Frazer's is an american restaurant in Benton Park, St. Louis.
A Benton Park gathering place for 25 years, Frazer's pairs a globe-trotting comfort menu with one of the better cocktail programmes on the south side.
Must order: The cioppino loaded with mussels, clams, shrimp and squid.
Tip: It is a neighbourhood room that fills with regulars; reserve at weekends and ask the bar what is being shaken that night.
Address: 1811 Pestalozzi St, St. Louis, MO 63118
A Hill institution tied to the toasted-ravioli origin story, Charlie Gitto's plates red-sauce Italian classics in a clubby room. The t-ravs draw first-timers.
Order: Toasted ravioli, which the restaurant claims to have popularised.
Tip: Reserve for dinner; the dining room fills with regulars and out-of-town pilgrims. Start with the toasted ravioli and a Caesar.
A family-run Hill room going since 1985, Zia's plates generous Italian-American spiedini and pasta. The everyday Hill table locals lean on over the big names.
Order: Toasted ravioli and the chicken spiedini.
Tip: Reservations are taken for parties of eight or more only, so expect a wait at peak. The chicken spiedini is the house signature.
Open on The Hill since 1989, Gian-Tony's serves Southern Italian veal, chicken and seafood from a chef-owner who still runs the kitchen most nights.
Order: Veal and pasta plates from chef-owner Tony Catarinicchia.
Tip: Reserve for the small dining room and ask after the night's veal preparation. Closed early in the week, so plan a Wednesday-to-Sunday visit.
Loryn and Edo Nalic bake somun in a wood-fired oven and turn out cevapi and lahmacun, a James Beard-recognised take on Bosnian and Turkish street food.
Order: Wood-fired somun bread with cevapi and a lahmacun flatbread.
Tip: The bread comes straight from the oven, so the somun-based plates are the way in. Lines build at lunch; go early or late.
Pappy's smokes Memphis-style ribs over apple and cherry wood in Midtown and lands on national BBQ lists. The ribs are the order, and they sell out daily.
Order: Dry-rubbed ribs smoked over apple and cherry wood.
Tip: Arrive before noon at weekends; they smoke a fixed amount each day and close when it is gone. Cash and card both work.
Salt + Smoke smokes brisket over post oak for 16 hours in the Delmar Loop and pairs it with a deep bourbon list. The city's leading new-school BBQ name.
Order: Post-oak brisket with the fried pimento-cheese balls.
Tip: Brisket sells out, so save a spot on the waitlist or come early. The bourbon and beer list is as much the draw as the meat.
