urbanSTL

bprop wrote:SanSai in a few weeks? What else needs to possibly be done? The menus are illuminated, the junk is gone, and yesterday workers in SanSai garb were standing around. I am thinking more like today or Monday.

I hope so. The guy who sits in the cube across from me and lives in the Paul Brown building said they were told the last week of June for an opening.

ThreeOneFour wrote:I had the exact same lunch at an excellent BBQ joint in Joplin last week. And it was just five bucks!

Ever go to a place called Wibb's in your SEMO days? I think it's in Jackson. We need one of those downtown!

re: San Sai. We got a press release last Friday saying it was open. Perhaps no one has told the staff yet.

re: SanSai. I just asked and my coworker says they were delivering food late yesterday when he got home from work. He said he saw cases of soy sauce being wheeled in.



I wonder if they'll soft open today, this weekend or Monday?

DeBaliviere wrote:Ever go to a place called Wibb's in your SEMO days? I think it's in Jackson. We need one of those downtown!

Awww yes! Wibb's is great! I believe it is still in Jackson. Another great place in that corner of Missouri is Dexter BBQ- they have multiple locations including one in Cape Girardeau. I'd be happy if either one of these opened a location in downtown or elsewhere in the city.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

bonwich wrote:re: San Sai. We got a press release last Friday saying it was open. Perhaps no one has told the staff yet.

Is this part of the San Sai chain? If so, they don't list it on the website.

Yup. And the press release that said it was open last Friday directs me to the website for more information.

There were a bunch of workers sitting in the chairs today, but it was still not open by 11:30. I'm guessing either this weekend or Monday.

bprop wrote:There were a bunch of workers sitting in the chairs today, but it was still not open by 11:30. I'm guessing either this weekend or Monday.

Re San Sai: I see they open at 9:30 am? Even the old men at my work who get in at 6:30am don't start breaking out the lunch bags until 10:00am. But they look totally ready for a Monday open, maybe a real soft Saturday run.



Re Masterpiece: line was out the door when I walked by at 12:30pm. Co-workers who ate there at 1pm said everything was good and quick

I ate there yesterday. The food is really good for fast BBQ and the prices are reasonable. I got the pulled pork and it wasn't even fatty. It's definitely an improvement from what was in that space before.

Does anyone know the hours?

Downtown2007 wrote:Does anyone know the hours?

I think they're open until 7:00 on weekdays and I know they close at 5:00 on Saturday. They're closed on Sunday.

Downtown STL Fan wrote:

Downtown2007 wrote:Does anyone know the hours?

I think they're open until 7:00 on weekdays and I know they close at 5:00 on Saturday. They're closed on Sunday.

Maybe the sign is wrong... It says 10:30 to 8 on weekdays. Next to Saturday and Sundays it says Open on Game Days.

Never been but I hear it's good, appears to always be busy- atleast at lunchtime when I'm walking around.

I'm not impressed with the "masterpiece." Very fast, almost cafeteria like. No french-fries, pre-fab meats trucked in from a commissary, one sauce--KC masterpiece served from a bottle you could buy at Schnucks. Pulled pork is minced to a pulp, not pulled. Brisket doesn't have any kind of crust or smoke-ring (just a universal brown). Haven't tried the ribs, but probably won't bother.

I had it yesterday and, while it's not the best, it's pretty dang good if I do say myself... and I do.

I want to hear what Bonwich has to say on the matter, although I doubt he would waste his time going in there.

It ain't gourmet BBQ, if there is such a thing. But a sandwich and a side is $6.50 including tax. And as BL211 said, it's "pretty dang good". The line out the door and the full tables indicate that the restaurant has found a lot of patrons downtown.

Masterpiece is perfectly fine as a quick/cheaper lunch and dinner option. Though I would prefer to see downtown have a more expensive BBQ restaurant where the cooking is done on-site; kinda like a Gates in KC or Rendezvous in Memphis.

Jeff707 wrote:This just goes to show what kind of pent-up demand for a barbeque place there was in downtown -- even an average place does pretty well.

I'm surprised at how many businessmen in starched white shirts I see eating ribs every time I go in there.

TGE-ATW wrote:I want to hear what Bonwich has to say on the matter, although I doubt he would waste his time going in there.

Now, TGE, I don't look down my nose at much of anything. Sure I've reviewed An American Place, but I've also reviewed Diner's Delite.



That said, because of the nature of the place, Masterpiece will probably fall under our Affordable Feast (cheap eats) or Takeout reviews. Someone else does Affordable Feast, but I sometimes do takeout reviews -- and it's sure convenient for a lunch takeout when I'm at the office.

Holy Cow! Diner's Delite???? I live right near there and have never gotten up the guts to go in. What's it like? Any good BBQ there?



Fair enough on your assessment of masterpiece. I guess I am just lashing out because I wanted it to be more than it is. I am not offended easily, but mediocre BBQ generally does the trick. I regard the kind of BBQ that requires skill and preparation a la ribs, brisket, pulled pork as a kind of nirvana. Something that you spend your entire life attempting to reach, all the while knowing that in the end you may only move one step closer to your goal. As a result, a BBQ place that simply goes through the motions (no pitmaster on hand, no on-site smoking, slopping textureless meat hash into buns and relying on high-viscosity molasses sauce to carry the day), is regarded as an affront in my book. Yeah, I know, I'm a weirdo.

Diner's Delite is rustic, to say the least, but it's great cafeteria-style soul food at rock-bottom prices. I'll dig out the review when I get back to the office.