Abby Llorico
Sep 12, 2024
St. Louis is a town with an outsize share of award-winning and iconic barbecue institutions, so acclaimed chef Gerard Craft knew it didn’t make sense to try to compete.
“Barbecue itself in St. Louis is such a big deal,” the James Beard award winner said. “People come in with high expectations.”
So instead, Craft’s Niche Food Group is charting its own path with its foray into barbecue. Expat, officially open Sept. 12 at City Foundry, is like taking close-to-home barbecue techniques on an international trip.
“This is straight-up American barbecue through the eyes of an expat,” he explained. “Imagine you were living in another country and missing your ribs from home, and you went to the store to get all the ingredients for your recipe, and you had to make those swaps, you had to change out the spices for the spices they had available, or the sweeteners they had available.”