Photo by David Carson (Post-Dispatch)
Crown Candy Kitchen
When talking about Crown Candy Kitchen, I struggle not to focus on the outsize examples. The Heart Stopping BLT. The infamous challenge to drink five malts in 30 minutes — or, for that matter, the challenge to finish just one malt. The irascible online persona of owner Andy Karandzieff. I try to remember that — like its fellow centenarian on the STL 100, Gioia's Deli — Crown Candy Kitchen remains an everyday restaurant, where you squeeze yourself into a booth in proximity to fellow St. Louisans and tourists alike and steal a few minutes of pleasure. Maybe that means the bacon feast of the Heart Stopping BLT. Or maybe it is a single scoop of the black-cherry ice cream, velvety with butterfat.
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday)
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 1913