It’s a concept so obvious, it’s hard to believe that no St. Louisan has done it before. Next year, Matthew Fuller and his wife, Brittany Abernathy, plan to open the first local eatery devoted solely to toasted ravioli. Slated to open in City Foundry early next year, STL Toasted will specialize in the classic fried favorite.
“If someone comes into town and asks, ‘Where should I go to get toasted raviolis?’ you’re probably going to get 10 different answers from 10 different people,” says Fuller. “We want to be the place where people say you have to go.”
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The toasted ravioli will all be made from scratch using imported Caputo 00 flour from Italy and packed full of all kinds of ingredients. Currently, the planned flavors include the St. Louis classic Italian beef, three cheese, loaded potato, buffalo chicken, and Southwestern quinoa. It will also include dessert ravioli options, such as apple pie, lemon blackberry, and another St. Louis standard: gooey butter cake. The ravs will come in sets of four to six, with customers able to mix and match flavors, as well as dipping sauces to complement each flavor. The Italian beef toasted ravioli, for example, will be served with a house-made marinara, while the loaded potato option might be served with a sour cream sauce.
“We make sure every ravioli is stuffed full, so these are going to be a little bit bigger than your average toasted ravioli,” says Fuller. “A lot of places use a meat paste, but with ours, you’re actually getting ground beef and shredded chicken. Each ravioli has a little customization in it’s dough as well. Like, the buffalo chicken ravioli will have actual buffalo sauce in the dough, and the apple pie ravioli will have cinnamon and honey.”
The flavors and overall concept are years in the making. “I actually had this idea since 2014,” says Fuller. After a minor vehicle accident in May 2020, in which he inexplicably lost consciousness and was no longer able to drive, the former real estate agent and musician began looking for other career options. “In April, I started making different varieties of toasted ravioli for family and friends for tastings.” He envisioned eventually partnering with a brewery or rolling out a food truck with his wife, until a friend suggested reaching out to City Foundry. “We really didn’t think we were going to have a location so soon,” Fuller admits.
While the concept is still a few months from opening, the owners are planning several pop-ups. Most recently, they teamed up with Bella’s Frozen Yogurt to preview the T-ravs at the dessert shop and plan to do so again in the near future, before the full menu is available at City Foundry. For more information on these events and updates on the grand opening, follow STL Toasted on Facebook and Instagram.
