Foods of St. Louis

No Free Lunch is not just about recipes and cooking; it is as much about the culture around food and drink. From time to time, I will discuss regional cuisine both locally and while traveling. This weekend, Ariel and I visited St. Louis, a city with many distinctive culinary features. Today's post explores a few of these features.

The Hill

The Hill is a historically Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis, and is home to many Italian restaurants. It was also where baseball legend Yogi Berra grew up. One of the most famous dishes to come out of The Hill is toasted ravioli - ravioli, breaded and deep-fried. This has since become a staple of St. Louis cuisine.

We had dinner at Anthonino's Taverna, an Italian restaurant with some Greek elements, as well. The Greek influence was seen with the battered pickle chips, which were served with a spicy tzatziki. I was excited to see squid ink pasta on the menu, a dish I don't often see.

Provel Cheese

Provel is one of the most ubiquitous features of St. Louis food. It is a processed cheese made from a blend of Provolone, Cheddar, and Swiss, and has a soft and gooey texture. It is a key ingredient in the classic St. Louis dish, the Steak Modiga, where it forms the base of the sauce. It is also seen on salads, and, most famously, as part of a St. Louis-style pizza.

Provel is found only in the St. Louis area, although it is actually produced in Wisconsin. As such, I brought a pound of it back home to Indiana, so it may be featured in some recipes in the coming weeks.

St. Louis-Style Pizza

Although the pizza originated in Naples in southern Italy, it is an integral part of American food culture. There are a staggering amount of regional variants, from the original pizza napoletana to the Chicago deep-dish. The St. Louis-style pizza has a very thin crust and is topped with Provel instead of the traditional mozzarella. The use of Provel changes the texture of the pizza significantly; instead of the stringiness of the typical mozzarella used on American pizzas, the melted Provel is creamy and gooey.

I'm a big fan of St. Louis pizza, and every time I have been to the city, I have eaten a pizza from Imo's, one of the most commonly seen purveyors of this style of pizza. The one seen here is topped with sausage and mushrooms.