Lousies on the Loop now open in University City

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Photo by George Mahe

Courtesy of Lousies on the Loop

Lousies on the Loop (567-A Melville) is a new, locally owned eatery in University City with a name that only makes sense once it’s explained.

“We are St. Louisans with a restaurant on the Loop that specializes in loose meat sandwiches,” says chef Daniel Boyer, who owns the business with his wife, Kelle. “Plus, people will shorten the name to Lousies [pronounced loosies], which is the dish's nickname, so that works, too.”

The Menu

The so called “loose meat sandwich” (basically a sloppy joe without the tomato-based sauce) was created at a Maid Rite diner in Muscatine, Iowa almost a century ago. In many circles, the sandwich is known as a Maid-Rite. “I grew up in northeastern Missouri eating loose meat sandwiches,” Daniel says, “which are popular throughout the Midwest, so I was surprised that no restaurant here focused on them. They’re fun, fast, affordable—as well as being nostalgic and identifiable— so we thought, Why not?"

“It’s similar to a hamburger in that the meat is crisped on the flat top," he adds, "but the added onions and seasoning [predominantly Lawry’s Seasoned Salt] make it a lot more flavorful. My dad always told me that the charred meat bits—which are called the fond—is where the flavor is, and he was right. And with loose meat, more surface area means even more flavor.”

Photo by George Mahe

The Lousie, served "dressed"

The signature Lousie is made with seasoned beef (ground fresh daily) cooked with grilled onions and served on a simple Bunny Bread bun with yellow mustard, pickles, and the option to add cheese (American, Swiss, blue). “Bunny Bread isn’t the cheapest bun out there, surprisingly, but so far it’s worked the best for what we do,” Daniel says, adding that he's currently researching a locally produced bun. “In the future, we may even offer Lousie po’boys on the weekends, made with the same locally made French bread that the Banh Mi Shop uses next door.”

Photo by George Mahe

The Boyers recommend ordering the Lousie “dressed” (with mayo, lettuce, onion, and tomato). A vegan version (made with chopped mushrooms) is also available, as is a combination Lousie, “which is so tasty it might find its way onto the menu,” Daniel says.

Offering “regional potato chips” is important to the Boyers. “We want to support small-batch potato chip producers like the ones we grew up with,” the menu notes, so they’ve sourced Sterzing’s from Burlington, Iowa; Backer’s from Fulton, Missouri; and Kitchen Cooked from Farmington, Illinois.

Courtesy of Lousies on the Loop

On the subject of potatoes, Daniel says, the restaurant “doesn’t have a fryer—which is good because I don’t want the place smelling like fried food—which is why I can concentrate on making more interesting, seasonal sides.”

The Boyers moved to St. Louis from New Orleans, and its influence permeates many parts of the menu.

This fall, side dish options include Cajun-seasoned potato salad, blue cheese coleslaw, a vegan risotto made with cremini mushrooms and white and wild rice, and a roasted sweet potato (pictured at right), which can be served with spiced syrup and local honey butter. 

Even in an operation as small as Lousies, seasonality can play a role, Daniel says. “Right now, I’m using pickles made from watermelon rinds in the coleslaw,” Daniel says. “That will give way to smoky green tomatoes and then beets, which I’m starting to pickle now. On the steel-cut oatmeal, the seasonal fruit preserves might include peaches and blueberries in the winter months because I remembered to put some up in the summer.”

Courtesy of Lousies on the Loop

Bananas Foster pecan bread pudding with Gentilly cream

For dessert, there’s a $5 pecan bread pudding (with a Bananas Foster option for $2 more), as well as daily “Jell-O Creations,” per the menu. “We have pretzel salad, individual Jell-O 'truffles,' and various molds in mind,” Kelle says.

“There’s more going on here behind the scenes than meets the eye,” Daniel adds.

In another nod to The Crescent City, both French press and drip coffee are available from Cafe du Monde, as are cafe au lait and cold brew. 

At Lousies, breakfast is served until noon. Offerings include the standard two eggs and hash browns, a Grit Bowl with Lousie meat and cheese, steel cut oatmeal with honey butter and cane syrup, and a Lousie omelette sandwich (pictured below). 

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Photo by George Mahe

The Atmosphere

Photo by George Mahe

Lousies has limited seating (15 inside, four outside), so the majority of orders will be for pickup or delivery.

Several walls of the interior space have been painted what Kelle dubbed “Lousie Blue”, chosen because the couple liked it, “not because [the color] resembles the tape that most kitchens use,” she says. Amanda Verbeck of Biome Press provided several botanical prints on the wall.

The sole delivery company will be Chowbus, a service that works within a small delivery footprint and was used by the prior tenant, Daniel says. “We’re one of few non-Asian restaurants on the platform,” Daniel says, “but we liked the way they do business, so we stayed with them.” 

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Photo by George Mahe

The Background

Photo by George Mahe

Kelle and Daniel Boyer

The Boyers moved to St. Louis from New Orleans in March of last year. In 2006, Daniel went to New Orleans from Colorado with The Ritz-Carlton as the hotel tried to restaff after Hurricane Katrina. Falling in love with the food and the culture, he moved there full-time in 2007 and met Kelle a few years later, when they both worked at the acclaimed A Mano. The couple married in 2015 and moved to University City in 2021.

“New Orleans is so tourist-dependent that when the pandemic hit, its restaurants got hit harder than most,” Daniel recalls. “We were in the industry, but we weren’t firmly established. I was born in Bowling Green and have family in U. City, so we visited the area a lot. We felt very comfortable in the Loop, zeroed in on a niche, and found a manageable space that was just the right size for what we wanted to do.”