
10 scallions, trimmed
1 T peanut oil
Kosher salt
1 bottle BBQ sauce (your choice)
1 T soy sauce
1 c cilantro leaves
FILLING
1 rotisserie chicken
Queso fresco/Chihuahua cheese
1 large onion, sliced
1 head of garlic
8 large tortillas
METHOD
BURNT SCALLION BBQ SAUCE
Turn on your broiler. Line a pan with foil, then using a brush or paper towel, coat the scallions in peanut oil. Broil until well-charred (your kitchen may get a little smoky, but it shouldn’t be too bad). Remove from oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender, then set aside.
FILLING
Peel the garlic cloves, then make a foil pouch. Coat cloves with olive oil, salt, and vinegar. Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes. Once cool, mash together.
Pick the rotisserie chicken apart like a Viking warrior.
Caramelize the sliced onion. I use Kenji’s 15-minute recipe.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix the onions, chicken, and garlic in a bowl. Spread a thin layer of the BBQ sauce on the tortilla, then a spoonful of the chicken and onion mix, then as much cheese as you desire. Roll up the enchilada and place into a 9×13 baking pan. Repeat until the pan is full. Top the enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and top with cilantro.
Animal Style Nachos
St. Louis is getting a Shake Shack! Woohoo! To celebrate, I decided to make ShackBurger nachos—but then I happened to see a Facebook post talking about an In N Out double-double, Animal Style, and I changed my mind. If you're somehow unaware, In N Out and Shake Shack are the two coastal fast-food burger chains that people love because they treat their staff well, they don't buy disgusting meat and produce, and their food is mighty tasty. Here in the Midwest, we've got their fat, trashy cousin, Five Guys.
The main differences that I could discern from an Animal Style burger and a ShackBurger is the mustard-coated burger patty and addition of caramelized onions. Besides that, they're both just meat, bun, lettuce, tomato, "secret sauce". I know that the idea of cooking a burger patty that's been smeared with yellow mustard sounds gross, but it's vital for an accurate taste of In N Out. Even their own website says it: "a mustard cooked beef patty." So don't argue with me.
I have to say, I was quite impressed with the end result. It tastes almost exactly like a I remember an Animal Style burger tasting. I guarantee your friends and family will like you more if you make this for them.
Animal Style Nachos
Animal Style Nachos
Yield: 4-6 | Prep: 25 hour | Cook: 5 Min | Total: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
CHEESE SAUCE
(ADAPTED FROM SERIOUS EATS)
8 oz American cheese
1 T corn starch
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t paprika
HAMBURGER
4-6 hamburger patties
yellow mustard
oil
salt
pepper
CARAMELIZED ONIONS
3-5 onions, diced
1 T butter
water
SECRET SAUCE
1/2 C mayo
2 T ketchup
1 T yellow mustard
1 T pickle relish
pinch of cayenne
pickle juice
TOPPINGS
1 c tomato, diced
1 c pickles, diced
1 head of romaine, shaved
METHOD
Secret Sauce
(Make Ahead)
Combine mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, and cayenne in a bowl. Add enough pickle juice (or water) to thin it out enough for easy nacho application. Set aside.
Caramelized Onions
(Make Ahead)
Melt butter in a larger, hot pan. Add onions. Cook until fond forms on the bottom of the pan. Add some water. Continue this for 15 minutes or so until the onions have really melted down into a spectacular onion jam.
Toppings
Dice tomatoes and pickles, set aside. Cut romain into thin slices, set aside.
Putting It All Together
Burgers
Heat a pan or grill. Season both sides of the burger and place in the hot pan. On the side facing upwards, apply a schmear of yellow mustard (I know this is odd, but it’s what In N Out does). After 3 minutes, flip the burgers. Cook mustard-side down another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and chop into bite sized pieces.
Nachos
Cover all the plates you’re going to use with chips. Put the burger pieces over the chips.
Put the shredded cheeses and cornstarch in a small pot and mix. Add the evaporated milk and cook on low, stirring with a whisk continuously. Once the cheese sauce has melted, dip a chip in and make sure that the taste of the cornstarch has cooked out. If it’s all good, add the paprika and turmeric (this is just for color).
Pour the cheese sauce over the burger and chips, then top with tomatoes, pickles, caramelized onions, secret sauce, and romaine.
Nduja Nachos
Cleaning up after making my hockey game nachos, I opened the fridge door to put away the jalapenos, and I saw it. Shining bright like a diamond was a log of Salume Beddu's nduja, a fiery hot spreadable salami. It beckoned me closer and whispered, "put me in the cheese sauce." I had no choice but to obey, and into the cheese sauce went the nduja. Within seconds, the pale orange sauce turned dark with specks of red throughout. I had created liquid gold.
This cheese sauce recipe, while simple, is just outstanding. Pour it over a burger or hot dog, dip stuff in it, toss macaroni in it; the possibilities are endless!
I quickly poured the cheese over the chips, took a picture, then devoured them all.
Nduja Nacho cheese sauce
I then sent the picture to Marco, the brains behind the Beddu, and asked him how he would make the perfect Salume Beddu nachos. His answer was simple: nduja cheese sauce, crispy potatoes, radicchio slaw, roasted serrano peppers, and roasted scallions.
The resulting dish could (and should) make an appearance as one of Beddu's incredible Saturday specials. It's got heat from the cheese sauce and serranos, it's got salt and crunch from the potatoes and chips, and it has vegetables, which I hear are healthy.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Calabrian nduja (nn-do-yuh), it can be found at Larder & Cupboard, Straubs, or Salume Beddu itself. Next time you go to Pastaria, get the nduja pizza and you'll really understand just how wonderful it is.
These are, without a doubt, the most beautiful, colorful nachos I've ever made. These are the kind of nachos you can make for your girlfriend's parents to really impress them that first time they come over for dinner. Nothing says "I'm an adult man who deserves your daughter" like salami cheese sauce.
Nduja Nachos
Nduja Nachos
YIELD: 4-6 | PREP: 1 HOUR | COOK: 5 MIN | TOTAL: 1 HOUR AND 5 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
NDUJA CHEESE SAUCE (ADAPTED FROM SERIOUS EATS)
4 oz American cheese, shredded
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 T corn starch
1 c evaporated milk
2-4 oz nduja
SLAW
1/2 head radicchio
1 lemon, juiced
CRISPY POTATOES
1 russet potato, diced
salt
pepper
canola oil
SLAW
1/2 head radicchio
1 lemon, juiced
ROASTED SCALLIONS
4 large scallions, whole
olive oil
ROASTED PEPPERS
4-6 serrano peppers, whole
olive oil
METHOD
Note: I recommend buying blocks of cheese and shredding them yourself instead of buying pre-shredded cheese.
Crispy Potatoes
Fill a small pot with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil.
Dice the potatoes, then blanch in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Remove the potatoes and set them in a colander to dry.
Once dry, you can cook them one of two ways: you can toss them in oil then roast in a 450F degree oven until crispy (about 20 min.), or you can put them in a hot cast iron pan with oil. You pick! After they’re done, toss them with some salt and pepper, then set aside.
Slaw
Chop the radicchio up into thin strips. Toss with lemon juice. Set aside.
Toppings
Put foil on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Place whole scallions on the sheet, then drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 450F until they start browning (5 min. or less).
Remove scallions from the tray and roughly chop. Set aside.
Turn the oven to broil. Put serrano peppers on the sheet and broil, rotating every few minutes, until the skin is mostly charred. Remove from the oven and put in a plastic bag for 5 minutes to steam. Peel the skins and remove the seeds. Chop, then set aside.
Putting It All Together
Cover all the plates you’re going to use with chips. Put the crispy potato over the chips.
Put the shredded cheeses and cornstarch in a small pot and mix. Add the evaporated milk and cook on low, continuously stirring with a whisk. Once the cheese has melted, dip a chip in and make sure that the taste of the cornstarch has cooked out. If it’s all good, add the nduja. Prepare yourself for a foodgasm. Keep adding nduja until it has the spice level and texture you’re looking for.
Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes and chips, then scatter the scallions, peppers, and slaw on top.
Nduja Nachos macro
An Ode To Nachos
For as long as I can remember, there have been two foods that have held a very special place in my heart: pizza and nachos. They both offer a level of customization rarely found in other foods, they're both eaten with your hands, and they're both cheesy. So cheesy. Plus, both have the range of going from very classy (Pizzeria Mozza) to borderline disgusting (Sbarro), much like myself. In my young chunkster days, the pinnacle of my nacho eating was at the Blues games. Those salty, kind of stale chips; the plastic, neon orange cheese sauce; the world's crappiest pickled jalapenos. I loved it then and I love it now. I know that the KielSavvis Scottrade Center has fancy nacho stands now with gourmet offerings like BBQ meats and olives, but I have no interest in those. I want the crappiest $10 nachos I can get.
I got a craving for these nachos the other day, and deep in the recesses of my mind, I recalled seeing a Serious Eats recipe for nacho cheese sauce. I knew that once I started making cheese sauce, I would never stop, but resistance was futile. Recipe in hand, I headed to Schnuck's.
I grabbed the first bag of chips I saw, a jar of generic pickled jalapenos, evaporated milk, then headed to the deli counter to get cheese. I asked for roughly half a block of American cheese, to the horror of the man behind the counter. He made me repeat what I was asking for 2 more times before he finally, hesitantly, chopped it. I also grabbed about 1/4 of a block of sharp cheddar, just in case I decided to class things up a bit.
I followed Kenji's recipe and was quite pleased with the result. My American cheese lacked the neon orange color of Scottrade Center's cheese, which was fine. The texture and flavor was much more reminiscent of Shake Shack's cheese sauce, if you're familiar with that. Thinner and milkier than the plastic cheese.
As I sat there, munching away on my nachos, I started to get ideas. Crazy ideas. Wild ideas. Genius ideas?
I will make a series of out-of-the-box nacho recipes that are sure to blow minds. I've been in the nacho lab for days now, and I gotta say, there are some awesome things coming your way. Prepare yourselves. These will be perfect as the Blues march into the 1st round of the playoffs (and blow it) or for some summer time get togethers.
I advise you start playing around with Kenji's recipe, as it will serve as the basis for almost every cheese sauce I make in the coming weeks. In the mean time, if you have any genius nacho ideas, leave me a comment below. Blow my mind. Things like banh mi nachos.
Lunch Pick: La Tejana Taqueria
I have a tendency to get obsessed—with a specific dish, a restaurant, a chef, or, more often, a cuisine. A few weeks back, I watched a video of chef Alex Stupak making these incredible looking al pastor and immediately ordered his brand spankin' new Tacos. I started dreaming of tacos. That lead to a dinner at La Tejana, then a lunch at La Tejana, then visiting the taco stand at El Morelia, a trip to Publico, and so on. I know some people think that Taqueria Durango, La Vallesana, or Taqueria Bronco are better than Tejana, which is totally fine. They're all legit taco makers and I would happily eat tacos at any of them. I just happen to enjoy Tejana and the staff more than the other places.
Here are some quick picks for your next visit:
Al pastor quesadillas: This is a no-brainer. Tejana's al pastor is a delicious mix of spicy pork and sweet pineapple. Put that between two tortillas with gooey cheese? Duh.
Tacos: You can go healthy and eat a chicken taco and a veggie taco (top photo), or you can go big time and get some meat! I switch it up every time I go, which is easy when they have steak, carnitas, cow head (the only one I don't like), tongue, chorizo, tinga (chorizo/chicken), campechano (steak/chorizo), al pastor, chicken, pork skin, and barbacoa. Make sure to ask for the green salsa too.
Everything Verde: Tejana has daily specials, but none are as special as the mole verde or the pozole verde. Both dishes rely heavily on the use of tomatillos; as far as which I prefer, I lean towards the pozole verde. It's like my mom's chicken noodle soup if she was Mexican instead of Eastern European. The bites of hominy that have been plumped up with chicken broth (and wonderful chicken fat) and tomatillo are heavenly. Definitely a great choice for a cold winter's day or if you're feeling under the weather.
La Tejana Taqueria
3149 N. Lindbergh Blvd
Bridgeton, MO 63074
314.291.8500
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.
Bibimbap at Kim Cheese
Tacos at Kim Cheese
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.
Pork Tacos at Kim Cheese
Burger at Kim Cheese
Kalbi Burger at Kim Cheese
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?
13435 Olive Blvd
Chesterfield, MO 63017
314-485-1408
Seoul Taco
I know, I know. It's ridiculous that I hadn't written about Seoul Taco until now. Even worse is the fact that I hadn't actually eaten Seoul Taco since moving back to St. Louis. I thought about not even admitting to that, but I couldn't lie to you. You mean too much to me.
I headed over to Seoul Taco's new spot on a cold, rainy day, looking for the fire of gochujang to warm me up. Their new location in the Loop, next to The Good Pie and soon-to-open Publico, is badass. You step inside and the restaurant is split in half: the left side, dark and upscale, is for the upcoming Korean BBQ restaurant Seoul Q, while the right side is for Seoul Taco. The design is funky. Eclectic. Designed in a way that not many places in St. Louis are. There are Japanese cherry blossoms mixed with graffiti, luchador-masked judo masters, vibrantly painted stereos and a food truck cut out. I'm totally into it.
interior seoul taco st.louis
seoul taco st.louis decor
boomboxes seoul taco st.louis
lights seoul taco st.louis
For those of you familiar with a normal Korean BBQ experience, you know that you often times leave smelling like grilled meat. Personally, I enjoy that. The ladies do not. Seoul Q's got the top of the line Korean BBQ vents, which do a damn fine job of letting you leave smelling the same way you did when you entered.
I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know, but Seoul Taco's menu is limited to four main dishes: tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and Gogi bowls, which are somewhere between a rice bowl and a salad.
I decided to get a little of everything. My main dish was the [symple_highlight color="blue"]spicy pork Gogi bowl[/symple_highlight], which I devoured. The pork was gooooood. Nice heat, lots of crispy bits, not fatty. The dish is tossed with a good amount of sesame oil--aka the king of flavored oils. Sesame oil is adds this toasty flavor that is irresistible to most humans. Toss all that with some fresh greens (not iceberg lettuce!), rice, spicy gochujang and you're golden. Oh, and there's a fried egg on top. Bonus points. I used to get an extra egg on my bibimbap sometimes because the mix of creamy egg + toasty sesame oil + spicy gochujang cannot be beat.
Salad Bowl at Seoul Taco
Grills at Seoul Taco
My sister went with the [symple_highlight color="blue"]bulgogi quesadilla[/symple_highlight], which I forced her to share with me. The bulgogi - beef marinated in all sorts of delicious stuff - gets an A+ in my book. The Choi family recipe should be kept in a locked vault somewhere. You know that if the beef is great, the quesadilla is going to be great. Anything sandwiched between two tortillas and some cheese is going to be good. The 'dilla is topped with a mix of their "Seoul Sauces" - a housemade taco sauce and and a wasabi sauce.
I want to eat this again right now.
I wanted to try the chicken, so we got one taco with it. I think my comments from a previous Kim Cheese write up hold true here: the restaurant offers a really plain chicken option to deal with people who don't want the delicious spicy pork or bulgogi. It's for that friend that hates anything different from their normal day to day eats. There's really no comparison between this and the other two meats. Just to be clear: the chicken is not bad, it just lacks the top-notch flavor that the pork & beef have.
quesadilla seoul taco st.louis
taco seoul taco st.louis
I agree with the masses: Seoul Taco is not to be missed. I dream of a future St. Louis with Seoul Taco's dotting the streets in place of [insert crappy national chain here]. I can't wait to get back here again to devour a football sized burrito. Definitely give it a try if you've never been before.
6665 Delmar Avenue
University City, MO 63130
314.863.1148
Dinner Lab: Anomar
With Dinner Lab meals, you never know what your night is going to entail. Perhaps you'll be eating on Cherokee Street with a concert going on below you, or maybe you'll be at SKIF International, a clothing manufacturer & store on the Hill. I never would have thought a clothing store would make a good dinner venue, but it turned out to be a great one. Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and there were all sort of free knick knacks around for the taking (just kidding--I did not steal from the venue). Aside from wine and beer, they had a fruity white sangria that I was pounding down like there was no tomorrow.
tables Danny Espinoza anomar
menu Danny Espinoza anomar
Chef Danny Espinoza, the most huggable Mexican in Chicago, was set to churn out a cuisine St. Louis is sorely lacking: upscale Mexican. Yes, we have Milagro, but that doesn't fit the bill. I read the menu and knew immediately what I was looking forward to most -- the duck with blackberry mole (pronounced mo-lay). I judge Mexican restaurants on their moles. You can't tell by looking at them, but most moles have over 15 ingredients and take all day to cook. I once spent the better part of a day making a Oaxacan mole and it sucked.
"Anomar", the name of this dinner, was inspired by Danny's grandmother, Ramona. Get it? Anomar is Ramona backwards. It sounds like some kind of romantic Spanish word, though. While I'm sure Danny would have liked to have his grandmother there to help him, he instead had a familiar face: Chris Bailey, chef of St. Louis' first Dinner Lab.
Danny Espinoza anomar
The first course was a [symple_highlight color="blue"]Tiradito de Cobia[/symple_highlight], which is like Latin American sashimi dish. Even though it had Cobia, a fish I could do without, I still scarfed this thing down. While the rest of the meal reminded me of fall, this was like a goodbye warm weather. Delicate fish topped with a crisp salsa cruda and spiced chicharrons already sounds mouthwateringly delicious, but the addition of the outstanding vanilla pickled grapes and spicy salsa verde emulsion took it to the next level. Those little yellow dots are a savory black pepper lemon curd. Mmm. I could and would have eaten 2-3 of these.
cobia Danny Espinoza anomar
sashimi Danny Espinoza anomar
The evening's second course was a [symple_highlight color="blue"]Sopa de Coliflor[/symple_highlight], a cauliflower soup. The soup bowls are artistically decorated, since the cooks have to heat the soup in other containers. A date puree dotted the bowl, while chorizo and garlic chips lined the side. Forget cocaine -- give me lines of chorizo!
Servers poured the soup from pitchers. After tasting it, I wish they had just poured it directly in my mouth. It tasted a lot like a potato soup (specifically the one from Annie Gunn's, if you're a local), but the combination of earthy cauliflower, sweet dates, spicy chorizo and crunchy garlic gave it a Mexican flair.
soup prep Danny Espinoza anomar
soup components Danny Espinoza anomar
pouring soup Danny Espinoza anomar
cauliflower soup Danny Espinoza anomar
The third course, [symple_highlight color="blue"]Ensalada de Cesar[/symple_highlight], suffered a bit from the cooking conditions, I think. Danny's interpretation of the classic Caesar salad was composed of grilled romaine lettuce with shaved croutons, a spicy Parmesan vinaigrette and crunchy corn. While the dressing was delicious, the lettuce itself was kind of stringy and generally not well received at my table. My guess is that getting out 70 plates of freshly grilled lettuce before it starts cooling off was just a little too tough with a new crew. Even so, most people around me cleared their plates--it just didn't stand up to the quality of all the other dishes. The little pink things on top were buttermilk-braised radishes, another delicious small touch.
Danny Espinoza anomar salad
caesar Danny Espinoza anomar
These next two courses were like when we had Pujols and Holliday batting back to back: they crushed it.
Our main course for the evening was [symple_highlight color="blue"]Mole de Zarzamora[/symple_highlight], which is a much cooler way of saying "blackberry sauce". I can't believe there aren't any celebrities who have named their kid zarzamora yet.
On one side of the plate we had red quinoa topped with roasted beet and an almond espuma (foam -- Danny is fancy), and on the other was a tender duck breast topped with a blackberry mole. I don't know how they were able to create such a deeply flavorful and incredibly delicious mole in so little time with so little space, but they blew me away. I would love to learn to make that.
mole prep Danny Espinoza anomar
Danny Espinoza anomar mole plating
duck mole Danny Espinoza anomar
I'm not a big dessert eater, but I inhaled this [symple_highlight color="blue"]Not-a-Pumpkin Spice Latte[/symple_highlight]. A sweet potato puree was topped with a coffee ganache, then a rosemary meringue, then some pretty little wildflowers. After the team assembled the desserts, Danny went medieval on them with a blowtorch.
This dish may have been the highlight of the night. Every aspect of it went together perfectly. It was my ideal dessert.
Danny Espinoza anomar dessert prep
Danny Espinoza anomar pumpkin spice
blowtorch Danny Espinoza anomar
dessert Danny Espinoza anomar
So far, Dinner Lab is 2/2 in my book. Even though the majority of the STL Dinner Lab diners seem to be old enough to remember the Vietnam war vividly, the atmosphere has been incredibly fun and the food has impressed. I don't want to say which dinner I thought was better, in fear of a battle between chefs Chris & Danny (see below image: a tense stare down? Chris giving the disapproving Dad stare?), but it would be a close call anyway.
I won't be able to make the November dinner, but I'm hearing pretty exciting things about December's...
Danny Espinoza anomar chris bailey
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