Nudo House makes the February cover of Food & Wine magazine

Last night, a friend of Qui Tran’s called to tell him he’d “made the cover,” to which Tran replied, “The cover of what?” never thinking that a visit from the folks at Food & Wine would turn into a February issue cover photo and story for Nudo House, his six-month-old ramen shop.

“I knew they were interested in a few recipes," Tran says, "but there was no indication that it was going to grow into anything bigger than that."

Photo by Kevin A. Roberts

On the February cover is a bowl of Nudo’s beef pho and inside is a story about Tran’s journey, as well as recipes for the family’s pho broth and one for a Nudo's sandwich, a take on a French dip that Tran dubbed the Banh Mi Pho Dip.

By this morning, the word had spread via social media, with huzzahs and attaboys pinging Tran's phone from all quarters.

“It’s been almost 24 hours, and the feeling is still so surreal,” Tran says. “I even heard that Danny Meyer said it was the best news he’d had all week.”

Tran is the first to admit that the road to Nudo House has been a serpentine one. After several years of research and development, the long-anticipated restaurant opened July 27, a year and a half after the lease was signed.

“It was important to get it all completely right,” Tran says of the layout (which he ended up redesigning) and the ramen (which he and chef/partner Marie-Anne Velasco tweaked alongside Shigetoshi "Chef Jack" Nakamura, often referred to as the “master of ramen”).

The payoff came quickly: Nudo was an instant and universal hit, in popular and critical circles.

Over the years, Tran has emphasized that his goal has never been to gain accolades but simply to advance the St. Louis food scene. But the reality was hardly that nonchalant. Before Nudo House opened, Tran spent many sleepless nights agonizing over every detail, debating whether he was doing the right thing at the right time and in the right place.

“I didn’t get any sleep last night, either,” he jokes. “But this time, it was due to sheer joy, not panic.”

Nudo House is located at 11423 Olive in Creve Coeur.