St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites.
It can be easy to overlook Lindenwood Park: It doesn't have the glitz of addresses in nearby St. Louis Hills, nor does it retain the strong Italian accent of the Hill. But tucked among the brick houses in this quiet neighborhood are noted bakeries, a salumeria, an old-school pizza joint, dive bars and what many people would say is the best restaurant in the city. In this post we meander through Gut Check's favorite restaurants in south city's Lindenwood Park.
See also: - Old Webster: An Updated Guide to Restaurants in Webster Groves' Old Webster Neighborhood - South Grand: An Updated Guide to Restaurants on South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis
Pint Size Bakery & Coffee(3825 Watson Road; 314-645-7142) Perhaps the most appropriately named bakery in town, Pint Size Bakery & Coffee is but a blip on Watson Road, plopped in Pietro's parking lot. It's fronted by owner and chef (and St. Louis native) Christy Augustin who calls her from-scratch style of baking "punk-rock grandma," meaning that she uses all the good stuff from yesteryear, such as actual butter and sugar, to make simple but indulgent delights like sweet and savory scones, cookies, oatmeal cream pies and salted-caramel croissants, Atkins be damned. The latter, made only on Saturday mornings, has such a following that there's a two-per-customer limit. And like everything else on Augustin's menu, when they're gone, they're gone.
See also: - RFT Review and Slideshow: Pint Size Bakery - 2012 Best of St. Louis: "Best Bakery"
Pizza-a-Go-Go (6703 Scanlan Avenue; 314-781-1234) If there exists a better, more authentically south-city afternoon than bowling a couple of games at Epiphany Lanes then walking across the street -- six-pack in hand -- to Pizza-a-Go-Go, we don't know what it might be. For nearly 40 years, the LaFata family has turned out delicious thin-crust pizzas utterly, blessedly devoid of pretension. The crust hits the thickness sweet spot between cracker-crust and small-town phone book, and the toppings are classic -- Canadian bacon is about as exotic as it gets, so look elsewhere for pork-belly pizza or other such nonsense. Here, it's cash or check (check!) only, BYOB and open from just 4 to 9 p.m. each day but Wednesday, and till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
See also: - RFT's 100 Favorite St. Louis Dishes: Pizza with Pepperoni, Sausage and Mushroom at Pizza-a-Go-Go - 2007 Best of St. Louis: "Best Pizza (Thin Crust)"
Salume Beddu (3467 Hampton Avenue; 314-353-3100) Spaniards rightly trumpet their jamon iberico -- cured ham made from certain pigs that munch on certain acorns from a certain part of the country -- almost as much as they do their futball teams. But St. Louis has its own serious cred when it comes to "beautiful cured meat" in Ben Poremba and Mark Sanfilippo's Salume Beddu, located in a modest strip-mall storefront off of Hampton Avenue. It captured the praise of Forbes' Larry Olmsted who called it "The Best Salami in the Country." And that was just the headline! (For the record, Salume Beddu's pork ribs were our favorite dish in all of 2011.) The co-owners are involved in nearly every part of getting the pigs to the plate: They know the farms where the pigs were raised, the farmers who raised them and the pigs' diets. It shows. Be sure to stop by for lunch for its celebrated "Beast in a Box": fennel-spiked fiama sausage and Spanish paprika topped with peppers and giardiniera, or browse its retail area from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
See also: - RFT review and slideshow: Salume Beddu - 2012 Best of St. Louis: "Best Sandwiches" - Forbes Calls Salume Beddu the Best in the Country
Biggie's (3332 Watson Road; 314-781-0060) As bigger and brighter and newer restaurants spring up around it, Biggie's remains a loyal friend and Lindenwood Park neighborhood stalwart even three decades into its run. Faded pictures of St. Louisans (famous and non-) and memorabilia populate its walls like pages from a yearbook. But what drew people into its doors ages ago still does the trick today: huge portions of comfort food done right. Its veal parm sandwich is a particularly good example, the lightly breaded cutlet smothered with cheese and served on a soft French bun.
See also: - RFT's 100 Favorite St. Louis Dishes: Veal Parmesan Sandwich
