Hannah Rowland
St. Louis is one of the biggest cities in the state. It has a few quirks, especially our unique foods. If you aren’t from the St. Louis area, chances are you haven’t had foods like gooey butter cake, toasted ravioli, the infamous St. Louis-style pizza, Ted Drewes frozen custard, or bread sliced bagels. Some of these may sound very weird and kind of suspicious, but I personally like all of them and wanted to share them with other Missourians.
When the internet heard about bread sliced bagels, people stormed twitter saying how it was a heinous disgrace against baked goods. So, is slicing a bagel like a loaf of bread acceptable? The answer is yes, of course it is. If you have ever been into a St. Louis Bread Co. (sorry, Panera) to grab one of their delicious breakfast items, specifically a bagel, you’ll hear the worker asking “How would you like it sliced?”. Now, some people opt for the classic, single slice across the middle. But, I, along with many others, opt to “bread-slice” it. Bread slicing gives you a way to share the huge, delicious, flavorful bagels they offer. It makes it easier to share and sample flavors when you’re in a group, or you can simply have more jams, jellies, or cream cheese. The possibilities are endless and perfect for family or at-work shared breakfasts where everyone can have a little bit of everything.
The next item on my STL food list is toasted ravioli. Now, when my parents told me as a child that toasted ravs were only a St. Louis commodity I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t imagine going into an italian restaurant without getting these delicious fried pastas for an appetizer. The origin of this beloved item is contested, as many restaurants in St. Louis’ italian neighborhood “The Hill” all claim to have been the one to accidentally drop a ravioli in the fryer. They’re sold in just about every self-respecting pizzeria or even vaguely italian restaurant in the area, as well as frozen in grocery stores. Now, if you didn’t know or haven’t gotten the grasp of it yet, a toasted ravioli is a pasta pocket filled with meat or cheese (like normal ravioli) except it is then breaded and fried. We then dip the lovely things into marinara sauce. If you ever get the chance, I highly suggest you try them, as they are loved by many, even some of the pickiest eaters.
Okay, St. Louis-style pizza gets a bad rap. Not all St. Louisans love it, but it is widely adored, and I, personally, think it is delicious. This unique pizza was created when Provel cheese was invented. It is very contested and unknown who exactly created it or who was the first to use it on pizza. Provel cheese is generally a processed mixture of cheddar, swiss, and provolone cheese, sometimes with smoke flavor added. The discerning characteristics of a STL pizza are a cracker-thin, crispy crust made with yeastless dough, provel cheese, and square-cut slices. There are countless pizzerias around STL with their own variations on St.Louis pizza; a few are Imo’s (the biggest and most recognizable), Cecil Whittaker’s, Farotto’s, Pirrone’s, and Stefanina’s (my personal favorite). Whether you end up hating it or loving it, I encourage you to try it at least once because it's very unique.
Now, Frozen Custard is not a singularly St. Louis food, but Ted Drewes, known for their frozen custard, is a staple of the city. I haven’t personally been there too many times in my life as it isn’t super close to me and is constantly packed, but when I do go, the ice cream is absolutely the best. There are way too many flavors or choices (I can never pick) made by mixing sauces, candies, nuts, etc. into vanilla custard thick enough to flip upside down. It is a cultural staple in St. Louis and couldn’t be left out of this list even though it isn’t exactly a unique type of food, rather a unique place.
Finally, possibly the best dessert ever created, gooey butter cake. There are not words to describe the perfection that this confection is. First created when yellow cake went horribly wrong in the best way, this treat has been a perfect addition to barbeques, family holidays, and any other event, really. Put simply, it is made using yellow cake mix (or from scratch) with butter and not much else, and then putting a second layer on top that is basically sugar and cream cheese. When it is done baking (not as long as regular cake to leave it gooey) powdered sugar is sprinkled over and then we enjoy it! There’s really no other cake like it. It is sweet, gooey, vanilla-y, and objectively absolutely delicious. The home-made or little-family-bakery-made kind is the best kind, and I will stand by that. However, Gooey butter cookies, which taste very similar and soft enough to fall apart in your hand, are good from grocery stores like Schnucks ( a major St. Louis grocer). All in all, gooey butter cake/cookies are an ultimate dessert, and you should try them at least once in your life.
In the end, everyone has different tastes and everyone grew up with different foods. St. Louis has many unique and beloved foods and restaurants that not everyone understands or gets to experience. I will always defend bread-sliced bagels, and forever crave toasted ravs, and I hope that others get to at least try our odd creations once.
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