First photo by Laurie Skrivan (Post-Dispatch); add'l photos sponsored by restaurant
The Vine Mediterranean Cafe
The Vine returns to the STL 100 after a two-year hiatus. I assure you leaving the Vine off this list was as painful as, say, dining at the Vine and not eating its signature freshly baked pita. The service hiccups that made me wary to recommend the restaurant the last couple of years were absent at my recent meals here, so I again urge you to visit the Vine for chef Ali Mohsen’s lovely Lebanese fare. My current obsession, after a long devotion to the Vine’s beef shawarma, is its sujok, a spicy beef-lamb sausage wrapped in a sandwich with pepper, tomato, onion and pickle. Whatever you order, don’t deny yourself that fresh-baked pita with hummus or baba ghanoush.
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Last year's ranking: New this year
Opened: 2009