Asian Food and Cooking

Qui Tran Lives the American Dream and Continues His Mother's Legacy at Mai Lee

This is part one of Gut Check's Chef's Choice profile of Qui Tran of Mai Lee. Part two, a Q & A with Tran, will appear tomorrow. Part three, a recipe from Tran, will be available on Friday. Qui Tran can't discuss his childhood without mentioning Mai Lee (8396 Music Memorial Drive, Brentwood; 314-64 ... More >>

First Look: Bombay Food Junkies Food Truck

When Sid and Krupa Panchal moved from Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to St. Louis eight years ago, they knew they would miss the street food of the coastal Indian city. Finding that none of the Indian restaurants in town specialize in the type of food traditional to Mumbai, the Panchals took matters into ... More >>

First Look: Dynasty Hibachi Steak, Seafood and Sushi Buffet

Occupying the former Outback Steakhouse space next door to the AMC Esquire 7 in Richmond Heights, Dynasty Hibachi Steak, Seafood and Sushi Buffet (6710 Clayton Road; 314-781-8888) offers a wide array of choices for diners (even for a Chinese buffet). And that's how general manager William Luan inte ... More >>

South Grand: An Updated Guide to Restaurants on South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis

St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites. One could easily argue that aside fr ... More >>

Taste Test: Lay's New Sriracha, Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread Chips

We got to the Schnucks (6600 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights; 314-644-0510) in Richmond Heights just in time yesterday evening. Our mission was simple: beeline to the snacks aisle in search of Lay's three new, limited-release potato chip flavors in Sriracha, Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Brea ... More >>

Review Preview: Fork & Stix

This week I visit Fork & Stix (549 Rosedale Avenue; 314-863-5572), a tiny Thai restaurant unlike any other in town.

Korea Opportunity: West county's fast-food options just got a little more interesting

Soup Countdown #10: Pho at Mai Lee

January is National Soup Month, which makes sense, considering the first month of the year is typically marked with below-freezing temperatures, snow and slush. What's better than a delicious, hot bowl of soup on a chilly day? A delicious, hot bowl of soup that you don't have to make -- that's what. ... More >>

Soup Countdown #15: Café Mochi's Udon Soup

January is National Soup Month, which makes sense, considering the first month of the year is typically marked with below-freezing temperatures, snow and slush. What's better than a delicious, hot bowl of soup on a chilly day? A delicious, hot bowl of soup that you don't have to make -- that's what. ... More >>

Momoyama Reopens (Without Yoshi)

​Momoyama (1637 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 636-536-7778) reopened yesterday, September 28, after a brief, confusing hiatus.The sushi restaurant first announced on Facebook that it was closing for good but might reopen in a new location next year. When Gut Check called to confirm the news, howeve ... More >>

The Final (We Think) Blue Ocean Sushi Update

Ian FroebThe original, now closed and relocated, Blue Ocean Sushi​Our story so far: Blue Ocean Sushi, the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant at 609 Eastgate Avenue, just off the Delmar Loop, took over Loop mainstay Seki, located a few blocks west at 6335 Delmar Boulevard.At the end of May, Seki's na ... More >>

Seki Now the Second Blue Ocean Sushi

Ian FroebSeki in the Delmar Loop is now the second Blue Ocean Sushi.​The sign went up this afternoon to mark that the Delmar Loop Japanese restaurant Seki (6335 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-726-6477) is now officially the second location of another Delmar Loop sushi joint, Blue Ocean Sus ... More >>

Trying to Favor Curry at Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine

Ian FroebRed curry at Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine​The Place: Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine (9250 Watson Road, Crestwood; 314-842-0307), a bustling little restaurant in a homely strip mall.The Deal: Red curry with beef, with a complimentary starter of miso soup and two egg rolls, for $7.49

Review Preview: Fin Japanese Cuisine

This week, I trek out to west county to visit Fin Japanese Cuisine (1682 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 636-536-4228). It's a sushi restaurant, yes, but not only a sushi restaurant.The list of sushi on Fin's order slip is so extensive, the descriptions of its basic and specialty rolls so detailed, tha ... More >>

Kraken Wise: Squid Rocks

​No question about it: Squid and octopus are in. On a whirlwind visit to New York late last year, Gut Check partook of octopus dishes at four different restaurants on four consecutive nights. Last week, right here in blogland, our featured chef of the week Grace Dinsmoor of Modesto shared her ... More >>

#2: Gang Kua Ped Yang at Addie's Thai House

Jennifer SilverbergWe don't have a picture of the red curry with duck, but I was sitting at the table in the foreground when I ate it.​The best Thai curry I've eaten in St. Louis, probably the best Thai dish I've had here and maybe the best duck dish, period. Remarkably, though the duck was choppe ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipe: Eliott Harris' Tuna and Salmon Tartare

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with chef Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec. Part one is available here; part two is here. Robin Wheeler​"People have this misconception about the Midwest that if you're landlocked, tough," sushi chef Eliott Harris says of sashimi ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec

This is part two of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec. For part two, a Q&A, click here. Stay tuned for part three, a recipe from Chef Harris that will post on Friday. Robin WheelerKnife to meet you: Sushi chef Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec.​How d ... More >>

"Come to Pappadam": A Review of Overland Indian Restaurant Haveli

Jennifer SilverbergTake a closer look at the Indian restaurant Haveli.​Haveli is an Indian restaurant that opened at 9720 Page Avenue in Overland late last year. It may look a little dowdy from the outside, but inside I discover, once again, the transporting power of good Indian food. Read my revi ... More >>

A Table for How Many? at Haveli Indian Restaurant

We don't expect our favorite Italian, American, Thai, sushi or Bosnian restaurants to serve food buffet-style. But when it comes to Indian food, St. Louisans have become spoiled by lunch buffets and often don't even consider having Indian food for dinner."How would I know what to order on the dinne ... More >>

Review Preview: Phuc Loi

This week I visit Phuc Loi, a small Vietnamese restaurant at 3723 Gravois Avenue in Tower Grove South. (It's the tiny storefront with the blue awning and what looks like two men right outside the entrance in the photo above.) When the guy behind the counter at Phuc Loi asks if you're sure you want p ... More >>

Review Preview: Café Mochi

This week I visit Café Mochi, which opened in April on South Grand, serving sushi and other Japanese fare:A friend recently asked me a hypothetical question: If I could eat one meal anywhere in the world, and price were no object, what and where would it be?I would like to claim that I pondered the ... More >>

Around the Horn: Ian covers all the bases to find you the best All-Star Game chow

Review Preview: Midland Wok

This week I visit Midland Wok, a Vietnamese (mainly) restaurant in Overland. At the Vietnamese restaurant Midland Wok, the #26 soup -- banh canh gio heo -- is described in English as "big clear noodles and pork." This leaves out some crucial information, as I discovered when I ordered a bowl for lun ... More >>

Gut Check: More sushi! Plus the Art of Food and a new home for Five.

The Audacity of Sneak

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons Show: Up, Pixar's latest gorgeous, visually engaging attempt to make me laugh while feeling a little guilty. Total success on both counts.Food: Mochi ice cream, mango flavored.Difficulty: Moderate. This is the easiest form of ice cream to bring into the movies, ... More >>

Cooking for Your Cat: Faux Sushi

RFT staff writer Aimee Levitt and her cat, Bess, continue their culinary adventure. In hard times, one must learn to make concessions. At least this is the message that has been pounded into our heads for the past two months. Seven years ago, it was patriotic to shop. Now it is patriotic to scri ... More >>

Hold the Moustache: Fumanchu, the prodigious Mike Johnson's latest offering, is all over the Asian map

House of India Update

Chinatown Confidential

The Chiu Chow cuisine of Meng Lei.

Kim Chi

Friday, March 31, 9 p.m. Lemmons (5800 Gravois Avenue)

Best Fresh Seafood Counter

Bob's Seafood

Color My World

Graffiti Global Grill is as bright and appealing as a brand-new box of Crayolas

Best Dim Sum

Lu Lu Seafood Restaurant

Best Thai Restaurant

Thai Country Café

Best Indian Restaurant

India Palace

Service

Pho Grand

Indian/Pakistani Cuisine

House of India

Thai Cuisine

The King & I

Value

Pho Grand

A Grand Time

Pho Saigon delivers delicious, authentic food in a forgotten corner of the South Grand strip

Chinese Cuisine

Happy China

Miso Hungry

Clayton's newest restaurant offering has its multiple personalities well in order

Best Downtown Fast Food

Curry in a Hurry

Best Raw-Fish Sculptor

Kenji-san, Sansui

Euclidean Math

The numbers may be a little higher than you'd expect for Vietnamese food in St. Louis, but Little Saigon Café's offerings add up to an enjoyable meal

RAW POWER

Using Their Noodles

Good Evening, Vietnam

Nipponese, If You Please