At Chopstix, the barbecue rox

As a North County resident, I’m often disgruntled by the small number of nonchain dining options in our corner of The STL. I think about it each time I hop in my car and head off to some distant locale for dinner. Lately, however, things have been looking up. Take Chopstix Asian Kitchen. The fast-casual restaurant recently opened in Jennings, about one mile north of I-70 in the sprawling new strip mall, Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard. Though scaled down compared with other Chinese-American restaurants, the Chopstix menu manages to cover the usual bases as well as hit a few unexpected notes, like Peking duck. It’s the latter you’ll notice first when you step into the restaurant, hanging as they do in a glass case perched on a counter in front of the open kitchen, their red skin glistening and their long necks twisted unnaturally around meat hangers. It’s at this counter that you’ll place your order with a staff that at first appeared gruff. Subsequent visits proved the staff to be more no-nonsense than unfriendly, the brisk service meant to ensure that the many guests hurrying in and out receive exactly what they need and nothing they don’t. The menu is peppered with familiar appetizers and entrées like egg rolls, hot and sour soup, and sweet and sour chicken, but it’s the selection of Chinese barbecue items that Chopstix prides itself on. And for good reason – it’s here you’ll find the best items, including the Peking duck. Peking duck is traditionally prepared by first blowing air into the duck to separate the skin from the thick layer of fat. It is then hung to dry for up to 24 hours, during which it is glazed with a sugary substance such as maltose or honey and then slow-roasted in a vertical oven. Chopstix utilizes a smoker to obtain a similar effect. The ducks are prized primarily for their crisp skin, but in a notable departure from the traditional method, the restaurant deep-fries the duck to crisp the skin before carving and placing it onto giant platters ringed with steamed buns and shrimp chips. Although frying ensures the meat is moist and the skin crispy, the greasy flavor detracts from the skin’s sweetness and leaves it chewier than roasting would. Regardless, placing a juicy slice of meat on a soft steamed bun topped with the accompanying crunchy scallions and drizzled with sweet duck sauce or salty plum sauce yields a tasty result. Both sauces are made in-house, and the plum sauce differs from what I’ve had in the past: less sweet and substantially thinner with a prominent earthy flavor. Another of the barbecue items – and the best of all – was the honey barbecue pork. A pork butt is marinated in a mixture of honey, hoisin, ginger and spices, and again slow-roasted. Cut to order in the front of the kitchen, the resulting slices are of various thicknesses and are glisteningly moist on the inside – literally dripping with juicy pork fat. The hoisin is the most prominent of the nonpork flavors, and it acts as a Chinese barbecue sauce, creating dark, crispy caramelized edges on each slice. Served alongside rice and a pile of tart and sugary pickled carrots and cabbage, it was outstanding. If it had been served with the steamed buns instead of rice, it would have been unstoppable. The restaurant, incidentally, prepares the barbecue items daily. Anyone serving pork this good stands out, and in an area dominated by chains, family-owned Chopstix is an original worth trying.