STLife // On the MenuEvery great chefhas a story to tell.RIGHT: QUITRAN OF NUDOHOUSE AND MAILEE. OPPOSITEPAGE: LORYNAND EDO NALICSERVE GUESTSAT BALKANTREAT BOXIN WEBSTERGROVES.72 Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Qui Tran left Vietnam as a baby,survived polio, and started workingin his mother’s restaurant at age 8.“We went where the U.S. governmentsent us and ended up in St. Louis,” hesays. “We had no idea where we weregoing—they could have sent us to Iowa.We were just trying to get away, fromdeath. I was 3 when we got here.”In the mid-’80s, his family opened MaiLee, the metro area’s first Vietnameserestaurant, on a whim (“mainly becausethere wasn’t one,” shrugs Tran). “It waspretty quiet for us until [the late St.Louis Post-Dispatch dining critic] JoePollack—who’d never had the cuisinebefore—talked us up in a review in thelate ’80s. After that review, a line wentout the door, and it’s been busy eversince.” Even today, his mother continuesto work at the restaurant. “She won’tleave the place,” Tran quips. “We’re boththere six days a week.”Both Tran and his mother understandthat the restaurant owner can be a drivingforce. “The owner creates the soulof a restaurant, what distinguishes theindependents from the chain places,”he says. “A good owner brings a uniqueness,a warmth… The staff picks up andemulates the hospitality vibe, which iswhat turns an everyday restaurant intoa great restaurant.”The same could be said of Tran’s ownONCE A CITY GETS ONTHE BOARD, MORE PEOPLESTART TO NOTICE. THAT’SWHAT’S HAPPENING.venture. In 2017, three decades afterhis mother opened her restaurant, hedecided to branch out with his own concept,Nudo House. He spent three yearsresearching and refinin , even seekingguidance from ramen master Shigetoshi“Jack” Nakamura. “Noodle-making is anart,” Tran explains, “and ramen noodlesare more involved than spaghetti or lomein.” He and chef Marie-Anne Velascoexpanded the menu to include Mai Leefaves and St. Louis-based specials, includingthe 3-1-Pho, named for St. Louis’ areacode. (“We’re all from St. Louis,” Tranquips. “It was catchy—why not?”) Theinterior includes a social media wall,murals of traditional Japanese artworkby local tattoo artist Brad Fink, and alantern with the word “ramen” writtenin Japanese at the counter.“That’s what I hope it says anyway,”Tran jokes. “For all I know, it says ‘sushi.’Or some swear word.”Turns out Tran knew what he was doing.From opening day, lines stretched out thedoor. Nudo House’s pho eventually endedup on the cover of Food & Wine magazine.Tran recently opened a second locationon the burgeoning east side of the DelmarLoop.Tran sees St. Louis’ dining scene continuingto grow, especially as the startupscene expands. “Eighty-fi e percent of ourrestaurant clientele lives here, which limitswhat we can and should do,” he said in2017. “As we grow as a city, as the techiesmove here, that will change.”Already, it’s happening, with moreprogressive concepts in the works. CityFoundry is slated to open in 2020 with afood hall similar to those in Atlanta, NewYork, and beyond. At the same time, foodtrucks continue to provide a springboardfor some of the city’s most popular concepts:Guerrilla Street Food, Seoul Taco,Balkan Treat Box…In fact, Bon Appétitrecently nominated Balkan TreatBox, alongside Savage, as one ofAmerica’s best new restaurants.“I never in a million years thoughtwe’d receive this [level of recognition],”Balkan Treat Box co-ownerLoyrn Nalic told SLM in September.“I’m not a classically trained chef.To go from being a single mom tomarrying a great man and openinga restaurant that shines a lighton his [culinary heritage] in thisgreat city…it’s been incredible tosee it embraced. People like it, andthey’re coming back. Our city is sosupportive of the restaurant scene,and we’re so grateful for it.”Tran echoes the sentiment: “St.Louis had been building culinarymomentum for the past severaldecades. Once a city gets on theboard, more people start to notice.That’s what’s happening.”Photography by John Fedele73
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