Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Linh Mi Gia
This restaurant has closed
Linh Mi Gia closed in April or May of 2016. Maybe I’ve mentioned the butter-garlic chicken wings, or canh ga chien, at Linh Mi Gia? OK, I’ve mentioned them many times: in my original review of this restaurant, in its entry for last year’s STL 100, in my review of chef Nelson Padilla’s previous restaurant. They really are my favorite chicken wings anywhere: crisp, juicy and, as you’d expect, buttery and garlicky. Linh Mi Gia is not a single-dish restaurant, though, and I feel like I’m doing Padilla a disservice by focusing on those wings. So you must also try his soups — classic pho, of course, but also fiery bun bo hue and the pork broth with egg noodles and barbecue pork — and his version of shaking beef. You can always order the wings in addition to something else. They are just an appetizer, after all.
Opened: 2014
Must order: Canh ga chien (butter-garlic chicken wings, $8)