St. Louis, MOCheap Eats

Bo Fung takes Sauce's second slot after the publication's local callout produced more mentions for this shop than any other contender. Its inexpensive original is the classic order, built for the takeout counter rather than reinvention: a hot egg foo young patty, cool sandwich toppings, mayonnaise, and soft white bread in the city's unmistakable style. Start with the original to understand why locals sent Sauce here.

St. Louis Magazine says Tamara Keefe's creamery grew out of a small Lafayette Square parlor into a brand, and lists the flavors that did it: Italian butter cookie, decadent coffee, and boozy scoops like maple pecan bourbon and pink champagne sorbet. The guide reports that Oprah called the gooey butter ice cream the sexiest ice cream alive. Order a scoop of the gooey butter, or take a pint home.

Sauce's Taco Quest gives the chips here an entry of their own, calling them next level, a high artisan achievement with a dish most restaurants take for granted: hefty but airy, still glistening from the fryer, served with a smoky salsa, with few peers in town. The same survey picks the chorizo taco, seared to a spicy, oily crispiness. Order chips and salsa with a couple of chorizo tacos at the St. Ann counter.

George Mahe's line on the giant rice paper wrap is that it costs about ten dollars, comes with a side, and leaves you muttering that you could eat it every day. Build it yourself: pick a wrapper of rice paper or tortilla or none, a protein or several, noodles or rice or greens, and one of Lona Luo's five house sauces made with spices sourced from around the world. Sauce keeps it on the Sauce 75.