Photo by Hillary Levin (Post-Dispatch)
Nixta
For the fourth consecutive year, I have included Ben Poremba's Nixta among the STL 100. For the fourth consecutive year, I am writing about a different Mexican restaurant. I exaggerate, but only slightly. After showcasing the brilliant, personal cooking of inaugural chef Tello Carreon and the thorough, impressive transformation undertaken by his successor, Alex Henry, Nixta last year teetered between its established excellence and a muddle of ideas and flavors. This year, under new chef de cuisine Dakota Williams, Nixta has found its footing again. The luster and dried-fruit-like depth of flavor has returned to the chicken in mole negro, and I have discovered a new favorite: a potato-leek soup prickly with chorizo and smoky with leek ash.
Hours: Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, lunch Tuesday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday (closed Monday)
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 2016