St Louis food is shaped by waves of immigration — Italian on The Hill, Bosnian along Gravois, Vietnamese on South Grand, Mexican along Cherokee Street — and by a stubborn local identity built around three particular regional inventions: thin-crust pizza with Provel cheese, gooey butter cake, and toasted ravioli. Locals defend all three with disproportionate intensity.
For visitors, the easiest approach is to mix one neighbourhood food walk (South Grand for Vietnamese, The Hill for Italian, Cherokee Street for Mexican) with one essential local experience — barbecue at Pappy's, frozen custard at Ted Drewes, breakfast at Crown Candy Kitchen, or pizza at Imo's. Reservations are rarely essential outside a handful of high-end places.