Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.

Spencer 1/14/16 Spencer 1/14/16

Asian Kitchen

The tables have turned—for the last few years, I've held JooJoo up as my #1 Korean restaurant in St. Louis, but it seems Asian Kitchen is making a move. The last time I was at Asian Kitchen Korean Cuisine was in late 2013 for Christmas dinner. I had just come back from Asia and, like every other Jew in America, was trying to get some Chinese food. Royal Chinese BBQ: packed. Lulu's: packed. Frustrated, hungry, and bitter, I turned around and randomly picked an empty looking restaurant that happened to be Asian Kitchen.

The restaurant was dead. There was a Thai family enjoying Korean BBQ, but no one else there. It was just that family, my family, and the server, an older Korean woman. The walls had some kind of off putting paint color on them that I can't recall—something very 70's. Robin's egg blue? Vomity yellow? I took a seat, ordered something meaty, then a wave of banchan (small plates) filled the table. It took our server 3 trips to get everything on the table. We're talking 20+ bowls of kimchis, pickled greens, sweet black beans, potato salad, seaweed. Insanity.

Between the time the banchan hit the table and our mains arrived, two memorable things happened. First, I got scolded by my new Korean mother for drinking soju out of the bottle. I hadn't kicked the bad habits I'd picked up from my Korean business partners. Secondly, an older couple came in after us and they were the rudest diners I've ever seen in person. They couldn't understand why this Chinese restaurant didn't have any of the dishes they were familiar with! The waitress tried to explain that Korean food wasn't Chinese food, but they weren't having it. They refused the banchan because it was "gross". They came over to our table to ask how to order the kung pao chicken. I kindly grabbed the woman's face and held it on my searing hot dolsot bibimbap bowl. Finally, they left and made sure to let the server know they would NEVER be back.

The food we got that night was fine. Definitely authentic, but the flavors were a little bland. Not a bad meal, but not a great meal.

I've since returned. Banchan: still excessive, still delicious. You can ask for seconds (or thirds...) of any of them, and they'll happily oblige you. We had so much kimchi last time we were there, I think I've been fermented. The interior has been redone, a big plus. But how was the food?

Spencer 1/8/16 Spencer 1/8/16

Southwest Diner

I am not a patient man. I can wait maybe—maybe—30 minutes at a restaurant, but only if it has a bar I can sit at and bitterly nurse a whiskey while eyeballing every slow eating diner in the place. That is why I haven't posted on Southwest Diner before. Twice I tried to go on the weekend for brunch, and twice I was greeted with a wait of over an hour. Sure, they have a bus outside the restaurant you can wait in, but the last thing I want to do on a Saturday morning is listen to people babble. I just want to shovel food into my face.

Now that I've got some newfound freedom, I can go to lunch whenever and where ever I want! I called up my friend, chef Russ Bodner, and we headed over to Southwest Diner for an early weekday lunch.

There were only two tables open when we got there, the rest filled with people enjoying what looked like large, bountiful plates of Southwestern fare. I don't know the history of the diner, and I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm going to guess that this once was a typical American diner, which has since been renovated to look like a 1960's diner in Sante Fe. I can be a little indecisive when it comes to ordering, especially when the whole menu sounds so friggin' good. I'm a Southwestern food slut; one of my favorite places to eat in is Phoenix. All those fire roasted meats and veggies, heavy use of chiles and spice, little bits of Mexican influence—what's not to love? As I waffled back and forth (that's a pun, because this is a diner. Get it?), Russ just went ahead and got himself a cup of the pork and hominy red-chile posole.

Selfishly, he offered me none of his posole, but judging by the speed he scarfed it down and by how it smelled, I'd say it was good.

His main course was worthy of a lumberjack: a smattering of crispy homefries, two perfectly cooked eggs (later doused in hot sauce), and a country fried steak topped with a homemade sausage gravy. Once again, no tasting for me—why do I even eat with this guy?—but he assured me that it was really tasty and he'd happily order it again. Even if he won't share, his opinion on food can be trusted.

My original plan was to try the enchilada, and even after all my waffling, that's what I went with: the stacked enchiladas platter, Christmas-style. If Christmas-style New Mexican food sounds familiar to you, you've probably seen Guy Fieri talking about how righteous it is, brotha, at some family-owned diner there. Half the enchilada is topped with the smoky, slightly bitter red chile sauce, while the other half has the cheesier, tangier, mellower green chile.

There's a clear winner here for me: green chile. It's got a little heat to it, but mostly, it just takes you straight to flavortown...er, it's got a great flavor. I went with barbacoa for my meat of the day, which was a solid choice, but next time I'm going with the adovada, a red-chile braised pork. It's a house specialty and quintessentially New Mexican. Both the beans and rice had nice flavor, too. I was quite pleased with my choice and will proudly admit to sharing none of it with Russ.

By the way, we got a buttermilk cornmeal pancake as a side. Don't judge us. It's research.

I totally see why people are so into these—they're like enormous arepas. I saw a tiny woman dominate a stack of these like it was nobody's business.

I have to hand it to you, Southwest Diner: you are truly a wonderful breakfast and lunch spot. Part of me wishes we'd never met, because I fear that my interest in you will soon become an obsession. Jon's fiery scrambled eggs are next.

Spencer 12/2/15 Spencer 12/2/15

Sidney Street Cafe

Eating like a boss runs in the family—I got it from my daddy. For my dad's birthday, he decided he wanted not one, but two birthday dinners. The first at Sidney Street Cafe (SSC), the second at Niche. Not in the same night, mind you, but just a mere 2 days apart. I had seen SSC's chef de cuisine Justin McMillen just a few weeks before our dinner, when he was cooking at the Bolyard's Burger Battle. He kept talking about all these new dishes and they just sounded so good that I used my powers of persuasion to convince my dad that is where he wanted to eat.

Then again, it's not too hard to sell a hot dog gnocchi dish to a man who loves meat. Yes, that's correct: SSC has a hot dog and pretzel gnocchi dish. It's the second time this year I've had a hot dog inspired dish at a fine dining establishment and that is totally cool with me. This version was made up of a sliced house-made hot dog, spicy ketchup, pretzel gnocchi, pickled mustard seed, pickle-tomato relish, and a beer mustard veloute. If someone has had a finer hot dog dish than this, bring it forward! I'm doubtful one exists.

In need of a meatless option for the ladies, we went with the octopus confit—a thick tendril of tender octopus over salsa verde and pozole, Eiffel Towered by Swiss chard chips. I didn't get much of the octopus itself, but I ate most of the pozole. I love the puffed up, juicy bites of hominy.

Our last meal at SSC was in late summer, just after the Spatchcock Quail was added. It's about to leave the menu to make room for another fowl dish, but my thoughts remain the same: the tiny, adorable bird is grilled and served over harissa tossed papas bravas (fried potatoes), charred carrots, and chimichurri. It’s a perfect dish for summer with its smoke and char flavors.

The two newer dishes we got were even better. Even more outstanding.

First, we have the wood grilled snapper—a dish that looks pretty simple, but it's anything but that. The fish was perfectly cooked, the flesh white and tender with hints of smoke and a nutty sweetness some a brown butter vinaigrette. To enhance the smoke, the fish rested over a house made nduja puree, a spicy, smoky spreadable sausage.

The accompaniments were just as bold and delicious: squid ink gnocchi, bok choi, finger limes, and manila clams. Justin told me to get the pork belly special, so that's what I did...even though I'm not a huge fan of pork belly. However, he's bigger than me, so I relented. And boy, I'm glad that I did.

The pork belly was the crispiest I've ever had. Anywhere. I had a video on my phone of me tapping on it so I could send it to friends and family to make them jealous. The slightly blurry picture below does a decent job showing that top layer, I think. Eating a chunk of the pork belly, simultaneously as crispy as can be and as tender as meat gets, with the pickled pepper salad, chicharrones, smoked pig heart, and Cajun grillade sauce, was one of those moments where the world goes dark around you and you just think about how good what you're eating is. As usual, the Bob "The Zuggernaut" Zugmaier's desserts matched the entrees in both looks and flavor. His take on sweet potato pie ('tis the season, after all), a collaboration with his pastry assistant, Kelsey, was composed of: candied yam puree, sweet potato pastry cream, orange cardamom semi freddo, spiced pecans, and a winter spice tuile. Just like the sweet potato pie you make at home.

The apple dish was the family's favorite, though. The combination of caramel glazed Granny Smith apples, cinnamon coffee cafe, a caramel apple puree, creme fraiche ice cream, and the espresso gelee is a tough one to top. I would have gladly just had the coffee cake and gelee, though. They were so good.

And so ends another successful trip to Sidney Street.

Sidney Street Cafe

2000 Sidney St

St. Louis, MO 63104

314.771.5777

Spencer 11/30/15 Spencer 11/30/15

Tai Ke

If I were planning an ultimate eating trip through Asia, I'd start in Japan, bounce down to Taiwan, swing over to Hong Kong, dive down to Vietnam, then finish things off in Singapore. Surprised to see Taiwan on the list? You shouldn't be. The sub-tropical island off the Southeastern coast of China is a food mecca, full of some of the most food-obsessed people I've ever met. There are two sides to Taiwanese cuisine: street food and restaurant food. I spent little time at actual restaurants in Taiwan, and almost every dish I ate at them was similar to the Hokkien Chinese food I was eating on a daily basis in Singapore. This means a lot of noodle soups, braised meats, and tons of seafood.

Tai Ke is St. Louis' newest and only Taiwanese restaurant, as far as I know. I wasn't overly excited about eating there until my sister went and told me they had a Taiwanese Street Snack section of the menu.

I fucking love Taiwanese street snacks.

I nearly shutdown from culinary overload at the Shilin street market. Fried chicken breasts the size of a small child, sausages of all sizes and flavors wrapped in sticky rice, penis-shaped waffles and ice cream, dumplings galore, tofu that smells like a rotting corpse (okay, maybe not that one), bubble tea! I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it.

Newcomers to the St. Louis blog scene JeniEats and Eat First Worry Later joined me for my culinary adventure to Tai Ke. We started with the braised pig ear, which weren't the kind I was familiar with. These were served room temp and were more crunchy than soft, a texture I imagine most Americans will be turned off by. Had there been more of the garlicky, sweet soy on the dish, I think they would have benefited.

I was overjoyed when the street snacks hit the table. We started with the gua bao, pork belly buns, which were meaty chunks of braised pork belly sandwiched between steam bread with cilantro, ground peanuts, pickled mustard greens, and a sweet sauce. The pork doesn't have that crunchy outer layer that Hiro's have, but I thought these were still definitely worth ordering.

The Taiwanese have an affinity for tube meat and sticky rice. It's the Asian version of a hot dog and bun. The sausage itself is a sweeter, fattier dog than you find in pretty much any Western cuisine, making it all the more delicious. Diabetics thought they were cool to eat hot dogs, but not in Taiwan! The sausage is drizzled with the chef's secret sauce (it's like a Chinese ketchup, almost) and some cilantro. I love these.

Finally, we have the fried pork chop. It's a pork chop with a crunchy five-spice infused breading. You're goddamn right it's good.

tai ke sticky rice sausage taiwanese st.louis

The entrees were just as solid as the starters. The Three Cup chicken is a steaming bowl of chopped chicken in a deeply flavorful sauce of rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, roasted garlic, ginger, and Chinese basil. I imagine Chinese and Taiwanese grandmas across America started making their versions of this this past week to help fight the cold.

The sizzling bean curd comes out hissing and bubbling like the fajita platter at Chili's, except it actually tastes good. The tofu is fried, then put on a cast iron platter with bell peppers, onions, snow peas, and leeks. It sounds like your typical stir fry, but I thought the sauce was fantastic.

tai ke taiwanese st.louis three cup chicken

Both the mapo tofu and spicy shrimp stir fry were both leaps and bounds better than their descriptions would make you think (and compared to most Chinese restaurants around). The mapo tofu had a nice level of heat to it thanks to chili oil and Szechuan peppercorns and the shrimp, labeled as "hot" with 3 chili peppers, wasn't nearly as spicy as I feared it might be. The flavor of the dish was spot on thanks to a hearty helping of roasted garlic, scallions and more Szechuan peppercorns. Roasted garlic makes every dish better.

Out of all the new Chinese restaurants I've gone to this year, this was the most solid first impression I've had. There's not one dish up there I wouldn't recommend (well, maybe the pig ear plate). Eating there did what any good meal should do: it left me full, happy, and wanting more. The famous Taiwanese braised beef noodle soup will be my next order.

The restaurant is tucked away behind a shopping center off Olive Blvd., right near Dao Tien, and I highly recommend you make reservations. We went on a Wednesday night and saw tons of people get turned away due to the 30+ minute wait.

Tai Ke

8604 Olive Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63132

314.801.8894

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

Dave and Tony's

With my newfound freedom, I now have the time to go all over St. Louis at lunch time - with that, I'll be posting some shorter lunch pieces. To kick things off, I visited Dave & Tony's Premium Burger Joint in Creve Coeur. As the name implies, burgers are their thing: you can either pick one of their pre-designed burgers, or fill out a sheet at the counter for a custom one. The range of options is hefty. You could craft a healthy salad with grilled chicken and a garden's worth of veggies, or you could get a extra large steakburger on a pretzel bun with cheese, onion rings, a fried egg, bacon, french fries, and steak butter. I keep meaning to ask them what the most ultimate (read: fattening) burger someone has ordered is - I bet I'd be impressed, but also disgusted.

The restaurant is family friendly, so it's got something for everyone: soups, hot dogs, chicken fingers, nachos. And since you may be stuck bringing your demon kids with you, take advantage of the beer and wine they have.

I typically get the Asian Salad wrap with grilled chicken, a healthier choice that allows me to go eat The Peacemaker's po'boys. It's mixed greens, sprouts, red onion, carrots, avocado, crispy wontons, and a sesame soy dressing. Get the dressing on the side if you don't enjoy a soggy wrap.

Their burgers are damn good for $6.99, especially considering they make pretty much everything in-house. This monstrosity below was the daily special, the Brewhouse Burger. A juicy medium burger topped with crispy onion, smokey bacon, jalapenos, stout mustard, and a cheddar spread, all on a pretzel roll. Eating that meant at least one less day in my life, I think, but it was worth it.

Dave & Tony's is a solid option for a quick meal that won't break the bank, nor leave you disappointed. The business crowd crushes the restaurant during weekday lunches, but week nights and weekends are typically a good choice for a meal with the whole family.

Dave & Tony's

12766 Olive Blvd

Creve Coeur, MO 63141

(314) 439-5100

Spencer 6/4/15 Spencer 6/4/15

Husk

My two favorite food-related shows - behind the modern day classic Guy's Grocery Games - are Netflix's Chef's Table and PBS' The Mind of a Chef. The Mind of a Chef follows one or two chefs per season as they explore the things that interest them in the food world. David Chang, chef of Momofuku in NYC and one of the men behind Lucky Peach magazine, was the first season's star. He explored NYC and Japan, cooking with rotten bananas, and getting shitfaced at the Buffalo Trace distillery with season two's star, Sean Brock. Brock's season had a heavy focus on the South and cooking with local ingredients. I don't think he was as captivating as Chang (who is like a less wordly, more brash Anthony Bourdain), but I have longed to eat at both of their restaurants ever since.

I was in Nashville for a wedding a couple weeks back, so I finally got my chance: time to eat at Husk - Nashville. The restaurant's located a short walk from the main downtown area in a renovated old house. The lighting was romantic (dark), which made photo taking a little difficult, but I still think you'll be able to gauge the deliciousness levels.

Things kicked off with the Cheerwine Glazed Belly Ham Soft Rolls, which were astoundingly good. Like one of the best things I can ever remember eating good. I've only been fortunate enough to eat day-after-Christmas ham leftovers a few times, but take the deliciousness level of those leftover ham sammies and imagine replacing your Honeybaked Ham with the most delicious ham ever created, a freshly baked soft roll, pickled onions and cucumber, then a little smoked Duke's mayo. They're that good.

I want to go back to Nashville and eat these again, then find whoever produced the ham, marry his daughter, and become the heir to their porky throne.

Next were the best Fried Chicken Skins I've had. Granted, I haven't had a lot of fried chicken skin appetizers because my body is a temple, but these things were perfect. They were not at all greasy - just chips of audibly crunchy, wonderfully seasoned chicken skins. They were drizzled with white BBQ sauce (my drug of choice), and a sprinkle of thyme. I had trouble getting a good photo of the shrimp & grits, mostly because my tablemates wanted to eat it as soon as it touched the table. For those of you who don't know, Brock is known for his shrimp and grits - and I can see why.

The grits were creamier than any I've had before, but what surprised me the most was the flavor of the dish: it tasted like my grandma's gumbo more than any shrimp and grits I've had before. Like a mix of a smokey sausage, shrimp (obviously), and hot sauce - that distinct trifecta that I've always associated with her gumbo. We devoured it. It definitely lived up to the hype.

The last of the appetizers was the Snapper Collar with cucumber, herbs, radishes, and benne seeds. Crispy, smokey, way bigger than expected.

We wanted to to try as much as we could, so we decided to share entrees. First up was the Husk Charcuterie plate with pickles, dijonnaise, and these monstrous cheddar biscuits. I'd kill to eat those biscuits for breakfast everyday - especially with some of that Cheerwine belly ham in there.

I foolishly forgot to write down what was on the platter, but it was all good. So good.

Another shareable entree is the Plate of Southern Vegetables. On our night, the dish included:

Geechie Boy grits, charred preserved tomato broth, pickled spring onion, 65 degree egg
Oat croquette, pokeweed, lemon, sheepsmilk cheese, smoked mayo, malt vinegar powder
Grilled brassicas, harissa peanuts
Cucumber salad, grapefruit, grapefruit yogurt, tsire spice blend
Farro, zucchini, spinach, basil pesto

All were good, minus the brassicas. Too much spice and bitterness for me.

By this point, I had stretched my stomach about as far as it goes - but I still had to eat the [symple_highlight color="blue"]NC Catfish[/symple_highlight]. We'd all been drinking quite a bit by this point, but I do remember that the fish was a big hit. Green garlic dressing, smoked potatoes, nettles, and toasted buckwheat groats gave it a nice Spring taste.

To finish the meal, we got the O&S Chocolate Pie, a dessert as delicious as everything else we'd had that night. Served with peanut butter ice cream and a brown butter caramel, it was the perfect amount of decadence to close out the meal.

We were so full that we Ubered back to our hotel - two blocks away. Our meal at Husk was one of the best I've had since starting this blog. This is a must visit for anyone going through Nashville.

Husk

37 Rutledge St

Nashville, TN 37210

(615) 256-6565

Spencer 5/14/15 Spencer 5/14/15

Priyaa

You could poke my eyes out and deafen me, then wheel me into almost any Indian restaurant in town and I could order without seeing the menu or letting anyone read it to me. One chicken korma! One saag paneer! Tikka masala, please. It seems like they're all your typical North Indian restaurant serving the same dishes with nearly the same quality and taste levels.

That's not to say the food is bad - it isn't - it's just that there is no range in quality or choices. India is huge. Go on Wikipedia and you'll see 37 types of regional Indian cuisines listed. Give me some Goan seafood dishes with their Portuguese influence. It's just like Japanese restaurants in the US: there's more to Japan's cuisine than ramen and sushi.

After eating lunch at the forgettable Chihuahua's Mexican at 270 and Dorsett, I noticed Priyaa Indian at the corner of the strip mall and got to Googling. South Indian dishes! Two days later, I was there.

I love South Indian food; there was a hawker stand I went to weekly in Singapore that served up an enormous dosa with rainbow of sides for something like $6. South Indian food is typically spicier and contains more tamarind and coconut to replace the dairy often seen in the north (paneer, cream), which is a-ok with me.

As I tout my love of the South, I order a Punjab (North Indian) entree: the Chole Bhatura. Our waitress told us it was one of her favorites and not something seen at most other restaurants in town, so we went with it. This was one delicious, spicy bowl of chickpea curry. It looks like your typical American chili, but the flavors - cinnamon, fennel, cardamom, turmeric - let you know you're not in Kansas anymore.

The dish is served with three giant bhatura, a puffed fried bread.

I let me stomach dictate my photos of the rava masala dosa. I knew they weren't great shots, but the smell was so tempting, I couldn't resist. I had to start eating.

For the unaware, a dosa is basically a gigantic crepe that is filled with a thick vegetable curry (if it has masala in the name), then folded or rolled. The rava (semolina flour) masala dosa's batter contains onions, peppers, and all sorts of spices, making every bite a flavor-filled one. It's crispy, it's comically large, and I devoured it. I went in with low expectations, but after tasting how spot on the dosa was, I wanted to try every type they make.

We had expected all of the entrees to come at the same time, but the tandoori chicken came 10-15 minutes after everything else. By that time, we'd gone through the entire dosa (see below) and most of the chickpea curry - there wasn't much room left for chicken. And, as if a dosa and the bhatura bread weren't enough, the chicken came with naan (see below again). Suffering from Celiac? Don't come here.

The chicken was standard: charred and juicy. It was good, but not an item that I'd return to Priyaa for specifically.

I wish Priyaa had more South Indian dishes on their menu, but I understand that they probably aren't their money makers - yet. If you enjoy Indian spices and want to try something different, head over and get some dosas to share. Or, better yet, get one dosa and one of their Thali, something like a sampler platter.

What's your favorite Indian restaurant in St. Louis?

Priyaa Indian Cuisine

1910 McKelvey Rd

Maryland Heights, MO 63043

314-542-6148

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 3/30/15 Spencer 3/30/15

Aya Sofia

I've been trying to break away from ordering my favorite menu items at restaurants I've previously visited, partially so I can make revisit posts here and partially to continue expanding my elitist foodie palate.

Aya Sofia remains my favorite Turkish restaurant in town with good reason. On my most recent visit with some Fair Isle sweater wearing friends, we got only things I'd never had before. Things kicked off with the [symple_highlight color="blue"]Borek[/symple_highlight], a spinach and feta cheese pie baked in filo dough. I was surprised when it was dropped off at the table - it didn't look like the filo dough hot pocket I've always associated with a borek. I did some quick Googling and found that what I'm familiar with are the Israeli bourekas. The Turkish variety is flavored more like a Greek spanakopita but composed like an Italian lasagna, with layers of cheese, spinach and filo.

I thought that it was a good dish, but probably wouldn't order it again in the future with some of the options available. None of the flavors are particularly assertive, plus I'm just not a huge fan of feta.

Our other starter was the - I would definitely order this again. The dip, served with a seemingly infinite amount of fresh pita bread, is a creamy yogurt blended with garlic, dill, mint and pecans. It's a simple meze with a tangy, fresh flavor that is a lot like tzatziki upgraded. The addition of the nuts is what sets it apart. If you're into dips, which you are, I recommend getting this, the Biber Ezme and their Saksuka.

I can't avoid red meat at Aya Sofia. There's something about the blend of lamb, beef and Turkish spices that sets me off into this primal, meat devouring state. My typical order is the Adana Kebab, a long spear of spicy, charred meat, but this time I decided to go with the Kofte. Heavily spiced lamb and beef meatballs, bursting with cumin, coriander, chili powder, are chargrilled and served with a cool yogurt sauce, rice, veggies, and by my request, their sumac & onion salad.

These meatballs are great. I have been debating since this meal if I actually like them more than the Adana kebab, and I think that answer is yes. Without the tastebud searing spice of the Adana, you can really appreciate the meat and the nuances of the other spices. My only complaint is that they aren't grilled on a sword.

We were all pretty damn stuffed by the time dessert came around, but we decided to persevere and try the Baklava. A lot of reviews online rave about it, but it didn't do anything for us, unfortunately. I find the Greek version with walnuts and honey to be a lot more enjoyable than the Turkish version with pistachios and sugar syrup - none of us have big sweet tooths, so the syrup was just too much sweetness.

Even with the baklava miss, I still love this place. If you're really hankering for a dessert and none of their options appeal to you, remember that it's just down the street from Ted Drewes...

Aya Sofia

6671 Chippewa St

St. Louis, MO 63109

314.645.9919

Spencer 3/18/15 Spencer 3/18/15

Brasserie by Niche

Maybe I'm lying to myself when I say I don't like French food. Every time I eat at Brasserie by Niche, I end up with enough food to choke a horse. As usual, it was packed on the Friday I went.

I was feeling particularly indecisive that night, so rather than make any tough decisions, I just got it all. First up were the classic Burgundy Escargot, swimming in little pools of herbs, garlic, and butter. Thinking with my tongue and not with my brain, I dove straight into these bad boys. There go the taste buds - these things were still hot as hell! Not one to be defeated by stupid little snails, our table still managed to decimate these.

Hidden away to the right are the gougeres, little poofs of cheese bread. I stand by my previous statement that Gerard Craft is the master of cheese breads.

Organ meats - liver in particular - are typically not my favorite due to their minerally flavor. However, if you think wayyyy back to my first Niche post, you'll see that I raved about a play on Peanut Butter & Jelly using chicken terrine. The Brasserie Chicken Liver Terrine is that terrine! I didn't even know! That ramekin left the table clean as a whistle.

Now onto our fourth appetizer (stop judging!), the Steak Tartare. We finished this baby off, too. The meat had a good amount of capers mixed in, giving it a nice salty punch.

Full yet? We weren't. It's entree time!

To share, we got the Moules a la Normande, mussels cooked in a broth with country ham, cider, leeks, garlic, and creme fraiche. I wasn't keen on ordering these (mussels are mussels are mussels, right?), but lo and behold, these are now my favorite mussels in town. They're smokey from the ham and sweet from the cider, giving them a different flavor profile than most places. I drank that broth like it was soup.

My main was...vegetarian? Yep, I went meatless. I picked the MASSIVE Roasted Vegetable Tart. Lentils, cauliflower puree, caramelized onions, and all sorts of other veggies were piled high and cooked spectacularly. This was my dish of the night. The different vegetables and cooking styles gave it all sorts of textures and a deep, complex flavor.

Roasted Vegetable Tart at Brasserie Niche

This is not a great shot, but it's just there to reiterate that Brasserie's roasted chicken is great.

The final entree was the Trout with fingerling potatoes, lemon, brown butter, capers, and parsley. It's a solid, healthy dish.

At this point in the evening, it felt like death was near. Clothing was tighter. Breathing was labored. I was sweating butter. I thought the evening's eating marathon was over, but Brasserie's great manager, Jen, and chef Nick Blue disagreed. Out came a chocolate mousse and the floating island. A few bites in and I passed out on the table.

Another successful meal at Brasserie completed.

Brasserie by Niche

4580 Laclede Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63108

314.454.0600

Spencer 2/16/15 Spencer 2/16/15

Sidney Street Cafe

Kevin Nashan and his team are killing it right now. Peacemaker is the hottest new restaurant in town (for good reason) and this past trip over to Sidney Street Cafe was a standout. I've written about meals there previously, but this one takes the cake for best overall, I think.

Our visit to Sidney Street came during a particularly heavy eating streak, so we went sans appetizers for the evening.

Those at the table who opted for a salad instead of the evening's soup special suffered from a severe case of order envy. While it may look like your run of the mill butternut squash soup, it certainly was not. It had been Nashanized, its flavors so intense and rich I nearly picked it up and gulped it straight out of the bowl like a ruffian. A few crunchy pepitas countered the creaminess, and an intense, slow burning spice gave it a delightful aftertaste. Almost every bowl was left bone dry.

This thing of beauty you see below is the lamb wellington, a beautiful take on what most American's think of as "that dish Gordon Ramsay makes". Lamb loin is topped with herbs before being wrapped with puff pastry and baked. The result is perfectly cooked lamb swaddled in a flaky dough, each slice resting on creamed kale and crispy lamb sweetbreads.

The dish is really more of a duo of lamb than just a wellington. The merguez meatball ragout behind was absurdly good - like I have been thinking about it for weeks good. There's something about North African spices make the lamb flavor pop. If those meatballs showed up as a Peacemaker poorboy special, I would not be disappointed. Fingers crossed.

Before I talk about this dish, I have to say that I love Sidney Street's plating. I'm not sure anyone in St. Louis is putting out prettier plates of food right now - follow them on Instagram for sneak peeks at upcoming dishes. This is the first time I can remember having a pheasant entree, but it will not be the last. Juniper cured pheasant breast can be seen on the far ends, along with braised Belgian endives, thin slices of citrus and quince celery. The stand out was easily that thing that looks like a prop from a Tim Burton movie with a bone sticking out: the crispy ballotine made of pheasant leg confit, pheasant tenderloin, citrus, and herbs.

This is the best gourmet smoked brisket in town. I wrote about it in great detail already here. Must read, must eat.

We felt too guilty and fat to get appetizers, but apparently not too guilty to go for dessert.

Our first choice was a classic: the [symple_highlight color="blue"]dark chocolate turtle brownie[/symple_highlight] served with pecan brittle, vanilla ice cream and, by special request, some chocolate sauce. Intensely chocolatey in the best way.

I pushed for the seasonal [symple_highlight color="blue"]Blood Orange[/symple_highlight] dessert and won, of course. Like a blood orange, the dish hovered between sweet and tart. Down the center of the plate you can see a twisting block of very sweet white chocolate ganache, flanked by pistachio crumble, cranberry sorbet, and all things citrus. It came with a Gran Marnier creme brûlée, served separately, which happened to be my favorite component of the dessert. A normal creme brûlée does nothing for me, but add a flavored liquor and I'm all in.

As I said at the start, this was a memorable meal at Sidney Street from a taste perspective - everything was delicious. The kitchen was firing on all cylinders. I got the brisket myself, but I would have been happy getting any of the other entrees we ordered. I tend to go through obsessive phases with my eating; for weeks at a time I'll go to the same place over and over until I'm ready to move on. Earlier this year, that place was Niche. After this meal? It's Sidney Street. I'm watching the menu like a hawk, just waiting to see something so tantalizing I can no longer resist the temptation.

My return is imminent.

Sidney Street Cafe

2000 Sidney St

St. Louis, MO 63104

314.771.5777

Spencer 1/26/15 Spencer 1/26/15

Pizzeoli Neapolitan Pizza

I told you in my A Pizza Story post that I'd be getting to Pizzeoli next and here we are. Housed in a small Soulard space, Pizzeoli has 6 or 7 tables and a small bar, but turnover is quick thanks to the lightning speed at which pizzas cook.

Pizzeoli offers a simple menu: pizza. Yes, there's a simple side salad and gelato, but the rest of the menu is just the world's greatest food, pizza. Their oven is a Marra Forni beast that sits right in the dining room, letting you watch the whole pizza making process. The set up reminded me of The Good Pie's original space, just condensed.

This picture was taken from our table, so you can see just how close to the action you can get. Hypothetically, the pizza could have been taken out of the oven on that peel and throw directly into my mouth.

Scott Sandler at Pizzeoli in St. Louis, MO

Owner Scott Sandler manned the oven while we ate, continuously turning and moving the pizzas around for the 60 seconds or so they were in there. In retrospect, I wish I had taken a video of the whole process. For an impatient millennial like me, it's a dream come true to order something and have it come to the table 5 minutes later.

Perhaps the most important difference between Pizzeoli and St. Louis' other Neapolitan pizza shop, The Good Pie, is that Pizzeoli is vegetarian. That's right, there is no meat here. There are even a few Vegan options, which I can't remember seeing at another pizza shop in town.

We started with the Funghi, topped with crimini, shiitake, and yellow trumpet mushrooms, plus fresh mozzarella, thyme, grated parmesan and...vegan sausage. I didn't love the vegan sausage, which tasted vaguely mushroomy itself, but I didn't hate it either.

They don't skimp on the mushrooms, so if you're into them, this is a solid choice. I would get it again (without the sausage).

Yeah, this next one tasted as good as it looks. I'm getting hungry just looking at it again. Their classic Margherita gets no complaints from me. The simple combination of fresh tomato sauce, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella is unbeatable.

Margherita pizza at Pizzeoli in St. Louis, MO

Bianca Pizza at Pizzeoli in St. Louis, MO

This pizza let me get a good look at the crust and I must say, I was quite pleased. It's strong enough that you can hold it up, which may not be traditional for Neapolitan pizza (no goopy center), but that doesn't stop it from tasting good, which is what I really care about.

Our waitress emphatically recommended the Bianca, so we got that. I didn't like it.

I loved it (you got Gordon Ramsay'd!). The base is a light béchamel sauce topped with fresh mozzarella, garlic, and rosemary. When I was a youngster, I loved the more out there and creative pizzas. The kinds you see at California Pizza Kitchen. Now, as I've gotten older and wiser, I really prefer simple pizzas executed perfectly. This is one of those. I don't even normally go for white pizzas! I don't think I can resist getting this again when I go back.

Pizzeoli did not disappoint. Our waitress was super friendly and gave good recommendations, and the owner is clearly passionate about his pizza making. With a great crust and simple but high quality toppings, you're going to be getting a tasty pizza. I would add this to the upper echelon of pizza spots in this pizza-heavy town.

Pizzeoli

1928 South 12th Street

St. Louis, MO 63104

314.449.1111

Spencer 10/6/14 Spencer 10/6/14

Dinner Lab: Signal Fire

Dinner Lab is a national members-only supper club, which means that even if the food is terrible, you will always feel cool saying "yeah, I'm a member there". After you join, you have access to a calendar of upcoming events in your city, which you can then buy tickets to. Each dinner takes place in a unique and unexpected setting, like a parking garage, art gallery or cemetery. Okay, not at cemeteries (I don't think). The dinners are captained by either one of Dinner Lab's traveling chefs or a local "unsung hero" chef. To join in St. Louis costs $129 annually, then each dinner is around $55 per person.The price seemed steep, but I decided it was worth it for a year. And I really wanted to be able to talk about it then say, "Oh, but you're not a member, are you?"

For the inaugural St. Louis Dinner Lab, we had chef Chris Bailey of Portland, Oregon in town to make our wildest dreams come true. His dinner was to be an Asian-inspired meal called "Signal Fire". The surprise location was at 2720 Cherokee Street, an artsy/grungy event hall with a concert venue and bar on the first floor. Not only was this going to be my first Dinner Lab, but it was also my first time on Cherokee! #suburbanite

Doors opened at 7:00pm for drinks and schmoozing, and dinner started at 7:30. There's open seating, so we scoped out the best seat for photo taking and leaned the chair against the table to reserve our spots. I felt like I was back in grade school.

At each spot was a menu, some background on the chef and a Guest Chef Feedback form where you can review each course, write what you'd expect to pay and a few other things. I am pretty sure I saw my sister rating Chris himself as "super hot".

After a good thirty minutes of drinking, the dinner commenced. To start off, we were given [symple_highlight color="blue"]Fried Rice Crackers[/symple_highlight] with a salted prune powder on top. They were like an Asian potato chip, so they were a great bar snack/amuse bouche. Crunchy and salty. Perfect with booze.

The first course was a [symple_highlight color="blue"]broccoli beef[/symple_highlight], sort of. Chris took all the flavors of the typical broccoli beef and turned it into a light starter. A beef tartare sat over a hoisin-based sauce and was topped with crispy grains and fermented broccoli stems, which added a nice crunch. This marks the first time I've had an Asian-style beef tartare that I actually enjoyed.

I played paparazzi as the team of chefs worked to prepare our next course, a [symple_highlight color="blue"]Golden Coconut Curry[/symple_highlight]. Look at that teamwork! They're delicately putting young root vegetables, brown butter solids and whipped coconut milk on those plates.

When the servers put down the plates, I thought this was the whole dish. A curry without any curry to be seen. How modern! Perhaps when I bite into a potato, curry will come oozing out? No, it turns out I'm just not a very good listener. Another round of servers walked out with small jars of one of the most aromatic curries I've had the pleasure of smelling. Tumeric, ginger, Thai red chiles fluttered about my nostrils. Galangal, the sexy, exotic cousin of ginger called my name.

This was one of those dishes that hushed our table for a few minutes. The tender vegetables were very good, but I just couldn't get enough of that curry. Just look at it! It doesn't get much more golden than that. The galangal's potency really turned it up a notch, I think. Gotta love that galangal.

Here's Chef Bailey throwing down garnish like a boss as he and the team work on the [symple_highlight color="blue"]Carrot Sweet 'n' Sour[/symple_highlight]. Talking with Chris throughout, he explained that he's very much into letting vegetables shine on their own, not unlike the chefs at Niche here in St. Louis. The dish's name made me think it was going to be a play on Chinese food, but it was more Korean than anything. The carrots were sous vide in carrot juice then finished on site with a reduction of carrot juice, orange juice, soy sauce and gochujang (Korean chile paste, yo).

They were served with a quick carrot kimchi and a carrot top raita, which is an Indian yogurt sauce. The gochujang and Thai chiles made this a fairly spicy dish, so that raita came in handy. Making a carrot dish that can stand on its own like this is no easy feat; kudos, chef.

Seeing as Chris' aunt had a Thai restaurant when he was growing up, it's no surprise to see [symple_highlight color="blue"]Pla Yang[/symple_highlight] show up on his menu. The trout was stuffed with Issan Thai sausage, roasted whole, then served with a charred lime. I was surprised that each person got their own trout, but I was more surprised that it had crispy skin and was still tender and juicy, seeing as there wasn't really a kitchen there. Chris told me that they seared these in cast iron pans at their off-site kitchen, then moved them to a smoker box to finish them on-site. Aside from the sausage, the fish was not heavily seasoned, which allowed us to taste the natural flavor of the trout. I squirted some of the charred lime on about halfway through and I am definitely adding charred citrus to my fish cooking.

I stepped away from the table for a few minutes and when I returned, I saw bubble tea! Glorious. I'm a bubble tea fiend. I'd get it every few days at this place right under my apartment in Singapore. When I left, they went out of business. Not saying I kept them afloat...but I might have. Utilizing the oversized straw, I took a huge gulp and quickly realized that while this looked like a normal bubble tea, it was just a glass of bourbon mixed with milk punch. What a pleasant surprise. I've now started requesting tapioca pearls in my cocktails whenever I go out.

The meal culminated with a [symple_highlight color="blue"]Thai style ice cream sandwich[/symple_highlight], which needs some explaining. In most of Southeast Asia, the ice cream vendors that are on the streets serve the ice cream not in cones or cups, but between pieces of bread. The have loaves of bread and big blocks of ice cream and just cut off a 'slice' of whatever flavor you want. It looks like this.

For this dish, the slice of bread was replaced by the most buttery piece of brioche I've ever had in my life, toasted until just the right mix of crunchy and soft. It may have actually just been two slices of frozen butter. Between those two buttery layers of deliciousness laid a block of black sesame ice cream. If you're into black sesame, which I am because I'm cultured and shit, this would have blown you away. As if that wasn't enough, it was topped with candied cilantro (genius) and held in place by an equally unhealthy coconut jam. This was a top notch dessert.

If all the Dinner Lab meals are like this, I'm ecstatic to be a member. The whole event reminded me of being back at the cafeteria in high school, except with a lot more alcohol and fine food. If you're into drinking as much as you want, eating creative and delicious foods created by local and traveling chefs, and/or meeting new people, I highly suggest you join Dinner Lab. Sign up here! The next event is a modern Mexican meal called Anomar by chef Danny Espinoza. I'll be the guy with a camera there; say hi!

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