Chez Ali sells superb Senegalese cuisine at City Foundry STL

Sauce 75: the essential St. Louis restaurants right now

Chef Alioun “Ali” Thiam moved to the U.S. in 1999 and lived in New York City until 2013 before ending up in St. Louis and bringing his superb Senegalese cuisine to City Foundry STL. Try as much as possible by getting the chicken sampler plate, which, depending on when you go, should come with curry chicken and jerk chicken, as well as sides like rice and steamed cabbage. While steamed cabbage may not sound exciting on paper, it’s a great foil for the platter’s more aggressively flavored components. If you’re lucky, you may show up on a day when the fabled sweet and citrusy yassa chicken is on the menu: Order this immediately and in large quantities. All three chicken dishes are powerhouses of warm spice, heat and soft-yet-toothsome chew. Whatever you do, be sure to add the fried plantains to your order.

3730 Forest Park Ave. (inside City Foundry STL), St. Louis, 314.210.0897, chezali-mo.com

The Sauce 75 is a photomosaic of the best in St. Louis dining in 2024. This list is a celebration of the diverse skills, techniques and culinary traditions that meet across our region. In sum, it tells a story about where St. Louis has been, where it is now and where it’s going next. Many great and good St. Louis restaurants have not made the cut. (Seventy-five is a lot fewer than you think!) Restaurants are constantly growing and evolving and go through ups and downs. Newly opened restaurants can take time to find their feet: There are a few exciting new places we’re cheering for, but which we feel haven’t yet fully hit their stride. Read the entire list here.