Someone wrote: > >Please! someone tell me what St. Louis-style Italian is! How is >it different from New York-style, San Francisco, etc. > >-- >Hekate Well, we've got this thang here called "toasted ravioli," which allegedly caught hold some years back when a chef accidentally dropped one into the deep fryer. Other than that, I don't think that the Italian food here is much different from any other city -- lots of regional variations (Northern Italian, Sicilian, "new" Italian, etc.) and everything from trattoria to ristorante, plus what I believe is the Conde Nast "best Italian in the U.S.," a top-drawer place called Tony's. joe bonwich food writer the riverfront times, st. louis [email removed]
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Italian?
Joe B. wrote: >Well, we've got this thang here called "toasted ravioli," which allegedly caught >hold some years back when a chef accidentally dropped one into the deep fryer. >Other than that, I don't think that the Italian food here is much different from >any other city -- lots of regional variations (Northern Italian, Sicilian, "new" >Italian, etc.) and everything from trattoria to ristorante, plus what I believe is >the Conde Nast "best Italian in the U.S.," a top-drawer place called Tony's. > >joe bonwich >food writer >the riverfront times, st. louis >[email removed] In addition to the toasted ravioli, pizza is the only other Italian type food which I know which is exclusive to St. Louis. Since leaving St.Louis, I have heard people reference "St.Louis" style pizza. I am a native, and have never heard it referred to as this while living in St. Louis......I can only assume that Imo's type pizza is what is meant by this title - Ultra thin crust and lots of grease - YUM! I always thought of that as New York sytle pizza, except I think you have to be born in St. Louis to like (& crave) Imo's. Every transplant I knew thought it tasted like deep-fried cardboard. .......Sharon ([email removed])
Joe B. wrote: >Roger W. wrote: >(snip) >> >>OTOH, there are a *lot* of excellent Italian restaurants here that cover >>the range of Italian cooking and price. I liked a place called Little >>Italy on the south side (not on the hill, don't know if it's still >"The Hill," by the way, is St. Louis' version of Little Italy, with something >like two dozen Italian restaurants from real cheap to high end clustered very >close together. It's bordered roughly by Kingshighway, Arsenal, Hampton and >Manchester. > I actually like Gino's on Hampton (south of Chippewa) better than any restaurant on "the hill!" While their pastas are not particularly outstanding, their meat dishes are fabulous. I remember when they first opened they didn't have a liquor license, so you could bring in your own wine. Boy, that was great. I often wish they never did get that liquor license! Other restaurants on the hill: Cunetto House of Pasta (try their Fettucini al Cunetto), Zia's, Charley Gito's, Bartolino's, ... (I could go on and on but now I have to go find something to eat). What do people think of Token's Restaurant (corner of Hampton and Arsenal)? -paul onnen [email removed]