Yep, I dunno' what Gormet mag is talking about, and totally concur with previous poster's thoughts on thier "suggestions"---don't bother. Hands down, "The Hill." My personal "Hill" favorite: Cunetto's. Not all the Hill restaurants take ressie's, 'tho. I'd say get there before 6 if you can. I've gotten to Cunetto's at 5 and haven't had to wait long at all. Most of the resto's in the Hill serve HUGE portions--you could/should almost "plan" on boxing up what you couldn't quite conquer that night and enjoying an encore Italian lunch the next day. The great thing about doing dinner in "The Hill" is if the restaurant you first stopped in at is already slammed, most are within walking distance. Recently entertained out of town guests who couldn't get done with meetings until after 6---stopped by Cunetto's: 90 min. wait, swung over to Favazza's: 45 min. wait.

And, YES, you MUST do Ted Drewes!!!

Now, your post didn't say for which meal you were thinking...."The HIll" is pretty much a dinner place. If you're looking for lunch, several great "mom & pop" deli's in "The Hill" are to be found as well, but I'm sure other STL'ers can make any number of lunch and/or breakfast reccomendations.

Kitchen K is indeed up & coming, as is that whole Washington St. Loft District, as are other places like the Boathouse at Forest Park. (more casual). Lots of great choices in the Central West End, Soulard, Dogtown, Clayton, Webster Groves (Big Sky Cafe!!!), etc.

Now that search is up & running, there's been several threads of posted STL meetups, where people have chimed in on advice for this.