Eat these lobster Rangoons at Le Ono in O’Fallon, Illinois
The lobster Rangoons at Le Ono are reason enough to pay a visit to this French Polynesian restaurant. Each serving includes four crispy Rangoons filled with fresh lobster claw and knuckle meat, cream cheese and finely chopped scallions. But the pièce de résistance is the housemade sweet chile sauce: a mix of honey, tamari, Sriracha, sesame…
First Look: Blue Jay Brewing Co. in Midtown St. Louis
Midtown continues to blossom as one of St. Louis’ new epicenters for food and drink. The latest project to open its doors there is Blue Jay Brewing Co., which quietly debuted on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2710 Locust St. in the JCMidtown development. Blue Jay is the passion project of husband-and-wife team Jason and Nicole Thompson. Jason is…
6 St. Louis bars where you can try classic cocktails multiple ways
A classic cocktail stands the test of time not just because the basic formula yields delicious results, but also because it offers the curious imbiber a blank canvas for experimentation. Some places around town have taken OG drinks and made them their own, even devoting a section of the drink list to a single cocktail.…
Platypus in the Grove honored as ‘Best Underrated Bar’ in the country by Liquor.com
Platypus at 4501 Manchester Ave. has earned raves in its two years in business — and now the national press is playing catchup. The cocktail bar in St. Louis’ Grove neighborhood, which combines expertly mixed drinks with a friendly dive feel, was the RFT’s Best New Bar in 2022 and Best Late-Night Bar this year. Now it can add to those accolades “Best Underrated…
This week on the Sauce podcast: Hidden Gem, vegan cafes and where we’ll be eating in 2024
This week on the Sauce podcast, Michelle and Meera discuss Hidden Gem, the new “disco dive bar” in Midtown St. Louis. Hidden Gem’s inclusive attitude and affection for glitter were the initial draw, but drinks like Barbie With A Buzz Cut – their take on an espresso martini with reposado tequila – and the charming Boot Scootin’ Boogie,…
STL Steak and Cake now open in Tower Grove South
Soulard Farmers Market vendor STL Steak and Cake has opened a brick-and-mortar location at 4278 Connecticut St. in Tower Grove South. Focusing on to-go cheesesteaks and desserts, the eatery opened in mid-December. Owner Marquita Mahon started serving cheesesteaks and desserts at Soulard Farmers Market in late 2020, turning a lifelong passion for cooking into a fledgling…
Drink this Tiki Negroni at Maryland House in the Central West End
The Tiki Negroni at Kevin Brennan’s Maryland House will lift your spirit through dark, cold nights. This Negroni uses aged rum instead of gin, establishing a core that is sweet yet rich in character. There’s fan service for Negroni lovers courtesy of Campari, but the bar fat-washes the bitter amaro in coconut oil to smooth…
20 things we ate in St. Louis in 2023 that we loved
To go along with our Best New Restaurants of 2023 list, here are some of the local dishes we’re still thinking about long after we ate them. Meera Nagarajan, executive editor Baked crab cake – Wright’s Tavern Salt cod croquetas – Bar Moro Bacalao croquetas – Idol Wolf Cacio e pepe cream cheese – Bagel…
Meals that changed St. Louis pastry chef Tiffany Gilmore’s life
Tiffany Gilmore’s desserts and pastries for the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis are truly special. Each is infused with layers of flavor, restrained sweetness and subtle background notes that keep people guessing. Gilmore holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and previously worked as a florist, which makes sense when you consider her desserts, artfully…
Dirty 20 Nerd Bar is slated to open in Ballwin in 2024
For as long as Jason Moughton can remember, he wanted to open a restaurant. But it wasn’t until 2019 when that dream kicked into high gear — because that’s when Moughton found Dungeons & Dragons. In falling in love with the tabletop game, Moughton and his wife, Ruth Camburn, were just a bit ahead of…
2023 Best New Restaurants // No. 9 Levels Nigerian Cuisine
Take any representative regional dish, anywhere in the world, and you’ll find big opinions on whose style is best. In West Africa, jollof rice is often the subject of these familiar debates. Ono Ikanone, co-owner of Levels Nigerian Cuisine, knew jollof rice was not to be played with: The rice at his restaurant had to…
9 St. Louis restaurants ringing in the New Year in style
Don’t settle for drinking cheap bubbles and watching the ball drop in Times Square this year. Elevate your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day game at one of these swanky area soirees. Bistro La Floraison Just say “oui” to an intimate five-course dinner at Bistro La Floraison this New Year’s Eve. The menu features…
Vanilla Sugar Bake Shoppe opens brick-and-mortar location in Webster Groves
Vanilla Sugar Bake Shoppe, a St. Louis-based bakery that began with the collaboration between two home bakers, opened in mid-December at 7949 Big Bend Blvd. in Webster Groves. For co-owners and neighbors Lindsey Dreste and Katie Cohoon, baking has always been a passion. “Honestly, we got into it because it’s something we’re both good at,”…
2023 Best New Restaurants // No. 8 Kain Tayo
Randy and Sally Arcega’s Kain Tayo (“let’s eat” in Tagalog) is the latest local eatery winning St. Louisans’ hearts and stomachs over to the cuisine of the Philippines. The Midtown restaurant offers a menu of traditional, comforting favorites like lumpia (egg rolls filled with pork, onions, carrots and celery with sweet chile sauce on the…
Tabla serves Indian cuisine in the Chesterfield Mall food court
Located in the food court of Chesterfield Mall, a new Indian restaurant is making its mark on the St. Louis food scene. Sridhar Haribabu runs Tabla, serving dishes found in Indian states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Tabla recently opened its doors to the public in November, operating in the same space where Aaha!…
Wok-O Taco food truck has opened a kitchen at The Hill Food Co
Popular St. Louis food truck Wok-O Taco, which combines classic Mexican-style tacos with Asian spices and flavors, has opened a kitchen at The Hill Food Co, a ghost kitchen collective at 2360 Hampton Ave. in South City. The Wok-O Taco kitchen, which launched this fall, takes orders for pickup and delivery, and is now the…
2023 Best New Restaurants // No. 7 Deli Divine
With Deli Divine, restaurateur Ben Poremba is filling the gap for an authentic Jewish deli in St. Louis city. The restaurant’s masterfully executed menu of classics does more than just hold space – it holds its own in the inevitable comparison with favorite delis in Chicago and New York. Pick your favorite: pastrami, corned beef,…
Andrew Cisneros will open Brasas in the Delmar Loop in spring 2024
Andrew Cisneros, a former Sauce Ones to Watch honoree, will open a brick-and-mortar location for his Brasas concept in the Delmar Loop in spring 2024. The restaurant will open at 6138 Delmar Blvd., the former home of 12oh7 Herban Eatery. Brasas, which translates to “embers” in Spanish, will focus on pollo a la brasa, or…
First Look: Hidden Gem in Midtown St. Louis
Hidden Gem, a self-described “disco dive bar” from the team behind local lifestyle brand Golden Gems, opened the doors of its bright pink facade at 3118 Locust St. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, bringing more than a little bit of glitter and sass to Midtown. Over the top is most definitely an understatement when describing the…
This week on the Sauce podcast: None of the Above at City Foundry STL, Kenny’s Upstairs and more
This week on the Sauce podcast, Meera and Michelle discuss a trip to Annie Gunn’s in Chesterfield where the prawns are as big as your hands. Also in the conversation was a visit to Sunny’s Cantina in Dogtown, where the craveable veggie nachos are loaded with toppings like black beans, pickled jalapenos, queso, salsa and crema. Finally,…
Big Belly Deli now open in Florissant serving sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts
There’s a new spot to get a sandwich in Florissant called Big Belly Deli, located at 392 St. Ferdinand St., next to Helfer’s Pastries. Lifelong friends and now business partners Chris Timmermann and Nick Boyd opened the deli this week. The owners bring a passion for feeding others, along with distinct backgrounds to the business,…
2023 Best New Restaurants // No. 6 Fleur STL
The 2020 closure of longtime St. Louis fixture Eat-Rite Diner left a hole in the downtown culinary scene. But when Fleur STL opened in that iconic building in the final weeks of 2022, it was clear that chef-owner Tim Eagan had brought something even better to the table. Fleur’s menu contains echoes of its predecessor’s…
8 St. Louis restaurants serving festive dine-in meals for Christmas
Looking for someone else to host your group on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so you can kick back and enjoy the holiday outside the kitchen? Here are some local places that would love to lend a hand with your festivities. Brasserie By Niche Join the Brasserie crew for brunch on Christmas Eve from 10…
Commonwealth restaurant at Angad Arts Hotel has a new chef and menu
Grand Center’s Angad Arts Hotel has a new top chef for its flagship restaurant. Commonwealth at 3550 Samuel Shepard Drive in St. Louis’ Grand Center Arts District announced it has brought on Lauren Anthony as executive chef for both the restaurant and for the hotel. Previously, she had served as the restaurant’s sous chef. Anthony came to the…
Best New Restaurants 2023 // No. 5 Black Salt
When it comes to Indian food, West County residents aren’t lacking for choice. Competition is fierce, with newcomers like The Curry Club and Red Chili facing up to stalwarts like Taj Palace. This year, Chesterfield’s Black Salt proved it has the chops to go toe-to-toe with the best, executing crowd-pleasing tandoori classics and serving up…
8 gifts perfect for food and drink lovers in St. Louis
Parker’s Table Gift Basket Parker’s Table offers everything from best-in-class wines, specialty foods, craft beers, and small-batch spirits, to local and imported artisanal goods. Expertly curated custom gift packages are available with swift delivery in the St. Louis area. Don’t miss the made-to-order sandwiches and cheese offerings! Parker’s Table, 7118 Oakland Ave., Richmond Heights, parkerstable.com…
Le Ono serves French Polynesian cuisine and great cocktails in O’Fallon, Illinois
The menu at this upscale French Polynesian restaurant rotates frequently, but we’re confident you’ll find something you love. Start your meal with a craft cocktail such as the Le Ono Mai Tai, a delightful tipple made with Don Q Gold rum, orgeat, Aperol, pineapple and lemon juices, topped with a heavy dollop of mango foam. …
Best New Restaurants 2023 // No. 4 1929 Pizza & Wine
This pizza restaurant in Wood River, Illinois, represents a triumphant return to the Metro East for Amy and Matt Herren. The Herrens each made their mark on the Metro East food scene in the 2000s with their own venues – Amy with Fond, Matt as the co-founder of Goshen Coffee Roasters and Edwardsville’s 222 Artisan…
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4 ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve in St. Louis
If you plan on getting out and about this New Year’s Eve, here are some great options. Blast From The Past New Year’s Eve Party at Armory STL Take a trip down memory lane this New Year’s Eve at Armory STL’s Blast From The Past NYE Party. Each bar will take on iconic time periods…
11 St. Louis restaurants offering great takeout meals for the holidays
The holidays are stressful enough. Why not have someone else do the cooking for you? Here’s a list of places that can take care of all your culinary needs this season, from appetizers to dessert. Order dates are subject to supply and early sell-outs happen often, so get your request in ASAP. Across The Board…
Terminal 3 Bar and Grill offers bar-style food and cocktails in Bridgeton
Terminal 3 Bar and Grill opened earlier this month at 12207 Natural Bridge Road in Bridgeton, offering a variety of appetizers, entrees and cocktails. For owner Lakeisha Sanders and her family, bringing a family-oriented dining experience, along with a nightlife atmosphere that provides a welcoming and diverse environment for patrons of all backgrounds, was of…
Best New Restaurants 2023 // No. 3 Sado
Tomes have already been written about the culinary prowess of Sado’s chef-owner Nick Bognar. Bognar’s career has thrilled and delighted us since 2017, when he breathed fresh air into Nippon Tei, his mother Ann Bognar’s West County restaurant. His first solo venture, Indo in Botanical Heights, topped our 2019 Best New Restaurants list, blending a…
This week on the Sauce podcast: the best dishes we ate this year
This week on the Sauce podcast, Meera and Michelle discuss some of their favorite dishes of the year in St. Louis. From boiled fish with Chinese green pepper at ChiliSpot to the iconic crab cake at Wright’s Tavern, you’ll want to check out this episode to learn about some of the Sauce staff’s most beloved plates and…
Taqueria Morita will open permanent location in former Wasabi space in the Central West End in spring 2024
Taqueria Morita, the seasonal pop-up from Take Root Hospitality (TRH), is about to become a permanent affair. After two summers being located in the pavilion area adjacent to Vicia, the popular Mexican eatery is getting its own digs in the former Wasabi space next door at 4239 Duncan Ave. in the Cortex Innovation District in…
Best New Restaurants 2023 // No. 2 Bagel Union
By any measure, the gold standard for bagel making is the New York method: simmering a ring of flour, yeast and malt-based raised dough in hot water, then baking it until shiny and glazed with a chewy interior texture. Given the large number of New Yorkers and Jewish people who have settled here over the…
Up Late’s second location will open in the Delmar Loop in February 2024
Up Late will bring its late-night eats to the Delmar Loop, with the to-go concept’s second location set to open in February 2024. The restaurant will open in the former Chicken Out space at 6197 Delmar Blvd., which closed in October. A corner of the space will also be set aside for a new branch of Up Late’s sister restaurant, Strange…
10 holiday cocktail pop-ups to visit this season in St. Louis
Festive cocktail pop-ups are as integral to the holiday season as the Yuletide playlist at our local grocery store – and a lot more fun. For those planning to belly up to the bar at one or more of these festive spots, here’s what you can expect. Remember that the places requiring reservations fill up…
First Look: None of the Above at City Foundry STL in Midtown
Cocktail lounge None of the Above will open in the tunnels beneath City Foundry STL at 3730 Foundry Way in Midtown on Dec. 14. The underground speakeasy-style bar concept is the 12th concept from chef-owner Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group and Niche’s fourth at City Foundry, joining Fordo’s Killer Pizza, The Kitchen Bar and the…
Best New Restaurants 2023 // No. 1 Wright’s Tavern
Owner Matt McGuire and executive chef Cary McDowell’s initial motivation for Wright’s Tavern was to create a restaurant that served the kind of food they wanted to eat. McGuire and McDowell built themselves a place to enjoy a great steak and a Caesar salad, but more importantly, their Clayton steakhouse also tapped into a communal…
GiftAMeal founder Andrew Glantz combines giving back with profit-for-a-purpose business model
Combining a passion for giving back and a profit-with-a-purpose business model, Andrew Glantz founded GiftAMeal while he was a student at Washington University. When a diner uses the GiftAMeal app to take a photo of their meal at a participating restaurant, the partner restaurant donates a meal to a food bank. If the user shares…
First Look: Kenny’s Upstairs on South Grand in Tower Grove South
Kenny’s Upstairs is set to open this month – “very soon,” said owner Kenny Marks – at 3131 S. Grand Blvd. in Tower Grove South. Located in the legendary Upstairs Lounge space, Kenny’s Upstairs bars will be a “neighborhood bar, cocktail dive that you can just count on,” Marks said. This is the first bar…
Pie Guy Pizza adds bar, takes over former Gezellig Tap House & Bottle Shop space in the Grove
Last month, Pie Guy Pizza located at 4189 Manchester Ave. in the Grove, took over the space located next to the eatery, at 4191 Manchester Ave., which was previously home to Gezellig Tap House & Bottle Shop. Although the eatery shared the space with Gezellig, when it permanently closed in late March, Pie Guy Pizza owner…
This week on the Sauce podcast: St. Louis’ Best New Restaurants of 2023 + our return to the print publication
This week on the Sauce podcast, Meera and Michelle discuss Sauce Magazine’s Best New Restaurants feature that highlights nine new spots that won our hearts this year. The restaurants range from fine dining to casual with a variety of cuisines and cultures in between. They also talk about Sauce Magazine’s highly anticipated return to print for the December issue…
First Look: Mazaj Mediterranean at City Foundry STL in Midtown
The City Foundry STL food hall at 3730 Foundry Way in Midtown will soon be home to some true Palestinian and Mediterranean fare when Mazaj Mediterranean debuts there on Saturday, Dec. 9. The eatery will be the 18th kitchen to open up in the food hall. Mazaj is the second culinary outing from the nephew and…
St. Louis’ Best New Restaurants of 2023
These are the nine restaurants that won our hearts this year. Wright’s TavernWright’s is earnest about the things that really matter, but isn’t averse to a dash of mischievous fun in the appropriate places. From the indulgent martini (with accompanying sidecar) to the riotous ice cream sundae, the moments of jaw-dropping awe and delight are…
Holiday foodie gifts at every price point
The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to start shopping for your favorite foodies. Here are our editors’ picks for great gifts for everyone on your nice list this year. Under $25 Spritzish Soy Wax CandleLocal candlemaker Soft Shadow Co. blends orange, cedarwood and clove to make their Aperol spritz-inspired scent that is…
12 reasons we love Sam’s Steakhouse in South County
This South County gem calls out to us whenever we’re craving a well-executed, grilled-to-order cut of meat. However, the steak is only part of the story. So many delightful sub-plots unfold across each visit to Sam’s, where evenings promise a heady dose of intrigue, entertainment and deliciously indulgent food and drink. These are 12 reasons…
Century Coffee Company now open at City Foundry STL in Midtown
Century Coffee Company opened on Dec. 1 in the food hall at City Foundry STL, located at 3730 Foundry Way in Midtown. The elevated coffee concept features a new generation of espresso machines and serves drinks including a custom Century Coffee Company blend made with beans from a range of local roasters like Goshen Coffee Roasters, Blueprint Coffee and Switch…
2 new bars on Cherokee Street to check out now
We love hanging at our regular watering holes where everybody knows our name; but sometimes change can be a good thing. St. Louis has seen a slew of new bars open over the past year, including two new gems on Cherokee Street. Saturn Lounge Like other vinyl record bars, Saturn Lounge sets the scene with classic cocktails, craft…
