Lona’s Lil Eats offers a taste of chef Lona Luo's home in China

Sauce 75: the essential St. Louis restaurants right now

Fox Park is a long way from the tiny mountain village in China’s Yunnan province that chef and co-owner Lona Luo hails from. But you can pick up more than a trail of that mountain air over this little corner of St. Louis city where Luo cooks up tastes of home. Luo, who has been cooking since she was 6 years old, is primarily known for her giant rice paper wraps. But she’s also rightfully hailed for her dumplings, her village bamboo stew and her rich, spicy eggplant. It’s no surprise that she was a James Beard Awards semifinalist in the Best Chef: Midwest category not once, but three years in a row from 2018 to 2020.

2199 California Ave., St. Louis, 314.925.8938, lonaslileats.com

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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.