Dining Maryland Heights area.

I will be in STL on business next week and would like advice for dining near Westport Plaza. I will have a car but don't want to drive too far. Also, for purposes of searching ads and reviews, what other areas are near there ?

Several restaurants in Westport Plaza itself. Hooter's is also close by.https://www.google.com/search?q=west...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Can't go wrong with Sybergs on Dorsett road. Great food and atmosphere. Lots of good restaurants a couple miles south on hwy 270 to Olive road. Granite city brewery is an upscale microbrewery. Bristol's for excellent seafood but a bit pricey.

You will find a lot of providers around 270 and St Charles Rock Road about 2 miles east and some on Page avenue, probably 4 miles east of Westport. Also, St Charles is just west of there and it's a nicer area.

Lots of great dining options in St Charles as well. PM me if you want more specifics.

Have fun!

Sybergs looks like it will definitely be on the list. Lot of choices at a good price.

I'll search the reviews and BP for St. Charles also. Though Catz from the body rub section is high on the list.

Sybergs looks like it will definitely be on the list. Lot of choices at a good price. Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

Does Syberg's still serve shark? ISTR back when I lived in STL (a long, long time ago, though not in a galaxy far, far away) that they were milking that for all it was worth (though I think "Jaws" movies were still a thing at the time).

Cheers,

bcg

Does Syberg's still serve shark? ISTR back when I lived in STL (a long, long time ago, though not in a galaxy far, far away) that they were milking that for all it was worth (though I think "Jaws" movies were still a thing at the time).

Cheers,

bcg Originally Posted by bluffcityguy

Quick look at the online menu shows shark tacos. Probably more.

A cousin from STL was telling me about some kind of egg foo young sandwich that is popular in the area. I'm also curious about STL style pizza with the provel cheese.
Any other local specialties ?

Also hope to dine at the Y while in town :-)

Quick look at the online menu shows shark tacos. Probably more.

A cousin from STL was telling me about some kind of egg foo young sandwich that is popular in the area. Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

The St. Paul Sandwich. Canonically, you're talking an egg foo young patty (made with mung bean sprouts and minced white onions) served with dill pickle slices, white onion, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato between two slices of white bread, though other variations exist.

Supposedly you can find it at most Chinese restaurants in the STL area; I've never had one myself, probably because my family growing up wasn't much into Chinese takeout. One of these years I will, just so I can say I have tried it.

Of course, Wikipedia has an article about the same: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_sandwich

I'm also curious about STL style pizza with the provel cheese. Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

St. Louis style pizza is, in my experience, either something you love because you're a STL native and grew up eating it (I fit into that category), or else it's an acquired taste (my second ex-wife, who moved to STL in her early 30s, hated the stuff when I introduced it to her, but over the years she came to like it). That said, I did have a girlfriend in KC who met me in STL for a weekend of passion, and during one of our breaks I took her to dinner at Imo's, and she said she loved the stuff (and that on her introduction to it). For that matter, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the Culinary Director of the Serious Eats website, stopped in St. Louis when he traveled across the US when he moved from NY to San Francisco, and he wrote very favorably about Imo's, telling St. Louisans that they had no need to be ashamed of St. Louis Style Pizza. (He talks about it here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/i...yle-pizza.html.)

Imo's Pizza is the original; Cecil Whittaker's is (or at least was, when I lived in STL so many years ago) another reasonably good alternative to Imo's. There are other places which sell it, but I have little experience with them.

I still have family (Father, brother, daughter, son-in-law, and baby granddaughter) in STL so I get there on a regular basis, and whenever I'm up there I always, without fail, order a pizza in from Imo's to my hotel room when I am visiting.

In addition to the use of Provel cheese (a special kind of processed cheese used mostly in the STL area for pizza, though there are a few places you can find it outside of the immediate area), St. Louis style pizza is distinguished by an unleavened, cracker-thin crust, a sauce which is a bit heavier on oregano that other pizza sauces (and which may be a bit sweeter than other pizza sauces you might run across), and for being cut into squares rather than wedges (if you've ever eaten Chicago-style thin crust pizza, which is very similar to STL style, the cut is what is often referred to there as "party cut"). Some STL area restaurants which serve St. Louis style pizza actually make it in a rectangular format (to facilitate cutting the pizza into squares) rather than circular; Imo's and Cecil Whittaker's sell circular pizzas, though they're still square cut (hence Imo's marketing slogan, "The square beyond compare").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis-style_pizza

Any other local specialties ? Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

One I like to do at home from time to time is the "Gerber sandwich". Canonically, the Gerber sandwich is a half section of Italian or French bread, spread with garlic butter and topped with ham, and Provel or Provolone cheese, seasoned with a sprinkling of paprika and then toasted. As far as I'm concerned, the true and proper Gerber is made strictly with Provel, but when I make them at home I substitute Provelone because it's difficult to find Provel outside the STL area (I could order it via mail or the web, but it's a bit pricey).

IIRC, the Gerber sandwich originated at Ruma's Deli (a local chain, IIRC), but other places have copied it, so that may not be the only place to get it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerber_sandwich

And I totally understand your intention to dine at the Y while there; I'm sorry I don't have any good recommendations there (the latest STL lady I've seen wasn't that much into having her pussy eaten, much to my disappointment), but I'm sure you can find someone acceptable. Happy hunting!

Cheers,

bcg

Gooey Butter Cake and pork steaks, I think the egg foo young sandwich is called a St. Paulie? Or st. paul.

Damn Bluff City. You're making me hungry. And not in the way Eccie reviews usually do :-)
There's a place here in KC called the Caddy Shack that does a pizza with the provel. I liked it, the wife not so much. St, Louie here I cum .

P.S. turns out there's an Imos at Westport Plaza near the hotel.

Gooey Butter Cake and pork steaks, I think the egg foo young sandwich is called a St. Paulie? Or st. paul. Originally Posted by mizurymule

How could I forget to mention gooey butter cake? Good catch there.

Pork steak is a subset of the larger category of "St. Louis barbecue": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis-style_barbecue

For some reason it's difficult to find "pork steaks" (pork shoulder cut into steaks, usually bone-in) in other areas of the country (I just bought a gas grill, and I'd kill to find pork steaks in my local grocery; I may have to talk to a butcher in a specialty meat market).

The distinguishing feature of St. Louis style "barbecue" is that it tends to be grilled over direct heat (charcoal is the preferred method, though I suppose gas is acceptable) rather than indirectly smoked, like say KC or Memphis style barbecue.

I have great memories of the "ginormous" pork steak at Charlotte's Rib in Ballwin. Haven't been there in a while, but by Gawd now that you've reminded me of it I intend to go back.

Cheers,

bcg

Damn Bluff City. You're making me hungry. And not in the way Eccie reviews usually do :-)
There's a place here in KC called the Caddy Shack that does a pizza with the provel. I liked it, the wife not so much. St, Louie here I cum . Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

Happy hunting! Culinary and hobby-wise.

Cheers,

bcg

P.S. turns out there's an Imos at Westport Plaza near the hotel. Originally Posted by Joey_Gleet

Imo's is all over the STL area ("thick as fleas on a dog's back", and I hope that metaphor doesn't put you off the chain). I'd be shocked if there isn't at least one Imo's within delivery distance of every single hotel in the St. Louis area.

I'll also recommend the Imo's salads. Either the deluxe (Lettuce, Provel Cheese, Pepperoni, Black Olives) or the chef salad (Lettuce, Provel Cheese, Ham, Roast Beef, Salami, Egg); whichever one you get (if you do) get it with the Imo's house salad dressing. Basically, whenever I go to STL I make sure that I order a bottle of the house dressing to take home, along with my pizza order. It's that good (IMHO).

Cheers,

bcg

Turns out there's a couple of Imo's in KCMO. So, if I get attached ...

Gooey butter cake, BBQ and don't forget toasted ravioli are all must try eats while visiting the Lou. It's a bit of a drive, but got to Pappy's or Bogart's for BBQ if you can. Bogart's in Soulard would be my choice, then spend time bar hopping in Soulard. Enjoy!