2023 was a year in St. Louis-area food that offered diners a broad diversity in serving styles, cultural influences and chef/diner engagement — all delivered on a base of fresh confidence and intention.
Ian Froeb is restaurant critic at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and one of three St. Louis-based food writers who joined St. Louis on the Air for a year-end review of the food scene. Speaking of Froeb's top new restaurants for the year, Froeb said he was struck by how much high-caliber fare is served at places that don’t take reservations or use linen napkins.
“We're really in a good place now where you can walk into these restaurants that are storefronts that look very casual, place your order, pick it up from a tray or whatever,” Froeb said. “But it's great food [that] can compete with anything you would get in most sit-down restaurants.”
For Sauce Magazine executive editor Meera Nagarajan, seeing the post-pandemic revival of the bar was a welcome highlight of 2023. That includes restaurants featured in Sauce's annual Best New Restaurants issue — places focusing on the kitchen and the beverage program.
“I think there's a communication where beverages really support the menu that the restaurant is trying to do,” Nagarajan said. “And I love seeing this rise in bars, from beer bars to wine bars to really big investments in classic cocktails bars.”
As for 2024?
Nagarajan predicts a surge in tasting menus. Froeb foresees a period of generational shift as younger chefs build their names and culinary empires. And for Holly Fann, a freelance writer who contributes to Eater and St. Louis Magazine, 2024 is looking to be a year of greater freedoms in how to make and enjoy food.
“The importance of representation and owning your own cuisine … I think that was something we had to sort of work our way through and start to question,” Fann said. “Now there's some sensitivity to that. Understanding where people are coming from in their food and in the choices that they're making in representing their food. We are not as rigid.”
For guest and listener recommendations for 2023’s best dining in the St. Louis region, listen to the full St. Louis on the Air conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
