Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Smoki O's
Barbecue lovers might debate whether rib meat should fall off the bone. (It shouldn’t, but that hasn’t stopped the debate.) But they’ll probably all agree that barbecue should never crunch — until, that is, they eat snoots. A classic St. Louis dish, and one that the area’s current barbecue boom has mostly, lamentably ignored, snoots are like thick-cut potato chips, except made from pork snouts. At Smoki O’s, my favorite spot for snoots, Otis and Earline Walker serve crunchy, smoky snout in a sweet-tangy sauce. For the full St. Louis-barbecue experience, order a combo meal of snoots and tips, the flavorful, cartilage-spined bits left behind when spare ribs are cut St. Louis-style.
Opened: 1997
Must order: Snoot dinner (medium $9.50, large $10.75)