Support Your Local Restaurants

Trey Williams, Op/Ed Editor

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Louis as issued a stay at home order. As a result, every business that requires being physically at their location is going to be hit hard. This means that businesses like salons, movie theaters, and other stores are going to suffer immensely as long as this pandemic lasts.

Restaurants are some of the most at risk business during this time. While big chains like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen will ultimately be financially capable of lasting through this pandemic, this outbreak is serious bad news for local restaurants.

It is now more important than ever to support these local businesses. If this goes on as long as health experts are predicting, this outbreak will lead to mass closings of local restaurants.

Thankfully, these restaurants can get help. According to health experts, getting takeout is not particularly dangerous, as long as the food is handled responsibly.

Here are some of my favorite local restaurants in the area:

Manee Thai

Manee Thai is an excellent Thai food restaurant. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Their currys are flavorful and vibrant, with my favorites being the Yellow curry and the Panang curry. I also love their fried rices, particularly the pineapple fried rice. Most of the time, however, I get the “Pad See-U”, one of the best meals I’ve had in my entire life. This is a noodle dish with broccoli, carrots, and egg with the most amazing sauce you will have in your life. If you order their food for lunch you also get a soup of the day, an eggroll, and a Crab Rangoon. If you haven’t had Thai food before, this is the place to go. You can thank me from six feet away.

The Wolf

The Wolf is one of the cutest restaurants around. It’s a shame nobody will be able to enter the restaurant for a while, because the atmosphere is infectious. Still, the food here is high quality and delicious. There are grilled cheeses, breakfast scrambles, burgers, salads, and more. While to some this might look like a “hippy” restaurant, after you try their food you’ll have an urge to listen to the Beatles and wear tie-dye almost immediately. This restaurant is supplied by local ingredients, which means eating here will be a great support to both the restaurants and local farmers. If you want food made with love, check this place out.

Taj Palace 

Indian food is criminally underrated by younger people. While any Indian around here is probably utterly delicious, Taj Palace’s food is otherworldly. Due to my nut allergy, my choices are limited, but what I can eat is stunning. Their Chicken Tikka Masala is gold in food form. The orange and saucy delight is so rich and flavorful that it’s my go-to answer for my favorite food. Their Na’an, an Indian flatbread, is also to die for. If you have not had Indian food before, support this local restaurant. After all of this is over, hopefully we’ll run into each other at their buffet.

Katie’s Pizza and Pasta

Like the name suggests, Katie’s Pizza and Pasta has two specialties: Pizza and Pasta. While their food is on the pricier side, the quality more than makes up for it. There is so much on the menu here that’s good, from their Meatball Pizza to their Squid Ink Pasta, to their Toasted Ravioli you can’t really go wrong. If you’re a fan of either P, check this one out ASA-Pasta.

 

While these are some of my favorites, here are some more locally owned restaurants you can support if none of these sound good.

Spiro’s Restaurant 

Kimcheese

HITEA

Tucker’s Place

 

Please, restaurant lovers out there, consider supporting our local restaurants. For more information about the safety of getting take-out during this time, see the links below.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241618716.html

https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Is-takeout-safe-to-eat-during-coronavirus-outbreak-Experts-explain-569215161.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-how-get-food-safely/608008/