Eat well in St. Louis without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in St. Louis for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
The chain that made St. Louis-style pizza a city standard, Imo's tops cracker-thin crust with Provel, cut in squares, a cheap and essential local taste.
Try: St. Louis-style Provel pizza
Tip: Order it tavern-cut into squares to eat it the local way. A large feeds a group for not much money.
A family-run Overland taqueria, Durango plates a chile-drowned torta ahogada and tacos with big portions, where a full meal lands under ten dollars.
Try: Torta ahogada and tacos
Tip: The torta ahogada is the signature; tacos round out a cheap feast. Everyone can eat for under ten dollars.
A Cherokee Street taqueria with a patio, La Vallesana serves cheap tacos al pastor, tortas and aguas frescas, a budget anchor of the Mexican Cherokee strip.
Try: Tacos al pastor and tortas
Tip: A few al pastor tacos and an agua fresca make a cheap, satisfying lunch. The patio suits a warm afternoon.
David Choi's Korean-Mexican counter griddles cheap bulgogi tacos and kimchi-fried-rice bowls, a fast and affordable food-truck-born local favourite.
Try: Bulgogi tacos and gogi bowls
Tip: The gogi bowl feeds two lighter eaters; add chips and queso. Fast counter service keeps it quick.
Snarf's toasts its sub rolls and piles on deli fillings at a South Grand counter, a fast cheap sandwich stop popular with the SLU and Grand Center crowd.
Try: Toasted oven subs
Tip: Get any sub toasted, the house move; the hot giardiniera adds heat. A half sub is plenty for a cheap lunch.
Open since 1920 near the brewery, Gus' Pretzels hand-twists cheap soft pretzels and salami-stuffed pretzel sticks, a Benton Park snack-counter bargain.
Try: Soft pretzels and pretzel sticks
Tip: A fresh hot pretzel or a salami pretzel stick is a few dollars. It is a snack stop, not a sit-down meal.
Grand Bistro carries on the Trinh family's South Grand Vietnamese legacy in the former Pho Grand space, with pho and com tam at neighbourhood prices.
Try: Vietnamese pho and rice plates
Tip: Order the pho dac biet or a rice plate; the family ran Pho Grand here for decades before reopening as Grand Bistro.
Mama Fazio's Shaw Avenue shop builds cheap foot-long Sicilian subs and soups on The Hill, a lunch-only counter where a sandwich easily feeds two.
Try: Sicilian subs and soups
Tip: One foot-long Sicilian sub splits between two for a cheap Hill lunch. Lunch only, and the line moves fast.
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out cheap po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a well-regarded lunch-only spot.
Try: Po-boys and muffulettas
Tip: The muffuletta and po-boys are the value picks; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays some afternoons.
A 16-stool roadside drive-in of six decades, Carl's griddles cheap crispy-edged burgers and pours house-made root beer, a Route-66-era bargain.
Try: Crispy-edged burgers and root beer
Tip: A double burger and root beer is the order for a few dollars. Only 16 stools, so expect a short wait at peak.
Hodak's has won reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s, plating a generous bird-and-sides dinner at a fair price in a no-frills room.
Try: Fried chicken dinner
Tip: The fried chicken dinner with sides is the value order. Expect a wait on Friday nights for the bird.
Sameem plates affordable Afghan kabuli palaw, aushak dumplings and kabobs in The Grove, a generous-portion kitchen of Afghan classics for years.
Try: Kabuli palaw and aushak
Tip: The aushak leek dumplings are the order to lead with. Plenty of cheap vegetarian dishes round out the menu.
Maritza Rios's CWE kitchen plates Peruvian, Cuban and Colombian home cooking, with aji de gallina, ropa vieja and rotisserie chicken in the low double digits.
Try: Aji de gallina and pollo a la brasa
Tip: Aji de gallina or the ropa vieja are the value orders. Mains land in the ten-to-sixteen-dollar range, with sides extra.
A drive-in near the airport, Woofie's has sold cheap Chicago-style hot dogs since the 1970s, billing itself the home of the hotdog with dignity.
Try: Chicago-style hot dogs
Tip: Order it Chicago-style, dragged through the garden. It is a quick, cheap roadside stop near the airport.
Open since 1913, Crown Candy is the metro's oldest soda fountain, slinging affordable malts, a towering BLT and chili in an Old North parlour frozen in time.
Try: Soda-fountain malts and BLTs
Tip: A malt and the bacon-heavy BLT make a cheap, classic lunch. Expect a weekend line at one of the city's oldest counters.
Serving since 1941 on Route 66, Ted Drewes sells cheap, thick frozen-custard concretes, the landmark dessert handed over upside down to prove it.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: A concrete is a few dollars and a city rite of passage. Cash-friendly; expect a summer line at the window.
An LGBTQ-friendly coffeehouse across from Tower Grove Park, Mokabe's serves a cheap all-day vegetarian-leaning brunch, a welcoming budget spot.
Try: All-day vegetarian brunch
Tip: The all-day vegan and vegetarian brunch is rare and affordable. It fills after the Saturday farmers market.
Steve's Hot Dogs on South Grand loads creative toppings onto cheap griddled dogs and has been voted the city's best, a budget counter with a cult following.
Try: Loaded St. Louis-style hot dogs
Tip: The loaded specialty dogs are the draw and stay cheap. Counter service keeps the turnaround fast at peak.
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