Beware of Imo's! I have been told by many an Imo's employee, and by Imo's headquarters, that certain locations cook the pizza sauce with sausage and then strain it out. If you want to know whether or not your Imo's is sneaking meat into their sauce, you have to ask if they use "cold sauce" or not. Cold sauce is distributed by headquarters and is vegetarian. And ask the manager if you want a real answer.
Joanies - Soulard - Thin or thick crust, but I prefer the thin here. Above average toppings include: spinach, broccoli, eggplant, squash, artichokes, roasted garlic, roasted red peppers. But I usually order the "Joanie's Veggie" because it's cheaper than building a pizza with the same number of toppings. And they have cheese T-ravs!!!
Katies - Clayton - This place is wonderful on many levels; the decor, the vibe, the pretty waitresses, and the delicious delicious food. It's worth it for the gorgonzola and artichoke ravioli alone, but everything else is equally great. The salads are big and chock full of the good stuff. The pizza toppings lean more toward traditional Italian style, but some of the more offbeat toppings include: fingerling potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash and squash blossoms!
Pi - 3 locations - The deep dish is predominantly made of cornmeal, and the thin is not St. Louis style thin. They do an awful lot of smack-talking about St. Louis style pizza, which is snotty of them. Certainly better than the offerings of a larger pizza chain, but it just doesn't do it for me. Everyone else seems to love it though, so I encourage you to decide for yourself. Nonstandard toppings include: asiago, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, feta, fontina, minced garlic, roasted garlic, gorgonzola, green olives, kalamata olives, red peppers, pesto, ricotta, fresh rosemary, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini. Gluten-free thin crust, daiya vegan cheese, and match vegan meat substitutes are available upon request, which is nice.
Dewey's - 4 locations (all in the county) This is tasty hand-tossed pizza. The place is always packed on the weekends, so be ready to stand and wait. If you order one of their specialty pizzas, make sure you pay attention to whether it includes sauce or not. Many of them do not, so you may have to request it. Interesting toppings: smoked cheddar, gorgonzola, goat cheese, ricotta, feta, fontina, minced garlic, pesto, artichokes, spinach, fresh mozzarella, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, whole roasted garlic.
Fortel's Pizza Den - 6 locations (all county plus 1 in Illinois) They refer to their crust as "medium-thin" but it seems like a fairly standard St. Louis crust to me. The cheese however, is mozzarella, not provel. They have lots of sinful veggie appetizers including, but not limited to CHEESE T-RAVS! They offer atypical topping choices such as: artichoke hearts, cheddar, eggplant, feta, garlic, sauteed onion, pepper cheese, sauerkraut, and spinach. And that eggplant pizza topping was breaded the last time I got it, like sliced up eggplant parmesan. Silly, but yummy.
Blackthorn - Tower Grove - Thin, pan or Chicago style crusts all of which are tasteless, and the Chicago style is all dough and not enough toppings to balance it out. The sauce is spicy but lacks depth and artichokes are about as fancy as it gets topping-wise. Loud bar atmosphere with an even louder air hockey table that makes me want to jump out the window.
Riley's - Tower Grove - St. Louis style at it's very best! No fancy toppings here, but the pizza always comes out perfectly topped and cooked. Smoky neighborhood bar that just happens to have great pizza.
Vitos - Midtown - Used to be a tiny hole in the wall before SLU started tearing down everything in sight. Now it's a glitzy, giant, county-style place. But one thing hasn't changed from the old days is that the entire staff are constantly high, which results in any combination of inattentiveness, bone headedness and poorly made pizza. Pay $1.50 for some red onions on your pizza, and you'll be lucky if you get 3 rings. They have shitake mushrooms, but they'll be so sparse you won't taste them. The lunch buffet is less of a rip-off, and you know exactly what you're getting when you choose your slice.
Onesto - South City - Hand tossed crust and 2 sizes available. Toppings of interest: eggplant, ricotta, zucchini, fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes etc. This place is pretty small, so if you don't want to wait, take out might be the way to go. They are also known for having the best fettuccine alfredo in town.
Natty's St. Louis National Pizza Co - Tower Grove - Chicago, New York, St. Louis styles available. They have recently scaled back the topping choices, so the website is not current, but I know they have spinach and sun dried tomatoes. If you live in the neighborhood, $5 delivery charge goes directly to the cyclist who runs it over to you.
Pizzeria Tivoli - Princeton Heights - European atmosphere and Neapolitan style pizza with traditional topping choices. Very reasonably priced and kind servers.
PW - Lafayette Square - Original, Honey Wheat, or Gluten Free crusts available. Every imaginable cheese, including Daiya Vegan cheese is available. Multiple sauce options including a yummy chimichurri. Artichokes, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and eggplant are the most unusual toppings.
Racanelli's - 6 locations with 1 in the Central West End! - This is definitely the most New Yorky place in town, and one of very few places to buy by the slice. They've got the crust on lock down with a perfect blend of crispiness and chewiness. If your order a whole pie, I recommend the Veggie Deluxe, the only pizza on which I actually think the feta is warranted.
Good Pie - Midtown - Very small and very popular. True Neapolitan style with a few vegetarian toppings to choose from including spinach, fresh mozzarella, or buffalo mozzarella, tellegio, arugula, or my favourite, a farm fresh egg cracked right on top. But they are in such a rush, they don't allow you to build your own pie, so you must pick one off the menu, which is a bummer. I also recommend the roasted olives.
Guido's Pizzeria and Tapas - The Hill - True St. Louis style pizza that's heavy on the provel and quite salty. 4 sizes available. Not many fancy toppings, but they do have broccoli, which is nice. Not too many vegetarian tapas plates, but they do have tortilla espanola, which I enjoyed frequently in Spain when my options were limited.
1 comment:
Yeah, they actually have their employees wear "NO PROVEL" shirts (or something along those lines) at Pi. It's just, like, why? So you don't use it. Fine. But what's with the crusade?
That said, they do sling some fine-ass pies, yes indeed.
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