Newcomer Noto Pizza Stakes Their Claim to Pizza Greatness

Wins a spot in the St. Charles County Top 5!

*Special note from Stlpizzaguy
If this post helps get people's minds off the current state of panic in our world, even if just for a second, then I am doing my job. If it inspires you to go get some pizza and support local businesses then I am really doing my job. As Stlpizzaguy has been saying since 2016: "More people eating better pizza makes the world a better place."

Stlpizzaguy gives Noto Pizza the "P" of Approval

Krista Fox, the originator of the "P" of Approval gives her endorsement too!

Noto Pizza is both a newcomer and an oldcomer. For more than 20 years, J. Noto was a bakery in St. Peters. As a pizza place, Noto opened in January 2020 and fills a much needed void for Neapolitan-style pizza. Located almost exactly where Highway 364 meets 94, I fully believe they are in a thriving area with thousands of hungry bellies lining up to be filled with pizza made the way it is in Italy.

Stlpizzaguy got his reservations two days in advance, and guests without a reservation were waiting for nearly an hour. He was curious how his sister and brother-in-law would react to trying  Neapolitan-style for the first time, and because we live in the land of the cracker-thin crust and Provel cheese.

As I was excitedly ordering my pizza the waitress asked me, "Cut or uncut?" I looked with confusion at the rest of my guests. I don't know if I've ever eaten a pizza uncut. Well uncut is the proper way to eat Neapolitan-style pizza. My wife who is far more cultured than I insisted that Stlpizzaguy order it uncut to get the authentic experience. I hesitated at first, but then conceded. For the first time in history, all four people at my table ordered an uncut 11-inch pizza.

CHARACTERISTICS, HISTORY OF NEAPOLITAN PIZZA

Neapolitan-style pizza is named after the city of Naples, Italy and is considered the most original and authentic style of pizza. Neapolitan-style pizza became famous in 1889 after Italian Queen Margherita visited Naples and enjoyed a pizza pie topped with white mozzarella cheese, red tomatoes and green basil. Coincidentally, these are the colors of the Italian flag. Queen Margherita and Italians alike enjoyed this style of pizza for more than fifty years before pizza grew in popularity in the United States after World War II. 

Neapolitan pizza in general does not center on the toppings but focuses on the specially sourced ingredients and the interplay of the dough, sauce, and olive oil. When tasting Neapolitan pizza for the first time, some people are caught off guard by the somewhat soupy center of the pizza, and that the middle isn't crisp.

The unique domed pizza oven for Neapolitan pizza is critical for success. At Noto, its oven cooks pizzas at almost 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, enabling Noto to cook pizza in 90 seconds or less. Most ovens like the one below cost more than $15,000.

Noto's oven, where the magic happens.

From top left to right: Palla (Meatball) pizza, Amatriciana Pizza, Bianca Pizza, Fungi (Mushroom) Pizza

THE PIZZA DETAILS:

THE CRUST: The crust is the main component of Neapolitan-style Pizza. Noto's does a 36-hour fermentation of their dough. Most regular pizza places only have their dough ferment for a fraction of that time. Because of the longer fermentation period, I noticed the fluffy, soft crust, and greater flavor to the dough. As I mentioned earlier, Neapolitan pizza is best served uncut so the ingredients and cheese do not fall off. We were given gold colored steak knives to help cut the pizza.

The CHEESE: Neapolitan-style pizzas are not overly cheesy, but the cheese they use is high-quality buffalo mozzarella cheese.

THE SAUCE: Noto uses a sauce of hand-crushed San Marzano plum tomatoes. Authentic San Marzano tomatoes come to the U.S. in a can and will have an official DOP (Designation of Protected Origin). The tomatoes are known for their sweet flavor, bright red color, and low acidity. As you can see from the photo of the meatball pizza, the tomato sauce is bright.

THE TOPPINGS: Most of Noto's meat is freshly imported from Italy. The meatballs on my pizza were sparsely placed in my pizza, like little mountains of meaty goodness.

FINAL WORDS:

It's not too often I get a pizza revelation from on high, but Noto's made me feel that way. Their pizza is gourmet, very well-made, and comforting. Prior to visiting Noto, I felt like Neapolitan pizza places may not appeal to all people or audiences and I am now wrong. With 16 pizzas to choose from, I am proud to give this place the "P" of Approval and give them a coveted spot in the St. Charles top 5. The fact that myself, along with people who have never tried Neapolitan-style pizza all loved it and want to come back really makes me think that this pizza place can go places.

MORE INFO:
Noto Pizza is open Wednesday-Saturday 4 p.m.- 9p.m. for pizza. No carryout. 

Located at : 5105 Westwood Drive Saint Peters, MO 63304

Noto Pizza is owned and operated by Kendele Noto Sieve and Wayne Sieve. Together, the couple has visited Italy more than five times, and have done extensive pizza research over there. Noto started off as a food truck in 2017.

If you are interested in more details of Neapolitan style pizza, please see my Randolfi's post, where I covered Neapolitan more in depth: Randolfi.

Mellow Mushroom

Newcomer makes top 5 St. Charles County Pizza List

With Mushy Mushy Good Pizza

Mellow Mushroom wants you to leave boring pizzas behind. As soon as you walk in the door the Cottleville, Missouri newcomer is anything but boring. Their pizza offerings range from the Holy Shitake (mushroom) Pizza to the Pacific Rim Pizza that combines ham, pineapple, and jalapeno flavors. If you want a plain cheese or pepperoni pizza, those are available too, but Mellow Mushroom is definitely for the adventuresome

In this Mellow Mushroom photo montage, you get a feel for the eclectic 1980's  murals on the walls, and throughout the restaurant, you also see some mushrooms (bottom right).

It's a pizza place that's so much more than a pizza place. And I'm happy to give it the "P" of Approval for their pizza, but I am also impressed by their unique ambiance. The 1980's themed Mellow Mushroom in Cottleville is a state of mind, a flash back to happy memories. Wonderful local artists covered the walls with murals. Diners can see Ozzie Smith in the middle of a backflip. On another wall above the kitchen, you can see the Back to the Future Delorian with the 88 mph license plate, or spy Geoffrey the Toy's R' Us Giraffe perched near the ceiling keeping watch over the restaurant.

Stlpizzaguy and sister Krista give the P of Approval for Mellow Mushroom. Pizzas pictured on the left: Half Pacific Rim, Half Meat Eater. Right: Holy Shitake Pizza with Steak.

THE PIZZA DETAILS

CRUST: "This place is for crust lovers. Their fresh, thick, filling, prominent crust is big enough and tasty enough to sell dipping sauce. For extra tastiness, their thick crust is basted with garlic butter and dusted with cornmeal before serving."

Mellow Mushroom touts their crust is always made with spring water imported from the Appalachian Mountains. All I know is that it tastes GOOD. 

CHEESE: Mozzarella, they use a special part-skim mozzarella cheese.

TOPPINGS: Their pizzas are absolutely loaded with toppings, no skimping here. The Pacific Rim Pizza has ham, bacon, caramelized onion, ham, and jalapenos. The Mighty Meaty has pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham, and applewood smoked bacon. 

Their Holy Shitake Pizza has an olive oil sauce with shiitake, button and portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella and MontAmoré cheeses. The pizza is finished with a garlic aioli swirl and a spritz of black truffle oil. Garnished with fresh chives and shaved Parmesan. We added steak. I do not typically like Mushrooms, but I just pretended that it was all steak and all good. Seriously though, the Holy Shitake is one of their most popular pizzas. 

SAUCE: tangy, and slightly sweet.

OTHER TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS:

Their 13 specialty pizzas is one of the most expansive selection I have EVER seen. This is a great place for people who want to try crazy combinations, or like to have pineapple on their pizza. If you have problems deciding on a pizza, they also allow you to split it half and half.

Mellow Mushroom is a VERY large space. It is a Pizza Mecca that currently employs 80 people. I would not be surprised if their restaurant sits 300 people when they are at capacity. 

At really busy times, people should expect to be patient for their pizzas. Servers will tell customers if you are looking at a 45-minute wait once you order your pizza. Our pizza came to us on a Sunday night in less than 20-minutes after ordering, but I know that wait times can be longer.

I also enjoyed their partially open kitchen where you can see pizza makers kneading, tossing, throwing dough, and an assembly line of 5-7 people all working to make a pizza. 

Mellow Mushroom is located at 4716 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. in Cottleville, Mo. 
Special thanks to owners Ian and Tammi Hilton for the interview.

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STLPIZZAGUY reveals results of the Provel cheese survey

A few weeks ago I called a local St. Louis-style pizza place to order a pepperoni pizza and the employee asked if I would like my pizza with Provel or Mozzarella cheese. This previously unheard of question at a local St. Louis-style pizza place (Imo's) made me wonder, so I created a little survey.

The two main things I sought to measure were whether people liked Provel cheese and if they preferred mozzarella or Provel on St. Louis-style pizza. 

RESULTS OF THE PROVEL CHEESE SURVEY

Stlpizzaguy asked 50 people whether they liked Provel Cheese. 70 percent of people surveyed liked Provel Cheese. But only 66 percent of people surveyed preferred Provel cheese on their St. Louis-Style pizza. The other 1/3 preferred mozzarella.

Approximately 70 percent of the people who took the survey identified as St. Louis natives, identical to the amount that said they liked Provel Cheese. Coincidence?

One preference I did take into account is that many people like a Provel/Mozzarella Mix. Pasta House is one example of a restaurant that uses a mixture between the two cheeses. 

The survey had a few limits. There were not as many willing or opinionated participants as I thought, but among the haters of Provel, they were wordsmiths of high degree to match Shakespeare's hilarious descriptions.

Top 3 Funniest descriptions of Provel:

1. Eating provel cheese is akin to that high school science experiment where you melt styrofoam in acetone. Its slimy, gritty, unnatural, and if you let it sit too long, it hardens and ruins whatever its on.

2. Open-faced PVC pipe sandwich

3. Cheezwiz on cardboard

Top 3 positive descriptions of Provel: 

1. Perfection

2. Unique flavor versus stringy flat mozzarella. Combined with the thin crust, makes for a great dining experience.
3. It has an awesome creamy cheese taste you don't get with mozzarella.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED. 

*The Provel Cheese Survey had a total of 50 participants and is still an open survey on the blog. 

Thank you Cowboy Judge Show 

On March 31, Stlpizzaguy Appeared on ABC 30 TV COWBOY JUDGE SHOW along with the Stefanina's Wentzville owner and manager.

If you watch the embedded videos below, I discuss the origins of the pizza blog, the signature P of Approval, the uniqueness of St. Louis-style pizza and highlight a few of my favorite places.

I enjoyed collecting pizza boxes from Dewey's, Serra's, and Imo's. They are three places I highly recommend along with Stefanina's of course!

STLPIZZAGUY PROVEL CHEESE SURVEY

Does Provel cheese taste like plastic or is it the GREATEST processed cheese ever? 

A few weeks ago I called a local St. Louis-style pizza place to order a pepperoni pizza and the employee asked if I would like my pizza with Provel or Mozzarella cheese. Should this question even arise when ordering from pizza places that are known for using Provel cheese? Please give your opinion. Provel cheese: do you LOVE it or HATE it?

Create your own user feedback survey

Stefanina's Pizza

Stefanina’s: Queen of St. Louis-Style 

Launches beginning of top-five St. Charles Pizza Places

If Imo’s is the king and inventor of St. Louis-style pizza, Stefanina’s must be the queen and perfecter. The restaurant holds a special cheesy and gooey spot in the hearts of many St. Charles County residents.

Stefanina Roderick Vitale emigrated to the U.S. and St. Louis area from Sicily. As a young lady, she worked in a garment factory near the Hill. After seeing many of her friends open restaurants, she decided to open her own in St. Charles County. The first Stefanina's Pizzeria and Restaurant opened in O' Fallon in 1981. Many of her original recipes are still used today in the pizzas and the pasta dishes. Stefanina's makes its dough, sauce, and meatballs from scratch.

Now they've expanded to six locations. Stefanina's has kept ownership of the restaurants the hands of family and long-time employees. Family owned businesses are becoming rarer in today's age of the rise of fast-casual pizza chains, and other big pizza chains. Having family-owned pizza shops where the owners are working in the restaurant every week is important because you really know that they are personally invested in their pizza quality and the happiness of guests.

In 2018, Stefanina's won the best of St. Charles award. They nearly grabbed a spot in Stlpizzaguy's original top-10 list, but I wanted to reserve them as my first post in the St. Charles top-five.

This is the Stefanina's Special pizza. The pizza is topped with sausage, bacon, onion, hamburger, green pepper, pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms

Stlpizzaguy gives Stefanina's the P of Approval

THE PIZZA DETAILS

THE CHEESE: Provel. The mix of white cheddar, swiss and provolone cheeses. Provel also has a slightly smoky flavor by the addition of liquid smoke. The times I've had Stefanina's I've noticed their Provel is slightly creamier than Imo's.

THE SAUCE: Not a very saucy pizza, I taste more Provel with the sauce just an afterthought.

THE CRUST: Although just millimeters thicker than Imo's, it is noticeably thicker and just slightly crispy.

PIZZA SIZES: Pizzas range from 12-20 inches.

I enjoy Stefanina’s as a welcome change to Imo’s. Their Provel cheese seems slightly richer and creamer. The crust, although just millimeters thicker, is noticeably thicker and less cardboard crispy. The entire interplay of the cheese, the sauce, the crust, makes the pizza an St. Louis pizza lover’s dream.

Of course I enjoy a simple pepperoni pizza. But Stefanina's most popular pies are the Stef's Special, Five Meat, and Taco pizzas.

Stefanina's has locations in O' Fallon, Wentzville, Chesterfield, St. Peters, North St. Charles, and Winghaven.

Stlpizzaguy's favorite pizza is usually a plain pepperoni pizza or pepperoni and sausage. Above is a picture of Stefanina's sausage and pepperoni pizza. Notice the gooey texture of the Provel cheese. 

No pizza post about Stefanina’s and St. Louis style pizza would be complete without homage to St. Louis-style pizza. 

"If they serve pizza in heaven, it should be be St. Louis-style, and why not? You can eat MANY more pieces than Chicago style pizza, it makes you full a lot slower because of the thin crust. We might be the only place on earth that uses Provel cheese, but the MAGIC is in the Provel!"

Union Loafers loafs its way to the final spot on the top 10

Union Loafers

Loafs its way to secure final spot on the top 10

In the summer of 2016,  I waited nearly two hours to try Union Loafers Pizza. At that time, they  limited their pizza nights to only one night per week: Wednesdays. The pizza was amazing, but can a place that focuses on things other than pizza occupy a spot on stlpizzaguy’s top 10 list? After eating here three times in one month in 2018, the answer is YES.

Union Loafers now serves their 18-inch, Roman-style pizzas Wednesday through Saturdays for dinner. They advertise as a cafe and bread bakery in the Botanical Heights neighborhood “serving naturally leavened breads modeled on old-world techniques.” But what brings in the crowds, hysteria, and packs their restaurant on the weekends is the pizza.

The 18' Sausage Pizza

Stlpizzaguy finally decided on Union Loafers to finish his top 10 St. Louis Pizzas. He is pictured here with sausage pizza. 

THE PIZZA DETAILS: 

Roman pizza is similar to Neapolitan style pizza, but it is considerably less regulated. Roman dough is generally made with flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. The addition of olive oil is crucial because it allows the dough to be hand-stretched out wide and thin. Roman pizza dough often uses a tougher wheat as well, so the crust does not lose its chewiness.

CRUST: The crust is thin, but sturdy. The end-crust is prominent, charred and well-risen. The entire crust is baked darker than most pizzas. The pizza is well done, but not burnt. 

THE SAUCE: A sweet tomato sauce with very small tomato chunks.

CHEESE: Mozzarella cheese used somewhat sparingly, so that cheese does not overwhelm the pizza.

"These three elements added together  is really what makes Union loafers great: the large slices, the well-done crust, and the sweet, slightly chunky tomato sauce."

The owners of Union Loafers named their cafe after a classic Abbott and Costello routine. Bud Abbott has a new job baking bread and calls it "loafing." Costello mistakes "loafing" for being lazy, and he becomes more perplexed when he is told that he has to join a union in order to "loaf."

Besides the creative name, their pizza made with high hydration, naturally leavened bread, baked dark, makes for a very tasty pizza. Their cafe is minimalistic, yet modern. Edison light bulbs hang from the ceiling. The indoors seats a total of 50 people with a dimly lit bar that seats 16 people.

Their most popular pizzas on the menu are the pepperoni pizza and the spinach and bacon pizza.

A COUPLE TIPS:  Arrive with your dinner guests in agreement on their pizza selection. Union Loafers does not do half-and-half pizzas. Also, take advantage of the Nowait app to save some time.

Union Loafers is located at 1629 Tower Grove Ave. St. Louis Mo. 63110

SHOUT OUTS: I want to give a special shout out to the New Wentzvillian on Facebook who supported Stlpizzaguy in January by sharing his Imo's Pizza Post, propelling it to almost 10,000 views. 

Imo's Remains The Square Beyond Compare and secures the second-to-last spot in the top 10 list

Imo’s:

Remains the Square Beyond Compare

Secures a Spot in the Top 10

If there’s a conversation topic certain to ignite interest and differences of opinion among pizza lovers, one only needs to ask: what do you think of Imo’s pizza?

Photo Credit to Krista Fox

What does Stlpizzaguy think about Imo's?

Starting as a young boy, my brother and I would ride our bikes a couple miles on a hilly route to Imo’s off Olive in Creve Coeur. We saved and spent all of our hard-earned allowance and lawn-mowing money on Imo’s pizza and wings. At that time in the early 2000’s, we never ate Imo’s with any realization this pizza was maligned by many. It would have been difficult to know because those were days of life before Yelp and online food reviews. We grew up loving Imo's pizza.

Although I loved Imo's from boyhood, it did not make my initial top 10 list. I didn’t want give my P of Approval to a large corporation that had so many independently owned and operated franchises. Imo's has nearly 100 locations. The stores are all franchised—except for one off Hampton and Oakland, which remains a corporate store.

Most franchises are heavily concentrated in the St. Louis Metro area, but you can travel to Farmington, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, or even Overland Park, Kansas and find an Imo’s. I felt that sometimes those franchises tended to create greater variations in pizza quality from location to location.

I changed my mind and properly placed Imo's in my top 10 after my wedding day in October 2017. While getting ready at the Hyatt hotel in the morning, the groomsmen clamored to have Imo’s for lunch and scarfed down four extra-large pizzas in the hotel lobby. The pizza was consumed so quickly that one groomsman did not get a slice as he had to run to the bathroom and come back. After the wedding reception, Imo’s was all the rage again in the Hyatt hotel lobby. The out-of-town guests enjoyed the provel-laden pieces. Rumors swirled that all the pizza disappeared because I consumed an entire large pizza all by myself. It was a special day because I married my wonderful wife Adria, and I do not want to take any significance away from that milestone. But it also uniquely marked the first time I ordered Imo’s twice in one day. And if I enjoy their pizza enough to order it twice in one day, it deserves to be top 10. Imo's defines St. Louis-style pizza.

How Do You Judge Your Pizza?

Someone tried to interrupt me before I could eat my Imo's pizza. I was not happy. Photo by Krista Fox.

Being a pizza blogger can become complicated and time consuming. However, it can be easily simplified. I use three basic things to judge a pizza: the cheese, the dough, and the sauce. You can branch out and talk about the various oven types, ingredients, and whether someone cooks with the toppings under the cheese or over the cheese. I would guess that most around the country judge their pizza mainly on texture of the dough, whether it is deep dish, soft, or crispy.

"To my knowledge, ONLY St. Louis puts their cheese at the forefront, with the crust being an after-thought. And the cheese that Imo's is so famous for is their use of Provel."

In some ways Provel is like peaty scotch. The very unique thing that makes your product popular, is the thing that some people strongly dislike. I first learned about the divisiveness of Provel in law school through interacting with many non-St. Louisans. They did not prefer Imo’s but actually enjoyed making fun of it. Usually they disliked the taste and texture of Provel. Hearing that Provel is not really cheese was news to me. But because Provel has been with me all my life, I do not tolerate much back-talk about Imo's. Even pizza that you don’t prefer is better than no pizza at all!

THE PIZZA DETAILS: 

An Imo's pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and jalapeno peppers. Notice that the cheese is baked on top of the sausage and pepperoni, but the jalapenos are on top of the cheese. 

THE CHEESE: Provel is a processed cheese with a mix of white cheddar, swiss, and provolone cheeses. At room temperature it is softer and more gooey than other cheeses. When cooked it becomes golden-brown and marked in ways that regular mozzarella does not.  The cheese blend not only tastes different on pizza, but it is handy for easily cutting the pizza. Provel naturally stays on pizza and does not become stringy when pulling off a slice. 

THE CRUST: Paper-thin. The crust is not the center of attention here. Although the crust is usually not overly crispy, it is crispy and sturdy enough to hold mountains of toppings.

THE SAUCE: Normal tomato sauce, not spicy or anything to remark on, but liberally applied throughout the pizza to the very edge of the crust. 

THE OVEN: Imo's now uses conveyor ovens, which cook the pizza more consistently than a traditional deck oven.

OVERALL: Imo's is best served hot when you scarf down a piece and some of the Provel sticks to the roof of your mouth. The toppings also retain the heat well because most are placed under the cheese, but beware of a grease burn. Whenever someone from St. Louis tastes or thinks of an Imo's pizza, no matter where they are in the state or country, it reminds them of home.

Other facts and news about Imo's: 

• Their 2016 revenue of $131 million was an 11% increase from the prior year. Rising demand for Provel cheese sold at grocery stores and expansion into C-Stores in rural Missouri helped propel the growth.

• The company added a $200,000 machine that will shred 44-pound blocks of provel cheese 10 times faster than its current method using a grinder.

• Imo’s has a pizza shell and sauce making plant in Waterloo, IL.

• They are headquartered downtown of 17th and Delmar with warehouse spanning 72,000 square feet, offices, and retail space. They sell Imo's gear, and ship Imo's frozen pizzas on dry ice nationwide.