11 of the Best Places We Ate at in 2015

Best Bakery: Pint Size Bakery
The line wrapped around Pint Size Bakery on any given Saturday morning may give the uninitiated pause: Is the salted-caramel croissant really worth it? That depends. Were you planning on finding a cure for cancer that morning? Solving world hunger? If not, there probably is no better use of the day than stuffing your face with one of Christy Augustin's signature butter-drenched treats. And don't worry if they sell out before you make it to the front of the line. Augustin has plenty more to choose from — buttercream-topped cupcakes, sweet and savory scones, or "Brown Shuga" crumb cakes filled with seasonal fruit. If there's any reason to get out of your pajamas on a Saturday morning, Pint Size is it. (Pictured: An assortment of cookies. Photo by Jennifer Silverberg.) 3825 Watson Road, St. Louis, 63109. 314-645-7142, www.pintsizebakery.com.

Best Place to Dine Alone: Olio
Maybe you want to sit at the bar and talk to the sommelier about esoteric Hungarian wine. Perhaps you are still ticked that you let your significant other eat more than his fair share of the house's signature egg salad, and now you need to get your fix. Then again, you could be there to chat up chef Ben Poremba on German philosophy. Whatever your reason for heading to Olio as a party of one, it's bound to be a good one. The Botanical Heights hot spot is a cozy place for an intimate date with yourself. The small plates of Poremba's delicious Mediterranean cuisine may be good for two, but they're even better for a solo diner. And let's be honest: You don't really want to share. Add a world-class selection of wines by the glass and some fantastic people-watching, and there's no better place to get some relaxing, much-needed you time. (Photo by Jennifer Silverberg) 1634 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis, 63110. 314-932-1088, www.oliostl.com.

Best Chinese Restaurant: Lona's Lil Eats
Perhaps it's not fair to name Lona's Lil Eats the best Chinese spot in town. After all, the key to its mouth-watering food is the culinary diversity found in chef Lona Luo's native village. She grew up in a corner of southwestern China that has more in common with Thailand and Myanmar than Beijing. Add in her town's barbecue and pickling culture, and it's a recipe for some of the most unique flavors you'll experience. Luo and her husband, Pierce Powers, got their start serving handmade dumplings out of a stall in Soulard Market. It's no wonder they put her on the map: Filled with beef, mushrooms and housemade pickles, they are second to none. But those are only the beginning of the story. Luo and Powers make wonderful rice-paper sandwich wraps, vegetable salads, noodle stir-fries and grilled meats. Use them as a canvas for one of Luo's fantastic sauces, such as lemongrass pesto or fruit-peel-smoked vinaigrette. The flavors are so complex, you won't know quite how to categorize the place — though you'll be so enraptured by the taste that you won't care. (Pictured: The dumplings that made Lona Luo famous.) 2199 California Avenue, St. Louis, 63104. 213-925-1888, www.lonaslileats.com.

Best Deli/Sandwich Shop: Grove East Provisions
When Barry Kinder was living in Europe, he loved popping into his neighborhood corner market to pick up a bottle of wine and some simple provisions. When he moved back to St. Louis, he noticed these types of places were missing from the local food and beverage scene, so he decided to open one himself. Armed with a knack for rehabbing buildings, he turned the one on the corner of Arsenal and Minnesota into Grove East Provisions, a small bodega and sandwich counter. Here, Kinder prepares classic pressed sandwiches — ham and cheese, say, or a turkey, bacon and ham club — to order, and offers daily soups and specials based on whatever he's growing out back in his garden. His chicken-noodle soup alone is worth a visit. At night, Kinder plays around with dinner specials, inspired by his time cooking at an upscale restaurant in London (George Michael was a regular). Add to this his partnership with Red Fox Baking, which shares the kitchen and provides bread for the sandwiches, and it's no wonder Grove East Provisions has quickly become a neighborhood hangout. (Pictured: Grove East Provisions’ chicken noodle soup — an excellent choice on a chilly day. Photo by Jennifer Silverberg.) 3101 Arsenal Street, St. Louis, 63118. 314-802-7090, www.facebook.com/pages/Grove-East-Provisions/670238153049198.

Best Brunch: Three Flags Tavern
Look at the packed dining room at Three Flags Tavern on a weekend morning, and it's shocking to realize that the restaurant sits smack-dab in the middle of the traffic hellhole created by the Kingshighway bridge construction. After all, there are few reasons to drive through this mess. It just so happens that many of them are on Three Flags' brunch menu, served on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The "Dutch Baby," a deep-dish pancake-soufflé hybrid, is filled with Serrano ham for just about the best sweet and salty breakfast combination St. Louis has to offer, and the mammoth homemade buttermilk biscuit is a flaky mechanism for shoveling down mounds of fresh Devonshire cream and seasonal fruit. But really, how do you order anything at Three Flags Tavern other than the brisket burger? It's available at brunch too, and the only thing that could make it any tastier is pairing it with the restaurant's spicy bloody mary. You'll think the construction detour has taken you to the end of the rainbow. (Pictured: The hash at Three Flags. Photo by Mabel Suen.) 4940 Southwest Avenue, St. Louis, 63110. 314-669-9222, www.threeflagstavern.com.

Best Restaurant for Vegetarians: Lulu's Local Eatery
Vegetarian living in St. Louis used to be difficult; after all, this is a city raised on pork butt. That's been changing in recent years, as more and more restaurants offer a smorgasbord of vegetarian options or serve up nothing but plant food. But with its inspired, locally sourced meals, Lulu's Local Eatery leads them all. Originally just a food truck, Lulu's brick-and­-mortar storefront has proven that it can create mouth­watering deliciousness out of nothing more than some cauliflower and hot sauce. It doesn't stop there, with plant­-based meals including a sweet-potato black­-bean burger, a spring-roll burrito and a barbecued jackfruit sandwich that will make you swear on your mama's life that you're eating pulled pork. This isn't just food that vegetarians can eat; this is culinary genius that vegetarians and meat-eaters alike can savor. (Photo by Jennifer Silverberg) 3201 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, 63118. 314-300-8215, luluslocaleatery.com.

Best Pizza (Non-St. Louis-Style): Pizzeoli
Casually ask Scott Sandler about how he makes his pizzas, and you are likely to get a 30-minute dissertation on crust. That's how serious the Pizzeoli owner and pizza-cook-in-chief takes his authentic Neapolitan pies. The former real estate broker had been a home baker for years, obsessing over the perfect pizza crust. When his day job hit a rough patch, he decided to open a pizzeria and enrolled in California's Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana to learn how to make classic Italian pies. His unyielding pursuit of perfection results in the city's purest expression of pizza. The crust is yeasty and chewy yet yielding and speckled with dots of delicious char. His margherita is simple, topped with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil — a classic rendering of the famous dish. His "Bianca," a white pizza consisting of bechamel, garlic, rosemary and mozzarella, is like a cross between pizza and the most delicious cheese garlic bread you could ever ask for. Neapolitan pizza is certainly having its moment, but for Sandler, it's more than a passing fad — it's an obsession. (Pictured: Pizza margherita. Photo by Mabel Suen) 1928 South 12th Street, St. Louis, 63104. 314-449-1111, www.pizzeoli.com.

Best Fried Chicken: Old Standard
Ben Poremba was sitting in the dining room of his restaurant Olio one day when he had a revelation: "I think I'm going to open a fried-chicken restaurant." His employees laughed, taking the idea as nothing more than the musings of an eccentric chef. Yet the next thing they knew, Poremba, an Israeli expat, was off traveling the country to learn everything he could about this classic American comfort food before opening Old Standard last autumn. Fast-forward two years, and his idea is less novel — fried chicken is 2015's "it" dish, and barely a week passes without a new restaurant springing up that's devoted to the deep-fried bird. Granted, others preceded Poremba, but there's no question that he was the visionary behind this new crop of nouveau chicken joints. And unlike those who came before him, Poremba uses ethically raised birds. He brines the chicken and cooks it in a pressure fryer, resulting in juicy, succulent meat, and crispy skin and breading. It may be a crowded field, but this trendsetter leads the flock. (Pictured: Old Standard's fried chicken, biscuit and cornbread. Photo by Mabel Suen.) 1621 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis, 63110. 314-899-9000, www.oldstandard.com.

Best New Restaurant: Público
Is there any culinary concept Mile Randolph can't nail — Half & Half for breakfast, the Good Pie for pizza, Little Country Gentleman for tasting menus? Add to that list Público, his pan-Latin American restaurant that has been St. Louis' clear dining highlight of 2015. Público elevates Central and South American cooking to levels far beyond anything we've seen in this town — or perhaps in any other town, save for something on the level of Rick Bayless' revered Topolobampo in Chicago. Randolph's menu is ambitious — baby octopus served swimming in a caper- and paprika-spiked tomato sauce, sweetbreads simmered with pineapple and habanero, rice pudding topped with shaved foie gras torchon — though dishes like the grilled whole fish or the perfectly cooked bone-in pork chop prove he is equally comfortable with less-showy preparations. It's not just the food that makes Público so special. The bar program here is second to none, and the renovated storefront's good looks (designed by SPACE Architecture + Design) are as stylish as it gets in this city. This place is a winner in every regard. (Pictured: An array of dishes at this year’s best new restaurant, Público. Photo by Mabel Suen.) 6679 Delmar Boulevard, University City, 63130. 314-833-5780, www.facebook.com/publicostl.

Best Approximation of St. Louis in a Sandwich: The Gramophone's "Mississippi Nights Club"
Back in February, the Gramophone began its second life as a "tavern, deli and bottle shop." The owners hired chef Brian Hardesty as a consultant and, with his assistance, doubled the size of the sandwich menu. New knockouts include a bánh mi and the "Grove Gerber," but the most St. Louis sandwich is even more St. Louis than that, and it resides on the "Originals" menu. The "Mississippi Nights Club" has everything (except Provel, which is fine): nostalgia in its name. The preferred Midwest minimum of three meats: turkey, bacon and roast beef. There's also pepper cheese, spicy red-pepper spread, pepper mayo and — why the hell not? — a crushed bag of Billy Goat chips on top of the whole deal. You've got to order it up at the bar, and we suggest eating it right there too, while those chips still pack a crunch. Refresh your drink and then order one more. The "Mississippi Nights Club" ain't healthy, it ain't fancy and it's kind of a glorious mess. Much like a certain city we happen to love. (Pictured: The "Mississippi Nights Club." Photo by Mabel Suen.) 4243 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, 63110. 314-531-5700, www.gramophonestl.com.

Best Fast Food: Fort Taco
The line of cars in Fort Taco's drive-through can spill out onto Manchester Road. Although the workers move as fast as they can, impatient diners can still get a little heated. But don't be the jerk who stands between a hungry customer and his taco. Just pull up to the intercom and order one of everything. The menu at this Tex-Mex spot is small, and regardless of what you get, it's bound to be fantastic. The tiny spot (it used to be a Rally's) is known for its mammoth puffy tacos filled with seasoned beef or pulled chicken. There are also handmade tamales and enchiladas covered in molten cheese and a rich ancho-chile sauce. They are so transcendent you might consider hopping back in line to order a second round. So what are you waiting for? Order already, and keep the line moving — and challenge yourself to make it out of the lot without devouring the entire contents of your to-go bag. (Pictured: Fort Taco’s housemade chicken tamales. Photo by Mabel Suen.) 8106 Manchester Road, Brentwood, 63144. 314-647-2391, www.forttaco.com.