Photo by Christian Gooden (Post-Dispatch)
Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria
Having conquered Rock Hill with the original Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria, Katie Collier and husband Ted Collier have now opened a second location in a Town and Country shopping plaza. If a visit this fall was any indication, business at the new Katie’s is as gangbusters as at the original. More importantly, as far as this list is concerned, the food at Katie’s hasn’t suffered for the expansion. The opposite, in fact. Katie’s continues to refine itself into one of St. Louis’ most interesting and just plain best Italian restaurants, with excellent Neapolitan-style pizza and pastas (pappardelle with wild boar ragu and lemon gremolata, capellini with pancetta, caramelized fennel, fennel pollen, hazelnut and mascarpone) that find an appealing middle ground between rustic and elegant.
Hours: Dinner daily, lunch Monday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 2013
Must order: Salume Beddu pepperoni pizza ($19)