I moved to St. Louis at the end of December 2006 and over the years, I have come to love this city.
V and I are a couple of vegetarians eating out on a modest budget, in and around St. Louis, Missouri. Certain disclaimers apply: These are just my thoughts based on 1or 2 visits; they are not well-researched reviews. Details may have changed since I visited the restaurant. You won't see many photos of the food, because I am very shy about taking photographs in restaurants, and because I just want to enjoy myself and not worry about taking pictures!
For helpful restaurant guides, please see Sauce Magazine and the Riverfront Times Restaurant Guide. RFT also has a food blog called Gut Check. The blog St. Louis Eats and Drinks has local restaurant reviews.
Suggestions are welcome- please e-mail me at onehotstove AT gmail DOT com if you want to tell me about your favorite St. Louis restaurant.
St. Louis has some lovely neighborhoods that abound in independent restaurants. We lived in the Central West End for a few years and loved the casual dining options there. Tortillaria is my top choice, with vegetarian-friendly Mexican fare. I love the chile arbol salsa from their salsa bar. V loves their cheesy chiles rellenos and garlic-mayo corn-on-the-cob (served on a stick). Coffee Oasis is next door and has flavored coffee and Middle Eastern desserts like baklava and ma'amoul. I love their omelet platters and za'atar bread but thought the falafel was dry and bland. Bar Louis is a chain burger bar where all burgers can be subbed with veggie burgers, which is so nice. I enjoyed their fried zucchini- greasy and tasty.
The Delmar loop also has a lovely selection of restaurants. It is home to Pi which is extremely popular for its cornmeal crust pizzas. We love the "Berkeley" deep dish pizza here. Ranoush has Syrian food and I love it all- the foul medames, hummus and baba ghanouj, Arabic fries, knafeh and the pickled eggplants. Al-Tarboush is a Middle Eastern deli and a great place to pick up freshly fried falafel, tubs of hummus, tabbouleh and a packet of crisp pitas for a light meal at home. The food at Thai Gai Yang Cafe, Thai Cafe is inexpensive and good. Chinese Noodle Cafe has delicious old noodles in sesame sauce (looks innocent but is very spicy) and tasty broccoli in garlic sauce. The General Tso's tofu is way too sweet and one-dimensional but V orders it every single time anyway. I love their spicy Hunan vegetables and the hot and sour soup. Cheesology has many variations on bubbling mac and cheese in a cast iron skillet. It is good comfort food but nothing I couldn't make at home.
South Grand Avenue has another bunch of good restaurants. I love the falafel platters and mezze at Cafe Natasha's Kabob International; they also serve their version of falooda. The Vine also has terrific falafel, incredibly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. I like the drunken noodles at Basil Spice Thai Cuisine and the desserts: warm coconut custard with sticky rice, and banana crepes. Lemongrass has tasty Vietnamese food and we particularly love the vegetarian rice in hot pot. I love the vegetarian combination platter at Meskerem; Ethiopian food is something I crave every now and then.
For a special meal, we love going to Stellina Pasta Cafe for their fresh hand made pastas. Call ahead to see what vegetarian options they have that day. I especially loved their butternut squash-filled agnolotti (little purse-like filled pasta) in a pecan brown butter sauce on one winter visit. Trattoria Marcella is down the street from there. We've been there only once but I loved their polenta fries with an absolutely delicious mushroom marsala sauce and the eggplant parmesan was terrific.
Among our other favorites, Aya Sofia has Turkish-Mediterranean cuisine and has many vegetarian options. I love their hot and cold appetizers and baklava.
Lulu's on Olive Blvd. has good dim sum- fun to eat with friends on the weekend. Go early so you get all the varieties. The dim sum menu is heavy on meat and seafood, but these are the vegetarian dishes we enjoyed: vegetables (hot braised greens, cold pickled cucumber, edamame, seaweed), scallion pancakes, sweet and spicy tofu with mushrooms, spicy cold tofu, crispy noodles, and the sweet sesame balls filled with red bean paste. Mandarin House has wonderful Chinese food and is spacious, so it is great for dining out as a large group. I loved their ma po tofu and eggplant in spicy sauce.
Mai Lee in Brentwood has fantastic Vietnamese food. There are several vegetarian entrees on the menu. We tried two unusual entrees, batter-fried eggplant in a sweet and spicy sauce and water spinach with bean curd paste and taro root, we enjoyed them both. They have a vegetarian curry dish that is outstanding. Bahn Mi So is famous for its Vietnamese sandwiches. The food can be quite spicy but is very tasty. I had a delicious curry noodle soup and V enjoyed the fake-beef bahn mi.
We went to BARcelona for tapas and sangria on my birthday. We enjoyed the fried artichoke hearts, empanadas and several other dishes. There are many vegetarian tapas options. The desserts were only so-so.
People always ask me about my favorite Indian restaurants in St. Louis. Honestly, there is not a single one that I absolutely love. There was one place called Indian Food that served wonderful home-style North Indian- Pakistani food. We loved their aloo parathas and naans and saag paneer. But this place has closed down. Most of the other Indian restaurants I have tried are fairly good- we usually eat the buffets there. The Everest Cafe is unusual with Nepali, Indian and Korean food. I'm not very fond of the lunch buffet at Rasoi. House of India had jalebis a couple of times when we visited. Saffron has a good lunch buffet. Haveli had a tasty lunch buffet but everything was a tad oily. I enjoyed the dahi wadas. They had unusual vegetable dishes like tindora stir-fry and turnip curry in addition to the usual suspects.We visited Priyaa for a buffet lunch and gorged on puffy puris, South Indian kurma and a thick luscious raita. They had a simple dessert of chopped apples in mango pulp which was surprisingly tasty.
Pizza for my family is not just a food but a whole food group. A'mis has decent New York style pizza but what I love is their fried mushrooms. The Good Pie makes authentic Neapolitan pizza. Dewey's Pizza
is always crowded and you can watch the pizzas being made. I do like
their calzones and pizzas but the crust is too soft and bready. La Pizza is my favorite pick for East Coast style pizzas for take-out. By the way, I love the pizza from Whole Foods, and we usually pair it with a salad topped with the bottled refrigerated ranch dressing
Lazy brunches make weekends special. Black Bear Bakery has a vegetarian brunch buffet on Saturdays for around 10$. We enjoyed the hearty pancakes with maple syrup, corn blueberry muffins, potatoes, greens, French toast and our very favorite thing was the thick mushroom gravy. MoKaBe's on S. Grand has a hearty vegetarian brunch buffet on Sundays with quiche, biscuits and gravy, vegan sausage, potatoes, eggs, juice, salad, fruit and dessert. For yummy vegetarian sandwiches and cupcakes, we love Sweet Art. V ate the "turtle" cupcake and said it is the best cupcake he has tasted in his life (and the man knows his sweets, believe me). Winslow's Home is an Old Timey looking general store with contemporary prices. It is not everyday that you get to eat brunch sitting next to a broom display. I loved their lueberry pancakes, the most tender and fluffy and not overly sweet ones I have ever tasted. Cafe Ventana makes authentic beignets and I like their breakfast sandwiches too.
For iconic St. Louis eating establishments, I have to mention Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.
We make it a point to take out-of-town visitors there. It is an
old-fashioned stand on the historic route 66, and fun to visit. V loves
the frozen custard; I don't (it tastes terribly eggy to me, and much too
sweet). The way it works is, the frozen custard comes in one basic
flavor- vanilla. But you can choose any one of dozens of flavors and
add-ins, and an enthusiastic (generally teenage) employee will mix it in
expertly for you. They also sell thick milkshakes called "concretes". Crown Candy Kitchen is an iconic St. Louis dessert store, a great place to buy classic sundaes, malts and shakes. Another local favorite is Gus's Pretzels.The
best part about this place is the transparent nature of their business!
Their manufacturing unit is glassed in, and as you wait in line to get
your pretzels (rest assured,
there will be a line; this is a popular place), you can watch every step
of the pretzel-making process. At the end of the line, you will be
rewarded with a fresh-out-of-the-oven pretzel. Mine was garlic-butter
flavored, and I enjoyed it although I am not usually a big fan of
pretzels.
Shopping for Food
Global Foods is a very well-stocked store for international ingredients and produce. Every aisle carries products from a different country/ region of the world. I often get my Indian supplies here, and other pantry staples like noodles, dried Mexican chillies, and sauces of all kinds. Jay International is another international market which is more accessible for those in St. Louis city, although it is a pretty cramped and chaotic place. Seema Enterprises is the Indian grocery store that I use the most. They have done a recent renovation and the space is very bright, clean and well-stocked with a good selection of Indian vegetables. The owner is very helpful. I buy Nanak brand paneer there. Companion bakery is my favorite source for artisan bread.
St. Louis has many Farmers' Markets. Soulard Market is a farmers' market that operates all year round. Pappardelle's Pasta are also sold at a stall in this market- they are wonderful for making a special meal at home. Don't miss the mini-donut stall in Soulard, a treat after all that shopping. There are many others, like the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and the one in Maplewood.
St. Louis has both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, both in multiple locations.
The classic tourist thing to do is to go to the top of the arch.
City Museum is a uniquely St. Louis museum and perfect for kids. Other kid friendly places that we never got around to visiting are the Butterfly House and Magic House.
Trivia nights are a very St. Louis thing to do, so form a team and hit the trivia circuit.
COCA has wonderful dance classes for all ages and all skill levels. I enjoyed the cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory.
Forest Park is an incredible urban oasis. It is home to the Art Museum, History Museum and Zoo. The Botanical Garden is well worth a visit. In summer, we have enjoyed musicals at MUNY in the outdoor theater in Forest Park.
For culture vultures, check out what's playing at the Touhill, Powell Symphony Hall, the Fabulous Fox theater and the Edison theater.
Other things that I love doing in St. Louis- knitting groups at local knitting stores such as Knitorious and the public libraries- I have been a member of the St. Louis Public Library and the University City Public Library.
Restaurants
V and I are a couple of vegetarians eating out on a modest budget, in and around St. Louis, Missouri. Certain disclaimers apply: These are just my thoughts based on 1or 2 visits; they are not well-researched reviews. Details may have changed since I visited the restaurant. You won't see many photos of the food, because I am very shy about taking photographs in restaurants, and because I just want to enjoy myself and not worry about taking pictures!
For helpful restaurant guides, please see Sauce Magazine and the Riverfront Times Restaurant Guide. RFT also has a food blog called Gut Check. The blog St. Louis Eats and Drinks has local restaurant reviews.
Suggestions are welcome- please e-mail me at onehotstove AT gmail DOT com if you want to tell me about your favorite St. Louis restaurant.
St. Louis has some lovely neighborhoods that abound in independent restaurants. We lived in the Central West End for a few years and loved the casual dining options there. Tortillaria is my top choice, with vegetarian-friendly Mexican fare. I love the chile arbol salsa from their salsa bar. V loves their cheesy chiles rellenos and garlic-mayo corn-on-the-cob (served on a stick). Coffee Oasis is next door and has flavored coffee and Middle Eastern desserts like baklava and ma'amoul. I love their omelet platters and za'atar bread but thought the falafel was dry and bland. Bar Louis is a chain burger bar where all burgers can be subbed with veggie burgers, which is so nice. I enjoyed their fried zucchini- greasy and tasty.
The Delmar loop also has a lovely selection of restaurants. It is home to Pi which is extremely popular for its cornmeal crust pizzas. We love the "Berkeley" deep dish pizza here. Ranoush has Syrian food and I love it all- the foul medames, hummus and baba ghanouj, Arabic fries, knafeh and the pickled eggplants. Al-Tarboush is a Middle Eastern deli and a great place to pick up freshly fried falafel, tubs of hummus, tabbouleh and a packet of crisp pitas for a light meal at home. The food at Thai Gai Yang Cafe, Thai Cafe is inexpensive and good. Chinese Noodle Cafe has delicious old noodles in sesame sauce (looks innocent but is very spicy) and tasty broccoli in garlic sauce. The General Tso's tofu is way too sweet and one-dimensional but V orders it every single time anyway. I love their spicy Hunan vegetables and the hot and sour soup. Cheesology has many variations on bubbling mac and cheese in a cast iron skillet. It is good comfort food but nothing I couldn't make at home.
South Grand Avenue has another bunch of good restaurants. I love the falafel platters and mezze at Cafe Natasha's Kabob International; they also serve their version of falooda. The Vine also has terrific falafel, incredibly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. I like the drunken noodles at Basil Spice Thai Cuisine and the desserts: warm coconut custard with sticky rice, and banana crepes. Lemongrass has tasty Vietnamese food and we particularly love the vegetarian rice in hot pot. I love the vegetarian combination platter at Meskerem; Ethiopian food is something I crave every now and then.
For a special meal, we love going to Stellina Pasta Cafe for their fresh hand made pastas. Call ahead to see what vegetarian options they have that day. I especially loved their butternut squash-filled agnolotti (little purse-like filled pasta) in a pecan brown butter sauce on one winter visit. Trattoria Marcella is down the street from there. We've been there only once but I loved their polenta fries with an absolutely delicious mushroom marsala sauce and the eggplant parmesan was terrific.
Among our other favorites, Aya Sofia has Turkish-Mediterranean cuisine and has many vegetarian options. I love their hot and cold appetizers and baklava.
Lulu's on Olive Blvd. has good dim sum- fun to eat with friends on the weekend. Go early so you get all the varieties. The dim sum menu is heavy on meat and seafood, but these are the vegetarian dishes we enjoyed: vegetables (hot braised greens, cold pickled cucumber, edamame, seaweed), scallion pancakes, sweet and spicy tofu with mushrooms, spicy cold tofu, crispy noodles, and the sweet sesame balls filled with red bean paste. Mandarin House has wonderful Chinese food and is spacious, so it is great for dining out as a large group. I loved their ma po tofu and eggplant in spicy sauce.
Mai Lee in Brentwood has fantastic Vietnamese food. There are several vegetarian entrees on the menu. We tried two unusual entrees, batter-fried eggplant in a sweet and spicy sauce and water spinach with bean curd paste and taro root, we enjoyed them both. They have a vegetarian curry dish that is outstanding. Bahn Mi So is famous for its Vietnamese sandwiches. The food can be quite spicy but is very tasty. I had a delicious curry noodle soup and V enjoyed the fake-beef bahn mi.
We went to BARcelona for tapas and sangria on my birthday. We enjoyed the fried artichoke hearts, empanadas and several other dishes. There are many vegetarian tapas options. The desserts were only so-so.
People always ask me about my favorite Indian restaurants in St. Louis. Honestly, there is not a single one that I absolutely love. There was one place called Indian Food that served wonderful home-style North Indian- Pakistani food. We loved their aloo parathas and naans and saag paneer. But this place has closed down. Most of the other Indian restaurants I have tried are fairly good- we usually eat the buffets there. The Everest Cafe is unusual with Nepali, Indian and Korean food. I'm not very fond of the lunch buffet at Rasoi. House of India had jalebis a couple of times when we visited. Saffron has a good lunch buffet. Haveli had a tasty lunch buffet but everything was a tad oily. I enjoyed the dahi wadas. They had unusual vegetable dishes like tindora stir-fry and turnip curry in addition to the usual suspects.We visited Priyaa for a buffet lunch and gorged on puffy puris, South Indian kurma and a thick luscious raita. They had a simple dessert of chopped apples in mango pulp which was surprisingly tasty.
Lazy brunches make weekends special. Black Bear Bakery has a vegetarian brunch buffet on Saturdays for around 10$. We enjoyed the hearty pancakes with maple syrup, corn blueberry muffins, potatoes, greens, French toast and our very favorite thing was the thick mushroom gravy. MoKaBe's on S. Grand has a hearty vegetarian brunch buffet on Sundays with quiche, biscuits and gravy, vegan sausage, potatoes, eggs, juice, salad, fruit and dessert. For yummy vegetarian sandwiches and cupcakes, we love Sweet Art. V ate the "turtle" cupcake and said it is the best cupcake he has tasted in his life (and the man knows his sweets, believe me). Winslow's Home is an Old Timey looking general store with contemporary prices. It is not everyday that you get to eat brunch sitting next to a broom display. I loved their lueberry pancakes, the most tender and fluffy and not overly sweet ones I have ever tasted. Cafe Ventana makes authentic beignets and I like their breakfast sandwiches too.
Shopping for Food
Global Foods is a very well-stocked store for international ingredients and produce. Every aisle carries products from a different country/ region of the world. I often get my Indian supplies here, and other pantry staples like noodles, dried Mexican chillies, and sauces of all kinds. Jay International is another international market which is more accessible for those in St. Louis city, although it is a pretty cramped and chaotic place. Seema Enterprises is the Indian grocery store that I use the most. They have done a recent renovation and the space is very bright, clean and well-stocked with a good selection of Indian vegetables. The owner is very helpful. I buy Nanak brand paneer there. Companion bakery is my favorite source for artisan bread.
St. Louis has many Farmers' Markets. Soulard Market is a farmers' market that operates all year round. Pappardelle's Pasta are also sold at a stall in this market- they are wonderful for making a special meal at home. Don't miss the mini-donut stall in Soulard, a treat after all that shopping. There are many others, like the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and the one in Maplewood.
St. Louis has both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, both in multiple locations.
There's always so much to do in St. Louis.
The classic tourist thing to do is to go to the top of the arch.
City Museum is a uniquely St. Louis museum and perfect for kids. Other kid friendly places that we never got around to visiting are the Butterfly House and Magic House.
Trivia nights are a very St. Louis thing to do, so form a team and hit the trivia circuit.
COCA has wonderful dance classes for all ages and all skill levels. I enjoyed the cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory.
Forest Park is an incredible urban oasis. It is home to the Art Museum, History Museum and Zoo. The Botanical Garden is well worth a visit. In summer, we have enjoyed musicals at MUNY in the outdoor theater in Forest Park.
For culture vultures, check out what's playing at the Touhill, Powell Symphony Hall, the Fabulous Fox theater and the Edison theater.
Other things that I love doing in St. Louis- knitting groups at local knitting stores such as Knitorious and the public libraries- I have been a member of the St. Louis Public Library and the University City Public Library.
