When I was living in New York, I occasionally watched Cardinals games with a group of New York-based St. Louisans. On one particular occassion, I brought a friend along who was a Staten Island, NY native. A journalist with a passion for local cultures and cuisines, he asked the St. Louis crew what foods we felt were true St. Louis foods. The two foods that the group agreed were toasted ravioli (a.k.a. T-Rav.) and St. Louis gooey butter cake.
Just like the rest of the St. Louis crew, I grew up eating toasted ravioli. There was a pizza house in my home town that served reputable steaks, pizzas, and t-rav. Dad and Mom would order steak, my brother and I would share a pizza, and the family would all share an order of toasted ravioli and marinara sauce.
Gooey butter cake, on the other hand, is a St. Louis food that I had never, ever encountered. To this day, I have neither seen in person nor tasted the famous desert.
Deep in my heart, I know that I am a St. Louisan. I cheer for the Cardinals, I spent hot summer days at the St. Louis Zoo as a kid, and I remember my excitement at the St. Louis Science Center’s expanion project 20 or so years ago. My gooey butter cake virginity, however, has caused me to question whether I was truly born and raised in the Show-Me State.
How could I possibly have missed this critically important element of St. Louis cuisine?
Always the overachiever, I’ve decided that my first taste of gooey butter cake will be the taste of a homemade one. The next item on my to-bake list is a homemade St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out.
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[...] St. Louis | Tags: Baking, St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake Note: In case you missed it, check out my previous blog on St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake to get the backstory [...]