Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.

Whiskey and Soba 2/25/17 Whiskey and Soba 2/25/17

Nduja Stuffed Brie

I was hesitant to post this recipe, not because it isn’t delicious, but because you really don’t have to do much. It’s slightly more challenging than Rachael Ray’s famous Late Night Bacon, only because you’re required to use a knife and fold puff pastry.

The morning after the Super Bowl, I laid in bed, perusing Instagram and Twitter to see what horribly wonderful creations everyone had eaten. Nachos, pizza, dip after dip after dip. Then I saw a baked brie.

Baked brie is one of life’s greatest joys, but it seems like everyone does the same thing—some kind of chutney or jam, maybe some dried fruit, or, occasionally, mushrooms. I’m bored. I need more excitement in my life. I had spicy cheese dip on my mind, then I saw the brie, and it happened.

I’m going to stuff brie with ‘nduja then bake it, I yelled to no one.

And so I did.

SERVING DEPENDS ON HOW FAT YOUR FRIENDS ARE

INGREDIENTS

1 wheel of brie
1 log of ‘nduja
Puff pastry

METHOD

Put your wheel of brie in the freezer for 30 minutes or so to allow for easier cutting.

Cut brie in half, then spread as much ‘nduja as you’d like on it. Don’t be cheap with it.

Wrap the brie with puff pastry—it doesn’t have to look pretty. I followed The Kitchn’s guide. Bake according to the puff pastry brand’s instructions, something like 40 minutes at 400F.

Drizzle it with Mike’s Hot Honey for some sweetness. Serve with crackers or something.

Spencer 8/7/15 Spencer 8/7/15

Dumpling in Singapore

My early days in Singapore were rough: profuse and constant sweating, an apartment with walls so thin I could hear every loud, angry conversation my neighbors had, and no friends. I was a hot, tired, lonely manchild. I was also completely overwhelmed by the hundreds of eating choices within a 15 minute walk of my apart. So much so that I had taken to eating mostly grocery store sushi or attempting to cook on my tiny one-burner stove. I was in a food depression. After some Googling, I learned that the closest mall to me had this popular dumpling chain from Taiwan in it called Din Tai Fung (DTF). I decided I would man up and go eat there all by my lonesome.

That's where I had my first Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumpling, and my life was forever changed. I was going multiple times a week, trying everything I could. It became my go-to restaurant to take out of towners. The risk averse could stick with the XLB's and maybe a bowl of noodle soup, while the more intrepid could try the funky black and green century eggs.

Even now it remains Patricia and my "can't decide where to eat" restaurant. Twice on this past trip we ended up there. I've always loved that a meal there could be extremely healthy or the kind of glutinous feast that leaves you wheezing.

Simple starters range from the Oriental Saladin special vinegar dressing is a simple (below) to sliced duck in a crispy spring onion pastry.

Din Tai Fung Singapore Chili Oil Dumplings

If I'm not getting XLB's, which is rare, I'm getting the Oriental wantons in black vinegar and chili oil. The combination of Chinese vinegar and chili oil is just so goddamn good, I can't help but spoon the excess sauce into my mouth after I've killed off the wontons.

Every DTF has a window into the room where all dumplings and buns are made at lightning speed and steamed. Every dumpling is rolled out to an exact diameter, given an exact amount of meat, and folded exactly 18 times. All of this happens in seconds. I would be terrible at it.

At the nicer DTF locations, they have premium dumpling options, including chili crab and truffle. No longer able to resist temptation, I ordered a single Pork & Truffle Xiao Long Bao. One small dumpling, $5.00.

Was it worth it? Was it truffley? Oh mama. What makes a XLB magical is that solid meat aspic is in the filling, so when steamed, the aspic melts and the dumpling is magically filled with both a tiny meatball and piping hot soup. This truffle version had truffle in the broth, plus whole slices of shaved black truffles. It was truly a flavor bomb.

Din Tai Fung Singapore Truffle Xiao Long Bao

I remember the first time Patricia and I tried Paradise Dynasty, a beautiful, huge restaurant at the top of the ION Orchard mall. I felt like I was cheating on Din Tai Fung with a younger, richer, more beautiful restaurant. "Don't worry, DTF! I'm sure the food here isn't as good as yours!" I thought to myself.

I was so wrong. Paradise Dynasty was better in every way. In an instant, Din Tai Fung became the ugly ex-girlfriend. I Brad Pitted Din Tai Fung. Paradise's focus is less on dim sum and more on soups, noodles, and more hearty entrees, but their dumplings are incredible.

All of their ads are for their 8 flavored XLB's (original, garlic, Szechuan, ginseng, foie gras, black truffle, cheesy, and crab roe), but the original is king. The dumpling's skin is softer and less dough, the soup and pork vastly more flavorful. They are the greatest XLB's I've ever had.

St. Louis has so few options with soup dumplings that you probably don't know how to eat them correctly. Here are the steps, in photos:

Look at your dumplings. Plan your attack. Choose the juiciest one.
Pick it up - GENTLY, MAN! - and place it on your spoon.
Poke a hole in it so the soup runs into your spoon. Drink said soup. Alternately, you can just go at it like a vampire: bite it and suck.
Dip the soupless dumpling into your mix of soy/vinegar/ginger.

Paradise Dynasty Singapore Xiao Long Bao

Paradise Dynasty soup dumpling spoon Singapore

Paradise Dynasty Singapore xiao long bao sauce

Their other dumpling types are winners, too. The pan seared buns with a slightly sweet dough? Not sharing those. Their take on the dumplings in chili and vinegar? Not only are they way meatier than Din Tai Fung's, but the sauce has a much better balance thanks to some sweetness.

Paradise Dynasty Pan Fried Pork Bun Singapore

Paradise Dynasty crispy pork bun singapore

Paradise Dynasty Singapore wontons in chili oil

The fact I can't get dumplings this good in St. Louis makes me so, so sad. The only solution is that I will have to take on the endeavor myself, slaving away in my kitchen until I get it right. One day, Spencer's Dumpling Hut will be unveiled and all will rejoice.

Spencer 7/27/15 Spencer 7/27/15

Tiong Bahru

I constantly find myself looking up when walking around Singapore. The country is notorious for its constantly changing landscape; down goes an old apartment complex and hawker center, up go the kind of modern marvels you don't even see in the US. I'm a sucker for them - if I had my way, I'd live in one those sixty story condo complexes with jungle gardens, rooftop pools, and robot butlers. I've always wanted to live in the futuristic world you see in movies, but since that doesn't exist, Singapore and Korea are suitable substitutes. With a country the size of Singapore (somewhere bigger than the city of Chicago and smaller than Memphis...with 5 million people), the effect of the build, build, build way of thinking has obvious effects on the once historical neighborhoods. Traditional homes and shophouses have been swept aside, with a few notable omissions. One of which is the Tiong Bahru neighborhood.

I'd been to Tiong Bahru before, but mostly in the evening and never set about to explore it. As Patricia, my girlfriend, and I ambled around, I suddenly felt like I wasn't in Singapore at all. The Tiong Bahru Estate was built in the 1930's with an Art Deco meets Singaporean shophouse design. Flat roofs and rounded buildings abound. It's like someone in Singapore visited Miami and said "that's what I'm going to build!"

Within 30 minutes of our walkabout, the heat had defeated us. Dehydration was creeping in. Luckily (I guess), Tiong Bahru has become a bit of a hipster hideaway. Replacing the old chicken rice and curry puff stalls are rows of artisan coffee houses, cafes, eateries, and art stores. It's on its way to being Singapore's Williamsburg.

I felt like I was in Portlandia when I went into BooksActually, a store that actually sells books. The young staff all wore the same glasses their parents did in the 80's, there were two mean cats eyeballing me, and the back of store was a mini-antique shop, selling old cups, Japanese magazines, and various other oddities no one will ever buy.

We made our way into Forty Hands Coffee, an Australian-owned shop. They partnered with Five Senses Coffee Australia to create Common Man Coffee Roasters, importing and roasting their beans in Singapore. The result is an elevated coffee experience, not unlike Sump or Blueprint in St. Louis. Below is their cold-drip, perfect for helping your kidneys regain functionality after a long walk outside.

Tiong Bahru Singapore Forty Hands Coffee

The menu is primarily Western, with sandwiches, salads, and mac & cheese, but there's Asian influence, as well. The menu touts their tau sar pau (red bean bun) as being Singapore's best, they have a red bean poster on the wall, and the staff said we should get it. So we did.

The hockey puck sized bun was dropped off just after it came out of the steamer. Lacking patience, I cut/tore it in half (burning my fingers), then took a bite (burning my mouth). I haven't had all that many red bean buns in my life, but this was the best I can remember. Super fluffy bread and a smooth, not overly sweet paste inside.

Tiong Bahru Singapore Forty Hands Tau Sar Pau

I've been let down so many times by Western dishes in Singapore, but I couldn't help myself: I had to try the 40 Hands Cubano. To our surprise, they pulled it off! Mojo pork, honey-smoked ham, jalapeño, and cheese on crusty Tiong Bahru Bakery baguette made for a solid sandwich, though meats both could have been more flavorful. When you say the ham is smoked, I want to taste that.

Tiong Bahru Singapore Pork Bun Forty Hands

Tiong Bahru Singapore Braised Pork Forty Hands

The real surprise came from the Kong Bak Pau (Asian pork sliders). Steamed buns, lettuce, and a cup full of fall-apart tender pork braised in a soy-garlic concoction. I could have eaten 3 or 4 of these myself.

Feeling a bit unhealthy after our carbs and pork lunch, we decided to walk down the street to Plain Vanilla, a cafe and bakery. I loved the design - They made the front section a covered outdoor seating area with the door to actually go inside the shop way back there. A pretty bold move to not have an airconned sitting area for customers in a place just off the equator, but it was surprisingly pleasant out there.

Tiong Bahru Singapore Plain Vanilla Patio

Tiong Bahru Singapore Plain Vanilla Seating

Tiong Bahru Singapore Plain Vanilla Table

While you wait for your coffee or pastry to be prepared, you can spin around and check out their wall of goods for sale, ranging from gourmet honey and jam to decorative pillows that you'll remove before guests arrive so they don't touch them with their filthy hands.

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore Pastries

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore Interior

Thank god I had already eaten lunch, because I would have gone mental in here otherwise. Salted caramel truffle tarts beckoned me, massive brownies dusted in cocoa powder begged me to eat them, lemon cream tarts taunted me. I regained control of myself and took a step back, stopping myself from ordering one of everything. Seeing as Patricia is the Tiong Bahru expert and person who brought me to Plain Vanilla, I let her pick.

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore Caramel Tart

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Lemon Tart Singapore

Brownies Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore Shortbread

She went for the Earl Grey Lavender Cupcake, a bold choice because cupcakes are usually worthless pieces of garbage. Shitty bakeries get away with selling cupcakes because they can dress them up pretty. If I can make the same thing at home with little effort, I don't want to spend $5 on each one at your shop.

Every once in awhile, I can be wrong. The Earl Grey Lavender cupcake was actually delicious. Soft cake with the distinct Earl Grey flavor of black tea and bergamot, topped with a light (and most importantly, not too sweet) lavender icing. Cupcakes are still bullshit, but Plain Vanilla gets a pass.

Cupcakes Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Singapore

Plain Vanilla Tiong Bahru Earl Grey Singapore Cupcake

If you're a visitor to Singapore or a local Singaporean who hasn't spent much time in Tiong Bahru, I implore you to go. Support the small local businesses, spend some time walking through the old neighborhoods. Who knows when it will all be torn down to make way for something 'better'.

Spencer 7/20/15 Spencer 7/20/15

Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan is "Hong Kong's most famous dim sum," as stated on their menu, and, believe it or not, the recipient of 1 Michelin star. Pretty impressive for a dim sum restaurant with a fairly limited menu. The first Tim Ho Wan's to open in Singapore came just before I left in 2014, with queues getting near 3-hours in length. I'm not waiting 3 hours for any food, especially not dim sum. Instead, I tacked some extra time on a trip to Hong Kong and ate it at the train station. No queue. Win for Spencer. Efficiency is Tim Ho Wan's game: you sit and look at the small menu. You're given a pencil and a list of the menu items, which you mark off like you're at a sushi place.

I sat. I ate. Then, unable to comprehend what I had just consumed, my head exploded.

Before we get to the fatty gold at the end of the rainbow, I wanted to try to counter balance things with something healthy. I quickly perused the menu, saw something green, and got that. The vegetable and shrimp dumplings were fine, but nothing special. Steamed prawn, steamed greens, yawn. The bit of fish roe at the top made it perty, but didn't add much as far as flavor goes.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but it also came with Goop. Goopy sauces and soups are enjoyed much more in Chinese cuisine than any Western cuisine I've found, with the prime example being the jello-like bird's nest soup. Not my thing.

Tim Ho Wan Singapore Logo

Char Siu Bao. It's the dim sum classic loved across the globe: pillowy steamed bread filled with piping hot Chinese BBQ pork. You've had it at Mandarin House, Lulu's, *insert Chinese restaurant you swear is delicious here*, but none of those can get close to matching what Tim Ho Wan has created.

Have you seen the movie Kingsmen? You remember the scene in the church where Colin Firth fights like 50 people? That's what I would do to a room of people if I found out there was only one order of these left. Let's talk about what makes these so great.

The exterior: The dough is unapologetically buttery and sugary. The bottom of the buns have reached a level of crunchy, buttery perfection, not unlike a piece of toasted brioche or even a cookie. The top has a similar crunch to it. The midsection has been left puffy and soft. You tear into it, expecting it to pull apart like a piece of bread...
The flakeyness: But it doesn't! It flakes apart like some kind of magical biscuit-bread hybrid.
The filling: It's salty, it's sweet, it's meaty. It's as delicious as anything from Pappy's or Bogart's (gasp!).

People tend to think bloggers are being hyperbolic when they say how good things are, but I swear to god, this is one of the greatest things I've ever eaten. Google other reviews of Tim Ho Wan and you'll see that everyone agrees.

Life goal: I figure out how to make these and open up a small baked BBQ pork bun stall. Soon enough, everyone is addicted to them. After fattening up the entire St. Louis population to proportions previously thought impossible on such a mass scale, I move on to the rest of the US. Following the rapid is expansion of both my BBQ bun chain and the waistlines of the American people, Tesla is forced to develop hovering chairs for fat people. Boom, I just wrote the prequel to WALL-E about how everyone ended up like this.

Tim Ho Wan

68 Orchard Road #01-29A

Plaza Singapura

Singapore 238839

6251 2000

Spencer 6/8/15 Spencer 6/8/15

Asian Smoked Ribs

Summer is upon us. The time of year when you're forced to eat terrible BBQ made by friends and family. Charred hot dogs and hamburgers, well done steaks, and chewy ribs. Men huddle around the grill, beers in hand, to discuss the secrets of their grilling prowess. "How do you get that wonderful lighter fluid taste on these burgers?" they ask each other eagerly. It's amateur hour in backyards across the nation - until now. You're going to be the catalyst for change. You're going to be the one whose BBQ is so good that you're no longer invited to the neighborhood pool party. You're going to do it with these ribs and your smoker.

I use the Weber Smokey Mountain. You don't need anything fancier. Buying a Big Green Egg or pellet smoker isn't going to instantly make you better, big guy. You've got to learn to walk before you run.

Unlike your run of the mill smoked ribs, these have an Asian spin to them thanks to a rub from chef Josh Galliano. Mix the ingredients below in a bowl - I typically double or even triple the amount so I can have some ready to go next time I get the urge for these. The amount below should still yield a little extra for next time.

When the ribs are almost done, you'll add Momofuku's Korean ssam sauce (For the Ssam Sauce, you can either buy it directly from Momofuku or make it yourself. Simply combine the ingredients in a bowl). By the end, you'll have fall-apart tender ribs with a little heat and a little tang. The ssam gives it an umami flavor that just takes these over the top. Full recipe for the ribs and sauce below.

I used St. Louis-cut spare ribs with the rib tips cut off, but you can use whatever you'd like.

Asian Smoked Ribs

YIELD: 1 | PREP: 15 HOURS | ACTIVE: 5 MIN | TOTAL: 15 HOURS AND 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

ASIAN RIB RUB

Recipe by Josh Galliano

1 rack of ribs
5 T brown sugar or honey
3 T salt
1 t ground coriander
3 t chinese 5 spice
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne
1/4 t chili flakes

SSAM SAUCE

Recipe by David Chang

2 T ssamjang (fermented bean and chili paste, available at Asian groceries)
1 T Chili Paste (Gochujang, found next to the Ssamjang above)
1/2 C sherry vinegar
1/2 C neutral oil (like grapeseed)

METHOD

Ribs

Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the ribs and refrigerate overnight.

Light your smoker and get it to a temperature between 230 and 250 F. I like to use cherry wood primarily, but will add in apple and hickory if I feel like it. If using an oven, heat to 250 F.

Place ribs on the rack and smoke for 3 hours. At this point, brush both sides with Ssam sauce and cook an additional 30 minutes. I sometimes remove the water bowl at the very, very end and put the ribs just above the coals.

If cooking in the oven, place ribs in a foil packet and cook for 1.5 hours. After 1.5 hours, unwrap the packet and cook for an additional hour or until ribs are tender.

Bring inside and eat ribs like an animal.

Yum

Spencer 5/4/15 Spencer 5/4/15

Five Bistro

Five Bistro has closed.

I'd never given much thought about chef Anthony Devoti's Five Bistro before seeing it ranked at #11 on Ian Froeb's The 100 Best Restaurants in St. Louis list. It's a place I haven't heard much about since returning here and based on its location on The Hill, I made an assumption that it was just another Italian restaurant (i.e., boring 'classic' Italian food). It turns out that it's a new American bistro with a menu that changes daily based on what's in season and available from local farmers, so I was pretty far off on that one. It has a very neighborhood-restaurant vibe to it, if that makes sense. It's the kind of restaurant that floats between being good for a casual dinner or something fancier, like a date or anniversary. It's probably a little too bright and friendly to meet a Tinder 'date' at, though.

The menu reflects the neighborhood feeling. Starters lie mostly in the pasta family, with gnocchi, tagliatelle, and risotto serving as bases, along with a soup, a salad and a charcuterie board (which I did not have, but I have heard is stellar). Looking at both current and past menus, what's noticeable to me is that their dishes all sound like a restaurant version of what you would make at home. It's comfort food, in that sense.

After going through the menu and placing our orders, our waitress - who was friendly, attentive, and great with recommending and describing dishes - brought us a small amuse-bouche of Goat Cheese and Salmon over a crostini.

We tried two cocktails: the Hot & Dirty and the Ginger Daiquiri. The Hot & Dirty reminded me of something I made in college when my friends and I thought we were mixologists.

The ginger daiquiri was delicious with Diplomático añejo dark rum, The Big O ginger liqueur, fresh lime, raw sugar, Bittermans boston bittahs. I'm not sure you'd ever see Don Draper drinking it, but I liked it.

The soup du jour - that sounds good, I'll have that - was butternut squash mixed with a J.T. Gelineau oyster mushroom salad and creme fraiche. We all agreed that even though the amount of mushroom in the dish was relatively small, the flavor was just as potent as the squash itself.

An off the menu special for the evening was a salmon tartare with aioli and crackers. A simple dish that let the salmon shine.

Just looking at this next picture is making me hungry. Chef Devoti's spring onion gnocchi with housecured lardo, ozark morels, ramps, olive oil, black pepper, and Beehive Cheese's honey-rubbed Seahive was the best dish of the night. I would return solely for this dish.

This is early spring Missouri on a plate. If someone told me to take one dish from The Hill that represented spring and the area it came from, it would be this. Pillowy soft gnocchi, the light smoke of the lardo, and the smooth cheese all served to push the subtle flavors of the ramps and morels to the top.

Before I even tried the Benne's Farm hickory roasted pork loin, I took a big forkful of the creamy polenta and gravy alone. Something amazing happens when you take any sort of corn-based 'porridge' and mix it with a meat gravy. The pork itself was cooked well, accompanied by hen of the woods mushrooms, spring onions, and a herb butter. Oh baby.

The Benne's Farm chicken breast is an example of what I said before about this being a restaurant quality version of what you make at home. Substitute your dried out skinless chicken breast and Trader Joes bag o' vegetables for a perfectly cooked and seasoned chicken breast, local squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, and you've got this. Our last entree was Halibutfrom Neah Bay, Washington, served over sorrel, rutabaga, red new potatoes, fiddlehead ferns, and topped with a ramp and lime vinaigrette. I thought it could have used a little more "umph" - I didn't have a gravy and polenta reaction. I have no pictures of our dessert due to a camera issue, but we tried their Apple Sorbet and cherry/pistachio biscotti, as well as their Peanut crunch ice cream bombe, served with peanut brittle, creme anglaise, and candied peanuts. Both were good, one was better. Can you guess which? Hint: it's the one with all the sugar and cream.

We all enjoyed our meal at Five Bistro, and if we lived nearby, it's probably somewhere we'd eat at fairly frequently. While my palate trends toward modern and ethnic foods, I have a lot of respect for chef Devoti for his focus on taking local produce and crafting well cooked meals out of them. We could use more restaurants with that kind of dedication around town.

Five Bistro

5100 Daggett Ave

St. Louis, MO 63110

(314) 773-5553

Spencer 4/16/15 Spencer 4/16/15

Salume Beddu

Update: Salume Beddu has moved into Parker's Table and no longer runs Saturday specials.

Refresh.

That's what I'm doing most Saturday mornings around 10:30 am. Sitting on Facebook, waiting for Salume Beddu to post their three Saturday specials.

I know I post about them a lot, but I like sharing what I'm eating, especially if it's delicious. Don't think of every post as a brand new review like you might see in the St. Louis Post Dispatch or Riverfront Times. Like you, I have my favorite spots that I eat at often, and it's for a good reason.

The cured plate of the day was a Smoked Spanish Paprika rubbed Berkshire Fiocchetto from Newman Farm, a sweet and tender cut with a hint of smoke. Not as buttery as other cures, but its wonderfully mellow flavor makes up for it. It was served with Red Fox ciabatta, spread with a thin layer of house-made Dulce de Membrillo, a sweetened quince paste. It's tough to see, but the back corner has Jacobs & Brichford's Everton cheese, a grassy Alpine-style cheese from Indiana, speckled with fresh pineapple verbena. Deliciously sweet bruleed pears and a lemon thyme granita finished it off.

Months ago, someone commented that when Beddu made polenta, I better get my ass over there and eat it. I listened to you, person who recommended it but whose name I can't find. Delicate pulled braised pork shank and the unctuous gravy parted the sea of creamy polenta, made with Cottonwood River cheddar. Oil poached green chickpeas and some chili flakes completed the dish. It lived up to the hype, especially on the cold winter's morning I went. I doubt this shows up too often on their spring & summer menu, but if it ever does, you should go get some.

Even for me, this was just too much for a Saturday lunch. This goes down as the first dish I haven't been able to finish at Beddu.

I had brought a Beddu newcomer, as well, so I made her get the bacon, harissa, and squash sandwich. Her life was changed that day.

Next Saturday, you need to get in your car and drive to a cafe near Beddu, like Pint Size, Comet Coffee, or La Patisserie Chouquette. Get something tasty to eat, whip out your smart phone, and start refreshing Facebook. You'll see Beddu's specials. Resistance is futile.

Salume Beddu

3467 Hampton Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63139

(314) 353-3100

Spencer 2/26/15 Spencer 2/26/15

Dinner Lab: Nini Nguyen

This is a big post, and I mean that both figuratively and literally. If you stick with it until the end, I've got my first video and my first promotion.

Since my girlfriend was not in town this past Valentine's Day, I decided to spend the evening at Dinner Lab's How to Nguyen at Lovewith chef Nini Nguyen. Nguyen's pedigree includes working at Sucre and Coquette in New Orleans, followed by Three Michelin Star (!) Eleven Madison Park in NYC. She's a pastry chef by trade, but as you'll see, she's an all around badass in the kitchen.

The meal took place at NHB Knife Works, a factory just behind Civil Life Brewery churning out handmade artisan knives with stunningly beautiful handles, as you can see below.

In typical Dinner Lab fashion, Nini and her team cooked out in the open so the diners could watch.

Plating at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

The meal, in her own words, was supposed to feel classy and heartfelt, a series of romantic dishes meant to be enjoyed with your loved one. Or, in my case, your camera. Her first course was [symple_highlight color="blue"]The Egg[/symple_highlight], highlighting the 5-minute soft boiled egg. A half moon of whipped homemade creme fraiche served as a creamy base, countered by "grainola", a crunchy mixed of puffed rice, quinoa, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, shallots and garlic. A sexy, savory take on granola that left us all wondering where this subtle garlic taste was coming from. Pickled onions and toasted brioche were added and, finally, a dollop of caviar.

Egg Dish at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Cracked Egg at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Egg Prep at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Nini's second course may have been the healthiest I've ever had at a Dinner Lab. It looked like it was just a mound of vegetables, but the taste was anything but plain. In her take on a Coquette dish, Nini makes a raw cashew puree and dots it with her nicoise olive brittle - something I know I've never had before. She dehydrates, candies, then crumbles olives, turning them into what I would call an olive candy. Incredibly creative and equally delicious. The mixed vegetables are blanched in salt water then dressed with a very tart meyer lemon vinaigrette. Wonderfully balanced dish.

Veggie Prep at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Veggie Salad at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

The main course for the evening was [symple_highlight color="blue"]"Honey and Spice"[/symple_highlight], an ode to Nini's love of pork and the mix of sweet and savory. Perfectly cooked honey glazed pork loin was topped with a somewhat bitter coffee crumble (another favorite of mine from the evening) that made the main really pop. It was accompanied by a creamy squash "ravioli", but who cares when you've got a giant piece of pork?!

Pork Prep at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Me and this next course? Love at first sight. I knew I would like it before I even tasted it. Nini's [symple_highlight color="blue"]Hot Triple Cream[/symple_highlight] started with her making sheets of puff pastry and baking them in cupcake tins, something I've never thought about doing. She followed that up with whipping the brie and piping it into the pastry, then reheating the cheese grenade, making this a handheld and absolutely amazing version of brie en croute. I'd put it up there with Gerard Craft's gougères and Dia's cheese bread as far as baked cheesy puffs go.

While I would have happily eaten that by itself, she wasn't done. Honey was drizzled over the puff pastries when ready to serve and served with toasted baguette, candied black walnuts, and a caramelized onion mostarda.

Cheese Course at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Cheese and Toast at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

The evening's grand finale was Nini's vision to create a dish with the beauty of white chocolate and strawberries without actually using white chocolate. I imagine that if this dish was plated on a stark white or black plate, it would look stunning. She made (white) meringue tubes that were filled with a sumptuous dark chocolate cremeaux, which I thought was brilliant.

Accompanying the chocolate tube were freshly chopped strawberries and an ice cream made from steeping cocoa nibs in milk and cream, allowing it to keep its white color.

Dessert Prep at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Dessert at Nini Nguyen's St. Louis Dinner

Dinner Lab has been 3/3 with out of town chefs so far, in my mind. We've had modern Asian food from Chris Bailey, upscale Mexican from Danny Espinoza, and now this sexy/romantic meal from Nini Nguyen.

I've had a lot of questions asked about what Dinner Lab is like, is it worth the subscription, etc. Because of all the questions, Dinner Lab has been kind enough to offer a promotion available exclusively through Whiskey and Soba. If you use this link, you can buy tickets to their upcoming "CLASH OF THE CRAWFISH", Saturday, March 14th at 2pm, without being a member. It's $35 per person and is a great opportunity to meet the Dinner Lab crew and see how fun their events are. Check it out! You won't regret it.

Spencer 1/21/15 Spencer 1/21/15

Salume Beddu

Salume Beddu closed their shop, but their sandwiches can still be found at Parker’s Table.

If there's ever a Saturday where you can't decide what to eat for lunch, you need to just head over to Salume Beddu. Their specials, no matter how simple they may sound, are out of this world. The highlights from my latest trip over:

The bruschetta of the day was topped with olive oil poached green chickpeas, pecorino cheese and Calabrian preserved Hen of the Woods mushrooms. Spicy. Cheesy. Healthy because it's green.

We tried a sample of their pancetta arrotolata, a nutty and buttery slice of heaven.

The sandwich of the day was a fennel-braised (!) pulled pork shoulder with brussel sprout slaw, preserved lemons and Turkish oil-cured black olives. Considering all the pork and bread, it still felt like a light sandwich. Absurdly good.

Replacing the long-time favorite "G.L.T." is this new masterpiece: roasted guanciale, radicchio, harissa and roasted winter squash puree. I am so thankful that Salume Beddu is far from my office because I would probably eat this every single day. Guanciale is cured pork jowl, but don't let that turn you off. On this sandwich, it's just like bacon. You've got the fatty crunch of the guanciale, a little bitterness from radicchio, then the combination of spicy harissa and a creamy squash puree. This is the kind of sandwich that keeps me worshiping at the altar of Marco Sanfilippo.

Salume Beddu

3467 Hampton Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63139

Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.

Nduja Stuffed Brie

I was hesitant to post this recipe, not because it isn’t delicious, but because you really don’t have to do much. It’s slightly more challenging than Rachael Ray’s famous Late Night Bacon, only because you’re required to use a knife and fold puff pastry.