Photo by J.B. Forbes (Post-Dispatch)
Union Loafers
Union Loafers was only 5 months old when I wrote last year’s STL 100, but I didn’t hesitate to include Ted Wilson and Sean Netzer’s bread bakery and cafe on my list. Here, finally, was a retail outlet for Wilson’s incredible breads, which the cafe highlighted in a menu of sandwiches both familiar (ham and cheddar, turkey and Swiss) and brilliantly original (a riff on the classic Reuben with smoked beets instead of corned beef). If Union Loafers had changed nothing since then, it still would have made this list with ease. But the cafe has added a dinner service featuring pizza, and these pies — classic toppings on a big, New York-esque crust that even with oven char shows Wilson’s talent for coaxing flavor out of dough — demand that you return or (perish the thought) try Union Loafers for the first time.
Hours: Lunch Wedneday-Sunday, dinner Wednesday-Saturday (closed Monday-Tuesday)
Opened: 2015
Must order: Pizza ($17-$25)