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Of all the monuments that make up the character of a skyline, there are few as recognizable as the St. Louis Arch.

You really have no idea how big the Arch is before you're leaning up against it.

When you see it, there is no question where you are.

But once you get to know the city a little better there are other kinds of monuments, indicators If you know where to look, that give away your location on the map just as accurately as any GPS marker.

And some of them you can only taste right here in St. Louis That's what we're going to explore, the iconic foods of St. Louis.

As a chef, I need to stay curious in order to evolve.

For me, that means looking beyond a good meal to learn more about who made it and what inspires them to cook.

La comida es amor Every great city has great food.

I'm going on a journey around the world.

Right here in St. Louis I'm on a quest to find passionate chefs who cooks from the heart That's exciting.

I think it's the best."

To prove that food is love.

"It's going to be delicious!"

Food is Love.

Love your food.

When it comes to being the birthplace of new foods, St. Louis got the bag, so to speak.

For whatever reasons, the right chemistry of factors has come together here more than once, to create a handful of unique foods that are synonymous with the city.

Since some of these food origins spark rivalries between establishments claiming to have the best or be the first, I want to preface our adventure by saying I'm not here to determine who was first and who's the best.

I'm simply here to try food for myself and find inspiration along the way.

As a way of remaining impartial, I've asked food blogger @BradenSTL to take me on a mini tour of some of his favorite iconic St. Louis foods.

Braden is a St. Louisan and a food influencer.

He has created a following for himself by posting the food he eats around the city.

Lucky for me, this journey has its origins in the Italian neighborhood, The Hill.

Our first stop of the day is Mama's on the Hill The self proclaimed home of the St. Louis classic the toasted Ravioli.

These are the original toasted ravioli.

If you're not from St. Louis you can't find a restaurant or bar in the city that does not have toasted ravioli.

Any little corner bar with a deep fryer has them, right.

Ours are fantastic and we hold they were invented in this building.

Story goes that Joe Garagiola, the baseball player from the 30's 40s 50s, somewhere in there, my memory is not great.

His brother Mickey lived on the hill most of his life.

Their nephew Fritz was cooking in the basement of this building when it used to be Oldani's, back in the fifties, drinking more cooking wine than he should have been using.

He dropped the ravioli into the oil instead of the water.

The owners got mad, made him serve it to the bar customers, thinking they wouldn't like it.

They loved it.

They came back the next night and asked for them again.

Over the next 40, 50 years, it turned into something you can't not find in St. Louis.

Once you get about 120 miles out of the city, they pretty much evaporate.

But within the city, everybody's heard of them, right.

Mickey in 1998 said he bet his house on it.

So my opinion on the story, truthfully, it doesn't matter.

In Italy I wonder what they would think about this, right?

If they think it's a good idea or if they think this is crazy..

But it's a St. Louis thing.

What constitutes a good toasted ravioli?

What are we looking for?

To me, it's in the breading, like the actual breading and then the beef on the inside.

To me, that's what's going to constitute a good ravioli.

Okay.

No matter where you go in St. Louis, like he was saying, you're going to be able to find toasted ravioli.

And then within that, people have added their own little twist to it.

Yeah, I like that.

But yeah, I did a whole toasted ravioli series where I got to try, I think, about eight to ten different places.

It's one of our traditional dishes here in St. Louis Let's try it.

Are you supposed to eat with your fingers or should we put it on a fork and be nice?Our moms are not watching, right?

No, if you're from St. Louis you're eating with your fingers.

Okay.

You got to get the marinara that's a huge part of it as well, because 90% of the time it's housemade.

A moment of truth.

What do you think?

I think whoever dropped this ravioli in the fryer is onto something.

Well, it's just like with the gooey buttercake.

It was made on accident.

And here, this was made on accident.

You know what I try to do when I taste things like this?

I'm thinking, well, so for my restaurant, how can I elevate it into something that fits my style of cooking and really the concept of making a noodle and put a stuffing in it and then frying it.

I mean, I see myself using salmon inside.

There are so many things you can do with the concept.

The concept is really good.

I would say after visiting a few of the staples today, do you see yourself going back home and making, I think you said salmon, a salmon toasted ravioli?

Well, I think I am committed to that now.

(laughing) T ravs checked off the list.

We're on our way to try another St. Louis original I also love the Hill, where it's all Italian.

Yeah.

But that's what makes the city so interesting, that we are able to explore all those things in one city.

Yeah.

So this is Sout Hampton, also known as SoHa you have a lot of great restaurants here.

It seems like a very nice neighborhood here.

Yeah, great.

All of this here is?

South Hampton yeah.

So we've come here to Southampton to visit Russell's on Macklind.

Yeah, Russell's, it's your neighborhood spot.

Okay.

The thing about it is people come from all different neighborhoods around St. Louis to try their food.

For me, the thing I love about it is you go there for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch.

Go there by yourself and go there just for coffee, pastries, and not to mention my favorite, gooey Buttercake in St. Louis.

Let's go try it.

Gooey buttercake.

Back in episode 301, I visited Baker Josh Allen of Companion Bakery.

Josh gave me my first taste of this stuff and a little history lesson on how it came to be.

Kindly refer back to episode 301 if you'd like to know more.

Walking into the restaurant, the pastry case draws us in.

There's a lot to look at, but we're here for the Gooey butter cake.

We have the chocolate chip gooey butter cake.

So their is more than one kind.

Oh, yeah.

And the thing I love about here, it just varies by the day.

So sometimes I'll come in and they'll have a turtle gooey butter cake.

Sometimes it's caramel apple gooey butter cake.

Okay, so it's not one specific cake.

There's a lot of variations of it.

Okay.

Just like toasted ravioli, every place has its own version, and that's pretty cool, especially for the hardcore foodies that take on the quest to try them all.

Well, I guess we'll have to try one of each.

Yeah.

Now you make sure it takes for gooey, right?

Since I'm going to take in quite a few calories, I always try to walk here That's a secret.

A foodie secret.

So walk before the Gooey cake and after the Gooey cake.

That makes you feel a little bit better about the calories you're consuming.

After having followed Braden's social media posts, it's interesting to see him at work.

If I come in, usually I'll record the food, and then when everyone sees it, I don't even have to add any caption or anything.

People see the food and they want to go in and it try it for themselves.

So what makes the gooey buttercake special here as opposed to I mean, I guess you can get it anywhere in St. Louis.

For me personally, why this is my favorite is that shortbread crust.

I feel like a lot of people, their first gooey butter experience, dictates whether or not they're going to love it the rest of their lives.

Okay.

And so sometimes..

So do you love it?

Oh, I love it.

Especially like from here, I can eat any gooey butter cake.

Farron Huster, the general manager here at Russell's, gives us some of the detail about the gooey butter.

We don't use the word cake when we put ours out.

Like I said, it's a shortbread crust, so it's more of a cookie consistency.

There's a crunch to it.

Most gooey butter, if you go to get gooey butter in St. Louis most of it is really sweet.

Ours kind of, the shortbread kind of tones that sweetness out of it.

Okay.

It's rich and there's definitely sugar in there, but it's different than any other gooey butter in St. Louis.

How many variations is there?

We do a lot.

So would you say that you can kind of interpret it however you want as long as you keep the basics?

I think so.

And then you can add your own flavor flair.

Right.

Which is what we do here, for sure.

I'm not a big lemon person, but we got one for my wife's birthday.

And then I was like, wow, this is delicious.

Yeah.

Can I try this one?

Yeah, of course.

I'll try one of yours.

Yeah, absolutely.

The gooey butter cake is great.

While I got Braden's attention, I want to learn more what he does on social media.

So a food blogger.

Is this like a food critic?

No.

So it's only positive.

So here's the thing.

You get on your phone right now, you're going to find a lot of negativity.

Right.

And so for me, there have been experiences that I've had at restaurants where the food wasn't up to my liking.

But for me, I don't want to bash a restaurant.

And so if I have something negative to say, I don't say it at all.

It could have been a bad day, staffing issues.

Maybe they had to buy something from a different grocery store.

I think it's unusual that you would know this because I'm a restauranteuer too.

We all have days where somebody didn't show up or things are going wrong in the kitchen, somebody leaves.

I mean, there could be so many reasons why we have a bad day, and you can't judge a restaurant just for one shot.

Right.

But the blogging all of a sudden has become a big deal for the St. Louis food scene.

I know there's a lot of bloggers, so you're kind of a guide to finding... New spots?

New spots.

For me, it was like during the pandemic, I was thinking about ways to help local businesses.

How would I do that?

And so I'm like, let me start taking photos of food and let me add my little creativity in there.

And so I went from just taking photos to making vlogs, going to places, taking it home.

Hey, guys, I picked up.. Vlogs?

What is that?

It's kind of like a food review.

What does it mean?

Is it videos and blogs in one?

Is that what it is?

Okay, so there are bloggers.

In my opinion, bloggers are the ones that are typing and writing.

For me, I'm a vlogger.

Like, I'm a very visual person.

I am the individual that wants to show people the experience.

Like, hey, you come here to Russell, this is what you're going see all the pastries you'll have, here's the patio.

And so to me, in this visual world that we're in, it's just able to connect with an audience.

But it's also those people's first introduction to that restaurant.

You just got really hungry one day and came up with this idea?

I would say, like, I always enjoyed going out to eat, but I wasn't a real foodie until the pandemic happened because it was one of those cases to where you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

But I'm like, let's showcase the food of our city because that's the culture.

And let me show you maybe how the gooey buttercake is made.

Because people, at the end of the day, we all have to eat.

And so that food brings us all together.

And so if I can be that person that bridges,..

I've seen something on TV that sounds just like that.. Oh, really?

Food is bringing us together.. Food is love!

Hey, it's real, but it's true.

I mean, I can say it a hundred times, but really the reality of it is it all starts with food.

Right?

What's next on the list?

Where we're going?

Braden has one more place to take me today to try another St. Louis original.

I never really understood the power of social media until and I was in San Francisco with my wife, and I literally had someone stop me and say, hey, are you BradenSTL?

And I said, yes, and it was just like oh, wow.

At that time, I realized the power of social media.

I never met this person.

I'm 1800 miles west of St. Louis.

And then that's when I realized..but see, I only have 2000 followers but that's because I'm not as good looking as you are.

I think that has a lot to do with it.

You're good looking.

Nobody wants old fat chefs, you know what I mean?

Joking aside, with more and more viewers following people like BradenSTL or Whitneyinthecity social media has become a very important part of the restaurant business.

The power of social media is insane.

We used to think more on the macro level, right?

Obviously, there's the Dwayne Johnsons and the Kylie Jenners, but it's really that micro influencer level that's able to make a difference in their community.

It's like vacationing in your own city.

You know, you saw that blogger from Los Angeles that was out here, and it was a person that seemed like he wanted money or free food in order to put something in positive, and then he didn't get his way.

And with Entitlement, he said nothing but negative things and,... don't use your platform for that.

It was really cool to see all the people, all the creatives around St. Louis come together, go there for lunch, go there for dinner.

Just like, look, we don't play that here in St. Louis.

You have a lot of power.

You really do have a lot of power.

You have to show some responsibility for what you're putting out there, because it could be devastating for businesses.

What's next on the list?

Where we're going?

St Louis style pizza.

This one is polarizing even to someone here in the city.

St. Louis style pizza, thin crust, provel cheese.

doesn't sound like a big deal, right?

But in my travels, I've seen the subject literally divide the room on more than one occasion.

People either love it or hate it.

I am certainly not throwing my hat into the ring on that debate, but I would like to get a slice, ahhh square or two to check it off my list.

Imo's is right in there.

Thet actually make everything right over there.

So we are headed to try it for ourselves at Imo's Pizza.

But what is the St. Louis style pizza?

Provel cheese That's what makes it St. Louis style.

So what do you suggest you try?

So their specialty pizzas are good.

For me personally, I like to always get the bacon, and then I get bell peppers on my pizza.

Okay.

I love it.

It's kind of like a little bit of a balance you know, that's my vegetable for the day.

I like the way you're thinking.

Yeah.

All right, well, let's just try what you're recommending.

Well, like, I think about the Chicago pizza or the deep dish pizzas, and you pick it up.

I think they use, like, porks and knives for those, which is completely different than the way we eat our pizza.

We just casually eat it.

And the thing I love about St. Louis style pizza is, like, you can eat a whole large, but you don't feel bad about yourself.

Right.

When it comes to, like, eating a small Chicago deep dish yeah, that's good.

But afterwards, you feel so bloated, you know?

Yeah.

And I think the provel cheese is basically just a combination of several cheeses.

Yep, yep.

Right.

While the pizza is being made, I get some social media pointers from Braden.

Your first impressions, what do you think?

I mean, it looks great.

It smells great.

You know, it's interesting.

The crust is really thin, so that is part of this St. Louis style pizza is really thin crust, right?

Thin crust.

As opposed to the Chicago style, right?

Thin, provel cheese.

Now, one thing that's kind of fun is my wife.

She always eats the corner pieces, right?

This is circular right here, the triangles.

My wife eats the crust on a regular pizza, that rolled crust on the outside.

I'll eat everything because I like that, and that's why I'm the fat one is because in the middle is where all the all the gooey filling is.

Everybody has a strategy when it comes to eating a pizza.

That's real well, that's right.

We still got to find out why it's cut into squares.

Yeah, I love that thin crust.

Some of the, quote unquote, haters from outside of St. Louis, they'll say, oh, it's just crackers with cheese.

Because, you know, sometimes people will hype something up to you, and then you try it and you're like, eh, I knew it wasn't gonna be that good.

But when it comes to this, when they try it, they're like, oh, wait, this is good.

So then they try to make jokes about it, but it's like, hey, we know you love our pizza.

Yeah, but like you said earlier, with the crust, you're not going to fill up just by the crust like, normally, that's why you stop eating pizza, because it's too much bread.

But there's more filling on this pizza than there is crust.

Now, is this your first time having Imo's, right?

Yeah, never had it before.

I mean, can you imagine?

I've been a chef for so many years, and there's so many things out there that I've never tried.

Well, even just here in St. Louis like the people will ask me, or they'll ask, hey, have you been in this restaurant or that restaurant?

There's so many restaurants here in our city, and it's like, when I go to places, I will ask, what's your most popular dish?

And then, what's your personal favorite?

For me, I want to know what everyone else is eating around so I can have those conversations with other foodies in town.

But also, I like to get to know the chefs or the waiters and waitresses, because I kind of want to know what's your favorite?

You're probably having this several times a week or several times a month, and so that's how I've been able to enhance my foodie experience here in town.

What can I say?

I'm a fan.

Today has been great.

Sampling three of the big Saint Louis originals and getting to know Braden a little better was fun.

I'm aware that I've only scratched the surface of food that's got its start in the Lou.

I want to end the day with a stop at a St. Louis mecca, both to check it off my list and to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Iconic foods of St. Louis.

There has to be a Ted Drewes in there.

So I've never been to Ted Drewes before, so I thought it'd be fun to kind of check that out.

I don't know.

Is it ice cream or is it frozen custard?

I know they call that, but I can't wait to taste and feel the texture and see what I think.

They haven't even been open for ten minutes, and there's a line down the street.

Look at that right there.

They're all sitting there with their ice cream.

I'm not even sure what to order yet.

I just heard somebody said something about concrete.

I don't know if that's a good term when it comes to frozen custard, but definitely intrigued by the name.

While custard wasn't invented here, Ted Drewes have been an attraction in the city for more than 80 years.

What are you having on yours?

I just have plane I'm a purist.

Okay, well, it sounds like I should be a purist on the first try, right.

But it's interesting they call it concrete because that's not something you would think of, something pleasurable to eat.

Right?

Well, it'll weigh you down a little bit.

It will?

It's very weighty.

What should I get?

(Customer) Ah man, the Cardinal Cardinal sin, whats that?

Sour cherries, hot fudge, and vanilla.

Okay.

Well, I mean, somebody told me to get a Cardinal sin.

Well, now I'm confused.

See, that's my first time, you know, I know.

The rest is for you.

That's the tip.

We don't take tips here, but I appreciate it, sir.

We don't, they don't allow us to.

Really?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Where's your address?

I'll send you the money.

The custard is amazing, of course, but what's more interesting to me is all of the loyalty that people of St. Louis shows to this place.

Which ones are you getting?

I'm having the Cardinal sin and I've never been here before.

It's really good.

Are you from St. Louis?

Okay, so this is part of the St. Louis culture.

It's an iconic place Right?

But the throngs of people that make their pilgrimage to Ted Drewes aren't the only ones who get to enjoy it.

This is not special dog ice cream.

It is not.

It's a regular vanilla custard.

Okay, but had you tried any other flavors?

No other flavors?

No.

They have a special pup cup for dogs.

Okay.

We used to live around the corner.

We had a chocolate lab, and we would bring her over here for a birthday every year for a pup cup and continuing the tradition with this one.

So it's her birthday today.

His.

Oh, his okay.

Oh, wow.

He's liking it.

He is.

What comes to mind, iconic foods from St. Louis for you?

Well, the traditional things like toasted ravioli, and I've never really subscribed to it, Imo's pizza is a big thing here.

I happen to love it.

Well, I mean, it's known for the provel cheese I just had it for the first time today, and I actually think it's really good.

I like that thin crust.

It's an interesting thing to think about, food becoming so intrinsic to the identity of a place that it transcends boundaries to become something everyone can be proud of, something that brings people together to become an icon for the city's food scene.

I've never really gotten on the toasted ravioli train myself, but with my own love for the city in mind, and as an ode to the creation that is so uniquely St. Louis I'm giving it a try.

Toasted ravioli is unique to St. Louis.

If you're a chef in St. Louis you can really take ownership of what you want it to represent.

I think that's what's so interesting.

You visit St. Louis and the raviolis are different.

Every single restaurant put their own spin on it.

Instead of using a pasta dough, I'm going to be using a wonton wrapper.

It would be easy to write off toasted ravioli as bar food and novelty.

But if you think about it, the Toasted Ravioli is an important part of the St. Louis food scene.

Restaurants around the city proudly make their own version of the Toasted Ravioli.

It's a badge of pride here.

That's because in St. Louis the t rav is something everyone can own.

It's common ground, a given right to all St. Louisians.

Put your own twist or stamp on the raviolis, that's what makes them uniquely St. Louis.

It's burning love right there.

I kind of decided I wanted to use ingredients to get everybody involved in this.

We use the wonton wrappers Instead of the pasta and salmon, we got a little umami, saffron.

No matter what part of town you're from or where you went to high school, the Toaster Ravioli is a part of the collective identity of the city, an identity that binds us by the common connection of foods that are purely St. Louis.

Foods we can all love.

Food is love.

Here's to the local restaurants, to the chefs, owner, operators, the staff, the ones who love being in the weeds night after night when we go to work each morning.

That's who we have in mind.

From where we source our food to how we deliver it.

Here's to them, the ones who are out there cooking for us every day.

Restaurants are the heart of everything we do.

We are Performance Food Service.

Proudly supporting Food is Love Support for food also comes from Natural Tableware, supplier of sustainable green alternatives to plastic tableware.

Support also comes from Moonrise Hotel, a boutique hotel located on the Del Mar Loop in St. Louis.