St. Louis Restaurants Dominate USA Today 'Top 100 Budget Eats' List

No. 3 is Teatopia. No. 6? Blues City Deli

Aug 29, 2023 at 8:21 am

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Sarah Fenske

Reginald Quarles is brewing better lives, one leaf at a time.

The No. 3 restaurant on a new list of nationwide "Top 100 Budget Eats" is a tea shop on Cherokee Street. And it's not the only St. Louis restaurant ranking high on USA Today's list.

No. 6 is Blues City Deli, the beloved Benton Park sandwich shop. No. 13 is Balkan Treat Box, the acclaimed Bosnian fast-casual spot in Webster Groves. No. 44 is Eovaldi's, the sandwich shop on the Hill.

That's all behind Teatopia (2606 Cherokee Street), the No. 3 eatery. It sells loose-leaf tea and tea-infused smoothies.

Those four made the top 50 out of 28,000 restaurants in the U.S. Wow!

The list is based on Google ratings. Per USA Today, "Restaurants had to be designated as a one dollar sign on Google’s cost scale and have 200+ reviews to be included."

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St. Louis Restaurants Dominate USA Today 'Top 100 Budget Eats' List (2)

St. Louis ranked among the top-10 cities for highly ranked budget eats, averaging 4.716. (That's not far below the winner, New York City, and its 4.762.)

USA Today also crunched rankings for fast food chains. According to its analysis, the top fast food chains in St. Louis are (in order) Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's Chicken, Noodles and Company, Jet's Pizza and Dairy Queen. But if anyone's choosing those options over Blues City Deli or Balkan Treat Box, they need to have their head examined.

At Teatopia, Reginald Quarles Is Looking for a Way to Make People Feel Better

Balkan Treat Box Opens in Webster Groves Tomorrow, Fulfilling a Long-Held Dream

St. Louis Standards: Blues City Deli Is the Soul of Benton Park: The beloved sandwich shop has been feeding St. Louisans since 2004.

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

Email Sarah Fenske