I live in North City by the Chain of Rocks Bridge and I’m still looking for a place to live and a job. Throw me a frickin’ bone! 
Please share with us some of the foods that St. Louis is famous for. Like Ted Drewes concretes, the toasted ravioli, and the egg foo yong sandwich (I forget what it’s called, but that’s essentially what it is, I think!). My son actually had some toasted ravioli while passing thru St. Louis on his way to NM to grad school and he liked it! He didn’t make it to Ted’s though. The Banh Mi sandwich, that’s what it’s called, the egg foo yong sandwich.
Anything you can share on St. Louis-specific foods would be great.
St. Louis is quite well-known for its pizza, but apparently it is an acquired taste. First of all, the crust is paper thin and made without yeast, so it doesn’t rise and get thick. It’s generally cut into squares instead of triangles, and many places use a cheese that’s not widely used on pizza, called provel, which was actually invented specifically for St. Louis pizza. I don’t recommend the chain restaurants, like Imo’s. If you’re going to try St. Louis Pizza, even the President of the United States says Pi’s is the best pizza he’s ever tasted. 
Also a St. Louis food tradition, though on the “nasty and foul” scale it tips the whole thing over, is White Castle. Their “burgers” are small squares that are smothered in onions and steamed on the buns so the whole thing tastes like gluey puke. But hey, you can eat 30 of them in one sitting, so they’re “cool”! 
Foods that St. Louis is famous for having invented, but are so widely available now they’re no longer considered St. Louis fare alone, are the ice cream cone, iced tea and a hot dog served on a bun.
The egg foo young sandwich you’re remembering is called a St. Paul, and it’s an egg foo young patty with lettuce, tomato and pickles, served on white bread.
It’s also good to remember that many, many people who actually live in St. Louis County will say they’re ‘from St. Louis’ rather than that they’re from Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Ballwin, Florissant, Ladue, University City, Clayton, Maryland Heights etc etc etc. A lot of natives use the description ‘St. Louis’ for the whole general area. In fact, the OP seems to have done just this.
Most people from most major cities do this. I say I’m from Los Angeles, even though I don’t live in the city proper, but in the city of Redondo Beach, which is part of Los Angeles County.
These were all invented at the World’s Fair in 1904.
Aided and abetted by just about every governmental and commercial office, including the post office. When I first moved to Creve Coeur, I spent some time being absolutely bewildered as to why nobody would accept that as my mailing address. When I went to get a library card, the lady at the County Library took some time to explain it to me.
(I’ll add, that was by far the nicest experience I have ever had at the St. Louis County Library. It sucks. The employees are mostly assholes; the stock is limited (and every summer since I’ve been here they purge the shelves of old books even though they have no need to–apparently management likes the appearance of half-empty shelves); and if you only go every other Saturday, forget about holds and requests still being there waiting for you. The City Library is far better in every way.)
Umm . . . even though nobody asked about the library.
On topic, the OP also missed the American Basketball Association team The Spirits of St. Louis, whose owners upon the ABA merger with the NBA cut a deal for the dissolution of the team in exchange for a piece of NBA TV income, which is apparently pulling down about $14 million annually. 35 years later.
Pi doesn’t have St. Louis style pizza. They have deep dish and thin crust, but their thin crust is more of a Neapolitan style. They specifically disavow provel.
Thank goodness. (Although their thin crust doesn’t really look Neapolitan style, from the pictures.) I’ll have to give this place a shot next time I’m in St. Louis.
(ETA: Also, to be honest, I’m not down with Obama’s pizza preferences. His favorite in Chicago, a place called Italian Fiesta in Hyde Park, was disappointingly average. Honestly, for me, it was below average for a Chicago thin-crust.)
Provel is not necessarily a defining characteristic of St. Louis style pizza. Imo’s makes extensive use of it, but most of the other local St. Louis style places don’t, and even Imo’s will use mozzarella instead if you ask. The main characteristic is the thin, crisp crust, cut in squares.
I’ve never eaten at Pi yet - they’ve been very hard to get into most of the time and they only have a very few locations - but they have a good local rep. They’re just not St. Louis style.
And yet another reason for me to visit Pi. (Tee shirt #2).
Well, that’s not St. Louis pizza; I’ve had the same in Dayton, Ohio, and a number of other places in the Midwest. But not the same crappy cheese; it is the crappy cheese that makes it a St. Louis style pizza.
[QUOTE=GythaOgg;13751287 The main characteristic is the thin, crisp crust, cut in squares.[/QUOTE]
That’s not unique to St. Louis. That’s Chicago and Milwaukee pizza, too.
hahahahah, I have that one. Or at least my son, who stole it from me has it.
-
I like the light rail system for going to the airport and downtown.
-
yes
-
yes
I’m a long-term generational descendent of St. Louis- (very long). Not that it matters much but-
A) the Airport is dead because Ozark airlines was acquired and merged out of the terminal. TWA (best airline in the states when in operation) acquired, merged and pulled out of the terminal and American Airlines- pulled the majority of their gates out of ther terminal.
B) Mo. Botanical Garden is world class- local musuems are indeed- local. Some good stuff about African Am. culture etc. Very neat collection of St.Louis Worlds fair and Cival War era things. the art museum has a very good collection of artifacts and paintings from antiquity through european culture to 20th century. Good scope- minor depth.
C) Kingshighway was an indian trail used as an escape route from the white culture to get from one place to another. It is called Kingshighway because the chief(s) were the american indian version of the european king and this was the “kings” escape route.
D) The city proper of St. Louis is dying. last census results indicated a continuation of a 25+ year trend. And it isn’t getting any better. The real problem relates to the political division of City and St. Louis County. St. Louis county is home to the areas financial hub, new money and most of the professional working class. Another major county is St. Charles County- one of the fastest growth areas in the US during the 90’s and 00’s. In addition, the Illinois side of St. Louis is a highly growth oriented county (excluding East St. Louis ((which is dying, decayed and not so very nice)). The significance of mentioning these 3 counties is that these areas are what people that live here think of when referring to St. Louis. We don’t really think about the technical boundries of St. Louis proper.
E) St. Louis Cardinals are world class- Brewery used to be world class- new owners are considered “outsiders”.
F) Great place to raise a family- full 4 seasons- education is very good i.e. Washington Univ., St. Louis Univ., Univ Mo. StL., good private high schools- and some excellent Italian food.
I had to add my 2 cents worth- and… never refer to us as St. Loo-e unless you are singing an old movie song.
How is the salsa scene in St. Louis? I’ve been to the Atomic Cowboy once, and it seemed kinda dead.
I’ve got some questions about St. Louis? Why is it that they rank among the top in America as:
The highest rate of violent crime (#1)
America’s angriest cities? (#27)
Among America’s worst drivers?
Among the top in worst dental care?
And just among the plain old worst cities all around?
As I’ve noted before, they filmed Escape from New York in St. Louis, meaning that when they wanted to find a place that looked like a futuristic New York City after it had been walled off and turned into a giant fend-for-yourself prison, they had to go to St. Louis.
Yes, I grew up there. I got out.
Was that the one in Clayton? Because I grew up in Clayton (Class of '88) and have nothing of fond memories of the library. That would make me sad.
I find it hard to believe that St. Louis has the “worst drivers.” I’ve driven in LA, Chicago and New York City frequently and I got to tell you that St. Louis area drivers are great in my opinion. Turn on your turn signal and they let you in. Big crush of cars getting in or out of someplace…everyone takes turns. You hear almost no honking, see almost no finger flipping, and people don’t cut you off (well except for the old folks in the Town Cars who can’t see over the wheel.
I drive over the Poplar Street Bridge everyday and you can always spot the out of towners. Heck when I moved here from upstate NY I had to way tone down my driving aggression.
I’m still in the fast lane though!