Smells Like Green Spirit

Passing through St. Louis, my friend Jaime led us to an adorable looking diner located in the park of St. Louis called Cherokee Street Antique Row that she’d found online. Antique Row was (surprise, surprise) littered with antique stores, vintage shops, an art gallery that at the time was housing an opening for the School of Visual Arts in NYC’s MFA show, and several restaurants including Shangri-La.

Shangri-La is located at 2201 Cherokee Street, and walking in felt like walking into a B-52’s song, or an instant transport into the 1960’s. Beaded curtains hung from the ceiling along with psychadelic looking decorations, and the chairs were covered with all sorts of vintage looking fabrics: paisleys and other wild prints. Though none of the patterns or decorations matched, per se, everything had a congruent color theme that led to a fun, retro atmosphere that made me want to redecorate my entire apartment.

The waitstaff that day consisted of several young people, maybe college or high school students (Sorry if i guessed wrong! I’m really bad at guessing ages), who all seemed to be taking obvious delight in working at Shangri-La.

The menu begins with an endearing message, a “foodosophy” from the restaurant’s creator…

“What Iʼve tried to create here is a place where I always wanted to go and eat but one that I could never find. I donʼt want it to feel “trendy,” just fun. The food is not New American, Neo-Ethnic, Fusion or anything else. Itʼs simply what I like to fix for myself at home; my version of home-cooked food. I do not think of myself as a chef nor do I want to be considered one—thatʼs too complicated…”

…as well as a list of awards the restaurant has received over the years including “Best Vegetarian Restaurant in St. Louis.”

Menu:
Their menu choices included items such as the Best Veggie Burger In Town, the Decadent Grilled Cheese, salads like the C.A.M.P. Cobb and the Celestial, an African Spinach Stew, burritos, and an all day breakfast menu including Creme Brulee French Toast and the Veggie Quiche of the Day (also apparently named the best in town).

Omnivores might find solace in several pescatarian options including the Salmon burger, the Van Dyke salad which includes a salmon patty, and the breakfast egg dish called Patrice’s Slammin’ Salmon plate.

I ordered the veggie meatloaf. Not always being a fan of meat imitators, I was a little wary, but real meatloaf is one of my favorite foods, so I thought I’d give it a go. Worse scenario, I’d eat dessert afterwards if the meatloaf was gross. However, I was happy with my choice! The veggie loaf came next to a pile of mashed potatoes and green beans. I really liked my choice, and left stuffed, although just to be super picky, the potatoes and loaf could have used a tiny bit more flavoring. I still loved it though, and would definitely order it again.

Jaime ordered the Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwich with the corn on the cobb and oven baked fries sides. I tried this, even though vegan bbq sauce sounded suspicous to a lover of real bbq, I found it to be very good.

All in all, I would go back again in a heartbeat, and the next time I’m in St. Louis, I’m going to do just that.

Pros:
Fun atmosphere
Good music (I think it was all great 60s tunes while we were there)
Sweet, happy waitstaff
Healthy, award winning food
Located in a cool part of town (Just down the street, we hit an art opening, and saw a rockabilly/swing band called Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats perform in the back of a vintage shop where we also got free beers!)

Cons:
I thought a few things tasted a tiny bit plain, but this is seriously me just finding something to complain about, as everything was very, very good, very good for you, and very filling.

Website:
www.theshangriladiner.com

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