Alright St. Louis, I’ve had just about fucking enough of your so-called cuisine. For those of you not familiar with the culinary delights of this Midwestern oasis, let me outline the top three offenders:
Toasted Ravioli – As near as I can figure out, the legend behind this purported appetizer is that in the days of old, a chef dropped some ravioli into some fat, lightly fried them, and served them to unsuspecting customers. Why pasta painted in an egg-wash, coated with breadcrumbs, infused with hot fat, and served with a marinara is supposed to be a good thing is beyond me. Ravioli with marinara needs no improvement, chumps.
Provel Cheese – What in the **fuck ** were they thinking? Why would you take such a fine Italian cheese, provolone, and combine it with swiss cheese and cheddar cheese, and liberally coat anything and everything in its viscous, melted layer is simply unthinkable. Rule number one, if a dish needs cheese (and especially this Velveeta-esque product) to improve upon the dish, there’s probably something wrong with the dish in the first place. For the love of God, put the pasteurized cheese product down, come out with your hands up, and discover pecorino romano, God’s gift to Italian cheeses. (Which, incidentally, you can’t find anywhere in this town, even on The Hill. Of course, I needed it on a Sunday, when every place on The Hill was closed.)
I suppose my real rant is not with the individual “food” offerings St. Louis has to offer, but with the religious devotion that is shown by the natives regarding this cuisine. Listen, you St. Louis-ians, IT AIN’T ALL THAT!
Get a grip, and maybe eat at an ethnic restaurant once and a while. Broaden your culinary horizons!
And don’t even get me started on the Cardinals and Rams…
Speak it, brother. I hate Midwestern food. If I tell people I like eating Thai, they stare at me blankly. When they find out I’m a vegetarian, they ask, “Do you eat any meat? Not even fish? Not even chicken? Not even PORK?”
A good friend of mine lives in a suburb of St. Louis. I visit him about once a year. I can say with certainty that there is at least ONE very good Japanese joint in the area. One of the best meals of sukiyaki I have ever had!
Never tried any of that other stuff. I’ll look out for it on my next visit.
I knew that was going to come up–Lutefisk is another abomination, to be sure. I’ve never had any of that “fish Jell-O”, though. Plus, all the deep-fried food-on-a-stick that is foisted upon us at our State Fair truly sucks.
I did find one good restaurant for sashimi in St. Louis, “The Drunken Fish.”
Okay, so what’s the good food from Minnesota? Hotdish? My grandmother’s from Minnesota, so I think you’re going to have a hard time with this one… (No offense to her if she’s reading this. I like her cooking. It’s just that the people from the Michelin guide won’t be stopping by her house anytime soon.)
I grew up in St. Louis, having moved there when I was 5, and having moved away as soon as possible - grad school. I never did understand the throngs of people in line outside Ted Drewes. The shit is just not that good.
Imo’s Pizza. Is this the “provel” cheese of which you speak? Imagine cheez whiz on crackers, and you get the idea.
On the other hand, I have yet to find a roast beef sandwich as good as Lion’s Choice, and I still crave it whenever I return to visit.
On the whole, you are spot on regarding the cuisine of St. Louis.
Threads like these make me soooo happy to live in Western Pennsylvania, where the culinary delights tend to be of Slavic origin. (Except for halupkis. Nasty, nasty they is, precious!)
Guinastasia, I was born in Pittsburgh, and ultimately returned (as a good Pittsburgher will). I never had a pierogie until I got back here. Now, wedding soup you can keep, but on the whole I like the food better here. I’ll trade a Lion’s Choice for a Primanti Brothers (most of the time).
Hey, there are plenty of good places to eat in St. Louis. Take a stroll down South Grand some time. Just because Ted Drewes, toasted ravioli, and Imos get called St. Louis cuisine all the time doesn’t mean that’s all there is. There’s great Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese food here, and plenty of people know about it, at least among the people I hang out with. There are Indian places popping up, there are a few Japanese places…there’s all sorts of stuff here. Why are you only hanging out on the Hill?
(I happen to agree with you about Drewes and toasted ravioli, but I won’t have anybody saying bad things about Imo’s Pizza, btw.)
I did not mean this rant to be against St. Louis cuisine, per. se. Nor was this ever intended as some sort of superiority claim that Minnesota is better than Missouri. It’s just that you’re viewed as a heretic in this city if you don’t like toasted ravioli, TD’s Custard or provel cheese.
As to good Minnesota cuisine, the only thing that comes to mind is probably pan-seared walleye. Or anything from Lucia’s Restaurant.
There are great places in St. Louis. I’ve had good Italian, French, Thai, Russian, Indian and asian food. (You’ll notice none of them come with provel, btw. )
I don’t hang out on The Hill–I was just there on a quest for pecorino romano for a dinner party appetizer I was making.
St. Louis offers up some damn fine wings on the Landing (Boomers, if it’s still around) and Soulard’s Restaurant fixes up an excellent Peppered Pork Tenderloin.
Though, I’ll admit, I haven’t been back there in about 2 years, so the scene may have changed, but there were some fine restaurants in the 'Lou as far as I recollect. Nothing, of course, like my beloved Chicago, but still.
I totally agree. I was born and rasied in St Louis. I can’t stand the “St Louis style” pizza, I think it’s just crap on a cracker. (WTF is wrong with mozarella on pizza?) Now I don’t know where you’re going that anything and everything is covered in provel cheese, but I’d stop going to those places if I were you. The only places I’ve ever run across this cheese unescapably on the food are the crap pizzarias like Imo’s and Cecil Whitaker’s. To hear some other St Louisans though, this stuff is the greatest pizza of all time and how dare you disagree! You say you don’t like Imo’s or Ted Drew’s and you’re given a look like you just kicked their puppy.
And as for Ted Drew’s, I’ll take a DQ blizzard over that crap any day.
The Toasted Ravioli, however, that I like. No, it’s not the Best Thing Ever[sup]TM[/sup], but it’s good finger-food snackin’ while watching a game.
I am assuming you have tried breaded chicken within 2 hours of the coast? Seafood, yes, but not breaded chicken. In my experience it is like “tavern fish.” I really do not like my chicken covered in sand.
