A Look at St. Louis Cuisine

Since I'm a non-native St. Louisian, I think my perspective about this town's cuisine has a more objective tinge to it than born and bred StL dwellers.

Thus, I offer a critique of the distinctive cuisine of St. Louis.

Exhibit A: The Pork Steak
I appreciate the drive to eat more fatty cuts of pork since the pork industry, driven by the demand for lean meat during the various health crazes in our country, has bred swine to be incredibly lean, so lean that pork is easy to overcook, which creates meat that has the consistency of shoe leather coupled with a bland taste. Damn you Iowa State University hog researchers! Damn you all to hell! Regardless, the pork "steak" is pathetic and overrated. And that term ("steak") is nothing but a euphemism for "It's a crappy cut of pork, so let's gentrify it with the term 'steak.'" It's comparable to the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" initiative--use emotionally laden terms for subterfuge. Sure, a pork steak is good when you're drunk (Haven't we all been there, my friends?), but other than when one's taste buds are "comfortably numb," it is what it is: a bad piece of meat typically drowned in barbecue sauce (Maul it) to mask its shortcomings.

Exhibit B: Toasted Ravioli
First, it ain't toasted. Second, the typical StL dweller has gotten used to the low grade "toasted ravs," the ones that have a hockey puck texture at the edges and bland flavorless meat inside. I've had good toasted ravioli at a few establishments on the Hill, but other than those places the "app" is overplayed on menus and overesteemed among StL residents. Most restaurants don't get it right.

Exhibit C: St. Louis Style Pizza
I have to admit, I like the thin crust and the square slices, but I'm not a huge fan of provel cheese, a pastuerized process cheese hybrid of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone. To some folks who haven't acquired the taste or never want to, they find provel repulsive. Kudos to the crust (but that doesn't mean I want all my pizza that way), but how 'bout some "fuckin' muzzarelli, Sal!" (apologies to Spike Lee).

Exhibit D: Crab Rangoon
I had sometime tell me in college (Truman State) that St. Louis restaurants "invented" crab rangoon, a statement I took as asinine and bizarre. I've eaten at Chinese restaurants all over, and let me tell you, they offer crab rangoon, and I highly doubt St. Louis restaurants created it. Call me crazy, but I think the CHINESE or Chinese-Americans might have that claim to fame.

Exhibit E: The Italian Salad
It seems many mid-range Italian restaurants (the ones that should have Italian pronounced as "eye-talyan") in the area have a similar salad dressing. I don't know what exactly this concoction consists of, but it's good--usually tangy and flavorful but not heavy. The StL seems to do this right.

Exhibit F: Anheuser-Busch products
Well, I think I'll save this one for another post in the future.

Since I've been pretty critical above, here are some places I think are doing great jobs in the area (food related), ones that could be deemed, "distinctly St. Louis":
K&W Sausage Co.
Schlafly Beer, Bottleworks, and the Tap Room
Ted Drewe's
The various bakeries and delis on the Hill
Mom's Deli