ATTN St Louis Pizza Fans - Help!
Greetings,
18 years ago I went to a restaurant in the St. Louis area. From what I remember (it WAS 18 years ago) it was below street level (had to go down a few steps) in an older building. They served Chicago Style deep dish pizza that took about an hour to make. I'm going to be back in St. Louis for Independence Day. I'd dearly love to overwrite some memories by revisiting that restaurant with someone new in my life. I would appreciate anyone sharing the name and location of this restaurant (I *think* it was in or near the University district).
If anyone has personal experience with Pi or Black Thorn, I'd love to hear about them too - just in case I cant retrace my steps to the place I'm trying to remember.
Last topic (arent you glad you stopped to read this post?), is there a better place for St. Louis style pizza than Imo's?
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10 Comments:
As a NY transplant going to grad school in St. Louis, first I have to ask why you would have any interest in ever revisiting an experience involving st. louis pizza. No offense, but I truly think it may be the most vile food invention in the continental United States. However, I do hear from people who actually do like it that Imo's, despite it's modern day chain status, is still the best place to get that kind of pie. I know of no place that is similar to your description of where you ate Chicago style pizza, assuming it actually was in U City. However, I have eaten at Pi multiple times. Keeping in mind that I am from NY, and that is my only experience with deep dish pizza, I think it's pretty good. The toppings are definately fresh and of high quality, but I actually think that their thin crust pizza is much better than the deep dish. I will admit though, that I think the New Yorker in me wins out on all things pizza, so I will probably never meet a deep dish pizza that I genuinely love.
lawstudent13 at 4:57PM on 06/23/09
Hi! I think you're talking about Black Thorn. I don't think it's below street level, but everything else is the same. You definitely have to order your pizza an hour ahead of time-- that's the rule, and they certainly have Chicago-style. The place is a tiny, dingy hole-in-the-wall in the Tower Grove Park part of town. I guess that is sort of near St. Louis University. Great pizza!
I've never been to Pi. I hear you on Imo's -- it's not my favorite. It's definitely an acquired taste...and that taste is mostly cardboard and glue. Unfortunately, I can't really think of any other great pizza in STL --- I moved about a year ago, so nothing is coming to mind. Oooh, actually I just remembered Fortel's Pizza Den. Very good. http://www.fortelspizzaden.com/
Goldilox at 5:05PM on 06/23/09
@lawstudent13 -- where do you go to law school? I just graduated from Wash U last May ('08) and now live in NYC-- we're opposites!
Goldilox at 5:06PM on 06/23/09
we tried to go to Pi one night totally unprepared and there was a 1 h 40 min wait, so we gave up.
hmw0029 at 5:23PM on 06/23/09
lawstudent13...I'm not trying to relive St. Louis style. I'm interested in revisiting the place I had the deep dish.
jymbrittain at 5:26PM on 06/23/09
Having some brain freeze here, but the place that was at Skinker and Forest Park Expressway that's now Kayak Coffee - dark inside, older building, some rather elaborate old light fixtures and a sculpture as I recall,
Ah, yes, here it comes. Talayna's. Could that be it? They've moved a few blocks east to De Balivere.
lemons at 5:56PM on 06/23/09
Talayna's was what came to my mind as well...
Pi is really really great. Dewey's is also a family favorite... on Delmar at North and South.
lizaj at 11:34AM on 06/24/09
I thought of Talayna's, too. It was THE place to go for Chicago-style pizza back when I was in college. It was located cater-cornered from Washington University. I've eaten at Pi once, and though the wait was long, we all thought the pizza was well worth it. St. Louis has so many fabulous places to eat these days that I have a hard time deciding where to go when I'm back there for a visit. I'm all about local flavor when it comes to restaurants, but there are so many places more interesting than Imo's...
jleckey at 12:11PM on 06/24/09
it is a standard disclaimer in our house that there are two things we don't argue with folks about: Pizza and barbecue. But I'm a radical, saying I like both Imo's and other pizzas, all styles, as well. And with that disclaimer, I'd say that Imo's is something to eat, not a destination. Love it, but hardly anyone eats it in situ.
lemons at 12:23PM on 06/24/09
This is prob not the deep dish place you are looking for, but Racanelli's was my fave pizza place as a New Yorker who went to Wash U...granted it's been 10 years since I've eaten it but it's what I remember as the best of the options at the time. Looking at the website, it appears it's still around and has expanded from the loop.
http://www.racanellis.com/index.htm
robin8313 at 2:31PM on 06/24/09