Winners For

Best Cajun/Creole Restaurant

Sam Kogos left New Orleans for the best — maybe the only — reason: a woman. His wife, a St. Louis native, wanted to be closer to her family. We should all be grateful. Last year Kogos, who'd owned a restaurant in New Orleans for fifteen years, opened Riverbend Restaurant & Bar in a corner spot just south of the Anheuser-Busch fortress. It's an u...

A true taste of N'awlins awaits you at this party-time Cajun/Creole dive, housed in a 150-year-old historic building in the shadows of Busch Stadium and the Highway 40 overpass. Order up a mess of crawfish, fried alligator, jambalaya or gumbo (the house recipe, known as "Gumbo Ya Ya," is mixed with shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage), or go f...

Husband-and-wife owners Jon and Holli Kercher still use the recipes handed down to them from previous owners Mary and Sid Roberts, who in turn imported their own family recipes straight up the Mississip from bayou country. Mary and Sid moved back to Louisiana, but their takes on jambalaya, fried oysters, blackened catfish, red beans and rice and...

The Kitchen Sink occupies a small and easily missed storefront next-door to the Forest Park MetroLink station in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood. Miss it at your own peril. A neighborhood diner by description, the Kitchen Sink impresses with its fun, from-scratch take on burgers, sandwiches and other classic American fare. The menu features...

In appearance and ambiance, Sassy JAC's is the quintessential Soulard tavern. Yet chef Andrew Ladlie, who owns Sassy JAC's with his wife, Jennifer, brings a serious pedigree to the party: His résumé includes time as the sous chef at west-county institution Annie Gunn's. The fare is southern, unfussy and delicious. Standouts include a spicy black...

Sam Kogos left New Orleans for the best -- maybe the only -- reason: a woman. His wife, a St. Louis native, wanted to be closer to her family. We should all be grateful. Last year Kogos, who'd owned a restaurant in New Orleans for fifteen years, opened Riverbend Restaurant & Bar in a corner spot just south of the Anheuser-Busch fortress. It's an...