Photo by Chris Lee, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Gioia's Deli
Gioia’s Deli might be the hippest nonagenarian restaurant on the planet. The Hill institution, which opened in 1918, launched a food truck in 2014, and its website includes a very of-the-moment “secret” menu of special sandwich combinations. All of this would be nothing more than a curiosity, however, if Gioia’s didn’t also serve one of the great, iconic St. Louis dishes. Gioia’s hot salami (hot as in temperature, not chiles, the restaurant makes sure to explain) is an incredible piece of lunchmeat: tender, complexly spiced, delicious whether you get it from the truck or the old-fashioned way.