Gioia's Original Hot Salami Sandwich is sliced fresh to order
The James Beard Foundation just announced the five winners of the America’s Classics Award for 2017. A St. Louis restaurant was recognized for the first time since the award’s inception in 1998. Stroud’s, Kansas City’s famous pan-fried chicken eatery, was honored that year and until today was the only Missouri restaurant to receive the James Beard Foundation’s iconic award.
(The other America's Classics honorees for 2017 are Bertha's Kitchen in Charleston, SC; La Taqueria in San Francisco, CA; Sahadi's in Brooklyn, NY; and Schultz's Crab House in Essex. MD.)
It came as a surprise to Gioia’s co-owner Alex Donley that the deli, a restaurant with nearly a century-old heritage, received the honor. “When I learned how few restaurants were on this list, I was blown away. And when it sunk in, I was humbled,” he said. “I’m happy to receive the honor, but must also acknowledge the five generations that have owned and operated Gioia’s. They laid the groundwork. I'm just the loyal custodian."
The America’s Classics Award recognizes just a handful of iconic restaurants each year, which makes the award even more significant. Some are famous (Anchor Bar, Joe’s Stone Crab, Peter Luger Steak House); others are merely joints (Bagaduce Lunch, known for the haddock sandwich that it calls a “fishburger”). All are revered, timeless, and serve food that reflects the character of the community, three of the parameters for award consideration. The restaurants must also be locally owned and have been in business for at least a decade. Gioia’s has been around almost 10 times that long.
The deli began as a grocery store at the corner of Macklind and Daggett (1934 Macklind), where an immigrant from Northern Italy named Challie Gioia made sandwiches every Saturday. And while he was proud of his recipe for luganega sausage and genoa salame, it was the salam de testa that customers repeatedly requested. At Gioia's, the mixture of cured pig’s head meat, beef, and spicy seasonings is known simply as Hot Salami.
The spicy-hot salami received national attention when Donley and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern mixed up a batch for the show. After the segment aired, Gioia’s business jumped by 20 percent, according to Donley. The boost likely helped fund the deli’s downtown location (903 Pine), which opened last April.
Gioia’s has also received notoriety for its “secret menu.” As SLM noted in this article last year, if a restaurant’s secret menu is noted on its website, is it even a secret anymore? No matter. The dozen sandwiches (such as the Big George, pictured at right) are so cleverly named, no one objects to the ruse. That said, Donley tells SLM that since the outing of the secret menu, he’s created a double-secret menu. The King Kong Christmas Special (hot salami, mac and cheese, and bacon) is part of that menu, and although the sandwich is occasionally offered as a special, it’s also available for the asking. No secret handshake required.
And while Donley is scouting West County for a third location, he says there's no desire to venture beyond the metro area. “We have a product that is uniquely St. Louis, just like the St. Paul Sandwich and toasted ravs,” he said. “This James Beard Award solidifies that, and it would be wrong for me and my family not to embrace it.”
The America's Classics restaurants will receive their awards at the James Beard Foundation Awards Gala, held in Chicago this May. Donley explained that a video showcasing each restaurant will be sprinkled throughout the awards ceremony. "We're the entertainment," he quipped.
Donley added that while the award is certainly appreciated, it comes at an already busy time. “It’s sure to produce an uptick in business,” he said, “and we’re expecting a baby in the next day or two.”
