This article is part of the “International Cuisine” feature in St. Louis Magazine‘s December 2017 issue.
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The tender goi cuon (Vietnamese summer rolls) are stuffed with shrimp, pork, lettuce, and rice vermicelli; they’re even more delicious dipped in hoisin. The pork spring rolls (cha gio) contain minced taro, cabbage, and carrot. 8627 Olive.
Meat eaters should make a beeline for the grilled beef rice paper roll. Flank steak is marinated in oyster and fish sauces and beautifully perfumed with lemongrass. Vegetarians might opt for the fried tofu rolls with peanut sauce. 8600 Olive.
The spring rolls are packed with pork, shrimp, crab meat, carrots, water chestnuts, garlic, shallots, wood-ear mushrooms, and cellophane noodles. 10 N. Euclid.
One of the best rolls at this modest South City café is the thit nuong cuon (charbroiled pork with vegetables). The meat is sweet, juicy, and faintly smoky. The rolls arrive with peanut-flecked hoisin. 3737 Gravois.
Mai Lee, in Brentwood, labels its summer rolls “spring rolls.” Choose from grilled chicken, pork, and shrimp; shredded barbecue; or ground pork. Cilantro and an intensely garlicky fish sauce add even more flavor. 8396 Musick Memorial.
