Pastaria is your Readers' Choice 2013 Favorite New Restaurant

The 2013 Readers' Choice results are in. You voted for your top places to eat, drink, shop and enjoy all things food in St. Louis. Winners ran the gamut from classics like Sidney Street Cafe and Pappy's Smokehouse to up-and-comers like Sump Coffee and Sauce on the Side. Below, your pick for Favorite New Restaurant, Pastaria.

When Pastaria opened last September, the menu was far from the conceptual, fine-dining dishes at Gerard Craft’s flagship restaurant, Niche. Instead, rustic dishes like fire-roasted vegetables, house-made pastas with hearty sauces and pepperoni pizza reminded diners that great food doesn’t have to be fancy to be special. “Some chefs won’t put pepperoni on their menu and I always laugh about that. Why not? It’s what people want. It’s really good!” said Craft. “Ten bucks says within the next 20 years, there’ll be a chef in Naples who puts pepperoni on the menu.” Give the people what they want and then give them more of it. There’s no surprise why you voted Pastaria your favorite new restaurant.

Roasted carrots “Mint can make any veg exciting.”

Shaved kale “Most popular salad on the menu. It’s insanity!”

Chitarra “I think this is a hidden gem on our menu. Always satisfying!” 

Bucatini All’Amatriciana “Making the perfect Bucatini took us forever. Once we nailed it BMOX [Pastaria executive chef Brian Moxey] made the killer Amatriciana.”

“This is the best tiramisu in the world in our minds. The recipe is over 100 years old.”