St. Louis has long had an exemplary culinary reputation based on wonderful
restaurants and exquisite world-class cuisine. For example as far back as 1842,
when an English travel writer of some note, Charles Dickens, visited St. Louis and
stayed at the Planter’s House, he commented favorably about the meals,
including one that his wife and he consumed in their room. Dickens was
astonished to have “…counted sixteen dishes on our table at the same time.”
Still, Dickens left no record of the contents of that meal. Rather, it was a local delicacy sampled
on a side-trip through neighboring Lebanon, Illinois that seemed worth a
specific mention: “…buffalo’s tongue – an exquisite dainty, by the way.”
Even in Dickens’s day, it wasn’t the fine dining but the oddball and
quirky dish that set our region apart. Here are some of the St. Louis-centric
foods you might – or in some cases might not - want to try when you are here
for CONSTRUCT 2015.
Toasted Ravioli:
Other
than the golden brown exterior appearance of the pasta shell, there is nothing
“toasted” about this legendary bar-food appetizer from St. Louis. The t-rav allegedly was created when a plate of
otherwise normal ravioli was dropped into a deep-fat fryer. Every Italian
restaurant “on the Hill” claims credit for the genius invention or the happy
accident. The former Oldani’s on Edwards Street provides a plausible history on their website. Traditional toasted ravioli
has meat filling, although cheese filled is a common variation, it’s lightly
breaded before frying, and it’s served with marinara dipping sauce and Parmesan
cheese.
The St. Paul
Sandwich has nothing to do with our Mississippi River upstream neighbor in Minnesota
– it’s only available in St. Louis and some other Missouri cities, at
Chinese-American carry out restaurants. The ingredients don’t vary: an egg foo
young patty, pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomato, with mayonnaise, on white
bread. Your only choices are the meat: pork, beef, shrimp, chicken, or
“special” – a combination of some or all of the above, depending on the
restaurant, the day of the week, and the mood of the chef. NPR’s opinion: “…truly,
shockingly tasty. We fully expected to be grossed out by this thing, but it's
amazing. And cheap.”
The Slinger: For my
generation, the slinger is synonymous with the O.T. Hodge Chili Parlor. Alas,
Hodge’s is no longer with us, a victim of an ugly internecine feud several
years ago, although several other local diners serve versions of the slinger.
The traditional slinger starts off simply enough: two hamburger patties,
preferably topped with a slice of cheese. Cover these with hash brown potatoes,
then with two eggs cooked any style (personal preference: sunny-side up).
Drench the whole composition with chili - add grated cheddar cheese and
chopped raw onions if you wish. It’s the go-to meal for those times when your
cholesterol count is dropping lower than you’d like.
Brain Sandwiches, an old
standard from when St. Louis was a major meatpacking center, became a lunch
favorite of the generation that grew up during the Great Depression. Thinly
sliced calves’ brains are mixed with milk, eggs, flour, and other spices and
formed into patties that are deep fried and served on white or rye bread with
raw onions, pickles, and spicy mustard. Surprisingly fluffy and delicately
flavored, the fried brain sandwich fell into disfavor during the mad-cow
disease scare in the 1980's, and the few taverns around town that still serve it
now use pig brain instead of calf. Still, it’s worth seeking out if you are
adventurous.
Pork Steak: This
inexpensive cut from the shoulder of the pig is the staple of St. Louis style barbeque
– pork steaks on the grille, a Budweiser in hand, and the Cardinal’s game on
the radio were the three essential ingredients of a successful 1950’s weekend.
The origin of the cut is explained in this magazine article, along with
instructions for how we natives can improve our technique, although most of us
won’t take kindly to suggestion. St. Louisans know the secret is in the sauce –
lots of it – and what’s in each person’s special sauce is usually kept secret. Pork
steaks are readily available in St. Louis, but almost impossible to find elsewhere.
St. Louis Style
Ribs, on
the other hand, seem to be ubiquitous everywhere but St. Louis. We’d seen them
on menus in other cities, and had no idea what they were, until this newspaper article explained it
all. It turns out "Pork Ribs, St. Louis Style" is an official USDA standard,
and has been for years. But don’t try asking a native about St. Louis style
ribs, because you’ll likely get a blank stare in return.
Gooey Butter
Cake takes
the toasted ravioli tradition of a lucky mistake to the dessert menu. A novice
baker at a south St. Louis bakery in the 1930's botched a cake recipe.
Fortunately for taste buds throughout the region, it was the Depression and the
master baker didn’t condone waste. He put the mess in the oven anyway, and
invented the gooey butter cake. Over the years, flavor variations evolved –
pumpkin is a personal favorite – and true sugar addicts are not afraid to try
it รก la mode when the cake is fresh from the oven and still warm, along with your preferred beverage - in this case, coffee stout.
Ted Drewes: Founded in
1930, Drewes has served frozen custard to generations of St. Louisans and to
visitors from around the world. The Chippewa location has been a Route 66 landmark
since 1941, famous for its concrete, a milk shake so think it can – and will –
be turned upside down before you receive it. Although you can buy prepackaged
strawberry and chocolate Ted Drewes in grocery stores, at the custard stand
everything is vanilla – the flavor comes from the plentiful and varied toppings.
Full disclosure: it’s been decades since I’ve had a concrete – I usually get seduced by one of three
favorite sundaes: the Dutchman, the Hawaiian Delight, or a “simple” hot fudge,
marshmallow, and butterscotch.
So, that’s the story on St. Louis specialties – lucky accidents,
misnamed oddities, economical cuts of meat, and mysterious origins. One thing
these exquisite dainties have in common, they are all truly, and sometimes
shockingly, tasty. We’ll have a few of
these treats on the menu at the Greater St. Louis Chapter’s “Night
of Mirth, Mystery, and Mayhem” at City Museum on October 1st,
along with other St. Louis themed foods and drinks. Hope you can join us.
