Meet Me in St. Louis: Eat
Southwest's Spirit Magazine
June 2010
YOU WON'T GO HUNGRY in St. Louis, where you'll find ethnic cuisine from A (Afghani) to V (Vietnamese). But the city's claim to culinary fame is an Italian one -- toasted ravioli.
While no one knows exactly when or where it was invented, legend has it thata local cook dropped ravioli into boiling oil instead of boiling water. The result? Pillows of deep-fried, meat-filled pasta served with a thick tomato sauce for dipping. Many casual eateries serve toasted ravioli, but the following restaurants make it cooked to order: Charlie Gitto's "On The Hill" (charliegittos.com), Trattoria Marcella (trattoriamarcella.com) inS t. Louis Hills, and all of the Lombardo's restaurants (lombardosrestaurants.com),including one in northwest St. Louis County and two downtown.
Other local specialties include gooey butter cake (made with unspeakable amounts of butter), pork steaks (a particular cut, a half-inch thick) and the "slinger" -- two burgers, hash browns, an egg covered with chili, and toast.
It's decadent dishes like these that have landed St. Louis eateries in the spotlight. A few of them have enjoyed 15 minutes of fame on Food Network: For lunch, grab a peppered pork sandwich at Iron Barley in south St. Louis (www.ironbarley.com).
For dessert, head south to Kimmswick's Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery (theblueowl.com), where they make Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie with 18 apples! And Sweetie Pie's in The Grove -- owned by Robbie Montgomery, former backup singer for Ike and Tina Turner -- was recently named Best Soul Food in Town by local alternative publication Riverfront Times.(One bite of Robbie's famous mac 'n'cheese, and you'll see why.)
Some neighborhoods are known for their ethnic cuisine: Italian on The Hill, Mexican on Cherokee Street, Asian on South Grand, and continental cuisine in the Central West End. "You can find excellent food here, whatever you are looking for -- we have it all," says Bob Bonney, chief executive officer of the Missouri Restaurant Association. In the words of this city's French founders, bon appétit!
