Photo by Cristina Fletes-Boutté, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Linh Mi Gia
A small cult has formed to worship Nelson Padilla's canh ga chien, fried chicken wings with garlic and butter. Members devoured them at his previous restaurant, Mi Linh in Rock Hill, and then followed Padilla to his new spot, Linh Mi Gia, which opened in 2014 in Tower Grove South. Padilla serves more than just great wings, however. His soups are outstanding. There’s pho, of course, as well as mi xia miu, a deeply piggy pork broth with squiggly egg noodles and barbecue pork, and mi vit tiem, a rich duck soup verdant with fresh herbs. Seriously, though, order those wings. I’ll put your cult-membership card in the mail.