The slinger is a late-night diner pile-up: two eggs over hash browns and a hamburger patty, smothered in chili and cheese and topped with raw onion. It is breakfast, dinner and a hangover cure in one.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The slinger emerged from St. Louis's all-night diners in the mid-20th century, with the now-closed Eat-Rite Diner among the spots that claimed it. There is no single inventor; it grew out of the griddle-cook habit of combining whatever was on hand into one plate for late-shift workers and bar crowds. Diners across the south side still serve it around the clock, and Fleur STL now plates an elevated version in the old Eat-Rite building.
Common allergens: Egg, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Build it in layers so every forkful gets hash brown, patty, egg, chili and cheese at once.
A 24-hour griddle institution, Courtesy Diner serves the classic St. Louis slinger and diner plates around the clock, a reliable for after-bar meals.
TryThe slinger and griddle classics
TipThe slinger at 3am is the rite of passage here. Cash and card both work; the counter stools fill late on weekends.
In the old Eat-Rite Diner building, Fleur STL plates an elevated slinger and griddle food, carrying the Route 66 diner torch on a Thursday-to-Sunday schedule.
TryElevated slinger and diner food
TipNow Thursday through Sunday only; the prime-patty slinger remains the order. It honours the all-night Eat-Rite legend that stood in the same building.
Since 2012, Southwest Diner has served New Mexican breakfast in a small Dogtown room, known for cornmeal pancakes, green-chile huevos and house biscuits.
OrderHuevos rancheros with red and green chile.
TipOrder the chile Christmas-style, red and green. The cornmeal pancakes are the local cult order; expect a weekend wait.
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