Today, we settle the debate; ‘Where should we eat in St.Louis?’
This Ultimate Foodie Guide will give your student group the best spots around town for the tastiest, most iconic, and all-around most popular foods in St. Louis.
It can be hard catering to a large group of hungry bellies, so why not make the destination one that comes with some great food and loads of history. Here are our menu picks:
Appetizers
Toasted Ravioli
Deep-fried ravioli! The rumor is that this delicacy originated on The Hill, a famous St. Louis suburb historically known for its Italian immigrants. If you are looking for the best, Charlie Gitto’s is a great place to pick up this appetizer.
Breakfast
Gooey Butter Cake
Legend states a German baker in St.Louis discovered this gooey masterpiece as he mistakenly mixed up cake batter ingredients. When traveling, if you see this item on the dessert menu you can know it is not STL authentic. Any Saint Louisan knows this item is to be served at breakfast, this is why we recommend Park Avenue Coffee, to try this tasty treat.
Lunch
Provel Cheese & Prosperity Sandwich
This melty but not quite stringy cheese is well received throughout the Lou. If you want to kick your St. Louis feasting up a notch try the Provel Prosperity Sandwich at Ruma’s Deli. This iconic STL sandwich allegedly got its name from President Hoover's comments on prosperity during the Great Depression, and we certainly feel the prosperity continues in every bite!
St. Paul’s Sandwich
Not something most would recognize, but this sandwich is like the Chinese- American version of a burger, with an egg foo yong patty instead of meat. If you want to be adventurous, go to Park Chop Suey and try it with duck, pork, beef, shrimp, chicken or ham.
Dinner
Slinger
Another one of the more unfamiliar yet STL classic items to try during your trip would be the Slinger. Eggs, hash browns and meat smothered in chili make this delicious sandwich complete, a truly amazing eating experience. While it may be debated which St. Louis diner created this dish, Courtesy Diner’s slogan is Home of the St. Louis Slinger.
St. Louis Pork Steak
Kansas City may have their BBQ sauce, but St. Louis has pork steaks. Pork steak is for the carnivorous, it is pork butt cut like a steak, and is amazing for BBQ. If you have a large group Smoki O’s, is perfect.
St. Louis Style Ribs
There are three things to know about St. Louis style ribs: 1). They are cut to form a rectangle. 2) They have more meat than baby backs. And 3). You get them from Roper’s Ribs. Roper is well known for having the “best ribs in the universe” and if you don’t believe it then visit yourself and try their traveler’s special, it will show you just why people say that.
Dessert
Concrete
To the frozen custard connoisseur, if you have never been on a Drewes Cruise, it is time. Ted Drewes is one of the pioneers of frozen custard’s popularity as it created a shake so thick, it can be served upside down, we call this the concrete. The Ted Drewes concrete is an STL staple straight off of historic Route 66.
Waffle Cone
Thanks to the 1904 World’s Fair, hosted in St. Louis, we now have remarkable things such as x-ray machines, electrical outlets, baby incubators, and the not as important, but ever so popular waffle cone. They even made a movie about this STL original, and we suggest Bailey’s Range, if you want a seriously good waffle cone. Trust us.
P.S. If you want a good cupcake batter waffle cone, try Jilly’s Cupcakes!
