Comet Coffee Micro-Bakery is a bakery in The Hill, St. Louis.
Comet's serious in-house micro-bakery turns out kouign-amann and seasonal galettes alongside the espresso, a pastry program that rivals the coffee here.
Tip: The kouign-amann and galettes sell out by midday, so come early. There are two locations, on Shaw and Oakland.
Address: 4474 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110
STL Toasted took over the old Mama Toscano's space on The Hill and built a counter around toasted ravioli, the breaded-and-fried St. Louis dish born here.
Tip: Open only Friday to Sunday; order the t-ravs by the dozen with marinara. It carries on the Hill's ravioli tradition.
Worth the queue: Breaded, fried toasted ravioli
A family-run Italian-American bakery on The Hill, Missouri Baking Company is famous for cookies by the pound and a dense, almond-paste gooey butter cake.
Tip: It is cash-and-pickup with no online ordering; buy cookies by weight. Weekend mornings see a line of Hill regulars.
Worth the queue: Almond-paste gooey butter cake and cookies
STL Toasted took over the old Mama Toscano's space on The Hill and built a counter around toasted ravioli, the breaded-and-fried St. Louis dish born here.
Tip: Open only Friday to Sunday; order the t-ravs by the dozen with marinara. It carries on the Hill's ravioli tradition.
Worth the queue: Breaded, fried toasted ravioli
Gooey Louie bakes the city's signature gooey butter cake from scratch in mini and full sizes from a small Clayton Road shop minutes west of Forest Park.
Tip: Order minis to mix flavours, or call ahead for a full cake. Cream-cheese original is the canonical pick.
Worth the queue: Original gooey butter cake
Union Loafers bakes naturally leavened bread and runs a lunchtime cafe of sandwiches in Botanical Heights, a James Beard-nominated bakery and pizza spot.
Tip: Bread sells out, so come early for a loaf. The Tuesday-to-Saturday pizza nights are a separate, busy service.
Worth the queue: Country loaf and lunchtime pizza
Park Avenue Coffee bakes more than 70 varieties of gooey butter cake, the dessert invented here, served with house-roasted coffee in Lafayette Square.
Tip: The Mom's Traditional was named best in town by Food Network. Boxes hold up well as edible souvenirs.
Worth the queue: Mom's Traditional gooey butter cake
A decades-old Affton bakery, Federhofer's makes a distinctive gooey butter cake without cream cheese or powdered sugar, plus full cases of cakes and cookies.
Tip: Its gooey butter is a denser style than the cream-cheese versions. Come early for the freshest cases.
Worth the queue: Gooey butter cake without powdered sugar
A family-run Italian-American bakery on The Hill, Missouri Baking Company is famous for cookies by the pound and a dense, almond-paste gooey butter cake.
Tip: It is cash-and-pickup with no online ordering; buy cookies by weight. Weekend mornings see a line of Hill regulars.
Worth the queue: Almond-paste gooey butter cake and cookies
