St. Louis-style pizza

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A typical St. Louis-style thin crust pizza in its delivery box.
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A typical St. Louis-style thin crust pizza in its delivery box.
St. Louis-style pizza is usually cut into squares instead of slices.
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St. Louis-style pizza is usually cut into squares instead of slices.

St. Louis-style pizza is a distinct style of pizza popular in St. Louis, Missouri and its surrounding areas.

The most notable characteristic of St. Louis-style pizza is the distinctively St. Louisan Provel cheese used instead of (or, rarely, in addition to) the mozzarella common to other styles of pizza. Provel cheese is made in Wisconsin for the Saint Louis market.

The pizza has a thin, round crust sometimes made without yeast, as opposed to a very thick Chicago-style pizza or the thin but leavened New York-style pizza. It is far less filling than most pizza types, this allows local fans to consume more of the savory treat in one sitting. The crust of a St. Louis pizza is somewhat crisp and cannot be folded easily and is typically cut into three- or four-inch squares instead of the pie-like wedges typical of many pizza styles. Some local restaurants make their pizzas rectangular rather than round. It is often salty and seasoned with more oregano than other pizza types. Despite its thin crust, it can be layered deeply with many different toppings. Sauces tend to have a sweetness to them, some more noticeably than others. Sometimes a St. Louis-style pizzeria will keep their pizza sauce simmering for days or continuously to concentrate and develop the sweet and savory tomato flavors.[citation needed]

Label from Cecil Whittaker's pizza cheese
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Label from Cecil Whittaker's pizza cheese

The three largest St. Louis-style Pizza chains are Imo's Pizza, Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria and Elicia's Pizza. Other Pizzerias producing in the St. Louis style are A'mis, Pointer's Pizza, St. Louis Pizza and Wings, Cicero's, Syberg's, Paladora Pizza & Mora, Tyrone's, Fortel's Pizza Den (although thin, Fortel's uses a whole-milk mozzarella) and Mike Talayna's (more known for their medium crust pizzas with mozzarella).

There is some inherent irony in the fact that St. Louis is home to one of the larger Italian neighborhoods in the United States (birthplace of Yogi Berra), referred to as the The Hill, while St. Louis pizza is often seen by outsiders as being less Italian than an average American pizza.[citation needed]


[edit] See also

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