Imo's Pizza is a street-food stop in Downtown, St. Louis.
The chain that made St. Louis-style pizza a city standard, Imo's tops cracker-thin crust with Provel cheese, cut in squares. A handy first taste.
Tip: Order it tavern-cut into squares to eat it the local way. Provel is the defining St. Louis cheese; this is where to try it.
Address: 904 S 4th St, St. Louis, MO 63102
Adam and Jason Tilford's CWE taco room turns out wood-fired tacos and coastal-Mexican plates in the old Session Taco space, a quick festive corner of Euclid.
Try: Wood-fired tacos and modern Mexican plates
Tip: Order the duck taquitos or a couple of wood-fired tacos at the bar; lunch is brisk, dinner livelier with cocktails.
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out New Orleans-style po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a lunch institution.
Try: Po-boys and muffulettas
Tip: The muffuletta and the po-boys are the orders; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays on some afternoons.
A St. Louis Hills deli, Mom's stacks the locally famous Mom's Special and made-to-order subs, reopened in 2025 to hour-long lines of regulars.
Try: St. Louis deli sandwiches
Tip: The Mom's Special is the order; the thousand-island dressing is the secret. Expect a line since the 2025 reopening.
Mama Adriana Fazio's Shaw Avenue shop, run by her daughters, builds foot-long Sicilian subs and Sicilian soups, a Hill lunch counter going more than 30 years.
Try: Sicilian subs and soups
Tip: Get the Sicilian sub and split it; it is huge. Lunch only, and the line moves quickly.
A Cherokee Street taqueria with a sheltered patio, La Vallesana serves tacos al pastor, tortas and aguas frescas, an anchor of the Mexican Cherokee strip.
Try: Tacos al pastor and tortas
Tip: The al pastor tacos and the chicken chipotle torta are the orders. The patio and aguas frescas suit a warm afternoon.
A family-run Overland taqueria, Durango is famous for the torta ahogada, a pork sandwich drowned in spicy red chile, with big portions for cheap.
Try: Torta ahogada and tacos
Tip: The torta ahogada is the signature; come hungry. Everyone can eat for under ten dollars here.
