St. Louing

St. Louis-style Pizza

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

St. Louis-style pizza is a regional variation of pizza that is ubiquitous across the entire St. Louis metro area. For many, the pizza style is synonymous with Imo’s, a local chain that has locations in all the far reaches of Missouri and southern Illinois, but many local pizza places all around St. Louis make their own variation of this unique pizza style.

Although divisive, St. Louis-style pizza has fervent defenders (I reference two independent articles in this post that start with “In Defense of…”). I personally had never heard of St. Louis-style pizza until I moved here, and was intrigued to discover hundreds of restaurants and bars serving them up (Imo’s alone has over 100!).

My first experiences with STL-style pizza were not the best, and initially I was the classic dismissive transplant, but over time I’ve acquired a taste and appreciation for this regional specialty. For every birthday, graduation, and celebration, St. Louis-style pizza is there for us, and I can see why so many people feel so deeply protective of it.

My Rankings#

Here’s a subjective rated list of the places I’ve tried. I would say the top three or four are all vying for first place at the moment.

Faraci Pizza - Rectangular pizza, sliced provel, and a crispy, yeasty crust.
Bono’s Pizzeria: Crispy, thin, tavern-esque pizza with light sauce and Provel.
Farotto’s - A pizza with extra-extra-thin buttery, flaky crust, a slightly sweet sauce, and quality ingredients. Just don’t get Jimmy’s favorite (shrimp and bacon…why??). This is my place of choice to take out of town visitors, as the rest of the food is also great.
Pirrone’s Pizzeria - It’s a bit out of the way from the city itself, but worth a visit. Pirrone’s makes a rectangular pizza with a crispy, buttery crust, where the cheese and sauce blend to make an orange mix.
Salvage Yard - A solid choice for a standard STL-style.
Imo’s Pizza - By far the most famous and infamous pizza in town, Imo’s is THE St. Louis pizza chain and the only STL-style many people have ever tried. Imo’s has a mass-produced flavor to it, unlike the home-style vibes of a lot of other spots. The quality also varies a lot from location to location. It can be okay, but not the best representation of pizza in the area, in my opinion. Sometimes I do specifically crave an Imo’s pizza, though.
Failoni’s - A brick-oven pizza with a very crisp cracker-like crust. (I believe this also counts as Uncle Leo’s pizza, as they’re under the same ownership, but I haven’t tried it to confirm.)
Nick & Elena’s - I know people love this place, and the old-school vibes are top-notch, but I didn’t personally like the pizza (specifically the sauce was way too sweet for me).
Cecil Whittaker’s - This was one of my least favorite St. Louis-style pizzas I’ve tried. It’s like an Imo’s clone with lower quality ingredients.
Elicia’s Pizza - The first St. Louis-style pizza I ever tried was from Elicia’s. It was completely burnt and inedible, and unfortunately they’re no longer in business for me to know whether or not that was a fluke.

You can vote for your own favorites on each page! I’d love to see how my rankings compare with the community’s.

So I’ve tried a variety of fan favorites around the city, but I’m always open to new suggestions. A few I have yet to try are Affton Pizza Company, Angelo’s, Kevin’s Place, and plenty more.

What is an STL-style Pizza?#

St. Louis-style pizza from Imo's

Cheese#

You can’t talk about St. Louis-style pizza without talking about Provel - it’s the most unique and controversial aspect of the pizza. Provel is made up of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone cheese with a hint of liquid smoke, and it’s processed and emulsified like American cheese. I would say it tastes kind of similar to a smoked gouda with the consistency of American cheese (those who did not grow up with it often describe it as plasticy). Provel was developed in the ’40s as an answer to the cheese pull issue, to ensure slices could be cut and removed easily. With Provel, you can’t end up accidentally pulling off all the cheese on a slice with a single bite, so I can understand the rationale.

Pizza generally consists of three ingredients (crust, sauce, and cheese) and most styles of pizza default to mozzarella. Provel being so different in both flavor and consistency from what anyone outside of the region expects is, in my opinion, what throws people off so much when they try it for the first time.

I’ve had dozens of STL-style pizzas at this point (see my ratings below) so I know what to expect, but I will admit the first time I was genuinely confused about what I was experiencing and it has been an acquired taste. If you grew up with Provel, however, that would be a different story, and you’d already be used to the taste and have years of fond memories associated with it.

But the truth is that my love for Provel is intense, almost mystical, and I’ve finally started taking it seriously.

Adam Rothbarth, In Defense of a St. Louis Favorite, Provel Cheese

Crust#

One thing all St. Louis-style pizzas have in common is the crust is very thin. Some describe it as unleavened, but usually the dough is made with a light amount of yeast and low hydration, resulting in that cracker-thin crisp. In Kenji López-Alt’s famous dissertation, he describes it as a pizza nacho, which is definitely an interesting and not entirely inaccurate description.

And yet, ever since tasting it for the first time, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. And I’ve finally figured out why I love it so much. St. Louis-style pizza is not pizza. It’s a big, pizza-flavored nacho.

J. Kenji López-Alt, In Defense of St. Louis-Style Pizza

This article was in fact the first step for me towards seeing this pizza from another angle.

Sauce#

The sauce on a St. Louis-style pizza is also unique. In general, it’s significantly sweeter and thicker than your standard pizza sauce. Some recipes, like Imo’s, even use straight tomato paste as opposed to whole tomatoes. The sweetness can vary, with some places almost tasting like a tomato jam to me.

Cut#

St. Louis-style pizza, like other Midwest styles of pizza, is cut into squares, resulting in some pieces having an edge, some being all middle-piece, and some being extra-crispy corner pieces. I’ve never liked the corner pieces much, but they seem to be everyone’s favorite. Cutting a STL-style pizza into triangles would just feel wrong.

Toppings#

You’ll see all the standard toppings on a STL-style. It’s important that the sausage should be bulk sausage placed on the pizza raw, not pre-cooked sausage bits like you’ll see at national chain pizza spots. I don’t know why, but I’ve also seen a lot of shrimp as a topping here which I’ve never seen anywhere else (not a fan), and if you get bacon on your pizza, it’s in the form of whole strips as opposed to bacon bits (am a fan).

Tavern-style Controversy#

Chicago-style pizza from Pizz'amici

Not so long ago, the term “tavern style” came into popularity, generally referring to the thin-crust style of pizza commonly served in bars and taverns across the Chicagoland area. This was seen as unfair in the eyes of many St. Louisans, as Chicago already has a regional variation of pizza in deep dish, and St. Louisans have been eating thin pizzas cut into squares for decades.

There are many regions of the midwest that all lay claim to the thin pizza cut into squares. Milwaukee and Chicago claim to have invented the concept. Columbus, Ohio has a version with an extreme amount of toppings layered edge-to-edge. Tombstone frozen pizzas was started in Wisconsin in the early ’60s, clearly a style of pizza that fits the “tavern-style” description.

Personally, I choose to think of it all as Midwestern-style pizza with regional variations. Only St. Louis does Provel cheese, and every single place that I’ve ever seen calling their pizza St. Louis-style has Provel on it or a Provel blend, so I would consider that the most essential difference. I also find the crust to be much thinner and more cracker-like than all the Chicago thin-crust pizzas I’ve eaten throughout my life.

I think St. Louis has their own thing going here and it’s pretty cool that something so unique and special can be found all over this region and almost nowhere else.

Regional Sub-variations#

Even within St. Louis-style pizza, there are sub-variations.

North#

I’ve noticed pizzas like Pirrone’s, Faraci’s, and Angelo’s, which are found on the north side of the St. Louis area, are all similar in a specific way. They’re rectangular, have a slightly thicker, yeastier crust, and the cheese and sauce blend together to make an orange hue.

South#

Meanwhile, Failoni’s and the original Imo’s are based on the south side of the St. Louis area, and the pizza are round, with a flatter, thinner crust, and the cheese is clearly a separate layer on top of the sauce.

This might not be entirely accurate, and most places do the round pizza, but I think it’s interesting to note.

Making a Pizza from Scratch#

Loosely based on a recipe posted on reddit by HouseofProvel, I made a St. Louis-style pizza from scratch with a three-day ferment on the crust. I opted to use slices of Provel as opposed to shredded as it’s the way Faraci’s does it.

I thought it came out pretty good, though I’d make some changes if I do it again. I made the crust with butter because I like butter, but shortening would be better for a crispier, lighter crust. I’d add slightly more sweetness to the sauce, and I’d use a little more yeast in the crust.

Our attempt at homemade STL-style pizza

What Do I Think?#

I like pizza. I think (almost) all pizza is good. I love trying new things, especially regional food that you can’t get everywhere. My personal favorite styles of pizza are thick, bready styles, like Sicilian, Detroit-style and pan pizza. I’m also a fan of fresh, high-quality ingredients, like the fresh basil and mozzarella found on a Neapolitan margherita pizza.

Delivery from Cecil Whittaker's

So personally, St. Louis-style or even Chicago thin-crust are just never going to be on the top of my list, because I’m here for the dough. Nonetheless, I still like it and have acquired the taste since moving here, and I’m still excited to try all the spots and decide which one is my favorite. Sometimes I specifically crave a St. Louis-style pizza, and I’d miss it if I no longer lived here.

But most of my favorite pizzas around the city are not specifically St. Louis-style.

Other Pizza in St. Louis#

Although St. Louis-style pizza is obviously the most common style to be found in the region, there’s also New York-style at La Pizza, Detroit style at Nicky Slices, Chicago thin-crust at J.J. Twig’s, Neapolitan style at Fordo’s Killer Pizza, standard pizza at Bud’s Pizza and Beer, and many more found all around the city. I have yet to try a Sicilian-style or deep dish in St. Louis, but I’m looking forward to continuing my pizza journey.

Grand Pied

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On the northwest side of the Tower Grove South community, there’s a strip of restaurants, cafes and businesses along Morganford Rd. One of these is Grand Pied, which is French for “Bigfoot”.

I was looking for a good breakfast and I had heard about Grand Pied and their famous pancakes, so I went to go check it out. If anything, the pancakes were undersold, as after the first bite I was sure they were easily the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life. Generally, I’m not into pancakes but these were crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside. They come with (real) Maple syryp, blackberry jam, homemade whipped cream and butter.

I ordered the “kid’s pancakes” to get all the toppings on the side, as I wanted to keep it as crisp as possible and play around with the portions of toppings. All of them were very high quality. (I think calling the exact same dish “kid’s pancakes” and charging more for them is a weirdly passive-aggressive way to try to get people not to order toppings on the side, but whatever).

We also got beignets, which were pretty good but not the softest, lightest ones I’ve ever had, and not the main attraction here. If you’re going to get fried dough at Grand Pied, make it the pancakes.

The coffee and cold brew were both really good. I tend to not like coffee from more upscale brunch spots as it tends to be very acidic, but this coffee was from Dubuque and was well-rounded. My only complaint about my entire stay at Grand Pied was that the coffee was “bottomless” but no one ever came around to refill it or check on us during our stay, as it’s a QR-code based ordering system.

The ambience of the restaurant had a lot of character with the mural on the wall and various paintings and decorations. The coffee was served in a mug which was a nice touch, and the flowers added a lot of brightness to the room. There was also a patio outside with a lot of greenery which added to the vibe.

I’d consider Grand Pied to be an absolute must-try, especially for anyone who is a fan of pancakes. I’ll be going back to try some of the other food.

St. Louis's Most Walkable Streets

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

One of the first things you learn about St. Louis is there is no single main street to walk around and explore. Downtown has the Arch and the main business district, but isn’t the place most people spend their time.

St. Louis is a city of many neighborhoods, and you’ll find interesting clusters of shops and hidden gems all over the place, but it isn’t always obvious to newcomers where to look.

I’ve been on a mission to discover all these walkable spots around the city and county. A few of them are obvious - The Grove and Cherokee Street are often mentioned by name - but some I just happened to stumble upon and slowly discover over time.

In this article, I’m using walkable to mean an area that is interesting to walk around and explore, with plenty of shops, restaurants, and other businesses along it. I haven’t factored in livability factors such as proximity to public transportation or groceries, though I plan to update this article in the future to include them.

Overview#

This is a map of all the walkable St. Louis streets you’ll see throughout the article. Click on a title to scroll to the relevant section.

The shaded areas denote the official neighborhoods, the lines are the highlighted streets.

The Grove#

Street: Manchester Avenue, from the west arch to the east arch
Neighborhood: Forest Park Southeast
Vibe: Fun, nightlife, LGBTQ
Website: thegrovestl.com

One of the most distinctive and well-known streets in St. Louis is The Grove in Forest Park Southeast. It’s the only neighborhood that welcomes you with a lit-up neon sign from both ends so there’s no confusion about exactly where you are.

The Grove is most famous for being the city’s LGBTQ+ nightlife district. On one end, you have Platypus bar and Urban Chestnut brewery, and on the other you have Handlebar, Atomic, and Rehab. In between are a few of my favorite restaurants in the city - Sultan, Grace Meat & Three, and The Gramophone.

The Delmar Loop#

Street: Delmar Boulevard, from Leland to the Pageant
Neighborhoods: University City, Skinker DeBaliviere
Vibe: Music, Asian, neon
Website: visittheloop.com

In 2007, the Delmar Loop was named one of the “10 Great Streets in America” by the APA, due to the “sustained efforts of local business, government, and the community to achieve successful physical and economic revitalization”.

There are a lot of interesting things to see on the street - the St. Louis Walk of Fame stars along the sidewalk, the Pageant and Delmar Hall for concerts, Moonrise Hotel and tons of neon signs. There’s also the Loop Trolley which runs to Forest Park (allegedly - I’ve never seen it).

Notably, there is a concentration of very good Asian cuisine along Delmar, including my favorite ramen in the world, Kishimoto Mendo. The original Salt & Smoke BBQ and Fitz’s are here, and Vintage Vinyl is a great spot to browse for vinyl records.

Central West End#

Street: Euclid Avenue, from Laclede to Delmar
Neighborhood: Central West End
Vibe: Upscale, urban
Website: cwescene.com

Central West End is one of the most dense and urban neighborhoods outside of Downtown. Euclid is the main retail strip that runs through the neighborhood. The street is lined with large, opulent lanterns, giving the area a nice glow at night.

There are a good amount of late night food options and bars/clubs along Euclid. Tikka Tangy and Taste of Lebanon are a few of my favorite restaurants in the area. Updown, the arcade bar, is at the end of the line.

One of St. Louis’s independent bookstores, Left Bank Books, can be found here. There is also the World Chess Hall of Fame (with the world’s largest chess piece), representing St. Louis as a world chess capital.

Euclid is just a few short blocks from Forest Park, the proximity of which is a huge pro for the neighborhood. It’s also a relatively bike-friendly area.

Washington Avenue#

Street: Washington Avenue, from 6th to 18th
Neighborhoods: Downtown, Downtown West
Vibe: Urban, historic, industrial
Website: washaveretail.com

Washington Avenue, often referred to as Wash Ave by locals, is one of the main streets of interest in Downtown. There are a number of restaurants close to the street that serve the business district during lunch hours, such as Sugarfire BBQ and Sauce on the Side, and even the Washington Ave Food Hall.

I’ve mostly tried to keep common tourist items off this list like the Aquarium, Ballpark Village, etc. - but it’s worth mentioning City Museum, one of the most unique and interesting attractions in all of St. Louis, which is right along Wash Ave.

Being downtown, it’s as walkable as it gets, and one of the areas most likely to have a lot of foot traffic during the day.

Ballpark Village#

Street: Clark Avenue, from 8th to Broadway
Neighborhoods: Downtown
Vibe: Baseball, entertainment, bars
Website: stlballparkvillage.com

Right next to Busch Stadium is Ballpark Village, a string of bars and restaurants surrounding a central entertainment district. It’s a hub for people to hang out before a ball game or concert.

Dogtown#

Street: Tamm Avenue, from Oakland to Mitchell
Neighborhood: Dogtown
Vibe: Irish, local

Around the Clayton and Tamm intersection in Dogtown (technically the Clayton-Tamm neighborhood) is St. Louis’s historical Irish neighborhood, where a St. Patrick’s Day parade takes place each year. There are several Irish bars in this spot, like Seamus McDaniel’s and The Pat Connolly Tavern.

Cherokee Street#

Street: Cherokee Street, from Nebraska to Lemp
Neighborhoods: Gravois Park, Benton Park West, Benton Park, Marine Villa
Vibe: Eclectic, creative, Mexican
Website: cherokeestreet.com, cherokeeantiquerow.net

Cherokee St. is the Mexican neighborhood strip in St. Louis. There are several restaurants, panaderias, and Mexican groceries along Cherokee. Although St. Louis does not have the most significant Hispanic neighborhood compared to other American cities, I’m glad there’s a main area to go to get good Mexican food, bakery items, and groceries. The Cinco de Mayo festival in St. Louis also happens along Cherokee.

The eastern wing of Cherokee St. is the antique row, with spots like Hammond’s Antiques and Books and Elder’s Antiques and a vinyl record store. This whole area is all small, family-owned storefronts with no chains and has a very eclectic, artistic vibe.

Tower Grove South#

Street: Grand Boulevard, from Arsenal to Utah
Neighborhoods: Tower Grove South, Tower Grove East
Vibe: International
Street: Morganford Road, from Arsenal to Utah
Neighborhoods: Tower Grove South
Vibe: Local

South Grand is the international restaurant row of St. Louis. Along this strip, you’ll find a concentration of Vietnamese, Thai, Ethiopian, Persian, Lebanese, Indian, BBQ, and other varieties of food. Jay International Foods is also the spot to go for ingredients of the world. MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse is a popular spot for coffee.

Dunaway Books is a used book store with two floors that’s really fun to browse.

The South Grand strip stops right at Tower Grove Park, which really adds to the walkability of this street, especially on a weekend during the farmers’ market.

There’s also a smaller strip along Morganford with a few places of interest, such as Amsterdam Tavern, the soccer bar, and Songbird.

Shaw#

Street: South 39th Street, from Shaw to Magnolia
Neighborhood: Shaw
Vibe: Quaint, charming, quiet

Tucked between Tower Grove Park, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Compton Hill Park is Shaw, a quiet tree-lined neighborhood full of historical Victorian homes. This is a great area to walk due to how quiet it is, and how much green space surrounds it.

There is not exactly one main street to walk along, but several businesses dotted throughout the neighborhood. You can get pastries at Damn Fine Hand Pies, coffee at Fiddlehead Fern Cafe, and liquid-nitrogen ice cream at Ice’s Plain and Fancy.

Flora Place is a particularly pretty boulevard to walk along, showcasing many beautiful Victorian-era homes.

Hampton & Macklind#

Street: Hampton Avenue, from Chippewa to Gravois
Neighborhoods: St. Louis Hills, Southampton, Princeton Heights
Vibe: Local
Street: Macklind Avenue, from Lansdowne to Nottingham
Neighborhoods: Southampton
Vibe: Local

Hampton Avenue around St. Louis Hills and Southampton has a very local neighborhood vibe. This is mostly a quiet area of the city with some shops, but I noticed a cluster of restaurants along the strip. There’s J.J. Twigs, a Chicago tavern-style pizza spot with the braided crust pizza, and the newly relocated Mom’s Deli, and Salvage Yard. There’s also Bono’s Pizzeria, the best Chicago deep dish I’ve had aside from Lou Malnati’s, and more restaurants I have yet to try.

There is nothing otherwise particularly noteworthy or interesting about this street - a lot of every day places like dentist, nails, and insurance, but it was a noteworthy selection of good, local restaurants and I felt the need to include it.

There’s also another small strip nearby on Macklind with a Clementine’s ice cream shop and a few bars and restaurants. The neighborhood around the shops is also fun to walk through.

The Hill#

Street: Marconi Avenue, from Shaw to Elizabeth
Neighborhood: The Hill
Vibe: Italian
Website: hillstl.org

The Hill is one of the most well-known neighborhoods of St. Louis. It was documented in America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill as one of the last Little Italys still around in America, and is the birthplace of the toasted ravioli, one of St. Louis’s most sacred regional foods.

St. Ambrose Church on Marconi is the heart of the neighborhood. All throughout the area, you’ll see fire hydrants and crosswalks painted in the colors of the Italian flag. You can walk around and get Italian food, sandwiches, pizza, gelato, and more.

My two favorites are Nicky Slices for Detroit-style pizza, and Pizzeria da Gloria for immaculate vibes and pizza.

Bevo#

Street: Gravois Avenue, from Taft to Christy
Neighborhood: Bevo Mill
Vibe: Bosnian

In the ’90s, St. Louis took in many refugees from the Bosnian War, and they settled in the neighborhood of Bevo Mill. This area became known as Little Bosnia, and Gravois became the main street. For many years, Bevo had the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia.

As far as restaurants in the area, Das Bevo is a biergarten in the Bevo windmill, which the landmark of the neighborhood built by the Busch family back in the day. Bevo Caffe Lounge and Zlatno Zito are two spots serving traditional, authentic Balkan fare.

Although it has been thirty years since the Bosnian refugees settled in Bevo, there are still many signs of the population that built up the area. The Sebilj fountain replica stands as a monument for the region. Nowawdays, much of the Bosnian population has moved to South County areas like Affton.

Southtown#

Street: South Kingshighway, from Fyler to Devonshire
Neighborhoods: North Hampton, Southampton, Tower Grove South
Vibe: Commercial

Bud’s Pizza and Beer is one of my favorite spots for a classic slice in St. Louis, and every time I visited I noticed a couple of obelisks and signs denoting “Southtown”. Due to my research on this site, I knew “Southtown” was not an official St. Louis neighborhood, so I was curious.

It seems there used to be a Southtown Famous-Barr department store at Kingshighway & Chippewa that was demolished in the ’90s that gave the area its name.

Now, there are new restaurants and bars filling up the space, such as the Golden Hoosier and Himalayan Yeti. It’s honestly not the most walkable area of the city due to Kingshighway being such a busy street, but I can see the area getting more and more built up as Garcia Properties is working on revializing it.

Soulard#

Street: South 12th Street, from Shenandoah to Gravois
Neighborhood: Soulard
Vibe: Historic, nightlife
Website: soulard.org

I was hesitant to include Soulard in the list, because it breaks the mold by being a whole grid of bars as opposed to one main street. Nonetheless, the density of bars in the area makes it worth being included on the list of most walkable neighborhoods. The majority of businesses around the area are late night and bar focused, so you won’t see much here along the lines of bookstores and cafes.

The Soulard Farmers market is one of the (if not the) oldest farmers’ markets west of the Mississippi, continuously running since 1779.

The second largest Mardi Gras parade in the country happens in Soulard, second only to New Orleans.

I haven’t spent much time in Soulard myself during its peak hours, but McGurk’s has an excellent patio. When I have driven through Soulard during the afternoon, it has felt sleepy.

The north and south ends of Soulard have a different feel, with the north side being a bit more commercial and bustling, especially with the farmers market on a Saturday morning, and the south side being more residential and quiet.

Lafayette Square#

Street: Park Avenue, from Mississippi to 18th
Neighborhood: Lafayette Square
Vibe: Victorian, historic
Website: lafayettesquare.org

Lafayette Park is a beautiful park in St. Louis with a pavilion, grotto, lake, and bridge. Every one of the neighborhoods on this list that borders a park gets an edge, because you can also take a stroll around the park.

Many of the businesses around Lafayette Square are not necessarily bars and restaurants, but there are a few notable ones. Park Avenue Coffee has a location here, and it’s my absolute favorite coffee around the city (though not necessarily my favorite cafe - a few others like Telva at the Ridge, Noteworthy Cafe, etc. take the cake).

In addition to the park, there are also beautiful, historic mansions painted in vibrant colors that give this area an interesting, historic charm.

Carondelet#

Street: South Broadway, from Blow to Steins
Neighborhoods: Carondelet, Patch
Vibe: Riverside

Carondelet is an interesting part of St. Louis that was originally its own city that was annexed by St. Louis in 1870 (one of the last that ever would be!). It’s a very old, very French village from back in the day.

I didn’t really know there was anything in Carondelet aside from Stacked (burgers) and Sugarwitch (ice cream sandwiches) but I recently discovered there’s a whole strip of bars along the riverfront. Most of St. Louis is not along the riverfront as it’s mostly been historically used for industry, so that’s kind of interesting.

I have not personally explored this area outside of driving through and I don’t know how much I would recommend taking a stroll around the neighborhood - there were a lot of boarded up buildings along the strip in between the bars and live music venues.

DeMun#

Street: DeMun Avenue, from Northwood to Southwood
Neighborhood: Clayton
Vibe: Cozy, upscale

There’s a small, chic strip in Clayton right to the west of Forest Park. Concordia Park runs right along Demun, giving you a beautiful green park to amble along after dinner and/or ice cream along the strip.

In this area, you’ll find Louie, an amazing spot to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, and Clementine’s, the St. Louis ice cream classic. A location of Sasha’s wine bar is also here, with the other being in Shaw. Many of these spots have outdoor patios, making it a lovely place to spend an evening.

Demun is a small spot overall, but worth mentioning for how pleasant it is.

Maplewood#

Street: Manchester Road, from Big Bend to Bellevue
Neighborhood: Maplewood
Vibe: Indie, breweries
Website: maplewoodmo.gov

In the 2010s, Maplewood was named one of the top “hipster” neighborhoods in the U.S. There’s a bit of a “Keep Maplewood Weird” vibe about the area, like a much smaller Portland or Austin.

There are two major breweries located in Maplewood - Side Project Brewing and Schlafly Bottleworks. There is also a cozy bookstore called The Book House and Strange Donuts, a local favorite donut shop. Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions is a high quality butcher in the area.

Maplewood is a streetcar suburb with Metrolink access to the city, making it one of a few. The Treasure Aisles Antique Mall is nearby, as well as some restaurants like Locoz Tacos and the Japanese Sando Shack.

Webster Groves#

Street: Big Bend Boulevard, from Lockwood to Oakwood
Neighborhood: Webster Groves
Vibe: Charming, wealthy
Website: oldorchardwebstergroves.com
Street: Lockwood Avenue, from Jefferson to Maple
Neighborhood: Webster Groves
Vibe: Charming, wealthy
Website: webstergrovesmo.gov

There are two main strips in Webster Groves. The Old Orchard district includes the famous James Beard award winning restaurant Balkan Treat Box and bookstore the Novel Neighbor.

On the east end of Webster, there’s another main retail area with Telva at the Ridge (a cafe by the owners of Balkan Treat Box), Olive + Oak, and the Webster Groves Bookshop.

Kirkwood#

Street: Kirkwood Road, from Bodley to Monroe
Neighborhood: Kirkwood
Vibe: Suburban, charming
Website: downtownkirkwood.com, kirkwoodmo.org

Downtown Kirkwood is a walkable area in Kirkwood, a wealthy suburb in the county of St. Louis. There’s an Amtrak station in Kirkwood, making it more connected than most suburbs.

There are some restaurants along the main strip, like Napoli Kirkwood, Honey Bee’s Biscuits, and Billy G’s. There’s also a Strange Donuts and Clementine’s ice cream here, and notably there’s The Minifig Shop, a Lego resale store.

And of course - you guessed it - Kirkwood has a farmers market.

Conclusion#

Did I miss a few spots? Let me know! I’m still learning and exploring so there’s bound to be some areas I missed.

Tee Rak Thai

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tucked into a street along Shaw you’ll find Tee Rak Thai, an authentic regional Thai restaurant. “Tee Rak” means “My Love” in Thai, and you can definitely feel the love that goes into this homemade cuisine.

I tried Moo Ping, which are BBQ Pork Skewers, and potstickers, along with one of my favorite beverages, Thai Tea. The tea was good and the potstickers were very crispy.

For the entrees, I tried Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) and Pad See Ew, two common Thai classics. Both were great, with proper thick noodles and flavor infued all throughout. I got it with crispy pork belly which was the special of the day; if I ordered it again, I would probably try chicken or beef, because the crispy pork belly was so rich, but it was tasty.

I really liked the spice level (I chose 2 out of 4). Usually it’s not spicy enough for me at that level and this had a very pleasant level of spice.

The building is also a classic St. Louis red brick (as is most of Shaw) with some nice decor.

Pizzeria da Gloria

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Everything about Pizzeria da Gloria is amazing. The vibe is welcoming, the patio is beautiful, and the food is top notch and reasonably priced for everything you get. Pizzeria da Gloria, along with Louie, is the best Italian food I’ve had in St. Louis.

I particularly loved the caprese salad - made with homemade mozzarella! - but the meatballs were too good to not choose them as “my pick”. Probably the best meatballs I’ve ever had.

Let’s not forget the Neapolitan-style pizza, made in an enormous wood-fired oven. My only issue was that the Marguerita pizza I ordered was more of a regular cheese pizza, since it didn’t use fresh tomatoes and mozzarella slices, but it was still delicious.

This is the perfect spot to get a nice birthday dinner or other small celebration.

The Great Divorce

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Did you know St. Louis was almost the capital of the U.S.? At its peak, it was the 4th largest city in the country, booming in population and industry, and big enough that by 1904 it hosted the Olympics and the World’s Fair in the same year.

Many factors have contributed to the city’s decline over the following decades - white flight, highway development, redlining, and the economy shifting away from the river - from more than 850,000 residents in the 1950s to less than 300,000 now. One persistent structural issue underlying these events is the city-county split known as “The Great Divorce”.

A City Divided#

The City of St. Louis voted to separate from St. Louis County in 1876, becoming one of the few independent cities in America. Most other cities sit inside a county, like Chicago within Cook County, but St. Louis City and County are completely separate entities. This separation permanently froze the boundaries of St. Louis at 66 square miles**, which resulted in unforeseen consequences for the city.

St. Louis City and St. Louis County

Frozen borders#

Most other cities have continued to grow and expand over the last two hundred years - Chicago, for example, had dozens of annexations of its surrounding towns and villages between 1880 and now, during which it expanded from 36 square miles to 234 today. St. Louis remained at 66 square miles during that time.

City	Area in 1880	Area in 2020
Chicago	36 sq. mi	234 sq. mi
St. Louis	66 sq. mi	66 sq. mi

Chicago and St. Louis size in square miles from 1880 to 2020

If St. Louis had followed in the footsteps of other cities, it would have absorbed many of the surrounding areas like Clayton, Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Webster Groves, and Kirkwood, but instead those are all separate cities.

Population stagnation#

As it stands, St. Louis City is not even close to being in the top 150 largest (by area), yet the Greater St. Louis area had the 21st highest population in the U.S. in 2020 (closer to 25th as of 2025 estimates).

Year	City population	County population
1880	350,518	31,888
1890	451,770	36,307
1900	575,238	50,040
1910	687,029	82,417
1920	772,897	100,737
1930	821,960	211,593
1940	816,048	274,230
1950	856,796	406,349
1960	750,026	703,532
1970	622,236	951,353
1980	453,085	973,896
1990	396,685	993,529
2000	348,189	1,016,315
2010	319,294	998,954
2020	301,578	1,004,125

St. Louis City and County population from 1880 to 2020

The suburbs have rapidly expanded over this time period, but the city has stagnated. This disparity has had an effect on the city’s reputation.

The Most Dangerous City?#

St. Louis has long been infamous for being the murder capital of the U.S. In 2024, St. Louis had the highest murder rate of U.S. cities. But while parts of St. Louis are legitimately dangerous, this stat doesn’t tell the whole story. St. Louis City only represents 10% of the population of its metro area - in stark contrast to the nearly 30% that Chicago represents, which is closer to the average.

City	Metro pop.	City pop.	Share of metro
Chicago	9,618,502	2,746,388	28%
St. Louis	2,820,253	301,578	10%

City population as a share of its metro, 2020

Crime is reported by geographic boundary. Since St. Louis hasn’t expanded its borders in 150 years, its lower-crime suburbs fall outside the city borders and never enter the stats, so the rate reflects only the dense urban core, not the wider region.

Thought experiment#

If St. Louis City and County were to be one combined entity, what would the stats look like? I decided to add up the numbers to see how much of a difference it would make.

Measured across the city and county together, the homicide rate drops from 87 to 28 per 100k. Treating the combined STL City and County area as a single city is a bit contrived, but there are cities like San Antonio, Texas, which is a somewhat similarly sized city in both population and area.

Place	Land area	Population	Homicides	Rate per 100k
St. Louis City	62 sq. mi	301,578	263	87
St. Louis County	508 sq. mi	1,004,125	104	10
St. Louis City + County	570 sq. mi	1,305,703	367	28
San Antonio	499 sq. mi	1,434,625	130	9

St. Louis City + County compared with San Antonio, 2020

Even in this hypothetical scenario, the crime stats are still above the national average (which the FBI estimated at 6.5 in 2020) but much lower than St. Louis City alone. Among the 296 cities over 100,000 that reported 2020 data to the FBI, St. Louis City had the highest murder rate in the nation - the combined city (which I’ll call St. Loutopia) would instead rank roughly 15th, in the same range as Chicago and Richmond, Virginia.

Being honest though, this hypothetical city covers 570 square miles, which would make it one of the biggest cities in the U.S. (outside of Alaska). The city would become mostly sprawl to dilute St. Louis’s homicide rate down to still being within the top twenty most dangerous cities.

Rank	City	Land area
1	Jacksonville	747 sq. mi
2	Houston	641 sq. mi
3	Oklahoma City	607 sq. mi
4	St. Louis City + County	570 sq. mi
5	Phoenix	518 sq. mi

Where a combined St. Louis would rank among U.S. cities by land area, 2020

St. Loutopia would also be the 9th largest city in the 2020 census, about the same size in population as Dallas while covering roughly 230 more square miles of land.

Rank	City	2020 population	Land area
7	San Antonio	1,434,625	499 sq. mi
8	San Diego	1,386,932	326 sq. mi
9	St. Louis City + County	1,305,703	570 sq. mi
10	Dallas	1,304,379	340 sq. mi

Where a combined St. Louis would rank among U.S. cities by population, 2020

Recalculating the borders does not make the dangerous parts of the city any less dangerous, and that’s a serious problem. But nonetheless, St. Louis could be viewed in a more reasonable light if it was set up in a more comparable way to other metros.

Outlook#

Reunification has been attempted several times since the split. The most recent attempt, Better Together, was withdrawn in May 2019 before it ever reached a vote.

Louisville is one of the few cities to have merged with its county, as a case study.

An actual merger has not happened in 150 years (as of this writing), it does not seem likely that it will ever happen. There are legitimate concerns from both sides about such an event, and the city and county finding a way to work together would not immediately fix all problems from the last 150 years, but I believe anything that could improve the city’s reputation would be a win. A more unified region could also potentially work together better to solve these issues.

St. Louis will probably not ever be the 4th largest city in the U.S. again, (St. Loutopia might!) but if it wasn’t on the top of every “most dangerous city” list, I believe people would be more likely to visit and move here.

TL;DR#

St. Louis City voted to separate from St. Louis County in 1876, freezing its borders at 66 square miles.
The city peaked at 856,796 residents in 1950 and has shrunk every decade since, down to 301,578 in 2020. The county grew past a million during that time period.
Crime is measured by city boundary, so the stats cover only the urban core. St. Louis (city) had the highest 2020 murder rate (87 per 100k) of the 296 large cities reporting to the FBI. The county was estimated around 10 per 100k.
If the city and county were one merged city (St. Loutopia), it would be the 9th largest in the U.S. by population, roughly 4th by land area, and its murder rate would be 28, around 15th place. This doesn’t necessarily paint the best picture, because the city would need contain a massive amount of sprawl to bring down the statistics.
Reunification attempts failed in 1926, 1959, 1962, and 2019.

Sources#

Every homicide count on this page comes from a single dataset for a single year: the FBI’s official 2020 “murder and nonnegligent manslaughter” figures. Rates are those counts divided by 2020 census populations.

Crime in the U.S. 2020: Offenses Known to Law Enforcement - FBI Crime Data Explorer — murder counts for every reporting agency
QuickFacts: St. Louis city and St. Louis County - U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 populations
2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files - U.S. Census Bureau — land areas
TIGERweb - U.S. Census Bureau — the map’s city and county boundary outlines
Demographics of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri - census counts for the population-by-decade table

The St. Louis County total (104) is the St. Louis County Police Department (43) plus the 44 municipal police departments that reported to the FBI (61 combined). A handful of departments - Berkeley, Maryland Heights, and Webster Groves among them - did not report 2020 data, so the county figure is likely a slight undercount.

*There are 41 independent cities in the U.S. - 38 of them are in Virginia. The only ones outside it are St. Louis, Baltimore, and Carson City, Nevada.

**St. Louis’s 66 square miles includes about 4 square miles of the Mississippi River. City rankings compare land area, where the city measures 62.

Regional Foods of St. Louis

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Most cities are lucky to have one local food speciality they can lay claim to, but St. Louis has an abundance of them. I’ve been interested to discover the food items that either originated in St. Louis or can only be found here.

So here’s what I’ve discovered so far:

St. Louis-style pizza#

A pizza style that is the standard all across the St. Louis region, consisting of a cracker-thin crust, a sweet, thick tomato sauce, and gooey Provel cheese.

See St. Louis-style Pizza for the full writeup.

My personal favorites for St. Louis-style pizza are Farotto’s, Faraci’s, and Pirrone’s.

Provel cheese#

The cheese of choice in St. Louis, Provel is an option in almost every pizza place and sandwich shop around the city. It’s a processed cheese product made of cheddar, provolone, and Swiss cheese, all mixed together with a hint of liquid smoke. It’s the ingredient that makes St. Louis-style pizza controversial, with its goopy texture and smoky, funky flavor.

Although it’s notable for its low melting point and unique texture it adds to pizza, you’ll also find it liberally applied to mouse house salads in Italian restaurants across the city.

St. Louis salad#

I don’t think you’ll find this on any other list of local St. Louis cuisine, but I can tell you that the house salad served in many restaurants in STL is unique to the region. The lettuce, tomato, and onion are standard salad ingredients, but the Italian dressing is sweet, almost candy like, and the salad is liberally covered in Provel cheese. Some places have so much Provel on top of the salad that you can hardly see a piece of lettuce poking out.

I do enjoy this salad, but I don’t feel very healthy after eating it.

BBQ & Meats#

There are two things to discuss here - St. Louis-style BBQ, and St. Louis cut ribs.

Ribs#

There’s a popular cut of ribs called a “St. Louis cut”, which is a spare rib with the ends neatly trimmed, resulting in a rectangular shape. This allows for even cooking, as you don’t have one end that is significantly wider than the other. Surprisingly, most BBQ spots around here don’t tend to use this cut.

It’s not exactly a style of regional food, but it’s worth mentioning.

BBQ#

BBQ in St. Louis is another contentious topic, with many arguing about what the style is and if it exists at all. Some say St. Louis-style is a mix between Kansas City BBQ and Memphis BBQ.

Here’s what I’ve observed: I’ve been to around a dozen BBQ spots in St. Louis so far, and I can say pork is king here. Pappy’s is the most famous for their ribs, and it’s well deserved. You’ll see pork steak on the menu at Beast BBQ, and most backyard BBQs. I would recommend against getting brisket, particularly if you’re a fan of Texas brisket, as the style is not really found here. (O’B’Que’s in Chesterfield is the closest I’ve found.)

I’ve heard it said that St. Louisans consume the most amount of BBQ sauce per capita, which tracks with the BBQ style. Ribs, pork steaks, and even backyard grilled hot dogs are slathered in sweet BBQ sauce. Pappy’s makes a Sweet Jane BBQ, which goes great on pulled pork or smoked chicken, and Maull’s is a classic BBQ sauce from the region. I’m partial to Freddie Lee’s Ghetto sauce.

I have also found that the smoked wings are slept on - they’re crisp and juicy and have been my favorite thing on the menu at several spots. Some places also have their own specialties, like the smoked salami at Adam’s Smokehouse.

As a lover of spicy vinegar-based BBQ sauce and wood-smoked savory meats, St. Louis-style is not my preferred style of BBQ, but if you stick to ribs and wings you’ll have a good time. It’s exciting that a BBQ scene exists here, and I’m looking forward to continuing to try more.

Where I’ve been so far#

O’B’Que’s
The Stellar Hog
Pappy’s Smokehouse
Dalie’s Smokehouse
Beast Craft BBQ Co.
Adam’s Smokehouse
Salt & Smoke BBQ
Sugarfire Smokehouse
Bandana’s Bar-B-Q
Fourth City BBQ
The Shaved Duck (rip)

Pork steak#

Pork steak is a cut of meat derived from sliced pork butt, usually with the bone in. Often they’re grilled over high heat then slathered in BBQ sauce and braised until tender. Although most BBQ spots in St. Louis won’t have it on the menu, pork steak is known to all. It’s one of the primary meats of choice for any backyard BBQ.

Bar & Diner Food#

Toasted ravioli#

You’d be hard pressed to find a bar or restaurant in the entire St. Louis metro area that doesn’t serve toasted ravioli, also known as “t-ravs”. They’re the default appetizer of choice throughout the region - little beef-filled ravioli that are deep fried, sprinkled with parmesan, and served with marinara sauce for dipping.

I was a bit thrown off by toasted ravioli when I first moved here, as I always expect ravioli to be filled with ricotta cheese, not a smooth beef paste, but I got used to it. I tend to prefer the ones that are filled with something else, like the buffalo chicken t-travs from Stacked, or the burnt end t-ravs from Salt & Smoke, or even the spinach artichoke t-ravs at McGurk’s.

The best t-ravs I’ve had so far are made at Bud’s Pizza and Beer.

Trashed wings#

Trashed wings are a double-fried style of bar wings. First the wings are fried, then tossed in sauce and fried again, caramelizing the sauce and making them twice as crisp.

Slinger#

A slinger is a greasy spoon diner meal that consists of eggs, hash browns and a hamburger patty, covered in chili and cheese. I haven’t been drunk enough to ever need this meal, but I’m sure I’ll be exposed to it eventually.

Brain sandwich#

Yeah…St. Louis is one of the only places in the U.S. you can still get a brain sandwich. You can get it at Schottzie’s Bar & Grill, deep-fried and served on marble rye with pickles and mustard.

Pizza, etc.#

Chinese#

St. Louis fried rice#

St. Louis, particularly the north side of St. Louis city, is home to many old style chop suey shops serving up a particular variation of fried rice that is much darker than your average fried rice. I’m not sure if it’s just extra soy sauce or any other particular ingredients that are used.

I was interested in this topic and found the article In St. Louis ‘Chinamen’ is Black Culture* which is an interesting writeup on a topic I know nothing about, and From Far East to Midwest: chop suey’s last stand.

* I’m just linking to the article, I don’t condone the use of this word

St. Paul sandwich#

I have yet to try this delicacy, but chop suey shops all around St. Louis have it on the menu. It consists of a fried egg foo young patty between two slices of white bread, with lettuce and mayonnaise. It’s an interesting historical fusion of flavors, and I’m happy to see it lives on in the present day.

Hot Braised Chicken#

I haven’t been able to find out too much about this dish and what makes it special, but you’ll see it on many restaurants all over the St. Louis region, and basically nowhere else. It seems to me kind of similar to sweet and sour chicken style, but tossed in General Tso-style sauce.

Desserts#

Gooey butter cake#

The signature dessert of St. Louis, gooey butter cake is a dense, sticky, rich cake with a crisp, flaky top layer. It almost has the consistency of a light brownie, or a lemon bar without any lemon. You’ll find them in many cafes alongside the croissants and muffins.

The consistency can vary a lot from recipe to recipe, and I like it when there are contrasting textures between the rich, gooey center and the flaky crust, like a pie. Sometimes the whole thing has one unified texture, and it loses its appeal for me.

Frozen custard/concrete#

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is the oldest frozen custard stand still in operation, founded in 1929. They began the concept of the concrete, a frozen custard with mix-ins, which was later co-opted by Dairy Queen, which they called blizzards.

A popular St. Louis tradition is to get Ted Drewes during Christmastime then walk down the streets of Candy Cane Lane, a neighborhood where every house is all done up with Christmas lights.

Snacks#

Red Hot Riplets#

Red Hot Riplets are a brand of ridged chips with a unique sweet BBQ and cayenne flavor. In addition to just being a chip, you’ll find Red Hot Riplet flavor and spice blend used often. Imo’s tosses their fried wings in Red Hot Riplet seasoning as a dry rub. I’m generally not a fan of BBQ chips, but I do enjoy the Riplet rub on wings.

Tzitzel bagel#

A cornmeal-coated bagel, which originated in Pratzel’s Bakery in the early 1900s. You can still find this at Lefty’s Bagels and Baked & Boiled. You can read more about tzitzel at The tzitzel bagel — a crunchy St. Louis classic with a century-old story.

Closing Thoughts#

Flavor profile#

One thing I’ve noticed across the board is that the main flavor profile across the board in St. Louis is “sweet”. The signature BBQ sauce is sweet, the pizza sauce is sweet, the salad dressing is sweet, and the desserts are doubly sweet. You won’t really find vinegary, sour, or bitter flavors.

Other things of note#

St. Louis is home to the largest Bosnian population in the U.S. and as a result, there are a fair amount of Bosnian and Balkan restaurants - notably Balkan Treat Box and a strip of restaurants in the Bevo Mill neighborhood.

Dalie's Smokehouse

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I think Dalie’s is currently my favorite spot for BBQ in St. Louis. The smoked wings are fantastic, and the ribs are fantastic. And although the brisket is not my favorite - Texas-style - it is still incredibly tender and flavorful. The service is also excellent at this spot.

Mom's Deli

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I’m fortunate enough to have tried Mom’s Deli at its original, iconic location before it got relocated to the Hampton strip. Mom’s Deli is a classic St. Louis institution, and I understand a lot of people have been going here for their whole life and have strong feelings about it.

Personally, Mom’s Deli isn’t really the spot for me - I’d rather go to blues-city-deli or the-gramophone for a more upscale sandwich experience, but an everyday sandwich it’s alright.

The Gramophone

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

St. Louis is a sandwich town, and The Gramophone adds to that reputation. The fact that you can get a sandwich this good in a bar late at night is pretty spectacular. Highly recommended!

Faraci Pizza

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Faraci Pizza is one of the original Pizza spots in St. Louis. It began in Ferguson, Missouri in 1968, and moved to Ellisville in West County in the ’90s. Due to its original location, it has that “North side” St. Louis-style pizza vibe. The pizza is rectangular, and the crust is a bit more thick and stable than some other spots, while still being a crispy cracker-crust.

At Faraci, they make the meatballs and sausage from scratch, and use sliced Provel instead of shredded cheese or a blend.

Faraci is very much a favorite neighborhood joint for the surrounding area, and it can get busy during holidays (I’ve seen them just disconnect the phone due to too many callers).

Park Avenue Coffee

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Park Avenue is a local coffee chain that has locations in Lafayette Square, The Hill, Midtown, and Downtown. They also make one of the better gooey butter cakes around town.

The coffee from Park Avenue is the best - I order it as my regular, daily coffee. It is much less acidic than most other coffee roasters, and they have some nice, subtle flavored coffees like cinnamon hazelnut and southern pecan.

Affton

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Carondelet

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A historic riverside neighborhood near a park

Chesterfield

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Chesterfield is the epitome of suburban sprawl. Chain restaurants, shopping outlets, Topgolf, and large multi-lane highways. One major highlight of this suburb is The District, a large entertainment district with a concert hall (The Factory) a food hall, restaurants and breweries. This gives some semblance of a walkable downtown to an otherwise very car-centric suburb.

Clayton

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Clayton is one of the commercial and financial districts of St. Louis, and contains its own bustling downtown. It’s located immediately to the west of Forest Park, and is centrally located relative to most things to do between St. Louis and the County. It’s an upscale and highly sought after suburb with abundant green space that is studded with grandiose mansions all throughout.

DeBaliviere Place

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A historic residential neighborhood on the edge of Forest Park

Forest Park

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

An urban oasis of green space and world-class amenities

Kirkwood

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Kirkwood is an affluent suburb with a walkable downtown area. You’ll find a Clementine’s, the local ice cream chain, A 4Hands brewery, and Citizen Kane’s, a popular local steakhouse. There’s also a local Lego resale shop called The Minifig Shop, along with other small shops and boutiques.

Lafayette Square

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Historic mansions around the city's oldest park

Lindenwood Park

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Quiet, family-friendly neighborhood

Maplewood

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Maplewood is the first inner-ring suburb you’ll encounter after going west past Dogtown and Lindenwood Park. One notable feature is the backward Maplewood sign made up of reclaimed items that signifies your entrance or exit from Maplewood. It’s meant to appear correctly in the rear-view as you drive away from it, but it definitely looks like Doowelpam when you drive towards it.

The main strip along Manchester is lively and full of restaurants, bars, breweries, and small businesses.

Midtown

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Midtown is an area wedged between Downtown and Forest Park that is seeing a lot of revival right now. One of the biggest draws of the area is the City Foundry, a food hall and market built into a restored vacant foundry building.

The Cortex Innovation Community is the tech hub St. Louis, providing a coworking and office space for startups and businesses.

I’m hopeful about these projects that are being implemented to help stimulate the economy and add more energy and vibrancy to the city. Between the office spaces, the theatres, the food halls and other dining, there’s a lot going on in Midtown.

Impressions#

Midtown does not feel very walkable - the food hall is surrounded on all sides by highways, so it’s not as easy to get to as other food halls that are located right in a downtown walkable area like in Nashville. There’s a large Ikea and some large office buildings and a lot of space dedicated to parking lots.

Shaw

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Shaw is a popular, centrally located neighborhood in St. Louis that is highly residential with a few restaurants, bars, and cafes interspersed. There’s Ice’s Plain & Fancy, a Nitro ice cream parlor, and Sasha’s on Shaw, a wine and cheese bar, both of which give the neighborhood an upscale, family friendly feel.

Soulard

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Bars, nightlife, and music in a historic neighborhood

Southampton

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Southampton is a charming neighborhood close to many bars and restaurants all along Hampton Ave, such as Mom’s Deli, J.J. Twig’s, Salvage Yard, and Salt & Smoke BBQ. The area is affectionately known as “SOHA”. There are many styles of brick-built homes in Southampton have a lot of character.

Impressions#

It’s a quiet, safe, middle/working-class neighborhood, and one of the more walkable neighborhoods in South City. It’s close to Francis Park in St. Louis Hills, and also not too far from Tower Grove Park.

Southwest Garden

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

St. Louis Hills

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The tagline for St. Louis Hills was “Country living in the City” when the neighborhood was first developed. There are the “St. Louis Hills Estates” on the southern end of the neighborhood, which are traditional-style large suburban lots and homes, and the rest of St. Louis Hills, which are more traditional style homes that all circle around Francis Park.

During Christmas, a St. Louis tradition is to go get frozen custard at Ted Drewes then walk down Candy Cane Lane, a strip of homes in St. Louis Hills that go all-out with Christmas decorations.

Impressions#

St. Louis Hills is one of the more suburban-esque neighborhoods in the city. It is as far to the south west in the city as you can get, but not too far from the main commercial strip on Hampton, and another along Route 66 where Ted Drewes and LeGrand’s Market is.

The proximity of all the homes along Francis Park and Willmore Park gives the residents ample green space, and it’s not far from Maplewood and Webster Groves to the west.

Tower Grove Park

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A Victorian walking park and community gathering place

Tower Grove South

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tower Grove South is the aptly named neighborhood just south of Tower Grove Park. The area is largely residential with two main business strips - one near the western edge along Morganford Rd, and one on the eastern edge along South Grand Blvd. There are a few cafes and bars scattered around the rest of the neighborhood.

Along Grand, you’ll find a wide variety of international restaurants, from Brazilian and Mexican to Indian, Persian, and Lebanese, to Thai, Vietnamese, and Cantonese. There is also Apotheosis Comics, a local comic store, and Dunaway Books, a local used bookstore.

Impressions#

St. Louis does not generally have many concentrated immigrant communities (aside from Bevo Mill’s Bosnian presence and a few Mexican restaurants along Cherokee Street) so it’s great to see such an array of international flavor all in one spot.

It seems like Tower Grove South is seeing a lot of vibrancy and revitalization and is one of the more interesting neighborhoods in the city to explore.

University City

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Webster Groves

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Webster Groves in a charming, upscale suburb with two main walkable strips. On the west side, you have Telva at the Ridge, a Balkan-inspired cafe from the owners of Balkan Treat Box, and Olive + Oak, an intimate and upscale restaurant and cocktail bar. On the east side, you have Balkan Treat Box on a strip with multiple small, locally owned bookstores, some cafes, and Webster University.

St. Louis Field Notes

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

St. Louis is a little city with a lot of regional culture. This page is an index for me to document what I’ve discovered after living here for a while.

Food#

All my food opinions are located on these pages:

The Food Map is my number one way of exploring the city.
The Best Food in St. Louis is my subjective list of favorite restaurants and dishes.
The Backlog is all the spots I haven’t visited or written about yet.

Regional food#

See Regional Foods of St. Louis for toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, slingers and of course, St. Louis-style Pizza.

The City-County Split#

Not long after moving to St. Louis, I realized people don’t say “city and suburbs” around here, they say “city and county”. See The Great Divorce to learn about the St. Louis city and county divide, and my thought experiment about what the crime stats in St. Louis might look like with a united region.

Cardinal counties#

As a further note, people will also refer to “West County”, “South County”, and “North County” as if they are proper nouns, but it’s just a colloquial way to refer to areas within St. Louis County.

There is no “East County”, as that would be St. Louis City. However, the area east of the Mississippi River is also part of the Greater St. Louis region, and commonly referred to as “Metro East”. This includes East St. Louis, Belleville, O’Fallon, and a few others.

Brick and Architecture#

One thing to get used to in St. Louis is how red everything is. St. Louis was once the largest brick producer in the world, due to innovations in brickmaking combined with the abundance of clay in the region, and that legacy really shows all throughout the city. The site Built St. Louis is an incredible resource for everything architecture and history related.

Many homes throughout the city are early 20th century brick-built homes, and entire historic neighborhoods are preserved in this style, such as Shaw and Lafayette Square.

Free Attractions#

St. Louis actually has an impressive amount of free amenities, especially relative to other mid-sized cities.

The St. Louis Zoo is the most apparent example of this: a world-class zoo that holds its own against any other free or paid zoo. The Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, and Science Center are all free any day of the week, not just once a month on a Tuesday. It’s cool that there are so many things to do and they’re not price prohibitive.

Parks#

One of the biggest draws of St. Louis is all the green space. Forest Park is one of the largest city parks in America, and contains everything from the zoo and museums to outdoor amphitheaters and golf courses. Tower Grove Park is more of a local neighborhood park that hosts a farmer’s market and community events.

The Delmar Divide#

Delmar Boulevard is an East-West street that cuts through the middle of St. Louis city. It represents a dividing line known as The Delmar Divide. Everything north of Delmar is known as “North City”.

The Interactive St. Louis Vacancy Map demonstrates one of the stark divides that happens right along the line.

Language#

Street name pronunciations#

Although many of the streets in St. Louis have French sounding names, there are St. Louis-specific pronunciations for them that are not incredibly obvious.

There is a specific regional dialect of French known as Missouri French (or Paw-Paw French) that these pronunciations have been derived from.

Carondelet - kuh-RON-duh-let
Chouteau - SHOW-doe
Creve Coeur - kreev-core
Des Peres - duh-PAIR
Florissant - FLOR-uh-sent
Gravois - GRAV-oy
Laclede - luh-CLEED
Meramec - MER-uh-mack
Soulard - SOO-lard
Debaliviere - duh-BAHL-a-ver

Regional dialect#

“Muskacholi” - An endearing pronunciation for Mostaccioli used in St. Louis.
Warsh - Similar to the above, sometimes you’ll hear “warsh” instead of “wash” among an older generation.
Catty Corner - This is not entirely specific to the STL region, but people say “catty corner” here, whereas in the north it’s “kitty corner”. This data is substantiated in the Harvard dialect study.

St. Louis-isms#

The Lou - A popular nickname for St. Louis.
Hoosier - In the rest of the U.S., Hoosier refers to someone from Indiana, but in St. Louis it’s more of a general insult along the lines of “white trash” or “redneck”.
Highway Farty - Highway 40 is part of Interstate 64, and many people still call it “Highway Farty” affectionately.
Jeffco - Jefferson County, the immediate county to the west of St. Louis County.

Local Customs#

Where did you go to high school?#

Frequently cited to be a common icebreaker for St. Louisans, the phrase “Where did you go to high school?” is used to suss out what socioeconomic circle a person belongs to, or perhaps to find shared aquaintances. I have yet to have anyone ask me this question, but I’m not a local.

Halloween#

In St. Louis, kids have to tell a joke to get treats on Halloween, which is one of my favorite locals customs.

Golf carts#

People drive golf carts all around the St. Louis area. According to The Hill neighborhood, golf carts are allowed on Missouri streets, which explains why it’s so common here.

Expired temp plates#

It’s common to see cars driving around with expired license plates or temp plates. The Missouri DMV is run by privately owned offices, and requires significantly more steps than many other states (emissions testing, car safety testing, personal property confirmation, etc.).

Since Missouri requires personal property taxes to be paid every year on cars registered in the state, car ownership is a lot more expensive here, which may help explain why there are so many expired temp plates in the wild. It’s also not heavily enforced.

Candy Cane Lane#

A street in St. Louis Hills that goes all out during Christmas.

Art Hill#

Sledding on Art Hill in Forest Park is a common wintertime activity in St. Louis.

Brands#

There are a lot of regional products you’ll see around in St. Louis. Fitz’s is a popular root beer, Vess is a popular soda, and Red Hot Riplets are a popular potato chip brand.

St. Louis Bread Co. is widely known as Panera outside of the region, though most of the locals have eschewed it since it was acquired by private equity.

Bono's Pizzeria

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I’m particular about deep dish, and I was highly impressed with both the Chicago deep dish pizza and the St. Louis-style pizza at Bono’s Pizzeria on Hampton. The St. Louis style had a crisp, almost tavern-style pizza like quality to it, and the deep dish was incredibly authentic.

The deep dish at Bono’s is my second favorite deep dish - Lou Malnati’s being my favorite. Bono’s does a similar style, with a fresh, chunky tomato sauce on top and a crisp, almost pie-like crust. The only thing that puts Lou’s over the top for me is the entire sausage disc they use. I like Bono’s more than Pequod’s, and significantly more than Giordano’s or Gino’s East.

This is a great spot!

Bevo Mill

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In the 1990s, St. Louis was one of the cities that the government chose to place refugees of the Bosnian War. Bevo Mill in particular was one of the main areas where they settled, and there are many Balkan restaurants, delis, and butchers along the main strip on Gravois as a result.

The Bosnians who came to St. Louis helped shape the neighborhood into what it is today, and St. Louis remains one of the largest Bosnian communities in the United States. The area of Bevo Mill in particular is no longer the epicenter of the Bosnian population, as many have moved to the surrounding county areas.

One large defining feature of the neighorhood is Das Bevo, a large German beer hall right at the Bevo Windmill.

Impressions#

I haven’t spent too much time exploring this neighborhood yet, but it seems like a few bars and restaurants are popping up in addition to the long standing Balkan stores. I have noticed that as you drive down the strip on Morganford, some of the stores are interspersed with boarded-up and closed-down storefronts which doesn’t give it the most lively vibe.

Central West End

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Central West End is an upscale urban neighborhood in St. Louis city. It sits right along Forest Park and has a walkable downtown vibe. It’s the biggest and most populated neighborhood in the city, and is often recommended for new transplants.

It’s also home to Up-Down Arcade, an arcade full of retro games, craft beers, and a pizza window.

Impressions#

Of all the neighborhoods I’ve explored, Central West End has the most vibrant energy. You’ll see people walking around and sitting at outdoor cafes and restaurants, or visiting the various book stores and boutique stores. I think Central West End is competing with Downtown as “the place to be” for tourists, transplants, and residents.

Delmar Loop

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Delmar Loop, often referred to as just The Loop, is a commercial strip that straddles the western edge of St. Louis city and the east end of University City. It was named “One of the 10 Great Streets in America” by The American Planning Association in 2007 due the “sustained efforts of local business, government, and the community to achieve successful physical and economic revitalization.”

There are a lot of notable features in the area that distinguish it from other parts of the city, such as a Walk of Fame of famous St. Louisans, and the Loop Trolley that passes through the neighborhood and ferries people to Forest Park.

The Pageant and Delmar Hall are two back-to-back concert halls that host many of the bands and artists that pass through St. Louis. The Loop is also a big part of the restaurant scene of St. Louis. There is a large representation of Asian cuisine in the area as well, including Corner 17 and my personal favorite, Kishimoto Mendo.

Note that this whole highlighted neighborhood is actually called Skinker DeBaliviere, but The Loop is the defining point of interest, though much of it is located outside the confines of the city in University City. Neighborhood boundaries do not always exactly reflect the actual borders of areas of interest.

Impressions#

The Delmar Loop is right along the Delmar Divide, and is still recovering from store closures during the Covid era. I’ve seen some strange and unpleasant activity along the strip at night when the restaurants are closed but people are all indoors for the concerts, so I hope restaurants like Kishimoto Mendo keep opening up along the strip and it continues to be more lively.

Dogtown

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Dogtown is an unofficial neighborhood made up of four city neighborhoods: Cheltenham, Clayton-Tamm, Franz Park, and Hi-Pointe, and also consists of part of one additional area called Ellendale. (I didn’t feel like trying to figure out exactly where the bounds of Ellendale exist for Dogtown, so I just left it off the map boundary.) Dogtown sits just south of Forest Park and north of Manchester Rd. It is historically the Irish neighborhood in St. Louis, and hosts a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Impressions#

I haven’t spent much time in Dogtown yet, but I’ve been to a few restaurants, like Hi-Pointe, Failoni’s, Seamus McDaniels, and Mac’s Local Eats. My impression was that it’s a place with a tight-knit working class neighborhood feel and a few local bars and restaurants. It’s also close to Forest Park, which would be a big pro if you lived in this area.

Downtown

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As a kid, I can remember crossing over the Mississippi river into St. Louis on road trips out west and saying, “Hey look, it’s the Arch!” No matter where you are in St. Louis, you can probably see the Arch looming in the distance. The Arch is the biggest and most impressive monument in St. Louis, one of the most recognizable American monuments, and the biggest tourist activity to in Downtown St. Louis.

My highlight#

One of my favorite places in St. Louis is City Museum. Calling it a “museum” gives the wrong impression for what it is - a giant concrete playground for both kids and adults. It’s hard to describe without experiencing it, and I think if anyone only visits St. Louis one time, City Museum should be on their list.

Impressions#

A lot of visitors come to St. Louis, see Downtown, and come away with a negative opinion of the city. The area does not have a vibrant energy, and is mostly emptied out after working hours.

Downtown is still working on finding its identity in a rapidly shifting economy, but at a slower rate than any other city in America. Many locals from the surrounding region only visit for baseball and hockey games, then head straight back to the suburbs.

I initially wrote off St. Louis after only seeing downtown, but like most cities, the neighborhoods are where St. Louis can shine.

The Grove

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Grove is the LGBTQ neighborhood in St. Louis, and is home to a strip of local restaurants and bars. The city neighborhood is officially named “Forest Park Southeast”, but everyone knows this area as The Grove.

It’s also the only neighborhood, as far as I can tell, that has a cute little neon entry sign. I’m a big fan of this sign, as it reminds me of all the signs around neighborhoods in San Diego. I genuinely hope more neighborhood strips in St. Louis add them, though I’m not sure where else would be a contender. Maybe Cherokee St., DeMun, or the Delmar Loop.

The Grove was one of the first places in St. Louis I was introduced to, as I had met up with some coworkers at The Gramophone, a popular sandwich shop. I’ve also been to Urban Chestnut, which is a brewery with a great vibe. (I went to both of these before I started paying attention to the food enough, so I’ll have to revisit before I make entries for those spots in the Food map).

Impressions#

A few of my favorite restaurants in the city are in the Grove. I think Sultan is one of the best middle eastern restaurants around, and Grace Meat and Three is the best fried chicken in town. Pie Guy (RIP) was the best New York-style pizza I’ve had, but unfortunately they closed down.

As of this writing, the corner where Sultan is has three closed down restaurants, and it leaves the area feeling kind of abandoned. Several times I’ve been in The Grove on a Friday night with good weather, and almost no one was walking around. I didn’t feel the energy I’d expect to feel in the nightlife part of town. I hope things pick up in The Grove and restaurants and bars keep opening up in the area.

I have yet to experience any of the clubs or nightlife that The Grove has to offer, so I look forward to adding to this page once I visit some of those bars.

The Hill

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Hill is the Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis. It has been called America’s Last Little Italy. The neighborhood is fiercely proud of its Italian heritage, with Italian flag banners posted all throughout the neighborhood, and fire hydrants and crosswalks painted in the Italian colors.

The neighborhood’s slogan is “Improve, not move”, part of community outreach efforts to improve the neighborhood and homes within. This has encouraged people to stay and build instead of moving away and letting the area stagnate and decay, which has been very successful for the area.

There’s a nice mix of restaurants, delis, cafes, breweries, and other businesses intertwined with the homes in the neighborhood, making it a pleasant place to walk around. There are a few well-known, nice Italian restaurants such as Charlie Gitto’s, Anthonino’s Taverna, and Mama’s on the Hill. Of course, my favorite pizza club in the city, Nicky Slices Pizza Club is there, too.

Impressions#

I appreciate that there’s hardly a chain restaurant in sight in the neighborhood, and there’s a good amount of energy, with people sitting at outdoor cafes and walking around.

The real estate of the neighborhood consists of a lot of very small, brick-built shotgun style homes, with some newer builds beginning to pop up. A lot of St. Louis is vehemently opposed to new architecture as preserving the original 1900s architecture is a big part of the city character, so many residents add additions to their homes to match modern living expectations while keeping some of the old flavor.

Sultan

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This is our go-to spot for Middle Eastern food. Specifically, the beef kefta kabob is flavorful, tender, juicy, and just fantastic. Everything else is good, too - the saffron rice garnished with pomegranite, the spiced lentil soup topped with cracked black pepper, and especially the baba ganoush, my favorite in the city.

Water, tea, and beverages are served in traditional Turkish style cups and caraffes, which adds a nice touch. The ambiance is great and the place has been full every time I’ve visited, and the food has been incredibly fresh. They also have a mint lemonade that is the perfect balance of mint, lemon, and sweetness.

This is one of my absolute top spots in the city, it has been consistently delightful on every visit.

Tikka Tangy

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tikka Tangy is great for when you want a cozy night in with samosas and Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala. The curry is flavorful, rich, and consistently good.

They also have pizzas, which I haven’t tried, and some middle eastern dishes like shawarma and hummus, which I have tried and thought it was just okay. I usually stick to the Indian dishes at Tikka Tangy.

Anthonino's Taverna

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Anthonino’s Taverna is an Italian and Greek restaurant on the Hill. It was once featued on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, particularly for the toasted ravioli.

Blues City Deli

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Blues City Deli is an absolute gem of a spot. You can expect to see a line when you go to visit, but you’ll get to check out all the Blues memorabilia, portraits, and concert posters while you wait.

So far, I’ve tried the roast beef and the reuben sandwiches. The reuben is made with house-smoked pastrami, and is the best I’ve had so far. I’d rate Blues City Deli as one of the best restaurants in the entire St. Louis area. It even topped the list in 2023 in one of the Yelp Top 100 lists.

I’d like to work my way through the entire menu, because everything has been so good. I also have to get around to trying the Italian beef and updating with my thoughts, as it’s not easy to find Italian Beef in St. Louis.

Blues City Deli is definitely on my “must-try” spots in St. Louis.

Bud's Pizza & Beer

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

After my favorite New York-style pizza place in town closed down, I was on the lookout for a good pizza place. I heard of Bud’s Pizza and Beer being comparable, so I went to check it out, and it did not disappoint! The ambiance is great, it has cozy vintage vibes, plenty of seating, and I’ve always had good service here.

The appetizers are all excellent. The wings are good, the meatballs are good, the beer nugs are good, and the homemade toasted ravioli is the best I’ve had in the entire Metro area.

Although I would consider the pizza more of just a standard “pizza” than New York style, the quality of the ingredients and the cook on the pizza are all top notch, and I highly recommend it as a place to take a group, get a bunch of apps, and share a pizza or two.

Carl's Drive-In

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Carl’s Drive-In is a charming, no-frills diner right off historic route 66. It’s cash only and seating is very limited, so it can get packed during peak hours. The menu is small and to the point - they do smash burgers to order, and they also have IBC root beer on tap. They also have what I think of as “Chicago tamales” on the menu, which I find delightful.

If you want a little taste of Americana, get an IBC root beer float, a double smash burger, and some fries.

I’d say it’s a solid smash burger, and it was my favorite in the area until I tried Woofies. Between the limited seating, limited hours, and being cash only, it can be kind of hard to find the right time to go, but it’s worth a visit.

El Jarocho

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

One of the first things I needed to find after moving to St. Louis was authentic Mexican food. I’ve always been used to having endless options for authentic Mexican food, bakeries, snacks, and groceries, but I was surprised to discover that St. Louis has a much smaller hispanic population than I was used to.

The majority of Mexican restaurants in the St. Louis area are actually more along the lines of Tex-Mex. Lots of fajitas, cheese sauce, and complicated combination menus. I tried four or five different taquerias that were highly rated, including some on Cherokee street, but the flavor and ingredients just weren’t what I was looking for.

Before I found El Jarocho I came across El Toluco (rip), a similar Mexican grocery/taqueria combination that was close by, and they had awesome Al Pastor tacos - but unfortunately they closed down within a few months of finding it, so I was back on the search.

I kept looking, and eventually I came across El Jarocho. I’ll take any opportunity I can to talk up El Jarocho, because they’ve been an absolute godsend. Here you can find street tacos with corn tortillas, onions, cilantro, and meat, served with lime. The steak tacos are amazing, and the green sauce is top notch. My biggest complaint about El Jarocho is they don’t have Mexican rice or refried pinto beans - they have white rice and black beans.

My favorite item on the menu is the “Burrito nuevo”, which is a burrito filled with steak, queso fresco, and fries. It’s very similar to the California Burrito that you’ll find all over San Diego, just minus the guacamole.

This is a great taqueria/grocery store combo and I highly recommend you check it out. I’m going to keep looking for more good Mexican food, and I have many more places on my list to try, but El Jarocho is always going to be a staple.

Failoni's Restaurant

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Recently, I saw pizzababble put Failoni’s as his number one pizza place in the whole city, so I had to check it out. I’ve tried a few other places from his recommendations like “Providence by the Slice” in Kansas City and it was quite good. I figure few people have tried as many St. Louis-style pizzas as ol’ pizzababble so it’s worth a try.

I was impressed to learn that the building has been in operation since 1916 under the Failoni name. They also make their pizzas in a brick oven, which feels unique and also very St. Louis.

I checked it out recently and we got toasted ravioli, salad, cheesy garlic bread, and two St. Louis-style pizzas. Overall, I thought it was fine. The toasted ravioli tasted like the default ones you get from most bars. The house salad was particularly strange to me - I tasted almost no vinegar in the salad dressing whatsoever, it tasted extremely sweet and sugary.

The pizzas were pretty good, I liked that the sauce was not overly sweet and didn’t have the artificial flavor I taste at the chain restaurants. The crust was nice and crispy - they clearly perfected the low hydration, cracker crust made with yeast. It tasted very similar to when I made a St. Louis-style pizza at home with a three-day ferment, except theirs was crispier due to the brick oven cook.

Overall, it was a decent STL-style pizza, but it’s not in my top five. The patio was nice and it would be a good place to bring a few friends and have a drink.

Farotto's

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farotto’s is a family-owned restaurant that has been making pizzas since 1956, making it one of the oldest ones as far as I can tell (Imo’s began in 1964). It’s my top-rated spot for St. Louis-style pizza - their pizza has an extra-extra-thin crust and has a buttery and flaky aspect to it that I haven’t experienced at any other pizza place. The sauce is slightly sweet but balanced, and blends well with the melted Provel.

Everything here is good - the toasted ravioli, the pizza, the pasta, the sandwiches. The STL sticks are their version of provel bites and it’s a standout item for me.

Farotto’s is also a great place to take a group, and it’s been one of my preferred restaurants to bring out-of-town guests. Their location in Rock Hill has an event space below, and a big open raised patio/restaurant on the upper level.

Grace Meat + Three

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Grace Meat & Three is a classic comfort food spot to get fried chicken and sides. It’s located in The Grove alongside a few other good restaurants.

Grace used to have some competition in the fried chicken arena with Southern, a restaurant connected to Pappy’s, but it closed down. Most of the other chicken spots are chains like Chuck’s Hot Chicken and Dave’s Hot Chicken, neither of which I like that much. I have yet to try Hodak’s or Gus’s, the two other local spots I’ve heard of.

Although no one can compete with Prince’s in Nashville for me, I think Grace Meat & Three is pretty damn good. My biggest complaint is that the spice levels are very low - usually in Nashville I get medium or hot and I’m suffering a bit, but at Grace I can get the extra hot and still wish it had more spice. Aside from missing some heat, the flavor is great, the chicken is crispy, and the sides are pretty good.

JJ Twig's Pizza & Pub

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

J.J. Twig’s is the only place in town that I know of that specifically makes a Chicago thin-crust pizza. They also make a “double decker pizza” - two pizzas stacked on top of each other with the crusts braided together.

They have locations in Valley Park, O’Fallon, Southampton, and there’s even one in the Northern Chicago suburbs in Palatine, IL. I’ve been to the Valley Park and Southampton locations, and both have good food and good vibes. It’s a great place to bring a group and have a drink and some pizza.

Kishimoto Mendo

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As a long time fan of Menya Rui, I’ve been hyped to try Kishimoto Mendo ever since it was announced. Kishimoto Mendo is the new Tonkotsu-style ramen concept from the chef-owner of Menya Rui. Tonkotsu is my favorite style of ramen, so although the Shoyu at Menya Rui is fantastic, I wasn’t fully satisfied with the STL ramen scene.

We ended up going to Kishimoto Mendo during opening weekend, and it’s the best Tonkotsu ramen I’ve ever had, and I’ve had several across San Diego and Chicago (haven’t been to Tokyo yet, sadly). I really respect that the owner, Steven Pursley, delayed the opening until he was sure that the soup was up to his personal standards. We’ve been a few times and it’s been a complete 10/10 every time.

The wings are also good, though I prefer the karaage (fried chicken) at Menya Rui.

The pork broth is rich, flavorful, and comforting. The ramen shop vibes in the restaurant are great, and I love that it has twice as much seating as Menya Rui.

I highly recommend stopping by and getting the classic Tonkotsu ramen, and I would put Kishimoto Mendo on my list of “must try” restaurants in St. Louis.

La Pizza

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

La Pizza is one of the only places in St. Louis where you can get an authentic New York-style pizza. It’s a small shop that is mostly set up for takeout with a few small tables for dining in.

The atmosphere is very much a friendly neighborhood joint and the vibes are truly 10/10. We showed up one night when they were busy with take out orders for the rest of the night, and they managed to fit us in and make us a fresh pizza and wings. We got a sausage and pepperoni pizza.

As much as I liked the place and the people, I thought the pizza was just okay. One thing is I’m not a fan of strips of sausage, which I know is just the way it’s often done with NY-style, so I need to learn my lesson and just get pepperoni (the midwest in me just always wants the bulk sausage on my pizza). The crust was a little bland to me. I thought it was an overall decent pizza, I just probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

La Tejana Taqueria

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

One of the first types of cuisine I was on the lookout for when I arrived in St. Louis was authentic Mexican food. I saw La Tejana come up frequently in recommendations. It’s located in one of the few of St. Louis that has a concentration of Hispanic folks, so it seemed promising.

Unfortunately, my experience did not live up to expectations. When I visited, I ordered steak tacos (always the default to check out a new spot), but I received something that looked like cabeza, which wasn’t hot and didn’t taste good. There was no one else in the restaurant except one person on the Casino machines and it was silent aside from the dings from the machine, which just led to the vibes feeling off.

It’s entirely possibly I just visited at a very strange time and had a particularly bad experience that is not the norm, but I personally did not have a good experience during my visit.

Louie

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Louie has good vibes, great food and an excellent location. It’s right on the strip on DeMun Ave in Clayton next to Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Ice Cream, Sasha’s Wine Bar, and a few other shops and restaurants. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the street, as I saw a lot of people eating on the patios, walking around, and kids riding their bikes, all with the backdrop of the greenery of Concordia Park. It felt very lively and energetic, and that’s what I love to see in St. Louis.

My partner and I went to Louie for an anniversary dinner and had a great time. The service was fantastic, as well as the food - particularly the bread and focaccia, a personal favorite. They also get burrata flown in from Italy, so that was a treat.

I also had the pizza, which I would probably rate a 9/10 - very good, but probably not the best in the whole city. Overall it was a great experience and a great place to go for a celebration.

Mac's Local Eats

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Mac’s Local Eats is a local smash burger spot in Dogtown. They really take the smash is smash burger seriously - it’s almost a thin smear of burger with very crispy edges. If you like your smash burger extra thin and crispy, this is the place for you.

I liked the quality of the meat and flavor of the burger at Mac’s, but it’s was just a little too smashed for me personally. My choice for smash burgers in St. Louis would be Woofie’s or Carl’s, but I totally understand why people like Mac’s.

Menya Rui

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Menya Rui was my first introduction to ramen in St. Louis, which was lucky for me since it’s excellent.

For a while, I went to Menya Rui once a week - even if this meant waiting in line for two hours in the St. Louis heat, or waiting in the car during winter. This is a testament to how good the ramen Menya Rui is.

Shoyu ramen is the main focus at Menya Rui, and they do it very well. The broth is light yet has a deep flavor. I would also highly recommend the Karaage as an appetizer, which they’ve perfected as well.

As much as I love Menya Rui, Tonkotsu is my favorite type of ramen and I always felt sad that I couldn’t get it there and try their take on it. Fortunately for all of us, Kishimoto Mendo opened up recently in the Delmar Loop by the same chef-owner as Menya Rui, so now you can get both Shoyu and Tonkotsu on opposite ends of town.

Nicky Slices Pizza Club

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I know St. Louis is the town of thin cracker-crust pizza, but I’m partial to the thicker, fluffier Detroit-style pie. When I first moved here, I tried Motor Town Pizza and the Detroit-style at the now defunct Pie Guy, but neither scratched the itch for me. Jet’s is a good option, but a chain is never going to be top-tier.

Nicky Slices Pizza Club has identified and filled the gap for an amazing Detroit-style pizza place with their location in The Hill. My recommendation is to get The Roner - a Detroit-style with cupped pepperoni and basil, drizzled with garlic chili hot honey.

I’ve also tried the thin crust, which is a beautiful combinaiton of Chicago tavern and STL-style. It’s thin, savory, and amazing with giardiniera on top.

O'B Que's

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tucked away at a gas station in Chesterfield, O’B’Que’s serves up Texas-style brisket and BBQ. I tried the ribs, brisket, and pulled pork, and all had a great wood-smoked flavor without being too overwhelmingly smokey. Best of all, they have a spicy vinegar BBQ sauce, my favorite.

My only complaint was that the brisket was a bit lean and dry, but I went 30 minutes before closing so I’m going to try again earlier on another day and hope I can get some of the point.

This has been the only place I’ve found so far that does Texas-style brisket, and is currently my favorite BBQ in town.

Pappy's Smokehouse

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

It’s hard for me to properly rate Pappy’s, because I’m a bit torn on it. On the one hand, they have a great spot, always a line and a lot of energy, they’re well known, and I love seeing that in St. Louis. I’d also say they have the best ribs in St. Louis - on par with or better than everything I’ve tried in Memphis, and by far the best in St. Louis. On the other hand, if you go to Pappy’s and order anything but the ribs, it’ll be pretty good but it won’t blow you away, and that might make you confused why they’re always at the top of every list in St. Louis.

The first time I went to Pappy’s, which was also one of my first BBQ experiences in St. Louis, I got brisket and a few sides. Pappy’s doesn’t really do Texas-style brisket, rather more of a thinly sliced brisket, which wasn’t what I was looking for. I also wasn’t a big fan of the fried corn, which I’ve never had before. Later I learned to order the ribs and it really blew me away.

Go to Pappy’s, get the ribs. They’re good.

Stacked STL

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve been to Stacked a couple of times, and it’s always good. I’ll admit that burgers just aren’t my favorite food, and if I’m going to have a burger, I prefer a smash burger (and Woofie’s is my favorite choice for that). So my personal rating might be a bit “stacked” against them (sorry).

However, as far as thick burgers go, Stacked is a very good one. You get to select all the ingredients and write them down in your Scantron test with your #2 pencil for bun, meat, cheese, toppings, etc. so the burger can be exactly what you want. Also they have a buffalo chicken toasted ravioli that I like a lot (personally, I like it more than the standard beef most places serve) and plenty of local beers on tap. You can also go around the corner and get an ice cream sandwich at Sugarwitch.

Carondelet is a historic neighborhood and there’s a lot of old architecture around that way. Most of that area was a bit empty and industrial, so I hope more restaurants open up around there. There doesn’t otherwise seem like much of a draw for me to be out that way, as far as I can tell.

Taste of Lebanon

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Middle eastern food in general is one of my favorite types of cuisine, and Lebanese in specific is possibly my favorite variation of it. I was excited to discover Taste of Lebanon right in Central West End.

The hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel at Taste of Lebanon are all fantastic - the best I’ve had in the St. Louis area. The lentil soup was also very good, and the various grilled meats are also good, though Sultan‘s kefta tops my list.

Taste of Lebanon also offers hookah and has a separate room for it, which I have not experienced but I think it’s cool that there’s a restaurant with both food and hookah available.

Telva at the Ridge

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Telva is a Balkan-inspired cafe from the owners of the famous Balkan Treat Box. I visited on the recommendation that it’s one of the best chai teas around, and I have to agree!

Telva’s all around a cool spot - the decor is very warm and inviting, and it’s in a walkable area close to a plant nursery and a few other cafes and restaurants like Olive + Oak and Le Macaron French Pastries. Telva also has breakfast/brunch items in addition to a full coffee bar. Many of the items on the menu have a Balkan flair to them, which is super unique.

I really loved going to this cafe and I’m excited to try more of the menu.

The Stellar Hog

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A really cool BBQ stop with a large outdoor patio and painted murals. The intergalactic BBQ vibes are fun, the sides are good, and there’s a lot of good stuff on the menu. I think it’s a great place to go with a group when the weather is nice.

Vinnie's Italian Beef & Gyros

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

There’s only a few places in all of St. Louis that do a rendition of an Italian beef sandwich, as seen in 4 Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches in St. Louis to satisfy fans of ‘The Bear’. I’ve tried most of the list (I haven’t been able to convince myself to try the Italian beef at Blues City Deli when the reuben is calling to me) but none taste quite like the real thing. The Italian beef to me is something that requires very few ingredients but a very specific process and execution, otherwise it’s simply not a beef, it’s a roast beef sandwich or french dip or something else.

I liked the neighborhood vibes at Vinny’s, and this is an unpopular opinion, but I thought the beef was just okay. I was very excited to try it, but the giardiniera had olives in it and wasn’t spicy, it had mixed red and green peppers instead of just green, the au jus (usually called gravy) didn’t have much in the way of herbs and spices, and it had cheese on it by default (which is controversial). I would say it does not compare to something like Mr. Beef or Johnnie’s or even Portillo’s and did not scratch the itch for an Italian beef that I have.

I did like the gyro from Vinny’s and appreciate that the establishment exists, I just think it’s not really a Chicago beef.

For anyone who has not had the chance to try an authentic beef before, I’d recommend my preference - dipped, double hot.

Woofies Hot Dogs

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

There are three staple foods of the Chicagoan’s diet - the Italian beef sandwich, the Chicago-style hotdog, and deep dish pizza. You spend enough time in the Chicagoland area, and you think these things are ubiquitous, found everywhere.

Moving to St. Louis was a culture shock in discovering that is absolutely not the case. Travel only a few hours away, and not only do you stop seeing a hot dog and beef stand on every corner, but you don’t see them at all. You can’t even find them if you go searching.

Somehow, even in the age of computers and the internet, finding specific regional foods done correctly outside of the region they originated is quite the challenge, and Chicago-style hot dogs are no exception to that rule.

The ingredients on a Chicago dog are as follows:

Pickle spear
Tomato slice (2x)
Sport pepper (2x)
Relish, neon green
Onion, diced
Mustard
Celery salt
Poppyseed bun
Vienna Beef hotdog (steamed!)

None of these ingredients are optional or negotiable (unless you’re making a depression dog, but that’s another story).

I’m happy to report that not only does Woofie’s out in Overland not only make a good Chicago dog, but they make a perfect Chicago dog. On top of that, they make the best smash burger ever. If you’re looking for a good burger or dog in a no-frills joint that matches the vibe of your neighborhood corner hot dog stand in Chicago, head over to Woofie’s!

I’m only giving them a 9 instead of a 10 because I wasn’t a fan of the Italian beef sandwich they offered. It just didn’t have the flavor and greasiness in the gravy that I’m looking for. Still on the hunt for a good Italian beef in St. Louis!