Photo by Hillary Levin (Post-Dispatch)
Taste
Gerard Craft had only recently named Matt Wynn executive chef of Taste when I visited the small-plates restaurant for the 2019 edition of the STL 100. I was impressed then. A year later, Wynn's cooking has given Taste an energy I last saw here when Matthew Daughaday was executive chef. Vegetable dishes are a particular strength: last year (and still on the menu on my most recent visit) carrots cooked in bacon fat; this year barbecue-spiced Brussels sprouts with pickled red onion and sunflower granola over a butternut-squash puree. Wynn also knows when to hold back, serving wild-boar meatballs in nothing more than a red gravy, with Union Loafers bread to sop up the soulful sauce. As always, the cocktail menu offers bold but thoughtfully balanced creations.
Hours: Dinner daily
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 2009