Vegetarian Eating in St. Louis: What to Ask

Vegetarian eating in St. Louis takes a few questions, because several local classics hide meat: toasted ravioli is traditionally filled with beef, the slinger is a diner plate with a ground beef patty and chili, and the St. Paul sandwich is an egg foo young patty that may hold meat. Ask each kitchen what is in a dish, and treat the answer as information, never a promise.

Knowing which local dishes tend to contain meat and which tend to be meatless makes it easy to ask the right question.

What local dishes usually contain meat?

Wikipedia's account of St. Louis cuisine describes toasted ravioli as breaded, deep-fried beef ravioli with parmesan and marinara, and the slinger as a late-night plate of eggs, hash browns, a ground beef patty, chili con carne, cheese and onions. The Gerber sandwich, an open-faced toasted sandwich, is made with ham and Provel, and pork steaks, cut from the shoulder, are a St. Louis favorite.

Do not assume that a side is meatless. Beans, greens and soups may be cooked with ham or stock. Ask the server, and take a quick no as a signal to choose differently.

Is Provel cheese vegetarian?

Provel is a white processed cheese, described as a blend of cheddar, Swiss and provolone, and it is the signature cheese of St. Louis-style pizza and the Gerber sandwich. Whether a cheese is vegetarian depends on how it was made: some cheeses use animal rennet, which comes from a calf's stomach. The label or the kitchen can tell you, but many kitchens will not know.

If rennet matters to you, ask the server whether the kitchen can check the package. If you eat dairy but avoid animal rennet, say so, and choose dishes with fewer cheeses if the answer is unclear.

Can you order toasted ravioli without meat?

The classic version uses beef. Some kitchens offer a cheese or vegetable filling. Ask what the ravioli contain, how they are fried and whether the fryer is shared with meat items. Ask also whether the marinara contains meat or stock.

The ravioli guide explains the dish. If you find a meatless version, say so in your rating, since the next vegetarian will want to know.

What about the St. Paul sandwich and the slinger?

The St. Paul sandwich is an egg foo young patty with bean sprouts and onion, served on white bread with pickle, mayonnaise and lettuce. Wikipedia says it is said to have been invented in the 1940s. The patty often holds shrimp, pork or chicken, so ask. Some kitchens will make an egg-only version. Ask also what the patty is fried in, since the same oil may cook shrimp or pork.

A slinger can be made without the beef patty and the chili, leaving eggs, hash browns, cheese and onions. Ask whether the hash browns share a griddle with meat. A plate with eggs, potatoes and cheese is a reasonable late-night meal if the kitchen is willing to adapt it.

What are hidden animal ingredients to ask about?

Hidden animal ingredients are the main risk for a vegetarian. Common ones include chicken or beef stock in soups and rice, lard in tortillas and pastry, bacon on salads and potatoes, fish sauce in dressings and gelatin in some desserts. Gooey butter cake, a St. Louis coffee cake, contains eggs and butter, which suits many vegetarians, but not vegans.

Ask what the beans and greens are cooked with. Ask whether the fries share a fryer with meat. If you eat strictly, say so before ordering, and expect an honest answer to be that the cook will check.

How do you plan a vegetarian day in St. Louis?

Think by meal, and tell the table what you eat before anyone orders. For breakfast, eggs, pastries and fruit are usually easy, and a bakery visit covers the gooey butter cake. For lunch, look at markets, such as those in the Soulard guide, where you can see produce and ask sellers about prepared foods. For dinner, choose a kitchen with more than one meatless main so a mixed group can share a table.

Read the menu in the window first. If you are traveling with meat-eaters, pick a long menu and agree who will ask the questions. Bring patience: a careful answer takes a minute, and a kitchen that takes it seriously is usually a kitchen worth returning to. Save the names of those that did to a list, so the next vegetarian visitor, or you in a year, can start from a known good conversation.

How can Mosey help with vegetarian eating in St. Louis?

In the Mosey app, Vegetarian and Vegan are two of the tags a diner can add to a rating and filter by. A tag shows what a rater chose, not what a kitchen guarantees, so keep asking. The most useful ratings describe what happened: "asked about the stock, vegetable only".

Rate by the dish so "cheese ravioli, separate fryer" is on record, and keep a private list for places that looked after you. Share it with a friend who eats the same way, follow friends to see what they rated and saved, and tag the people you ate with.

Mosey is free for a place to list, with affordable tools and no hidden fees, which helps kitchens that cook for different diets.

Where else can you read about St. Louis?

See the St. Louis page, the Missouri page and the US food guides.

Before your next St. Louis meal, decide what you will ask, then open the Mosey app and tag what the kitchen said.