St. Louis - Guilty pleasures (food)
 

I'm heading to the STL on Thursday for a weekend of fun. Denver is pretty bereft of anything good (from an unhealthy food perspective :p). Every time I visit, I try to visit the following places:

White Castle (yes, they're all over the midwest, but there are none in Denver)
Lion's Choice (why in the world does anyone go to Arby's?)
Fortel's Pizza (sorry, but Imo's and their ilk are simply awful)
Ted Drewe's
House of India (not unhealthy, per se, but it's the restaurant that got me hooked on Indian food)
Some place with toasted ravioli
Blueberry Hill
Fast Eddie's Bon Air (cold beer and cheap eats, can you ask for anything more?)

Any other recommendations? (As you can see, I'm a low-roller.)

I'd say you have a great list going there. I might add a few to contemplate:

Schlafly's Tap Room: get the buffalo nachos from this place. It's St. Louis' "other" brewery.

Mr. Wizard: is a viable frozen custard alternative to Ted Drewe's but, obviously, lacks the recognition.

Pasta House: I only mention it because you asked for toasted ravioli. They do a decent job and while you're there you might as well get some of the St. Louis "style" salad and some pasta con brocolli. Both staples here and both thoroughly artery clogging.

I find burgers better elsewhere than at Blueberry Hill. Seamus McDaniels in Dogtown and O'Connell's come to mind. I prefer the former.

If you're into fried chicken you can hit Hodaks or Pat's (also in Dogtown). Pat's is by the zoo so if you're going there you can kill two birds with one stone.

In fact, I'm going to an event there on Saturday night. Open bar to boot. :)

Totally forgot about the pasta con broccoli!

Blueberry Hill is more of a hang out with friends and drink beers all night venue. I'll also probably order my toasted ravioli there (out of the sake of convenience).

I wouldn't mind hitting a BBQ joint like Bandana's or Smokin' Al's, but I don't think I'll have time.

Oh! How could I forget The Courtesy Diner?!

Try the breadpudding if you have a chance.

If you have time for BBQ, try Pappy's. It doesn't face Olive; use the side/back entrance.


Oh - and if time is a concern, Uncle Bill's is open 24/7.

For BBQ, my hands down recommendation is: Roper's Ribs. Hit them last summer while driving thru town on a road trip and they are superb. It isn't in the greatest of neighborhoods, and there isn't really room to eat there (it's more of a takeout place), but it's definitely great BBQ.

It's axiomatic that BBQ joints are found in the less polished part of any city. :)

Never heard of Roper's Ribs but I'll put it on my hit list.

Smokin' Al's has smoked itself out of business. Victim to the Highway 40 construction and new ownership. I think it might have survived but the new ownership definately took the quality down a notch and BBQ fans notice that stuff, quick. It took me one visit under the new ownership to take note and a second visit to scratch it off my list. Shame as the pulled pork was great.

Didn't make it to any BBQ places.

The slinger: how can something so wrong be so right? :p

Wow, that was amazing. A perfect way to end an evening of copious (free) beer drinking.

I'm not sure how anyone agreed to simply rip up Highway 40 and force everyone to detour on all sorts of side roads. Props to all of you for managing.

As always, a great time in the STL. I need to visit much more often.

I'm just glad you didn't pick up any ailments while you were there. Which Courtesy Diner did you go to? Hampton or South Kingshighway? I avoid them both.

Actually, the whole thing has been relatively painless. I live very close to 40 and used it on a daily basis. I'm glad that they decided to minimize the pain by adopting the plan to shut down the entire highway rather than partial lane closures. If they had decided to do it that way we were looking at 6-8 years of constant construction vs. the 2 years we have now. Only 7 more months to go....

I had lunch at LC (Lion's Choice) yesterday in Creve Coeur and the beef was like butter... ^

The one on Hampton. I also saw they offer "The Hoosier", which is a slinger with sausage gravy instead of chili. I must try that next time.

Of course, for me, the original place to get the slinger was Morgan's Diner in Maplewood (just around the corner from Saratoga Lanes).

^True that! I love this place and go about twice each month with friends that previously didn't want to try Indian and now love it. Too bad it's not in AAdvantage dining:td:

My others:
Companion Bakehouse (Clayton, Ladue, CWE): Wonderful baked eggs, homemade oatmeal, wonderful contemporary Paris like setting, although kinda pricey
Sub Zero Burger Bar: Good eat in the CWE, place to 'be seen' on Fridays and Saturdays, gone with my GF
Indias Rasoi: not as good as House but better atmosphere IMHO
Wapango (Chesterfield): Great Latin cuisine, prices are reasonable, great place to go with friends and GF

Love India Rossoi (SP?) is definately a winner for Indian food in the city

And one can't miss torrtellini bianco at Cunetto's.
Of course Charlie Gitto's is famous for their toasted ravioli.

As for BBQ, head 250 miles west to Kansas City for the real deal.

Honestly? Cunettos? I'm consistenly bewildered at why anyone would spend the time to stop there to eat. Entirely pedestrian italian food. Please find other alternatives, there are much, much, much better opportunities for pasta in STL.

I would like to hear some of your recommendations, I am always interested in learning of a new place for pasta in St. Louis (new place meaning something other than the usual suspects like Kemoll's, Gian Tony's, Tony's, Zia's, Rigazzi's, Charlie Gitto's, Dominic's, Giovanni's, Tratorria Marcela, Bartallenio's, et al). Please enlighten us.

First off go to Sauce Magazine and check out what they have to say:

www.saucemagazine.com

My list of other places to try good pasta would include:

Ricardos - Lafayette Square
Stellina Pasta Cafe - Southwest
Mia Rosa - Forest Park Southeast / The Grove
Bar Italia - Central West End
Luciano's - Clayton
Vito's - SLU
Gino's - Hampton Village - never mind, now closed
Joanie's - Soulard
Mangia Italiano - South Grand

As for your list of places I would consider those part of the standard list of STL italian. Some are exemplary and I'd enjoy eating at them anytime (ie; Giovanni's.) But clearly Cunettos does not belong on a list that includes: Giovanni's, Gitto's, Kemoll's Trattoria Marcella and Tony's. My mom thinks there is one central kitchen on the hill pumping out the food at most of the places there as they seem totally the same one to the next.

Ricardo's has some excellent food. Plus the neighborhood is awesome. /self serving plug


I'd also recommend, if you go to Ricardo's, head to Bailey's Chocolate Bar for dessert, and then 33 wine bar next door for drinks. You can practically barcrawl through the Square these days.

Lest I forget, for amazing sandwiches, try Blues City Deli. They're huge and not very expensive. Only open during lunch though, except Thursdays. Closed Sunday.