Kevin Rosenthal

I took the familiar road to Frida’s Vegetarian Deli located in University City, and I looked around the quaint restaurant.  I heard the sound of fresh fruit fusing into a smoothie.  I saw the scrumptious, top-selling Frida Burger pass me by: a combination of soy protein, vegetables, and beans dressed with Tahini sauce.

As a vegetarian, I have been a frequent customer at Frida’s since the restaurant opened a year ago.  However, as owner Natasha Kwan says, “Most of our customers aren’t even vegetarian.”

Kwan became motivated to open a restaurant as a college student about twenty years ago.

“There were really not a lot of options for clean, healthy food,” Kwan said.  “I wanted a restaurant that had every option out there.  After nothing like this had opened, I decided to do it myself.”

Frida’s provides customers with a plethora of options, some of which include the kale salad, the falafel wrap and the veggie reuben.  In addition, there is a delicious, homemade soup of the day every day at Frida’s.

“We are known for our soups,” Kwan said.  “The way we choose our soups is based a lot on how I’m feeling that day.  I find inspiration everywhere.”

The day I went to Frida’s, Kwan was serving a tasty French lentil soup.  I tried some of this option, and in addition, I ordered my usual:  a white cheddar grilled cheese with tomato, avocado, and arugula.  The cheese oozed out of the sandwich as I took my first bite.  The tomatoes were perfectly fresh, the avocados ripe, and the arugula spicy: just the way I like it.  In my opinion, Frida’s grilled cheese is the best in St. Louis.  Along with my grilled cheese, I also tried Taco Tuesday, a corn tortilla filled with hummus, white beans, scallions, and bright red cabbage, served with crisp carrots and even more hummus on the side.  The tacos were satisfying, but they did not compare to the grilled cheese.

Surprisingly, the restaurant is actually named after Kwan’s cat, Frida.

“I was looking for a name that would encapsulate the energy of this place and the food, and my cat is awesome.  And I just thought…Frida!  I never questioned it afterwards.  I thought it was a good, positive and energetic name,” Kwan said.

It is impossible for customers to miss the vibrant painting of Frida the cat upon entering the establishment.  The painting resembles artist Frida Kahlo’s self portrait, complete with a unibrow, despite its feline form.

For many vegetarians here in St. Louis, it is very difficult to find restaurants which they can use to indulge their dietary needs.  At many restaurants in St. Louis, vegetarians often find themselves scouring through menus, trying to find just one menu item without meat.  At Frida’s, vegetarians have dozens of options, and one of the most fulfilling aspects of the restaurant is how healthy of a meal one has the ability to experience.

Kwan says, “We have so much fresh food.  A lot of it grows in St. Louis. We only source our food from the farms who can produce the quality of what we’re looking for.  Also, we use paper straws and compostable straws.  Everything is compostable or recyclable.”

Frida’s is a restaurant that will satisfy the desires of all customers. Vegetarian or not, people who visit Frida’s notice that it offers its visitors healthy, great-tasting food that can make everyone feel good about themselves afterwards.

“We’re 100 percent butter-free and sugarfree.  There’s no high fructose corn syrup in any of our items.  We are able to provide people with food that’s not going to make people feel badly,” Kwan said.  “I definitely invite everyone to come.  They’ll find something that they like.”

While Frida’s is currently compact, Kwan said they are in the process of expanding the restaurant. “Frida’s will be more sophisticated.  We are doubling our size, doubling our kitchen space.  Our menu will expand.  The options are endless.”