Photo by J.B. Forbes (Post-Dispatch)
Pho Long
A peek behind the scenes of the STL 100: I begin the annual process of returning to restaurants with a visit to Pho Long, the small, pho-centric Vietnamese restaurant in a University City strip mall. The first time, it happened by chance. I had to start somewhere, and a bowl of Pho Long’s best-in-town beef-noodle soup sounded good. The next year, Pho Long struck me as an especially fitting place to begin again. It’s been a touchstone of my dining experiences in St. Louis, a restaurant that has thrived by specializing in a single traditional dish. It reminds me how many of these gems there are in St. Louis and renews my hope there are still more to find.
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily (closed Tuesday)
Opened: 2006
Must order: Pho ($8.25-$12.50)