Pastaria in St. Louis

One of the delightful things I learned about St. Louis was that their food community was blossoming strong.  The chefs are close with each other, and they have the "rising tides lifts all ships" mentality.  It made me feel, amazingly, like I was home in Austin.  Pastaria, Farmhaus, and Libertine are some of the newer restaurants pushing their community forward.

When I was glancing at the menus, I saw this raspberry black pepper soda.  I've been intrigued with the idea of black pepper in sweet offerings.  This drink had just a bit of berry tang and zing of black pepper with the pop of carbonation.  This is something to would have paired well with a sandy beach and warm sun. 

I saw the chicken ramen on the menu, and I had to try it.  The parmesan broth was intense with flavor, but not overly salty.  The well-executed chicken was well-balanced against the broth and springy noodles. 
My favorite part was the egg.  I've been fascinated with poached, sous vide, or fried; I love eggs with the runny yolks.  I am a bit (actually very) sad that I only got to try one dish.  However, it was my second lunch for the day, and I needed to save some stomach space.  I hope to visit Pastaria during my next trek to St. Louis.