Did ya know?

Local legend has it that just about every type of food known to man was invented here in St. Louis, most often at the 1904 World's Fair.  Well the sad truth is that not every type of food was invented in St. Louis, but several actually were and several more, while invented elsewhere were made popular here in St. Louis. 

First, ones that it is very likely were invented here in St. Louis.

Toasted Ravioli - Invented "On The Hill" at a restaurant called Oldani's.  Other's claim the invention and I would love to hear from anyone who lays claim to it.  From what I understand it was made famous by Micky Garagiola (Joe Grargiola's brother).  If you don't know, Toasted ravioli is a pillow shaped pasta stuffed with either cheese or a meat mixture, then deep fried and served with a marinara sauce.

Ice Cream Cone - The story goes that one vendor at the 1904 World's Fair was selling bowls of ice cream, when he ran out of bowls.  He cut a quick deal with the vendor next to him that was selling waffles. They folded the waffles into a cone, plopped the ice cream in it and history was made.

Hot Dog - Hot dogs themselves had been served, but the first time that the hot dog was matched up with a bun that was sized for it was at the 1904 World's Fair.  Some people say that the invention was actually made earlier by a vendor at the old St. Louis Browns ball park.  Either way, St. Louis either invented it or improved it to what we know today.

Now foods that weren't invented here, but were made famous here in St. Louis.

Peanut Butter - Peanut butter in one form or the other has been around for thousands of years.  The peanut originated in South America and was made into a paste that could be stored and eaten later probably since it's original cultivation.  Around 1890 a guy named George A. Bayle sold a peanut butter paste for folks with bad or no teeth.  In 1893 John Kellogg started serving peanut butter for similar reasons to patients in his Battle Creek, Michigan hospital.  St. Louis' claim to peanut butter when a guy name C H Summer patented an invention to manufacture peanut butter and demonstrated his invention at the 1904 World's fair.

Iced Tea - While thought to be a St. Louis invention, it's just not true.  Plenty of evidence exists including menus going back to the civil war era that showed Iced Tea as an option.  That said, prior to the 1904 World's Fair ice itself was a fairly rare commodity.  The 1904 World's Fair was one of the first events that made wide spread use of refrigeration equipment to make ice on the spot.  Due to the ready availability of the ice at the fair, Iced tea became a big hit and it's popularity soared!

Feel free to chip in your two cents worth here by writing me at rbmitchell@valuelistre.com .

R.B. Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

04/05/07

All of the research done on this Did you know -St. Louis was done on the web and I found http://stlplaces.com/stl_foods/ very helpful, as well as several wikipedia articles