Food

Garrett C., M1

Lucky you, your parents are visiting, which means you finally have someone to bankroll your eating habits. There are plenty of places within walking distance from the medical school in the CWE for you to go, like Brasserie, a Parisian-style bistro complete with sidewalk tables that makes a perfect summer night dinner. A more expensive option is one of the most ambitious restaurants in town, Vicia, an experimental farm-to-table place that was a James Beard semifinalist and will definitely make the most of your parent’s time in town.

Don’t go to Addie’s, let Addie’s come to you — they’re a heavy rotation favorite at WUSM lunch talks.

Budget-friendly groceries from the same German family that brought us Trader Joe’s.

Upscale Mexican, but still pretty affordable. It only has a couple veg options, but they are really good! Amazing drinks!

You have to give St. Louis-style Italian a try while you’re here, and besides Zia’s, there are so many great options on the Hill. For more pasta, check out Cunetto’s or Anthonino’s. For St. Louis-style Italian sandwiches, try the hot salami at Gioia’s or Adriana’s. Not sure if you’re craving Spanish or Italian? Check out Guido’s.

Where to Try It: St. Louis Bread Co. (try a chocolate chip bagel sliced like bread and dip it into plain or lite cream cheese … maybe it will make you a convert).

A quick Google search will reveal the national controversy this tradition sparked a few years ago. Many of us St. Louisans grew up ordering our Bread Co. bagels “sliced like bread” or “bread sliced” (you call it Panera, but it is St. Louis Bread Co. here). This means the bagel is actually put in the bread slicing machine, and comes it out cut into many vertical slices (rather than the typical two horizontal slices). It’s great because you can dip your bagel slices into the cream cheese! Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. We really don’t understand what all the drama is about.

Hey, Cassanova. Date going well and you want to take it to the next level? Set the mood with a nightcap at Bailey’s chocolate bar, where you and your soon-to-be boo can tuck into the Lover’s Plate, decadent chocolate desserts, cheese boards, and dessert martinis (with names like “The Sexual”) in just the right ambiance (think low lighting and red velvet curtains, the only thing missing is Marvin Gaye singing Let’s Get It On).

Where to Try It: Zia’s, Cunetto’s.

Commonly served at South City family events. Basically a lasagna made with mostaccioli noodles. It’s mushy but tasty.

Incredible Turkish spot that offers contemporary takes on Old World Turkish classics.

Where to Try It: Beast Butcher & Block.

Traditionally, pork steaks (a steak cut from pork shoulder) have been a mainstay of every St. Louis home’s family backyard barbecue but have been unavailable at local barbecue joints. That’s changing.

Comfort food with $15 bottomless mimosas from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., in case you need some hair of the dog.

The only restaurant we know of where you can try the St. Louis backyard barbecue classic, barbecued pork steak. Great sauces, rotating sides, and your meal comes with a tortilla!

Free coffee, tea, and candy is available every day on the second floor of the med school’s library.

Stylish atmosphere with upscale Southeast Asian and American-inspired dishes by restaurateur Zoe Robinson.

Where to Try It: buy them in any local grocery store during the fall.

Caramel apples with legit the best caramel.

It’s on the Loop, near the Danforth Campus. They also have tasty pastries.

The place to buy the freshest seafood here in STL.

Memphis and STL-style barbecue, so you don’t have to choose.

Try the Butter “Chicken” with a dairy-free mango lassi!

French bistro with a great brunch.

This restaurant is getting tons of national acclaim right now for its inventive concept of Ozark-inspired, foraged food.

Fast casual fried chicken with killer nuggz.

Adjacent to a beautiful nursery, if you want to buy some greenery after you eat.

Mexican market and butchery.

A WashU undergrad and WUSM student favorite featuring inventive cuisine from the Dongbei region of northeast China.

Fairly upscale Italian restaurant that is a favorite for special occasions for many St. Louisans. It’s Hill-style Italian, but upgraded. For pasta, try the baked spaghetti with meatballs or the penne borghese, but their meat entrees are also delicious.

Another restaurant by James Beard Award-winning chef Gerard Craft. South American-inspired dishes and cocktails in the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel.

Nice ice cream (try gooey butter flavor or Italian butter cookie) and naughty ice cream (boozy banana rum, anyone?).

Great coffee perched between the Science Center and Yoga Six’s awesome hot yoga studio.

Handmade dumplings, hand-pulled noodles swimming in soul fortifying broth, and quality boba, to boot. The perfect lunch spot to warm you up on a chilly day.

Classic bar food for when you have fried food cravings.

This 24/7 diner will grill up pretty much anything you could want, from burgers to omelets to their famous chili slinger.

A St. Louis mainstay since 1913 and one way you can support small business in North City. Malts, shakes, candy made on site, sundaes, and a massive BLT.

A tiny place right next to Olive Supermarket. It’s on the pricier side, but offers cheese tea (!) in addition to the standard boba fare.

Fresh pizza with lots of veggie topping options.

Dierbergs is another local grocer located in the same area as Target and Trader Joe’s. It has a great deli and a selection of in-house smoked meat. Similar to Schnucks but a bit more upscale, with more organic and locally grown options.

A St. Louis classic for Italian fine dining, served on beautiful china dishes in a quiet and refined carpeted room.

A Central West End pub with a low-key atmosphere, great mixed drinks, and a phenomenal grilled cheese. It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, too!

Another cafeteria with a student discount and colorful ambiance in St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Close to campus and popular with WUSM students. Lively Tex-Mex with huge, affordable margaritas, and room for large groups. Plus, they’ll give you a free tequila shot and let you wear one of the sombreros on your birthday!

Mexican supermarket.

Mexican market.

On the edge of the Shaw neighborhood, you’ll find Elaia in the upstairs of a remodeled home (downstairs is a converted filling station, which houses Elaia’s fantastic sister restaurant, Olio). Tasting menus by James Beard semifinalist Ben Poremba are available at this AAA, four-diamond restaurant.

Farm-to-table New American in a relaxed environment.

Vegan and vegetarian friendly, stylish and airy hipster cafe.

Where to Try It: Fitz’s in the Loop.

Right in the Loop, Fitz’s makes and bottles its own root beer, which you can order on site, topped with a heaping scoop of ice cream. You have to get through some of the ice cream before you even reach the soda.

Northern Thai cuisine, and hands down the best Thai in the city — get the Khao Soi!

They have vegetarian and vegan options and strive to be low-oil, low-salt type of food. The mushroom reuben, Impossible burger, Beyond Meat burger and the Frida taco are all hits. Many clearly designated gluten free options. Brunch on Sundays.

Where to Try It: Ted Drewes (!!), Silky’s, Mr. Wizard’s.

Similar to a DQ Blizzard but creamier and richer. Ted Drewes is a scene on a summer night, and a great stop off after a Cards game or a trip to the City Museum (make sure you go to the South City location). If you need some help ordering, we love Brownies with Butterscotch or Tedads with Salted Caramel.

The OG of international foods here in St. Louis, owned by the same family that owns Jay’s. Each aisle has a different country’s flag, and they sell difficult-to-find food from all over the world.