I’ve lived in New York City, so it should go without saying that I’m hurting for good food in St. Louis.
Or should it?
At Friday night’s #stl #tweet-up, @Tojosan and @MattHomann, determined to convince me that St. Louis isn’t just BBQ and steak, drafted a list for me of the best restaurants and bars in St. Louis. Here’s what they came up with: (note: their original list has been extended to include more recommendations from friends reading this blog and following me on twitter).
33 (wine bar)
Absolulty Goosed
Bailey’s Chocolate Bar
The Bleeding Deacon (for good bar food)
Boogaloo’s (Maplewood)
Farotto’s (great lasagna!)
Franco
Frazier’s Brown Bag
Grazzi’s (The Hill)
Hodak’s (for fried chicken)
Iron Barley
La Vellasana
Niche
Olympia (Greek – try the flaming cheese!)
Pi
Porch (store)
Ravanelli’s (Collinsville, IL)
Red Sea (Ethiopian)
Venice Cafe
Do you think my twitter friends have omitted great St. Louis restaurants? Leave me a comment, and I’ll add your suggestion to my list!
My fave is Farotto’s. Great lasagna! Red Sea for Ethopian. Olympia for Greek…amazing flaming cheese.
I volunteer for the Taste Testing!
Can’t beat Grazzis on the Hill.
Boogaloo’s in Maplewood – Cuban/cajun and a fun atmosphere. Schlafly bottleworks also has some different stuff on their menu, like bison nachos and smoked gouda gratin.
I have been to StL many times (mainly for ballgames) & can honestly say I have never been to any of those listed….may have to try them.
I concur with Iron Barley, Bleeding Deacon, Niche, and Bottleworks. Ravanelli’s in Collinsville for fried chicken (much better than Hodak’s). India Palace for Indian. House of Wong and Chinese Noodle Shop. For Lebanese, hit St. Raymond’s on Wednesdays for lunch.
Favazza’s on the Hill is a favorite of J and I… I have heard good things about Absolutley Goosed!
LoRusso’s Cucina
I concur with Bottleworks and Pi! I also like Rooster, Terrene (CWE), and Sassafrass Cafe (at the Missouri Botanical Gardens). Local Harvest Cafe is another good one, as well as Atomic Cowboy. La Dolce Via is an incredible place tucked away in my neighborhood, expensive but worth it. More Central West End hotspots are: Dressel’s Pub, Rasoi is an indian buffet in a gorgeous venue, and Tortillaria is a cute Mexican place.
If you like BBQ, Pappy’s Smokehouse in Midtown has incredible sweet potato fries (in my opinion), and Triumph Grill, also in Midtown, has an interesting mix of upscale bar food.
Can you tell that I am hungry??
ps – I was sitting next to the Tweetup you went to on Friday, July 3rd, just there with my friends eating. small world!!
Took a colleague from MLB in from NYC to Niche last night. She’s a vegetarian and raved. It was, as always, fabulous! STL is an A-town when it comes to great, local restaurants!
Great List!
So glad you took time to ask around.
Seamus McDaniel’s – Dogtown
Michael’s Bar & Grill – Dogtown
Crown Candy Kitchen – North St Louis – great lunch food, great malts
Maurizio’s Pizza – Downtown
Ferraro’s Pizza – Soulard
Pappy’s Smokehouse – Midtown
Sub Zero and Drunken Fish in the Central West End. Good drinks, food and atmosphere.
Ooh, Balducci’s or Lemmons off of Gravois for some of the BEST pizza ever, I agree with Barry about Drunken Fish, they still have my favourite sushi in the city (and a cocktail that tastes EXACTLY like a birthday cake!!) Local Harvest is a ridiculously unique cafe with seasonal offerings, and The Scottish Arms has a delicious selection of (relatively) authentic Scottish offerings!
Also…the crown jewel of the CWE…the Cupcakery. Gourmet cupcakes as big as your HEAD that will truly change your life!!
I went to Local Harvest for the first time last week for a meeting with my boss (I love my boss), and I totally dug the place. Great coffee, and super comfortable, independent cafe.
Gian Fabio’s in Chesterfield has WiFi and is very laptop friendly! They have good pasta, salads and a variety of entrees for a very reasonable price. It’s a casual place – good for business meetings or a casual lunch. The only thing I haven’t been crazy about there is the dessert and they don’t have decaf latte (maybe no espresso at all).