Review: Spare No Rib in St. Louis

Spare No Rib’s idiosyncratic take on both barbecue and Mexican food in a single menu turned out fantastic. The new satellite location serves lunch in Bar Italia’s Luna Lounge in the Central West End, and just like the original Benton Park location, it is every bit as unexpected and delicious.

LAID-BACK LUNCH
Luna Lounge is a shotgun-shaped bar/nightclub in the private event space at Bar Italia, where Spare No Rib owner Lassaad Jeliti previously worked. The lunch crowd in the Central West End has been slow to absorb the space’s new purpose, but a sparse crowd simply means a mellow lunch, with more attention from servers who aren’t often overwhelmed by too many tables.

ROASTED & RIGHTEOUS
An appetizer of warm tortilla chips and three house salsas – smoked-vegetable, three-pepper and tomato-chipotle – piques the palate. Of the trio, I could not stop eating the smoked-vegetable salsa. Roasted tomatoes, onions and peppers are mashed together to create a very smoky dip.

CUE THE BARBECUE
The eponymous ribs are encased in a heavy layer of rub undiminished by the cooking process. They arrive coated in a thick reddish carpet of cumin, coriander, paprika and other spices inspired by Jeliti’s Tunisian heritage. The spice rub dominates all other flavors, including those imbued by the smoke. On one visit, the ribs were overcooked, but on the next they had the tender pink color that connotes a winning smoke. Like the ribs, the barbecue sauces are sui generis. The sweet variant has fruity notes while the spicy sauce has a rising heat that titillates but doesn’t blast the taste buds. The third option is a standard Carolina mustard sauce tangy with vinegar that’s good stuff, but doesn’t necessarily jibe with the overwhelming flavor of the rub. All told, the dry spice, moist ribs and unfamiliar sauces make for deliciously different barbecue.

TAKE THE TACOS
If you’re not into ribs, fret not: The tacos pop with fresh flavor. These little beauties, presented in doubled, soft corn tortillas, are a thoughtful melding of the traditional and the new. The pork tenderloin and fennel taco is a standout, as is the beer-battered tilapia taco dressed with bright green avocado-tomatillo salsa. A braised beef cheek taco eats like a spicy beef stew.

ENTER THE OTHER ENTREES
Sopes are baked corn-flour cups with the dense chew of English muffins, topped with refried beans, cheese and salsa, plus a choice of chicken, veggies or chorizo-and-egg. That last option eats like a Mexican McMuffin. When the over-easy eggs are popped and yolk runs forth, it’s a heavenly mélange of warm, moist, chewy, spicy, beefy, salty and creamy; you probably couldn’t fight a hangover more deliciously.

SUMMER SALAD AND B-SIDES
The Grapes & Pearls salad of fingerling potatoes, avocado, grape tomatoes and nuggets of fresh mozzarella was made for summer. It’s comfort food with an appealing array of textures joined by a pleasantly mouth-puckering basil-lemon vinaigrette. A side dish of baked Northern beans manages to be both tasty and unusual. The beans are joined in a thick, tomatoey sauce with bits of smoked pork belly, bacon and spices. Give it one point for not being overly sweet, and another for the spicy aftertaste.

THE TAKEAWAY
A very personal take on barbecued ribs and Mexican food manages a pleasant surprise at just about every turn. Spare No Rib has replicated the menu of the mother ship on Gravois Avenue, and now this thoughtfully executed menu can be enjoyed for lunch in the Central West End.