2 new St. Louis-area restaurants to try this month

Spoonful
Spoonful, the new cafe specializing in bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert, has opened in West County. While they offer a number of items, from bubble tea to coffee drinks made with Blueprint Coffee to taiyaki (a small cake filled with Nutella or red bean paste), the thing to get here is the bingsu. Shaved ice is made from a sweetened milk base that’s similar to melted vanilla ice cream, according to owner Monica Lee. It’s then poured into an imported bingsu machine, which makes incredibly fine ice crystals that are delicate and soft like snow and resemble shaved, dried coconut. The shaved ice is mounded high in a cup like a snow cone and topped with various sweet ingredients like mango or strawberries. The Matcha-matic bingsu was our favorite. It has a base of shaved ice topped with earthy but sweet matcha powder and Korean mochi tossed in roasted soybean powder, followed by another layer of shaved ice, matcha and mochi topped with whipped cream and a dollop of sweet red bean paste. Definitely opt for the sweetened condensed milk on the side.
12943 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, 314.485.1757, Facebook: Spoonful Dessert Cafe

The Crooked Boot
The Crooked Boot’s menu reflects the creole, Southern and Caribbean culinary traditions that mix within the state of Louisiana (aka the Boot State). The Yaah Mon sandwich has spicy jerk chicken served on a soft pretzel bun with shredded cabbage, pickled red onion and barbecue and creamy voodoo sauce (a housemade remoulade). Tha Dirty Boy, one of several po’boys on the menu, features a mix of fried shrimp and catfish served on fresh, airy-yet-chewy bread sourced from La Bonne Bouchée bakery. The sandwich comes dressed with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato and voodoo sauce, adding coolness and moisture to the crisp, textured fried seafood. Boudin balls and fried okra make use of the same well-seasoned house batter and are similarly skillfully fried.
2012 Campus Drive, St. Charles, 636.757.3305, Facebook: The Crooked Boot