Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market
At the Vine, now in its seventh year of operation along South Grand’s bustling commercial heart, the pita bread still arrives at your table warm and fragrant from the oven. Its texture and flavor are light, but definitely there, adding another dimension to your scoop of hummus, baba ghanoush or lebnah. This fresh pita is a small thing, easily forgotten as soon as you’re chowing down on crisp, piquant falafel or sumac-dusted shawarma, but such details have helped to keep the Vine vital. St. Louis seems to agree: Once opened as half-restaurant, half-market, the market is now restricted to a single corner to expand dining capacity.
Opened: 2009
Must order: Beef shawarma (sandwich $5.49, entree $12.99)