Ian Froeb

St. Louis

Restaurant Critic and Beer Writer at St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Knausgaardian of the Galaxy

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Articles

Big Mouth Sandwich Co. crafts great St. Louis sandwiches at two locations

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

Should I include pop-ups, dinner series and other transitory events in this column? I’ve struggled with this question for more than a decade. The role these not-exactly-restaurants play in cultivating talent and bypassing typical industry roadblocks is undeniable and welcome. But life is uncertain enough nowadays without me imploring you to track down a chef with no fixed hours or permanent address. Big Mouth Sandwich Co. sidesteps my dilemma.
James Beard Awards pass over St. Louis chefs for 2025

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

CHICAGO — Once again, one of the nation’s most prestigious culinary honors has eluded St. Louis. Two St. Louis chefs were in the running on Monday at the annual James Beard Awards, the so-called “Oscars of the food world.”Jane Sacro Chatham, the chef de cuisine of Vicia in the Central West End, was a nominee for “Emerging Chef,” a nationwide award.
Seasonal Midwest menu captures chef’s journey at terrific Robin in Maplewood

2 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

The name of chef Alec Schingel’s debut restaurant Robin evokes nature, renewal and spring. Other bird names could have illustrated the metaphor — Cardinal, say, though the Urbana, Illinois, native Schingel is a Cubs fan. Don’t hold it against him. Also, more importantly, Robin is his mother’s name. After dinner here, you will be thinking instead about the bird you just ate. Schingel packs an entire chicken’s worth of flavors and textures into a tidy rectangular block topped with crisp, golden skin.
Tornado-damaged Esca, Nixta and Florentin restaurants to reopen Friday

3 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

ST. LOUIS — Three restaurants from acclaimed chef Ben Poremba damaged by the May 16 tornado will reopen Friday. Esca at 5095 Delmar Boulevard and Nixta at 5232 Delmar will both reopen for dinner at 5 p.m. Florentin at 5090 Delmar will reopen for breakfast and lunch at 10 a.m.A crowdfunding campaign raised just over $57,000 for the restaurants’ employees during the temporary closures.
Frida’s Cocina serves St. Louis’ best, wildest burrito in Fairview Heights

3 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

How far should you travel in the metro area for a great burrito? How far can a restaurant push a single burrito before the sheer number of ingredients both inside and out becomes an outlandish gimmick or an inedible mess? If you live on the Missouri side of the Mississippi, the answer to the first question is Fairview Heights. The Mexican restaurant Frida’s Cocina relocated here in September from its original home by Scott Air Force Base.
Raised, glazed and amazed: St. Louis' most essential doughnut shops

3 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

I didn’t set out to find the absolute, No. 1 best doughnut shop in St. Louis. Which is good, because after weeks of eating doughnuts at a clip that would terrify Homer Simpson, I’ve reconfirmed my belief that we are spoiled for great doughnuts in the metro area. St. Louis is the best doughnut town in the country. Classic glazed and raised doughnuts as airy as a cumulus cloud. Blueberry cake doughnuts so moist that you don’t mind using the word moist. Apple fritters as big as a dinner plate.
How St. Louis chefs are adapting to new realities: casual food, smaller menu, wider appeal

1 month ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

Chef Mike Randolph knows how to build an acclaimed restaurant. A decade ago, he did it twice in six months in the Delmar Loop. Randolph’s Público and Randolfi’s Italian Kitchen ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the Post-Dispatch’s list of 2015’s best new restaurants. Recognition from the prestigious James Beard Awards followed in 2016. Randolph was a semifinalist for best chef in the Midwest, Público for best new restaurant in the country. Randolph also knows how fickle the restaurant business can be.
Kokuu Ramen & Sushi Bar brings a variety of ramen to Kirkwood

1 month ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

For a brief time last decade, I thought ramen would eat St. Louis. Oodles of noodles loomed over the metro area. The number of ramen restaurants that eventually opened didn’t match the hype, though — certainly not compared to the region’s earlier booms of food trucks and barbecue joints. Still, that ramen moment delivered two great restaurants, Chris Bork’s Vista Ramen and Marie-Anne Velasco and Qui Tran’s Nudo House.
After tornado, damaged St. Louis restaurants regroup, rebuild - and help others

1 month ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

ST. LOUIS — Dallas Holland-Mims is still overcoming the shock of Friday’s deadly tornado, but she is already making plans to find a new home for her devastated restaurant. Holland-Mims opened Beyond Sweet Kitchen + Bar in December 2023 at 5143 Delmar Boulevard. The restaurant showcased swanky cocktails and a photo gallery of St. Louis celebrities. The tornado demolished most of the building’s top floor. Holland-Mims was not at her restaurant when the storm hit. Frantic employees called her.
Go bananas for the ice cream at Benton Park’s Spoonful of Sugar

1 month ago | stltoday.com | Ian Froeb

Does any everyday flavor inspire more diverse reactions than banana? I can’t even make up my own mind about the fruit. As a kid, I happily ate the banana Runts other kids scorned. Today, though, when a smoothie disappoints me, it usually tastes of little else besides its banana ballast.