Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
St. Louis is experiencing something of an Italian Renaissance. Need proof? Check out this month's cover story. A local cuisine that was once synonymous with red sauce and layers of cheese has evolved into a far larger menu of options, with healthy ingredients and big names lending new takes on the city’s most famous food.
Respected chefs Patrick Connolly, Gerard Craft, and Justin Haifley—all of whom gained followings while turning out other types of cuisine—have each opened Italian restaurants in the past year. Craft’s ever-packed Pastaria creates fresh noodles in a giant window facing Forsyth Boulevard. The restaurant also bakes Neapolitan pizzas in a wood-burning oven, an approach similar to that at Connolly’s Basso (Italian for “low”), in the basement of The Cheshire. While the pies aren’t St. Louis–style, they both lean hard on local ingredients. And at Cucina Pazzo, Haifley oversees a bustling kitchen that serves up inventive small plates. All three restaurants have introduced a dining style with more modest portions, a change that’s drawn new audiences looking for lighter dishes.
Then there are the evolving atmospheres. Many restaurants have traded checkered tablecloths for wooden tables, stuffy dining rooms for open kitchens. In Rock Hill, Katie’s Pizza & Pasta started unconventionally (with help from a Kickstarter campaign) and continues to break the rules, with remastered Italian films playing over the bar, rather than a lounge singer doing his best Dean Martin. Again, the risk has paid off: Crowds are flocking to the strip-mall location.
Still, those longing for tradition need not sink into self-pity. The neighborhood that started it all holds its own with these far-flung challengers. Dominic’s and Giovanni’s still deliver old-school service, Gioia’s Deli and Adriana’s serve up generous sandwiches, and DiGregorio’s Market and J. Viviano & Sons remain ideal stops on a Saturday afternoon. The Hill, that bastion of all things Italian, will never be outdone.
St. Louis has found room for both the old masters and the contemporary experts—with a plate of T-ravs on the side. Lobster-stuffed or classic.
