Joo Joo Restaurant & Karaoke has some of the finest Korean barbecue in St. Louis

Sauce 75: the essential St. Louis restaurants right now

This quirky mom-and-pop eatery in Creve Coeur offers some of the finest Korean barbecue in St. Louis with the added fun of private karaoke rooms in the back available for hourly rental. The crowning glory of Joo Joo’s menu is the kori gom tang, a savory oxtail bone broth soup with flavor so dense it’s like liquid steak. The soup comes brimming with glass noodles, juicy chunks of beef and green onions in a rich broth. Other home runs are the doenjang jjigae (a fermented soybean paste stew packed with seafood, zucchini, onion and tofu), the omurice, and the tteokbokki, which comes swimming in a sweet, spicy, salty, peppery sauce with hard-boiled eggs and fish cakes.

12937 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, 314.469.1999, joojoo.us

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.