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Short answer: Missouri’s food story is barbecue in Kansas City and St. Louis (our barbecue section has the places, two road trips and the festivals), a set of St. Louis specialties (toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, St. Louis-style pizza, frozen custard), craft breweries in both cities and a wine country an hour west of St. Louis. This page ties them together and links four eat-near pages for the districts people walk.
How we checked: the restaurants’ and venues’ own pages and the visitor bureaus’ pages named in the sources list, plus our own BBQ, St. Louis food and breweries pages (read October 30, 2026). We list places; we do not rank them or call any of them the best. All read on November 3, 2026. Hours, prices, rules, closures and road status change, so check the named agency or business before you rely on them. Anything we could not check is marked Not Confirmed where it appears. Hours below are the ones the business printed on the day we read it. General guidance on this page is labelled as general guidance. This is not safety, medical or legal advice; where a safety or legal rule appears, the quoted words are the official source’s own.
Barbecue
Kansas City and St. Louis Barbecue
- Kansas CityVisit KC says the metro has more than 100 barbecue restaurants and runs a free KC BBQ Experience pass that sends a pass by text and email; points are redeemed at the Museum of BBQ. Arthur Bryant’s, Gates, Fiorella’s Jack Stack and Q39 are on our BBQ guide.
- St. LouisExplore St. Louis points to pork steak, a bone-in shoulder cut, as the city’s own barbecue signature (our BBQ guide).
- Pappy’s Smokehouse3106 Olive St, St. Louis. Its own site says Memphis-style barbecue, smoked up to 24 hours over apple or cherry wood. Hours it printed: Mon 11 to 4, Tue closed, Wed 11 to 4, Thu 11 to 6, Fri and Sat 11 to 7, Sun 11 to 4; it asks you to call later in the day because it may sell out early.
St. Louis Food
What Explore St. Louis Calls Emblematic
- Toasted ravioliDeep-fried, beef-stuffed pasta; the Hill restaurants Favazza’s, Mama’s on The Hill, Rigazzi’s and Zia’s are named for it (our St. Louis food page). See The Hill.
- St. Louis-style pizzaThin, square-cut crust with Provel cheese; Imo’s and Pirrone’s are named.
- Gooey butter cake, slingers, St. Paul sandwichAll on the Explore St. Louis list; see our St. Louis food page for the shops it names.
- Ted Drewes Frozen CustardIts own site says it has served St. Louis since 1929 and lists a Chippewa (Route 66) location and a South Grand location.
Breweries
Two Brewery Visits With Posted Hours
- Boulevard, Kansas CityBeer Hall at 2534 Madison Avenue: Mon to Thu 12 to 9, Fri and Sat 11 to 10, Sun 10 to 7 as printed; the beer hall holds the gift shop and tours. The site says tour tickets are released weekly and that tours start at its Tours and Rec Center, 2501 Southwest Boulevard, not the beer hall.
- Schlafly, St. LouisTap Room hours printed: Mon to Sat 11 to 10, Sun 12 to 10, kitchen closing an hour early. Its events list shows brewery tours on Saturdays at Bottleworks. It says it brews 70-plus styles.
- Anheuser-Busch, St. LouisPaid brewery tours; see our Brewery Experience page for hours and reservation advice.
Age rules apply to tastings and tours; check each venue’s own page for who may attend.
Wine Country
Hermann and The Missouri Wine Trails
- Hermann Wine TrailSix family-owned wineries around Hermann, open year round, with six trail events a year; the trail site lists $35 a person including a wine glass for the November and December 2026 trails.
- Stone Hill WineryIts site says it was founded in 1847, offers booked tastings and tours of its arched cellars and runs the Vintage 1847 Restaurant in the original winery barn.
Eat Near The Places You Will Be
Keep Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is Missouri known for?
Kansas City barbecue and, in St. Louis, toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, St. Louis-style pizza and frozen custard, per the visitor bureaus’ pages our guides cite.
Where can I tour a brewery?
Boulevard in Kansas City (tour tickets released weekly), Schlafly’s Bottleworks in St. Louis (tours listed on Saturdays) and the Anheuser-Busch brewery, each by its own page.
Where are the eat-near pages?
Four are linked above: the Plaza and Crossroads, Soulard and The Hill, Branson Landing, and Hermann and wine country.
Sources
- Visit KC, the Kansas City BBQ Experience, read November 3, 2026
- Pappy’s Smokehouse, read November 3, 2026 (hours as printed)
- Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, read November 3, 2026
- Boulevard Brewing Co., read November 3, 2026 (visit hours)
- Schlafly, read November 3, 2026 (hours and events)
- Hermann Wine Trail, read November 3, 2026
- Stone Hill Winery, read November 3, 2026
- It’s Missouri BBQ and St. Louis food guides, read November 3, 2026 (read October 30, 2026; each names its own sources)
Read on November 3, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's Missouri, “Where to Eat in Missouri: BBQ, St. Louis Food, Breweries”, itsmissouri.com/visit/where-to-eat/ (updated ). By the It's Missouri editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.