Prasino

I was ecstatic when I heard that the old Noah’s Ark space was finally being put to good use, especially since 5th street is one of my favorite areas in the St. Louis area, and because it’s so close to where I live. Although it is actually a chain, I kept hearing about Prasino from friends who attended the soft opening as well as from those who tried out their happy hour. When I mentioned that I had wanted to go, quite a few quickly volunteered to go with me again! Definitely a good sign…

The cool thing about Prasino is that they are an eco-friendly restaurant and believe in a sustainable environment along with using organic produce and eggs. And by the way, really amazing food and drinks!

I started with the drink menu and that’s probably the best way to go because it’s a MUCH shorter list than the dinner menu. (I highly recommend studying in advance.) Well, I take that back…their beer list is quite lengthy and takes up one side of the page, but I had my heart set on one of their seasonal cocktails since I heard they were so delicious. It might be best to attend a happy hour as well since all the drinks are on the pricy side, but luckily my friend confirmed my choice of the “green” drink, a basil-infused vodka with a couple flavors of fruit. I also tried the “summer thyme” and the “prasino fizz”, and both were just as refreshing for the summer heat.

As I said, the menu is quite lengthy due to the fact that they have some of everything and therefore it makes it hard to classify the restaurant over all. There are quite a few small plates, but a lot of large dinners as well, so it’s not necessary tapas. There are tacos…and I had my heart set on fish tacos initially, but then there are flat breads and sushi rolls too! But all my friends kept saying what an awesome burger they had…I was extremely torn…

Taking more advice, I started with the “lobster avocado”, which is just as rich as it sounds. I also got to try the p.e.i. mussels, which had a hearty, smoky flavor to them, as well as the kefte, or lamb meatballs. It really is just one giant meatball that comes in a marinara sauce surrounded by pita bread to help you lap up the sweet sauce when you finish. The meatball was so dense that I really should have split this one. I was too scared to try the shisito peppers because every so often, there’d be a real spicy one and my friends would frantically grab their drink.

Moving on to the other sections of the menu, I had really wanted the fish tacos and you get four cute little baby tacos that are a good “small plate” size. I definitely have to get them next time.

Instead, I absolutely could not resist the sushi rolls and I ordered the “unagi” which is avocado, unagi, and yuzu marinated tuna. It was a huge roll…about eight pieces and quite filling as well. I really had gone past the appropriate limit of food at this point!

Last but not least, three of my friends ended up with the “Prasino burger”. I was skeptical, but luckily a couple of friends helped me to see the light…oh my goodness…it really is one of the best burgers I have ever had. It comes with smoked gouda, tomato jam, arugula, and pickled onion. I am not sure what they have done with the meat, but it had the most wonderful juicy flavors. Yes, it really did live up to the hype.

Really…the whole restaurant lived up to the hype and the new developments are a very promising sign of more good things to come on 5th Street south of 70.

Resources:

Prasino = http://www.prasino.com