Just when it looked like things were cooling down a little in the excitement over Lona's Lil Eats, they were named to the Eater website's list of the Hottest Restaurants in St. Louis this past week. We're praying mightily that success doesn't spoil Lona's, because it's too good for the city to lose.
A corner storefront on California between Russell and Gravois, Lona's evolved from the Soulard Market stand of Lona Luo and her husband Pierce Powers. Lona is from the Yunnan province in the south of China, and her cooking reflects the wide range of influences the area has. That's a good thing for St. Louis, because we really haven't tasted things quite like this before.
The airy, high-ceilinged room has a tiny bar in the back, next to the counter where customers place orders. And they've placed several picnic benches outside for an al fresco option. Lunchtime seems to be very busy, evenings not so much, at least on my visits.
Lona's primary original offerings were giant rice paper wraps, spring rolls on growth hormones, and they remain. You can still choose exactly what you want in the wrap, but there are some suggested combos that now are on the board and printed menus, too. The website menu doesn't seem to be up to date (try their Facebook page), so be aware there's more choices than meet the electronic eye.
The wraps – which are also available with a flour tortilla or just as a plate – are indeed huge, the size of a model's forearm. A spicy chicken one charmed, lots of flavors and textures dancing around, although the rice paper wrap is a tad fragile and collapses when about two inches of it are left. Nice, and not a huge amount of heat. One ordered with spicy tofu arrived with turkey instead, a little less assertively flavored. The confusion with orders also manifested itself with each ordered wrap – they come with one's choice of sauces, according to the menu, and neither time was that mentioned by the person taking the order.
As a consequence of that, it wasn't until an order of shrimp with noodles came my way that there was a chance to try the lemongrass pesto. The shrimp and stir-fried glass noodles was very good, the shrimp not overcooked and the noodles nicely seasoned. It really didn't need adornment. But that sauce – oh, the sauce! It would make aging Reeboks taste wonderful. The best bite I've had in a number of months. Also available are several other options, all of which I need to explore.
Dumplings come as mushroom or steak-and-mushroom. Of these, the combination is the better, the mushrooms alone being so subtle in flavor as to nearly blush when bitten into. The meat adds real savor, and the chili oil alongside is only occasionally called on for a bit of kick. The serving is six of them, easily shareable – and nice that it's an even number, avoiding that who-gets-it kerfuffle.
The salad with grilled chicken was also a hit, the slices of chicken sitting atop shredded, dressed vegetables. It was a slaw, actually, with a gingery, cilantro-esque dressing, done far enough ahead that the vegetables were soft rather than crisp, another large serving, and very worthwhile, as well as virtuous-feeling.
The wraps come with your choice among several sides, including those glass noodles. The cucumbers, fresh and crunchy were the peppery-est thing we had. A spicy eggplant dish was not so intense, and the bamboo stew mixed various slow-cooked greens with bamboo shoots, a strongly flavored although not hot-spicy dish, just quite earthy tasting.
A liquor license has brought an interesting selection of wine by the glass and local beer on tap, plus a punch of the day from the bar. There are also several types of tea, as well as iced green tea and Ski beverages from across the river in Illinois. Cane sugar, not HFCS, in those. I can recommend the grapefruit one as being perfect with the cuisine.
Not perfect, but awfully good and worthy of attention.
Lonas Lil Eats
2199 California Ave. at Accomac
314-925-8938
Lunch Mon.-Fri, Dinner Mon.-Sat.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Poor
Smoking: No
Entrees: $9-$15