Caviar is more accessible than ever, and depending on what variety you buy, it’s also more affordable. Diners are curious – especially those who have never tried it – and restaurants are responding by putting caviar on their menus in applications that range from the traditional to the creative.

The term “caviar” refers to the roe (fish eggs) from any one of several species of sturgeon: White sturgeon caviar comes from white sturgeon, osetra caviar comes from osetra sturgeon, and so on. Different caviars can vary in everything from price point to color and flavor profile. Osetra, for example, which can be found on several menus in St. Louis, combines a nutty quality with a rich, buttery texture. 

“I think more people are interested,” said Nick Bognar, chef-owner of Sado and Indo. “Delicacies like sea urchin, nothing else tastes like that … caviar, same thing. When people start to have it in unique ways, that bite won’t taste like anything else, it’s special. We’re lucky that people are curious about what we do, there is a value when diners know more and with social media and food TV and food media you see [caviar] more often and people are curious.” 

At Sado, Bognar offers a gunkan nigiri on the fish market menu. It’s a seaweed cup with rice, toro tartare and osetra caviar. The toro, or fatty tuna, is chopped up and carries a velvety, rich texture. It’s also unseasoned, and that’s where the osetra comes in.  

“The one that we’re using, it’s golden osetra – it’s really high quality, it’s not cheap,” Bognar said. He explained that the osetra caviar is the perfect foil for the tuna. “It’s a big salt bomb in a unique way and the tartare is plain – it’s seasoned by the caviar. [It has an] over-the-top richness, and the nori and vinegar rice on the bottom … It’s almost like a match made in heaven,” Bognar said. 

Meanwhile, Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co.’s dedicated caviar menu offers caviar in a variety of forms: deviled eggs with caviar; caviar with a shot of vodka and johnnycakes; or the caviar service, which offers a half-ounce of caviar with prosciutto, shallot, egg, capers, creme fraiche and johnnycakes. 

Peacemaker’s baseline caviar is white sturgeon, but optional upgrades give customers the chance to compare and contrast different varieties. The best way to do this is with their caviar sampler, which offers seven grams each of three different varieties. The selection currently includes white sturgeon, osetra from North Carolina and a Belgian osetra that’s new to the menu. The sampler is served with egg, caviar, creme fraiche, shallot, capers and johnnycakes.

John Messbarger, executive chef at Peacemaker, is another fan of osetra caviar, and especially its golden variety. “[It’s] almost a copper-ish color, and the eggs are creamier and individualistic and bigger,” Messbarger said. “People are curious and love learning about it.” 

Messbarger said Peacemaker’s happy hour option of a $5 deviled egg topped with caviar is popular with customers, and they’re not the only restaurant using deviled eggs as a delivery mechanism. Bistro La Floraison serves deviled eggs with golden kaluga caviar. Here, smoked creme fraiche adds a little nuance to the filling, combined with cooked egg yolks, lemon juice and vinegar. The caviar applies the final flourish. “It’s a good price point, it’s golden and has a nutty, hazelnut, briny flavor. Not too salty, really nice and balanced and buttery and works with the egg,” said Aaron Martinez, Take Root Hospitality partner and culinary director. “It’s not cheap, but not breaking the bank either.”

The salinity, brininess and complexity that caviar can bring is exactly right for cutting through the richness of things like toro, eggs or even dips. At None of the Above, the onion dip with potato chips comes with the option of a caviar-enhanced upgrade, with the caviar lending extra flavor and texture to each scoop. At Three Sixty Westport, adding an ounce of osetra caviar and creme fraiche is an option for their cheddar and chive drop biscuits, a luxe way to upgrade a humble dish. 

Whether you’re trying caviar in creative formats or traditional presentations like Blood & Sand’s caviar service for two, which comes with blinis, cured egg yolk, egg whites and creme fraiche, caviar is no longer the preserve of the elite. “It used to be this luxe thing that was out of reach and it was just for rich people, but people are interested in it because it’s more approachable. It’s just really good,” said Messbarger.

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The Lucky Accomplice’s bar manager Corey Moszer is thinking outside the box – and if you love a savory cocktail, the Martini Scorsese has your name on it.

While the Fox Park restaurant’s kitchen uses fermented tomato water as a base for broths, Moszer uses it as the starting point for this savory cocktail, which has a zippy, salsa-tinged taste. Moszer combines the tomato water with Roku gin, dry and nutty manzanilla sherry, a dash of salty MSG and red pepper pickle brine. The final ingredient is an olive oil-washed vodka that Moszer makes in-house. The vodka has a viscous texture and heft, and when shaken it develops a foam that helps to deliver the drink’s aromatic flavors. The finishing touch is a pickled tomato garnish. It’s a mashup of a clarified bloody mary and the saltiest dirty martini you’ve ever had.

2501 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314.354.6100, theluckyaccomplice.com

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There’s no wrong time of year for ranch, but our intake of the salty, herbed and spiced buttermilk-based dressing spikes with the Midwestern summer’s whirl of barbecues and backyard parties. To fine-tune our taste buds for ranch season, we headed over to Twisted Ranch in the Central West End to try their Around the World ranch sampler and sort its 34 diverse dressings into the ultimate ranch leaderboard. 

1. Jalapeno Popper
This all-conquering ranch combines many of the strengths displayed by its fiercest competitors into one platonic ideal. Salty, cheesy, spicy and earthy, the flavors of this ranch quite simply stand apart from the rest of the pack. It’s also an exemplary team player that gets the best out of veggies, chicken, fries or whatever else you want to pair it with. 

2. Cajun
Falling just short at the last, our runner-up is a genuinely interesting take on a ranch, with its thick texture, warming spices and near-perfect balance of salt and sweetness. There’s a lot going on here, but the Cajun never feels overpowering. 

3. Cheesy Bacon
The Sauce bronze medal goes to this salty, smoky ranch, whose pleasing thickness and bold flavors live up emphatically to the name (although it’s vegetarian-friendly – the ranch doesn’t actually contain bacon or any meat product). Fries, chips and tater tots were made to be dipped in a condiment like this. 

4. Double “D”
This deviled egg in saucy form is a gamble that pays off with fun results: There’s lots of Dijon, it’s eggy and rich, but it’s still unquestionably a ranch at heart. We loved it, even if it falls just short of the top three. 

5. Cilantro Lime
Fresh citrus notes vaulted this ranch above much of its competition to land in the top five, but the cilantro is an equal partner. Even our cilantro-skeptic panelist expressed grudging admiration for this one.  

6. Truffle Shuffle
Less is often more when it comes to truffle, and this ranch has enough truffle to impress without overwhelming. There’s a chunky quality to the Truffle Shuffle, thanks to the addition of Parmesan. 

7. Pesto
This tangy pesto split opinion. It feels a little basic, it’s not the most interesting or nuanced flavor, but it was likable enough to break into our top 10. 

8. Curry Yogurt
Smooth, thick and creamy, the yogurt gives this ranch an extra dimension, while the curry adds a flavorful punch.

9. Sunny in Fetadelphia
Thick, creamy, smoky and sharp, this ranch combines sun-dried tomato, garlic and feta in one satisfying dip. 

10. Srirancha
A ranch with real personality: We loved the texture, we loved the heat level and, yes, it tastes like Sriracha.

11. Buffalo
The Buffalo fell just short of the top 10, but it has a slow, lingering heat that builds and builds. It doesn’t taste particularly like a Buffalo sauce – perhaps because it also includes blue cheese and celery – but it does go well with chicken. 

12. Kemowasabi
This thick, honey-sweetened ranch is rich and fun: It’s everything the Asian Zing ranch (mentioned later) wants to be. Have it with chicken. 

13. Chip’s Verde
Once we figured out why this ranch isn’t actually green – lots of chipotle peppers, we’re told – there wasn’t much left to debate. It’s a solid performer, with smoky notes and good heat from the peppers. 

14. BBQ
All the flavor of a barbecue potato chip or a standard barbecue sauce, distilled into the form of a thick ranch. It’s reliable, if not particularly exciting. 

15. Steakhouse
This tangy, vinegary and peppery ranch felt like a Mayfair dressing crossed with Raising Cane’s sauce. Its sweet nature pairs better with salty french fries or tots rather than with vegetables. 

16. Castaway Ginger
This zippy ranch, which Twisted Ranch customers voted to add to the menu in a contest a few years back, tastes like it has been mixed with freshly grated ginger, and it’s our pick for veggie dipping in particular.  

17. Roasted Garlic
Very garlicky and sweeter than we expected, this was one of the most divisive ranches on the list. “Your breath is going to stink – and I love that,” said our resident garlic lover.

18. King of the Dill
This ranch is very close in flavor profile to the Twisted Ranch, but an extra dose of dill and a more flavorful all-round package gives the King of the Dill a slight edge.  

19. Twisted Ranch
The restaurant’s flagship ranch lands squarely in the middle of our ranking, which feels about right to us. It’s a simple, dill-forward ranch, nothing fancy. 

20. It Takes 2 to Mango
This is one of the spiciest ranches at Twisted Ranch, but the raw habanero heat smothers any hint of mango flavor. A real palate-cleanser. 

21. Avocado
The avocado was an early favorite, but faded to the middle of the pack as the competition heated up. It’s a little on the bland side, but benefits from a thicker and creamier texture than some of its peers, with a subtle ranch flavor and an absence of sweetness. 

22. Greek
We felt the Greek lacked saltiness and longed for citrus, but if a collision of tzatziki and feta sounds up your alley, you’ll like it. 

23. Parmesan Peppercorn
We found this a little confused. The Parmesan is present as a texture more than a taste, and the texture smothers the discernable notes of black pepper. But it’s certainly peppercorn and it’s certainly ranch. If you love both those things, you’ll probably love this. 

24. Southwest
Very cumin-forward, with a suggestion of citrus, but let down by a dustiness that screamed “taco seasoning.” 

25. Buttermilk Basil
A traditional ranch with overwhelming notes of dry basil and a bit of a licorice flavor. We liked it initially, but there are much better flavors on the list.  

26. Ruffalo
The best of three similar ranches we ranked consecutively. However, once we figured the name was a portmanteau of “roasted garlic” and “Buffalo” rather than a tribute to the guy who plays the Hulk, there wasn’t much to say about this cheesy, peppery and rather bland ranch.

27. Jack the Ripper
In spite of the notes of onion, and in spite of the kick from pepper jack, this sauce lacked personality and clarity. 

28. Red Billy Goat 
This was among the thinner ranches, which generally landed toward the lower end of our ranking. There were hints of bell pepper and cheese, and it tasted like a cousin of both the Ruffalo and Jack the Ripper ranches. Sadly, it appears that anonymity runs in the family.  

29. Asian Zing
This one shows up with honey mustard-style levels of sweetness, with a little dill flavor coming through and a hint of spice at the end. 

30. Caesar
One of our team described this as, “A nice, mild and inoffensive Caesar.” But who wants nice, mild or inoffensive? As it turned out for our team, nobody. It has lots of dried spice, but the spices don’t hang together, muddying the overall flavor. 

31. Smoked Tomato Basil
Another ranch that tasted like a dry spice rack drowned in a sea of ranch. We liked the texture, but this one wasn’t for us.  

32. Creamy Balsamic
This vinegary dip is a little overwhelming for fries and tater tots. It’s as if a creamy balsamic dressing snuck into the party in disguise to hang out with the ranches. “Ranch would not enter my vocabulary to describe this,” said one of our panel. Call security to take this one back to the salad section. 

33. Luau
The closest flavor association we made for the luau was “canned pineapple.” That wasn’t a good thing. 

34. Carter’s Smoke
There’s a lot of smoke, but nothing fire about the ranch that props up our ranking. It lacked the saltiness we want in a ranch and was weighed down by liquid smoke flavor that made the whole thing a bit of a one-note experience. 

14 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, 314.833.3450, twistedranch.com

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After 16 years, July 2 was my last day at Sauce Magazine. To be honest, I am sad to be leaving a job I love, but I’m thankful that I get to leave Sauce in the hands of a talented team. When I went to get my masters in journalism, I said I wanted to work at a food magazine, and Sauce immediately fell into my lap. How lucky is that? I started with the magazine on March 10, 2008, as assistant art director, before going on to become art director and finally executive editor. 

I have always loved restaurants. They play a vital role in creating a thriving community and I am thankful I have had the rare opportunity to spend so much of my career to date covering them. I’ve had so many dishes and drinks here in St. Louis that really did change my life – the margherita pizza at The Good Pie, the Niche egg, Sump Coffee, the In a Pickle at Planter’s House, ribs at Pappy’s Smokehouse in 2008, elk at Terrine, the crab cake at Wright’s Tavern, anything at SweetArt, the spring rolls at Banh Mi So No.1, the burger at Revival, the sesame cake at Vista Ramen, and so many others. These were all dining experiences that challenged what I thought I knew, and they became my new gold standard. 

If you have ever loved a job, then you know it’s because of the people you work with. I have had the privilege of having the best colleagues, both past and present – professionals who are trained journalists, writers, editors, photographers and designers. I got to learn from each of them and they have been my greatest teachers. They all care, like I do, about producing a magazine, website, social content and events that serve our readership. So, if you’ve ever picked up one of our magazines, used the website, shared one of our posts or discovered a new favorite restaurant, bar or food truck by attending one of our events, I’m talking about you! Thank you for reading and for supporting local food journalism. 

I’ll end with the greatest lesson I learned during my time here and it’s this: You cannot pay people to care. People care or they don’t, and not because of rewards or incentives: It’s just who they are. I really care about recommending restaurants and dishes and experiences that excite and challenge me and that I believe are worth both your money and your time. For me, it has always been about serving our readers. It’s rare to have a job you love, and even more so to have it for a long time, but I look forward to welcoming new challenges. To borrow from another former executive editor, I don’t really buy into the idea that all good things must come to an end: I prefer the best is yet to come. 

Find Nagarajan’s final issue on stands today. You can also listen to her final podcast episode.

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No new restaurant opening this year has nailed concept, design, service and menu execution so completely as Esca. The restaurant is the latest from Bengelina Hospitality Group owner Ben Poremba, aided very capably by general manager Jonathan L’Helaouet and beverage director Luciano Racca. The cocktail menu from Noah Davidson presents exciting renditions of classics: the almond Old-Fashioned; a clay pot Negroni; milk punch scented with banana liqueur; and a basil gimlet that tastes like peak summer.

Most of the food is prepared over live fire, which demands a certain degree of expertise and control on the part of the cooks. Each dish carries a smoky kiss, but the food never feels too weighty. The menu is filled with gems, like the green salad with impossibly fresh, juicy and crunchy lettuce. There are crowd-pleasing starters like stracciatella with roasted grapes and grilled bread, or the cervelle de canut (onion dip with chive oil and crudites); both are beautifully presented. As for entrees, a recent version of the ever-changing lasagna came with a creamy mushroom sauce and a hint of truffle. The lasagna’s many layers of thin pasta sheets weren’t overwhelmed by sauce, resulting in a dish that was rich in flavor yet not at all heavy.

Don’t skip dessert, which is wheeled out on a cart by a server ringing a bell. Our favorites are the brioche with whipped cream and the vegan vanilla gelato which is finished tableside with olive oil, sea salt and tahini.

5095 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314.365.2686, bengelina.com/esca

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Start your order here with the naan tacos. Two fresh pieces of naan are stuffed with your entree of choice – we recommend the rich dal tangy masala (lentils in masala curry) or the chana masala (chickpeas in gravy) – and topped with crisp veggies. It’s not exactly a taco, more a simplified way to eat naan with a delicious saucy curry.

Other standouts from the menu include the traditional Mediterranean plate with chicken shawarma, hummus, pilau rice and butter naan, or the chole bhature (weekends only). Here, the bhature, a delightful puffy fry bread, serves as a vehicle for the chole, a chickpea stew from the Indian state of Punjab.

13441 Olive Blvd., Chesterfield, 314.682.6066, tikkatangy.com

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Every month, we aim to try all the new restaurants and bars that open in the area so we can make meaningful recommendations on where you should go. Here’s where made the cut in May 2024.

Pink Willow Cafe in Cottleville
Cottleville has gained an adorable new spot for breakfast, brunch and lunch with Pink Willow Cafe. Click here to learn more.

Pizza Via in the Central West End
Central West End residents have a new gem in their backyard with Pizza Via, the newest pizza outpost from Scott Sandler. Click here to learn more.

August The Mansion in O’Fallon, Illinois
This beautiful Italianate-style family farmhouse was built in 1857 and has been home to several restaurants since the 1990s. Click here to learn more.

Esca in the Delmar Maker District
No new restaurant opening this year has nailed concept, design, service and menu execution so completely as Esca. Click here to learn more.

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The standards are safe bets here, from appetizers like the samosas and the pillowy soft garlic naan to the paneer tikka masala or charred and juicy tandoori shrimp.

But fun is where the fusion is, and at Amrut Fusion that usually involves cheese: The dosa quesadilla, a traditional rice flour crepe served with mint sauce and tamarind sauce, comes stuffed with American cheese; the paneer gulistani tikka sees melted mozzarella served between slices of charred paneer squares, all coated with a zesty sauce flavored with grilled peppers and onions.

Meanwhile, the crispy momos (fried veggie dumplings), an assortment of chaat snacks and loaded french fries all partner well with the bourbon-focused bar program. 

17392 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield, 636.778.9380, amrutfusion.com

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The cilbir (Turkish eggs) at Telva at the Ridge is a silky, sumptuous breakfast. Warm garlic yogurt and gently cooked eggs make for a rich base, while a tomato-chile brown butter sauce adds a little acid for balance and a flurry of herbs provides a fresh finish.

Telva’s signature somun flatbread is served toasted on the side: It gets its crisp texture partly from the many tiny air pockets inside, which also lend space to capture every last saucy drop.

60 N. Gore Ave., Webster Groves, 314.395.2760, telvastl.com

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We’re here to tell you that the crab fried rice at Indo is the darling of the menu. It’s not in the venerable category of raw fish dishes that the restaurant is rightfully known for, but rather it stands alone as an upgraded, luxury-edition fried rice that is simply too good to pass up. The rice here truly shines as the anchor: plump, chewy and, in some bites, crispy. The seafood brings the cachet, as huge and delicate pieces of lump crab are abundant throughout, along with pieces of fried, candied shrimp that add crackly crunch and a sweet-spicy note.

1641D Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.899.9333, indo-stl.com

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