Vegetable enchilada lasagna
"We started Prados as a grown-up version of Yo! Salsa," says John Lutgen, operating partner of LSL Hospitality, the group that has opened the new Latin-inspired restaurant in Lake St. Louis' The Meadows shopping complex. Yo! Salsa is the food truck–turned–Wentzville taqueria Lutgen started in 2013. He built it up to boast 13 different tacos, and tried to do entrées...but people were never into it. When he was presented with the opportunity to do something different—more upscale, tacos but with bigger dishes as well—by the owners of the Meadows, who wanted another locally operated restaurant, he jumped. Lutgen has also opened, next door to Prados, Roasted Coffee and Wine Bar, a day-to-night spot that serves light bites.
Prados' menu is Latin American–influenced, but Lutgen says he wasn't necessarily looking at specific regions in Mexico or elsewhere for inspiration. Rather he looked to ingredients: chiles, yucca root, fresh vegetables. "It doesn't have to be a Mexican- or Hispanic-style dish," he says, "but take some of those ingredients, and maybe we do a spin on it, and it comes out as a different interpretation."
The ceviche is Mexican-style, with shrimp, calamari, tomato, cucumber, and red onion. The guac is a must; more interesting is the sikil pak, a spread made from roasted pumpkin seeds, and flavored with habanero and garlic. It's so thick it has the consistency of ground beef. "A composed nacho, not slop nachos" is how Lutgen describes Prados' take on the classic. Each of six tostada shells is filled out with black beans, pico, and homemade pickled jalapeños, sprinkled with Chihuahua cheese, drizzled with sour cream, and fanned out around a scoop of guacamole.
There are tacos. Beer-battered cod is topped with mango, cabbage, and avocado crema. A steak taco is crowned with crispy onions and the same pickled jalapeños as the nachos. But the pork belly carnitas is simple and a standout—pickled onion, Cotija, and chimichurri. Also the signature margarita, made with Juarez Gold agave tequila and Grand Marnier.
A vegetable enchilada lasagna stood out on the menu, a good description of what Lutgen said about taking Latin ingredients and spinning them. Thick ribbons of fall favorite butternut squash were made way more flavorful and complex layered with roasted poblanos, strips of white corn tortillas, lots of Chihuahua cheese, and thickened enchilada sauce served in a mini black cast-iron. Topped with guac, tortilla strips, and pico, it came to the table sizzling.
When the Meadows center team approached Lutgen about starting a locally owned coffee shop, he wanted to do one that could transition from day to night—the solution was to do coffee by day, and a wine bar/"swanky hangout" at night. Roasted features live music on Saturday nights and a shareables menu with charcuterie, burrata, whipped ricotta with honey and pine nuts, as well as fresh hummus.
"I didn't know a lot about coffee before I started digging into that project," Lutgen says. "But there are similarities between coffee and wine making. One's being fermented, and one's being roasted, but [in both, you're] picking when ripeness is at its peak." Roasted partners with Blueprint Coffee for the beans, and "everything we're doing, from avocado toast to homemade soups to salad and sandwiches, is made from scratch." Get to Roasted as it opens at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, and try the Penrose espresso. Version 18 of that coffee is from the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region of El Salvador. After 4 p.m., try the Writer's Block Zinfandel, a full-bodied red from Lake County, California, that you can get by the glass as well as the bottle, as is the case with much of the wine list.
What's coming up for Prados? Lutgen says they're working on perfecting the outdoor space. Is there a more ingenious Cinco plan than situating a coffee shop (caffeine, caffeine, caffeine) next to a Latin-inspired restaurant? Lake St. Louis is going to get wild.
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