2 new restaurants to try in the St. Louis area this month

Sauce Magazine's October Hit List

Oak Street Lounge
The utterly charming town of Cottleville has a new, even more charming spot to have dinner and drinks. Start with the pork belly appetizer, our favorite dish of the evening, made with bourbon molasses and pineapple salsa atop a savory-sweet scallion pancake. The Oak Street salad is another winner with its fresh, local greens, a ranch-inspired farmhouse dressing, manchego cheese, baby tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and smoked sunflower seeds. The dry-aged short rib was an ideal entree, served alongside Vermont cheddar grits, asparagus salad, and topped with pickled red onions and a beef rib reduction. To drink, start with the margarita-inspired Pineapple Sipper, which features Una Vida blanco tequila, pineapple juice, dry curacao, agave, lime juice and Deacon scotch. Finish with a dessert cocktail like the Mangue et Mure with Plantation white rum, ginger liqueur, blackberry, mango, orgeat and cinnamon served with an aromatic smoke bubble atop the drink. After dinner, head up to the rooftop to enjoy the sunset view of the green pastures just west of Oak Street. There’s a bar on the rooftop, but it only offers beer and wine, so if cocktails are more your speed, be sure to order one in the restaurant before hopping on the elevator. 
5521 Oak St., Cottleville, 636.720.1901, oakstreetinnandlounge.com

Kpot
This chain’s first St. Louis-area location combines two of our favorite things — Korean barbecue and hot pot — under one roof. At the same table, in fact: Tables are fitted out for both barbecue and hot pot service, so use the tablet provided to order whatever you’re hungry for, cook it by yourself as your platters of food arrive, then enjoy with a range of dipping sauces. And then, start all over again, because Kpot gives you an all-you-can-eat feast for one flat price. You can choose to do just hot pot, or just barbecue, but doing both only costs an additional $5. We went for the hot pot, selecting the self-explanatory Szechuan Spicy and milder Healthy Herbs broth base. For meat, the prime brisket and fattier cuts like pork belly and beef belly offered most satisfaction, and we loved the option of ordering items like gyoza and shumai to plunge into the boiling broth. However, the real beauty here is that you can have a little bit of everything: Portions are relatively small, so there is no danger of filling up on one serving of meat and a couple of vegetables here. Take your time, have fun, and work your way through as much of the menu as you can.
9140 Overland Plaza Drive, Overland, 314.733.5733, thekpot.com