Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
The Honmaguro shashimi (bluefin tuna) with akami, chutoro, otoro, assorted pickles, fresh wasabi, and shiso.
This morning, Esquire magazine published its annual list of Best New Restaurants. Two St. Louis eateries, indo and Balkan Treat Box, were recognized, landing at No. 6 and No. 16, respectively, on a list of 23 restaurants for 2020.
Those familiar with the local food scene should not be surprised, as both restaurants have received local and national praise since their inception.
Earlier this year, indo made the semifinalist list in the national Best New Restaurants category of the James Beard Awards, a national category. The restaurant's owner, chef Nick Bognar, was nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year, another national category. In May, Food & Wine recognized Bognar as one of its best new chefs, and GQ magazine named indo as one of its best new restaurants.
Courtesy indo
SLM also threw props its way last month in a mention of forward-thinking patio spaces. “We arrived late to the patio party,” Bognar told SLM, “but what we came up with should last into the cold months."
In his precis of indo, Esquire food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier wrote, “Indo is not a sushi restaurant per se, yet electrifying bites of nigiri land in front of you during the course of a meal like random emoji lightning bolts of flavor.”
Bognar told SLM he was excited to meet Gordinier, let alone cook for him. "Then hearing this morning that we made his list was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy morning. It was nice to read something about food instead of COVID," he says. "It made us feel relevant, that our food is special. But even without awards, we do what we do here because it makes us all happy."
Courtesy Balkan Treat Box
Balkan Treat Box’s journey into the stratosphere began as a boldly colored food truck, one with a 1,000-degree wood-burning oven on board. To say that Balkan was the hottest food truck in town became true on several levels. By reminding us of the wonders of cevapi and doner, owners Loryn and Edo Nalic introduced St. Louisans to comfort food, Balkan-style. By the time the brick-and-mortar restaurant opened in Webster Groves a few years later, their signature pide had become a household word. Gordinier noted, "At first, we didn’t understand why there was a line down the block at 11 in the morning. Then we took a bite."
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Pide, the canoe-shaped signature dish at Balkan Treat Box.
"To even be included on this list during this crazy time is overwhelming," says Loryn Nalic. "We feel so lucky to be able to shine a light on all of the great things our city is doing. It was the St. Louis community that put us on the map... Having to pivot, like the rest of our St. Louis restaurant family, to stay afloat and then getting this recognition was truly the light we needed, especially with the new restrictions.
"We remember the day that Jeff came in to eat," Loryn continues. "When he left, we hoped we gave him the experience that we give all our customers. We miss having people in the restaurant, and we hope one day soon to serve all of those smiling faces once more."
Loryn's husband, Edo, adds, "We were honored and excited that in the midst of all that's happening, a publication as cool as Esquire would recognize us."
To the Esquire readers who questioned the prudence of even attempting a “best of” list in these times, Gordinier noted, “We’re doing it as an expression of support—love, really—for the chefs and bartenders and servers and dishwashers and maître d’s who are fighting that fight every day. We have decided to celebrate them, and we’ve done that by meeting them where they are in the midst of this crisis.”
The author visited both St. Louis restaurants last winter.
“We spent these months looking for the people and places that restored us,” he continued. “If there’s a unifying theme, it would be the stubborn survival of community in the face of what can only be called an existential threat.”
Gordinier acknowledged that "2020 was different." And he concluded that “if we learned one thing this year, while trapped at home for weeks with tins of tuna and bags of dried beans, slowly being driven nuts by the monotonous, Groundhog Day–like grind, it’s this: We need restaurants more than ever.”
