Post-Dispatch file photo

Tree House

I’ve reached an important milestone with Tree House, Bay Tran’s vegetarian restaurant in Tower Grove South. I no longer care how closely the faux meats here resemble beef, pork or chicken. Oh, sure, I might still be able to convince a first-time diner here that the “chorizo” in the street tacos and the chorizo tamale in a black-bean mole is the real thing. The fried “chicken” in the BBQ Chikn Katsu sandwich or the “breakfast sausage” patties in the breakfast sandwich? Nope. It doesn’t matter. The BBQ Chikn Katsu sandwich doses its crisp vegetarian cutlet with the tangy, sweet, umami notes of tonkatsu sauce and a little heat from a green-curry aioli. The “breakfast sausage” patties hit the right spice notes to contrast the runny yolk of a fried egg.

Opened: 2013

Must order: Chorizo tamale ($11)