Imo's PizzaI must admit to a bit of trepidation when I decided to go to an Imo's. My usual St. Louis foodies dismissed Imo's as "not even serving pizza, but some substance." On the other hand, a transplanted St. Louian swears by Imo's and always sends me messages when I'm in St. Louis to make sure I go there.
So this time, I was pretty sure I would find an Imo's and stop in. My decision was sealed when the previous night, pulling into a parking space by Sasha's on Shaw, we parked accross the street from the original Imo's!
Since I was planning to hit Forest Park after lunch, I decided on the Imo's nearest Union Station at 2001 Olive St. A dusty and bleak stretch of Olive (far from the trendier spots closer to downtown). Commanding the corner with a large suburban style restaurant look, I was prepared for the worse! Going in the doors, I was greeted by banks of arcade games.
I went up to the counter and after a quick glance at the menu, went with the 8" pepperoni with olives. Oh, and a bottle of Bud (I think this was the first Bud I've had in the 21st century, but hey, I was in St. Louis, what should I order, something Belgian?!).
I took my seat the the pizza arrived a little while later. Looked pretty good, Smelled good. And, cut into little squares, just like the much higher end "pie" at
Sasha's on Shaw.
Ah ha! That must be a secret to the St. Louis style pizza, square cut! That explains the Imo's taglines, "Original St. Louis style pizza" and "The square beyond compare."
So how was it? Pretty good! I like the thin crackery crust and the sauce was nice and flavorful. The pepperoni were a bit skimpy, but overall, pretty good.
So how did the square cut come about? According to the Imo's website, here's the story:
As to cutting their pizza into squares, legend has it that came about because Ed used to lay tile for a living and he was always cutting tiles into squares. So naturally, the pizza would be cut into squares too. Over 40 years ago, Ed Imo opened the first Imo’s Pizza on the corner of Thurman and Shaw in the heart of South St. Louis. A tile installer by day and a pizza maker by night, perhaps it was his day job that made him subliminally cut his pizzas into strange, tile-like suares instead of the traditional triangle slices.
The other "secret" seems to be the use of Provel processed cheese (Provel is a trademark for three cheeses, provolone, swiss, and white cheddar blended into one).
So, how was it? Who's side in the great Imo's debate am I on? Well, it's pretty hard to mess up anything with tomatoes and cheese, but even in the Pizza Hut-like atmosphere of this Imo's on a dusty bit of urban wastingland, there was something there! I really liked the crispy crust and the square pieces were really easy to handle and kept you from eating too big of bites.
I feel the need to return to the original on Shaw, would it be even better there (think of the poor franchised shadow's of the great Pizzaria Uno in Chicago that populate the suburbs of America!).
So yes, Ginger, I like Imo's, and think I could come to love it. Adding "St. Louis style" to New York and Chicago in my pizza quiver.
More photos.
Meal: Lunch
Rating: ****
Date: 11 May 2009
Address: 2001 Olive St., Saint Louis, MO 63103-1627
Website: http://www.imospizza.com/
