St Louis best low key great food?

[Faim]

Any bright ideas please?

[jkerins]

Trattoria Marcella

[grillergorilla]

Wow, low key but great food. I am assuming the responses so far are hitting the mark on what you're looking for. Cheap eats if you will. Well lets see. I don't agree with most people, but I will say that Blues City Deli rocks. It's my new favorite sandwich spot. Mai Lee, good choice. Pappy's has great ribs, good turkey and such but sucky sides. Hey Pappy's, please find something else or try your hand at it cuz I can't stand them anymore. Goody Goody Diner for breakfast. I've never eaten Ethiopian food before so I cannot comment. Pizza-Dewey's sucks. Always undercooked and overpriced. Pi's, are you kidding me. Underbaked and bland. Get a Racanelli's double cheese and learn what pizza should taste like...and don't even mention that garbage they call thin crust....Go to the Gumbo Shop for gumbo, jambalaya and a poor boy. Protzels deli on Wydown has the best corned beef. Get it on tzitzel rye with brown mustard and a Dr Browns cream soda. Woof. Babalus Snack Shack, opening this summer at Kirkwood Farmers Market. The gordita is freakin huge and the sauce is like crack...unforgettable. La Tropicana Market has a little kitchen and seating area. Great Cuban sandwich and other delish stuff. Get a dozen green tamales frozen to go and steam them up for dinner. What was once called Shu Fenng, its on Olive just east of I-170 on the north side of the street, next to Imo's, has the best steamed dumplings. The rest of the food is good but the dumplings are worth the trip. If you don't want to make the trek to Crown Candy, try Jennifer's Pharmacy is Clayton. They have great egg salad and phosphates (Italian sodas to those unfamiliar with Jewish heritage). How far can this go? I just found Boardwalk Cafe in Webster. Though not always perfect, they know how to cook eggs and the servers are downright bubbly and attentive. Ask for the hash browns well done for crispy spuds. That's all for now, but there is so much more to eat and talk about

[inbiz]

I like your style Griller G.

[dda_dave]

I agreed with most of your choices, but in my book Protzels deli on Wydown takes a second to the Deli at the corner of Clayton and Demun. Both are excellent; just like the larger portions at Demun. What is it about Protzels that you like?
Dave

[grillergorilla]

The corned beef at Protzels is far superior to Carl's. As a matter of fact all the sandwiches are better. Granted that Protzel's has fallen quite bit from it's heydays, and I may have a nostalgic attachment to it, I still like their food and you can't beat Pratzel's rye. The rye at other delis are too squishy.

[jberendzen]

Selam - Ethiopian
Banh Mi So - Vietnamese
La Vallessana - Mexican
Blues City Deli - Sandwiches
Rooster - Crepes
Milo's - toasted ravioli
Iron Barley - eclectic biker fare
Dewey's - Pizza

[tonifi]

Eclectic biker fare! I love it. I've always called it "haute hoosier", but I may have to embrace your description.
Best. Green Beans. In. The. World.

[alan]

All excellent choices. The only reservation I would have about your list is the inclusion of Dewey's, not because it is not good, because it is, but because it is not a local restaurant. It is an Ohio-based small chain. I'd put Pi on the list if you're looking for first-rate pizza.

[jberendzen]

Been to Pi - not impressed. The deep dish was OK, but no great shakes. But mostly I've gotten to the point in my life where incredibly loud places just drive me nuts, and Pi was off the charts (come to think of it Dewey's isn't that quiet either).
Probably should have put Pappy's Smokehouse on the list.

[alan]

Pappy's is certainly the breakthrough bbq experience in St. Louis. Its food is superb!

[inbiz]

Bobo Noodle House @Skinker and Olive (I think). Here's the # [phone].

[icktuz]

Went to Iron Barley in South St louis last week. Great food and a nuce funckt vibe. Had a really unique take on a slinger.

[alan]

Wow! A pretty wide range of responses could conceivably fill that bill. Help us out here: do you mean low cost or simply a place where you can wear blue jeans? No-one is going to direct you to Tony's or Harvest or Niche with this request I don't imagine, but you can get some terrific food with a low key presentation at Riddle's, although I wouldn't describe it as inexpensive. A lot of folks on this board would recommend Iron Barley. You might try a Vietnamese place such as Mai Lee or Banh Mi So. You might even have a pizza joint in mind, in which case Pi occurs to me as a good option.

Maybe you could narrow the search a bit.

[Faim]

More about the food than pretense,as long as that is good then budget not a problem.Thanks.

[chazzerking]

Even though it has a high rep, Niche is still a pretty low key place. It's certainly not pretentious.