Illustration by Daniel Elchert
Brazie’s Ristorante
Many say it’s their favorite Italian place in town. Devotees get annoyed even when their friends discover it. Yelpers will yelp, and Urbanspooners will swoon. This is time-tested, quality cuisine, in a cozy setting, with reasonable prices. How do you keep Brazie’s a secret? We can’t, and we won’t. But some are trying—Brazie’s doesn’t even have a website. 3073 Watson, 314-481-5464.
Filomena’s Italian Kitchen
Ken and Filomena Dean’s slogan is a line ripped right out of restaurateur Mike Del Pietro’s notebook: “gourmet Italian at carryout prices.” Low in price and high in value, the best restaurant ever to open in a former Wolf Camera shop has also been dubbed “St. Louis’ Most Underrated Italian Restaurant” by the Riverfront Times. Penne (with chicken or meatballs) and a side salad runs $10.50, while the signature arancini are $2 apiece and cheaper by the dozen. 9900 Manchester, 314-961-9909, filomenasitaliankitchen.com.
Sugo’s Spaghetteria
When Mike Del Pietro opened Sugo’s in 2008, his intent was a familiar one: to provide a quality product at an everyday price. Unlike the legions of same-sayers before him, however, the veteran restaurateur actually pulled it off. The price for a meat-laden brick of lasagna or a bowl of spaghetti with meatballs and his mother Mary Rose Del Pietro’s sugo was $10. Today, there are four Sugo’s, two Babbo’s Spaghetterias (a nearly identical concept), and more to come. In the interim, the price of those pastas has gone up a measly buck. Multiple locations, 314-569-0400, sugoscucina.com.
J.F. Sanfilippo’s
Twenty-plus years ago, businessman Charles Drury backed a young kid who’d never opened a restaurant. Today, Joe Sanfilippo, now in his forties, owns two: J.F. Sanfilippo’s and Filippo’s Italian Kitchen & Bar, each boasting a score of pasta dishes priced in the $10 range. Sanfilippo recently bottled two of his sauces—a marinara and “Giuseppe” vodka. Seeing one’s products on the shelves of grocery stores is a milestone achievement for any chef—especially when you’re Italian and hail from St. Louis. 705 N. Broadway, 314-621-7213, jfsanfilippos.com; 120 Chesterfield Valley, 636-536-6833, filipposstl.com.
