st louis specialties

[chezcherie]

i'm going to st louis! to be on great day, st louis! to promote my book! the i love trader joe's cookbook! sorry for all the exclamation marks, but, not being a fancy-pants AUTHOR-type, flying somewhere to appear on a morning show is a big deal in my life!(okay, that was the last exclamation, i promise.)

so, having checked the archives, i've found very old posts, and references to gooey butter cake (so bfast is covered...) as specialties of the region. while i'm there, and after the tv butterflies have fluttered off, what quintessential delicacies of the region should i not miss, and where will i find them? i don't want to leave st louis without having tasted their best. thanks a million.

[emilyr]

St. Louis isn't really what I'd call a foodie town. You could head over to The Hill and try some toasted ravioli and St. Louis-style pizza (thin crust and with provel cheese). BBQ's pretty good there, but not as good as Kansas City's. There aren't really any "destination" type restaurants that I can think of. I've heard 400 Olive is pretty good.

Edited April 2, 2010 by emilyr (log)

[cookingkid]

St. Louis is becoming more of a foodie town than ever before.

There are a lot of specialties of St. Louis. There's the toasted ravioli found in so many places. You might want to try a haute cuisine version at Farmhaus which is homemade and uses locally raised lamb.

The farmers' markets are just kicking off, and are a great expression of the growing love and concern for where our food comes from. There's a ton of them, so plan accordingly.

BBQ here is great, but I'm mainly thinking of Pappy's BBQ. There are a lot more great BBQ places in KC, but I'd put Pappy's toe to toe with any of them. Go early cuz when it's out, it's out for the day.

Some other specialties: BBQ snoots (just guess), St. Paul sandwiches found only at chop suey joints, brain sandwiches, and many more can be found by digging through various blogs like www.stlbites.com and Joe & Ann Pollack's website or the Eat at Joe's forum on www.stltoday.com

Good luck!

[Steve R.]

C'mon now.... no one is going to send her to Ted Drewes????

[chezcherie]

well, now we're talking..is ted drewes open at night? can't tell from the website. if so, perhaps a farmhaus dinner, followed by frozen custard (never tried--always wanted to !) for dessert?

looks like farmhaus is very new---anyone been?

bbq snoots, you say?....i would try those!

[BrentKulman]

I would argue that Niche is a destination restaurant. At least it is for me, every time I visit St. Louis.

[tim]

...what quintessential delicacies of the region should i not miss, and where will i find them? i don't want to leave st louis without having tasted their best. thanks a million.

... try some toasted ravioli and St. Louis-style pizza (thin crust and with provel cheese).

Hi,

These are delicacies???????

Tim

[Holly Moore]

My first lunch most trips to St. Louis is the Crown Candy Kitchen. Chili Dog and, one of their specialties, a chocolate shake with a banana blended in. To keep me company later on, one of their hand poured chocolate Easter Bunnies.

[emilyr]

...what quintessential delicacies of the region should i not miss, and where will i find them? i don't want to leave st louis without having tasted their best. thanks a million.

... try some toasted ravioli and St. Louis-style pizza (thin crust and with provel cheese).

Hi,

These are delicacies???????

Tim

No, but I can't really think of any thing else that St. Louis is famous for. I'm from a few hours away, and they're what my family would get when we travel into the city. If we were in town for a special event that needed a special meal, we'd probably end up at a place out in the suburbs, but they were never really memorable. We usually find a little hole-in-the-wall place near whatever attraction we're in the city to visit. There's a great African place near the City Museum, for example (I don't remember the name).

The best bet is to pick up a copy of the River Front Times around town and look through their recommendations, which are usually pretty solid.

[rlibkind]

I agree with upthread comments: Ted Drewes and toasted ravioli are the quintessential St. Louis foods. It's also worth a visit to The Hill to visit Volpi's retail store, 5250 Daggett. One of the better domestic makers of Italian salamis and meats.

As for the buttercakes, while the St. Louis version is justly renowned, any urban center with a substantial German population probably offers it. I get a great version here in Philadelphia at Haegele's Bakery.

Edited April 12, 2010 by rlibkind (log)

[cookingkid]

Whoa, I always forget that specialties can mean more than something indigenous to a place.

Ted Drewes is open at night, and usually late. There's two locations, and the more popular one is on Chippewa.

If you have a chance, there's some great farmers' markets in St. Louis and the surrounding areas. It's worth a jaunt to one of them to find really great local produce and meats. At some of the markets, there's prepared foods and ready to fix foods that might fit your bill. While Volpi is an awesome source for domestic salumi, there's Salume Beddu that sells at some markets (and soon to have a storefront shop) that make really great salumi that is made from locally sourced meats. Tomorrow, I'm picking up the first of the local asparagus crop; Belleville, IL (in the metro east of St. Louis) used to be the capital of white asparagus for the country.

You could search the Eat at Joe's forum on www.stltoday.com for some ideas. Try to ask the moderator/restaurant critic (Joe Bonwich) as he's a local resource. There's the Pollack's books, and I could be mistaken, but I think the name is Beyond Gooey Buttercake.

I'm glad this thread didn't just die with the thought that there's nothing worthwhile in St. Louis.